Kent Whistle Gang

5/7/14 Away vs Stoke (NLKOC) L 32-58 Ben Morley 1 2 T1 1' 1 = 6+1 6/7/14 Away vs Mildenhall (NT) L 36-59 Ben Morley 2 1 1 1' = 5+1 7/7/14 Home vs Mildenhall (NT) L 38-56 Ben Morley R 2 T4 2' 0 = 8+1 14/7/14 Home vs Cradley (NL) L 37-41 Ben Morley 2 1 2 1' = 6+1 4 Matches: 18 Races 1st = 0 2nd = 7 3rd = 9 4th = 1 R = 1 CMA = 5.11 Answer = Hopwood Enough said.

Was it really a good idea to point people to Kings' website when, with less than 20 hours to go before tapes up, there's still no word about the fitness of either Benji or Magic? Actually, the Cradley match preview is now at least 3 days old; not exactly up to date is it?

Well done everyone, yet again you've managed to usurp a thread that should have been about the team and it's performance, and bastardised it into an attack on the management and promotion. Maybe Len Silver bashing deserves a thread of it's own now. Certainly there's enough of you doing it these days to make it work.

Let me get this straight then, are we saying this forum should not be used to post negative criticisms of riders?

Wasn't aware that Morley blew an engine, when did that happen? In fact I'd almost convinced myself that Ben is actually on vacation at the moment and that some lesser rider is showing up for Kings' matches. I know he is hugely popular with Kings' fans but he can't afford to look fantastic at Lakeside one minute, and mediocre at Kent the next. I certainly saw Benji Compton blow his engine at the start line. He came out on one of Lambo's bikes after that. After looking off the pace initially, they got the bike dialled in right just in time for heat 14. I ain't got no concerns about Benji's commitment to the cause - just hope he can magic up another engine from somewhere. And while we're on the subject of magic (see what I did there?), why the hell would we want him to bow out now? Take him out of the equation and the team collapses. He is our 3rd best rider currently, and he still has a massive role to play in our season, not least as a mentor in the pits. To suggest that he is not 'quality' is disrespectful in the extreme. His nickname would be 'Quality' if it wasn't 'Magic' already (and if 'Quality' didn't sound quite so naff as a nickname). Aaron Baseby looked unremarkable. We were speaking to a Mildenhall fan who reckons we've let the wrong rider go; he reckons Chessell is a better prospect and that Baseby is unreliable, as evidenced by how many clubs have 'let him go', including the Fen Tigers. As for Harris, apart from beating Mountain in heat 4, his only other points were in heats where only 3 riders finished. Danny Ayres needs to wake his ideas up; it's no good being committed and passionate if you can't plan your travel properly. Lambert was just sensational. I couldn't be more pleased for him and hopefully that performance will have silenced those fans who accuse him (and not Morley, that's rich) of concentrating more on his EL & PL clubs. He could not have given more for the Kings last night and he has since said how great if feels to be accepted by Kings' fans at last. Oh, and the score was 38-56 BTW. Blackbird, on 08 Jul 2014 - 12:05 AM, said: I feel your ironic disapproval. Don't fuel the fire and it will eventually go out through lack of air.

On the other hand, could Garrad have done any worse? 6. Luke Harris 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 = 0 Also, David Mason withdrawn. Any ideas?

Yep, it's difficult to see how we can keep it close at Stoke, let alone conjour up an aggregate win. When I watched Stoke beat us in the NT at their place on 3rd May, Lambert and Chessell (both ex-Stoke BTW) were our main men. Nether of them ride tonight of course (for different reasons) so let's just hope our guys do the best they can. Any ideas why we've got a guest for Baseby?

Right, I think I've got the answer to this conundrum. The BSPA are having to process the swap in 2 phases. The 1st phase is to switch Benji with Aaron, who was brought in as his direct replacement. Once that change is in place they will replace Luke with Aaron. Alas, that does mean that it is Luke who will be looking for a team place elsewhere - best wishes in that pursuit. Benji's inclusion twice (once as an outgoing rider) is probably just an oversight. As for Brandon, he hasn't actually been dropped from our declared 7 riders. I guess that's tactical on the part of management, but I don't really understand it.

