Reds Ready for Final Pre-Season Hurdle

Salford City Reds go into their final warm-up game ahead of Super League X with the Warrington Wolves today, knowing that a performance on a par with that against Wigan on Tuesday night could see them through pre-season with a 100% record.

The Reds came form 0-16 down to overturn the Warriors at The Willows and coach Karl Harrison will be looking to head into the new campaign with maximum confidence after a win at the Halliwell Jones.

Harrison has Tim Hartley missing from his squad with a wrist fracture and Paul Highton is still struggling with a back injury but besides that will be hoping he can choose from his full set of players.

Mark Shipway has recovered from a back strain and Junior Langi may finally get some game time if he passes a fitness test on a Quad injury.

Reds fans will be keen to get another glance of England star Luke Robinson after his man-of-the-match performance against Wigan.

VIP Guests Entertained as Reds Clinch Victory

Salford City Reds victory against Wigan Warriors in last night’s pre season friendly gave all present a valuable insight as to how the first Super League X match on 11 th February could pan out.

Someone else who will has one eye firmly fixed on 11 th February, although for slightly different reasons, is Salford boxer, Steve Foster Junior.

As the Reds limber up at the JJB Stadium that night, Steve will be preparing for the biggest fight of his life, as he takes on Colombian, Livingstone Ruiz for the WBU World Featherweight Title at the M.E.N arena.

Local lad Steve, took time out of his busy schedule last night to come along and support the Reds, bringing his current English Featherweight champs belt to proudly display to the Willows fans, who will no doubt get behind their home grown hero.

Also enjoying the entertainment at the Willows, was Steve’s dad, Steve “The Viking” Foster, whose legendary status has made him a great favourite with the Salford faithful.

Tickets for Steve’s clash with the Colombian can be purchased via 0870 906 3839 or alternatively, you can enter an exclusive prize draw to win two ringside seats worth over £320! The competition will be open only to season ticket holders who already have or intend to introduce a friend to become a season ticket holder, including the new “Mix and Match” season ticket.

Big Match Preview – Wigan Warriors

Salford’s preparation edges a little closer to Super League X with the arrival on Tuesday night of the Wigan Warriors in the rearranged friendly.

Originally scheduled for the JJB Reds’ fans will be happy at the switch that brings the game back to home soil and Karl Harrison’s men are looking for a moral boosting win ahead of the tough campaign in front of them.

The City Reds welcome back their Antipodean contingent with a likely start for new signing from the Parramatta Eels – Junior Langi in the three-quarters.

Second row Ian Sibbit is also in line for a debut but Harrison will be wanting to keep some of his cards close to his chest with the Warriors being Salford’s first opposition in the League in just a few weeks time.

Meanwhile Tim Jonkers and Tim Hartley are injured, the latter having fractured a wrist during training in Florida last week.

England star and former Warrior Luke Robinson said today: “I absolutely can’t wait to play them. It’d be great to win but at the same time I think both teams will hold a little something back, knowing we’ll all be scrutinising the videos in the run up to Round One.”

Former Wigan team-mate David Hodgson said: “We’ve trained really well and it’s a great bunvh of people here. I can;t wait to get into the season and hopefully surprise a few people.”

Wigan are without GB skipper Andrew Farrell for both encounters but Robinson doesn’t believe that will hinder what is still a very strong side: “Faz is an immense player but we actually played better at time without him last year. They’ll miss him, but not as much as people think.”

Salford City Reds entertain Wigan Warriors tonight at The Willows KO 19.45.

UPDATE:

Salford City Reds take on the Wigan Warriors in a pre season friendly this evening, which will provide all spectators with a valuable insight as to how the first Super League X match on 11 th February could pan out for both clubs.

Someone else who will have one eye firmly fixed on 11 th February, although for slightly different reasons, is Salford boxer, Steve Foster Junior.

As the Reds limber up at the JJB Stadium that night, Steve will be preparing for the biggest fight of his life, as he takes on Colombian, Livingstone Ruiz for the World Featherweight Title at the M.E.N arena.

Local lad Steve, is taking time out of his busy schedule tonight to come
along and support the Reds, bringing his current English Featherweight
champs belt to proudly display to the Willows fans, who will no doubt get
behind their home grown hero.

Also enjoying the entertainment at the Willows, will be Steve’s dad, Steve
“The Viking” Foster, whose legendary status has made him a great favourite with the Salford faithful.

Tickets for Steve’s clash with the Colombian can be purchased via 0870 906 3839 or alternatively, you can enter an exclusive prize draw to win two ringside seats worth over £320! The competition will be open only to season ticket holders who already have or intend to introduce a friend to become a season ticket holder, including the new “Mix and Match” season ticket.

Reds release Squad Numbers for 2005

Salford City Reds have unveiled their squad numbers for Super League X ahead of the friendly at The Willows against the Wigan Warriors.

The Reds will line up for 2005 as follows:-

1 – Cliff Beverley
2 – David Hodgson
3 – Stuart Littler
4 – Junior Langi
5 – Anthony Stewart
6 -
7 – Luke Robinson
8 – Andy Coley
9 – Malcolm Alker
10 – Sean Rutgerson
11 – Mark SHipway
12 – Ian Sibbit
13 – Chris Charles
14 – Paul Highton
15 – Karl Fitzpatrick
16 – Nathan McAvoy
17 – Gareth Haggerty
18 – Stuart Dickens
19 – Neil Baynes
20 – Tim Jonkers
21 – John Clough
22 – Simon Baldwin
23 – Andrew Brocklehurst
24 – Andy Johnson
25 – Tim Hartley
33 – Kevin McGuinness

Reds Renew Evening News Deal

Salford City Reds have renewed their partnership with local news giants Manchester Evening News. The deal will run for the entirety of the 2005 Super League season, and once again sees the M.E.N. as the Reds official Media Partner.

