Latest news with #PaulRowley
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Salford thrashed but hope for brighter days as financial situation improves
The start of a brighter future, or merely another false dawn? Only in the weeks to come will we know just what the latest developments off the field surrounding Salford Red Devils mean but on it these remain troubling and frustrating times. The irony cannot have been lost on any Salford fan who was inside the Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Four months ago, they began their season at the same venue amid huge controversy, after the Red Devils chose to field their academy side and lost 82-0 in protest against the salary-cap restrictions placed upon them by the Rugby Football League. At the time there was debate about the merits of those restrictions but months later they remain in place – and with good reason. Since that day in February, Salford have been taken over but their financial troubles have continued, with debts mounting up, significant player sales and salaries being paid late. It is to the immense credit of the players and staff that they have turned up every week and performed with all of this hanging over their heads. Unsurprisingly, with star players sold and the club borrowing players from other clubs, they have been by some distance the weakest team in Super League in 2025, with just one win. Danny Richardson, the latest debutant here after arriving on loan from Hull KR, was the 54th player the head coach, Paul Rowley, has fielded in league and cup. Few would expect anything other than heavy defeat week after week, and that theme continued here as the Saints ran in 11 unanswered tries to win 58-0. This week, though, there was a chink of light off the field. It was entirely possible that Salford could have ceased to exist by Sunday had a winding-up petition filed against the club by HMRC for debts approaching £700,000 gone through. Instead, it was adjourned until September. Why? Salford have secured a bridging loan to the tune of £3m that will enable them to clear their debts to HMRC and the Rugby Football League, hopefully remove the salary-cap measures and open the door for what club sources insist is a multi-million-pound sum in a hedge fund that will be unlocked by the club's new owners once debts are settled. It is not an end to the problems, but respite if nothing else. It is a bizarre situation but given how there were fears Salford could have ceased to exist by Sunday, let alone this year, it is something to cling to. The pressure now falls on the ownership group, led by Sire Kailahi and Curtis Brown, to deliver after months of false promises. The Guardian understands that if those funds are released, the club will be handed over to someone to run it day-to-day and keep it sustainable. That man could be the former Red Devils chief executive, Paul King, who returned from gardening leave to help steward the club through this crisis – and who used his own money to pay the wages last month. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Salford's problems, though, are also Super League's. Having a team under special financial measures being heavily beaten every week is not a good look. This felt more like a training session for St Helens, but that is not the fault of the Red Devils' players or staff, who have acquitted themselves commendably throughout this crisis. There is every chance Salford, who were 12th last year in the IMG gradings which determine promotion and relegation, could be removed from the competition in the autumn if their score suffers as a result of the financial problems which have engulfed the club. There are Championship teams waiting to strike in 2026. But the onus must fall on the game to ensure its ownership tests are more stringent, and that players receive adequate welfare and support when financial strife hits. Salford's players, staff and supporters have been grossly failed this year. The sport should be embarrassed – not only by the look it creates for Super League, but for the toll it has taken on human beings who deserve much better. It must be hoped Salford have reached their nadir and they can look ahead with some level of optimism with this financial crisis finally behind them.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Winding-up petition against Salford adjourned
A winding-up petition filed against beleaguered Super League side Salford Red Devils has been adjourned until had previously been reported, external the club owed £500,000 to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as the club continue to battle a difficult season on and off the Radio Manchester reports, external the club are confident a bridging loan will arrive in the coming days to pay HMRC as well as are bottom of the Super League table having won just once in 15 league games so far this season. Their form comes in contrast to last season when they recorded a fourth-place finish under Paul Rowley and reached the play-offs in an impressive being taken over on the eve of the season by a consortium led by Swiss businessman Dario Berta, the club have been beset by have been paid late, key players including talismanic scrum-half Marc Sneyd have left, while chief executive Chris Irwin resigned after less than three months in the addition, Salford City Council pulled out of negotiations with the club over their attempt to buy their Salford Community Stadium home in May.A sustainability cap imposed on the club by the Rugby Football League has affected team selection, leading to the Red Devils fielding youthful sides and being on the receiving end of a record 82-0 defeat by St Helens at the start of the cap also led to centre Nene Macdonald taking unpaid leave earlier this month as he was restricted to just five appearances for the Red Devils.
