He portrays Holdsworth as a talented player headed to the oblivion of Japanese rugby union before Salford rescued him and also intimates that he was sullen, petulant and a divisive personality.
He also relays an interesting anecdote from Sydney that confirms the view many of us had of the old regime.
I agree that it was a surprisingly good piece (unfortunately Red_C it doesn't appear to be online).
Hard to disagree with his assessment that Holdsworth's talent more than offset his moody persona, many Salford fans seem to think that because of his surly nature we're better off without him which baffles me.It can be no coincidence that whenever I've seen Hull on TV this season they've looked a miles better side when DJ's been available for selection.
For those who didn't read it, Barker told an anecdote that Peter Gentle is fond of re-telling that when he was in line for the Salford job he sat by the phone all day waiting to get the nod or otherwise from club officials. When he tracked them down (having not received the promised call) he found that Simms was golfing and Wilky & Clague were on an open-top bus tour. For what it's worth I was told the same story at the time this happened (although Simms wasn't golfing in the version I heard). For some reason his interest in the Salford job cooled at this point
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