If the club's looking for rational help on this message board we're in bigger trouble than I feared.

maybe carl out of shameless might be interset as he was there against celtic and kurk on corrie

I'll tell you what though, we're in a dire state of affairs if the clubs only link with celebrity culture is Kirk from Corrie...



South Sydney get Russell Crowe and we get Fizz's fella!
(Hope my knowledge of corrie characters isn't too out of date...)

What salford need is a very rich owner that spends the cash to fix the club.

Peel Holdings, its assets are worth more than £4.5bn.

Erm... The Red Knights are all multi-millionaires. Whilst I doubt we'll need a billion quid, it's still not going to be easy to raise the money required to buy, clear the debt from and run the club.



Just because they're 'celebrities', it doesn't mean they've got an endless supply of cash lying around.

As for sorting the club out... Well, at least the stadium's now been announced, so that might help kick things into gear again. Getting the basics of marketing right before taking on anything else would be a start, too. The website needs sorting - it's got too many bells and whistles that don't have any useful function. A site should be simple, effective and make it easy to find the information you require. It shouldn't just be made to look flashy.

Updating the splash page so that it doesn't carry adverts for the last game long into the following week would be a simple place to start. You can actually have programmable splash pages with images stored for various events, matches and so on - once the date of the game/event has been and gone, the image automatically changes to the next one. It can be sorted in half an hour and a certain non-league football club has managed to implement this (and a far more professional website all round) with work from unpaid volunteers. It can't be that hard.

Get the entertainment sorted pre and post match. Communicate with the Willows so that everyone knows what's going on. Settle on a plan, agree on it with both sides, get it in writing, implement it.

A new coach who's willing to try out some new ideas in training and on the pitch and won't take any cr@p off the players. Last thing we want is anymore alleged incidents of player power, not playing for the coach and so on. We certainly don't want any repeat of the whole Jacksonville/Captaincy fiasco. Any players who don't respect the club's/coach's decision need to be disciplined properly or told to hit the road. Whether they're old guard or not.

Get a decent mascot in. That new one is utterly shocking. Get something relevant to Salford RLFC in there. And as for this 'we don't want to scare the kids with a devil' nonsense... Well, United don't do too badly with Fred the Red, do they?

Get some decent beer on sale. If we're going to have pumps that aren't used for a week/fortnight/few months during the off season then get some cans/bottles in behind the bar. And inside the ground, let's have more options than just Carlsberg. I'd rather drink someone else's urine than that stuff and I know I'm not alone. Put the prices to something decent as well - £3.20 for a bottle of Kopparberg (it was a better option than drinking draught ale in that place...) is bang out of order. It's a rugby match, not a nightclub. A different pricing structure for Variety Centre events and Salford matches is a must.

Bring back the Golden Angel scheme. Alright, it wasn't popular with some, but it worked. 6,000+ against Swinton? Imagine what we could pull in against Leeds! It needs to be worked properly though, with some kind of incentive to keep people coming back in weeks when the scheme doesn't run.

Rework or scrap the membership scheme. It's pointless, it's put a lot of people off and there hasn't been any real extra benefit for the average supporter. And drop the prices, too. Superleague in general is getting more expensive, but £18 to watch Salford? In a stadium like the Willows? Jesus, you can get into St. Helens for £17.50 in advance. 50p less to stand in a similar stadium and watch one of the best teams in the league. You can get into Wigan for £16 on the day. The whole membership/gameday price structure is putting off many floating fans. If we can't attract them, they won't keep coming.

Excuse the double post...



Do you really think Peel would have Salford's best interests at heart? Do you think they'd be interested in doing anything but making money off the club? And what happens if the club becomes a burden and they decide to get rid? Would we have people lining up to come in and takeover again? No, we wouldn't.

The ownership of the club is something that needs to be thought about properly, not just jumping into bed with anyone.

If peel are involved they will want a successful teams at there ground and would put money in to help.

There's actually two people who work in the City on here



The first thing the Club needs is a coherent plan and someone to execute it and communicate it to the fans ...

