Salford City overview

The Peninsula Stadium

INTRO:

The Greater Manchester club was formed in 1940 under the name of ‘Salford Central’ and competed in the Local Eccles and District Leagues. After some early success the club changed its name in 1963 to ‘Salford Amateurs’ and given the nickname ‘The Ammies’ which is still held to this day. Having played amateur and non-league football all the way from their establishment to the 2019-2020 season the progression of the club led them to be one of the top amateur sides in Manchester throughout the later 20th century. The year 1978 was significant for the club’s name once again changed to simply ‘Salford FC’, dropping the ‘Amateurs’ tag, and in the same year moved their home pitch to the sports ground on Moor Lane. The Ammies’ success propelled in the 2013/14 season with The Class of ’92 takeover of the club giving a new revival to the club. After winning back-to-back promotions from the NPL Division One North in 2014/15, then subsequently the NPL Premier Division in 2015/16, Salford were a force to be reckoned with and became a side too good to be in non-league. This showed a couple seasons after when they replicated their success of back-to-back promotions from the National League North and National League to achieve EFL status. Success continued for the club winning the EFL trophy in 2019/20 and currently competing in their 6th season in League Two, progress has been steady for The Ammies, being no strangers to a top-half finish.

MANAGER:

Kicking off his managerial career in 2010 with Milton Keynes Dons, current Salford boss Karl Robinson has been at the helm for The Ammies since the 5th January 2024 after taking over from Neil Wood. Robinson made a name for himself at MK Dons and has since become an established manager throughout the EFL with spells at Charlton Athletic and Oxford United. In six seasons with The Dons, Robinson most notably won automatic promotion to the Championship with the club as well as reaching the League One play-offs twice. He also qualified for the play-offs with Oxford United in the third tier of the Football League. Since making his arrival to The Peninsula Stadium, he has led Salford to 12th position in the table and has sights set on reaching those top seven places come the end of the season for the fifth time in his career.

3 KEY PLAYERS:

Ben Woodburn:

The 24-year-old Welshman made the move to The Peninsula Stadium on a two-year deal at the start of the season having spent two seasons at Championship side Preston North End, where he made 64 appearances for the club. The attacking midfielder started his career at Liverpool and still holds the record as the youngest goalscorer for the Premier League outfit having been given his chance on the big stage under Jurgen Klopp back in 2017. Woodburn has also had a taste for international football, making 11 appearances for Wales and scoring twice. One of those coming on his debut against Austria. The Ammies’ new man has also had loan spells at the likes of Sheffield United and Blackpool as well as a stint in Scotland where he made 30 appearances for Hearts.

Cole Stockton:

Striker Cole Stockton was another signing who joined The Ammies in the summer having signed from Burton Albion on a two-year deal. The man from Merseyside is known to be a prolific goalscorer having found the net 54 times in 150 league appearances. Having spent four seasons making a name for himself at Morecambe, the standout was back in 2021/22 where he scored 23 goals and provided 4 assists in 44 appearances. He also achieved promotion with the Lancashire side. The 30-year-old has certainly been a journeyman throughout the EFL, most recently spending a season-long loan at fellow League Two outfit Barrow, where he scored 7 times in the league. Despite goals being hard to come by for The Ammies so far this campaign, Stockton’s start to life in the red of Salford has been bright having been called upon to be the main talisman for the club.

Kelly N’Mai:

After a breakthrough season last year making 28 appearances for Salford, N’Mai has continued his fine form into this campaign already surpassing the 4 goal involvements he had in his 28 league games last season. Having become a clear fan favourite with The Ammies’ fans, the academy graduate burst onto the scene scoring his first goal for the club in only his second start, in a win against Sutton United, as well as finding the net against Crawley Town and MK Dons. Since making his debut back in 2021/22 at 17-years old, the now 20-year-old put the pen to paper in the summer and signed a new two-year deal with the club. Having had a couple of successful loan spells at Chester and Warrington Rylands, the Dutch winger recorded some impressive stats which he will look to replicate with Salford City.