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Post by gunner on Oct 5, 2018 11:49:37 GMT
I fly now & again to Toronto on business, was there in May this year, I have never yet got a direct flight from Manchester. Rugby league will continue its slow death, not only with the expansion path but its continued unlevel playing field & Thursday night games. The game will continue to decline making the rugby football league even more desperate, why not introduce a team from Japan, where will it end. I still go out of loyalty but I nolonger follow or enjoy the sport, the game reminds me too much of wrestling quite a fix.
What the game should be doing is fixing Leigh, instead of promoting the game for TV, I understand the game needs sponsorship but this is not the way forward. Come on London, the odds are stacked against you.
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Post by gunner on Aug 13, 2018 19:45:09 GMT
Ralph Rimmer thinks it’s in a good place. Makes me feel far better I think Derek Beaumont laid that one bear
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Post by gunner on Aug 13, 2018 19:31:21 GMT
It also raised an interesting technical point. Super League player contracts are cancelled on relegation,so liability stops. Parachute payments etc help the following year but,if you fail to be promoted, then the liability continues. In practice,one year contracts wouldn’t attract players. This needs to be corrected,it isn’t rocket science i agree, it is worrying, not sure where the game is going.
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Post by gunner on Aug 13, 2018 18:57:11 GMT
The article laid bear the cliff edge rugby league is sitting on. I think the article was a very frank assessment. we could be there in a few weeks time as well as any of the other clubs bidding to gain super league status. Leigh are facing the same problem most of rugby league are facing. I felt the article opened up the game, is not sustainable in the present format. Expanding the game to Canada while the game is dying in the heartlands while expecting sugar daddy's to continue to pick up the short fall always ends in tears.
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Post by gunner on Jul 26, 2018 18:51:40 GMT
So you are officially connected to the club? Would have thought this was a starting point not an after thought. You have a way of spinning any positive being done into a negative, well done Salford 1963 for your very positive contribution.
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Post by gunner on Jul 25, 2018 12:08:23 GMT
It is a sad state of affairs, the game is bleeding away. With reference to our own plight, not sure what the figures are today on us raising funds, however last time I looked we had raised around £3500! On the face of this it looks good but only 75 supporters care enough to try & make something happen. Who would want to invest in a sport with such a low demand.
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Post by gunner on Jul 25, 2018 12:00:24 GMT
Very sad day for the game. It’s clear that none of us take any satisfaction from this state of affairs. The game is the loser Spot on
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Post by gunner on Jul 24, 2018 18:35:28 GMT
Salford Star: Who actually owns Salford Red Devils?
Andrew Rosler: Marwan Koukash gifted shares to a new holding company called Salford RD Holdings and anyone can be a director or a member.
SS: Anyone?
AR: I think we've had one inquiry from someone asking how they can be a part of the holding company but we never heard from them again.
SS: If a fan wants to go to a board meeting, can they?
AR: No. But for £10 a year supporters can join the Trust and have a direct dialogue with the club...What's important is that if you open the door to everyone it's not particularly efficient and you have to question people's motives but there is open communication with the club via the Trust.
I suppose the community owns all the shares but trying to define what 'community' is and how it works is a little bit difficult. We're looking at some non-executive appointments but it's all volunteer work. If someone wants to join just so they know what's going on, that's not going to add value so they need to be committed and have some time or resources.
SS: What is the status of the club's debts?
AR: The holding company owns the shares of the company that is heavily insolvent. Marwan agreed to write off his debts on condition that the club is sustainable until the end of next season. The club is responsible for the CVA payments, so even though the debts within the CVA relate to the previous regime Salford Football Club 1914, it was an obligation enforced by the League that Marwan's new company, Salford City Reds 2013 had to pay the debts.
SS: What is that total debt?
AR: That is complicated; some are in the CVA, some outside it, but it's around £2million.
SS: What are the chances of calling in debts from old directors, Wilkinson et al?
AR: The club has got no recourse against the old directors. That's the commercial decision of the debtors.
SS: The AJ Bell Stadium deal lasts until 2023. How much of a drain is playing at the place?
