What a pickle we are in...

Part of me thinks that this club could operate from a supporters trust run club if we were willing to drop down a level... I could think right now of 5 or 6 people who could run the club who would come with all of the skills required... However... the other part of me sees the personal issues involved with running a club like this. Too much jealousy amongst fans... and too much backstabbing would be involved. Those who can actually do something and try to make a difference are often alienated or slagged off due to jealousy... Imagine trying to run a club with all that knocking about... Forever Reds has been a victim of this for years. People won't get involved as they have always thought of it as a clique from day one... and rather become part of it... would sooner slag it off and distance themselves... so imagine the whole club being run that way.

Generating publicity and fund-raising ideas should be the focus until any 'news' is confirmed.
Volunteers for abseiling and mini-marathons will be required as they still,apparently,get sponsorship.
It's all hands to the pump time - no time for anything else.
We're all in it together !

Please may I excuse myself from abseils and marathons

5 or 6 people with all the skills required??
This is a multi million pound business,not a board game.
I could name fans with lots of business experience but sports admin is a degree course in itself.

Whilst we've definitely found our level for know, the average crowd has stayed within a hundred or so of the same figure for three or four years. Hardly falling.



If it's a straight choice between that and having no club at all then so be it.

By the way, Swansea have already been mentioned, but I'd also like to throw into the mix Barcelona & Real Madrid who are wholly supporter owned and the German Bundesliga clubs who have to have 50% + 1 share in the hands of supporters, albeit with two current exceptions. They don't do too badly now, do they?

As Iain says, it's not a case of going "well, we're just normal supporters, we can't run a club", it's a case of whether or not the people with the necessary expertise would be willing to get involved.

B*llocks. The only sticking point would be the necessary cash injection. And, seemingly, a huge wave of apathy as well.

I can see what your saying about jealously from certain groups of supporters therefore if there was to be a supporters group formed it would have to be figure headed by someone of high authority who people will listen too and respect, Someone totally nutral who has an affiliation with one set of supporters groups and not others which is the problem forever reds seem to be labelled with?
Itd have to be a high profile salfordian with the clubs intrest at heart. But who?????

Me.!!!!

Who are the five or six people currently at the club with the 'relevant skills' and how many have got this sports admin degree you speak of?

Spot on.
And where are we?

It's been painful staying silent and reading about the continued demise of the Club I used to follow with a passion.

News of player sales and and mere speculation around any replacements long after pre-season should have started.
None existant plans for season ticket sales.
No communication with the fans at all about the club's future
Guesswork and generally flimsy reporting from the MEN
The 'future investment' turns into 'limited handout'
Dwindling numbers on the forum and even fewer with anything positive to say.

So thought I'd have a look at the 'Red Planet' to see what the club are officially up to....................'Donate your unwanted toys' was the headline!!!! Just about sums our Club up really.

So what happens now........................I guess the usual 'support at all costs brigade will turn up in hope yet again next season (Not knocking anyone by the way for doing so), but for me and many others who saw the writing on the wall from the day KH departed and more recently the debacle of the 'In Matt we trust' days, I'm afraid the long slide into oblivion will continue.

'Supporters Trust?' anyone with ANY sense surely must realise with a Club of Salford's fan base and resources it's an absolute non-starter of an idea.

The only hope, was and still is, a magnanamous benefactor and the failure of one to appear will be the end of the Club as we know it.

The City Council do not have the will or means to bail us out. Peel Holdings have, and always will have, a self serving strategy and does not align itself with the future of RL in Salford, other than as a sweetner to any future commercial development plans in the area.

So...........................The loyal fans, (those that are left), can hand wring, cast blame and speculate all they like, but without the aforesaid benefactor. There is simply no future for Salford at SL Level.

AND it's absolutely tragic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I gotta agree with Rooted Red on this one...

Correct on all points.

What happens if the full council meeting won't endorse the further loan?

I would imagine it's back to square one, though we all seem to be taking what the Manchester Evening Comic says as gospel rather than treating it with sceptisism.

A could of worrying points for me is that Peel only seem to be on parity with the council in this, I know if I had to get a company to run Salford I'd pick Peel over the council as they are used to making things work and you'd think they have the private sector nouse that the council doesn't. And sure if they are both investing for one season to see if the club can attract a buy then player investment is paramount, as with the best will in the world you can't market terrible performances so for one season speculate to accumulate would seem like the best idea.

Most supporters trust have been successful when taken from ground zero.

On another point although I was not a matt Parish fan, he certainly was vindicated at what he saw on his arrival.

If the level of debt is to believed the model was very poorly put together, it must have been believed by the board that moving to a new stadium would have generated the magic 8500 required without any communication or marketing strategy, maybe one of the lessons learned should be a club is a two way contract, not a closed shop & by including it loyal members it just might have had a different outcome.
Sad day for a proud club as I fear now for the future.

You will never get 8,500 fans supporting salford unless you move to sunday and then you are holding on too hope for me I expected a good takeover and good influx of cash but again with what is suggested in amount we won't finnish season on that let alone complete. As a season ticket older for 20 years I have lost interest and for one am fed up paying good money to keep watching crap sorry its hard to do but there club chiefs have screwed up for years and ain't got a clue. You will be lucky if you make 3,000 supporters. It was confirmed on itv news virtual confirmation. No one will waste £200 on season ticket knowing we just there to make numbers up. Not for me its throwing money sat dead ship

What's that eccles star, you're not going to buy another season ticket?

Bloody hell I'm shocked and stunned at that news, totally unexpected, who would have thought it, your post came right out of the blue, a major shock

Barton

In banking this is what we call "kicking the can down the road". One day you have to pick up the rubbish, you're just avoiding doing so for a while longer.

Tasker isn't at Bradford anymore. He left shortly after new owner took over.

Just a couple of points, first I wonder if there will be a backlash from the hard hit council tax payers of Salford, after all this board consists of the converted but the other 200k plus residents might not be to pleased.
And secondly on the plus side at least the people who bought the five year season tickets will be guaranteed at least two of them five years.



Like D R said "kicking the can down the road" kinda sums it up.

This is disappointing news. I'm not sure a council that is £4m in the red should be wasting tax payers money on someone else's business. Im sure the council has more important things to look at.

We have a core of 3,000 fans remove 1/3 as children and it indicates the problems we have.

Forever Reds have worked hard to try to raise funds and whilst it is true that among the fan base we have the skills I'm not sure those people have the time required to run a full time club.

Anyone wishing to join Forever Reds and raise funds would be welcome I'm sure but do we have the means to raise the thousands required?

Think the best hope for any fans involvement to start with would be to link up with any potential investors and gain a percentage of the club via a joint takeover, then take it from there and hopefully build up a decent stake in the club. The timescale would depend on who/how many people would be wiling to get involved.

Serious question. What was confirmed, and what is ITV News Virtual Confirmation?

At a time when councils are making even more cuts and laying off more workers i would imagine any plan to loan significant money to a rugby club is going to meet with massive opposition. I wouldn't be surprised if it struggles to get passed, its a political minefield.