Salford City are no strangers to change. After all, before the Class of ‘92 came knocking in 2014, the club were languishing in the Northern Premier League Division One North. The thought of one day making it into the Football League appeared as fanciful as Manchester United winning a Premier League title without Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout.
Forward wind to 2019 and the club had achieved four promotions in five seasons. The Class of ‘92, alongside Singapore-based billionaire Peter Lim, had delivered Salford to the doorstep of the Football League, after winning the National League play-off against Fylde.
Following the original takeover, Ryan Giggs claimed the Class of 92’s stated ambition was to bring Championship football to the club within 15 years. But after six years of treading water - Salford missed out on this season’s play-offs by a single point after a final day draw against Carlisle last weekend - Neville and Beckham, whose pockets are appreciably deeper than their former team-mates, have taken decisive action.
Out go Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville, and in come a host of high profile investors as part of a cash injection that could breathe fresh life into a project that has been in serious danger of stalling following a loss of momentum.
Perhaps still giddy after his recent 50th birthday celebrations (still looking good, Becks), Beckham and his former Manchester United and England team-mate have put together a consortium with a distinct U.S. flavour. Among those who will oversee the next stage of Salford’s development are US-based businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies. Both men will assume the role of co-chair in a new look board for the League Two side.
Butt, Scholes, Giggs and (Phil) Neville, meanwhile, will no longer be shareholders but look set to remain in roles at the club.
So what does Rob make of it all? In short, he believes the move is reflective of the kind of cash required to make football dreams come true.
“The reality of league football is that it is a very costly business,” he says. “You need to be able to invest more heavily than they have done, even though they have invested pretty well.
“This is the next stage of their journey and will provide some cash flow for them to launch an assault on the League Two title, get them up into League One and then into the Championship, which I think was in their stated objectives.”
Of course, it’s not like a lower league team enjoying significant stateside investment and going on to achieve global recognition isn’t without precedent. The party is still continuing in Wrexham after they made it into the second tier of English football for the first time since 1981/82 following their promotion from League One.
The belief in the north west will be that Salford can achieve similar success - on and off the pitch. Particularly with Beckham as the figurehead.
“Neville isn’t as famous as Ryan Reynolds but David Beckham has global popularity,” says Rob. “He has just celebrated his 50th birthday and has been back in the news. But whether there’s foreign investment or not, the reality is that any club needs that cash investment, the injection to develop facilities, infrastructure, and then you riff off all the off-field things you can, whether that’s through media opportunities or an expanded digital footprint.
“I think this is a natural next step for Salford.”
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