Fromafar 10,375 Posted June 11, 2022 4 hours ago, iainb said: Hmm... this year is Connor's 10th in the sport, so is probably due a testimonial, he's 28! I don't want to do the lad down but i don't think he's going to "make it". For me, Connor and riders like him should not be riding in NDL teams but should be riding in the main body of CL teams as a good club journeyman, instead CL teams prefer to use PL riders. Connor is not one for the future... he's one for now. There are at least 2 riders from each NDL Teams that should no be riding in that League and be riding in Championship only.IMOu 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,022 Posted June 11, 2022 We're 1 heat down after half an hour, the tractors are currently out on the track... with a sun delay looming, this could run into tomorrow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike0310 660 Posted June 11, 2022 Gutted to miss out by just a point for a point but only scoring 1 point from reserve has done us tonight but congratulations Leicester let’s hope we can get something away at Birmingham on Wednesday. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,022 Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) 1st match took 2 hours on the bob. 40 mins track prep for the 2nd match and we're underway at 21:10... I've got to be out of the supermarket car park by 22:15, not a chance I'll see the end of this. They even gave a warning about the supermarket car park over the pa... oh the irony. Not sure if there's a 22:00 curfew anyway. Edited June 11, 2022 by iainb 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,022 Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) Well... i gave it until heat 7 then had to go home due to tractor sickness. Much as I suspected, NDL is a terrible spectacle around BP and what the Thompson twins are still doing wasting their time in that league for I'll never know. Don't get me wrong, if that's your thing fair enough and I'm sure the kids are putting great effort in, but it needs to be run in its own right. Why we're being asked to subsidise it by having it forced on us as part of the senior team ticket I also don't know as when they've had the opportunity to promote from the cubs they've neglected to do so both times. Senior match was pretty good though, close scores, good racing but the track was a little too dusty. (Very dusty) Edited June 11, 2022 by iainb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BTFC LION 163 Posted June 11, 2022 48 minutes ago, iainb said: Well... i gave it until heat 7 then had to go home due to tractor sickness. Much as I suspected, NDL is a terrible spectacle around BP and what the Thompson twins are still doing wasting their time in that league for I'll never know. Don't get me wrong, if that's your thing fair enough and I'm sure the kids are putting great effort in, but it needs to be run in its own right. Why we're being asked to subsidise it by having it forced on us as part of the senior team ticket I also don't know as when they've had the opportunity to promote from the cubs they've neglected to do so both times. Senior match was pretty good though, close scores, good racing but the track was a little too dusty. (Very dusty) I am sorry for the dust, we had been watering from this morning, but due to the strong wind it was drying as fast as we could get it on the track, we pretty much ran out of water, if you noticed I was even trying to get water out of 2 of the drains between meetings. Apologies!! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,022 Posted June 11, 2022 6 minutes ago, BTFC LION said: I am sorry for the dust, we had been watering from this morning, but due to the strong wind it was drying as fast as we could get it on the track, we pretty much ran out of water, if you noticed I was even trying to get water out of 2 of the drains between meetings. Apologies!! Yes, did see that, fortunately i was stood away from the dust, so wasn't too bad for me, you probably got more of it in the pits . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BTFC LION 163 Posted June 11, 2022 1 minute ago, iainb said: Yes, did see that, fortunately i was stood away from the dust, so wasn't too bad for me, you probably got more of it in the pits . Your not wrong, looks like I have come home with a fake tan. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teromaafan 586 Posted June 11, 2022 Great match tonight, Plymouth pushed the Lions all the way and to be honest, nobody would have begrudged them of the point they narrowly missed out on. Plymouth are easily play off semi finalists in my opinion but the Kennett guest facility that is still in place continues to make the Gladiators stronger than they would otherwise be. I can’t remember Kennett ever having a decent meeting at Leicester and he would never have scored what Nicholls did tonight. Rider averages are only based on league matches and Kennett hasn’t ridden in one this season! (Yes I know, it’s rolling averages that count). Can’t blame their management for playing the system, but there surely has to be a timeframe for milking a facility for a riders absence whose average is in decline. Is he actually even injured or did he just have a one meeting agreement? Hopefully not the latter as that would make the sport look (even more, if that’s possible) amateurish. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
