Post by coombes on Oct 17, 2018 9:04:08 GMT 1
Well it's been a different season, a slimmed down one for all Championship teams and not one that will be remembered with any fondness. Too few fixtures, too many blank weeks and the usual rush to complete before the cut off.
At the start our top heavy team looked worth a punt. The guys in the 1-5 were unlikely to up their averages but all had good away figures. James had what we thought was a low starting average and it was hoped he would improve on that. He did but not to the extent hoped for. However we must really learn that we need at least one high averaged reserve. Once again expectations ran too high inflated by overactive Facebook postings. We really need to turn things down a notch .. or two
There's a narrow margin between success and failure. We were unbeaten at home in the league, possibly helped by Workington and Lakeside - the two top teams of 2018 as it turned out - having to track NL guests. However it all went belly up at Ashfield in both cups. Losses to Workington and Edinburgh were avoidable had we not allowed an obviously unfit Paul Starke to try and ride and heeded the teams concerns over the track. It was only after these defeats that the promotion admitted there were problems and began extensive work on the third bend. Possibly things would have been different had Stewart Dickson still been around.
Richie Worrall was unsettled and unsettling and his release proved the right thing for both the rider and the team. He struggled with riding at either 1 or 5 having spent most of the previous season sheltered at number 3. Craig Cook gave us a lift but missed crucial away fixtures. It's hard to know what to say about Nathan Greaves. We barely saw him and we've heard nothing about him since the meeting at Edinburgh. Play Off qualification looked in doubt until heat 13 of our home meeting with Ipswich when Scott Nicholls crashed, turning both the meeting and the subsequent away at Ipswich in our favour - narrow margins that went our way. However our playoffs ended again narrowly at Workington over the weekend. So close.
Cami Brown has come in for a lot of criticism, some of it justified. He's in an invidious position not being a promoter or owner and has no real clout when things are going badly. Stewart had the luxury of being able to back up his demands. Which leads to the question - who will decide next years team?
Who would we have back? A lot will depend on the league structure but I can't see Chris Harris or Paul Starke wanting another season of travel and don't think we would necessarily want them anyway. Similarly I think James time is over. We badly need some young riders who will develop and improve their averages so possibly a young Aussie or American, but they need to be chosen with care and research as we have had a few howlers.
Some random thoughts on the domestic front. The biggest plus of 2018 was the new track shape and hopefully it'll be fully settled after this winter. Were Fridays a success? After years of chasing them, they weren't the Holy Grail we hoped for. Did we stumble on a good mix of Fridays and Sundays keeping a wider span of fans interested in the sport? The test match was a huge success although it possibly benefited the franchise holders much more than us. The WTC U21 much less so, possibly it was over priced with charges similar to the test match for a decidedly lesser meeting. Did we consider any open meetings or challenge matches ?Did Ticket Arena help us in anyway. Paying more for advance tickets has no logic at all. Our programme continues to miss the promotional input that all other tracks have. Ghost written team manager and captain articles don't fill this need.
It's going to be an interesting close season.
At the start our top heavy team looked worth a punt. The guys in the 1-5 were unlikely to up their averages but all had good away figures. James had what we thought was a low starting average and it was hoped he would improve on that. He did but not to the extent hoped for. However we must really learn that we need at least one high averaged reserve. Once again expectations ran too high inflated by overactive Facebook postings. We really need to turn things down a notch .. or two
There's a narrow margin between success and failure. We were unbeaten at home in the league, possibly helped by Workington and Lakeside - the two top teams of 2018 as it turned out - having to track NL guests. However it all went belly up at Ashfield in both cups. Losses to Workington and Edinburgh were avoidable had we not allowed an obviously unfit Paul Starke to try and ride and heeded the teams concerns over the track. It was only after these defeats that the promotion admitted there were problems and began extensive work on the third bend. Possibly things would have been different had Stewart Dickson still been around.
Richie Worrall was unsettled and unsettling and his release proved the right thing for both the rider and the team. He struggled with riding at either 1 or 5 having spent most of the previous season sheltered at number 3. Craig Cook gave us a lift but missed crucial away fixtures. It's hard to know what to say about Nathan Greaves. We barely saw him and we've heard nothing about him since the meeting at Edinburgh. Play Off qualification looked in doubt until heat 13 of our home meeting with Ipswich when Scott Nicholls crashed, turning both the meeting and the subsequent away at Ipswich in our favour - narrow margins that went our way. However our playoffs ended again narrowly at Workington over the weekend. So close.
Cami Brown has come in for a lot of criticism, some of it justified. He's in an invidious position not being a promoter or owner and has no real clout when things are going badly. Stewart had the luxury of being able to back up his demands. Which leads to the question - who will decide next years team?
Who would we have back? A lot will depend on the league structure but I can't see Chris Harris or Paul Starke wanting another season of travel and don't think we would necessarily want them anyway. Similarly I think James time is over. We badly need some young riders who will develop and improve their averages so possibly a young Aussie or American, but they need to be chosen with care and research as we have had a few howlers.
Some random thoughts on the domestic front. The biggest plus of 2018 was the new track shape and hopefully it'll be fully settled after this winter. Were Fridays a success? After years of chasing them, they weren't the Holy Grail we hoped for. Did we stumble on a good mix of Fridays and Sundays keeping a wider span of fans interested in the sport? The test match was a huge success although it possibly benefited the franchise holders much more than us. The WTC U21 much less so, possibly it was over priced with charges similar to the test match for a decidedly lesser meeting. Did we consider any open meetings or challenge matches ?Did Ticket Arena help us in anyway. Paying more for advance tickets has no logic at all. Our programme continues to miss the promotional input that all other tracks have. Ghost written team manager and captain articles don't fill this need.
It's going to be an interesting close season.