Quote: The optimist "He has his poker face on he ain't going to list them perhaps we should make a list of our own and then EB can tell us how many are on his list, quite disappointed nobody else has answered the questions STILL'"
Bobby, it was posted when a lot of people were already in Wakefield, or were travelling across. Considering many people would have had attention elsewhere on Sunday, will be in work today and not everyone's constantly glued to the internet I think that's a bit of an unfair post.
Okay. Rather than quoting the entire post from Wayward Fan, I'll take the questions one by one. There's no real point responding to the facts as they are, well, facts. Same with the opinion at the end, we'd only be going round in circles if I start quoting and responding to that as well. I'd probably also be repeating myself. So...
* would fans of Salford City Reds prefer to see the stadium fail as a business?
I think that's a fairly daft question, to be frank. Any Salford fan who wants the stadium to fail wants locking up away from the rest of humanity if you ask me. Of course people want the stadium to succeed and of course people want Salford as a club to succeed.
* in this eventuality, would the fans of SCR be happy to see the stadium bought from its current owners (the people of Salford) or be closed altogether?
I would hope the stadium has a clause somewhere stating that the facility must be used for community use, regardless of who is using it. Such an asset lock is in place on the new Community Stadium FC United are planning in Moston so that even if FCUM move in the future or go out of business, the stadium must be taken on by someone who will use it for the benefit of the local community. Hopefully, regardless of what happens with Salford, Sale or the SMC, the stadium can be used as a community facility. Whether or not that would be possible if the stadium fails I don't know, but I'd hope someone would be willing to take it on and run it as such.
* will the fans of SCR be happy to see vital improvements made to the stadium (including a proper supporters bar) and better transport links or will we be more concerned because "it's only happened because Sale are here."
I'd be perfectly happy to see improvements made. I would be concerned about how much influence other tenants have over us, regardless of whether or not it's Sale or anyone else. I believe a Supporters' Bar is now going to appear in the West Stand at some point - whilst I welcome this, the suggestion has been made to the SMC since we moved in and been ignored. Our co-tenants are getting it at the first request. This could be down to it now being financially viable, it could be a sign of our co-tenants being able to get their own way ahead of us as happened in their previous tenancy. Do we know the answer? Are we likely to find out? I'd say no to both of those and we've just got to make the best of it and hope the bar is a success. If it's run properly on our match days and used (although that will depend on the quality of beer solved for some) by Salford fans then we should have nothing to fear.
* will the fans of SCR be pleased to finally see some of the club's history/identity imprinted on the stadium (eg, pictures of legends in the concourses, bars named after past players etc) or will we be more bothered by the fact that Sale - as co-tenants - have got equal representation?
Considering the sterile feel to the place now, with nothing bar the illuminated signs on the main stand to make it feel like Salford City Reds' home ground, I'd be happy with any plan to show off Salford RLFC's history and heritage across the stadium. Knowing that Sale are co-tenants with equal right to representation means I would swallow my pride on the subject and put up with their representation as well. I won't like it, I don't have to like it, but what can I do?
* would the fans of SCR prefer to see the club die a slow death at the Willows or at least have the fighting chance of success in partnership with Sale at the new stadium?
I want to see the club survive, regardless of where we play. I still maintain that we could have survived at the Willows and, as things stand, I'm not sure whether we would have been better off taking Championship rugby for a while after RCD went belly-up in order to try and get ourselves back together and ensure any ground built was our own, giving us total control over our destiny. In fact, I think that's the biggest issue - not so much that Sale are moving in, it's the fact that this was meant to be our ground, securing our future and giving us total control over our future. That's not happened and we do have to deal with in the best possible way. But I'll come to that last.
Quote: The optimist "I don't know whether anyone has seen the FAQ Sale Sharks produced for its fans
I don't think anyone would argue with that at all. I think we all (well, 99% of us) agree with that. But after everything we've gone through as a club to get the stadium and seeing previous practices of Sale, statements from them claiming they want to "seize Manchester and the North West" and so on, many of us disappointed that Sale are able to walk in with no effort and are also slightly wary of what may come in the future if we as a club do not get our sh*t together and vastly improve the way things are run. Could all these fears turn out to be unfounded? Of course they could and I for one would certainly hold my hands up and say "fine, it worked, I was wrong, let's enjoy life and get on with it." But I'm still approaching the next couple of years with caution.
