Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen

I come in peace as a Sale Sharks supporter, so please bear with me and hear me out.

Many of you are, presumably, somewhat apprehensive of our arrival at SCS Barton come the Autumn and several of you may even have read some somewhat colourful views about us expressed by a small yet vocal element of Stockport County supporters on both their own Yellow Board and the Glasgow Rangers board, the latter because of Brian Kennedy's interest in that football club.

May I urge you to put aside any prejudices which you might hold based on their respective views? Please take we Sale supporters as you find us, give us the benefit of the doubt and reserve judgement until we have been together for a while. Then, and only then, can you see what we are really like and we can see what you are like!

The vast majority of our supporters are decent people, following our own sport of choice - just as the vast majority of you are decent people following your sport of choice. We have our own small yet more excitable element, as no doubt do you, but they are not representative of the supporter base as a whole. The days of antagonism between Union and League are long gone and the two codes now exist side by side in harmony, as indeed they should.

I would imagine that you had as much say in, and were consulted just as deeply about, your move to Barton as were we - namely, not one single iota. Our respective moves were engineered, for whatever individual reasons, by your Club management and by our Club management. Sometimes, as non-corporate supporters, we seem to be at the bottom of the food chain - but that's life, like it or not.

Nevertheless, i do think that we needed a fresh home from Edgeley Park and I welcome the move (although public transport home on a Friday night is a really serious concern for me), especially after having a look around the stadium yesterday. I had even committed to a three year South Stand Season ticket blind, before I'd even seen the facilities save from the top of the Barton High Level Bridge!

There are several entities involved in the Sale side of things: Sale Sharks supporters, namely me and others like me (but don't let that put you off); Sale Sharks, our team, capable of both entertaining and horrifying rugby on the pitch - often simultaneously; Cheshire Sports, the current owners of the Sharks franchise (I think it is still a franchise); Brian Kennedy and Ian Blackhurst, joint owners of Cheshire Sports; and last but not least, my own Members' owned Sale FC, out of which Sale Sharks developed when professionalism came to Union and who still play at our spiritual club ground of Heywood Road, Brooklands, Sale.

A mistake that some Stockport County supporters make, in my view, is that all those entities are one and the same and totally interchangeable, although Sale FC was mixed up to a lesser extent. This means, in practice, that anything that displeases that minority element, whether or not it might be justified, is therefor the personal and direct fault of any and all Sale Sharks' supporters.

Please do not make that same mistake!

It seems to me that if the respective managements and supporters of Salford Reds and of Sale Sharks work together over the next few months and on into the future, and recognise and respect each others' feelings, heritage and culture, then SCS Barton can become a centre of rugby excellence in both codes and that both Clubs can learn and benefit from each other.

And finally (you'll be delighted to read that word finally) …

I, and a few other Sale supporters if I can generate the enthusiasm, hope to come and watch your next home game against Bradford Bulls at 8:00pm on Friday, 18th May from the South Stand. if you see us, wearing Sale colours, please come and say hello - we don't bite!

I would like to ask that you consider coming to our own game, the final one at Edgeley Park, against Harlequins at 2:00pm on Saturday, 5th May (ticket office 08444 994 994). A group of us are also going for a Greek meal at The Rozafa afterwards so why not come along and join us? it's about 10/15 minutes walk from the ground. [url=http://www.rugbynetwork.net/boards/read/s101.htm?104,13155018There's a thread on our board[/url (known as The Unoffy) which will include details of final numbers and timings closer to the time. If you want to join us, either post your interest on there, as a reply to this thread on the Turkey or send me a PM and I'll add you to the list.

Let's make this work, one and all!

Regards, and good luck for your season.

Exactly.

Agree re Franchise.

Re 10 years - well JAW will be nigh on 80 I guess and it would be time to call it a day no doubt.

If the length of our lease is based on JAW's age then I'd be seriously worried at the Council/Peel's opinion on the club's long term future.

Sounds just like at York University...is it?

Did any of you actually read that? It's a stadium, other sports use it, so what? Dont waste your time worrying about an inferior sport which has almost zero bearing on your future.