Photographs taken by Joseph Hillier
Days after Salford City cited new investment possibilities, Ammies fans tell Quays News they hope to see a shift beyond the Class of ‘92 connections.
It’s been ten years since the club was bought by former Manchester United stars Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, and David Beckham. This week, Salford City CEO Nicky Butt announced the club has launched a process to explore new partners to help the club grow.
“I strongly believe that what the lads have done for the club is nothing short of amazing,” said longtime fan Sam from Eccles. “I’ve been saying for some time that we need to move away from the United connection.”
“I know a lot of people who want nothing to do with Salford City as they see it as a sister club to United, and they’re all Salford born and bred.”
The Class of ‘92 has forged a close relationship with Manchester United, loaning several youth players from the Premier League giants, including Di’Shon Bernard, D’Mani Mellor, and Ethan Galbraith.
Despite the positives the takeover has brought, culminating in gaining league status in 2019, many fans still feel that the identity of the club is misleading.
Season-ticket holder Bill from Weaste, called out the Class of ‘92’s decision to change the team’s colours:
“Changing the club colour from orange to red was, for me, a poor decision. Overnight, we alienated a section of potential Salford-born-and-bred supporters due to the clear connection with the red half of the city.”
Bury FC fan Jack added on the Salford City FC Supporters Facebook page:
“Of all the colours to choose, why on earth choose red? A few miles down the road, you have Manchester United, arguably the biggest club in the world, who also play in red.”
“I don’t know what the opinion was at the time, but if I were a Salford City fan and I wanted to be identified as one, the last colour I would want to be decked out in is the same colour as Man United.”.
Salford’s identity has evolved under the Class of ‘92 with a rebrand and investment. Investment that the Manchester United stars are seeking again.
The club statement added that the board intends to “consider a range of potential partners” to “develop its football infrastructure, expand its commercial and media operations, and continue to rise up the football pyramid.”
Butt was keen to stress the Class of ‘92 will be as committed as ever:
“We have achieved very special things here, but there are major opportunities in front of us, and we want to make sure we have the right mix of investment and strategic partners to take advantage of those opportunities.“
Salford City are currently 19th in League Two, closer to the play-off positions than the bottom two.