Salford City Trophies & Titles When it comes to the relative successes of the clubs in Greater Manchester, Salford City might well be the best example of a side who haven’t competed at the top end of football and yet have still had plenty to celebrate over the years. From the club’s foundation as Salford Central in 1940 through to the point that they were bought by the ‘Class of ’92’ in 2014, the club’s relative successes have been delightful for the supporters to watch. Sure, the likes of Manchester United or even Wigan Athletic would be unlikely to mark them down as major successes, but that is why such things are always entirely relative. League Titles Michael Ripley, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, Flickr One of the interesting things for a club like Salford City is that the club’s league successes haven’t always involved winning the title. In 2016 and 2019, for example, they were promoted out of the Northern Premier League and the National League respectively thanks to play-off final wins. At the end of the 2007-2008 season, the club was promoted out of the North West Counties League Premier Division on account of the fact that they finished in second place. Northern Premier League Division One North None of those wins saw them lift the title, but they all resulted in the Ammies enjoying a promotion. It is important to look at each league for its own merits. Level 8 of the English Football League pyramid was known as the Northern Premier League Division One North when Salford City won it at the end of the 2014-2015 season. Here is how they did it: Season Points Second Place Second Place Points 2014-2015 95 Darlington 1883 91 National League North The club’s promotion out of the Northern Premier League Division One North came thanks to a title win by just four points, which is remarkably close given it was a 42-game season. It allowed them to climb the pyramid, however, making it out of the Northern Premier League thanks to that play-off win in 2016. It put them in the National League North, with the following table showing how they enjoyed their title success. Another 42-game season but this time a slightly more comfortable margin of six points in their favour to see them move further up the pyramid. Season Points Second Place Second Place Points 2017-2018 91 Harrogate Town 85 Cups & Trophies James Boyes, CC BY 2.0, Flickr As you might expect from a club with the relatively low budget of Salford City, the team has never troubled the latter stages of the FA Cup or pushed or a League Cup win. That doesn’t mean that they haven’t been able to lift some silverware over the years, however, with the following being how they’ve got on in the various cups and trophies that they’ve enjoyed success in. Where possible we’ve put the opposition and the score, with Salford’s scoreline coming first: Season / Year Competition Opposition Score 1971 Lancashire Amateur Cup Unknown Unknown 1973 Lancashire Amateur Cup Unknown Unknown 1975 Lancashire Amateur Cup Unknown Unknown 1977-1978 Manchester Premier Cup Massey Ferguson Unknown 1978-1979 Manchester Premier Cup Irlam Town Unknown 2005-2006 North West Counties League League Challenge Cup Cammell Laird Unknown 2019-2020 EFL Trophy Portsmouth Salford City won on penalties As you can see, a lot of the information around the competitions that Salford City managed to win over the years is unknown, which tells you quite a lot about the level of the tournament in general. The club’s wins in the Manchester Premier Cup came when the side was known as Salford Amateurs. When they won the EFL Trophy at the end of the 2019-2020 season, which is probably the most prestigious competition in the trophy cabinet, they did so after a tight 0-0 draw led to extra time and then penalties, which Salford City won 4-2.