G-I think he needs a new marketing strategy then mate because stamping his feet or blaming Wood/McManus every time he doesn't get his own way is hardly going to get the locals thinking lets get down there and start supporting Salford!
Imo of course!

I would watch that sort of language, just in case Smokey is around

Or alternatively you could recognise that last night's crowd was almost 2000 up on the corresponding fixture and reflect that, at a time when attendances across the league are down, Salford are actually working hard to get more people through the door.

It always strikes me as funny that opposition supporters are so keen to tell us that we can't become a club that's competing for silverware overnight and yet the same people fully expect us to triple attendances overnight.

Absolutely spot on, Yorkshire Red. It's great to see another club competing against the 'big four' (Cas being the other one). There is a contributor on this forum complaining that Leeds games against the lesser opposition are not easy games any more. Well bring it on. Let's have more Salfords and Castlefords. Attendances will improve as a result.

I agree. SL needs people like Dr Koukash and not just for his money but for his enthuiasm too. I thought he showed himself to be a passionate supporter of his team last night and magnanimous in defeat as he congratulated the Leeds players as they left the field.

If his consideraable investment makes Salford another contender for honours then this can only be good for our game. They have now have a strong looking squad that will be further enhanced with BJB and Dobson next season and I anticipate they will be serious competitors.

Or, again alternately, that the Salford Leeds figure is still almost 1900 DOWN from the corresponding fixture in 2012.

I don't have the overall figures to hand, but my club (saints) are up almost 10%, without having an absolute disaster in 2013 quartering attendances on the year before. Yes the Salford percentages Yoy look good, but that's because of the low base they started with. Koukash for all his bluff and bluster is still someway short of capturing 2012 figures.

It's two different things, celebrating a crowd of 5000 as if it's the most marvellous progress any club has ever made ever (and you can blame koukash for this being fans perception) is as equally low minded no ambition as koukash's silverware aim in 1year was high minded over ambition

It could be a total coincidence but he did say on Twitter that the ticket prices had been reduced to try and get more support through the door. If the attendances continue then hats off to him, it worked.

Read what I posted properly doylem.
How does gobbing off and spitting his dummy out improve attendances?
I don't expect anything unless you hit an 7/8k average and can at the very least match Wakey for ST sales then I think he will take his money and run he has mentioned how disappointed he was with ST sales and attendances many times this year!

There's not a chance of us getting close to 2012's figures anytime soon, not least because for whatever reason the attendances throughout that seaon were completely fabricated. If anyone seriously thinks that we were attracting crowds of 5000 plus in 2012 I'd direct them to the video evidence from those games. The reported attendances at games that season were generally seen as wildly unbelievable by all Salford fans at the time, indeed it was common practice for 3 different attendance figure to be quoted for some reason that season and at least 1 of those figures would be rounded to the nearest thousand in a rugby union-esque style.

As to why Dr Koukash would give fans the perception that crowds of 5000 are "the most marvellous progress any club has made ever" well you'll have ot explain that one for me. The only comments I've ever seen him make around our attendances are that they need to improve & that the people of Salford need to start backing their team. How people can take that as him lauding a massive acheivement is beyond my understanding I'm afraid.



Ticket prices were greatly reduced in the South Stand last night (prices in other stands were the same) & that must have helped the crowd I would have thought (although having said that the South Stand was not as busy as I expected). It certainly helped the atmosphere which was probably better than at any game since we moved.

Sadly I think that the only thing that will have a positive effect on attendances is a winning Salford team, there is still a perception amongst the local populace of "same old Salford" and that won't change unless we're battling at the top end of the table

Oh well, I thought I may be able to get some reasoned debate instead of stupid insults.

What I was trying to point out was that clearly "gobbing off & spitting his dummy out" isn't the grand Salford masterplan to improve attendances and that there is a good deal of effort going into improving attendances. There is a lot of work going on to take the club back to the community & to increase attendances and by & large it's had a slight positive effect. Attendances have dropped off alarmingly after the early season increases but as to my earlier post most of that has been performance driven. The attendance for the opening game shows that a 7K crowd can be achieved, however, I think we'll need to see some consistency in battling at the right end of the table before that's likely to happen.

i actually think that marwan is great publicity for our game,and god knows we certainly need it

This is where you and I differ on our opinion - I believe that the "good doctors" outbursts belittle the sport and make him look like a spoilt child who gets all stroppy when things don't go their way.

They say "any publicity is good publicity" - I'm not too sure!

I agree mate.

Much like Ian Lenaghan or Neil Hudgell then?

At least Koukash is trying to talk about the sport positively, rather than taking every opportunity possible to slag-off the RFL without actually providing any meaningful insight as to how they can improve.

Koukash has been a breath of fresh air compared to many RL chairmen. He actually seems to want to take the game forward.

That's what he thinks he's doing too. But who says he is best qualified to decide this. How can you trust a man's vision when he throws a tantrum when met with sensible objections? Or opinions that don't fall within his mindset?

Not convinced that is true at all. He slags off the RFL at every given opportunity.

