Very strange affair considering the fact months ago he was the best full back and was h adding to Salford.

Yeah, I get the feeling that this is the way things are panning out. It seems strange to me that Hock received unconditional backing, yet everything related to Locke is the opposite. Like this dancing thing in Barcelona. MK's reaction to it is cold. After letting the Scottish RU speak to Locke, and getting that grub at the MEN to write an article saying that MK wouldn't stand in the way of a move, speaks volumes to me.

I think the last thing they expected was for Locke to commit to Salford. There's something not right about the Club at the moment. I think internal politics are at work.

I'm torn on this, on one hand we have Evalds who is an incredible talent who has that much vaunted X factor and on the other we have Locke who when fit has it in him to be the best attacking full back in the league.

I agree with are kid in that there's something doesn't seem quite right in the back ground, does make you wonder what (if any) influence Sheens has had in this and if the Doc lined up a Billy Slater type signing for next season.

Nail. On. The. Head!

Bigging up Niall Evalds (on the face of it sounds fine), but in the same interview demeaning Kevin Locke by stating reputation counts for nothing and he will have to prove his worth to get in the team. Not great management of your superstar signing who the fans are desperate to see back to his best on the pitch is it? Imagine having an injury, sat at home frustrated then picking up the local rag and reading that. Zero support from his boss.

Then there was the whole Scottish Rugby Union affair. Instead of letting the fiasco of the Saints game die-down and allowing the team to put right the wrongs in their own way (which they have done), Koukash clearly sees his ar$e with Kevin Locke and picks up the phone to SRU asking if they would like to discuss a move with Kevin Locke.

Now this, which is a blatant ploy by the club to further antagonise a player which is costing them a small fortune and for whom they haven’t had any decent return on. Our form hasn’t improved, crowds haven’t increased and shirt sales haven’t been manic since his arrival. He’s gone from the best thing since sliced bread to someone they seem to can’t wait to get rid of.

I have heard a couple of things with regards to what is wrong with the club, but without reasonable evidence I wouldn’t want to divulge but it’s all money related.

We are all giving Neil Barker exactly what he wants. When I read the story I laughed and thought this is a p1ss take, Neil Barker is probably still laughing at how many people have fallen for it!

Not really, Koukash has confirmed the club are dealing with the matter but has said it's being dealt with internally... That's a new one.

I really doubt this article would have made print if it was another Salford player. It started with speculation in the MEN (Manchester Evening News) about Locke's potential move to Scottish RU that lead to Locke having a social media spat with reporter Neil Barker. I interpret this story as a mischievous form of revenge.

If a local journalist was writing disruptive articles about one of your star players, you wouldn’t back them would you? Common sense would suggest you would either ban said journalist from the stadium/club or publically show support for the player. Koukash’ tweet last week regarding the Scottish RU story was to say “Neil Barker has reported this story 100% correct” or something to that tune.

I have no doubts Barker speaks with Koukash and Vickers on a weekly basis, they seem to have a good relationship and no doubt use each other for mutual benefits. This latest story has 100% been given to Barker to make a song and dance (excuse the pun) about.

I will be eternally grateful to Marwan for saving the club, but deary me some of the stuff coming out of the place at the moment is a joke. It doesn’t help him having his puppet and lap dog (Martin Vickers) by his side either, whom has zero sports administration experience. If were to ever become successful, MK needs an experienced CEO and/or Director of Football alongside him to advise him on how to operate a successful RL club.

Vickers has actually had a few digs at Barker on twitter, I've quite warmed to him.

Seem to remember Wigan banning Barker when he wrote for the local Wigan paper. Upsetting players etc with his stories

barkers latest www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... tm_medium= seriously, if my 14 year old wrote like that, i would be having words with his teachers.

barkers latest www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... tm_medium= seriously, if my 14 year old wrote like that, i would be having words with his teachers.

Why does Barker write like this.

No paragraphs.

No real quotes.

No real news.

I wrote a post about the MEN Sports desk's abilities not so long ago. Disheartening, yet not surprising, to see their abilities living up to what I've said previously.

Lazy bullet points and a tendency for the irrelevant. Coupled with low grade journalism it's very frustrating to see how one guy can cause so much angst to fans and players.

I have no idea what is going on behind the scenes but what I do know is Locke will need a run of games to find his best form and get his match fitness back. He's had one full game this year because of injury and he did OK at Catalan. The criticism Locke is getting in the MEN newspaper I feel is a little premature. Surely Locke's contribution needs judging after a few back to back games, or does Mr Barker know something we don't? If there is a problem and he does know, could it suggest a lack of professionalism within the club? A snake in the grass perhaps or simply marwanism?