Haven't read it properly yet but I'm pretty sure the back page of the Advertiser says about Holdsworth's new deal and suggests there could be 'more on the way'.

With DH putting pen to paper I think there'll be a spate of contract extensions being signed. If members of the current squad can't get excited at the thought of playing with DH for the next 3 years and the new ground being built then they need their heads testing. I think Henry & Swain will stay put unless they get a better offer back home as they seem like genuine pro's and I can't see them jumping ship to another mid/lower table SL team. Sidlow & Gibson I would also expect to sign unless one of the big 3/4 came in for them, which is more likely in Sidlow's case if the Saints rumours are to be believed. However, the lure of the new stadium may hopefully be enough to keep the Wolves (not Wire

) from the door for now.

For several seasons I have been annoyed by the passing from a ptb: not just or always Alker's but a general tendency to lob the ball so it is both too high and too slow. Several players have been at fault.

However Mr Smith of Warrington fame has publicly stated this season that the quickness Alker brings to the ptb is a serious factor opposing coaches have to consider when playing us.

Who am I to disagree with Mr Tony Smith?

Could Mickey McIlorum be coming your way (on loan) next season?

Its probably the lack of quickness that he's talking about. It's just the way it's worded. Hence the speed that Wire come forward to attack and dominate at the play.

HR - I would also add the length of the pass - far too short - not rocket science for someone to develop a pass like Kevin Ellis who can send a flat pass a good 15/20 yards from the ptb. Its a useful weapon to have.

I have to disagree with this. i think its a terrible decision. Mal is only 31! hes had another good season and is fit as ever, his kicking has added another dimension to his game and he still tackles like a demon. He never gets injured and when he does however bad hes back the following week! I really don't think he deserves this. I'm sure whatever contract could be offered he would accept it! I hope that the club change their mind and offer him a contract because he could carry on for us for another 2 years I feel. If the club don't, I feel Mal should leave and continue to play somewhere else for a couple more years. He doesn't owe the club anything and still has the ability.Your a long time retired!!

once again he was another level tonight. I do worry about our number of strike players, i think we have too many tackling machines

Yeah he was on another level - the basement.

Alker is way way past his best years. All he brings to us now is his tackling ability. He very rarely runs from dummy half. His kicking whilst improved only comes down to a couple of kicks a game and lagely inafective. Your just fooled cos he's fluked a couple of 40/20's.

There's no room for sentiment, we as a club need to move forward. It's the right move to not keep him on the playing rota. There are better options at both hooker and 2nd row.

Personally IMO it's time to finish doing the cleaning up job after jacksonville and getting rid of alker should have been done when it first happened.

In view of the timing of the announcement and assuming we won`t be going with Smith as starting hoooker, if at all, have we done a deal with someone ?
Looking around the League at teams with possibly spare hookers, Distin, Drew (though after last year maybe not) or Higham. Appreciate these won`t be cheap but the play of the ball area is vital and sets the tone for the whole attack.
Any thoughts, rumours ?

According to the papers today, another Super League side is in to sign him up.

Terrible decision IMO will come back to bite us on the bum when we have no hooker or defensive steel in the team. Deserves 12 more months!

Alker WAS the heart beat of Salford city reds, he isnt anymore, You cannot fault him for effort and commitment to the cause but for a Hooker at superleague level you are a extra halfback, you need 3 things

1) speed of thought
2) Speed of Feet
3) Speed in a pass as its all about keeping the ball moving
Mal doesnt have any of these qualities, yes he chased king down over 90 yards last season but he did wrestle with him and slap at him for a good 40 of that,and he tackles himself to a standstill every game but at this level we need more of a alround game .

His speed around the ruck was pedestrian and to be fair he made one 1/2 break but he did run at the "un protected line" several more times without support and just got swallowed up because he wants bouncy enough to get though the backpedding line.

Thanks for all the effort mal you have been a moden day legend but Salford City Reds are moving on and so should you into your new career as a Coach

Well said Fungus






I just wish these people would get there heads out of their ar$es and just realise what a liability he is nowadays.
Tackling cant fault it but for fooks sake isnt a hookers game more than that.

How is it anyone that doesn't agree with you must have their head in their ar$se?

Clearly Malcolm Alkers playing career at Super League level is coming to it's natural close, but The Optimist put it rather better than you!

The club have made it clear that the only offer is a coaching role, so why the vitriol towards a player who has done more for Salford than most of us will ever manage? Why not be gracious and thank him for what he's delivered over the years?

Well said B.F.

