Fans meeting

I went into the meeting wanting to put some meat on the bones, so to speak. A number of supporters who were at the meeting – we are talking trustworthy characters here – have spoken to either Marwan, Ian or other higher ups and it is clear a name change is on the club’s agenda. 

Therefore, while it is not a certainty, where there is even a slightest possibility that Salford could be eradicated from the name of the club, we as supporters of the club – which is more than the team – must do something, even if it is merely to cajole the club to make that official statement. Nothing would please me more than this being nipped in the bud so that we can look forward to Magic Weekend.

The petition is just about gauging the feeling out there for Salford and making sure the club are aware of it before making any rash decisions.

Thanks for the reporting.

Dave Bainbridge also wrote a letter to Rugby Leaguer (etc.) that is almost worth the price of the paper. One quote: "Although we do not measure in our ten of thousands, we have an extremely passionate, knowledgeable and loyal group of followers and we are absolutely horrified that our temporary custodian, who probably won't even be around in five years time, is contemplating disregarding 144 years of history of our great club, due to finance."

I'm not sure we can compare ourselves to Mr Chamberlain but vigilance is needed. Sports clubs need to be ran as businesses but attract passionate belief as if they were religions. Ignore either and a club fails. Especially at Salford. Unlike many clubs in Yorkshire or on the M6 corridor, we can reflect on the decline of Swinton, Oldham and Rochdale Hornets, and the eclipse of Broughton Rangers: all neighbours that were giants. Kill us off and RL in the Greater Manchester Conurbation will be championship, at best, and with an ageing population. From Huddersfield (perhaps from Leeds) to Wigan, there will be a gap. Surely RL HQ realises a name change is a bet on a future with no media impact in most of the north.

I’ve been thinking more about this during my dinner. If this episode is a ruse by the club to stir up emotions, generate publicity and get more people through the gates, then surely, the net result is agreeable to us all. I’d rather be one of the gullible fucks duped by it than somebody who sat back and enjoyed the last few games of a decent Salford side but forever ruing the decision to dismiss it as bollocks.

Look what I found.

Doesn’t work because it doesn’t trademark the name. Manchester Red Devils (2017) Limited could be a workaround. Same with domain names.

Anyway, let’s stick to celebrating Salford and making sure people know about it.

we are talking a Rugby League club.