Salford City prepare for historic FA Cup clash with the help of the Class of 92

The Class of 92 members (except David Beckham) have a 10% share each in Salford City

SALFORD CITY joint managers Anthony Jonhson and Bernard Morley are both up and grafting early in their day jobs – but not as early as Gary Neville.

 

Johnson, a lorry driver, and Morley who works in the building trade, have revealed they regularly receive texts from Salford’s workaholic joint owner Neville at 5.30am.

They probably won’t get any sleep at all if the Northern Premier League side beat League Two club Notts County in their historic first appearance in the FA Cup first round proper on Friday.

With BBC paying them £67,500 to show the game live, £12,500 prize money earned so far and a capacity 1,400 crowd packed into their tiny Moor Lane ground, it will be the biggest pay-day in Salford’s history.

And Johnson and Morley are thriving on the pressure of working for the demanding Neville, who with the other members of Manchester United’s famed Class of ’92 - brother Phil, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes – own a half-stake in Salford with Singapore businessman Peter Lim owning the other 50 per cent.

Rather than be daunted, they jumped at the chance to work for such famous employers when they were approached in January after impressing United’s famous five during their seven years in charge of nearby Ramsbottom United, who are in the same league.

And have been stunned by the attention to detail of Neville senior in particular.

Giggs and other stars played a charity match against Salford City to raise money for the club

“When we were up at ‘Rammy’ we were the same as everybody else when they [the Class of 92] took over Salford,” said Johnson, 31.. “We thought ‘Oh, it’s just a publicity stunt.’

“But when you get here, you see the work they put in and how much it matters to them, it is frightening to see. I wake up at 6am in the morning for work and at 5.30am Gary's sending text messages, nearly every morning.

“In our day jobs I'm a wagon driver and Bernard does ceilings and partitions, so to be able to work with those kind of people, five of the greatest players United have produced, it was a no-brainer for us.

“Nicky and Ryan are at United so we don’t tend to see them or hear from them. Phil was a big part of it before he went to Valencia. Paul Scholes is in and out of it a little depending on what he’s got on but it’s great to be able to speak to them and hear what they have to say.

“We have conference calls sometimes. I’m pulled over in my wagon listening to these conference calls and I can’t believe who I’m on the phone to. I’ve never been star-struck but while you’re trying to make it like it’s normal, it’s not normal to be on the phone to those lads.”