In all fairness I take my hat off to all Salford fans who did not go it shows the RFL and SKY that they will not allow there team and followers to be used as a pawn in the joke they call the Rugby League body.

But that said I suppose they increased the SKY viewing figures by watching it at home on TV

Give it a rest, you sound very boorish and I'm sure that wasn't your intention.

There are far too many "fans" posting on here who either were not there or have conveniently forgotten when our support was "shameful". It's not so long ago either. Funny how those who do the gloating are probably the ones who were not there and did the least to get us where we are now - I'm not saying you are one but show some humility please - Salford are a decent club going through a bad time.

Seems the Rugby supporters of Manchester have turned their back on Salford and gone to the dark side judging by the attendance of 7½k at Sale Sharks game.

Salford seem to be where we were 18 month ago. Wilkinson has given his best but he's no longer up to it - the club needs an enema so to speak. The potential is there as it always was with us.

I do remember us not having the greatest support base, but you will have to remind me when we had only 400 home fans attend a home game in SL.

Using last nights attendance as a benchmark, when was our SL home support ever "shameful"?

I'd agree with that, its probably just as long since their fans knew any real success as it is for us.
A few Promotions when there was P&R would be about it.
If all the speculation re their financial struggles is true I think they'd get the same support from SL as we did and dumped to Championshhip in a shot. Unlike the support BB have enjoyed (but thats straying to a diff topic).

Hardly a home game was it, relatively speaking Leigh is a hard place to get to from Salford - not everyone has a car or the inclination to travel for a non game (for a Salford fan). So it's poor but hardly shameful. When we played Fax in 2000 we got a really low gate 1400 if I recall but may have been more. However had we staged that game in Bramley we'd probably have been looking at the same.

Why kick a club and it's fans when they are down, we didn't like it did we!

Derek, from speaking to other Wakey fans I can assure you that (from my interactions) the vast majority of our fans are sympathetic with the situation you faced with a change of venue. We feel it is unjust on your club to lose home advantage.

I appreciate it is not clear cut where the blame lies between Sky and the history of you moving into a tenancy agreement rather than owning your own ground.

I know from speaking to your fans and your board that many chose to stay away. It is a shame that fans disown their team for the last "home" match of the season irrespective of circumstances. We all have opinions and those who chose to stay away felt as strongly they were in the right as those who chose to go.

I remember over a decade ago we had a home fixture relocated to Oakwell when we played Saints on Sky. I was unable to attend but watching the re-run in my London hotel I noticed that we had quite a decent turnout.

I hope and am confident that your next home fixture against us is at Barton. I for one look forward to seeing your new ground and seeing home advantage restored.

Thanks for your good wishes which we are grateful for.

Our club motto is "Together we are stronger" and I think it is apt for the rugby league family too.

You have my sympathy and I wish you well for next season.

It's 10 miles...hardly needs weekend away.

Regarding transport...why not put coaches on...I know that's a bit radical, but hey...

I could buy into the effect of an orchestrated stay away protest, if their real home crowds were anything of note, but they're not.

If ignoring the Salford failings makes you feel better, fine, but when progressive clubs like Fev know they will never realistically allowed into our happy club, I think it's a valid topic.

I expect that most of the Salford fans who chose to boycott the LSV watched the game on Sky, thus boosting their viewing figures whilst dicking their own club.

I completely understand the sentiment, but I'm not sure it was the best way to express their dissatisfaction.

You are totally missing the point. Yes it's only ten miles but it was the final straw for many people in a period in our history which the club may never recover from. I did go last night but I wasn't surprised that many didn't. The ones that did really got behind their team, as did yours.

The club fought long and hard for a shiny new stadium, the end result being very different to the original ambitious plans. Sale then waltz in as co-tenants, no surprise, but compare the situation to what we had at the Willows. A proud venue that was ours and no one else's.

Salford RLFC has many failings, as does your own club. The job Richard Agar has done at Wakefield is to be admired and your support last night was fantastic. I hope you manage to sustain your short term success.

Rugby league in 'Manchester' is in a very sorry state. Watersheddings, Station Rd, Willows and Athletic Grounds all gone and little of substance apart from our rented stadium.

Cheap dig/sarcasm granted, but as a rugby league supporter does it not bother you that this once hotbed of rugby league has little interest in the game anymore?

i think an awful lot of wakey fans have alot of symphathy for the way salford were treated over this, i certainly do and do understand your reasonings for staying away tho it was ashame , good luck next season tho i and i look forward to comming to your stadium next year

No, I get all that, but it was Sky that mucked this up for you, not Sale.

Personally, I am "miffed" that Salford's licence is claimed to be essential to the game because of it's Manchester/BBC connection.