Just emailed Kings to bring to their attention an apparent discrepancy on the BSPA website. The new NL GSAs are out and here's how Kent now look: Kent 1 Ben Morley 8.94 2 Simon Lambert 7.86 3 David Mason 7.45 4 Benji Compton 6.37 5 Luke Chessell 5.38 6 Danny Ayres 3.00 7 B Freemantle 3.00 Total 42.00 Outoing Benji Compton 6.37 Daniel Blake 3.40 Aaron Baseby 4.56 I thought Luke Chessell was making way for Benji's return, not Aaron Baseby. Also, should we be allowed to break through the 40 point ceiling, when we're not replacing an injured rider?

The Kings' website has an update about tonight. Disappointingly, we've opted for R/R for Lambert. We'd have been stronger with a (good) guest, I think. No other changers for Kings. However, King's Lynn have booked in Widman for the retired Kyle Hughes, and are also using R/R for Darren Mallett. We've got another tough one on our hands this week.

Kent were simply not good enough. Ben Morley 7+1 from 5. Not a number1's performance. On Facebook he's said he can't wait to get his good motors back and start scoring points again. #FocusElsewhereNow Aaron Baseby 3+1 from 4. Points return doesn't do justice to the effort he put in. #NiceTryButNoCigar David Mason 7+2 from 4. Disappointing against classy opposition. #PaidMoreThanMorley Luke Chessell 7 from 4. Impressive display - plenty of effort. #KingsManOfTheMatch Simon Lambert 12 from 5. Our only true heat leader on the night. Gritty determination. #LamboOnARoll Danny Ayres 4+1 from 5. Painful to see the defeats by a 2013 reject. Too much effort, too little speed. #ExpectedBetter Jason Garrad 0 from 3. Jury still out, but verdict not looking good. #FishOutOfWater It's difficult to see how we fit Benji back in again. I reckon our combined GSAs are running at 42+, compared to the last official issue which was 37.14. That means we couldn't afford to bring Benji (6.37) back without sacrificing Morley (currently about 8.94). Looks like Benji is going to have to sit it out a while. Next week won't be any easier, what with high fliers Lewis Rose, James Cockle, Kyle Hughes, Darren Mallett, Marc Owen and Scott Campos in the Young Stars line-up. One last hash tag #KissThePlayOffsGoodbye Oh, and Adam Kirby? WTF was that all about?

Much as I'd love to see Kings rack up a healthy points advantage in the home leg, this Stoke side are going to be difficult to hold. We're going to need our top 5 to show the kind of determination they showed against Devon last week. On top of that, Danny Ayres will need to keep focussed and not overcook things. Nervous though about blooding Jason Garrad against such tough opposition. He's going in at the deep end but if he can maybe sneak a couple of points away from Adam Kirby, that'll do for me. I believe Kings could win this leg, but probably by no more than 6-8 points.

Scratch & sniff? Simple. Methanol. Please tell me you didn't think it was going to be anything unkind!

Brilliant. Just absolutely, bloody brilliant. Fantastic images, all of which capture the atmosphere of speedway racing. Shame it's not scratch & sniff really.

Waco, over the last few meetings the first bend has looked better and better, never more so than last Monday, so well done. The problem from my viewpoint is how little raking gets done on the fourth bend. That's fine if it doesn't need it, but if that means there's spare resource it should be channelled to where the known problems are. Are there fewer rakers this year, and what are the perks, just out of interest?

Looks like Kings are replacing him with another (like Ayres) MDL and former Motocross rider, Jason Garrad (related to Bob, or was that spelt differently?). In truth, Luke hasn't progressed as quickly as promised by his initial potential. The break from NL pressures will do him good.

