That takeover has led to Salford making radical changes this summer. Karl Robinson, who steered Salford to fourth in League Two \u2014 the club\u2019s highest finish \u2014 before being beaten in the play-off final by Notts County, was dismissed, replaced in June by Peter Cklamovski, an Australian whose previous coaching roles were in his homeland, Japan, and the Malaysian national team.<\/p>\n
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\n David Beckham, CEO Gavin Fleig and Paul Scholes at Wembley during Salford\u2019s League Two play-off final defeat against Notts County (Paul Harding\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Salford have overhauled their medical department, committed more money to signings steered by head of recruitment Ross Duncan, and are renovating their training ground, Littleton Road, which is owned by Manchester United.<\/p>\n
A major change that will be instantly apparent from today is the new colour of Salford\u2019s home kit. The red is being replaced by orange.<\/p>\n
In reality, though, they are reverting to the old colour.<\/p>\n
In 2014, five of the Class of \u201992 \u2014 Neville, his brother Phil, Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt \u2014 took the decision to move from the club\u2019s traditional orange to red. Beckham acquired 10 per cent of shares in 2019 before assuming a bigger role through last year\u2019s takeover and has been at the heart of this summer\u2019s switch in kit colour.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kit change came from a bit of self-reflection from Gary and David,\u201d says Gavin Fleig, Salford\u2019s chief executive<\/a>. \u201cDavid was always an advocate, saying orange is the heritage colour so we should find a way to get back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n In line with FA regulations, Salford engaged a consultation process from October to December 2025, through which 77 per cent voted for the colour switch, while another question about altering the badge received 72 per cent backing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to own the colour orange,\u201d adds Fleig. \u201cDavid always refers to when you walk around Salford you see a combination of red and blue shirts. Now you\u2019re going to walk around Salford and see orange.\u201d<\/p>\n Beckham looked through hundreds of shades of orange before picking the one he felt best for Salford, who were formed in 1940.<\/p>\n \n David Beckham selected the shade of orange to be used in the new kit (Salford City)<\/p>\n The new crest features a lion facing forwards (rather than backwards, as seen previously), a concentric ring to represent the gas works of the city, lettering that reflects the typography of Salford\u2019s precincts, and a rose in reference to Salford Lads Club. \u201cOne of the most iconic buildings in the north of England,\u201d says Fleig.<\/p>\n Salford\u2019s Moor Lane home ground, now named the AIG Stadium, is being revamped to align with this change too.<\/p>\n Scholes acknowledges the decision to change from orange to red 12 years ago was based on the Class of \u201992\u2019s United background. But with a crowd of 80 at his first game against Curzon Ashton, they felt they had latitude. Now, attendances are almost 4,000, and they took 1,000 to Oldham Athletic away last season.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking back, was it the wrong thing to do?\u201d he wonders. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call it wrong, it was just different. There were a few discerning voices, but there were only 80 of them, so it didn\u2019t really matter that much! I love red, I love United, but once I\u2019ve started seeing orange I really like it. People have taken to it.\u201d<\/p>\n What happens on the pitch will define whether these visual refinements are the meaningful start of a new era. Hiring Cklamovski, who had not managed in England, is a bold direction to take. His task will be to get Salford promoted.<\/p>\n Cklamovski, who assisted Ange Postecoglou at Australian youth levels, with Panachaiki in Greece, Melbourne Victory, the Australia senior team and Yokohama F Marinos in Japan, hugely impressed Scholes during the interview process.<\/p>\n \u201cGavin brought all the candidates together and we did 20-odd hours of interviewing. Funnily enough, Peter was the very first one we spoke to,\u201d says Scholes. \u201cI\u2019d never heard of him, had to google him. He worked a lot with Ange Postecoglou, which is a reference point. Peter was very impressive, right from the word go. You\u2019d get off the call, and me, Gavin and Ross went, \u2018Wow, that was good\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cOther people impressed us but his methods, the way he spoke, I thought he had command of the room. He has a bit of character about him. Everything he showed us from his training to the stuff on the pitch was really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n Cklamovski, 47, says he \u201cloves\u201d being something of an unknown in England. \u201cWhat people think, say, do outside of these four walls is not much attention for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI focus on the day we have here. Make sure we get the best out of the playing group. Don\u2019t waste a second. Set world-class standards here.