8th or higher ( what Noble did for the Crusaders 2010 from a new squad ).

13 wins has been the threshold for 8th position for the past few seasons.


Of the senior squad only Williams & Ashurst, are left from the Willows era side, add
McPherson , Gleeson & McGoldrick, Dixon + the two forward signings mid season ( Griffin & Emmitt ) , the rest of the squad are the kids who made the step up from the U20's.
we are adding in 12-14? new signings , and Noble with his new backroom staff are going to have to mold this lot pre-season into a winning side.

In any stretch of the imagination that is a challenge.
Add to that it's going to be a relegation season and most other SL clubs are yet to embark on their squad building for 2014.
So asside from clubs that are financially restricted those other clubs should be stronger.

so realistically expect us to get off to a hesitant start & slowly build momentum as the squad starts to mold into a team further into the season .

I think 8th is a reasonable target, given some of the opposition. I'd really love a decent cup run though!

I'd be more than happy with 8th and a decent cup run.

Looking at this from a slightly different perspective,and looking at this years top 8, we would probably need to displace either of the Hull clubs or Catalans and prevent Bratford making the 8.
The other 5 look solid.
On that basis we could also target 6th place.
It will be tough,make no mistake,but it has to be achievable to satisfy the Doctors plan for world dominance.

8th would be fantastic. But seeing as Marwan and Noble are already working two seasons ahead, avoiding the drop has to be priority number one. With a good pre-season and a few more recruits top half is feasible. Anyone going for top four is a bit ambitious at this stage.

If you look at this seasons top 8 then you have to ask yourself,if we are to get into the top 8 ourselves then which teams currently occupying those positions can we edge out to secure ourselves a spot.I cant see any of the top 5 not being there again so that would leave us in a battle with Catlans,Hull FC and Hull KR
I think Hull FC are a club that can only get better.They will by all accounts have a new coach and undoubtedly several quality signings still to come and the quality youngsters they have can only improve with the experience they gained .Fantastic fan base and money to spend so cannot see them out of the 8.I personally see them challenging higher up the table.
Catalans are a team that really seem to blow very hot or stone cold.Consistency always seems to be an issue with them but on their day can be devastating.Think their biggest issue is the amount of travelling they have to do every year.That cannot help them as the season unwinds and must catch up with them at some stage.An improvement in their discipline would be a big help to them.Some quality youngsters and always able to attract top players given their location/lifestyle.Be intersesting to see how they go on the recruitment front and if they will have a new coach for 2014.
Hull KR have lost a massive player in Dobson so time for someone else to fill his boots but that will be no easy thing.Their recruitment so far has been excellent and in Sandercock i think they have a very good coach who will be there next year.They will be in and around the 8 again despite a lot of people writing them off for the play offs next year.

There will also be a couple of teams from this year who will really fancy themselves for next years top 8 as well.
Castleford have one of the best coaches in SL in my opinion.They will recruit well and always produce good youngsters of their own.They will cause a few upsets next year even without Rangi Chase.
Widnes are improving every year and Bradford despite rumoured money issues are recruiting well.

So after saying all that i think if Salford manage to finish 8th it will be a massive success.A decent cup run would be a huge bonus.

I'd be very happy with 8th if I was a Salford fan. Don't think your squad is much better than that but it would be a good start from which you could build. The main question is what work is going into the academy in order to push for the top long-term. You should be aiming to produce 2 SL standard players per season if you want to compete IMO.

I think we've achieved more than this season with Theo Fages, Marc Sneyd, Adam and Jordan Walne. Our U20's also won their Grand Final last Thursday too and I expect Gareth Owen, Niall Evalds and Will Hope to make the step up from that team into Super League next season. Alan Hunte is doing a great job with our youth set-up and Koukash has promised to plough money into that area of the club too.

top 8.

I`ll be happy with which ever position 54 points lands us in

I think an equally important question would be what crowd attendance would be acceptable next year? If we finish top eight with crowds of 6-9k depending on opposition I'd be well chuffed!

I think 8th would be a very good achievement considering where we've finished this year and the quality of the teams we're trying to replace. Even if we'd signed be best 5 players from each of the top 5 teams as our new squad the a leap of 6 places would be impressive. And, in reality, we haven't signed one of the top 5 players from the top 5 teams so I think talk of anything above 7th is overly optimistic and 8th is a realistic ambition

I think a top 8 finish is a minimum requirement and I could see the main priority shift to a good cup run, the more I look at the side being built a cup run would seem more of a possibility than a tilt at winning the title.

