Discussions between John Wilkinson the Salford Chairman and two potential investors with a view to a takeover are still taking place,the RL who have been involved in talks with the Reds boss say the situation is delicate but believe that progress is being made.

Mr Wilkinson is expected to update fans at a Fans Forum which is being held tonight in Pendleton.

On the playing front Martin Gleeson has started training with the club, but has not officially signed yet due to the present situation,the Club also say that there is an outside chance that season tickets will go on sale prior to Xmas.

All this means that subject to tonights meeting fans may know a bit more tomorrow.

So then im guessing you would class the development officers who work in the Wigan area for the RFL as a cash handout to prop up Wigan Warriors. After all, money is money.

I would say its a waste of money if true as we employ our own both in the area and in the south of Wales.

You think Wigan Warriors are responsible for all the development work done in the Wigan area and that if any additional development work was dropped we wouldnt see any difference? You also dont think that there are grants paid through the RFL that help Wigan pay for their development officers?

That's right..

Seriously?

I have never heard anyone complain that the game was doing too much development and that it is superfluous.

Also, Wigan do receive grants from the RFL for things like development officers, as all clubs do.

There are several RFL development officers in the Wigan area and wider region. Plus at least 2 of your development officers are effectively funded by the RFL - Tommy Gallagher and Bethan Simpson.
That's how it works at most clubs I've seen, the money comes from Sport England through the RFL but the development officers are employed by the club or their foundation.

Salford have just announced that they are unable to fulfill the fixture on the 30th against Leigh.

Any reason given as why they can't? Lack of players, insurance issues?

The reason given on the official Salford site is "to many players with knocks and niggles brought about by the very small squad we have at present".

The real bad news was what was said by John Wilkinson at the fans forum on Monday.
He said "right now we have Inland Revenue debt to discharge.We ideally.need around £600,000 right now to discharge this".
What I found strange was his comment that the RL at present are in talks with a major investor,but he admits he has not been told the identity of this potential investor.

This evening the Manchester Evening News say the debt to the Revenue is £50.000,with the overall debt being £600.000 which has to be found in the next 6 weeks to clear these debts.

Another disturbing fact in tonights paper is that former Reds player Paul Highton is acting as the link between the boardroom and the players in his role as welfare officer.
He has met with the RFL and has been briefed about what can be put in place should administration occur.

What really starts the alarm bells ringing is the comment in the paper where a Senior spokesman for the RFL again said that the games governing body will offer what practical help they can and confirmed that no Championship Club is on standby to be fast-tracked into the top flight to replace the Reds.

It grows more gloomy by the hour.

Have not the RFL made a rod for their own back with their bailout of Bulls beforehand? Notwithstanding the shambles of allowing Wakey to stay in after the Welsh fiasco.

Additionally, what are attendances like at Fax or Leigh? Would [ithey [/ibe able to hold their position financially as well as compete in the top flight?

Perhaps it [iis [/itime to look at 2 tiers of SL with 8 or 10 clubs who scrap for promotion/relegation come October.

How would this have helped Wakefield, Bradford or Salford?

It helps RL, by including the ambitious clubs trapped outside SL and allows a struggling tier 1 club to go down and come back potentially stronger.

It would include a total of 6 'ambitious' clubs, some of whom are nowhere near SL level.

Whilst it would allow a stuggling tier 1 club to down and potentially come back stronger, it would also allow a struggling tier 1 club to go down and be completely destroyed by the drop in visibility, TV income, Attendance, and merchandise sales.

Agreed (in part), it [iwould [/ionly work if Sly (or even the bbc) put effort & cash into the second tier that kept the profiles of those clubs high enough for supporters to be interested. Otherwise it [iwould [/ibecome a parochial minority comp more so than we're in danger of becoming already. I'm not in favour of reversing the licensing system altogether as (as Catalans have shown) it helps promote stability. There's nowt can be done about bad (board) management or poor players being retained beyond their shelf life that then turns off support (& income).