Plymouth v Oxford - Tue 20th June - Champ

[Bojangles 608]

8 minutes ago, torpointfanatic22 said:

The team is sitting bottom of the league for a reason and it's because it was built with an incredibly weak bottom end and the 3 heat leaders haven't produced what they were brought in to do and most on here thought they would do. When you build the team top heavy, you put a lot of pressure on those guys because they know the points aren't coming elsewhere in the main.

I get the management could not have anticipated such a downturn in form from the heat leaders but they are responsible for how the team is structured and the weak bottom end...

But Oxford built their team in exactly the same way, and they are sitting in the exact opposite position having won every league meeting. Proves it wasn't a bad philosophy at the start of the season and it could have worked, but rider form is the issue.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Bojangles

[Bagpuss 10,829]

14 minutes ago, Bojangles said:

But Oxford built their team in exactly the same way, and they are sitting in the exact opposite position having won every league meeting. Proves it wasn't a bad philosophy at the start of the season and it could have worked, but rider form is the issue.

All to do with personnel. Messrs Masters, Kerr and Nicholls are all better than their opposite numbers at Plymouth and Atkins with Kileen/Kinsley have far exceeded what the Plymouth pair have managed which was fairly predictable during to their inexperience. The second strings is why I thought Plymouth would be decent but Gilkes hasn't developed as I thought he might (broken leg last year having a effect no doubt) and Starke was very poor. 

[Bojangles 608]

10 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

All to do with personnel. Messrs Masters, Kerr and Nicholls are all better than their opposite numbers at Plymouth and Atkins with Kileen/Kinsley have far exceeded what the Plymouth pair have managed which was fairly predictable during to their inexperience. The second strings is why I thought Plymouth would be decent but Gilkes hasn't developed as I thought he might (broken leg last year having a effect no doubt) and Starke was very poor. 

They are now....but not sure you would have said that at the start of the season, though. Masters speaks for himself, but Nicholls and Atkins have far exceeded what was expected of them in my opinion - and Jenkins is also improving every week. On the flip side you'd have to say Howarth, Worrall and Barker have all underperformed.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Bojangles

[Mike0310 663]

So it’s not just me who’s saying it then .

[Bagpuss 10,829]

13 minutes ago, Bojangles said:

They are now....but not sure you would have said that at the start of the season, though. Masters speaks for himself, but Nicholls and Atkins have far exceeded what was expected of them in my opinion - and Jenkins is also improving every week. On the flip side you'd have to say Howarth, Worrall and Barker have all underperformed.

I take your point about Scott, he had a quiet year by his standards in 2022 and you'd be forgiven for thinking he might not reach this seasons heights again at his age. I think Worrall and Howarth's averages were always going to drop once they moved from Leicester. I had Oxford's top three as the leagues strongest in March but fighting to get 5th/6th, the form Atkins, Jenkins and to a lesser extent Heeps has made them much stronger. Things could have been even better had Kileen stayed fit. 

[arnieg 3,695]

29 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

I take your point about Scott, he had a quiet year by his standards in 2022 and you'd be forgiven for thinking he might not reach this seasons heights again at his age. I think Worrall and Howarth's averages were always going to drop once they moved from Leicester. I had Oxford's top three as the leagues strongest in March but fighting to get 5th/6th, the form Atkins, Jenkins and to a lesser extent Heeps has made them much stronger. Things could have been even better had Kileen stayed fit. 

Heeps is an odd one, he's up slightly but that hides a massive 2 point improvement at home and a 1 1/2 point drop away. Still a match winner at Berwick though in heats 7 & 8.

[Sings4Speedway 3,249]

The split between the two sides comes down to Oxford 'have beens' vs Plymouths 'never beens'. Sam, Scott and Cam have all been top performers at PL level (Sam still is) these guys can and do pass on information and experience to the emerging listening younger team members. Plymouth on the other hand have a team of individuals who are all struggling themselves and with few who want to listen.