Although I agree with all the comments on the treatment of Mr Locke, how do we know why he has singled him out for replacement? Was it in response to a direct question from Mr Barker? If you read this link, you will not see any direct quotation from the owner but a lot from others: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... or-9330572 This link www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... sh-9322561 states "‘‘I will even listen to offers for Kevin right now,’’ says Koukash" which suggests, from the word "even", that it is not the top priority. Then we have his comment in today' paper: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ns-9323201 gives the impression that Locke is a big name Charlie. He needs to clear this up.

Although I agree with all the comments on the treatment of Mr Locke, how do we know why he has singled him out for replacement? Was it in response to a direct question from Mr Barker? If you read this link, you will not see any direct quotation from the owner but a lot from others: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... or-9330572 This link www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... sh-9322561 states "‘‘I will even listen to offers for Kevin right now,’’ says Koukash" which suggests, from the word "even", that it is not the top priority. Then we have his comment in today' paper: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ns-9323201 gives the impression that Locke is a big name Charlie. He needs to clear this up.

I assumed that the reference was being made more towards the likes of Gareth Hock...........

I think you have to question the background checks or possibly lack of that went into the Locke signing. Was he signed purely on the back of a handful of good performances for New Zealand?

I think you have to ask:-

1. Were his medical records evaluated or was important information withheld?

2. Were sufficient background checks made on his emotional state and lifestyle choices?

3. Has Locke just been extremely unlucky with several injuries since he arrived? Or has it just been a general fitness and attitude issue?

4. Have the club handled the player correctly and respectfully to the media? Would he have been much more effective playing for other Superleague clubs?

Considering the substantial investment in Locke's services I'd be astounded if the necessary due diligence was not carried out properly by the club. I'm still not sure if we have signed an unmotivated crock (living it up on the big contract) or simply a very unlucky lad with a burning hunger to show us all what he can do, when he eventually regains full fitness? I'm hoping the latter but patience must now be wearing very thin for everyone connected with the club.

the issue isn't whether they are overseas signings or UK based .
its the QUALITY & FITNESS of those signings and whether they were actually required by the club to fill a POSITION in the first place .
As ever the biggest fault lies with the guy with the wallet.
Steve Rapira, Tim Smith , ,Michael Dobson , Kevin Locke, Jones -Bishop, all arrived after time off serious injuries or medical issues.
Chase, Hock , Hauraki we knew had reputations for copping bans.
Puletua is taking up a quota spot and isn't playing and the one of the players I guess they would have liked to have stayed ' Tasi ' is on his way.
so we've spent a fortune on halves & full backs when we already had quality in our squad. Liam Foran , when we already had Snyed. Jake Mullaney when they had Evalds on loan up a Barrow.

Of all of them Locke was the only one worth taking a chance on, as if we could have got him fully fit , his opening performance last July V Huddersfield would have been commonplace , why the club waited until May to put him in for a clean out opp ?

to paraphrase - the club has in the main taken huge risks on disruptive , injury-prone & unproven signings in key positions over the past two seasons and has received no dividend. now it seems the ire for all this bad judgement ' and a proportion of bad luck ' seemingly has been hoisted on the ' star ' signing Kevin Locke

This season has been a mixture of self inflicted damage and some bad luck with injuries. On the plus side the effort and commitment in recent weeks is evident and we are getting very good value from some of our lower earning players. What we need now is Dobson & Chase back to give us some attacking guile. The question is will it be too late to rescue our season?

Problem i feel with your recruitment is purely down to fitness.... baxically your sigings baring a couple are way past there best, morley, puletua, dobson and paterson are taking a hefty wedge of cap space for little impact, sau and bjb, well the jurys out on them 2 for me......locke, i cant honestly comment, but the guy looked a stand out at the warriors but they soon got rid and paid a massive fee for tomkins.... says it all for me.... the guy looks on a downward spiral at Salford and looks lije a scapegoat for the wasted cash by the good doctor......

The great thing about living in 2015 is that everyone is allowed an opinion regardless. The trouble is, not every opinion is equal or valid or factually correct. Them's the breaks.

So let me be the first to thank you for your opinion, but in this case, it's not really up to any standard of offering...

a. Any talking points.
b. Little factual basis.
c. Anything original.
d. Anything at all.

If I avoid the poor construction of the opinion, and base my conclusions off your 'points' it fairs little better. While Morley is getting on he's certainly not unfit. TP has fallen out of favour but was very good in all the games he played for us. Dobson is 28 and Cory Patterson is 27 which is unlikely to be 'over the hill' by anyone elses standards. Patterson in particular has been great so far this season. Sau has been great for us and BJB has been nothing but solid, so I'm not sure what the jury being out means. Locke has been dogged with injury since he arrived, and if fit and on form would be in the top two FB's in SL.

You see, there's always two sides to a story...

For sale, expensive under achiever. |

Buyer must be willing to relieve Salford of massive wages and pay ridiculous transfer fee.