There is an anomoly here isnt there? The club want him around otherwise they wouldnt have offered a coaching role. Malcolm wants to play hence he is looking elsewhere. The club are in effect telling Malcolm that he is now not at the forefront of their playing plans BUT surely the compromise would be to offer Malcolm a coaching role PLUS match by match terms for next season and beyond.

If we had an injury crisis it would surely be wiser to call on an experienced hand who would be willing to play anywhere in the pack rather than us find a loan signing elsewhere without a Salford pedigree.

Was speaking about this in the pub the other day. Every club has two hookers now apart from us so if the club aren't offering Malc a new contract does this mean we're going into the market for two hookers? IMO I think a coaching role is the right way for Malc to go, but I also feel he could give us one more season as a back up hooker/second rower. Yes he's not the quickest round the ruck, but he never has been to be fair it isn't something that's got worse with age in fact he's probably got quicker the older he's got its just that the game as a whole has got a hell of a lot quicker as well.

Some of the comments about Malc on here are bang out of order, the man has Salford running through his blood. I mean how many chances did he have to move? But he always remained loyal to us. I know people keep mentioning the stuff in Jacksonville, but believe me there wasn't just Malc to blame for that!! He's obviously still wanted at the club in some capacity so I think this speaks volumes for man, whatever the club/Mal decide we should support that decision and hope that it is the best one for our club. Either way Mal deserves a wonderful send off whenever the time may be. He certainly has my Full support in whatever he decides to do next!!!

Same reason that if anyone says something that disagrees with your view then they are wrong.
Ok lets keep Malc for sentimental sake, and because he has been a loyal servant, I take it all back

Definitely a split down the middle here.
As has been said Mal,is a tackling machine who bottles up the middle of the field defensively.His never-say-die-attitude rubs off on the others and we appear more solid when he is on the pitch.However,the hookers role in the modern game is more of a third halfback now and this is where Mal falls down,with his erratic and slow passing from the PTB.
If the clubs idea is to sign a decent hooker from another club,then yes they are right not to offer him another playing contract.But if the idea is to play either Matty Smith or Jeremy Smith as hooker next season then we are asking for trouble as both miss far too many tackles and we would be better overall with Mal.
If Mal wants to carry on playing then i would advise him to carry on,as you are a long time retired and he won't be short of offers from Championship clubs.
Finally,as someone who has watched Salford for well over 40years,watched Watkins,Hesketh,Gill,Dixon,etc,I have never seen anyone put in more effort in playing for Salford.Mal maybe hasn't been the most skilful player we have ever had,but my god! nobody has tried harder.
Whatever Mal decides to do I wish him well for the future and i'd like to thank him for the effort he has put in over the years.

.


You could argue his presence in the team in recent years has hindered the teams performance as certain players look at mal and think " he'll tackle him so i dont have to" Sometimes he gets invoved in tackles he doesnt reaily need to because of other peoples "lazy play" he has too, and his hunger to get stuck into the next tackle regardless who he is tackling and where he is on the field sometimes causes gaps in our defence as the rest of the defensive line has to reajust and cant quick enough to stop the danger.



Smiths Defence is very good, its not Alker esc but i dont see him as a weak point in the line, we have a couple of turnstiles and we all know who they are but i wouldnt put Smith in that category. Having the two smiths at Hooker next season would certainly give us a good attacking base to build from, the quicker we get the ball wide to The Wizard and the scrum half the the more damage we can cause an opponent.

Really? I think its pretty poor if I'm being honest! Both Smiths that is.

Both Smiths are lacking in the tackling department if you compare them to Alker. You'd be hard pushed to find a current SL hooker who can work like he does in defence.

However it's time we have a much more attacking bit of flare from our hookers and as Booby has said make the rest of the team man up defensively instead of letting Alker do all the work. I think both smiths have the potential to do that.

I wouldn't compare anyone defensively to Alker as that would be unfair. I just think they're both lacking lacking in defence compared to you average super league player. IMO its time for J. Smith to move on not making him a scapegoat far from it, but he's not really done anything since he's been here. As for Matty Smith I'm still a little unsure he's had a couple of good games, but has had some stinkers as well. Maybe trying to sign him on a long term deal and letting him and Holdsworth get even more of an understanding would be beneficial to the team as there's no doubting that when they do click they have the makings of a very good halfback combination.

We need a specialist hooker if Alker isn't going to be playing next year. I don't think that by keeping J.Smith and playing him at 9 it will improve the team. We need to bring in a bit of quality in that department if we want to push on as a team.