I used to love having the freedom of The Willows throughout my childhood, could go anywhere anytime, away team dressing room, home team dressing room, referees dressing room, tea room all under the shed. Loved just playing around behind the north stand and exploring the directors seats in the main stand. Running out onto the pitch before the cage was built and pretending I was playing, dropping a few drop goals and kicking conversions, diving over the try line under the sticks after running the length of the field pretending I'd ran around many a great legend thus scoring the winning try of the game! Pretending I was a turnstyle operator and messing around with the pedals to turn the turnstyles. Helping to clean the dressing rooms and hang the shirts on their pegs for the next game, used to love hanging Steve Nash's shirt up! The smell of linament every single day! Being given a chewy everyday off Len the kitman and chatting to Dai Moses about the previous weekends game.

On a sadder note of all the above was watching my mum scrub the dressing rooms clean after everygame, washing and ironing the kit for hours on end only to be paid such a measly pittance!

King of The Shed and Salfordredallover will know all too well of the above!

I can forget any game, score, player or anything else The Willows has given me on the playing side but I'll never forget my childhood memorys which are just for me and The Willows.

Being on a skills course when I was 10/11 at The Willows for a week ... going in the gym which was/is beneath the Tavern, eating my lunch from the back row of the North Stand every week then training with the first team on the last day.

The look of surprise on the face of a certain Tavern bar man when he found out it was my 18th birthday, and realised he'd been serving me underage for the past five years.

They have these types of memories all around the Man City stadium on the walls, always makes me smile. Might be an idea to have some out up in the new staduim.

The final home game of the 2006 season v Castleford when we had already made the play offs and Cas had to win to stay up or it would go to the final day, however the atmosphere was electric and if I remeber correctly kick off was delayed for 15 minutes with people turning up late...The Shed was hammered and was bouncing just before the teams come out and then we went on to beat them 26-16 I think.

Remeber Dodgy Hodgy getting the final try and taunting the Cas players and fans...sweet revenge for what had happened 4 years previous.

Also
Wigan in the snow

Wigan in the cup that same year..Rutcho's try when he stopped then just seemed to take the whole Wigan team under the sticks to break the deadlock. (plus a fine pre match that included me getting kicked off the tram at Langworthy for bringing a pint on it, sneaking back on then getting kicked off again and walking the rest of the way.)

Beating Hudds at home in '07 especially the long range try (Probably one of the best I've seen) that included Wilshere, Buddha and Viane.

The sit down stand up if you love Salford in the shed final game of the '07 season against Wire when we were relegated.

Plus many more could be here all day...

The try against Huddersfield back in 06 which was basically scored by the defence. The Shed was bouncing with the ooooooooooooooooooo before each tackle, the lads smashed them, forced the error and scored. Would love to see a defence like that again!

Another one, not sure who we were playing but literally everyone on both teams were in a mass brawl... except good old Martin Offiah who just sat down at other end of field and watched on!

A memory that sticks out, for all the wrong reasons as well was Alan Hunte's try in the CC in the 7th minute of added time to knock us out! He's made up for it since but what a bugger that were!

1st ever Super League game against Cas i think it was & winning 4-0. I'm prob wrong but think it was Phil Cousins scoring in the corner early on??

Just generally stood having a chat about rugby with anyone stood around you and becoming friends is something that will always stick out. My season ticket next year is for the main stand seating, I'm sure I'll be stood up behind the sticks soon enough!

So so many good, bad & indifferent times but wouldn't change one of them!

Just remembered a big brawl infront of the shed one Friday evening early season.

Dunneman was shadow boxing Solomona with people inbetween, he was laughing but Solomona was going mental trying to get at him.

Sheer comedy genius, 'd love to see that if anyone has any footage of it.

I think that game was against Widnes, but then again could be wrong~?

I think the Widnes game was our first home game after we came back up under Harrison, I think MikeTommo is right that we played Cas in our first SL at the Willows

One thing sticks in my mind, I can't remember exactly, but I think Gavin Clinch took a quick tap on our 20/30 and ran past the opposition (with their backs to him), to score.

When the floodlights opposite the shed went out a few years ago.

Just to clear the matter up our first Super league game was against Cas in 1997 and Coussons did indeed score the only points of the game. The crowd wasn't too bad either 5,726 turned out.

I remember that Phil Coussins try mainly thinking 'hes the double of buzz lightyear'

Bobbie Goulding getting sent off v Wakefield and 2003 and kissing the badge has he walked off. Never been done since I think.

Beating Wigan in 2001 with about 10 first teamers missing

Karl Harrison on crutches after a charity football game

And who could forget a pre-season friendly revealing Mike Hancock's beard.

Being an oldie compared to some on here my memories date back to

Watching a Floodlight Trophy game in the driving snow, mid week game possibly a Tuesday, don't remember much more than wearing 2 pairs of socks and still being cold.

Watching Salford V the Aussie Tourists they played the game ahead of the Ashes as a warm up because we were so good.

More recent
The drop goal against Wigan when Matty Johns failed with a couple attempts and the admission by a Wigan fan writing the game report that he left before the end!


The worst?

Game V Leeds when Chris Sanderson died, that game still haunts me, I have never felt that unnerving quiet on any occasion since.

Just been at home thinking off more great Willows memories, I remember also after beating Wigan in the CC playing rugby with Cliff Eccles in the little foyer room just up the stairs before you come into the variety centre. We were playing with a plastic coke bottle. With Cliff pretending to be the sticks I took a conversion only for for the bottle to hit him square in the mush and bust his lip. They were the days!!!

Being Mascot against Widnes at home in 1994 I think.

But the one thing that really stands out above all is the spine tingling feeling and the rush of excitement/adrenaline when you wake up on "game day". The whole day from meeting your family and friends and watching Salford is a just feeling like no other. Especially when as a kid we used to play on Sunday waking up, going to play myself in the morning then a mad dash to the Inn of Good Hope for dinner time then onto the Willows. I just don't think it will feel same at the new stadium hopefully that will come with time.

Just thought of the most mind blowing experience.

The minutes silence for Eric the Reddy V's Wigan, when it's someone close to you it is more moving.

The fact that within seconds of the kick off Wigan scored made me chuckle as Eric would have turned the radiuo of there and then.

this is hard to narrow down but lanchishire cup final v wigan tex evans taking the pi$$ out of henderson gill after scoring salford team doing the cougar crawl when we beat keighly
neil baker double chip and catch to score
darren brown chasing someone the lenth of the field to tackle
littler lenth of the field try v hudds
i could be here all day