I'm not normally a doom and gloom merchant but things that i'm reading are getting me increaseingly worried.

We have as far as I am concerned we have got the best group of young players on the books that I have seen in my lifetime, yet there appears to be the very real prospect that two of the very best are on there way at the end of the season. And if ratchford and Adamson continue to improve as they are then I can see top team shaped vultures circeling as we speak.

It was nearly 1 year ago that we got confirmation that we were being admitted to the Super League via the franchise system mainly on the back of the same freshly annoucned new stadium, now unless the company building the stadium also made the emporers new cloths I can't see any progress on the stadium.

Is it two much to expect the club to issue some form of statement about the stadium in particular or is there something that maybe they don't want to face.

Your not the only one fearing the worst.
The young players contracts should of been sorted months ago.
The clubs silence about the stadium is terrible they should just put us in the picture for better or worse.

Echo

We've got one of the best crop of youngsters of any team in Super League. It's obvious their going to attract interest from other clubs, its upto the club to ensure we hang on to them.

No Sheddy, the club can only do so much.

As the new ground is seriously affected by the PFI collapse/Peel issues, there is every liklihod that it will not happen. The club cannot say that as then we would have a problem: players would leave, the Sl may intervene, sponsors would disappear. We are tied by the lack of progress.

Without the ground, the only thing left is success on the field. Well, it's coming (pre-season, I would have been very happy with the number of victories we have without the scalps) but maybe not fast enough for the player(s). And it is they who are producing the results.

We cannot keep players whose heads are turned by opportunities at the more famous clubs, whose chances of international honours are seen as better at places such as Wigan, Leeds, Warrington.

Perceptions of Salford in the pecking order will cost us players.

I'm sorry but your not trying to tell me a highly respected local business man like JW can't get a straight up answer from the powers that be? I suggest that he can and we are not being given the news. Myself and a great many others fear that the ground now will never happen and I have the gut feeling that the lack of new ground and innevitable drain of our young talent will see us not have our franchise renewed in 2 years time and unless we are very carefull that spells the begining of the end for Salford as a top flight rugby league entity

Correct - but telling us that there'll be no ground will
1) put off sponsors (far more important to any club than sponsors)
2) tell young and (older) gifted players that our future is NL
3) set us up for sufficient rumblings in RL to ensure no franchise in the future.

Keeping stumm and trying to resurrect a deal will avoid the above.

Basic business: most companies (up to a few months ago) who suffer a share drop still are making good profits but lose out because of messages.

By powers that be do you mean Peel or RFL?

If Peel then JW may be a well respected business man locally but he's a small fly they can swat to them. The only reason Peel are aligned to us is so they can use us to help push Port Barton and make them billions of pounds profit. It doesn't really matter a jot if we get the stadium or not to them. They'll push on with their plans without us if need be.