AR: It would be unfair for me to comment on commercial arrangements with the stadium company. What I would say is that we need to build up more revenue on match days. There isn't a club shop, and there's not even enough merchandise, so other than programmes and the lottery club doesn't make anything. If fans pay a premium for hospitality there's a slight margin. Our problem is that we need to take advantage of companies that go there on none match days – how we can get them involved in rugby league or some other activities.
SS: Is rugby league a dying sport?
AR: If you look at the Rugby League World Cup in 2021, it's significantly based in Manchester and has Northern Powerhouse funding; there will be huge investment in the area...The next three years will see the biggest promotion and community legacy ever of our sport. We're the only club in Greater Manchester, bar Wigan, and we're surrounded by a growing population and economy. Anyone who watches the game with no preconceptions will see they are getting a great product and we shouldn't be ashamed of promoting it.
SS: But attendances at the AJ Bell Stadium aren't great?
AR: It's a fallacy to say we were massively supported at the Willows, we weren't. We've never had a long term plan to grow the fan base; we've not looked at fans and people's attitudes to how they consume sport, and it's not just about Salford. I don't think it's fair to say that Salfordians don't care about the club. I just think that we haven't had the strategy in place to involve the community; we've not advertised it as a family day out.
What we do see is that forty million people visit the Trafford Centre and x million live within a drive of the Trafford Centre – it's the most accessible stadium in rugby league...as a destination it's probably got more going for it than any other sports club in the UK.
There's a significant number of houses, apartments, offices and retail planned for Trafford City. There's no bigger concentration of things like that in the country and our stadium is in the middle of it all. What we need to tap into is that...I think encouraging people to that area is quite easy...maybe we need to attract fans from outside our traditional heartlands, whether it's for one game or five games per year. We need to make it more enticing for everyone.
SS: What would you say to Mr Smith who's been slagging off Koukash on social media and hasn't been to watch the Reds for years. How are you going to get him back?
AR: I've been utterly dismayed and disillusioned by the decline in our club, for whatever reason, and the sport to some degree. You lose a few games and you lose hope, so I do get that. What we don't want to say is that the collection buckets are coming out, throw your fivers in otherwise we'll go out of existence – you need to sell some hope, based on fact.
There's long term issues that need to be solved immediately with little resources, so we're putting together something that we feel is meaningful and that people will buy into, new fans and old fans.
The vision will be based on re-engaging community clubs, youth development, and the need to build a transparent valid pathway for young lads to come to our club. As a Salford fan I obviously want to see a successful team, and it gives you some extra interest if you know you are developing your own talent. That is a huge initiative.
The club needs to be financially sustainable and if that means we spend less next year - because that's how big our cloth is - then that is sensible, although it's pretty difficult to get into debt when you have a zero credit rating! The business model will be that the more income we get in, the better our team will be.
SS: Would it be better to go down a league and then re-build and come back stronger, like some Premier League football clubs do?
AR: There's no point saying it will be a disaster if it's a possibility. It's how you get back up. Very few clubs have gone up. I think there will be some challenges if we go down and I don't think they are insurmountable.
We're talking about 100 years of history and the future, so the things we do off the pitch have to be relevant, irrespective of what division we're in. We need every fan and player to give 100% but we're hoping the fans and business community see what we're trying to achieve.
I do get the frustration and the anxiety that people just don't know what's going on but it's not for want of trying. I believe we have a really positive future and if any fan wants to look back over the last 15-20 years and say those were the good times I'll have an argument with them and say 'No!'.
The club has been supported by benefactors over a number of years, it's always had a negative balance sheet which means that every penny that goes in generally is consumed with improving the product on the pitch.
SS: So how is that future going to be secured?
AR: You need to make sure you've got a big sustainable team off the pitch. Key areas like marketing, business development, fan engagement, fan experience, keeping in touch with what other sports are doing adn thinking about revenue away from match days...
...We've not done that and we've not got a benefactor, and in a few years SKY may not renew its contract and lot of clubs would lose significant income. Because of that we have to be extra creative, work extra hard and be extra efficient to make sure we can survive any of those shocks.
