Well done to all players and staff after a strange week for the club. Only negatives for me was the soft try inside the 1st minute and some bad handling when in good attacking positions. Some cracking attacking kicks from Ratchford and Smith (Ratchfords bomb.... did it come down with snow on it .....it was in the air so long

) , and Sneyd looks pretty classy too. Great effort all round with definate improvement all round. Hope we build on this.

Defensively he's good but he offers nothing going forward. Seemed very laboured running the ball in tonight.

A much improved performance and as mentioned a lot more players stepped up today to show us what they can do. I feel if Ratchford has been ok to continue we would have been on the scoreboard a few more times tonight. However, thats not to take anything away from Sneyd, he came on for the restart and had a blinder. The potential with Holdsworth, Ratchford, Smith and Sneyd is endless. Selection is going to be a nightmare!!

For me a special

goes to Godwin, he had an outstanding match tonight and his tackling and work rate was nothing short of heroic. It was like having a young Alker back on the pitch.

Adamson does seem to be slow of the blocks this season but there are signs of him getting back to the form we want from him. I think his injuries have taken a bit more out of him than all expected. I have no doubts that he'll come good again, I just hope it's sooner rather than later.

Well played to all and here's hoping some Malc Magic over the next few days will bring a big W against Leeds next week!

Yes,but just how good defensively is he?
Do the stats back that up or is it the Emperors new clothes?

I think it's blatantly clear you haven't looked at his individual stats year on year compared to the rest of the squad.

Not to put you in your place but yes his stats speak volumes ESPECIALLY defensivey.


2009 - 2nd top tackler in SL only to Mal with 923 tackles (Mal 981)
2010 - 26th top but missed 8/9 games thru injury (647 tackles) still .....
2011 - 103 tackles in 3 games plus tonight which should see him in the top 5 this year. As it stands he's 3rd top tackler for Salford behind Stephen Wild and surprisingly Matty Smith!


It's clear to see (for any Salford supporter) he has one of the best work rates in the team.

I don't think that's in question. He sustained injury midway thru last season and played thru some of it and I think we will see him offensively improve over time. Bear in my mind the likes of Adamson HAVE NOT been coached properly. The sooner we get a capable coach who can guide our young promising talent the better.

I stand corrected.
Can't argue with stats,I suppose.
I want him to succeed,he's home grown,but he just seems lacklustre.

Salfords last try will probably the best Wigan may concede this season. Very slick - well done Reds.

I wasn't at Wakey but there seemed to be a lot more effort, enthusiasm and team spirit compared to the opening two games. Forwards still taking the ball too flat without enough speed and we did put down a lot of ball at crucial times relieving the pressure on Wigan. (I put these errors down to the poor start to the season and the pressure of wanting to impress and put things right) Patten showed his class linking into the line to create two fantastic try's. I was pleased with the performances of most of the players last night.

When we get Holdsworth and Boyle back and hopefully Anderson playing I can see us doing OK because we won't be playing the champions every week. What was most pleasing for me despite the result was the the fact we made a game of it and showed signs of improvement in many areas and the potential to kick on from this.

Keep up the hard work and positive attitude lads and the rewards will come!

10/10 for effort. Just a shame we kept dropping the ball in decent positions.

Correct ,better ball control could have possibly won us last nights game.

It was obviously an improved performance against Wigan from your first couple of games, but I think it will be next weeks performance that will allow you to judge how you are actually going as a team. Meaning, did you raise your game against us or is that a level you are capable of playing at each week?

Completely agree!

We did well considering the number of players we have out, i think once we can get what is supposed to be our "first" team on the park we may start putting a few wins together.

Think for me the key factor is getting Ratchford on the park along with Smith and Reg. I'm convinced that the creative edge we had on Friday is down to a change in direction from Alker and Simms. I think we played more off the cuff rugby and on a different day a few passes would have stuck and the result just might have been different.

Didn't we play a similar kind of rugby last time simms was in charge. I think when asked he said he hadn't had time to do anything with the team so told them to go out and enjoy themselves. Could that account for how they played on fri?

It was definately off the cuff type stuff, against lesser teams we'd have scored a few more points. The thing is in Ratchford we've got a brilliant attacking player with a kicking game that can test even the best players so why has he been on the bench or stiffled as he has been. It's a long time since i've seen a centre/wing partnership at Salford look so continually dangerous as the left flank was on Friday.

