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Marwan's Salford dream is bedevilled by poor leadership
John Davidson
Roar Guru
10th June, 2014
6
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Beau Scott - pictured here in his Dragons days - will play for his fourth NRL club after signing with Parramatta. (Source: AAP Image/Action Photographics/Grant Trouville)
John Davidson
Roar Guru
10th June, 2014
6

The Salford Red Devils’ Super League season started with so much promise, but it has quickly turned into a nightmare.

Salford take on Bradford on Sunday having won one of their past eight Super League matches. Their poor season record sits at four wins, one draw and ten losses from their 15 games.

They are already on their second coach after Brian Noble was sacked in April, but his replacement Iestyn Harris has fared little better.

Under Harris the Red Devils have been worse than they were with Noble, winning one of eight. If this keeps up, Harris must also face the chop.

Injuries haven’t been kind to Salford, with Rangi Chase and Junior Sa’u out in their season opener against Wakefield. Jake Mullaney, Gareth Hock, Francis Meli and others have spent spells on the sidelines at different points throughout the campaign.

But this is rugby league. Injuries are part and parcel of the game and every side has to contend with them.

Salford haven’t managed their injury woes well, and their season hasn’t been helped by some bone-headed decisions.

The worst of these has been the axing of Noble. Flamboyant owner Marwan Koukash got rid of the veteran coach after the side from Greater Manchester had won three of their first seven games.

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In place of the old hand Noble, Koukash threw in the inexperienced Harris. In the roles where he has been the head coach – with the now defunct Crusaders and the Welsh national side in the 2013 World Cup – he has failed miserably. It boggles the mind.

Another howler has been allowing Marc Sneyd to go on loan to Castleford for the season. Sneyd has been the surprise packet of 2014, and one of the best performers in Super League so far.

Koukash’s interference in his team and their direction at times has hardly helped matters. His mutterings on Twitter, like this one on April 28, have increased the pressure on the team.

This Salford squad is a brand-new outfit, thrown together in a blaze of headlines and publicity over the past nine months.

Koukash’s attention-seeking ways and investment are good for UK rugby league. He creates interest and excitement, and it’s fantatsic fodder for the media.

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But he needs to take a small step back and let his coaches coach and his players come together. This is rugby league, not football.

Throwing a team with a completely spine together over a short period meant it was always going to take time to build and grow. Results don’t come overnight. You need to create a positive culture, a bond within the team, and develop from there.

At the moment Salford look like a gaggle of highly paid footy players thrown into a XIII. They play together for 20 of the 80 minutes and are weak in defence.

There is seemingly little cohesion, understanding or togetherness.

Salford have a terrific side on paper but season 2014 has shown that money doesn’t buy you titles in footy – hard work and great coaches do, along with happy players.

The Red Devils should be in contention for the top eight, not fighting it out for relegation.

But the Bulls’ visit to the AJ Bell Stadium looms as a crunch encounter. The support of Salford’s fans, who were out in great numbers at the start of the season, is wavering. If the Red Devils lose to Bradford then they would be just five points ahead of the Bulls on the table.

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With Bradford’s appeal against administration to come, relegation could become a real worry for Salford. Koukash’s bold dream wasn’t meant to be like this.

The Red Devils still have time to dig themselves out of the mess and resurrect their 2014 campaign, but to do that cool heads and a calm hand have to prevail at the AJ Bell.

The arrival of Kevin Locke from New Zealand will steady the ship, but this is not all about talent on the park. It is about leadership and direction off it.

Follow John Davidson on Twitter: @johnnyddavidson

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