I'll remember that next time you're having a pop at Dantes Inferno or Mitie Mouse irrespective of what their post says. Anyway, I'm not getting into this as there are far more important things to discuss.

Sorry you posted this while i was writing my thread.

So in reply to Walshovski I have one of those pesky things called a job to attend to before feeding the egos of the likes of you on here. I'm glad to say I like RU as it gave me something to chear last weekend after watching Salford get beaten by the best team in the world on Friday.

It's old and it's hackneyed but unless one of us finds a few million down the back of the sofa what you, me or anyone on here wants is going to be a distant second to sound finiancial sense. Do you honestly think Wilky will sell to any Tom, Dick or Harry? he might have his detractors but no right thinking person can doubt his love for the club. I

If we did for sake of arguments get sold to Kennedy what would he have to gain by buying to let us fade away? ownership of the ground we own? our massively talented playing squad? our huge backroom staff? No I can't really see any real benefit in him investing in buying the club and not making it work or at the very least trying to make a go of it.

For the record I'd be happiest if we did find a sugar Daddy to buy the club, lob endless money at making us the best in SL (both on and off the playing field) and then ultimately buy the stadium from the owners but taking rose tinted specs off for a minute deep down we all know that's highly unlikely to happen.

Maybe my Salford Sharks mock-up picture was more prophetic than I realised at the time...

The Crux of the matter is that we can do bugger-all about the situation, and we can hope that Sale come in offering a hand of friendship. Personally, I can see a Roman-like back stabbing with a push for total say over all things Stadium related. There seems to be some who can see benefits to partnership, but imo those benefits only apply to Sale. Diamond made it perfectly clear in the MEN as he, without respect, wanted to lay claim to the best young talent RL has to offer. It wouldn't work the other way.

If he is happy to start playing these types of game in the media now, imagine what he might have up his sleeve that he doesn't want to divulge?

The worst part of all this? You can't really blame the Club for these developments. Once the RL decided that new Stadia was the SL shoe-in the Club had to commit to leaving the Willows. Financial collapse and years of wrangling has afforded us a chance at Barton. We had to sell our soul to stay in SL. Now a bigger more ruthless venture wants in on what we sold our soul for and we can do nothing about it. All we can hope for is that we can improve on the pitch and slowly build on it, or that our soon-to-be lodgers have no intention of trying to kick us out the back door.

You were one of, if not, the most frequent poster on here until you got slapped down for accusing GT of being a hooligan. Your job didn't get in the way then.



Any potential new owner can tell Wilky whatever they want and when the club is handed over they can do as they please. Everyone knows Wilky wants away and I'm sure his desire to get rid will override any other considerations at present.



Look at Stockport County. Peel would have no qualms in handing over the stadium and the council maybe the final hope we have, but they haven't shown any inclination to fight our corner until now. I must of missed our massively talented playing squad but Sale could cherry pick the best and dump the stodge.

This whole thread was never about investment it was about Sale and Steve Diamond's statements - “We have to attack the conurbations of Manchester and bring in a new audience. It would give us a fantastic opportunity. We’ll probably never rival soccer in terms of popularity but we can rival them with a different brand of sport." - Interpret that in a positive way if you can.

Great post although I would disagree about not blaming Salford for anything.

So it all boils down to lewis at RLFC headquarters is secretly working for the Yawnian lads and is in a complicated plot to shut down Rugby league all together.
On a serious note Salford Council borrowed money to lend to Salford, the council can actually borrow money cheaper than the current government, so the council put a mark up on this money so that Salford repay the loan at below banks standard rates but putting cash into the council coughers, so win win all round, but to make it win for Salford we need people through the gates. To get people through the gates we need a winning team, to get a winning team we need people through the gates, classic catch 22.

I agree the council have been onside with Salford and we need them now more than ever but why did they allow us to be roped into such a unsatisfactory deal over Barton?

