For years, Salford councillors have been telling residents how important it was to have a Super League rugby club in the city to put Salford on the map. This was used by Salford City Council to justify £millions in loans and grants both to prop up the team and provide a new stadium, costing in excess of £22million.
First the name of the stadium changed from Salford Community Stadium to Salford City Stadium, then to the AJ Bell Stadium. Now Marwan Koukash's Red Devils themselves are running around in shirts displaying Manchester, after sponsors Peel Holdings (Peel Group et al) plastered its MediaCityUK Manchester logo over players' chests.
Peel notoriously moved Media City to Manchester by re-branding it as such in July last year (see previous Salford Star article – click here). The company - currently at the centre of anti-fracking campaigns up the road from the `AJ Bell Stadium' - also re-branded the Lowry Outlet mall which it bought recently as being in MediaCityUK Manchester too.
Indeed, virtually all new development in Salford – and usually subsidised by Salford tax payers' money – is being branded as Manchester; from the New Bailey development `Manchester's new business district', to Chapel Street's Vimto Gardens `Manchester' (see previous Salford Star article – click here)
It follows the University of Salford, Manchester, and The Lowry Hotel previously `re-locating' to Manchester.
Meanwhile, something very strange is going on with Salford Red Devils because their mascot has MediaCityUK on its shirt, without mentioning Manchester, and adverts for the replica shirts on club's website also have Manchester missing…
…They couldn't be ashamed or embarrassed by putting Manchester on the map could they? Especially with Chief Exec, Martin Vickers, a former `strategic director' of Salford City Council, who was smack in the middle of the negotiations to help rescue the formerly ailing Salford Reds...
Main photo shows Junior Sa'u playing against Wakefield on Saturday
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