Quote John Gilbert Reds="John Gilbert Reds"Who is anyone to say Simon Moran or any other chairman has gone about things in the "right way"? What exactly is the right way and which handbook did you read this from. How many trophies have Warrington won under the ownership of Simon Moran for example? Give Koukash the same time period and then lets compare the two.
The reason many people are saying he is good for the game is because unlike the chairman of the clubs you mentioned, he hasnt come in without the capital to improve the team, the club and the competition. Koukash has come on board and spent big, he's brought a talented English coach back into employment, he's paid transfer fees for some top players thus financially assisting other clubs i.e Castleford and Wakefield, he's taken a club that finished bottom of the league last season and added enough talent to make them comparative with the rest of the the league thus creating greater competition and excitement within Super League. Would people rather see a Warrington v Salford white wash or a close and entertaining game?
People dont like Marwan Koukash because he's different, the sport of RL hasnt seen anybody like this before. His personality is something the majority of RL fans arent use to, he's outspoken, brash, ambitious and just what rugby league needs. He is a successful modern day businessman who can see the value of Super League and wants to do everything he can to help it realise it's potential.
Also anyone who believes Koukash is involved in Salford Red Devils or RL in general to make cash is deluded. Ask the majority of Super League chairman and ask them how much profit they've made over the last 10 years, I can imagine only Ian Lenagan would come back with a reasonable figure purely because of the Sam Tomkins transfer fee. Sure he wants to own our stadium, but that's because without it Salford Red Devils will never be a self supporting club and we'll always be paying rent and receiving zero profit in return. It's the same with his proposals for Swinton, he knows they can only survive in the long term with their own stadium in Swinton which could generate enough profit through commercial interests (i.e bars, cafes etc) to assure their future.'"
JGR of course you are right to defend Koukash given the perilous state of your club before he arrived, the amount of investment he has made in financial terms, the coach and players he has attracted and by all accounts the systems that are now in place such as fantastic training facilities you must be on cloud 9?
Yes he's also raised the profile of your club and perhaps RL in general, all good stuff in principle, despite an idiotic outburst or two at the start of his tenure. BTW I think previous posters comparing him and Simon Moran were looking at their style, would our Simon order a plane with banner to fly over OT in years to come should Warrington not even make the Play Offs oh how we laughed together with a proven history with the club rather trophy's won under his stewardship.
However, do you really think that your Marwan is SO in love with RL that he thinks that owning another club is good idea for the sake of that club and RL? The only logical explanation of his supposed interest in Swinton is property investment in general? Build Swinton a new ground fill it with 6 thousand burger quaffing, beer drinking speccies every other week can't just be the plan,if it was that easy why don't we all do it? Is it a veiled threat to leave Salford Council with a white elephant if he decides you leave Barton move to Swinton on the basis that they and Peel won't sell.
Which leads us back to a possible conclusion that in Salford he saw a wider development potential rather than an inherent love for the club or even RL. Nothing wrong with that at all, but, if he doesn't get his way will his interest wain? Accepted, there are no guarentees you enjoy it while you can. I must say that I find it quite refreshing whether i nwholeheartedly agree with his antics or not, the greater number of strong clubs the league has the better the comp will be.
Finally, I'm also pleased that you can bask in the rosy glow that your transfer money has helped Wakefield and Cas. It's a pity that many of your supporters didn't feel the same way about the Myler move.
