Highly unlikely that the council will move on their position now. It seems they are prepared to lose what they are already owed, but will not put anymore at risk. I think an external investor will be the only way forward. Where one of those is found is anybodies guess.

MM - I think its fair to say that I am a loyal follower of JAW for the simple reason that without him last Mondays meeting would have taken place 31 years ago. So lets move on please for the good of the club.

I am not suggesting any more money comes from the Council though it would be welcome of course. I am suggesting that the existing loan is re negotiated and `capitalised ` in order to dress up the Balance Sheet in a similar way to that of the Board capitalising their loans.

If the `debt` is expunged it will make it easier for new partners/investors to come on board. Just needs some clever heads to get round the table and plan the way forward.

Exactly,why has he waited until the last minute for assistance off the fans,apparently he seen this happening a long time ago,so why not act then.....Eggs in one basket summising that it was a done deal with peel and the council,8500 turning up every home game,merchandise flying out of an unstocked store,season tickets selling like hotcakes,corporate sold out,jesus we all dream but come on,hotels, richest club in Rugby League,Simms signing the best players in the world,...oh yeah he does not sign players,it goes on and on.

Of co you are a loyal follower,i`ve no complaints with that in fact good on yer.How can you say that would of taken place 31 yrs ago,who knows, i don`t,what i do know is that Salford would of carried on in some shape or form. Dress up the balance sheet would worry me EB,that sounds like your not telling the actual reality of what is going on. Yes it needs clever heads to plan the way forward,but in my opinion we havent had a clever head on our board to take us forward and there it is in a nutshell,our leaders have failed,accept it,get rid.

MM I think you will get your wish re a new Board - certainly JAW & HC want away and their gesture to capitalise their loans is quite fantastic. We are talking millions not a few quid. Now if we can get the Council to follow suit then we just may get the scent of survival.

Its all really down to them - their loan has to be renegotiated to a long term equity arrangement then a new investor has a clear playing field.

EB - I don't know enough about local authority law to comment on what you suggest - if it could be done then clearly that could be a way forward. However I suspect the forces against would be calling for scrutiny pretty loudly!!

As I see it, unless around £1/4 million appears in the next two weeks before the winding up hearing that all is lost! The last I heard from Steve McCormick's initiative around £20K has been pledged so about 10% there - Anyone have any updates??

the council have one big problem come next May, it may have 50% of one big white elephant.
no Salford using the ground
no Sale using the ground ( Sale go down, the ground will be to expensive)
only the odd booking
and all that lost money
or
put on one side for a few years the requirement for any money back
help anyone taking over with sponsorship
reduce the ground fees

maybe help Swinton to play at the ground (after all the money put into the City Reds it will be hard for the council to sell the idea of building a ground for them)

Barton - We need to lobby the pro SCR Council members pretty quickly to make them see sense re their existing position. Nothing or a long term equity situation. Can this be galvanised pdq?

Bryan - All your points are totally correct. Swinton should be playing there so too Man U reserves & Sale and the whole charging structure needs a complete overhaul geared to income generated from the various clubs. Its not rocket science - if you have a commercial asset you have to have the returns. We - the SCR fans have to understand that our existing game is over and a new one has to commence at Barton..

Otherwise - as you say - the White Elephant will not be fed and the Council will have to maintain the upkeep costs at enormous further expense to the Rate payers of the City. I don`t think that fact would go down too well at the next Council meeting!

First of all EB,thanks for not telling everybody that i`ve been brain damaged in a car crash and that i hav`nt a clue really,them people say things like that really pi// me off,i respect your comments,but you keep bringing up the council,it cannot happen now,and it really should`nt,would you let the kids of solly go without,would you let the old and infirm go without just to keep Salford in S/L.?As much as i love my club no way on earth would i deny them people.Howard ,i stood beside him back on the terraces with my dad back in the sixties,top man.Co they want away now,would they if it would of worked?

The fear of a white elephant is without doubt our best hope right now. With that in mind, Sale's current precarious position suits us perfectly (although it wouldn't be in our interests for them to go down the tubes altogether as the more tenants the cheaper the overheads).

If we do somehow fluke our way out of this mess we do need to play hardball with the SMC, not only over fees but also over divisive issues such as the shop, the supporters bar etc.

I still happen to think a newco in CC1 is the most likely option though.

MM - I am not suggesting that the Council put more money in.

