[urlhttp://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/rugby_league/s/1593251_neil-barker-why-no-news-is-bad-news-for-silent-salford[/url

Well said Neil Barker, you get some unnecessary flack sometimes but you've stated really what we're all thinking. The silence is deafening.

It's true typical Wilky fashion to keep the fans in the dark

I agree with barkers comment Wilky should walk .....

"International rugby league takes centre stage at Barton this Sunday for what should be a milestone occasion.

What better time to herald the dawn of a new era."

Could this be why it is so silent? A big announcement on the day for maximum impact and media attention? I seriously doubt it but you never know.

I’ve followed this subject closely now for some time and this is how I see the current situation. I could be completely wrong but I'll share my thoughts with you.

The Salford board speculated two years ago by increasing the player budget in an attempt to gain some momentum going into the new stadium. As we all know this didn’t make one iota of difference to increasing the clubs finances. As a result of this and less revenue streams at the new ground the club have got into a mess.

The Council and Peel having invested millions in a new stadium can’t afford Salford as a tenant to go bust and more importantly lose the SL licence. In my view all the stadium management’s calculations would have been based on two tenants that included Sale playing top flight rugby from day one.

It has been made very clear the existing board have offered to stand down and give away all their shares in return for investment that will keep the club alive. The problem I see is that Peel/council are not interested in owning or taking Salford Reds forward, but need Salford as a Superleague tenant to contribute over many years to pay back the multi million pound loan. Peel and the council will be well aware that if Salford lose the licence then television income, attendances, sponsorship and hospitality revenue will drop significantly and it just won’t be viable for Salford to pay the rent the SMC need to pay back the loan.

The silence I believe is due to the stadium owner’s reluctance to commit to investing in a club that has historically relied on benefactors for decades. The delays I think could be due to the stadium owners stalling in the hope another Investor will step forward.

The comment about the existing board just walking away now is nonsensical because that would inevitably lead to administration and a very long road back (if ever) for Salford City Reds. Surely the existing shareholders have to hold in there whilst there is hope and ongoing takeover talks?

The ball would appear to be very firmly in the court of the stadium management company owners from where I’m sitting.

On the subject of Neil Barker. Could his strong views be a result of him being made to look a bit silly due to him continually predicting announcements that never seem to materialise?

I saw this on MEN website this morning. Well said - but who is Neil Barker ?

Strange article.

Most of the time Barker's ramblings are just tired title tattle from off here. This article looks like a set of bullet points written by one of our language-challenged misanthropes who will undoubtedly re-appear on the forums once they read the article. It looks like someone else other than Barker wrote it. It's all over the place. In fact, if it was littered with mind-numbing spelling/grammar errors I'd have sworn it was one of our heroes off here who'd written it.

As for the subject, well I can't disagree with it too much. The Club should have either kept us all in the loop (As far as possible) or not said a thing. Drip-feeding us hints like 'Imminent', or 'ongoing talks' just makes fans focus on conjecture when nothing seems to materialize.

Getting a little bored of all of it to be honest...

It' me they are waiting for, I'm the new investor.

Iv'e just got to win the euro lottery, done it again for this Friday

Sorry about the delay

Barker's ability to repeat one very simple point cannot be questioned.

As you rightly said most of his articles are taken from gossip off here, and one thing we all must remember, anything that he writes, he does as a Journalist without establishing proper facts and therefore I think he has just built himself up for a fall.

I wont believe anything until it is set in stone and published on the clubs official website. (I know, which is always the last place to find anything out)

Journos are always frightened by a lack of comment:
look at the statements -

"Other clubs are again shaking their heads in disbelief at the latest Salford soap opera, starring the usual suspects."
Can he prove this? No

Note the inflammatory way it has been put. He's upset he cannot get the story he's being paid for . Tough

"The on-going delay in announcing details of the new investment is ridiculous."
In other words, "How dare they not make a statement so I can send in a story and so keep my job... it's so unfair!"

As for "And it seems Reds never do anything either easily or without self-enforced drama.

They are masters when it comes to self-destructing and equally good when it comes to being both insular and secretive."




If he has written this article, and I believe The butcher is correct as for the author, then I put it down to frustration at not being the prophet announcing Salford's new Messiah
(and if I owned Salford, I'd tell the RL papers and the Independent a day before the MEN)

The 'people' the butcher refers to would not praise in any way shape or form Wilky for keeping the club alive.

I personally think the Manchester Evening Comic isn't beyond stirring with some of articles in an effort to get more story lines from contributors to the Turkey.

I tend to put more stock on a twitter comment from a different journalist that it awaits nothing more than a signature.

Manchester Evening News' rugby league correspondant.

You must be related to Neil Barker in some way if you think that this recent excuse for an article was of any use to anybody.

