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SALFORD CITY FC SEE RED WITH THE CLASS OF ‘92
 

Star date: 17th August 2014

AMMIES GO ALL MANCHESTER UNITED

Salford City 4 Scarborough Athletic 1

In the end Salford City ran out easy winners over Scarborough in the first game since the Class of '92 took over the Evo-Stik First Division One North club. But it's what's happening off the pitch that's setting fans and ex-fans talking…

…The change to Manchester United colours, the absence of any reference to Salford on the shirts and the motives for rocketing the team up the leagues…

Full details and match report here…


Salford City FC Salford City FC Salford City 4 Scarborough Athletic 1
Salford City 4 Scarborough Athletic 1 Salford City 4 Scarborough Athletic 1 Salford City 4 Scarborough Athletic 1
Salford City 4 Scarborough Athletic 1
click image to enlarge

So the Class of '92 era began at Moor Lane with a big crowd of over three hundred people – unfortunately around two hundred of them were Scarborough Athletic supporters, who wrapped their flags around the camera towers freshly erected for Salford University students to practice their media skills.

Despite 11,000 turning out last week at the AJ Bell Stadium to see Salford play the Class of '92, few turned up for the first proper game. Missing were a dozen or so hard core supporters who walked away when faced with the Class of Vincent Tan changing the shirts from tangerine to Manchester United red, and the logo from the official City of Salford Thriller-dancing lion, to something resembling Scar, the evil uncle from The Lion King.

Indeed, nowhere on the shirts is there a reference any more to Salford – just S.C.F.C. and that lion, suffused in a wonky hexagon logo which Gary Neville told supporters was the shape of Salford Quays.

The Salford City team ran out to the strains of Ewan MacColl's Dirty Old Town, with the rather apt verse… `I'm going to make a good sharp axe/Shining steel tempered in the fire/We'll chop you down like an old dead tree…' etc.

Meanwhile, the Scarborough fans serenaded the Salford players at every opportunity with `Here for the money, you're only here for the money…'.

So Salford, lining up with forwards who, if the papers are to be believed, are being paid more per week than the whole team was paid in a month last season, began the new era just like Man United, getting dominated by the underdogs.

Scarborough, in light blue, took the game to Salford City with some neat passing football but the Ammies (is that still the nickname?) took the lead on 15 minutes when Sam Madeley (top scorer at Droylsden last season) poked a loose ball home. 1-0.

Danny Webber - the ex-Manchester United and Accrington Stanley player who has dropped five leagues to play for Salford - hit the post shortly after but Scarborough equalised when Jordan Thewliss carried the ball past a static defence before scoring. Half time 1-1.

Early in the second half Scarborough missed a penalty, saved by Tom Stewart who had never played or been on the radar for Salford before the game. Club legend Andy `Rubes' Robertson, who was scheduled to play, had walked away from the club. The rumour was that Gary Neville had picked Stewart, although there's no way of verifying that.

Back on the pitch, the penalty miss took the steam out of Scarborough and from then on it was all Salford, with Gareth Seddon - who has dropped four leagues after playing for Chester – hitting a classy hat-trick…the first a far post header, the second a penalty, the third a lob from the edge of the area. Final score 4-1 and the Salford team again being serenaded by the Scarborough fans with `You're buying the league…You're buying the le-e-e-a-gue'…

Any team hoping to succeed at this level only needs the two Fs – fitness and forwards. Wads of legends' cash helps too. Salford City can't fail to get promotion this year

But is that enough? Despite saying the right things in the press, questions still need to be asked about the ultimate motives of the six Vincents, messrs Butt, Giggs, Scholes, Beckham (a director of Class of '92 Ltd) and the Nevilles

• If they love Salford City so much why had none of them (apart from David Beckham years ago) been to see the club play before? Gary Neville wrote in the programme notes that he wants people to be "proud" of the players, "the shirt and the city we all represent" – so why remove the name `Salford' from the shirt? Why remove the City of Salford official lion from the shirt? Why change the shirt colours without any consultation with fans?

