memorys of my 25 year plus association with the ground i love

being a junior devil
my 1st rugby shirt, hat and scarf
going to the ticket office and getting my free junior devils ticket each home game
dad parking in car park over the road so i could wait and see players arrive
going in the dressing room aged 9 on my birthday meeting kevin ashcroft and his lads and having photographs taken with the worlds best fullback mr garry jack
dad joining the lifeline bar so i could get autographs of all the players after the game in my red book
me doing scrap books of anything to do with the reds from all papers and also other rl clubs as well
watching salford win a trophy at home when the league was presented to us in early 90s
seeing paul shaw the aboriginal superstar play for my team and nearlt win us the lancs cup

doing my rugby league coaching certificate at the willows with batley bob marsden and other players

getting my programme from doris infront of the willows every game hope she will be watching from above vs catalan

going into the shed and the smell of the wintergreen and dad saying never forget that smell from when i played

choosing man of the match vs oldham bears in super league as a guest of the sponsors and watching my dad present it to cliff eccles

doing a survey for my university dissertation at an a team game and going into the press box to speak to coaches players and officials about super league

beating wigan in the cup and also betting on us as massive outsiders for the game

cougar crawling vs keighley

lance todd trophy doo in the willows when henry paul got his award in late 90s surrounded by greats of the game

john wilkinson making time to talk to my dad as he was involved in supporters association

tetleys bitter sponsored doos before the grand final , on several occasions always wearing salford colours

sponsorship packages from brewery meeting the players and ex players gibbo, birkett shane hansen and many more, listening to the drivel simms comes out with, getting a fully autographed shirt framed for my dad 60 birthday which sits proudly on a wall at his home

being gutted when games were called off

the whole peter kay thing , sunday was going to the game home for sunday roast love boat had just finished bullseye was starting having your tea on a tray , biscuits and a brew and the antiques roadshow / songs of praise, sunday is a rugby day for me

coming back to the willows on a fleet of coaches from headingley where all my dreams were shattered as we lost in cc semi final to sheff eagles, going to the tavern and getting on the willows pitch showing my mates the art of drop kicking and nearly putting the willows windows in

getting to become a ballboy at a game but not getting picked as numbers were too high

meeting lads who played for salford who i played rugby against as a kid, ian watson, carlo, nathan mcavoy, me and ian you to knock lumps out of each other in schools rugby

going to a salford school to do coaching and the players were training, didnt do much coaching as my own team were on the next field, the lads who i paid to watch at the willows were right next to me

meeting the aussie tourists at school and proudly telling them i was a salford season ticket holder and they should all sign for my club and play at the willows

screaming and shouting in the shed at opposition players, and giving encouragement to the salford lads

going to the games with my dad, brillo , duncan in the old days, mum becoming a cas tigers fan and standing with the away fans and text abuse being hurled

going to eccles and having a few pints before games then not remembering half the game

celebrating wins by a few more pints inmanchester on a friday night me and dad putting the world to rights

being relegated
being promoted

the recent fans day , sitting on the salford bench and having a pint looking out onto my field of dreams and having my photo taken as the only man in the shed

a team games watching the stars of the future with another 150 hardy soles on a friday night
the bloke who jumped out of the plane and landed in thenorth stand

there are so many more, all the minutes silences for the reds who are no longer with us

love the willows and had so many good times there nearly all spent with my dad
thanks for the memorys dad , we will still follow to barton unsure if it will be the same
but
BORN RED LIVE RED DIE RED FOREVER A SALFORD RED

Singing in the shed and the great atmosphere and banter with away fans !
Listening to the Brother In Law shout his favourite quote in the shed "RIP HIS SPLEEN OUT !"
The KH years when we were a force and turning up at the Willows with hope !
Sunday Rugby and arriving at the the Willows vault bang on opening time for prematch drink, discussion and laughter !
Reading the Scarlet Turkey and having a laugh at it's content post match.
Apart from the KH years, in a wierd way I liked the relegation dog fights at the Willows as well !
But most memorably for me, playing at the Willows for the A team and also for the Manchester & District team and scoring a few tries at this very special place !

I find it difficult to remember specific games except for the odd outstanding victory like the Wigan Cup win.

I first went to the Willows during 1949 - 1950 season. I have no idea who Salford were playing as I was three at the time. My mother was pregnant with my younger brother and my dad, having worked Saturday morning because he was in the Building trade, took me to the Willows so my mum could have a rest. That was when my addiction started. I'm sure I used to just play on the empty terraces then, bur Salford RLFC got to me.