I want them to alter the terms of their existing loan into a long term equity plan which would ultimately benefit the Children of Salford. If the club goes into Administration or is Liquidated all their loan monies become worthless anyway. The `equity` plan gives them a chance to recoup some revenue.

Personally feel that this `horse` could be a runner if only the Councillors pro the club could push it through. Their stance should be to tell the opposition that if we (SCR) go then they (Council) go. Simple. Time for tough talking I feel.

Totally agree,but who in charge of our club?

If we somehow survive in Super League it'll be down to whoever is daft/benevelonet enough to 'invest' into the current business.

If it's to be a fresh start in CC1, then my preference would be for a fan-owned club operating within its means.

Yeah ,i go along with that,playing where?

A fan owned club operating within its means?
Brilliant statement but wtf would it mean in practice?

Not being party to a crippling set of terms and conditions for a start.

Not spending more cash than you actually generate is always a good way to live within your means too.

Well it can be done - certainly in SL -its all a question of operating within percentages. Take 25% off all income and place elsewhere in a safe deposit situation. Operate the Budget on the remaining 75% and.......................hey presto not only would we survive - we would prosper without any outside help. Sure results would reflect the situation for the first couple of years but this could be the time to bring a virtually all GB squad to a Super League team. If we have faith in the Coaching set up then its the way to go.

RFL is full of clubs over spending and until reality hits the game it will never prosper so lets stake the claim to show them the way.

Sounds lovely in principle but how long before our loyal fans start moaning about the quality of the squad etc? After the first season? The first month? The first game?

Look at how pretty much all of us hit the roof when Matty Smith was sold to balance the books.

The truth is, if you can't spend something in the region of a full salary cap there's little point being in Super League other than to fill the role of whipping boy/feeder club.

A new ground was built for Darlington,they are no longer in the league,and they pulled the new ground down.

I dont agree with you WF. Maybe at last clubs are coming to terms with financial reality. Wakey hit the Play offs with a squad built with minimum cash. Secondly other clubs - reliant on one person - Hull KR/London/Huddersfield etc will very soon be in a similar situation to ourselves.

The big 5 will stay that way and win everything in sight. So be it. Let them get on with it.

Unless clubs start making PROFITS there is no future for 90% of them.

Ill informed - as per usual - `In December 2012, Darlington Mowden Park R.F.C. bought the arena and 17 acres (6.9 ha) of adjoining land, with the intention of developing a multi-sports facility.`

Ok, so you were cock-a-hoop when we sold Smith to balance the books? I'm guessing you were also over the moon when we lost the rest of our backline at the end of the season. God knows how elated you'll feel when Jodie Broughton moves to Warrington in a few weeks.

The truth is, we all know that clubs need to be more financially responsible. However, you overlook the fact that Salford already operated on one of the lowest wage bills in Super League last year and yet we're still skint.

The squad we had last year was well coached but still wasn't good enough to challenge for a bloated top-8 play-off system - and we still couldn't afford to keep that squad together.

Perhaps the truth is we're simply not capable of sustaining a super league club and possibly never will be. I admire your glass half full mentality (to a point) but think you may be deluding yourself.

I cannot see anyone buying Salford with the debts involved, The only way any investor/owner would come on board, would be to wait till we went in to administration then buy in without any debts. Renegotiate the terms with the Stadium, as it seems, (my thoughts) that Dave Tarry was allowed to negotiate all on his own following advice of so called (flawed) expert market research.

It would be nice if some rich owner took over, built Swinton's ground at Agecroft to be shared between Salford/Swinton, a real rugby ground with atmosphere, where both teams could enjoy full income streams

Well one can hope, dream

The Smith sale was very prudent though wasnt it as he was moving there at the end of the season where the Club would not have recouped a penny.

The other sales were brought about by self interest from the players so any fees to the club were a bonus.

I am talking about a clean slate and the future and again suggest the percentage method as the way forward. Our situation must never happen again.

Eh? We instigated at least one of the moves (Moon) ourselves, so I really don't know where you're coming from.

The problem with reducing the wage bill when you're in a comp where most others can spend more is you end up with a losing team > lower gates > less money. So simply 'existing' in Super League is not really a viable option.

Personally, if there isn't a white knight in waiting, I'd sooner we were realistic about the level we operate at rather than bust a gut simply trying to make up the numbers in Super League.