mudflaps 664 Posted October 16, 2013 Kosciuch seems to have been the scapegoat on a couple of occasions now. Can't understand it myself. He has his limitations on the smaller tracks but he is superb to watch at Peterborough and he has ridden well at Swindon and Coventry previously. Moreover, he is Polish and yet he's loyal! I'd Blame Pat for that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mudflaps 664 Posted November 1, 2013 It is fair to say that every Panthers rider had his ups and downs this year. Mark Plummer reveals the best and worst Performances and rates their season: KENNETH BJERRE B+ Number of meetings: 27. Highest score: 14+1 - vs Swindon (h) and Poole (h). Lowest score: 2 - vs Coventry (a). A difficult start to the year as he fought to overcome the demons of a horror injury in 2012, but overcome them he did. The Dane was right back to his brilliant best for much of the second half of the season with a stack of high scores home and away. KENNI LARSEN B+ Number of meetings: 14. Highest score: 15 vs Poole (h). Lowest score: 2 vs King’s Lynn (a). Arrived on loan with a dislike of the Alwalton track, but swiftly mastered it to become the club’s best performer during the dark days. Injury robbed the Dane of the chance to continue his cracking form but he will surely feature in Panthers’ plans again in the future. JAN STAECHMANN D The former World Cup-winning Denmark boss carried the can for Panthers’ dreadful start to the season when being relieved of his duties in early June. The city side had lost nine times by then, including four times on home shale, to fall to the bottom of the Elite League table. RYAN SULLIVAN A Not content with being the club’s greatest-ever rider, Sullivan is clearly a hell of a team manager as well. Panthers turned to ‘Mr Peterborough’ in their hour of need and he oversaw a vast improvement in fortunes, taking the club from rock-bottom to respectability. LINUS SUNDSTROM D Number of meetings: 12. Highest score: 11+2 - vs Coventry (a). Lowest score: 2 - vs Lakeside (a). The highly-rated Swede saw his career stall during a miserable 2013 campaign. Sundstrom was short of points and low on confidence until his season came to a premature end after suffering a broken scaphoid while racing in Poland in June. NORBERT KOSCIUCH D Number of meetings: 16. Highest score: 14+1 - vs Belle Vue (h). Lowest score: 1 - vs King’s Lynn (h) and King’s Lynn (a). Struggled, dropped, re-signed, still struggled - that sums up the Pole’s season. Kosciuch was axed after only seven meetings in favour of Nicolai Klindt but then replaced the same rider in the summer. Finally found some form at reserve in the last meeting of the year. PATRICK HOUGAARD A- Number of meetings: 27. Highest score: 18+1 - vs Swindon (a). Lowest score: 0 - vs Swindon (a) and Belle Vue (h). Left a couple of years of injury torment behind by getting his career back on track. Found it tough going in the early weeks but hit form with a vengeance to pile up the points at reserve. Starred in all of Panthers’ best moments of the season and gave his average a hefty increase. RYAN FISHER B- Number of meetings: 27. Highest score: 14+4 - vs Coventry (h). Lowest score: 1+1 - vs King’s Lynn (a). A steady source of points both at the East of England Showground and on the road. The American - a nice guy off the track but ruthlessly determined on it - justified his inclusion in the Panthers team and proved he is still more than capable of riding at Elite League level. DAKOTA NORTH B Number of meetings: 28. Highest score: 13+1 - vs Eastbourne (h). Lowest score: 0 - vs Lakeside (a) and Coventry (a). Can be satisfied with how a first full-time season of Elite League racing panned out. He started in a blaze of glory only to then hit some leaner times, but he gained vital experience at this level and upped his average in the process. Panthers’ only ever-present rider. NICOLAI KLINDT E Number of meetings: 8. Highest score: 6+3 - vs Eastbourne (h). Lowest score: 0 - vs Lakeside (a), Belle Vue (a), Wolverhampton (a). An early-season signing who endured a nightmare two-month stay in the Panthers lair. Klindt won just one race and scored only 20 points during eight meetings for the city club before being axed in favour of the man he had replaced - Norbert Kosciuch. JOONAS KYLMAKORPI C+ Number of meetings: 12. Highest score: 10+2 vs Coventry (h). Lowest score: 4 vs Birmingham (h). A rider of vast experience and proven ability on all tracks, Kylmakorpi did what was expected of him following his July arrival as part of a summer revamp. The four-time World Long-Track champion scored solidly, rather than spectacularly, home and away. KRZYSZTOF BUCZKOWSKI A- Number of meetings: 13. Highest score: 14+1 - vs Lakeside (h) and Wolves (h). Lowest score: 3+2 - vs Swindon (a). The popular Pole had to wait until July for his traditional SOS call from Panthers and showed them what they had been missing with a series of stunning displays. Nigh on unbeatable at the Showground and showed plenty of signs of improvement on the road. Great stuff. by Mark Plummer mark.plummer@jpress.co.uk Published on the 28 October201319:00 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