It gives us an opportunity to do something quite unique because we have to. I hope the fans are a little bit more patient and see that we're all responsible to contribute towards this. It's so important to the city and the sport not to lose a club in this area. It's ridiculous to think of the sport without a strong Salford...
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Post by gunner on Jul 24, 2018 18:26:31 GMT
Made my donation, of course the timing could have been better! Better to have tried, than moan what could have been.
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Post by gunner on Jul 12, 2018 8:38:30 GMT
A double header for a challenge cup semi final, real demand for the product having a semi double header, I bet we still don't fill the stadium, a proposed trip to an half full Wembley for the winners & we say rugby league is on the up, who would want to invest? On the Salford front, attracting a new younger breed of fan, just look at Salford city football club, they have taken any hope of attracting a younger breed of supporter away. The city wants Football not rugby.
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Post by gunner on Jul 12, 2018 6:48:36 GMT
Rugby league in general is not sustainable, not enough Salford people are interested in the club, we have continued to punch above are weight. SRFC level is Championship.
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Post by gunner on Jul 9, 2018 6:39:21 GMT
I just want the season to be over...It's like death by a thousand cuts. It's been the same for three decades. Sadly this time it seems the fans are ready to give up on the club. Surprising really when we've seen it all before, and a lot worse. sad but true!
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Post by gunner on Jul 8, 2018 11:02:59 GMT
Just so we understand. You’d rather play in a lower division with part time players than come to watch if Koukash came back ? I don’t think he will,anyway, but just so we know what we’re dealing with here Of course I would rather play at the highest level but given a choice between a guy who interests will always be about him & not about the club. As a supporter I would rather the club survive at a lower level. I say it again it is the people of Salford who will determine the clubs future, it looks real bleak from where I view it.
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Post by gunner on Jul 6, 2018 11:32:08 GMT
He put all these millions in but failed to pay creditors measly amounts in comparison resulting in what were surely avoidable CCJs etc, whilst also recieving £1.7m per year from sky tv. We never paid any stadium rent while he was in charge, and the first year it was due to be paid he stepped down. I'm grateful for him taking over the club when he did and have even stuck up for him at times but I find the £5m figure dubious. Apologies if it doesn't tow the party line. Good post! Rugby league in general is not sustainable. Ultimately MK provided a stay of execution, initially I got carried away in the ride but soon learnt I could not trust the guy. I said it before the fans will ultimately decide the clubs future. Clearly I see the future not in super league, we don't have enough fans who care enough. As a tax payer the council are caught between an rock & hard plate, they cannot allow SRD to go under but equally cannot be seen to be investing more money to keep there investment alive. When MK came to the club he promised he was going to build hotels, buy the stadium ultimately he was full of bull ****. I for one would end a 50 year association with the club if he was coming back, its all about opinions.
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Post by gunner on Jun 15, 2018 12:54:44 GMT
Greetings Salford. Just thought i would pop on after reading a few of the comments. Just want to put you right on a few things. I am a family friend of Burke, mods can confirm i dont bear the same name etc. Anyway i am pretty astonished he has got some abuse after a very solid debut for you guys last night. Let me tell you first about his weight. Last season he was carrying a bad injury all season, Betts made him play through it, he went to the medical officer and complained that he couldnt play because he wasn't fit but Betts continued to play him anyway so his fitness declined theoughout the season, He also had a new born baby last year at the same time and i am sure as many of you know that is a gruelling time for sleep etc. He got dogs abuse from the Widnes fans on their board, but that is because they hate everything Wigan. Horrible bunch of toe rags. Greg was offered a new deal at Widnes but he wanted to sign for Salford. So you have a player who wants to be at your club, when he gets back to fitness...and he will.... ylthen you have a very good forward who can pass, tackle, offload, hit good lines and drive in the yards. You need to get behind him though, a moderator who thinks it is funny to call him a fat bastard is pretty repulsive to be honest. His weight has got sod all to do with his diet. Good luck for the rest of the season. I will be cheering you on from now on apart from when you dont play the Warriors of course. Great post, for what it is worth I was surprised how well he played last night. I thought he put in an excellent stint & clearly wanted to impress. Cannot have done himself any harm with the fans scoring on his debut. well done Greg & welcome on board.
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