It clearly isn't and it's becoming hard to justify the Reds SL place, on any criteria, above clubs such as Fev & Fax.

Having said that, we were on our downers not too long back (not as bad as you, mind), yet Glover has turned us around very quickly, so there is hope. I would suggest the clock is ticking though, as Fev, for example, get their ground in order.

As an outsider looking in, I would say the Wilkinson/Simms regime is holding you back now.

Wilkinson has done a fantastic job keeping the club stable, especially when it was not included in super league one and two relegations. He is looking for new blood and investment and would willingly step aside if this was forthcoming. Simms should be axed years ago and as much as a I respect Mr Wilkinson his perseverance with Simms has been a huge error.

In terms of super league licenses, there is too much said on paper rather than put into practice. Our franchise is very much on potential but most Salford fans will accept we cannot use this card for ever. Was impressed with the Leigh Sports Village and believe they would be an asset to super league if given the opportunity.

Agree, not sure why we feel the need to look down at other clubs or whatever you want to call it, seems very childish especially when we've had it done to us for years, bit of class needed.

www.loverugbyleague.com/news_101 ... ealed.html Things seem worse than just Sky sports and SL messing a game around.

www.loverugbyleague.com/news_101 ... ealed.html Things seem worse than just Sky sports and SL messing a game around.

Don't bother, it's a soulless, windswept, graveyard of a place. Zero atmosphere and very few fans. I fear Wakey are making the same mistake moving out of town away from their traditional home near the city centre. Unfortunately the game nowadays is mostly about money with scant regard given to the speccys. I've been to Barton twice this year and honestly can't find a good thing to say about it. It's the worst of the "new" grounds by a million miles.

Just read all these posts regarding the predicament of Salford and the phrase what goes around comes around springs to mind.
Salford have for many years given my own club Swinton grief about loosing our Station Rd ground and indeed being in a worse predicament than them having been nomadic for years.
It is quite sad that they lost the Willows as for me it was a real rugby ground however they wanted the shiney new stadium and all it brought, problem for them was they could never afford to build it and became reliant on the council and Peel holdings meaning they lost all control and are just tennants paying for the use of the facility.That then meant they lost certain revenue streams and of course the fact it was built outside of the real Salford heartland (Barton is in Irlam which was dragged along with the likes of Eccles , Swinton and other towns to form this ill conceived City of Salford)It is surrounded by motorway which is well documented for snarling up at the slightest wiff of an accident and then they choose Fridays as a playing night what did they expect.

The Stadium company want a return on their investment and so again it was inevitable a third party would be invited to also use the ground in this instance Sale, this actually assisted them financially as it meant a rent cut.Salford are happy to take a cut of SL money, a direct benefit of Sky so really when they were told they was going to be on TV how can they whinge.

The same Club has been bailed out with loans from the council which they now have to repay, non of which were afforded to Swinton yet plenty of council tax is collected from rate payers in the Town of Swinton & Pendlebury.

So to see them struggling like they are and desperate for a new backers is music to my ears.

There is an answer for them of course....drop out of super league and let either Leigh, Featherstone or Halifax take their place, all three are better run clubs than Salford.

Thanks for the guidance. As I'm sure you'll know our hands have been forced in this. We have to be in a modern facility to meet SL criteria. Previous attempts to be in a more central location e.g. Thornes Park failed. Rock and a hard place I know. With so much planning going into Newmarket I'm sure that we've learnt from the errors/problems of other stadia. If transport links (public and private) are good then the effect should be minimal or maybe even positive.

If Belle Vue could have been brought up to standard at reasonable cost and without planning restrictions I think most Wakefield fans would favour that.

It depends what kind of spectator you are as to whether there will be any positive aspects to the move out to Newmarket. If you like a pint around the ground before the game then be prepared to stand ten deep at the bar at the industrial sites' mandatory Harvester selling overpriced fizzy lager. If you don't have a car and normally take the train then be prepared to fanny about and waste even more time due to the new ground being miles from the nearest station. If you like to park for free around the ground then think again, double yellows and clampings galore for motorists. It's not my club and Wakey are stuck between a rock and a hard place but the only positive I can see is you will be ticking a big box when it comes to licensing.

Sorry to spoil the party but that post suggests you know very little about the plans for the new stadium or the area it's going to be built; there will be plenty of non-Harvester boozers in walking vicinity for example, and transport links have already been established in terms of shuttle buses from the city centre on match days.

It might surprise lots of people to learn that the people behind this plan have actually done a bit of work on it.

Catalans play off game at home 3 years since,official something like 2,500 , actual attendance was 1 ,600 if I remember.

The Catalans playoff game at home had an official attendance of 4,007.
Which looked about right IMO.

Dont know where you get 2,500 from??

Me neither. Was about 4k but still shameful