I mused with a friend recently a scenario I wouldn't bet against. If we struggle for the first half of the season I'd see the Doc getting twitchy with Noble and him ultimately going, then I wouldn't look pasted Long or Morley taking over till the end of the season.

I hope none of that happens as I'd love to see a period of sustainable growth and stability.

I did see an interview done with the Doc after the press release where he said knowing what he knows about 2015 we will be favourites so it does make you wonder what exactly he knows about who is lined up, Slater, Cronk and Smith as our overseas imports would be rather nicely for a start.

I'd be happy not finishing in the bottom 2, to be fair.

What's acceptable to the Doc I wonder.

I think sneaking into the 8 is a realistic aim. Top 4 is asking way too much but if we can get some early momentum and some of our more senior players stay clear of injury we may be able to target 6th/7th. I'd love to see a good cup run but knowing our luck we'll draw one of the big boys early! I'd certainly hope to avoid some major spankings and think our season may well be decided by our results against the likes of Bradford, Cas, Hull KR and Widnes who will all see the 8th spot as being up for grabs.

You can't target a cup run for salvation because the draw is basically down to luck,Warrington or Wigan away and that's the end of that !
No,the focus has to be top 6, that is to say top of the second tier.

I will be more than happy to see us reach play offs, we've got a few good signings, however, still way short of the top sides who are still to recruit for next season..
3 years from now, I may be expecting a top 4 finish though!!!

I think 8th is the absolute minimum however injuries happen (a lot to us in fact) but I'd think we should aim for 6th but it'll be very tough as the current top all are or will all strengthen as well.

As for the Doctor I'm sure he'll be aiming for 6 and above.

The main thing is patience. It may take a few weeks for your side to gel, especially with the amount of new players you've got coming in. New combinations & all that take a while to get used to each other. Hopefully for you guys you get a few of the easier game to start the season.

Think the month in Australia is a master stroke and the two games against NRL teams will gel the process of creating a team. Hope we play a couple of British sides too, If I'm not mistaken don't Warrington go to Australia as well in January? might be good to have a game over there against them too which would you'd think be of benefit to both clubs.

People say to look at other clubs and are the players we are bringing in any better than what they have? Tell me of a better second row than Hock or a club with two better half backs than Smith and Chase. The big question is can we ensure Puletua, Rapira and Morley fit and motivated enough to produce quality performances? I have no idea who else is due to sign, but going of what we've seen thus far, if we can keep those three fit a push for top 6 could be mounted.

8th will do me realistic ambition imo

Since when did the Optimist become the realist or dare I say pessimist ?

Have you had a bang on the head Bobby ? We finally have an owner who wants to reach for the stars and you now want to scrape into the playoffs where's all your ambition gone ? you know your ideas like kicking for a car at halftime when the last lot had no money for the Matchbox version.



C'mon man pull youself together .

What acceptable???
As a Lancastrian I would say 8/9.

What would I expect?
Well London and Wakey look likely to be bottom 2 given their financial predicament. Bradford don't look too secure given their waving over wages this year, but they do have the strength in depth that London and Wakey will lack.
Cas have a good coach, who should keep them out of the bottom 2, despite not having the money to spend.

So they will be 14-11 for me.

I think Widnes will improve again, could be last chance for their coach next year if he don't make the top 8.
Honestly not sure what is going on at Hull KR, but the loss of Dobson is huge for them. Are they secure financially? I've not been keeping up with the comings and goings and whether the directors are going to put money in or not.
So Salford are favourites for the top of those 3 with the money and the players in place.

I would not expect Salford to get above 8, yes you have signed some quality and experience, but there is a lot riding on these players. Some are getting on in years and whether they will last a full season is questionable.

For us TP has started having more time out with injury, same goes for Meli and Morley. But if you can keep them fit and rest them they should pull you through a better % of games.

Smith and Chase will possibly be the best half pairing in SL.

But I don't think you have the depth of the 7 above, when the injuries hit and the fixtures go back to back, with Monday nights, Thursday nights on SKY. Also the Easter Monday fixtures.