The Sun
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Chris Hill blasts the player welfare given to Salford's stars in cash crisis
CHRIS Hill has blasted the 'atrocious' player welfare he and his Salford team-mates are having to endure through their financial crisis. Bridging finance is expected to see a winding up petition brought by HMRC, scheduled for today, adjourned and the £626,000 debt paid off. 3 Whether wages will be paid tomorrow, as is normal, or by the end of the month, as it contracted, is anyone's guess. But England prop Hill is in no doubt about one thing – the support Paul Rowley's players have received from the governing body is nowhere near good enough. He said: 'The player welfare's atrocious. It's atrocious. 'It's good within the club. Chris O'Connor's led that, but a bit wider. Putting restrictions on us, making lads roll out with injuries, it's poor. 'You saw it against Hull FC. Cain Robb gets knocked out, he stands up, blood pouring off and lets him play on. It's poor and that's just one part of it. 'When you're playing with young lads, they know you're playing with injuries and they're letting it carry on. What would you expect us to do? 'There are still lads playing with injuries now and while Sam Hill's a great prospect, he shouldn't be playing week in, week out. 'That's not because he's noy been playing well. That's just for his welfare. 'Youngsters like him and Nathan Connell are taking the chances and they'll learn a lot from this experience but there are a lot of lessons to be learned from this. 'They'll learn from the experience but they shouldn't be going through it.' Hill also vented at the lack of clarity over who to tell at the Rugby Football League, adding: 'Who do we feed back to? I've not a clue.' Eight senior stars have left Salford amid months of wage dramas as owners Sire Kailahi and Curtiz Brown scramble to pay players and staff. Hill, who moved from Huddersfield for this season, has not thought about shipping out but he cannot blame those who had enough. 3 The 37-year-old told SunSport: 'I've always said I understand those who've left. 'You've got to think of your family and what's best for you at the end of the day. If that was leaving, good on them. 'But I want to stay and that's what I'll do. 'Hopefully it does turn around and if it does happen, we can build off this. 'There's belief and I want to play for these boys, young lads coming through and stuff like that. I've always said that and I want to help them in as many ways as I can. 'If that means sticking it out and really grinding it out, I will do. I've stuck to my guns. 'I've stuck to what I've done throughout my career. I'll fight to the death for my team. The minute you stop enjoying it, the minute you retire. 3 'We're still here, we're still believing and we'll fight for everything.' Regarding the Cain Robb incident, a Rugby Football League spokesperson said it was managed between the Salford medical staff and the match officials – as suggested by post-match comments from the Salford head coach, the incident was not immediately clear. They added: "The match officials stopped play as soon as they became aware (the tackle following), and they took appropriate action." On the player welfare point, they commented: 'Player welfare has been a key consideration throughout the RFL's approach to the issues at Salford this season. 'The stated priority of doing all possible to support the club through their financial problems has had a focus on ensuring players and staff being continued to be paid and maintaining the sporting integrity of the Super League competition. 'The decision to limit the club's salary cap was made in an effort to help the club address their financial issues. The RFL holds regular meetings with RL Cares and the GMB Union which would be forums for concerns to be raised.'
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Rowley sees 'green shoots of progress' at Salford
Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley has said he can see "green shoots of progress" in his side in the midst of a tough 2025 Super League club have had a tumultuous time both on and off the field this term with financial problems regarding the club's ownership, unpaid wages and player departures overshadowing their side were defeated 38-6 against Hull FC on Sunday, putting in a spirited performance, and they remain bottom of the Super League table with just one win this season."Like everybody else I'm fed up, bored of the situation because everybody wants to win. We're here to compete. We could almost smell success coming into this season so it's been difficult," Rowley told BBC Radio Manchester."What I will say is that we've got some new additions in and I did feel that this week there were some green shoots of progress and actually in the first half I felt it."Despite the player exodus at the club this term - including the recent departure of talismanic centre Nene Macdonald - Rowley said that the team spirit in his camp remains high."You can't remove that amount of serious talent and replace it overnight. It's not easy to replace that sort of quality," Rowley added."We're OK, the mood is consistent. Ultimately we'll turn up tomorrow and everybody's in each other's company and they're all best mates so the mood is good." The Red Devils face a meeting with HMRC on Wednesday over a potential winding-up order as their financial struggles this, they fielded four debutants - Dan Russell, Cain Robb, Tom Whitehead and Kobe Rugless - against Hull FC, who all joined on loan last signing from Hunslet proved controversial, with the Championship side alleging, external that the transfer had taken place without their brushed away the criticism post-match on Sunday, leading to Hunslet standing by their earlier statement in a follow-up post on X, external on Monday."I think whoever communicated and wrote it has been miscommunicated from the people that are actually involved in it," Rowley said on Sunday, prior to Hunslet's second statement."I've certainly not targeted any players. That's been thrown at me on more than one occasion. I'll try and remain classy on that one and plead the fifth amendment."
Scottish Sun
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Salford battle to get deal with Warrington for Sam Stone after ‘downing tools'
Back rower walked away from the Red Devils after months of chaos STONE DROP Salford battle to get deal with Warrington for Sam Stone after 'downing tools' SALFORD are battling to not lose Sam Stone to Warrington for nothing. SunSport understands the back rower is claiming he resigned from the Red Devils and should be a free agent after refusing to play. 2 Salford are fighting to get something from a move that will see Sam Stone head to Warrington after 'downing tools.' Credit: The Wolves are close to completing a swoop for the Australian, with angered boss Paul Rowley claiming talks have been ongoing since pre-season. Now it is believed that rather than a transfer fee, Super League's basement boys are trying to negotiate a move that will see one or more players move in the opposite direction for the test of the campaign. That would reduce the wage bill even more as salaries are taken care of by the parent club but would still give the coach options to select from. Stone's imminent departure would make it eight top stars to have departed since Sire Kailahi and Curtiz Brown took ownership of Salford. And Rowley fumed: 'On Saturday, he downed tools. 'I'm fully understanding of everyone's position, thresholds and tolerance but that situation really put us in a bit of strife. 'The manner of it's not good. There's a way of doing things and that's not the way. If you make a decision that hurts your team-mates then it's not a good decision. 'Sam's been talking to another club since pre-season, so now he's fit I guess that move can start to take shape.' While Stone, 27, is next to leave, SunSport understands Kailahi and Brown claim as many as seven players may be coming in, if finance comes good. 2 Salford boss Paul Rowley admitted the Australian refused to play against St Helens Credit: So far, their ownership has been a disaster and Rowley has been forced to blood kids, with painter and decorator Sam Hill scoring a try against St Helens on Sunday. And until money is in the bank account, he can only dream as he added: 'Until it's tangible and real, you're wasting your energy trying to make up a team of make believe players. 'I just crack on with the lads we've got.'