Spot on with that observation. I noticed the riders going for different lines and the surface held up right until the last couple of heats (by which time we'd dispensed with the grading). Incidentally, there's one or two of the 'rake-graders' not making much of an effort. Several people in the crowd were talking about it. Couldn't agree more. The quality of the racing definitely belied the score. Shanes is such a big prospect. Wonder how long he'll be prepared to kick his heels down at Plymouth? Don't want to make your chips all soggy! I'll just say that, certainly in the last few matches, "no progress" has looked more like regression. He will come to see this as doing him a favour in the long run, I think. It will enable him to focus on his development again. I thought Ben Morley looked like the #1 race jacket was a little heavier than he expected. Well pleased with Aaron Baseby and Luke Chessell, who both looked hungry for it. If David Mason was able to show that home form on away tracks, with Benji Compton back in the team, we'd give anyone a run for their money. Simon Lambert looked more at home on both track and bike than he has at home all season. Danny Ayres is such a big hit with the crowd right now. Thought he was forcing it too much on Monday though. Maybe less is more.

I second that sentiment - well done boys. Another podium finish for the Kings. Reckon it might have been different if Coventry hadn't been decimated by injuries. Still, you can only beat the riders they put on the track and we're having our share of injury miseries ourselves.

There'll be some interesting match ups tonight. Looking forward to seeing James Shanes again, who is now, unsurprisingly, in the main body of the team. Brendan Johnson must have ridden Central Park more times than Benji Compton, this season! Matt Bates (wouldn't read too much into his paid 12 points haul last time out - it was at home against Scunthorpe after all) and Danny Stoneman (surely the most stylish-looking rider in the National League) will be good for a few points. Kings to win by at least 12 points. Oh, by the way, please don't give us updates from the British Final! Come on Stevie Boxall!!!!!!!

Here's the clipart used on the Kings' website, to accompany the explanation about the postponement. Seems pretty clear to me they're blaming it on the weather. However, it was a bad call, because the decision was based on the weather forecast, not the prevailing conditions. Although we had some showers during the late afternoon and very early evening, it turned out to be a glorious speedway kind of night. Therefore, you have to wonder if there was an ulterior motive behind the announcement.

There's info on the Leicester website: Kent Kings Ben Hopwood (Guesting for Ben Morley, who's on Lakeside duty. Needs to be focussed tonight) Aaron Baseby (Something to prove? Now's the time) David Mason (We need the best from Magic to compete in this one) Luke Chessell (Cometh the hour, cometh the man. His performance will be decisive) Simon Lambert (Starting to find his form now. He was my choice (or Luke Bowen) to replace Boxall. Game on Simon) Luke Harris (This type of tie separates the men from the boys. Luke needs to step up to the plate for this one) Danny Ayres (Another potential match winner. Oh Danny boy, the fans they are a calling) Leicester Lion Cubs Nathan Greaves (Guesting for the magnificent Oliver Greenwood. Well capable of double figures) Dan Greenwood (OMG this looks bad for us already) Tom Perry (God how we need Benji back) Max Clegg (You have got to be kidding me) James Sarjeant (Okay, now I'm really worried) Tom Woolley (The only potential weakness) James Shanes (This could be a real spanking for us) Leicester are only competing in the National Trophy at NL level, against Kent, Mildenhall, and Stoke. They've cherry-picked riders from the remaining 6 NL clubs, and assembled this team with a combined season starting average of 39.68. Current form suggests they're now punching at around the 57 point mark. Oh dear! Our boys need to bring their A game for this one. We definitely do not want to see that blue groove again this week. Rumour has it the attendances are falling. Len Silver, you might want to think about employing a decent (1) track curator, and (2) tractor driver. Also, what's the latest on Brandon Freemantle? He's Tenerife bound, according to Facebook.

Oliver Greenwood's (R/R) rides netted 4 points. Stefan Nielsen (Marc Owen/Adam Sheppard) 0 points. Luke Crang (Sam Chapman) 2 points. James Sarjeant (Brendan Johnson) 7. Benji might have added a couple to Baseby's score, and Brandon would easily have outscored Harris. Let's be generous and add a couple on for Lambert. We'd have been looking at about a 39-51 defeat with both teams at full strength I reckon.

