Malcolm Alker to retire

[hindle xiii]

From www.superleague.co.uk

The good news continues to roll in for the ambitious Salford City Reds, as their legendary Captain, Malcolm Alker, has agreed to stay at The Willows past the end of the season in an assistant coaching capacity. Alker, who has been with the Reds well over a decade and has played more than 350 games for the Club, had been acting as a Player/Coach this season, but will hang up his boots and now concentrate entirely on a coaching career.

Director of Football Steve Simms said: "This is great news for the Club. Malcolm is a highly respected professional, game-wide, and his reputation at Salford and beyond is thoroughly deserved.

"It can be tough for a player to adapt to a purely coaching role at first but this is for Malcolm's long-term future in the game. We see him as a potential future Head Coach. Obviously there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before that point but that is what everybody is aiming for."

Alker is currently carrying a back injury and won't face Hull KR this weekend but is already looking forward to the task in hand.

"I have been with this Club for my entire professional career. It is a part of me and runs through every vein in my body. We are already building for a great campaign next season with the signings the Club has made already," he said.

The Reds are busy strengthening their playing roster ahead of the final season at The Willows and have so far signed Luke Patten (Bulldogs), Chris Nero (Bulls) and Vinnie Anderson (Wolves) and are expected to announce further signings in the near future.

Sadly I think this retirement will be overshadowed by Keiron Cunningham's but Malcolm deserves his own send-off. Never really had a look in but always a tireless worker. Enjoy coaching!

[hindle xiii]

I know this possibility was well known but now it's official.

[Gregory Peccary]

Heart of a lion. He once played for the Reds 2 weeks after having his appendix out.

[Wolford6]

Don't blame him. He's always had to do his own tackling plus that for the halfbacks. Next season he'd have had to cover behind Chris Nero as well.

[tonyXIII]

He's stuck with Salford through thin and thinner. He deserves a medal the size of a dustbin lid.

Who's going to do the tackling now?

[hindle xiii]

He's stuck with Salford through thin and thinner. He deserves a medal the size of a dustbin lid.

Who's going to do the tackling now?

If it's on your line and towards your left hand defence, Nero will shoot out of the line and 50% of the time make the tackle. The other half of the time it's blaming Stuart Reardon.

[shrek]

Good luck to the lad, nothing but respect for him, hope he gets the success he deserves in his coaching career.

[Big Col]

One tough honest player Alker, under rated. If had played at one of big 4 would of defo earnt a GB cap, good luck in the coaching Mal.

[amm]

Enjoy your retirement Mal, you've more than enough to still give the game

[timtum]

A good, honest pro who made the most of his ability and has always had the recognition from opposition fans that he deserves. Good on him and hope that he makes a go of the coaching game. Always enjoyed watching Alker play and his tackling stints were something to wonder at at times.

[Saint Toppy]

He's been a great servant to Salford & to the game. Never quite had that little bit extra to make the step up into the international scene but deserves a lot of credit for sticking with Salford through their bad times as i'm sure a quite a few other SL clubs would have taken him on board.

I'm glad Salford have offered him a place in the coaching team as he probably has a lot of respect from the younger players at the club and is a good role model.

[BringBacktheBiff]

Whilst i admire Alkers loyalty to the Reds, I cant help but think its a career wasted to a certain degree. He has won no major trophies nor played for GB. He also had to spend part of his prime in the Championship (or NL1 as it was). He had an opportunity to go to the NRL as well as Bradford when they were a dominant force. Im sure he will look back and regret these missed chances in years to come.