• What are the long term aims? Part 1: Total speculation but it's well known that Premier League clubs want feeder teams in the lower leagues, like Barcelona and Real Madrid have in Spain. Football League clubs blew this idea out of the water when it was floated earlier this year. There's a Rizla paper between the Class of '92 and Manchester United, thus making it legal for Salford City to be a feeder team for Manchester United once they are in the Football League.

The Class of '92 have not held the fact back that they want to rocket Salford into the Football League as fast as possible. Can anyone really be passionate about supporting a possible Man United fourth team under the guise of something else, if, of course, this is the case?

• The Class of '92 say that they want to develop some kind of youth academy attached to Salford City but there is already the FA Sports Village down the bottom of the hill on Littleton Road, while the Manchester United Foundation is still at The Cliff a couple of miles away, with the associated training ground on Littleton Road also used for youth development teams. How does this fit in?

• What are the long term aims? Part 2: While the Moor Lane ground is being given a large lick of Manchester United red paint, plans for a new clubhouse and mini-stand, complete with Kersal Moor heritage centre, seemed to have got lost. This leads people to conclude that there's no great plan to stay at Moor Lane, despite most fans being drawn from the immediate area. The team is already training at the AJ Bell Stadium in Barton.

While the takeover posse have stated that they intend to keep the club at Moor Lane, long term, a move to Barton would seem inevitable. If this happens it would suit Salford Council, which owns the valuable Moor Lane land and part owns the almost bankrupt Barton stadium with Peel Holdings (see here).

• Has the Class of '92 got involved `to put something back into the community' or to ultimately make money? Gary Neville might have been a footballer but is now a businessman, a partner in Zerum which has been involved with Salford property deals, including at MediaCityUK "working closely with Peel Media", and the building of 19 luxury apartments on Wellington Road East in Higher Broughton. Long term, what are the Class of '92 hoping to gain from taking over Salford City, a team they had never even bothered watching before?

These are questions that fans never got a chance to ask during Gary Neville's power point presentation to supporters at the end of last season, with his five minute Q and A at the end.

• Salford Star exists to give the community and community projects exposure that is lacking in the mainstream media. Over the past seven years the Star has been the only media outlet that has reported first hand on Salford City matches, home and away. We now feel that the club has moved on and doesn't need such exposure, so we will occasionally be featuring other Salford teams. We wish those who have worked so hard in the past to maintain Salford City FC total good wishes.