It's amazing how many wild accusations and presumptions are stated on here! By the sound of it on here were doomed and the megolathe of the north west sport that is sale sharks will soon dominate the world! Beware!!

we have not seen the agreement yet, but the council have to do the best for its citizens, and so the Salford deal was a business transaction just as was the BBC deal, the council, well Labour members. want Salford to do well and put the city on the map. The original deal with the council meant Barton could go ahead, without that we would be playing this week in the Northern Rail cup.

Isn't the problem that we mere fans have no idea what the actual deal is?

Have you seen the lease or rental agreement?

No - nor have I !!

To use words like "unsatisfactory" is just pure speculation.

I agree with the Butcher & BigPev - from the time that the original development co. went belly up the whole stadium issue became a nightmare - without the stadium - no franchise, but how to get the stadium built? In the end much (all?) control had to be given to Peel - clearly they now call the shots. A sad situation to end up in but it really is very difficult to see an alternative (though I'm sure Mr Inferno will have one).

The agreement means we can't control our own ticketing, our own car park, our own catering or even the advice we put on our own webiste about how fans should get to the ground. For this 'privilege' we pay, what every leak that comes out of the club suggests is, an exorbitant amount of rent. I think we all know the agreement is a total nightmare, call that speculation if you are so inclined.

We've had ample opportunities to establish ourselves as a Super League club down the years, with or without a new stadium and we have failed miserably time and time again.

Went to heywood road today to watch our academy got talking to some sale fans and they were fuming about the name change and Diamond shooting his mouth off
Also found out that its sale fc (sales other RU team) who have the assets training ground in carrington ect not sale sharks

They only built it because the Salford Unitary Development Plan said that the Barton Site had to house a stadium, and the planners made sure that a stadium went on the site before anything else. It's a make-weight for being able to develop other things there.

Who owns Sale FC? Are they independent of Sale Sharks?

Yes I think so Iain - I believe the Sharks are heavily in debt (more than SFC) but Sale are asset rich.

Walshy - everything you have said on this thread is 100% correct. The fact that a few of are fans seem happy with whats going is up to them, but seriously I think the vast majority who go week out know we cannot stand back and watch this happen.

Sale are like leeches, they have never done anything themselves instead they wait and see who they can suck the life out of. 14 years of hard work have gone into making this stadium and quite frankly we've been lied to about what was to be expected, but Sale will now come on board and sideline us because as you say they are a rival team, playing a rival sport and will want to attract every potential fan from the Manchester area meaning there is no room for us.

Believe me Sale will get what they want and no doubt will become successful with us lurking in there shadows.

Brian Kennedy is a billionaire if I'm not mistaken. So hardly heavily debt.

Im one of GT's boys. Must admit he likes a scuffle.

Have you ever seen GT Michigan Red? Im a good mate and one of his lads along with TORD who attends game with. He's taking over the unicorn as top boy in there now next time your in pop over and say hello to us. We are the mean looking bunch in the corner. And tbh I've only ever seen him cause a few boot offs, opposition fans need to know their place.

I was in there Friday so you should have come and said hello, always willing to have a pint and a natter with anyone in the name of Bon Homme.

Sale Fc are owed though a membership scheme presumably set up by sale fans who didnt want to move to stockport, they are independant to Sale sharks they have a full time cheif exec, groundsman and they have started to pay their players now (only £50 or so a game but still) the 1st and 2nd team are on the verge of promotion the only problem is that they only average 150 people at a game and the sale fans i befriended said long term its not substainble.

There plan is too build a club get up a few divisons and be used as a feeder club to sale sharks so they can use their players



Sale FC own Haywood road which they cant do anythign with as the local residents protest and poo poo any ideas they come up with like building houses on it ect, they also own training grounds in Carrington (which they recieve peppecorn rent for sale sharks to use it) im not sure if they own the land that United and Citys are on too and also have £1m in the bank, they also own offices at Haywood road and Carrington which they rent out to businesses.
They seem to rent their pitch out to everyone who needs it, last week Rochdale RU used it as their pitch was waterlogged or somthing so they played their as well as several different teams in the winter as it has floodlights

So for me reaily for us to start working closer with Sale we have to gain somthing, id be hoping that we are to get access to the training facility in Carrington with gym several pitches and lots of other stuff and perhaps we will pay the same "peppercorn rent" that the sharks enjoy while using the facility.


