So you have to have played the game to have a view on football now? Interesting...

I set off to the game feeling I would be more than happy with a point and came home with mixed feelings. I would have loved us to hang on for all three points but I thought we were a lot sharper than against Harrogate. At half time one of the stewards said to me it would be a real smash and grab if we won, I asked him how many shots we had saved and he had the good grace to say fair point.

I had only been to Salford once before and that was before the fame and fortune days. I think they have done a nice job there on the whole. It’s nestled into the side of a hill, a church steeple rises behind one end, trees wave in the (at times considerable) wind. Not as pretty as St Albans but a definite improvement on the likes of Gillingham and Luton.

When the world turns and we get back to normality parking is going to be a bit of a nightmare unless there is a park and ride system in place, but yesterday there was room on the strip without yellow lines right opposite the ground.

After having my temperature and gear checked at the gate it was down a flight of steps to sign in. You immediately got a sense of a ground that was cared for. No peeling paint and slippery steps here. Bright clean handrails and a non-slip surface on nice wide steps told you these weren’t leftovers from a previous century.

The stadium didn’t have any pretensions of grandeur but it’s amazing how just looking clean and tidy brings a feeling that a club is doing ok. A simple design with the long sides seated and the ends terrace. No roofs too high, I would have loved to hear us in there, the noise would have been deafening.

Not everything was perfect of course, it never is. The Ladies had had a previous life as a portacabin/shipping container. It was spotlessly clean and the sinks had those little individual water heaters. Plenty of sanitiser, soap, and paper towels, all good. The problem was one that often happens with portacabins, it seemed to have warped slightly, meaning that no doors met the door latches. I can’t whistle, definitely can’t sing, didn’t want to put anything on the floor to wedge the door, so was glad to get out without meeting anyone.

The stewards and staff were a friendly lot, I had the usual chat, whether we would keep dry, had a good journey, etc. Only much later did I realise one of the "How are you, good, good" chats had been with Gary Neville as he’d stepped aside to give me the 6 feet clearance. The joys of masks and to be fair, my heroes have always worn blue. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were also there Roy Keane turned up later. The only one I would have liked to meet would have been Paul Scholes' son, to see if he was the same lad who used to be a ball boy at Oldham. Such a nice chatty lad who told me once his dad couldn’t come to the match because he was working at Old Trafford. No, I had absolutely no clue, until the Oldham media man told me later.

Talking of heroes in blue though, it was lovely to have a brief chat with Danny Livesey before the game. Looking very slim and fit he was obviously fed up that his season at Chester City had finished.

I am not going to comment on the game, most of you watched it and there are plenty of decent match reports about it. Just to say I think we are going in the right direction. Two very tough games this next week. Honestly believe we are good enough to beat anyone, but they have to believe it.

Well, that’s more than enough rubbish written for one morning. Signing off with a “Wish you were there”

Good read Bumble, looks a neat ground which suits Salford’s needs perfectly.

Just one question which you might be able to answer. Who exactly is allowed in to watch the matches at the minute? There’s been a few games this season where I’ve thought there were quite a few more spectators in than were allowed, yesterday was one of them.

Obviously club officials are allowed but in what capacity are the likes of Keane and Livesey there? When they had to shift the advertisement tarpaulin late in the game there was a lad stood behind the goal doing nothing just watching the game. Seems to be quite a lot of stewards at games aswell, what’s the need in stewards when there’s no fans?

Great read, Bumble.

Good read Bumble, looks a neat ground which suits Salford’s needs perfectly.

Just one question which you might be able to answer. Who exactly is allowed in to watch the matches at the minute? There’s been a few games this season where I’ve thought there were quite a few more spectators in than were allowed, yesterday was one of them.

Obviously club officials are allowed but in what capacity are the likes of Keane and Livesey there? When they had to shift the advertisement tarpaulin late in the game there was a lad stood behind the goal doing nothing just watching the game. Seems to be quite a lot of stewards at games aswell, what’s the need in stewards when there’s no fans?

I can answer some but not all. Danny Livesey was doing a bit of work there. I am not sure if that was media or fitness work with the lads, I didn't get time to ask but he has connections there as he played for them.

All clubs are given rules on covid compliance but it does seem that each club can put it's own interpretation on them as long as they stay within those rules. I know with photography some make you go into the stands, some won't allow agency photographers in, some won't let you change ends at half time, all seem to have their own rules, and some make more sense than others.

The tarpaulin incident: Every club has to have a red zone. The red zone includes the tunnel, dugouts, and the pitch, and the changing rooms. Only the teams and coaches and their covid tested bubble can go into the red zone. So when the tarpaulin lifted it was in the red zone. The lad retrieving balls in the stand couldn't touch it when it was there. The ref had stopped the game and folk just stared at it. Furman (sub allowed in the red zone)seemed to realise the problem and went and chucked it over the fence out of the way and out of the red zone.

I really don't know how the rest works. Directors and owners are definitely allowed in, so that covers such as Giggs and Scholes. Keane, who knows, maybe he has some financial input there or maybe he's Roy Keane. Possibly each owner can bring a guest, I genuinely don't know.

There are always a few ground staff present at games, who usually go and sit in the stands when the game is in play. There have to be stewards to look after the media doing temperature checks, correct forms filled out etc. There are also stewards on all the gates before the game making sure no one unauthorised gains access. these folk are always there at games, they just are more obvious with no fans in the seats.

Sums up the state of football in 2021.
A club that used to play in front if 100 supporters a few years ago, now the plaything of a bunch of celebrities and all their hangers on.
You have thrown in coaches , xG analysts, fitness specialists, Gary Neville's 2nd cousins once removed, yet a standard of football that doesnt seem to reflect this.
All these people are vital to the running of the game , even though some of them are just there for the trip out, others funded by higher authorities as poor old Salford struggle to make ends meet and yet us plebs are consigned to our homes, facing fines for sitting on a bench.
A good result, I thought.

Watching on iFollow, there did seem to be quite a lot of people in the opposite stand, something I haven't noticed in any other game

I really enjoyed that Bumble.
Hopefully we can fill that end one day and really test the acoustics - in league 1 at least hopefully.

Nice to hear the back story to the game Bumble. Good read

Thanks for that Bumble, always interesting to get an insight into what goes on at clubs.

For me it should be the bare minimum of people allowed to attend games at present, if fans aren’t allowed to go then nobody who isn’t essential to the running of the game should be there. I’m including owners, directors, friends of directors, club staff in that, to me it just smacks of a select few enjoying the privileges us mere fans are missing out on. It’s not essential Keane was there, I’d be surprised if it was essential Livesey was there and it wasn’t essential any Carlisle officials were travelling 150 miles to be there.

From that, an interesting question arises - who from Carlisle United travels to the away matches? Naturally it would be the team, coaching staff, physio, kit man, media - but who else?

From that, an interesting question arises - who from Carlisle United travels to the away matches? Naturally it would be the team, coaching staff, physio, kit man, media - but who else?

Bus driver.

From that, an interesting question arises - who from Carlisle United travels to the away matches? Naturally it would be the team, coaching staff, physio, kit man, media - but who else?

Bus driver.

Holdsworth was at Harrogate the other night

From that, an interesting question arises - who from Carlisle United travels to the away matches? Naturally it would be the team, coaching staff, physio, kit man, media - but who else?

Bus driver.

Holdsworth was at Harrogate the other night

Don't swear..