If in 2047 & they're still playing in Dewsbury in front of a handful of their "Bradford era" fans (with an average age of approximately 52), then yeh, they should probably look to changing their name or something fairly substantial to stop the rot.

The American model doesn't always work that well in the States never mind here Rams Raiders and Chargers spring to mind where the franchised are disenfranchised due to commercial pressure and stadium leases and to some extent they are used to it we aren't.

British sports fans generally have an emotional attachment to their teams do you think that the AFC Wimbledon MK Dons transformation was fair?

Its irrelevant.

The point is that Swinton already don't play in Swinton. So they have already done the geographical move. The name change would simply make the naming of the team more accurate.

The question was asked should other teams change their name if they move locations, my example was there to show that yes they should. It was not addressing whether the club should move out of Swinton.

If the Swinton board were proposing to move the team outside of Swinton then we could equate it to afc Wimbledon. But the move has already happened. If you move house you don't get to keep your street name and house number.

Well said

The problem with your moving house analogy is that a sports club is made up of a number of parts, including the Officials, the Team and the Fans. Sure the Officials and the Team have moved, did they want to, did they have an alternative? However, at a guess the Fans haven't moved in a permanent sense, they are supporting their club, just visiting if you like or in temporary accommodation, hoping for a return 'home' to Swinton and better times.

I think the MK Dons AFC Wimbledon probably reflects what's going on despite the move out of Swinton already being made. OK Change the location, change the name but I don't think that I'd expect the supporters to embrace that. It's the final straw, they will have effectively lost their club and what you are saying is that they have already so why should they or anyone care what they are called. What's in a name?

Got to disagree with you there, for two reasons really. firstly the majority of fans (90-95%?) come from Swinton/ area. You've got to remember the move outside Swinton was not a chosen scenario for the Club, they have been trying to get back there on numerous occasions, its only since Mazey came in that the Manchester thing has crept in. Don't get me wrong a lot of what he says makes perfect sense, just don't think its been thought through or handle well (excluding fans). I can't see a fan base being built in Sale with the Manchester name as its Greater Manchester. You are stretching it to say you come from Manchester when you come from Sale, what does it say on your birth certificate if you come from Sale?. I can understand Broncos being called London but they struggle as they've never set down roots for a length of time and did best when known as Fulham. Secondly, Should Sale RU change their name? This changing your name to Manchester and everything is great is not going to work cuckooing another clubs history no matter whether you think they'll fold or not as a result. Its the decision of the fans, of the club in question I'd say.