Salford City are set to take their EFL bow today as The Ammies continue their rise up the footballing ranks.
Salford made it into the English Football League for the first time ever last season, claiming play-off glory to gain promotion to League Two.
Now they’ll host Stevenage on Saturday lunch-time as they begin their EFL journey and the intriguing clash will be live on talkSPORT 2.
Salford have hit the headlines in recent seasons when they were taken over by Manchester United legends David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
The Class of 92’ stars each old a 10 per cent share in the club, which is based just west of Manchester.
The United icons have often been seen at games and will likely be in attendance to watch Salford’s first ever match in the EFL.
While Salford have been superb on the pitch in recent years, the way the club is run has drawn criticism.
They were accused of ‘stealing success’ after they signed striker Adam Rooney from Aberdeen last summer.
They doubled his wages despite being then new-comers to the National League and he went on to be their top goal-scorer in their promotion campaign last term.
The Ammies’ success has led to scrutiny with the involvement of the Class of 92’ stars has being labelled as a PR stunt.
But the United icons insist otherwise and Salford will be hoping to make a big impression on their League Two opponents this season.
Here’s everything you need to know about the EFL new boys ahead of their opening day clash with Stevenage.
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Manager: Graham Alexander
Chairman: Karen Baird
Stadium: Moor Lane (5,100 capacity)
2018/19 National League finish: 3rd of 24 – promoted via play-offs after beating Fylde 3-0 at Wembley
Opening five fixtures for 2019/20 League Two season: Stevenage (home), Crawley (away), Port Vale (home), Plymouth Argyle (away), Carlisle (away)
Carabao Cup fixtures: First Round – Leeds United (home) on Tuesday, August 13
EFL Trophy fixtures: In Northern Section Group C with Bury, Tranmere and Aston Villa U21s.
Transfers in:
Dan Jones – Barrow, free transfer; Joey Jones – Eastleigh, free transfer; Oscar Threlkeld – Waasland-Beveren, free transfer; Richie Towell – Brighton, free transfer; Florian Yonsian – Rochdale, free transfer; Kyle Letheren – Plymouth Argyle, free transfer; Martin Smith – Swindon, free transfer; Luke Armstrong – Middlesbrough, undisclosed; Cameron Burgess – Scunthorpe, loan
Transfers out:
Anthony Dudley – Chester, free transfer; Matt Green – Grimsby Town, free transfer; Amine Linganzi – released; Danny Livesey – Chester, free transfer; Gus Mafuta – Hartlepool, free transfer; Devonte Redmond – Wrexham, free transfer; Jack Redshaw – released; Max Crocombe – Brisbane Roar, free transfer; Josh Askew – Curzon Ashton, loan; Kieran Glynn – Southport, loan; James Jones Chester loan
Current squad:
Goalkeepers: Chris Neal, Kyle Letheren
Defenders: Scott Wiseman, Ibou Touray, Liam Hogan (Captain), Carl Piergianni, Nathan Pond, Sam Adetiloye, Cameron Burgess (on loan from Scunthorpe), Dan Jones
Midfielders: Lois Maynard, Tom Walker, Danny Whitehead, Mark Shelton, Alex Doyle, Brandon Lockett, Joey Jones, Martin Smith, Oscar Threlkeld, Richie Towell
Forwards: Adam Rooney, Danny Lloyd, Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, Devante Rodney, Rory Gaffney, Kamar Moncrieffe, Luke Armstrong, Jake Beesley, Anointed Chukwu
“We all piled into a pub. I had no clue where it was, apart from somewhere in London, because we had had a few beers by then,” manager Alexander told The Sun, about their Wembley celebrations in May.
“There was a three-piece band playing and we were all there, the owners, the staff, the players.
“David, Gary, Phil, Ryan and Nicky were so happy.
“They had beers with the lads, congratulated everybody and praised our performance. Then they all joined in as we started singing.
“And they gave a great rendition of Dirty Old Town. It was brilliant.”