Pee Pallywood wrote
at 18:23:42 on 21 August 2014
The city already has a pro football club - Salford Red Devils so WTF is the problem??
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Charlie wrote
at 19:23:50 on 20 August 2014
Is it so difficult to understand that a football club and sport are about more than results? It is clear by their actions that this bunch of millionaires are branding their own version of united. For all those volunteers, bless you but this is not YOUR club. It is theirs. And talk is cheap. My advice is to make them accountable. And be particularly interested in how this £100k fundraising game monies is spent. Advertised as 'raising money for youth football' I hope its not funding ex-Manchester United players wages.
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Chris wrote
at 19:23:43 on 20 August 2014
They've been here 5 minutes Bob. Any chance we could give them a chance to get settled in and then judge them?
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SpongeBob wrote
at 14:20:18 on 20 August 2014
Chris, I don't know where you usually get your "unbiased" reporting (Daily Mail, perhaps?). As for bringing youngsters through the club, all I can see are old pro's filling the team instead of local players. And where are the under-10s, under-8s etc teams? That would show that these businessmen are doing something for the local community. As it is, their investment has probably been recouped already from the recent friendly at the aj bell. Don't think they're knights in shining armour!
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Alice Searle wrote
at 10:09:53 on 19 August 2014
I confess I am not a football fan but I do believe in the importance of community and the links which bring strength to those with a common interest and developed loyalty. If, as the Star hints, the nature of the Salford Football Club is set to change in an insidious way that would be a sad loss. I, and The Friends of Kersal Moor, ( a reminder that the Club is based on the old Moor) had plans for a Heritage Centre to be based in the Club House and a Heritage Lottery grant was on hold for this to happen. This would have reminded people of the historical importance of the area. From way back in the 1880s the land was proclaimed by Salford Council to be for public recreation with football ( then rugby), tennis and archery. In the 1930s the all England trials were held on the pitch with thousands of fans being bused from far and wide. Just across the Lane is where the Charists met to demand the vote and the first Manchester racecourse circles the football ground. All this history could be forgotten if the drive for prestige and profit takes away its significance. Can I ask the loyal and regular supporters of Salford Football Club to make your voices heard. Keep the quality, keep the loyalty and its symbols (colour and icons) and don't get bitten by hype which may change the club you know and love.
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ammie man wrote
at 10:09:23 on 19 August 2014
Good report..ie only 130 Salford fans. A lot of infighting with older brigade. ..this always happens with change. However club been going no where for yrs and will be better for the community long term with a half decent team on the door step. Just hope they stay at moor lane and well done to the older brigade for keeping the club going long before the nevilles and co got involved. Above all Dave Russell should take more credit for what he has done. Good luck this season.
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David Lyons wrote
at 10:07:49 on 19 August 2014
So that's the last report from the Star then.
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Chris wrote
at 17:25:24 on 18 August 2014
Sorry but your report is utter tosh! Reporting, and particularly sports reporting should be unbiased. The report of the game should be a true reflection of what happened. I saw the whole game and didn't see Scarborough taking the game to Salford. As for the rest of your report, the reporter is either against the takeover by the Co92 or has reported after talking to someone who is, without getting the other side. You say that only a handful turned up, yet you say Salford doesn't need your support any more. Well to be honest, if the recent crowds are a result of your previous 'support', then the club aren't losing much. Perhaps you overestimate the power of your website...maybe because your reports on many subjects (yes, I've read this site occasionally) are always biased towards whatever point of view your editors want to push, without any reference to the other side of the coin. That view is usually very left wing and panders to the readers you want to attract. In effect, it's just a soapbox for your reporters to have their say. You should be ashamed of yourself for deciding not to support a real local club that is trying to get on and do well. That wants to promote the town and bring youngsters through the club. Salford Star? More like Communist Star!
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TangerineDream wrote
at 11:34:16 on 18 August 2014
To those people who REGULARLY go and watch the side - whether at home or both home and away - I can assure you that it is still Salford City Football Club. The same hard working committee and helpers are still in place and, as displayed at Saturday's game, the fans who have not spat out their dummies gave their team full support and enjoyed a great spectacle of attacking football. We are proud of OUR team and will continue to support Salford's premier football team. I guess that with club sponsors Champion Group having an office in Manchester they are perfectly entitled to have whatever logo they want. They are paying for the priviledge after all. I'm obviously disappointed that some long term fans have decided not to come again but could we really have afforded to turn away such a massive opportunity to develop and progress the club? Perhaps all those with countless objections could have put themselves forward both in financial and practical ways - then maybe we could have stayed where we were prior to the takeover.
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Steve wrote
at 09:05:16 on 18 August 2014
Great article, the club doesn't feel like Salford City anymore. As a United fan I used to go to watch Salford to get away from the classless corporate culture at Old Trafford but, as it is clear for anyone to see, the same philosophy is now being applied to Salford City with this crass branding exercise clearly aimed at aligning Salford City with Manchester United. Despite all their claims of being proud of their Salford roots the Class of '92 have wasted no time in removing any reference to Salford from their shirts, even the sponsor has got in on the act using a Manchester Skyline in their new logo! I just hope this doesn't become a trend in non league football.
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