rlHererl

Good signing for Salford. Young, hungry to learn at the top level. Experience at Fax. Keen to progress. Won’t be on a lot of cash which if the rumours are to be believed, Salford need to cut costs. Hopefully he does a Watson as I never want a young british coach to fail but can’t see much happening there.

Erm Salford have never had any cash (bar when Koukash took over) so any rumours doing the rounds aren't exactly groundbreaking news. From what I can gather though we're in a better position now the historic debt has been wiped (for which we got the 3 wins deduction this season). The fact is Marshall will be coming in and not having to completely rebuild a squad as Watson has done on a few occasions. Whilst we're losing Flash, Evalds, Dudson & Lussick, we've managed to bring in Burgess, Escape (and a couple of others who have not been formally announced but we've been told are done deals).

Rumours are that Watson has already tried to entice a number of Salford players to Hudds which hasn't gone down too well with the fans or the board. There's ways and means of doing things and trying to strip a club of it's prized assets only a few weeks after committing your immediate future to them is pretty low.

Marshall seems to be a popular choice with Salford fans though and having spent 2 seasons at Saints hopefully he'll keep us playing the exciting brand of rugby we've been used to these last couple of years

Good Coach.

Young, British and no doubt will have some good connections locally as he lives near me in South Warrington.

Salford will need to keep some of their better players though, as they could easily be in the mix next year for relegation. Talks of financial struggles again which is a shame if true as they have has 2 fantastic seasons and played some great stuff.

I'm somewhat confused about all this 'financial difficulties' that fans of other clubs seem to be saying. While we have never been flush with cash, we start 2021 in the healthiest financial situation we've ever been in. Even with the covid season. We are debt-free for the first time in living memory, and when I say that I refer to substantial historical debt. While Watson did very well rebuilding teams that were asset-stripped by other clubs (Clubs with substantial academies. Strange that eh? Considering that argument is turned on Salford all the time) We actually have the core of a decent team staying with us for 2021.

Also, decent additions coming in also strengthen what we already have. We need a few key replacements in the forwards but I'm sure Marshall will have a few cards up his sleeve. Genuinely looking forward to next season. New coach, extra players, finances going in the right direction. We are always tipped for relegation, which baffles me somewhat as well. I don't think any other team that reached a GF and a challenge cup final in follow-on seasons has ever been given the same disrespect.

The players genuinely thrive on it though. You don't need much more motivation than thinking that most of RL considers you a cast-off...

I am very pleased to hear that. I admit to feeling worried about Salford's financial situation. That was based on sub 4,000 gates at the A.J.Bell and the idea that the stadium attracts little commercial income, plus an admission of sorts from one of the directors there is no free money from rich directors contributions.

If Salford have a model for competing at a lower level of income then no wonder so many Championship clubs want to get in on Superleague. Good stuff....

While we will never be a big contender financially, you're right in the assertion that we sit in a precarious position and will be until a wealthier contributor turns up, if ever. Since Koukash left we have been in a considerably worse position, and while he wrote off his personal debt with the club (something that was very generous) his successors still inherited the debt from the John Wilkinson era that Koukash inherited when he first took on the job. That debt meant that the club had to cut its cloth so fine that it was held together by threads. That debt has now been written off which allows the club to start to spend on the things that can make a difference. Of course, it still needs to be carefully managed as it's still a smaller pot than most teams. But we are much much better managed off the field now than ever before. We need the return of crowds to help keep the ball rolling, but the future is, tentatively, brighter than in a long time.

Well done to the Red Devils for signing a British coach who has a future in the game
He will have his work cut out mind on a very limited player budget