Swinton fans are talking about a merger of sorts with Manchester RLFC. It may well not be true because it was first reported in the Evening Speculator, but it's a bizarre one if it is because it sees a semi-pro club merge with a recently formed amateur one. And does the Swinton borough of Salford even have a border with Manchester? I'm not sure that it does.

If Marwan did buy Swinton, surely it would make sense to move them to the SCS. And I wouldn't be surprised to see them become some kind of unofficial feeder club to Salford. They could refer to themselves as the Pale Pinks then.

Interesting times.

I would hope that if Marwan does indeed buy Swinton, he keeps the Lions tag and preserves their history as he has done with us. Whilst it would seem logical to move them into the Salford City Stadium initially it would make more sense to look at building them a new stadium within the M27 postcode, I know they’ve already identified a piece of land in Agecroft at present to develop. Hopefully the new facility could then accommodate Folly Lane ARLFC and include a couple of community pitches. I like the model which FC United have adopted, I know they’ve secured funding from the likes of Sport England, Manchester Council, Manchester College and the Football Foundation. Therefore, it potentially wouldn’t cost Marwan much personally particularly if he can get Salford City Council and the RFL on board.

All of the above could benefit Salford Red Devils immensely, as it would hopefully encourage more youngsters to play the sport whilst providing them with better facilities to develop, these players would then be signed up to Swinton with the cream of the crop eventually signing for Salford. It could vice versa too, any of our youngsters who aren’t quite ready for Super League could sign 12/24 months contracts with Swinton.

It’s potentially a win-win situation that could benefit both clubs as well as the city enormously.

Good post JGR. Would be great for the game in Salford/Swinton area and would re-ignite interest which is surely still there to be tapped. A strong local scene and a strong Swinton can only help matters both for RL in the area but as a whole too.

Well, one Swinton fan is reporting - from a reliable source, as usual (why are RL clubs so leaky?) - that there's to be a takeover by an unnamed racehorse owning millionaire who already has an interest in another club, and a move to an unnamed stadium in the Barton district of Salford.

The mystery deepens. What could it all mean?


I can't see a move back into Swinton being on the cards any time soon. I suspect the City of Salford feels it had its fingers burnt over the SCS and will be reluctant to cough up more money to build another stadium, while the RFL won't be too keen to be seen to be bailing out a club by building a stadium for it. Once you've done it for one club, the others will want the same treatment. Also I can't see the logic of providing the citizens of Salford with another stadium when we already have one that's only used for rugby once a week in the summer, and for Fat Lads All Pile On once a fortnight during the winter. If Marwan is to buy the SCS, he'll want it to become self-sustaining, and will want to "sweat the asset" (ugh - managerspeak).

I understand what you're saying, but Salford City Council would only be required to provide maybe £1.5million towards an approximate £5million construction cost. I know for a fact they're spending the same and more on other facilities througout the city (because I'm working on them). Various other funding streams could also be tapped into such as Sport England etc whilst obtaining partnerships with Salford City College and Salford University would help.

The logic would be that unlike the AJ Bell Stadium (it's not even called Salford City Stadium anymore) this would be a genuine community facility that could be used by various sports teams in the area including Folly Lane ARLFC. If they're looking at an Agecroft site, why couldnt Salford City FC move in? Moor Lane is falling down around them as we speak. Not only this but you could include something similar to what Hull KR have done with their new North Stand, which has a "first-class training facility" equipped with the latest technology for IT, business and engineering courses and apprenticeships. They deliver apprenticeships in business and administration, IT, graphic arts and customer service qualifications. In addition, a range of community learning courses will be taught in the new centre, from arts and crafts, music, English and maths, leadership and management to teaching assistant training qualification. There are 17 classrooms, with enough space for 150 learners. The AJ Bell Stadium isnt a community facility as much as it isnt Salford RLFC's stadium, therefore I disagree that the citizens of Salford already have a "community stadium".

I agree however that Swinton need to move into the AJ Bell Stadium as a matter of urgency initially, but if they're to succeed and grow there is no future for them there. Since leaving Station Road the club has continued to decline, co-incidence, I think not. By keeping them out of Swinton Marwan will be flogging a dead horse, he has the potential to do something fantastic not only for Swinton Lions but the city as a whole with a new community stadium. Whether he does it or not remains to be seen.