I remember players who were my heroes like Wally MacArthur, Arthur Gregory, John Cheshire, Dai Davies and Albert Baines.

There was a sense of excitement as players like Billy Banks and the great Jackie Brennan joined the club and then along came Brian Sparks as the team began to improve, with the start of the Snape years. I remember during the Snape years drawing 5 -5 with Saints at the Willows and beating them 8 - 3 (I think) at Knowsley Road when Les Bettinson had a magnificent game. We went to Wigan in the next round and won comfortably despite having Frank Collier sent off. We all thought it was our year for the cup - until we lost 7 -5 at Dewsbury in the Quarter Finals. That memory is as painful as losing to Castleford at Wembley, and to Sheffield at Headingley.

As the Snape years progressed we became fashionable and successful. We saw some great players in the red shirt. We were privileged to be able to see Charlton, Fielding, Watkins, Hesketh, Richards, the great Ken Gill, Nash, Banner, Coulman, Dixon, Smethurst, and Prescott at the club. Other superb players like Butler, Colloby, Rule and Williams almost had supporting roles.

Yet the crowd was always critical. After one typical Friday night match which we'd won with a splendid display of attacking rugby, as the tightly packed crowd was making its way out onto Weaste Lane the guy in front of me said, 'Watkins had a poor game tonight.' Somewhat surprised, I said, 'Come on! He kicked nine goals, scored three tries and laid on three more!' 'Aye, but what else did he do?' came the response which caused all around to laugh at him.

Those were great years and we did not appreciate them as much as we should have done as since then we haven't enjoyed the same quality of rugby, except for the odd occasion. We've seen some talent though in Neil Baker, Paul Shaw, Garry Jack and Michael Hancock. It's a shame that young talent has left us as we do need to build for the future.

This addiction still rules my life. I've passed it on to my son and my grand daughter shows signs of the same disease.

At times I've been miserable in lots of places like Bradford, Perpignan, Wigan and Saint Helens, but there have been times when I've loved those same places - though not as often as I would have liked.

In sixty odd years I haven't missed more than ten matches at the Willows and think I will find tomorrow a strange day. I still can't believe that it's my last ever match there for some reason. Someone must be having us on!!

But it is and I've got my season ticket for Barton. I've been very impressed by Matt Parish and I really hope it will be onwards and upwards.

I really hope there will be a great atmosphere there tomorrow. Over the years I've stood in various specs at the ground but I'll be in the Shed tomorrow where I've been for a good few years. I can't wait.

Come on you Reds!

Beating Wigan with a Holroyd (?) drop goal, 31-30

When that Toulouse player wasn't too happy with the Shed's reaction to his sinbinning.

Just remembered the time we beat Les Cats and the shed song to them Au Revoir, Au Revoir, possibly the best bit of off the cuff banter I've ever seen.

As we have now started life in the new ground and left the Willows behind, I thought I’d share some of the photos I took during the last season. My aim was to document the last season and capture all the things the things that were so special to so many of us. In the end I only started the project in earnest from Good Friday so I missed a good number of the early home games. The photos can be found here rl]rl] www.flickr.com/photos/andrewnoon ... 881328653/ All the photos were shot on a compact camera and I wanted to capture the atmosphere of game days at The Willows and all it entailed. Whatever we all think of the new ground The Willows was special to so many of us and holds so many great memories and will always remain our spiritual home. I loved going there over the years and it still hasn’t quite hit home that we won’t be playing there again. I imagine it will hit me at some point whilst watching a game at the new ground where I realise this is now what we call home. If there is enough interest I will look at doing a book that people can buy online using the website Blurb.

As we have now started life in the new ground and left the Willows behind, I thought I’d share some of the photos I took during the last season. My aim was to document the last season and capture all the things the things that were so special to so many of us. In the end I only started the project in earnest from Good Friday so I missed a good number of the early home games. The photos can be found here rl]rl] www.flickr.com/photos/andrewnoon ... 881328653/ All the photos were shot on a compact camera and I wanted to capture the atmosphere of game days at The Willows and all it entailed. Whatever we all think of the new ground The Willows was special to so many of us and holds so many great memories and will always remain our spiritual home. I loved going there over the years and it still hasn’t quite hit home that we won’t be playing there again. I imagine it will hit me at some point whilst watching a game at the new ground where I realise this is now what we call home. If there is enough interest I will look at doing a book that people can buy online using the website Blurb.