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Salford City Reds are a British professional Rugby League club based in Salford near Manchester . They were promoted to Super League in 2003. Their nickname is 'The Red Devils'/'Reds', this name was later copied by nearby Manchester United soccer club. For this reason they are sometimes known as 'The Original Red Devils' and are currently sponsored by Britain's biggest shopping mall The Trafford Centre . Their current home ground is known as The Willows, and is located in the Weaste suburb of Salford. The club is set to move to a new purpose-built 20,000 capacity stadium in the Barton-upon-Irwell area of Manchester in 2007. This move is subject to the club obtaining Planning Permission . The stadium will include terracing for fans who prefer to stand (contrasting with many new stadia that are all-seater), and will be funded by an independent company set up by club directors: Red City Developments. HISTORY Salford were considered the leading club in the game during the 1930s , winning the Championship 3 times and having considerable success in the Lancashire League and Cup . In the 1930s Salford toured France and were labelled "Les Diables Rouges" – the Red Devils by French journalists. The club is currently managed (in a role of Head Coach) by Karl Harrison , who was the Assistant Coach to Brian Noble at Bradford Bulls , until he took over at Salford from Steve McCormack late in the 2002 season. Salford City Reds struggled in the 2002 season and Harrison was unable to keep the club in the (at the time) Tetleys' Super League , despite a good end to the season. Indeed, they went into the final match of the season second from bottom (only the bottom club were relegated that season.) However, a home defeat to the Castleford Tigers , coupled with a home win for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats over the Warrington Wolves , resulted in relegation for the Reds. The 2003 season was spent in the National League 1, where the Reds - remaining as a full-time club (most other NL1 teams were part-time or amateur clubs) - performed very well, losing only 2 games all season. On their way to finishing top of the National League 1 table, Salford also won the Arriva Trains Cup beating Leigh Centurions in the final. Having finished on top of the NL1 table, Salford entered the NL1 play-offs, needing to win their match to qualify for the final. They beat Leigh Centurions in a bad-tempered match, to qualify for the NL1 Grand Final. Leigh were forced into a knock-out semi-final to try and get through to the Grand Final - a play-off match they ultimately won. Salford Reds then comfortably beat Leigh in the Grand Final, to gain promotion to Super League after one season out. It was the sixth time out of seven meetings between the two that Salford had beaten Leigh that season (the first match ended in a draw). Leigh would follow Salford into Super League the following season. 2004 was a consolidatory season for the Reds, notably mostly for an impressive home win over St Helens and coming from 12 points behind Castleford Tigers in a game three times in the season to win all three games, the third of which - at Castlefords' The Jungle" ground confirmed Salfords' survival in the Super League and practically relegated the Tigers in the process. In the end the Reds finished 9th. The 2005 Season saw Salford Reds sign Luke Robinson and David Hodgson from Wigan Warriors , both of whom performed excellently well for the Reds all season. Although Salford were unable to improve on the 9th place finish of the previous season, they were regarded as one of the most improved teams in Super League, and finished 6-points higher than they had the season before. However, relegation was again a real threat, as - to accommodate Les Catalans Dragons (a.k.a. UTC ) from France into Super League in 2006 - two clubs were relegated in 2005 instead of just one. Leigh comfortably finished bottom of the table, losing 14 games in a row. Widnes Vikings were also relegated, 6-points behind the Reds. Salford's move to the proposed new City Of Salford Stadium in Barton was reviewed by the Salford City Council Planning Board on 17 November 2005. Salford chairman John Wilkinson and Club Director Patricia Goldsmith were both very hopeful that the plans would be approved, allowing Salford to join the ranks of more senior clubs, such as Wigan, Saints and Leeds Rhinos , who have a higher salary cap. They were - along with all Salford Reds fans - delighted when the plans were approved. However, the plans were referred to the Department of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister , and - in January 2006 - it was announced that the Department had ordered a full review of the plans, putting a further delay in the starting of building of the Stadium. CURRENT SQUAD ''As of 16th February , 2006 '': HONOURS
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