Swinton fans should be wary of any interest that Dr Koukash takes in them . He's been on the ground long enough now to see how shriveled RL's roots have become in the area and i think he's probably come to the conclusion there's room for only one pro RL team in the vicinity. He must have noticed how fractured and weak Salford's support is and with a real businessman's mentality wants to make the Reds the only choice for RL fans . Swinton might not get many spectators but many in Swinton who don't go would still see the Lions as THE local team , not even consider supporting the Reds and therefore diminish the Red's already iffy potential fan base. The Lions will seem like an anachronistic irritant to him that need to be taken over, absorbed and their separate identity packed off to the history books asap.
The council would run with this and let the Lions go for their aim right from its inception has been to promote all things Salford first even if this is at the expense of any previous local traditions. Swinton's name and history are synonymous with a pre Salford City Council world and expendable if not downright obstructive. Koukash and the Council will be at one on this. Anything said otherwise is just window dressing.

I have read your views carefully but cannot agree. I see some holes in the logic.

If Swintonians feel that the Lions are "THE local team" and so will not go to support Salford, how would a (business) destruction of Swinton increase Salford's figures? They will either stay away from any RL games or support Wigan etc.

Salford Council are not the rich source of funds they were once: they have to make priorities with an ever-decreasing supply of money. They "got into bed" with Peel to establish a stadium as they could not afford to go alone.I believe this has resulted in a solution that has not answered all our needs. However, it was a business decision and, I feel, very unlikely there is political agendum here. In fact I am sure a diversion of attractions, away from the area that boundaries with Manchester, would be politically more attractive. Some of Salford's attractions are being "adopted" by Manchester.

As much as I enjoy you coming on here every few weeks lecturing us about how 'we' could have done whatever, I'm sure if you asked around you could get contact details for John Wilkinson, for whom your excellent input may have some actual relevance. Ta.

I'm sorry if I appear to be "lecturing" anyone and also if the points raised generally cover the same subject matter.

However, in my defence I don't think it's fair to rewrite history by referring to new and old regimes as others on here have said in a previous discussions. Lay the blame for your collective pre MK plight on John Willinson and his cohorts if you like, that is your business. What I can't agree with is that you, as a club having played the hand that you had at the time still seem disatisfied with your lot now that you are playing with a new deck, or am I missing something? Gift Horse and Mouth spring to mind.

Not only that, but, quite a few on here seem willing to advise your neighhbours on survival tactics, what grants are available to develope agecroft (is it in Swinton I know it's nearer than Barton but post Codes can misrepresent) how they could share with Salford FC that would make good business sense and whether it would do them any good for your owner to buy them to be your feeder club, why would he want to buy them they don't even have a boundary with Manchester...Don't you think that it's all a bit odd?

Just musing not lecturing BTW

I dont understand the point you're trying to make with your final paragraph? As it is I who has raised the issues you discuss, maybe if you expand a little I could answer.

As someone who lived at t'Heights for 30+ years, it's not near Barton.

As someone who enjoys the logic of dialectic exposition: please explain "What I can't agree with is that you, as a club having played the hand that you had at the time still seem disatisfied with your lot now that you are playing with a new deck, or am I missing something? Gift Horse and Mouth spring to mind."
err ... what lot?

I must admit I agree with others on here in that I can't really understand what your point is.


Are you saying we should just accept our lot? Assuming that's the case, you're conflating John Wilkinson ("the club" if you like) on the one hand with the fans on the other. Circumstances beyond John Wilkinson's control meant he had to play "the hand he was dealt" as best he could. As a result, we ended up with a stadium that, although it looks bright and shiny, isn't particularly well designed. The best sight line from the South Stand, for example, is directly into the ladies toilet. We, the fans, didn't play that hand. We didn't have a hand to play. We weren't at the table. We're dissatisfied with part of our lot - the stadium - and I see no reason why we shouldn't express that dissatisfaction.


This paragraph seems to be just chin music. I [ithink[/i what you're saying is that we shouldn't be advising Swinton on how to survive, which is OK because I don't think anyone has. The Swinton club has identified a piece of land it would like to build a community stadium on. The City of Salford did, for a time, seem keen on the idea, but that seems to have faded recently. I suggested that the City wouldn't be interested in building a stadium now, and that if Marwan did buy the club (Swinton) I think he'd move them into the SCS (it's only AJB when your club gets money for calling it that). Someone then suggested that the community stadium might be a goer because of other benefits it brings to the City. I can't see anyone advising Swinton on survival tactics there. We don't go round randomly advising clubs on what they should do to survive. Well, most of us don't, anyway.


OK

Yeah, we're not the club mate, we're just fans. I think that's where you may be going wrong. You can speak to Koukash on Twitter though - maybe try that. Red League's on there too.