szkocjasid 3,042 Posted April 7 43 minutes ago, phillipsr said: Was Archie who Newcastle ridiculously put into there CL team a couple of seasons back when he was nowhere near ready? That was the downside of the "rising star" system. Newcastle dropped promising young Brit Connor Mountain because he wasn't a "RS" replaced him with Joe Alcock who was nowhere near ready, then replaced him with Archie Freeman who was even further away from being ready. Obviously he got "free practice" but did going in the Champ far too early, hinder his progress? Ideally you want riders to be NL heat leaders before stepping up. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillipsr 2,057 Posted April 7 1 minute ago, szkocjasid said: That was the downside of the "rising star" system. Newcastle dropped promising young Brit Connor Mountain because he wasn't a "RS" replaced him with Joe Alcock who was nowhere near ready, then replaced him with Archie Freeman who was even further away from being ready. Obviously he got "free practice" but did going in the Champ far too early, hinder his progress? Ideally you want riders to be NL heat leaders before stepping up. I said at the time it could destroy his confidence and was a terrible decision by Newcastle to put a young riders career in doubt… not certain it has affected his decision to now walk away but certainly wouldn't of helped im sure 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 3,042 Posted April 7 18 minutes ago, phillipsr said: I said at the time it could destroy his confidence and was a terrible decision by Newcastle to put a young riders career in doubt… not certain it has affected his decision to now walk away but certainly wouldn't of helped I'm sure Agree with all you've said 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevePark 2,783 Posted April 7 (edited) 1 hour ago, szkocjasid said: That was the downside of the "rising star" system. Newcastle dropped promising young Brit Connor Mountain because he wasn't a "RS" replaced him with Joe Alcock who was nowhere near ready, then replaced him with Archie Freeman who was even further away from being ready. Obviously he got "free practice" but did going in the Champ far too early, hinder his progress? Ideally you want riders to be NL heat leaders before stepping up. When did Newcastle "drop" Connor Mountain? He rode throughout the whole of the 2021 season and was given a starting place at his own club the following year, which ruled him out of the Diamonds team. Joe Alcock rode in the first 3 matches and was replaced by Jack Parkinson-Blackburn, who lasted 4 matches and he was then replaced by Archie. Edited April 7 by StevePark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillipsr 2,057 Posted April 7 1 hour ago, StevePark said: When did Newcastle "drop" Connor Mountain? He rode throughout the whole of the 2021 season and was given a starting place at his own club the following year, which ruled him out of the Diamonds team. Joe Alcock rode in the first 3 matches and was replaced by Jack Parkinson-Blackburn, who lasted 4 matches and he was then replaced by Archie. Whatever the reasoning it was an awful decision and potentially destroyed a career Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1Tsunami 33 Posted April 7 (edited) 17 hours ago, phillipsr said: Whatever the reasoning it was an awful decision and potentially destroyed a career Quite agree. Archie refused to ride at reserve knowing his gating was crap at that time, and would not score points. He was presurised by Rob to ride but it didn't help his confidence. He was guaranteed points payment but it did more harm than good for his progress. The following year he was signed by the Belle Vue Colts at reserve along with Freddie Holder, and he then made good progress usually being the highest average. Great pairing Archie and Freddie. Edited April 8 by 1Tsunami 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 3,042 Posted April 7 2 hours ago, StevePark said: When did Newcastle "drop" Connor Mountain? He rode throughout the whole of the 2021 season and was given a starting place at his own club the following year, which ruled him out of the Diamonds team. Joe Alcock rode in the first 3 matches and was replaced by Jack Parkinson-Blackburn, who lasted 4 matches and he was then replaced by Archie. Newcastle dropped Connor Mountain because they needed a "rising star" then for whatever reason, Claus Vissing left the club & Mountain came back in. I was pointing out a flaw in the RS system, that a developing Brit was dropped because of a system designed to help developing Brits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 841 Posted April 9 On 4/8/2024 at 12:04 AM, szkocjasid said: Newcastle dropped Connor Mountain because they needed a "rising star" then for whatever reason, Claus Vissing left the club & Mountain came back in. I was pointing out a flaw in the RS system, that a developing Brit was dropped because of a system designed to help developing Brits. Any chance of you renaming this thread MIDDLESBROUGH ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
