“There are a lot of us who have been critical at the managerial merry-go-round that has persisted at the club over the last six years”
The thoughts of an old school Salford fan who’s seen his team rise from the North West Counties into League Two (but hopefully not League One…)
Friday 12 May 2023
I sound like an insincere American property developer or a Saudi Arabian oil magnate who’s just completed the takeover of a lower league English football club when I say this, but The Scarf My Father Wore is by County fans, for County fans. I’m always open to any suggestions of things you’d like to see on the website and I’m extremely glad I followed up Bredburyhatter’s request on Yellowboard to interview a Salford fan who was at Moor Lane long before Gary Neville & Co turned up with their tins of red paint.
I’ll be honest, navigating my way through the Salford City Supporters Group on Facebook was bloody hard work at first…
…but eventually I made contact with Richard Kedzior who’s provided us with a fantastic insight into following the Ammies, before and after the takeover. That’s your main feature today; the views of your favourite County correspondents will be with you tomorrow morning, which you can enjoy over a brew, or a fry-up, or your first pint of the day in Manchester city centre.
Finally, a big thank you to Mark at Blue Bee Customs for sponsoring today’s edition.
Enjoy today’s issue.
Des Junior
When did you first start following Salford?
Having moved into the area following a lengthy self-enforced break from football, I went down to Salford's ground in November 2007, felt totally at home, and immediately became a hardcore supporter with the club - then in Division One of the North West Counties League (level nine in the football pyramid). Prior to that, I had already visited Moor Lane on a handful of occasions in the 80s and 90s as well as seeing them as Salford Amateurs when they lifted the Lancashire Amateur Cup against Aintree Villa at Old Trafford in 1971.
During your time supporting Salford, you’ve seen the club rise from the ninth tier to the fourth. How do you think the club has changed during that period?
Obviously the higher one rises the more detached supporters become from the club in terms of personal contact, although Gary Neville - and subsequently Nicky Butt - together with other club officials have done their best to keep in touch by holding occasional meetings with the fans to keep them engaged and informed of developments. All the original committee are still active in one capacity or another at the club and this has provided a valuable link with the past which must never be overlooked or forgotten.
When I first started attending games, we averaged about 130 spectators and now get in excess of 3,000, which of course means that we now have to adhere to Football League regulations which certain long-term fans found difficult to adapt to. There are obviously some lesser savoury aspects the higher one climbs the football pyramid, both on and off the field of play, but that is unfortunately reflective of society itself.
Your owners are quite well known it’s fair to say. What’s your opinion of them?
Any football fan presented with the investment and opportunity that we were given, and then refused it, would seriously not be believed. What is there to criticise? Apart from the obvious progression on the field they have totally redeveloped the stadium, given us very affordable football (the cheapest season ticket and admission prices in the league) coupled with very competitively priced away travel, as well as introducing a women's team, an academy and development side, an Under-18s and other junior teams. In addition to this there is the University Academy 92 offering various business courses and studies as well as Foundation 92 which looks to help and assist the community of Salford during these difficult times.
On a slightly less positive note there are a lot of us who have been critical at the managerial merry-go-round that has persisted at the club over the last six years and it's to be hoped that we've learned our lessons given the successes of former managers Gary Bowyer at Dundee and Richie Wellens at Leyton Orient this season.
After four promotions in five years, Salford have now spent four seasons in League Two with finishes of 11th, 8th, 10th and now 7th. Since enjoying a taste of regular success, have fans been frustrated at not progressing to League One?
Rather than actually missing out on the play-offs, I would say the most frustrating aspect of the last couple of seasons has been our inconsistency in the final stages. We got ourselves handily placed on two occasions only to throw it away with some inexplicably dire performances at a time when we needed to raise our game. I would suggest that our owners have probably been more annoyed that we haven't been promoted yet (given the numerous managerial changes) as we're quite a pragmatic bunch of supporters. We're realistic enough to acknowledge that we have to earn the right to go up on the field of play; it’s not guaranteed just because of who our owners are. If we do manage to achieve promotion this season, then we will have done so on merit and on merit alone.
