Unless you have been living under a rock in recent years, you will be well aware of Salford City's rise through the leagues.
The Ammies' ascent has won headlines thanks to their famous co-owners - a clutch of ex- Manchester United stars - and the ensuing series of documentaries charting their quickfire promotion into the Football League for the first time. But it has not all been plain sailing. The club's ambitious owners, including Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and David Beckham, have seen progress stall in recent years.
This is their third successive campaign in League Two and they have made no secret of their desire to reach the third tier. Gary Bowyer is the man tasked with delivering that, with his side in with a shout of the play-offs as we enter the final phase of the campaign.
But should he not deliver a top-seven finish this season then do not be surprised to see Bowyer replaced. Despite being relative EFL newbies, Salford have made a habit of being ruthless when it comes to changing bosses.
Bowyer's predecessor Richie Wellens can testify to that. Wellens was axed by Salford back in March 2021, just four months after being hired to replace Graham Alexander.
The decision to cut Wellens free came just days after an historic Football League Trophy win for Salford at Wembley. The man he replaced was also given the boot just five games into the 2020-21 campaign, having initially steered them into the EFL. Speaking about his time at the Peninsula Stadium, Wellens - now in charge of League Two rivals Leyton Orient - admits it was not a working environment he enjoyed.
“You don’t get to make a long-term plan if you don’t first deal with the short-term," he told the i newspaper. “At Salford I wasn’t given any time at all (to implement a style). I was working with a previous manager’s players, used to a totally different style to what I have.
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Wellens readily admits that his decision to move to Salford from previous club Swindon was a bad call on his part, saying the lack of strategic planning at his new employers was evident: "It was ‘let’s just win this week’, no plan about how we would try and win. Did I enjoy working there? No. I have certain standards, certain disciplines I think need to be in place in a football club, things any manager will tell you they need. I didn’t think they had them at Salford."
Wellens was also critical of Neville, who is the most vocal of the Salford co-owners. He admits both men could have handled situations differently but stressed that he never felt a proper working relationship could develop between the pair.
Wellens added: "I want a good relationship with my chairman. I want to be able to talk to him about football over a coffee or a pint. What I don’t want is conversations that are meaningless and just for the sake of a conversation. Topics being brought up that shouldn’t have been in my remit.”
Salford, a point and a place outside the play-offs, travel to Joey Barton's Bristol Rovers on Good Friday.
