Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Jan 15, 2025 10:47 am  

Mark_P1973 wrote:

For once the clubs have seen sense and voted against the firesale of Salford players as IMO it would have only led to a situation in the future where clubs could challenge the cap, because the RFL / SL sanctioned clubs being able to go over the cap / quota when it suited them

What i'd like to see now is a plan for Salford to play out the season in SL, whilst securing ownership / funding or whatever needed over the next 12 months. if they stay in SL, then all the better, but i just feel it would be way too much disruption across the board if things changed now with all the fixtures released in the leagues etc. There must also be questions asked about how the club is being run as they have sold players, crowd funded a significant amount of money from their fans, had money early from SL TV money etc, and been allowed to sign players off season but now saying they are still in the s***e

Salford have done a good job over the last 2 or 3 seasons of putting the line out there that things are done on a shoestring and it feels a bit like smoke and mirrors. Will they be the biggest spenders in the league? far from it but I've never quite bought in to that narrative, that they seem keen to push. London and Cas are examples of clubs who tried to compete on a shoestring in 2024.

Salford deserve to be lauded for savvy recruitment in the last few years and I'm sure they've signed loads of players whose talent outweighs their salaries but it all feels a bit like they've tried to divert attention from them living beyond their means. Circumstances will have meant them getting players like MacDonald, Sneyd, Watkins, Croft, Hastings, Burgess, Nikorima etc for less then what they may have asked for at another time but their salaries will have still been at a reasonable level and in a totally different league to the sort of money on offer at London and Cas last season.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Jan 15, 2025 11:55 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

Salford have done a good job over the last 2 or 3 seasons of putting the line out there that things are done on a shoestring and it feels a bit like smoke and mirrors. Will they be the biggest spenders in the league? far from it but I've never quite bought in to that narrative, that they seem keen to push. London and Cas are examples of clubs who tried to compete on a shoestring in 2024.

Salford deserve to be lauded for savvy recruitment in the last few years and I'm sure they've signed loads of players whose talent outweighs their salaries but it all feels a bit like they've tried to divert attention from them living beyond their means. Circumstances will have meant them getting players like MacDonald, Sneyd, Watkins, Croft, Hastings, Burgess, Nikorima etc for less then what they may have asked for at another time but their salaries will have still been at a reasonable level and in a totally different league to the sort of money on offer at London and Cas last season.

i agree, and there's no doubt they have almost become the place for players to resurrect their careers, whilst saying its done with no money, which is a little bit of good marketing from them

I have a soft spot for Salford (perhaps because some of my friends are diehards) and dont want to see them going bust, but equally and for the sake of the game, they need to get their house in order.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Jan 15, 2025 12:56 pm  

Mark_P1973 wrote:

i agree, and there's no doubt they have almost become the place for players to resurrect their careers, whilst saying its done with no money, which is a little bit of good marketing from them

I have a soft spot for Salford (perhaps because some of my friends are diehards) and dont want to see them going bust, but equally and for the sake of the game, they need to get their house in order.

Same here. My partner and all her family are from Salford and I'd like them to win anything we don't. They've done an amazing job of putting a really good squad together these past few seasons and I guess for a total spend less than other teams who aren't doing anything like as well but clearly they cannot afford the money they're spending. That share scheme for the fans, that raised a few hundred grand, was a massive red flag and you can't help but wonder how some of the fans who paid in to that feel about them doing things like pre season trips to Portugal.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Jan 15, 2025 5:28 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

Same here. My partner and all her family are from Salford and I'd like them to win anything we don't. They've done an amazing job of putting a really good squad together these past few seasons and I guess for a total spend less than other teams who aren't doing anything like as well but clearly they cannot afford the money they're spending. That share scheme for the fans, that raised a few hundred grand, was a massive red flag and you can't help but wonder how some of the fans who paid in to that feel about them doing things like pre season trips to Portugal.

The killer blow was the Sky deal. Unless we see a turnaround in finances the game is going to go down the plughole. I think the RFL need to bank roll Salford in 2025, if only for the integrity of the sport.