We seem to have neither at present.

Only two options:

1: a NEW white knight comes along and buys out the current owners

2: we do a Barcelona, form a supporters trust and raise enough money to do the same

Big problem in both approaches - the amount of money to be raised!!

I've got it.



Release a statement regarding the stadium!!!

Quote ="GT"Updating the splash page so that it doesn't carry adverts for the last game long into the following week would be a simple place to start. You can actually have programmable splash pages with images stored for various events, matches and so on - once the date of the game/event has been and gone, the image automatically changes to the next one.'" Never been a fan of splash pages anyway: Quote ="Jacob Nielsen/Nielsen Norman Group (2001)"In general, it's best to show site content immediately. Intermediary screens are rarely necessary and keep users from getting to the main site content. Worse, the intermediate pages might confuse some users into not recognizing the 'real' homepage. 85. Take users to your 'real' homepage when they type your main URL or click a link to your site. Splash screens must die. An exception: If your site has material that is inappropriate for minors or that is likely to offend some users, it is appropriate to have a splash screen warning about the content. '" www.useit.com/homepageusability/guidelines.html Quote ="GT"Bring back the Golden Angel scheme. Alright, it wasn't popular with some, but it worked. 6,000+ against Swinton? Imagine what we could pull in against Leeds! It needs to be worked properly though, with some kind of incentive to keep people coming back in weeks when the scheme doesn't run.'" You've alluded to the problem with the Golden Angel scheme. Data the club collated suggests that very few came back when they had to pay. I guess these schemes are best served when your team is actually producing good quality entertainment on the field consistently.

Quote ="GT"Updating the splash page so that it doesn't carry adverts for the last game long into the following week would be a simple place to start. You can actually have programmable splash pages with images stored for various events, matches and so on - once the date of the game/event has been and gone, the image automatically changes to the next one.'" Never been a fan of splash pages anyway: Quote ="Jacob Nielsen/Nielsen Norman Group (2001)"In general, it's best to show site content immediately. Intermediary screens are rarely necessary and keep users from getting to the main site content. Worse, the intermediate pages might confuse some users into not recognizing the 'real' homepage. 85. Take users to your 'real' homepage when they type your main URL or click a link to your site. Splash screens must die. An exception: If your site has material that is inappropriate for minors or that is likely to offend some users, it is appropriate to have a splash screen warning about the content. '" www.useit.com/homepageusability/guidelines.html Quote ="GT"Bring back the Golden Angel scheme. Alright, it wasn't popular with some, but it worked. 6,000+ against Swinton? Imagine what we could pull in against Leeds! It needs to be worked properly though, with some kind of incentive to keep people coming back in weeks when the scheme doesn't run.'" You've alluded to the problem with the Golden Angel scheme. Data the club collated suggests that very few came back when they had to pay. I guess these schemes are best served when your team is actually producing good quality entertainment on the field consistently.

Quote ="Chico"Never been a fan of splash pages anyway: www.useit.com/homepageusability/guidelines.html'" Well if you want to be really y about it, then fine, we'll do that instead. Quote ="Chico"You've alluded to the problem with the Golden Angel scheme. Data the club collated suggests that very few came back when they had to pay. I guess these schemes are best served when your team is actually producing good quality entertainment on the field consistently.'" That was the main problem, agreed. But as I said, if there's an incentive there (f**k knows what) for them to come back, not just the rugby, then you never know... Again, I guess it comes down to pre and post match entertainment in that respect.

Quote ="Chico"Never been a fan of splash pages anyway: www.useit.com/homepageusability/guidelines.html'" Well if you want to be really y about it, then fine, we'll do that instead. Quote ="Chico"You've alluded to the problem with the Golden Angel scheme. Data the club collated suggests that very few came back when they had to pay. I guess these schemes are best served when your team is actually producing good quality entertainment on the field consistently.'" That was the main problem, agreed. But as I said, if there's an incentive there (f**k knows what) for them to come back, not just the rugby, then you never know... Again, I guess it comes down to pre and post match entertainment in that respect.

