In 1978, Salford Amateurs football team moved to their Moor Lane stadium after Langworthy rugby league side had vacated. There were no floodlights, just a stand built by Manchester Rugby Union Club in the 1920s. The Amateurs later became Salford FC, and Salford City FC in the 1980s.
From years in the North West Counties League, Salford eventually got promotion to the Evo-Stik First Division North in 2008. And that seemed to be glass ceiling, with small crowds and few people in Salford seemingly interested in the city's semi-pro football club...
Highlights included avoiding relegation in 2009 by beating Garforth 5-2 in the Great Escape (see here), only losing to Blyth Spartans in extra time in the 3rd qualifying round of the FA Cup (see here), Mario Balotelli's younger brother, Enoch Barwuah, signing for the tangerine army in 2009 (he never played), plus the delights of visiting strange village teams in the hills of Lancs and Yorkshire with the sound of cows bellowing in neighbouring fields.
There was also the tabloid drama of Ryan Giggs rogering his brother's wife while Rhodri was playing and managing at Salford City, plus an ironic and fortuitous film shot by the BBC in 2010, premiered at the Salford Film Festival, called The Miracle of Moor Lane (see here), in which manager Rhodri Giggs, or Sir Rhodri of Giggs, and Chairman Darren Quick, as Lord Darren of Quick, rescued the beautiful game from the legions of monsters threatening 'the nobility and pureness of the grassroots game'...
...And then it happened...
Early in 2014 a rumour spread that the local football club was to be taken over by the 'Class of 92', a conglomerate formed by the famous ex-Manchester United group of Ryan Giggs, Phil and Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes. The posse actually appeared at Moor Lane, watching the Ammies get stuffed by Curzon Ashton (see here).
While sports writers and United fans were excited about the potential takeover, local residents were concerned about big crowds attending, complete with related traffic issues, and plans for the redevelopment of the stadium and loss of its community connection (see here). Some fans were also concerned about the loss of identity (see here). Many other residents were later disturbed by the preparations for enlarging the ground that led to cracks in the walls of local houses.
Three families moved away from the area and Jonny Wineberg stood as an Independent candidate in the local ward election as a direct protest to the lack of consultation by the Salford City Council (see here). He split the vote and what had been a Labour seat for decades was captured by the Tories (see here).
While the takeover was a great story for the media with its focus on the birth of a 'new' football club backed by famous ex-players, residents objected to the building of a new 5,000 capacity stadium.
During the planning process, the Fire Service and Transport for Greater Manchester were asked to check Moor Lane for vehicles passing and turning. All said that the Lane was too narrow for vehicles to pass, especially if cars were also parked along the roads. Critical to the debate was the need for car parking.
On the day of planning meeting, residents presented excellent cases, well supported by research, and, to the delight of the press eager for a picture, I presented Gary Neville with a gift of a black bag of rubbish tied with a Christmas red ribbon and stating it was from the football ground (see here)...
The case for the new stadium was presented by two of the Class of 92, one notably being an embarrassed Gary Neville, who promised that his first team players would ensure the area was always clear of rubbish.
Apart from the two local councillors who opposed giving planning permission, others gave comments on the importance of having a Salford City Football Club and how it would be beneficial for Salford. The concerns about traffic, car parking and public disturbance were passed over and the planning permission was given. Residents who attended the meeting to protest believed the decision had already been made in favour of the Class of '92, and left disappointed and dismayed at the lack of democracy.
"The Council was presented with a clear case not to approve this development" recalls Jonny Wineberg "There has been almost total silence since from the councillors who passed the proposal, much to their shame."
The disgruntled residents set out to make the best of a difficult situation and established regular meetings, called the Forum, between the football club management and the residents. The aim was to cooperate with the Club and achieve an acceptable situation. Residents now have parking permits, road markings directing the traffic and notices announcing dates and times of matches. Six rubbish bins have been erected on the roads after persistent pressure, and residents have free use of the club's buildings for their meetings. Cooperation is the accepted approach to all conflicts.
However, car parking is an ongoing problem, and the club is forever searching the area, in spite of its park and ride system. Almost everyone now admits that the games are good, people enjoy themselves and difficulties are being resolved through discussion and cooperation. Drinking is controlled and no one pees in public any longer. If the supporters don't cooperate there are fines and traffic wardens.
Six years on from 2014, a zillion promotions later and now in EFL League Two, there are examples of worthwhile cooperation and progress. The car parking problems are still many and ongoing, while the pitch lighting is so bright that "Nevile Road is like daylight when the team is playing and these lights shine into a bedroom in Moorside Road" one resident told me.
Talking to Ian Malone, aka 'Buck', a very long standing supporter of both the original teams and the current incarnation, I get the feeling that problems of the community are also problems of the club and working together will help reach solutions.
Ian played on the ground as a young lad of eight, became a volunteer with the amateur and semi-pro club and is about to open Buck's cafι for players and residents, entered from Nevile Road. Other regular supporters and residents, Dave and Mary Cook, feel that "the league rise of Salford City and development of the ground is great for both the local community and Greater Manchester and adds another league club to the area, following the demise of other clubs such as Bury FC".
But the aim is to be bigger than Bury FC, with zillionaire Peter Lim involved, and fifty per cent of the Club's shares now based off-shore in the British Virgin Isles (see here)..."At this moment in time we're still trying to get promotions, we're still trying to you could argue buy our way to success
" said Gary Neville during SportsPro Live 2020....
But whether that will be at Moor Lane remains to be seen... "We'd like to get to about 15,000 people in four or five years" he added. Hopefully this won't be in the current stadium or battles with residents will begin all over again...
See part one of the history of Sport On The Moor click here
Words by Alice Searle, the author of two books about Kersal Moor - A Celebration of Kersal Moor and More Moor Tales.
See previous episodes of the Kersal Moor history...
Why Is The Moor Not A Moor? - click here
Suicide and Ghosts - click here
200 Years of Horse Racing on Kersal Moor - click here
The Chartists and Kersal Moor click here
Cussons Soap and Kersal Moor click here
The Poor, The Wealthy and Friedrich Engels click here
A Public Hanging on the Moor click here
Kersal Moor On Fire click here
The Autumnal Beauty of the Moor click here
Celebrations on the Moor click here
Main photo by Gareth Lyons
Additional reporting by Stephen Kingston
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