SALFORD face being wound-up today – but the feeling among many fans is, ‘Close us down. Then we can start again.’
SunSport understands despised owners Isiosaia ’Sire’ Kailahi and Curtiz Brown still believe they can come good.
However, a bridging loan they said would arrive within 12 days after somehow securing another 14 days at the High Court – when HMRC wanted to wind them up – does not appear to have materialised.
Meetings with WeDo Finance, which has provided money for wages in several months, are said to have been held with a view to them providing the £5 million or £6 million cash – previous named financiers Ben Doweck and Eli Cohen are nowhere to be seen – have been ongoing.
In fact, plans to press on – with Krisnan Inu as coach, Andrew Henderson as either director of rugby or chief executive and Kylie Leuluai as player welfare manager – have been drawn up.
But even if they do pull through, they will have hardly anything.
SunSport has been told just four players – Nene Macdonald, Esan Marsters, Kai Morgan and Finley Yates – were paid this time through WeDo Finance, while it is believed contracted staff members are still waiting for October’s wages.
All those who were at the club but left, including now St Helens coach Paul Rowley, are said to have not been paid.
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Fans would stay away from the relegated side if Brown and Kailahi are involved, Businesses and sponsors may do as well – they would not be able to play at the council-controlled Salford Community Stadium.
And as one senior source put it: “Even if they drop £10 million in, it makes no real difference – they are clueless.”
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Now 152 years of history may be consigned to the gutter as Salford City Reds (2013) – the club’s holding company – faces a High Court hearing over a winding up petition brought by HMRC.
When that was issued, the debt was £626,000. It is believed to have grown since, with some saying it will be about £1 million.
Kailahi and Brown somehow gained a third adjournment saying a bridging loan worth in the region of £5 million was imminent.
So far, there has been no announcement of that showing up and the formation of a new company, Salford City Reds 2025, by Kiwi Tracy Atiga points in a certain direction.
She was seen in an executive box at Salford’s match against Wakefield, when Brown and others exchanged heated words with supporters below.
A cast of figures – including former players Nigel Vagana and Robbie Hunter-Paul – have been linked with Kailahi and Brown, who did attend the most recent clubs’ meeting, with many there wondering why.
They have been associated with a bid to take over the entire British rugby league system – but SunSport has been told by multiple sources that will not even be entertained.
Now if the High Court hearing goes as many expect, the Rugby Football League is ready to act.
A consortium, thought to involve former chief executive Chris Irwin and Salford’s deputy mayor, Cllr Jack Youd, is believed to be ready to save the name as a new company.
It would be a basic, part-time outfit with a wage budget of about £500,000 in year one, but as off-field income grows – at the minute, there is hardly a thing – that budget may grow over time.
And lifelong fan Paul Parkin, who describes Kailahi and Brown as ‘faceless wonders,’ told the Devil In The Detail podcast: “Hopefully, we can fold the club and start afresh.
“This hurts to say, but I hope the club folds. That’s the only option now. The whole thing’s got to change, everybody’s got to go.
“It’s going to be very difficult and a very slow, painful process – but it’s the only way we can go. We can’t carry on like this.”
Paul Whiteside added: “We need a fresh start and these people out. We need people there that care about the club and want the club to work.
“If they’ve not got loads of money, it doesn’t bother me. I’d rather have someone there that just cares and wants to try and help the club – not just be silent and watch it die.”