He started the rumour's with assistance from his "friends" on the various forums,coupled with possible input from his "friends" who may be or used to be working for the club and he has continued to push his rubbish several times each week.

Just compare his output with any other sports journalist for content,actual new news stories and accuracy, don't forget that towards the end of last season the club did a real good deal in selling Dean Holdsworth to Hull FC.

His sports editor should be hauled up before the board of Trinity Newspaper Group and be asked to explain why he gets away with continually re-hashing the same story.

It's probably another guest article from Loyal Fan.

I see the club apologists have their knives out for NB.
Original Salford City Reds states Barker should be hauled before
his editor for rehashing the same story.

Well then Mr Salford should be reprimanded before the Salford
public for continually serving and re- hashing the same crap year
in year out, I'm sure you'll agree.

Barker hit the nail on the head " sport is about winning not sentiment".

I agree maybe he has no news but at least he is putting us in the news to stimulate some debate. Do we sit around still defending the indefensible.

I think the article should headline Make your mind up before you loose the only asset left! The fans?



We might not like him, but really do we sit here again until Christmas & have the same debate as last Christmas.

Sorry but anyone who owns a company can do as he sees fit, that in JW's case has seen him continually prop it up with his own money with no chance of a return on his investment. And then be perfectly willing to take a final loss by releasing the club to new ownership.

Barker on the other hand is employed by a newspaper (I use the term very losely) to offer factual articles, this should not allow him to freely rehash the rants of not rights on a public message board. Baker last week presented an article that suggested that Tuesday was meant to be D Day at Salford but this was never the case, yet he then posts an incredibly poorly written article decrying the club because this didn't happen.

Perhaps if he didn't feed fans expectations with inaccurate reports then there might be more progress as let's not forget that the club asked for the conjecture and hear say to stop to allow them to work on the takeover/investment.

No such thing as a Club apologist. The people labelled as such are people who sit back and take a less emotional look at things. As for Barker, you'll find that he has had regular bad-press (If you pardon the pun) for many years as his work has been consistently poor and lazy. He's been so lazy on this particular article that I think he has either copy and pasted Mitie Mouse's ramblings from on here or got Dantes Inferno to write the article while he sits in a dark room and grows a beard.

The piece is so distant from Barker's normally cohesive writing, full of emotional rants like he is a long suffering fan, and liberally sprinkled with opinion that I have trouble believing he actually wrote it. MEN should employ Cavendish street, at least her emotion and quality of writing is meant with Salford's best interest at heart...

Barker has been thieving a living for years...

Hilarious.

Please explain how someone like yourself who claims to be an expert in identifying unprofessionalism can't see wrong in a man that consistently reports announcement dates that never happen?. And don't get me started on his past Puke Patten articles in the MEN.

I am no apologist for the club although I do give people who have kept the club going for many years some credit for their effort and money.

With regards Neil Barker I said that his editor should be took in front of the MENs owners to explain how such poorly written articles have been allowed to be printed for so long, I thought that newspaper correspondents were supposed to report on the news not make it up.

Did we sell or were we to sell Dean Holdsworth to HULL FC or not(according to the MEN)?,and if NB owned a food outlet and rehashed hid food as he does his articles he would be prosecuted and or sacked.

I stopped buying the MEN ages ago.
The sports pages used to be OK but now they are just slanging matches between United and City.
Every now again you will actually find an actual sports story inbetween the drivel.

The fact that we have heard nothing from the club is very dissapointing but not surprising.
We are in $hit street as we all know.
I am waiting for official confirmation of any changes and ignoring rumours and conjecture on here and especially from the MEN.

Cheers.

Someone important may have been at an important [url=http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/sport/halifax-rlfc/promotion-is-coming-back-reckons-steele-1-5108577MEETING[/url

So one person at one meeting stops all negotiations, stops the rest of the club from working and stops them from being able to update supporters?

Firstly i'm neither for or against Neil Barker. He's definately not a friend of mine either. I just agree whole heartedly with his recent article which has lots of home truth's. There has been occasions where a few journalistic errors have evidently been rightly pointed out by you (Monty Python) , and you've constantly blasted Barker on here and on the MEN comments board continually,only proving you're a wilko apologist and any bad press against him nurkes you to the bone.

Wilkinson's made massive blunders at this club more damaging than NB can ever do, and you sit behind a keyboard foaming at the mouth in his defence. You're either OBSESSED or a family member , either or proves your a club apologist beach boy....



We've achieved the nickname "LAUGHING STOCK" through one person and it's not Neil Barker.

Do you not think your argument applies to yourself too, only in reverse?

What's an apologist beach boy? I may have missed the post where you explained what the hell you're on about.