Salford in the Mire

Okay...

The reason I disappeared from this forum about five months ago was not because of a spat with Poptart, or anyone else as such.

It was because I'd gotten quite close to the then management at the club, and I got to know a lot of things I probably shouldn't have, I can be quite charming at times.

Problem is that I'm a decent man, and although I knew Mopsey and a few others were talking utter vindictive nonsense, I was not in a position to argue with them without betraying certain confidences, I'm still not on certain issues.

If people want to listen to self serving individuals like them, then that's fine, just so long as they know that these people are choosing to manipulate what little info they have to push forward they're own self seeking agenda.

You could accuse me of doing the same, and maybe on occasions I have, but what I can say without much doubt is that over the last 18 months my line to the club has been more direct than most, almost daily at times.

So, using what I know, and what I can say, then this is what I know to be true. MC and JM have saved this club, end of story, and they deserve a medal, and Matt Ellis for one will tell you exactly the same. He certainly will never tell you that they left it in the poop, if the gob brigade want to argue then go ahead, what can you do with some folk.

Poptart and a few others have actually got it more or less spot on, as should every other right minded fan. The club did have a large debt, but it was manageable, because it had increased it balance sheet assets to over 10 million pounds, it's that simple. That is the reason Ellis went for it in the end, and that took years of blood and sweat to achieve. This is also why the takeover took so long, it wasn't just Ellis dotting the i's, so were the BOD, wanting as they were to protect what had already been achieved.

MC provided the stability, but JM procured the assets that made the takeover happen, notably the East stand. Without that being delivered debt free, and it is, then Ellis would not have invested. He's in it for the love of the club, but at the same time he was never going to throw money away. Without the increased revenue and IMG points from the stand and pitch etc coming on line very shortly, that's exactly what he'd have been doing, wasting money. HE WOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT, and we'd be doomed to life in the lower leagues with MC, or someone similar, trying to make ends meet, and probably failing in the long term.

All I can say to those with a grudge, just think about it minus the blinkers. MC and JM have given Ellis a chance to succeed, not a guarantee, but a possibility. One that simply didn't exist four years ago.

Be gracious and accepts they got it right and then move on with Matt Ellis.

One final point. Although totally a fringe person with zero clout I have found the last few month utterly draining, and I've done virtually nothing. I never intend to get involved again, not at any level other than being a fan, it's hard and thankless work imo. My hat goes off to all the people who have attempted to run or help this club, with the obvious exception of Pearman. Most have failed, some miserably, but knowing what I know now, it was almost inevitable. So my biggest praise has to go to John Minards, his extracting that 8 million from YC and 2 million from the Council was and will remain the biggest single turning point in this clubs history. Without it, we would be nothing now.