He may well have some ideas that could work, but generally his mouthing off to the media is for the benefit of him and his club only, not necessarily for the benefit of the game.

I have no problem with him in the media, I just disagree that he has not put the game and the RFL down on many occasions whilst doing it, just because he hasn't got his own way.

Which puts him, at worst, in the same boat as other SL chairmen.

I'll agree that sometimes the way Koukash goes about things is not always appropriate, but there is no doubting that he speaks with a positive passion for the game. I'd much rather listen to him than I would Hudgell moaning about the disciplinary or Ian "I disagreed with the TV deal but voted for it anyway" Lengahan complaining about a lack of blue-chip sponsors.

Yes, Koukash has complained about both, but he genuinely seems to be wanting to make things better - whether that is with marquee players, World 9s tournaments or investing in struggling clubs and offering up ideas to take the game forward. If that happens to benefit Salford, is that a bad thing? Other chairmen just seem to find reasons to complain without offering a solution.

Koukash wants a way to turn Salford from cellar-dwellers to a top club challenging for trophies in the blink of an eye.

It's the motivation behind most if not all of his suggestions IMO. The scrapping of the cap, the ability to sign "marquee" players outside the cap, the ability to "trade" golden tickets.

It's all designed to allow him to buy up top players and attempt to build a club from the top down. The absolute antithesis of how a club should be built.

Anyone who doesn't agree with him is dismissed as "holding the sport back", and frankly it's nonsense.

Stick to horse racing Marwan, or go into football where money really can buy you influence. Either that, or accept that you're bound by the same rules as anyone else no matter how rich you are.

RL is in a better place because Koukash has invested in it. Salford are in a massively better position than they were before he bought the club.

I personally feel he'd be far better off, and RL better off as well, if he learned a little bit of patience and stopped running his mouth as much as he does, but RL is in no position to basically tell Koukash to take his money elsewhere.

I hope Koukash stays in RL for decades. I hope he makes a success of owning Salford and his success leads to more investment in the game. I'd prefer it if he didn't run his mouth so much, but IMO his outbursts are a small price to pay for his investment in RL.

I think there will be many people in RL who share your attitude of wanting him to bugger off from our game. I think you're a bigger problem for RL than he is.

agreed.I dont see why people seem to have such a big problem with the guy.Salford would be bust or on their way out of SL shortly like the Bulls and the Broncos if Koukash hadn't come along and saved their bacon.Not only has he done that but he has also given the club real hope and allowed their supporters to dream that sometime in the not too distant future they will be eating at the top table of the division, something that would never have happened for the Reds without him.Im sure even if the worst thing happens and he bails out that the Salford fans will have enjoyed the ride and they were in a no lose situation anyway.

OK, he comes out with some comments bordering on the outlandish from time to time and certainly lacks in the patience department but he seems to have a passion for the game.Good luck to Marwan, the Reds and thier fans i say, it may not come off when all is said and done but its an interesting sideshow to watch all the same.

Should he build it bottom up like we did paying a world record fee for Harris? Maybe wait for success like Hetherington and Caddick did with home grown talents such as Brad Godden, Richie Blackmore, Daryl Powell, Lee Jackson, Jamie Mathiou, Marc Glanville packing out the 99 Challenge Cup winning squad? the 98 GF contesting squad?

We did all this within a couple of years of nearly going kaput i 96.

The Marquee exemption was also actually a GH tabled idea. We have never been shy about a big name or two.

Have you looked at the details of his "Marquee" proposal Smokey?
He personally wants this AND the right to buy the "Golden Ticket" for the Marquee signing off Clubs who can't afford it GH never suggested as such did he?
All this "good of the game" is a bit mis-leading when you dig deeper not only that Salford don't have the crowds to match the income for his no SC & Marquee proposal do you think he is just gonna pump millions in for the love of Salford and RL?
Who will pick up the pieces if/when he gets board and does one?
Personally I agree the SC needs looking at as does the Acadamy structure/pay but it has to be done within as secure structure as possible and no amount of dummy spitting or blaming anyone and everyone should change that.
Let him build a Club first including junior structure and a self sustaining financial system he has already "spent big" as you refer to GH doing & will no doubt get that chance again if/when the SC changes but I trust the future of the game with likes of GH etc more than someone who with a big bank balance and shouts louder.

That being the case it seems strange to criticise Koukash for doing what Hetherington did, and also for voting the same way and complaining that the proposal again didnt get through as it hasnt for the years GH has proposed it.

Eh?
GH never suggested being allowed to buy other clubs "marquee signing" Golden ticket did he?
So it's not exactly the same thing the proposal by MK is loaded so he can still effectively "buy who he wants" with maybe 3/4 other bidders but add in his ditching the SC he will pay daft wages.

im not sure the selling of the golden tickets is a problem or fundamentally different. Clubs dont have to sell them if they dont want, and he doesnt have to buy them if he can't afford it.

If Koukash wants to add some of the best players in the world to our league. I fully support it. Thats what i want to see, what i want to pay my money for.