Sir Matt Busby coached exactly the same way.

Two days on I'm still not sure how to feel about friday night. We could quite easily have put another couple of tries on the board, but bombed so may half chances we really didn't deserve to win. However, when I got back from the game i felt like we should be cheering a win.

Things I take from friday night, if Big Ray carries on like that he should be Man Of Steel come the end of the season!!! May sound like I'm getting carried away, but that was the best performance I've seen from a Salford forward since the legend that was John Cartwright donned the famous red shirt. Patten was brilliant in attack, and is definitely starting to show why we signed him. Whatever he earns, Cashmere deserves, at least, the same amount. Adam Neal looked a much better player, and Parker, despite his knock on, is starting to look more his old self. Adamson had a mixed bag, dumped on his ass a couple of times, but saw him driving it in hard once or twice also.
As for the back line, the defence outwide is still creaking a little, but Nero looks like a good signing and Broughton is starting to see a little more of the ball. Mark Henry looked lively, but isn't fast enough to play on the wing. Special mentions for Smith, Ratchford, his passing is really start to look good and his kicking game is up there with the best, and Sneyd, looked dangerous.

Could someone, please tell me, if Sidlow made a reappearance after going off in the first half? Was he at fault for the first try? If so, he needs to up his game. Lots of potential but needs to dropping for a couple of weeks as he's appears very lazy.

we did play well but dont really think it feels like a win. Thought it was a great chance for us to beat wigan after the upset of them losing the WCC. We bombed about 4 or 5 chances near their try line where they didn't seem as confortable defending as they usually do. Our defence was much better but both leuluai tries were very soft.

I think that your comment has very neatly summed up what the majority of fans feel: that it isn't that we are not getting too carried away with ourselves when it comes to realistic expectations, but that a lot is about effort, both personal and as a team.

It rips the heart heart out of good fans' when they see that it's not so much about conceding tries or losing games, but the manner in which this occurs. You don't have to be a "body language Guru", to read the obvious signs, they are there for all to see when lack of effort and conviction are major factors.

In my experience Salford fans will ALWAYS back a side if they can see that they are committed, and trying their best. I don't think any of us, as Reds fans, could be accused of being impatient for success.

Personally I don't think Sidlow is agile enough to play second row at Superleague level. By this I mean the speed of his feet from a standing start and not his overall speed when in full stride.

With his height and build he has the potential to tear it up in the front row but for whatever reason he seems to be lacking the aggression and drive to play prop. Perhaps its nothing more than a physcological issue that he could work on with the coaching staff? He's a big strong lad and he should be hurting people and doing more damage on the pitch than he is. Maybe big Ray could help the lad by mentering him and learning him how you use his size to his advantage?

My experience of seeing Sidlow is unfortunately from on Sky. But I have to agree with you here. Big he is, strong he is, but he appears to have very limited movement from the hips up. He doesn't look nearly agile or athletic enough for me.

As I have said: my watching him is very limited and I would gladly listen to anyone who disagrees.

For me he just doesn't look like a modern day SL forward.

He ain't the kind of forward that's going to race over for a try from 30-40 metres out. With his physique he should be used as a battering ram to make the hard yards up the middle. Something he does offer is the ability to occasionally offload the ball in the tackle. They have got the lad playing in the wrong position, second row forwards need to be a lot more mobile. I think Sidlow should be moulded into an Earl Crabtree, Paul Anderson, Karl Harrison type player. Would anyone disagree?

You mean like at 4:06 here =#0000FF[url=http://www.superleague.co.uk/video/player.php?id=20362HERE[/url

Fair enough I hold my hands up but in fairness how often have we seen this kind of try from him over the past few seasons? I did say in an earlier post that it's not a speed issue when in full stride. If you look at that try he took the ball in space with momentum and he's got long legs and a long stride. It's agility and getting up speed that is often the difference between making a break/bust and scoring or creating a try. Second rows are considered strike players who look to do damage to defences by running angles out wide. If a player can't run those angles with enough acceleration it's much less effective. Agility can also expose a player in defence too. I'm not criticising him it's the way he's built and I just see him more as a prop.

Gareth Carvell scored a try like that for Warrington last year but you don't see him doing it every week.