Sorry I was replying to posts on the signings thread and got a little carried away and went off on a tangent so thought I would create a new one instead. Firstly this is not trolling in any way, as a strong Salford spending big and pumping money into the game would be great for RL, and it is just an outsiders view.

If I was Koukash and Salford I would really try to shake things up with the big clubs and to do this they could do far worse than really target some of the top young players from the other clubs, basically the next generation. Looking at my own club I know that these players are paid next to nothing and the bulk of the salary cap is taken up on the 20 or so guys in front of them. Players like Crosby, Lloyd, Spencer, Powell etc are very good young players that have impressed at SL level this year and would be great signings. Players such as these are playing in Super League but are getting less than 30k a year and cant get any more until they really break into the first team because of the salary cap and the players in front of them. I am sure there are similar players at Leeds, Saints, Warrington etc. A Wigan lad might not particularly want to leave a top club like Wigan but offer them more money (say 40-50k instead of 20-30k) and first team action, throw in a couple of star signings and sell them the Koukash vision and I dont see any reason why these players cant be attracted.

Sign say 8 top young players like this and the squad is bolstered tremendously for relatively little money, throw in some more wise recruiting of more experienced pro's, bargains in the lower divisions and a couple of top notch star signings and a much better team than what you have now can be built fairly quickly and in particular a team that is going to keep improving. I really dont think that just signing a whole bunch of average journeymen is the way to go. Also Salford should be looking to get all of the best youngsters coming through at 15, 16, 17, 18 like the top clubs do. They have the money to do this now and its is something that will bare fruit for years to come.

However what is most important is what Salford do off the field. I know people that have played for Salford and Wigan and at other average SL teams and the biggest difference they always say is what happens off the field. All the little one per add up and make a huge difference. All of the extra backroom staff such as sports scientists, top conditioning coaches, sprint coaches etc make a huge difference. Another is the quality of training facilities such as having a specialised training centre owned by the club with specialist equipment with things like GPS monitoring to check on players effort and fitness etc rather than just training at a school field somewhere. Things also like players being given all of the supplements etc that they need rather than paying for them. The list goes on and on but you get the gist. In some cases the players at lower down the table clubs arent necessarily much worse than players at top clubs but their training and conditioning lets them down big time and in some ways they are playing with one hand tied behind their backs. I am not saying that Salford should just replicate everything that Wigan does but they should certainly go down that route and if possible go the full hog and replicate everything that a club like Melbourne or Souths does. If Koukash has the money he should spend it big time here and steal a march on the rest of Super League. Signing players but not getting the backroom staff and off field right is not enough and again imo this is where the likes of Hull go wrong time and again.

One of the biggest things for me is that Koukash really needs to invest in Rugby League in the Salford area. Get the development officers into schools, get all of the schools playing the game, support the amateur clubs in the area and set up new ones. Get that RL history back or create it in places where it has never existed anyway. This will not just increase Salfords possible player pool but it is also like a form of marketing and will get fans watching the club. Get all of this feeding back into Salford RL and the club will reap the benefits in players and fans. This can be done relatively cheaply and the club will get this money back in the long run anyway if it is done successfully.

When all of these foundations are set and some momentum and has been created, market the hell out of it and get people through the gate. I wouldnt even bother with this this season as without being condescending imo it will be a waste of time and any possible fans will be put off by the product on the field and the lack of fans atmosphere. The club has between now and the end of the season to get these foundations right, build a team, get out and about to slowly build interest and to create a buzz. Once this is in place market the hell out of it and aim for a big season next year. It wont all be in place by then but enough will be for a substantial improvment on this and it will be enough for that snowball effect to start for the years going forward.

Very good post 'Famous'

Spot on famous, especially regarding the signing of under 16's. Most of the top clubs sign their lads on a basic 3k a year. You wouldn't need to offer much more to attract some decent talent. Obviously the better prospects are offered more but not much more and most lads are gettable!!

Wigan/Leeds is defo the model to follow in this country. As i've said before we need to start by putting our academy on show starting with the website, little things like that and good training kits etc. Its amazing what treating them like stars will do, maybe entice some new stars!!!

We have a good crop of youngsters at the moment thanks to Alan Hunte's work. I thought they showed up well today.

Let's hope we have something to build on.

Really good post Famous.