Could it be that the operation has revealed some intractable problem? Or would that just lead to a retirement on medical grounds?

I'm minded here of that great film, Citizen Kane. Very obviously referencing the paper campaign that led to the Spanish American War, the hero of the film manipulates public opinion to blacken or support others. The MEN has had little other RL news this week.
Why the spotlight on Locke? Shouldn't we be looking wider?

Nothing I've seen on the field suggests he isn't trying very hard. Nothing I've seen on the field suggests he has only average talent. So why focus on him?

Also I question conducting such a media campaign on an individual who has not been tried and found guilty by any legal process. Three major stories in a week that has only just reached its mid point, suggests a campaign. So I call upon the doctor to stop it dead now. If he wants rid of Locke, there are better and less public ways of doing it. If he does not, say so.

And if I were representing Mr Locke, I would be filing away the press comments, and lack of media-wide response by his employer, with a view to charge them with constructive dismissal.

Well said Hillbilly. Echo every word.

Kevin still has 2 years left. Get him 100% fit and we will see a change of view without doubt.

But therein lies the problem EB - his history in NZ suggests that he is very injury prone - we have Niall Evalds who must be the most promising Salford youngster I've ever seen, if the rumours are true then the contract KL is on is costing a fortune!
I agree that none of that is KL's fault and it is unseemly in the extreme the way Dr K and Neil Barker are apparently colluding to conduct a public witch hunt - some quiet behind the scenes discussions are surely the way to resolve this?

I believe the Locke signing was also seen as an investment to promote much bigger attendances at Barton. Putting Locke's form or injuries aside the positive impact on revenue has not materialised and it seems that he's now viewed by his employers as a very expensive mistake.

Quite rightly as you suggest many others are also responsible for another underachieving season so far. However, I think the difference is that club believed Locke would be the catalyst to generate a lot more interest from the Salford public.

Imagine what a fully fit Kevin Locke would be

Think there must be more to this than we know. If he was seen as such a high profile buy to get fans in why were his injuries not dealt with in Jan/Feb ?

His latest operation was just a simple knee clean, so nothing major. It was expected to keep him out for 6 weeks, that was 2 weeks ago.

So its up to Kevin to prove `em all wrong. 4 weeks to go then.

Baring his first game against Huddersfield he's never looked 100% fit. From the little we have seen of him his kick returns have looked sluggish and lack enthusiasm. Furthermore for a player renowned for elusive stepping and pace he treats the ball like a hot potato and makes a simple pass rather than taking on the line. It's as if he's been worried about aggravating an existing injury and doesn't want to chance pushing himself.

Let's hope this knee op solves the problem and we eventually see the real Kevin Locke.

It always annoys me when the Dr washes everything negative in public - complete unprofessionalism!!!

The main problem with Kevin's injuries since he arrived, was the misdiagnosis of the initial issue, thought to be groin...
Although the pain and tightness was manifesting as a groin injury leading to Kevin receiving painful injections into that area, when he went (very recently) to another specialist, it was discovered that the issue was actually caused by a worn hip - He has had a solution impregnated into the joint to act as a lubricant and this has (so far) improved the pain that was in the groin area.

The latest layoff was merely to clean the knee, and after speaking to Kevin couple days after the clean out, he was extremely excited about putting all this behind him and getting on with winning his starting place back.

Locke is a great position he has got two more years on a very good contract in is back pocket and Koucash is stuck with it because of is own stupidity

green eyes more like

Dobson and paterson were finished at hull kr, if youd seen dobson at 24, youd know how far back hes gone... paterson, played 12 games due to injury, morley, again, isnt a player who Is never injured and.... locke, well, until you get him fit, as i said, ill reserve judgement, looks to me lije hes taking the pi $$, but that's just my opinion....basically, what im getting at, is youve wasted loads of cash on utter tosh... and dont get me started on the likes of rapira and hock.. total waste of time and money, and you wonder why your struggling..

I coached a young lad who was one of the brightest prospects I have ever seen. Several clubs were after him but he signed for the Bulls when they were at their peak. He missed almost 4 seasons and was being treated for a chronic groin problem but a different specialist diagnosed it as a misaligned hip. this was solved by an insert in his footwear but it was 4 seasons wasted and a career ruined.

I have generally thought that MK was a good thing for both Salford and the wider game. BUT he does way to much management through the media. He has done a great job of raising the profile of the Red Devils but not always in the most productive way.

I concur, when he first arrived I thought he would be good for the game and especially Salford. The problem is that you can't change things instantly, certainly not with the Neanderthals in the Rugby League.
I don't think that he's learned to work with rather than against them. He airs his thoughts that should be private, in public which alienates him from the wider RL community.
I think that if he changed his tack slightly he could still be instrumental in bringing the game forward. I think the old adage that "Rugby League is a professional sport run by amateurs and Rugby Union is an amateur sport run by professionals" is true. Unfortunately for our game Rugby Union is now becoming a lot more professional due to the influx of RL coaches.
If it doesn't change all our top players and coaches will be on the "Dark Side".