By DANNY LOCKWOOD
WILL he or won’t he? Is the good Doctor, right this moment, dancing round Koukash living room in his grundies and miming to a full volume version at The Clash classic, ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’
I reckon poor old long-suffering Mandy, aka Mrs K, wishes he’d make his mind up sooner rather than later. The lass deserves to get a holiday booked after the dramas her old man puts her through week in, week out.
Such as my two-pennorth is worth anything – which is to say about two-fifths of a Greek drachma or, in post-Brexit eurospeak, sod all – for once I haven’t much of a view.
The Salford owner just needs to make his mind up and get on with it. lt would be nice to see a bit at stickability, encouraging the admirable Tim Sheens and lan Watson to continue the on-field project they‘ve tackled so well this year.
And maybe a way can still be found to enable that, if Dr K decides to walk – although it’s difficult to imagine it without a significant benefactor.
And it he does hand the keys to a supporters trust as he’s intimated, what then for a club suddenly trying to live within exceedingly limited means and the lowest revenues in Super League? It wouldn’t be too far-
flung to foresee Salford being unable to compete at this level.
Four years ago Nigel Wood was credited (and henceforth damned by the Doc) for single-handedy hooking and landing the multi-millionaire racehorse owner and entrepreneur. But back then the RFL needed to keep the club afloat with an urgency not quite so acute now.
Clubs are knocking on the Super League door via the 128 and as contraption and it one can’t force its way through via results (and only Leigh is remotely likely) then the artifice of a club being catapulted up because of another’s woes might suffice.
At least with two years of extra funding and better competition under their belts, any club finding itself taking Salford’s place would be better
suited than in recent times.
The game doesn‘t want that, and I certainly don‘t. I’d like to see the Doc knuckle down and make a success of the project. Salford is too grand a name not to deserve our best wishes.
But if hedoesn’t and seeks pastures new? Well, thanks for everything then Marwan. You’ve been fun for most of us, even if you’ve had Nigel Wood under doctor’s orders at times.
SPEAKING of Marwan Koukash and pastures new, RL’s conspiracy theorists were having a mass panty-wetting moment last Sunday evening following the Bradford Bulls’ dismal defeat at Featherstone which denied them an expected top four berth.
Bulls chairmm Marc Green and his wife were notable absentees at the Big Fellas Stadium and the unseemly sight of some of his board colleagues being abused by travelling fans was disappointing indeed.
Clearly the sense of both anticipation and as it has transpired misplaced expectation has fuelled the club’s past two campaigns has resulted in even greater disappointment than would be usual.
The only question in most people’s minds back in February was whether Leigh-Bradford would end the 12s in positions 1-2, or 2-1. Funny old game isn’t it?
Green was prompted into a robust defence both of his stewardsip, his colleagues and the entire entire club. The bloke was clearly hurt by the way the campaign has prematurely ended in disappointment.
He says he’s sticking and the Bulls will remain full-time next year, which is a heroic commitment, although probably the required rhetoric in the circumstances. News of a windng up order over a disputed VAT bill didn’t help matters.
Those afforementioned conspiracy theorists however already had the Doc parking his fez at the Provident Stadium, given that he’d previously been rumored to be plotting a swoop to install wife Mandy before Green took over.
I’m not so sure. If he has fallen sufficiently out of love with the sport tto walk away from Salford, why would he step down a division and take on an squally big bang of problems?
Some mischievous people might argue that he’d do anything for a decent audience … but the poor Bulls aren’t even guaranteed that anymore.
I just hope their fans can dig a bit deeper than some of the players have this season.
