Salford City’s Promotion Hopes Dashed in League Two Play-Off Final

Manchester United’s famous Class of ’92 have spent years trying to build a football project away from Old Trafford, turning Salford City from a non-league side into a club pushing for a place higher up the English pyramid.

Their involvement has brought major attention, investment, and expectation to Salford over the last decade.

But despite the ambition surrounding the project, success has not always come as quickly as hoped.

Monday’s defeat at Wembley has now reopened old wounds around decisions made behind the scenes.

Salford suffered a painful 3-0 loss to Notts County in the League Two play-off final, missing out on promotion to League One after goals from Alassana Jatta, Lucas Ness and Jodi Jones sealed victory for County.

Watching on from the stands were several former Manchester United stars heavily associated with the club’s ownership journey, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt.

The group reportedly looked devastated at full-time as Salford’s hopes of promotion disappeared at Wembley.

However, shortly after the defeat, former Salford manager Anthony Johnson reignited debate over the club’s past decisions with a pointed response on social media.

Anthony Johnson, who previously managed the club alongside Bernard Morley during a hugely successful spell, took to X to write: “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…”

Johnson and Morley departed Salford in 2018 following what the club described at the time as “irreconcilable differences around personal terms.”

Their exit came after delivering three promotions in four seasons and helping establish the foundation of the club’s rapid rise through non-league football.

At the time, Neville and the ownership group publicly admitted the decision had been “regrettable,” but the split still remains a controversial moment in Salford’s modern history.

Johnson has since moved on to manage Bury, while Salford’s ownership structure has evolved significantly in recent years.

The club is now controlled by a consortium led by Gary Neville and David Beckham alongside American businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies.

As part of that restructuring, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt all stepped away from their ownership stakes last year.

Despite relinquishing shares, several of the former United stars continue to hold important roles within the club’s operations and identity.

Back in 2014, the original Class of ’92 group, including Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt, initially completed the takeover of Salford alongside businessman Peter Lim, before Beckham later joined in 2019.

Their long-term ambition was to guide the club steadily up the English football pyramid.

Financially, the project also underwent a major reset recently.

Approximately £31.5 million in loans connected to the ownership structure were effectively written off following last year’s changes, removing significant financial pressure and allowing the club to move forward under a new model.

For the Manchester United legends involved, the Wembley defeat was another reminder that football projects away from Old Trafford come with their own pressures, especially when promotion ambitions are on the line.