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully that generates support from the community of Salford and they get behind the team. We\u2019re trying to achieve something special that will last in our hearts, minds, souls forever.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Peter Cklamovski was previously head coach of the Malaysian national team (Nhac Nguyen\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Cklamovski was on the coaching staff when the Australian men\u2019s team lifted the Asian Cup, and then won the J-League with Yokohama as Postecoglou\u2019s assistant.<\/p>\n As a manager himself, he saved Montedio Yamagata from relegation in Japan\u2019s second division, before taking charge of FC Tokyo in the top flight and fielding the team\u2019s youngest-ever starting XI with an average age of 22.7 years. Attendances rose to an average of 34,000, including a club record of 60,988.<\/p>\n Cklamovski will have smaller crowds in League Two but he hopes to draw as many people as possible to watch with an attractive brand of football. \u201cSomething that\u2019s going to get the people off their seats and jumping for 95 minutes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Cklamovski is Salford\u2019s sixth permanent appointment since 2018, and Scholes accepts sacking Robinson was \u201ctough\u201d. He also appreciates that frequency of change might make prospective appointments cautious.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tried not to be like that, obviously,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have a much bigger budget this year. But you can look and say, \u2018We want to win the league, we want to get promoted\u2019. Of course, we wanted to do that when our budget was half this.\u201d<\/p>\n Cklamovski is embracing the challenge. \u201cI\u2019m very ambitious,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery step of the process was a moment to check and challenge myself, \u2018Is it the right move for me?\u2019. Every moment of that reflection always felt right.<\/p>\n \u201cScholesy has got a wealth of knowledge and a real knowledge base of English football and the league, and that\u2019s connected to all the staff in the club.\u201d<\/p>\n Cklamovski spoke with Postecoglou. \u201cAll the way through,\u201d he says. \u201cHe gave some really good advice. I always use Ange as a sounding board. I spent a long time with him. Super person, super coach, and a super leader. He was in the UK for five years. I lean on him as a special person in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Fleig was hired by Salford last October, having spent 17 years at Manchester City and their parent company, City Football Group (CFG), in a variety of roles originally centred on analysis, scouting and operations. He met Cklamovski in 2018 when he was at Yokohama, a CFG club.<\/p>\n Fleig explains: \u201cWhen you have that longevity of knowing the quality of the person, the tick box was: this is a figurehead we need now.<\/p>\n \u201cHis personal aspirations match the club\u2019s and the level of expertise fits our DNA. It was a really clear match and he was the standout candidate.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mentor Brian Marwood (managing director of global football at CFG) always says, \u2018You get the right people around you in a club, and you can achieve amazing things\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \n The new orange kit harks back to the club\u2019s traditional colour (Salford City)<\/p>\n Fleig was CFG\u2019s director of talent management and development pathways for seven years before being hired by Salford and he feels his experiences make him well-placed to guide the club.<\/p>\n \u201cI started my career at Bolton Wanderers, a brief period at Newcastle United, and then at City, I was first focused on the technical area around talent, football strategy, multi-year planning.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then being part of the leadership group at City gave me the chance to sit among executives from the CEO Ferran Soriano, CFOs, marketing, commercial, infrastructure. I absorbed a lot about all the different dimensions. I had a unique exposure at City, which meant I had the football expertise, but a really good grounding about how a football club also needs to operate on the business side.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SALFORDxBeckham_Bullion_MaxKnight-FINAL-5354-scaled.jpg\")
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