W9 Lion 222 Posted June 11, 2022 3 hours ago, iainb said: 1st match took 2 hours on the bob. 40 mins track prep for the 2nd match and we're underway at 21:10... I've got to be out of the supermarket car park by 22:15, not a chance I'll see the end of this. They even gave a warning about the supermarket car park over the pa... oh the irony. Not sure if there's a 22:00 curfew anyway. Curfew is 22:30, and it's a hard curfew. So that's bikes off the track & PA turned off. In reality it means riders will not be sent out for a heat after 22:27. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
W9 Lion 222 Posted June 11, 2022 1 hour ago, iainb said: Yes, did see that, fortunately i was stood away from the dust, so wasn't too bad for me, you probably got more of it in the pits . It was quite bad in the pits but it was worse on the third bend at Berwick last week. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 3,043 Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, Fromafar said: There are at least 2 riders from each NDL Teams that should no be riding in that League and be riding in Championship only.IMOu But take those 2 riders out & NL teams will be even weaker, making the gulf to the Champ even bigger & too big a bridge to gap. Look at Ablitt, a NL heat leader who struggles to average above 2.00 in the Champ. Can't see how making NL even easier for him would transfer to performing better in the Champ. I think there's a case for allowing riders the likes of Roynon & Complin's standard to race in the NL. When a rider can beat these guys frequently they know they're ready to step up! Edited June 11, 2022 by szkocjasid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HGould 2,213 Posted June 12, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, szkocjasid said: But take those 2 riders out & NL teams will be even weaker, making the gulf to the Champ even bigger & too big a bridge to gap. Look at Ablitt, a NL heat leader who struggles to average above 2.00 in the Champ. Can't see how making NL even easier for him would transfer to performing better in the Champ. I think there's a case for allowing riders the likes of Roynon & Complin's standard to race in the NL. When a rider can beat these guys frequently they know they're ready to step up! The blindingly obvious has been the case for the past few years. The Sport can't any longer support 3 tiers. There has to be a realisation and realignment. A top tier of 10 Clubs and a second tier of 10-12 Clubs. The top tier with all available current PL and CL riders up to current second string CL level. A second tier that would be say 1 x current CL heat Leader then rest of CL teams and incorporate NDL. The second tier may need to incorporate something left field like a dedicated youth race until numbers filter through. Build a direct progression Youth to CL to PL (CL becomes developmental) Any Club with track / training time availability e.g no strict curfew to run organised Northern / Southern style junior racing as second half. Time too to build solidity by saying any new / returning team should have to start in second tier to prove their sustainability and that the older "double up PL/PL generation" not allowed to double down any more. It may shorten some careers but the long term gain would outweigh this surely in building a system of progression rather than the current decay and stagnation. Edited June 12, 2022 by HGould tweaked 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
torpointfanatic22 268 Posted June 12, 2022 I made the trip up not overly hopeful of getting anything from the league leaders and by the end was gutted. I thought Plymouth rode really well on the whole, the two Ben's being the underperformers for us on the night. Morley just made a few too many mistakes which was a shame as in one heat (12 I think) he was 3rd until the final lap where he made mistake and dropped back. That would've been enough to get us a point. Couple nasty incidents, Harry's looked especially nasty and very pleased everyone walked back to the pits seemingly okay. Some cracking racing, MPT was superb value excluding the final heat, him missing the gate proved entertainment value. Special mention to me goes to Alfie, his away form has been poor all season but last night he rode really well. A good night, good racing and well I'll take the aggregate win 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnieg 3,650 Posted June 12, 2022 18 minutes ago, torpointfanatic22 said: I made the trip up not overly hopeful of getting anything from the league leaders and by the end was gutted. I thought Plymouth rode really well on the whole, the two Ben's being the underperformers for us on the night. Morley just made a few too many mistakes which was a shame as in one heat (12 I think) he was 3rd until the final lap where he made mistake and dropped back. That would've been enough to get us a point. Couple nasty incidents, Harry's looked especially nasty and very pleased everyone walked back to the pits seemingly okay. Some cracking racing, MPT was superb value excluding the final heat, him missing the gate proved entertainment value. Special mention to me goes to Alfie, his away form has been poor all season but last night he rode really well. A good night, good racing and well I'll take the aggregate win As a home fan I'd say Plymouth were worth a match point 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
