I do

I hear what you say but it must have some impact.

For some people it will be a choice between the two. Ask any other Superleague club if they would want two massive premier league football teams on their doorstop and I think the answer would be a resounding no. Would the owner of a corner shop want two big supermarkets nearby, by choice?

The only way to get more fans through the turnstiles regularly is by being able to market a strong, entertaining and challenging team, playing in great facilities.

Actually, if you analyse it properly, we have 3 Premiership clubs within a 10 mile radius of us at the moment (with two more within 20 miles), including the 2 that are currently occupying positions 1 and 4 respectively, there are also lots of championship clubs in the immediate vicinity too. I don't blame football for our low attendances but neither can you discount the massive pulling power and money to burn on marketing that the premiership clubs have, it's just a fact of life for us that many other SL and Championship RL clubs seem ready to ignore so that they can peddle the 'Salford aren't fit for SL' argument.

In many ways, the sporting club demographics for us are similar to the Quins - they also have 4 (Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham) premiership clubs in the same 10 mile radius with Arsenal and Chelsea in positions 2 and 4 respectively but the big difference is that London is about 5 times bigger in terms of poulation in that radius than the equivalent one here. At a stretch it could be argued that Chelsea are really the only close premiership club to the Quins, they have only recently been successful compared to United and nowhere near as prolific yet Quins have been the development club, not us!

And, before anyone says it, the same could not be said of Wigan and Saints as they have always been strong RL towns., still are and will continue to be (something Whelan refuses to acknowledge, mark my words when Wigan Athletic get relegated from the Premiership, and they will be, I'd be astonished if they'd be back soon and their support would largely fall away).

So, probably nothing there that people don't already know but at least it gives some context Bob, the next time you hear someone blaming United, or City for that matter for our low attendances. I agree with theredshed, it's about putting a decent team on the park in the best facilities possible. Rant over.

I blame Man city. I can understand United fans not coming to the Willows to watch Solly. But I mean CITY!!! Come on they don't even play decent footie. They're the team stealing our fanbase. Not United.

I Blame SKY Sports ,
I Blame Pubs ,
I Blame the BBC for countless generations of Union Biased coverage,
I Blame X Box , Nintendo , the Internet, the wife ...

There are lots and lots of reasons why Salfords Attendances are lower than we'd like.

It's also money , people have less of it and stuff costs more , simply put people are making choices as to where to spend it . That £20 + Program , beer , Bus Fare , Petrol etc ,
It's going elsewhere , and not through the turnstiles.

When I started going to Salford , Man U . or Man City weren't an issue 'cos Alex Stepney & Bobby Charlton & co were at the Willows too watching a good team.

I love RL , football I can take it or leave it, trouble is majority of citizens of Salford it's the other way around,

Signs are with the RL in schools , the academy , the better squad , the new Stadium in a great visible location this will our best chance for a long while to alter this balance , but don't expect it to happen overnight..

Behave Fungus! CCN1F & EE are the only 2 Berties in Salford, it has always been a Utd stronghold & always will be! Sale Sharks should be far more worried about Citeh nicking their fans......

just a quickie, I played Rugby League at school in the 70's when there were about 20 or more secondary schools in Salford but of the lads who played with me at Clarendon only a couple went to watch Salford, my other mates who didn't play went to Salford. A few of us also went to United but it was only a few pence t get in then. So the idea that rugby league is new to Salford schools is a non-starter.

I have never heard so much Tosh in all my life! most Utd fans who live in Salford never go. They sit in the pubs crying saying thast they cannot get a ticket ( yet they are advertised on the radio) sat in the shirts with Sharp electronics across the front and Stapletons name on the back.

[sizesit back on watch the reds bite.lol[/size

now now now, the same could be said for City, even when its a tenner a ticket nobody goes as evidenced on TV, in fact when i used to drink in the Ash there were quite a few city "fans" in there who didn't know where city played, I used to say plenty of seats why don't you go, they would just mumble into their beer.
And in December 1998 city only got 3007 at a match so Salford fans are not going there.

I blame us for being s**t!

Would suspect there will be a comment from a key board hero any time soon on this matter.


As a person with no interest in football I fail to see the comparison, over paid prima donnas against serious athletes. Any RL club/team who uses football as an excuse for poor attendance I would suggest needs to work harder on marketing and promotion.

Salford never has been a "proper" rugby city,i,ve been watching both Salford and United for nearly fifty years,easily done because the the fixtures never clashed that often,but even in our heyday in the late sixties and seventies friday crowds were bolsterred by the fact we had a social club before anybody else. we will never pick up more than five or six thousand home supporters tops ,in this ground or the new one,sad but true.

I blame Thatcher


For everything........

I support both and it's not a problem like it's been said very rare they clash for fixtures - but it does and prob always will have a impact when they clash - in a few weeks against Bradford for example will be the only home game I won't be at this season because it's united v city in the cup