Best and worst moments following Salford?
The best moment following the Class of 92 takeover has to be the National League play-off final win against AFC Fylde at Wembley in 2018-19 which saw us gain our fourth promotion in five seasons and with it promotion to the Football League.
Other notable highlights include the highly publicised FA Cup first round win over Notts County (then in League Two) in 2015-16, as well as the 12-month delayed Papa John’s Trophy final win in 2021 against Portsmouth at Wembley which regrettably we weren't allowed to attend due to the Covid lockdown.
Prior to the takeover the legendary “Great Escape” campaign of 2008-09 saw us miraculously avoid relegation straight back to the North West Counties League on the final day of the season with a 5-2 win at Garforth Town while fellow relegation candidates Rossendale United lost 3-0 at home to Mossley. It was an incredible end to a never-to-be-forgotten season which at one stage had seen us record one win and take just eight points from our opening 26 games that had us rock bottom of the table, 15 points behind Rossendale.
The most disappointing moment of my time following Salford City is when it was announced that our long established colours of tangerine shirts and black shorts were being changed to red shirts and white shorts. The club badge was also changed but that didn't rankle anywhere near as much as the kit change which I felt was both unique and eye-catching. I've obviously accepted the change in the meantime but it still annoys me!
What’s your thoughts on FC United?
I'm fairly ambivalent about them. There's never really been any serious rivalry between our sides even when we locked horns in two consecutive seasons in the National League North, other than a bit of verbal banter. I personally don't like the lazy comparisons made between ourselves as we are two completely different entities. We are a long-established club formed in 1940 that has always tried to be representative of the “town” of Salford while they are a Manchester United supporters protest group who formed their own club in 2005 to substantiate their feelings towards their parent club owners.
Having received 1,366 tickets for the league game, County’s allocation has been reduced to 536 for Saturday. Thoughts?
I sympathise to some extent but the fact remains that we are obliged (as all other play-off clubs are) to only offer you 10% of our capacity. Having decided to give you a reduced allocation I sincerely hope that this decision doesn't backfire on us and that we get to see a packed-out stadium. Also, of course, we need to neutralise your vocal support as much as possible!
What’s your prediction for the first leg?
Given our home form this season - just 10 wins from 23 games having scored 28 goals - I have to admit to feeling a tad nervous and almost wishing that both legs could be played at Edgeley Park given that we possess the second best away record in the league. However, if we set up with the right mindset and fully utilise our attacking options then I could see us going into the second leg with a two-goal advantage.
I hope your trainers get wrecked next Saturday
Bloody hell, who’s pissed on Des Junior’s Corn Flakes this morning? The answer, is nobody. It’s just a clever little segue into mentioning today’s sponsor. Although to be honest, I do hope your trainers get wrecked next Saturday - covered in grass and mud and tears as we all celebrate County getting to Wembley. Don’t worry if your trainers do get messed up, simply give Mark a call at Blue Bee Customs and he’ll have them patched-up and ready to go again in no time. Or you can just buy some new ones from his excellent selection.
Visit bluebeecustoms.net for further details.
Photo of the day
Maine Road, 1999
Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of City’s final game at Maine Road. Any excuse to give this an airing…
Today in SK
🕺 Kick off County’s play-off weekend at Bask (SK1). DJ Gareth Brooks is on till 2am, dropping the best in old school hip-hop, disco, funk, R&B, bangers and more.
🎶 Slightly further up the A6, the Nelson Tavern (SK1) also have their resident DJ playing on a Friday night, with Dicko (Ian Dickinson) on from 8pm till 1am.
Never mind Google or Yell.com, we’ve got you covered
STOP! That got your attention, didn’t it? Just a quick one… I’d hazard a guess that at some point in May, all of our readers will use Google or Yell.com at some point looking for a particular product or service. But before you do, please have a quick look at our own directory to see if we have what you’re looking for. A number of great businesses support The Scarf My Father Wore, allowing us to publish fresh content every day, so let’s send a few enquiries their way in return.
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