The MEN brand will feature heavily throughout the Willows stadium including on the famous “big screen” housing.

There will also possibly be some exciting opportunities for the M.E.N. hot air balloon to visit the club and some fantastic reader/supporter competitions throughout the Season.

Reds Media and Marketing Manager, Carolyn Derbyshire said, “It’s great to be working in partnership with the Manchester Evening News again. We already enjoy extensive coverage through the sports pages of the paper, and it makes perfect sense to work together to promote both brands.”

“We will be trying out some new things this year, that haven’t been done before, with the M.E.N. supporting some of the new Community initiatives, and we hope to continue the partnership well beyond the current season.”

“The coming season is beginning to gather momentum and this announcement couldn’t have come at a better time for us.”

New club Director, Trish Goldsmith added, “Being new to the City, and looking forward to the move to the Salford City Reds’ new stadium, I’m sure working in partnership with the Manchester Evening News will benefit both parties tremendously. There are new and exciting opportunities opening up all the time.”

Meanwhile the Salford squad are currently on their way back from Jacksonville , Florida after working through a 10 day pre-season training camp. Reds Director of Football, Steve Simms reports that “Work on tactical awareness, set plays and match structure has been completed in the USA . We were really happy with the results from last year’s visit and I’m sure that once again these couple of weeks will pay dividends for us in the coming months.”

Exclusive Prize Draw for Junior Reds

Junior Reds have just been handed an exclusive opportunity to present a member of the Salford City Reds squad with their playing jersey and squad number at the “Supporters’ Trust Launch and Meet the Players Night” taking place here at the Willows on February 1 st at 7pm .

All junior reds will go into a draw happening on Wednesday 26 th January so tickets must be purchased no later than Tuesday 25 th January. The winners will be invited to come down to the Willows and go up on stage to present a member of the squad with their Reds playing jersey.

The winners will each have their photograph taken with the player as a memento of the occasion.

Only Junior Reds will have the opportunity to be entered into the draw – and there are a limited number of places available!

If you want to be included in the draw make sure you’ve purchased your ticket by the close of business on Tuesday 25 th January. All winners will be notified in writing by post.

Junior tickets are available from the club shop, priced at £35 for under 12′s and £50 for under 16′s.

All adults and juniors are welcome to attend the “Supporters’ Trust Launch and Meet the Players” night, and the event is free of charge.

We look forward to seeing you on the night and wish you the very best of luck in the draw!

Supporter’s Trust Launch and Meet the Players Night

This very special night in the club calendar will take place at the Willows Variety Centre on Tuesday 1 February at 7pm.

On the night Forever Reds will actually be taking the bold step of becoming a fully fledged Supporters’ Trust, and in doing so become the fourth rugby league club to formalise a supporter organisation in this way.

The event hopes to raise awareness and generate memberships for the trust and will incorporate the presentation of jersey’s and squad numbers to the City Reds first team.

Junior Reds are being offered the opportunity to present the players with their jerseys on the night and in order to qualify for the draw, must have purchased their Season Ticket no later than Tuesday 25th January, in order to be included in the draw on 26th January.

All 1st team players will be in attendance, along with both Academy squads and Coaching staff.

In addition, there will be representatives of Supporters’ Direct there on the night who will be on hand to explain exactly how the “Trust” concept has worked at other clubs.

All are welcome to attend, and the event is free of charge.

Wigan Friendly Switched to The Willows

Salford City Reds will play Wigan Warriors at The Willows (19.45) on TUESDAY January 25.

The game was originally scheduled for the JJB but the Warriors have asked the Reds for the switch.

It gives former Wigan signings Luke Robinson and David Hodgson an early chance to perform in front of their new fans against the old employers.

Admission is £10 Adults and £5 Concessions. All seating is unreserved and is therefore allocated on a first come first served basis.

Reds’ Fans Raise Cash for Tsunami Appeal

At the recent pre-season friendly match between Salford City Reds and Swinton Lions, two collections took place to raise money for the victims of the South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami.

Many lives have already been lost, and aid is desperately needed in all the affected countries, to ensure that further lives are saved from disease and poverty as a result of this terrible natural disaster.

The Reds cheerleaders, the Red Hot Flames, carried out a bucket collection raising £250 for the disaster fund. In addition, New Prospect Housing ran a raffle and balloon launch which raised a further £428. The combined total raised on the day was £678 and we would like to thank all supporters from Salford and Swinton, for their generosity and donations.

You can still make donations to the appeal via the following website :- www.dec.org.uk or simply text the word “DONATE” to 83321 and £1.50 will be donated direct to the appeal with no charges or VAT applied. Alternatively ring 0870 60 60 900 to make a donation via credit or debit card.

Unseen Reds Archive Footage to Appear on BBC

Some time ago, the club was contacted by a BBC research team who were fortunate enough to be reviewing the archives of Blackburn film makers Mitchell and Kenyon.

Amongst the footage there appeared to be some reels showing a rugby league match from the very early part on the 20 th Century. Further investigation revealed that the match was actually between Salford and Batley.

The documentary series “The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon” begins transmission on BBC 2 on Friday 14 th January at 9.00pm, and continues over the following 2 Fridays.

Many supporters were instrumental in assisting the BBC with their research for this piece and the first episode on 14th January will include the rugby league item. It should provide a fascinating and entertaining insight into the lives of the film makers and the conditions and atmosphere surrounding the Salford club at the dawn of the 20th Century.