Salford City, a club submerged between giants of English football, had a meteoric rise up the pyramid before Covid-19 struck. However, since the pandemic they have been unsuccessful in their 6 attempts to gain promotion to League One despite the investment from the Class of 92. Many are wondering when the fortunes will turn for the Ammies who seek to secure a top 3 finish this season under Karl Robinson.

History 

Salford City were founded in 1940 but it’s only within the last 10 years that they have come into the limelight of the English media. In 2014, their ownership drastically changed as former Manchester United players, Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt bought a majority stake within the club alongside Singaporean businessman Peter Lim.

At this point in time, Salford were competing in the Northern Premier Division One (Step 8 of English football) where they won promotion out of in the 14/15 season. The success continued as they won back-to-back promotions the following year in their first season competing in the Northern Premier League in club history to put them into the National League North. After securing a playoff position in their first season in the division, it gave them the platform to storm the league in the 17/18 season, finishing on 91 points and champions.

Salford were becoming a force of nature within non-league football which was to be expected considering the investment from their owners into the club. At the start of the 18/19 season, Salford were one more promotion away from the illustrious Football League and becoming part of the 92. A 3-0 win at Wembley against AFC Fylde in the playoff final secured the dream for the Ammies in mid-May of 2019 meaning it was 4 promotions in 5 seasons for the Class of 92.

 

Why has League 2 become a struggle for Salford?

Given the rise through the pyramid before 2019, many fancied Salford to continue that form and gain promotion in the 19/20 season under Graham Alexander. However, things didn’t pan out the way the supporters and owners would have hoped for as Salford finished 11th, albeit the season was brought to a premature end due to Covid-19 and the remainder of the season was completed on a points per game average.

This was a sign of things to come as that is about as good as it has got for the Greater Manchester outfit in League Two. One playoff heartbreak at Stockport County in the 22/23 season and several near misses in their aim of finishing in the top 7 has led to the club being where they are today.

Many argue that the reason for the mediocre results in recent years has been due to the several managerial changes in the club. Since their promotion to the football league, Salford have had 7 managers in 7 years which makes it hard to have any continuity within the club. With a large percentage of the managers surviving less than 2 years and with significant backing by the owners in comparison to the rest of the league, it creates the problem as to whether this approach is sustainable and going to lead to success in the future for the Ammies.

Recent Results

The season has started off relatively positive for Salford under Karl Robinson with 8 wins in 14 games, leaving them in 3rd position. After a 5 year stint at Oxford United, Robinson has been the manager the Ammies since January 2024 and has been tasked with breaking the rot of mediocrity as many are calling it.

Deploying a 3 at the back system, Robinson’s success has been revolved around being clinical in front of goal during tight contests with many of their wins coming by a one goal margin. Goals have been spread about the side with 6 players already scoring 2 or more goals this season including summer signing Daniel Udoh from Wycombe Wanderers who has registered 4 goals and 4 assists since September. The surprise marquee signing of Fabio Borini is only going to bolster Robinson’s attacking options this season and could make them a problem for the rest of League Two to handle.

Whilst scoring goals is going relatively well, defensively Salford are leaking goals with 18 conceded in 14 games. With both MK Dons and Notts County directly below them scoring more and conceding less in comparison, it proves there is still work to be done at both ends of the pitch for Salford to achieve their objective of promotion this season.

 

The promising start to the 25/26 season has given Salford the incentive that promotion is there for the taking in a competitive League 2. Will this finally be the year the duck is broken at the Peninsula Stadium and give Gary Neville and David Beckham the taste of 3rd tier football for the very first time as the owners of Salford City.