Re: Salford : Wed Jan 22, 2025 9:08 am  

Uncle Rico wrote:

I think the point that was being made is that the RFL has a duty of care for the whole game NOT an individual Club. They appear to have taken their eye off the ball and have let this situation fester over the winter and we are three weeks away from the start of the season.

What's the point of this grading system when it seems that Salfords reliance on future income that hadn't been secured and subsequently delayed wasn't red flagged?

The support given by the RFL was the only option due to the above and timing of events. It would appear that support was conditional and I suppose we'll find out more today

Whatever happens today the whole thing is taking to long and the nearer we get to the start the worse it as become. Salford hanging out for the mythical investment and the RFL and all other clubs seemingly twiddling thumbs this should have been sorted months ago has you have said.

Re: Salford : Wed Jan 22, 2025 10:20 am  

just_browny wrote: What could they have done to help Salford's financial viability? I think there have been governance failings here, but they've all been about letting Salford off the hook for some pretty weak excuses and promises that a takeover deal / funding were just around the corner. It's not the RFL's job to run Salford for them and they don't have the money to do that even if they wanted to. It's exactly a failure of governance - and a big one. The RFL have allowed a team, with known long standing financial troubles, to enter SL 2025 that has insufficient funds to continue trading requiring an immediate bail out of £0.5M. The perilous situation was known to the Salford board in November 2024 when another grant of taxpayers money was not given to Salford. The financial woes of Salford date back decades. Here in 2014 we see another bail out from the tax payer. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... er-6917045 There is no excuse for the RFL not to keep Salford under a close watch. Even now, with the latest crisis known, indecisiveness continues in the hope that a due diligence and completion of a last minute take over deal can be performed in the 3 weeks before the season kicks off. The sale of players should have started last week, and if Salford lose every game of 2025 due to a weak squad - so be it. As UR says, this is affecting all the other clubs and the image of the game. It's clear that Salford does not have the financial means to be a SL club.

just_browny wrote: What could they have done to help Salford's financial viability? I think there have been governance failings here, but they've all been about letting Salford off the hook for some pretty weak excuses and promises that a takeover deal / funding were just around the corner. It's not the RFL's job to run Salford for them and they don't have the money to do that even if they wanted to. It's exactly a failure of governance - and a big one. The RFL have allowed a team, with known long standing financial troubles, to enter SL 2025 that has insufficient funds to continue trading requiring an immediate bail out of £0.5M. The perilous situation was known to the Salford board in November 2024 when another grant of taxpayers money was not given to Salford. The financial woes of Salford date back decades. Here in 2014 we see another bail out from the tax payer. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... er-6917045 There is no excuse for the RFL not to keep Salford under a close watch. Even now, with the latest crisis known, indecisiveness continues in the hope that a due diligence and completion of a last minute take over deal can be performed in the 3 weeks before the season kicks off. The sale of players should have started last week, and if Salford lose every game of 2025 due to a weak squad - so be it. As UR says, this is affecting all the other clubs and the image of the game. It's clear that Salford does not have the financial means to be a SL club.

Re: Salford : Wed Jan 22, 2025 12:34 pm  

OK so I think I'm agreeing with everyone then. I thought the post I was replying to suggested the RFL should have been propping Salford up more than they have. I agree it has gone on far too long and either:

(1) the IMG process should have picked up on the issues, or
(2) once Salford asked for cash in advance, what they put forward to the IMG process should have been binned off and someone else offered the place in SL.