A Beamer from Beaumont...

For those of you not on the Fleecebook...

DEREK SADDENED AT SALFORD SITUATION!

Talking of handing things over I mentioned in my last programme column Marwan’s departure at Salford. I make no secret of my fondness of Salford. I am Leigh through and through, make no mistake about that, but Salford will always have a place in my heart. It therefore saddens me to see what I believe is going to happen to the club. Marwan had to hand the club over. He is a businessman and knew what he needed to do commercially to try and make it work as a business but understandably that met fierce resistance and people voted with their feet. It is a mark of the man that he was big enough to accept and understand that and to hand over the club at no cost to people capable of running it and perhaps no one more qualified than a person that specialises in business recovery.

So why do I feel sad about what I believe is going to happen to the club? I was at the game on Friday against Wigan. Now if ever there was going to be a big crowd of people to support the club it would have been this game. New era, new owners, Marwan no longer in charge, all the talk of the community and various incentives surrounding that. If there was going to be a buy-in then this was the game. However, what I saw was a crowd that was significantly made up of a large travelling support from Wigan. Add to that those who left early in disappointment from the result who may have already decided that there is no chance of a successful season and I don’t see the numbers stacking up for the club to survive without Marwan’s money.

For me the new owners, whom I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, have missed a trick. I know Marwan is a big, bold character and they would want to put their own identity on things and not be in his shadow but the guy has got money and is extremely well connected in the game. I would have made him a life member and kept him as involved as I could behind the scenes, keeping him close to the players, almost keeping him committed and obligated to the cause so I could call on him for advice and help and not least of all financial support when needed as even at clubs that break even there are always cashflow pitfalls.

Instead I have felt that he has been distanced from the club and almost cut adrift, which I find bizarre and sad. I may be talking out of turn here but whilst I was at the game I never saw anyone from the new board interact with Marwan or even visit his room to make sure everything was in order perhaps more so given Nigel Wood was a guest. I also sensed from Marwan that it was the start of the end of any emotional contact with the club and that is what would have been necessary to keep intact if they were to be able to call on him. On the field I saw a team blowing hot and cold that looked good in spells and far away in other parts. I almost sensed that there was no real belief and that could be down to losing a strong leader and the thought process that there is no real future without a character like Marwan or not least someone with his finances.
I hope I am wrong but the vultures are already circling and I suspect that Salford will need to succumb to offers for players in a few months’ time unless one or all of the new owners can collectively stump up the significant sums of cash needed to keep everything together with the crowds they look like they will get. They have started with no luck losing a big player in Manu for the season and Ian Watson the one man they desperately need to keep at the club to steady the squad and give them a focus has already publicly stated he needs more players but the finance isn’t there. Very often coaches become deflated when they cannot get the support they need to fulfil the expectations placed upon them in a pressured environment. As for Marwan, I genuinely hope he stays involved in the game as he has so much to offer it. He is a very intelligent man, much more so than people give him credit for. Where he will end up time will tell. I often get asked will it be at Leigh? Well I can tell you I would welcome him with open arms as to half my burden on time and money needed this year would be a real blessing. However, I think he is going to enjoy his spare time with his family for at least a year and to spend the money he now doesn’t put into Salford on spending that time around various beautiful places in the world and you can’t blame him for that.