Surely with Peel as owners the club would have a more professional outlook and stand a chance with a bright shiny new stadium, better quality players and hopefully a better product on the field of making the club self sufficient. I'm all for a company like Peel buying the club to make money as any businessman knows you need to invest and do things professionally to do that and you only have to look at Peel to see how they are profit generating monster.

One issue is that there's no money in running a rugby league club. Nor in vast majority of football clubs.

Here's another issue: what if, to maximise 'profits', such an owner were to move or rename the club?

I could see the club making money if some ofthe sundries on the land surrounding the new stadium were linked to the club, hotel, gym, park and ride (why the council/club havent cottoned onto making the area a park and ride for people who commute down the M62 is beyond me, £5 to park for the day with a ride to andfrom town would be a massive cash cow for both). Again this all comes from a company like Peel being professional you can bet werethey the current owners there would be a greater potential for the clubto make money from the new stadium than just being tennants.

Can't see them moving the club when they are in a brand new stadium, the renameing to a Manchester themed entity I could see but would we all complain if that brought about success for what we would always know andcall Salford RFLC?

Nail on Head precisely

So it has to be run not for profit, which is either as a labour of love and toy for a rich sugar daddy, or a supporters trust IF[i[/i you've got enough supporters with enough cash.

The benefit of the supporters trust approach is that it becomes self-sustaining if you can build up the initial momentum - I fear that could be a tad tricky in the current UK economic climate and given the relative economic position of the Salford area - i.e. to raise £1million - 1 donor who's won the lottery or 10,000 donors with £100 quid each - 2,000 donors with £500 etc etc - given our crowds of around 3,000 with a proportion of kids and pensioners then this would seem to be a pipe dream (not criticising kids & pensioners just commenting on the likelyhood of them having any spare cash!)

One thing I would do straight away is get a billboard the size of a battleship on the site of the new ground, artist’s impression of it, this is where the new Salford City Reds stadium will be etc., some sore of countdown timer to when it’s going to be open.

Think of the number of people that will drive past the site between now and it being built. I think the club have a great chance to get some new people down to The Willows to see a game on the back of people wanting to be part of this before we move.

Hmmm...

I like it!

you know us "oldies" have LOADS of money

Problem is, for anything around the stadium to be linked to the club from an income perspective, they'd have to be donated to the club by the development company (partly Peel) in the first place. So basically using the examples in this thread, if Peel were to buy the club as an investment, they'd first have to donate profit making facilities to the club - they could just make money off those facilities (surely one of the major reasons that they are involved anyway) without donating them to the club.

Do you really think Peel would have Salford's best interests at heart? Do you think they'd be interested in doing anything but making money off the club? And what happens if the club becomes a burden and they decide to get rid? Would we have people lining up to come in and takeover again? No, we wouldn't.

The ownership of the club is something that needs to be thought about properly, not just jumping into bed with anyone.'"

"you know us "oldies" have LOADS of money "

a) you're not an oldie
b) if you were, you'd be too busy caring for the grandchildren





However - anyone who thinks anything from a penny chew to a multi-million super-national business would be safe for "fans" if Peel owned it, needs a reality check by looking at the record.

They'd make a Scrooge pre-ghosts look like Dr Barnardo's.

Peel's sponsorship of the club will be for the same reasons as any other company sponsors any other club - for exposure of their own company.

And methinks the main reason they've stuck with the ground development is that it is vital to the rest of their developments in Salford. It's in their best interests to ensure the ground is built.



Maybe the reason people are 'running the club down' is that we know it's a critical period for the club, hence they need to get things right. There's far too many basic errors being made at the moment that are driving people away. It's all well and good having the positivity of the new ground, but unless we get the foundations of the club solid and get the simple things right, then it's all going to be a big waste of time.

There's only one thing I can imagine worse than watching a poor side every week at the Willows
- Watching a poor side whilst rattling round in a near empty new stadium!

Get it right ON THE FIELD

I don't expect trophies or even that may wins...........but 100% committment and some exciting rugby......currently neither is in evidence.