They were not very happy with Diamond, they said he has a reputation of shooting his mouth of on a regular basis and its quite an embarrasment to them



Brian Kennedy is a Billionare yep fair point he just services the debt of Sale sharks, he would want sale to generate some money so he wont have to put as much in personlly i wonder with Kennedy looking to buy Glasgow Rangers is it time for him to be looking to offload the Sharks.
Heard while i was down there they are lining up potential buyers to see if a deal can be done.
By the sound of it Sale Sharks when they moved they took the team and the admin and the fans with them but nothing solid by the sound of it, they rent the training ground, they rent the offices so the only assit they have is Edgley park.

I Wonder if our operating costs would be cheaper than Sale Sharks, perhaps he is sick of losing money hand over fist and would rather own a rugby league club as you dont lose as much ?

Why does any true Salford Rugby League fan honestly think that Sale, the local rugby yawnion club are going to move into our ground and suddenly start doing us any favours whatsoever?

They have ridden rough-shod over poor Stockport County and are now ready to drop them like a bad smell. They have stated that they will keep all their administration depts at a separate location. They have come out in the press with a blatant statement that they can now watch all the best Rugby League talent playing in their own backyard. They have realised there is more gain for [ithemselves [/ito now play in a shiny new stadium. Which will benefit [ithemselves[/i. And that'll be the stadium that we gave up our home of 110 years and fought 14 years through some of the worst economic times the country has seen in recent memory to get built.

No matter what mistakes have been made along the way (and without professing to know any insider details there clearly have been plenty), the club did get the damn thing built. And within 2 months of our first game Sale are waltzing in.

This is Sale we are talking about. As in the local rugby union club. You know, that sport that has done nothing - and I mean nothing - but treat our sport as a second class affair for over a century.

Wake up and smell the coffee people, we are in serious danger of becoming second class citizens in our home. And then the smug rugger buggers really will have beaten us at last...

BTW - well said Alan Hunte, the rugby (LEAGUE) genius

A couple of points here,

Sale's have come out with boorish comments about their status for years , and even when there were Premiership Champions in 2006 that didn't lead to ' world supremacy ' .

As to Sale having better marketing I don't know , they have better Finance , but for the last decade have relied on RL nounce - Peter Deakin , and now Wigan 's ex marketing guy off the field .

As to Sale being a threat to our youth policy

, Alan Hunte works miracles with little or no budget , Other SL clubs have always made more damaging inroads into Gtr Manchester to take Rugby League Talent , thats why we were watching Kallum Watkins tear Salford apart at the weekend in a Leeds Shirt , Lets worry about Wigan Warrington & Leeds , even Cas pick up our best talent before we panic about some cauliflowered eared moron pontificating about how they will have their pick of Rugby sporting talent , if you want to safeguard the youth , put them on 5 year deals al la Wigan , so if they go cross code they pay through the nose .

We've known Sale were going to use the the SCS at some point , so I cannot understand the hysteria , we all know we had Hobson's Choice about the Stadium move , it was that or oblivion. I can believe that Salford's ' rent ' may be lowered with multi occupancy though i doubt it would be as much as 50% , A reduction of 100 - 150 K would make a big impact on the Clubs finances , the Stadium aswell as having another paying tenant will have more options on Stadium Advertising and dare I say a Stadium Sponsor .

Sale do not need primacy of tenure to use the Stadium , Primacy of Tenure was a stipulation of RU clubs being promoted into the Aviva Premiership , but existing teams including Sale were allowed dispensation so I don't know why that was even mentioned.

the Biggest threat to Salfords existance is and always will be it's own management .