Former Salford City joint-manager Anthony Johnson has taken a swipe at the club's owners, the Class of 92, following their League Two play-off final defeat to Notts County at Wembley. Johnson, who was sacked when Salford were still a non-league side, oversaw three promotions in eight years before being replaced by Gary Alexander.
In a social media post, Johnson wrote: "We left Salford City 8 years ago after winning 3 promotions. Since then they’ve won 1 promotion, and that was the season after we’d left with the majority of the squad we put together. I do sometimes wonder…" Salford have since spent eight consecutive seasons in League Two despite significant investment from their celebrity owners.
Current boss Karl Robinson admitted his side were outplayed in the final, saying: "We were beaten in every area of the pitch today. I have no qualms with the result. We had too many players that didn’t turn up for the occasion." He described the defeat as "the lowest ebb in the football club’s history."
Despite the loss, Robinson insisted the club is on an upward trajectory. "It’s only going to go in one direction this football club, I have complete confidence in that. I just wish that next year could have been a visual step in the right direction with a league change," he said.
Salford captain Luke Garbutt echoed that sentiment, stating: "As captain of the team I’m devastated for everyone out there today. It’s a shocking one to take, especially at the home of football. But the Club is moving in the right direction, we’ve got to pick ourselves up."
