Another club who Rovers will be playing league football against for the first time next season is Salford City.
Formed in 1940 as Salford Central Mission, the club became Salford Central in 1947, Salford Amateurs in 1963 and Salford City in 1989. Their nickname, ‘The Ammies’ stems from their time as Salford Amateurs and the club plays at the Peninsula Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,172. The newly refurbished ground was officially opened by Sir Alex Ferguson in October 2017.
In 2014 the club was taken over by former Manchester United players Gary & Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, and Paul Scholes and Singapore businessman Peter Lim. David Beckham purchased a 10% holding in the club from Lim in 2019.
They have just completed their second season of league football, having won promotion in 2018/19 after beating AFC Fylde 3-0 in the National League Play Off Final at Wembley.
Their first game in the English Football League (EFL) ended in a 2-0 win against Stevenage and at the end of their first season in League Two were in 11th place after placings were determined on a points per game basis as the season was curtailed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
By the time the season came to a premature end they had reached the final of the EFL Trophy and were due to face Portsmouth in the Wembley Final. That game was held over until March 13th this year and Salford won the Trophy 4-2 after a goalless draw and penalty shootout.
Their second season as a league club saw them finish in eighth place, just two points adrift of the final play off place, and their home form saw them win 11, draw 11 and lose just once.
I could find just two players who have turned out for both clubs, namely Rory Gaffney and Jack Baldwin.
Former Rovers striker Gaffney joined Salford in the summer of 2018 ahead of their first season in the National League, and scored their first goal at that level, against Leyton Orient.
He finished that season with 11 goals and went on as a substitute in the Wembley play off final against AFC Fylde. Last season saw him make three appearances before a loan move to Walsall where he teamed up again with his former Rovers boss Darrell Clarke.
The loan was curtailed in February 2020 and he subsequently joined League of Ireland Premier League side Shamrock Rovers on a permanent basis.
(photo courtesy of Neil Brookman)
Current Rovers defender Baldwin joined Salford, on loan from Sunderland, in September 2019 and in 17 appearances in all competitions he scored one goal for the club before moving to BS7 in the summer of 2020.
If you’re a member of the 92 club looking to add another ground to your total, a one way trip to the Peninsula Stadium from the Mem is 177 miles.
Keith Brookman