Expect corrections to the following! Firstly, the Green Sheet Averages (GSA) are actually the riders' Calculated Match Averages (CMA), printed (traditionally) on green paper. The 40 points ceiling (the figure is decided upon by the BSPA) remains in place throughout the season. Riders carry over their season's end CMAs to the start of the new season and those are the figures used in team building. Kent originally built this season's team to 39.96, leaving only 0.04 spare. Those CMAs remain in place until the end of May when, for those riders who have completed the required number of matches (it used to be 6 home plus 6 away - that may have changed), fresh CMAs are issued to come into effect from 1st June. Recalculated CMAs are then published on the 1st of each subsequent month for the duration of the season. Kent's personnel changes and new CMAs, mean that we now sit on 37.12, with 2.88 spare. If we needed/wanted to replace a rider (let's use Mason on 6.38 as an example), we could only look at riders whose current CMA was 9.26 or lower (6.38 + 2.88). My understanding is that the only rides which count towards a rider's CMA are: Elite League meetings, excluding play-offs Premier League and League Cup mini-league meetings, excluding play-offs National League meetings, excluding play-offs Points scored in a Tactical Ride count at 50% Fast Track Development Programme (FTDP) riders are ignored All riders appearing as a Guest or as a #8 are ignored. Haven't got a clue though how all that affects a team who have gone over the top, like Cradley.

Wouldn't take issue with most of what you say, although I didn't mention Benji specifically in my post (but probably have done many times before - big fan). I really thought Benji was set up for big things this year, given his physical training regime and investment in equipment. He reckons he'll be back riding in under 3 weeks now. His re-insertion into the team poses a few issues though, bearing in mind he remains on 6.37 and Kent have 2.88 to spare. This means that he can't replace either Ayres or Freemantle one-for-one (unless they achieve new and improved GSAs in the meantime). Therefore, you're looking at Morley, Lambert, Mason, Chessell or Baseby. Of these, only Morely looks fireproof. The most vulnerable is probably Mason, but he is well liked by large sections of the home crowd and there is no denying the positive impact he has in the pits. I guess it will all depend on how Lambo, Magic, Luke C and Mark perform in the next couple of weeks. Incidentally, I reckon Stoke are nailed on for a top 3 finish, leaving us fighting it out with Mildenhall and King's Lynn.

When I saw the line ups I predicted 55-35, but I'll take 53-37 thank you very much. Storm were woefully under strength tonight, but that's not Kent's doing and you have to race against the opposition put in front of you. Also, let's not forget that Kent will be a much stronger outfit when we're firing on all cylinders again. I thought Ben Hopwood was sound, although his lack of concentration in heat 13 (The Whistle Gang's heat) converted our 5-1 into a 4-2. No complaints about Aaron Baseby, although he should feel aggrieved about RTD turning left on him in heat 9 and being allowed back into the rerun.I'll take 7 points from my number 2 any day of the week. David Mason is becoming a bit of an enigma for me; almost unbeatable sometimes at home, crap on the road. Love his laps of honour, but would sacrifice those and some home points for some consistency on away tracks. Apart from overcooking it in heat 9 (and then almost getting back on level terms), Luke Chessell was worth his 6+1 tonight and I find myself worrying much less about him these days. Ben Morley, despite his paid 14 point haul, looked a little down on power tonight. Also, I can't help thinking that Boxall would have covered every inch of that track, trying to find a way past Greenwood in heat 7. Ben's track craft still looks a little incomplete. Getting more and more concerned about Luke Harris just lately. Not only does he appear to fall short of his early potential, but he actually seems to be taking backward steps. I think Luke's team place is in serious jeopardy. However, the same cannot be said of Danny Ayres. I could see his speedway brain working tonight, both in terms of his gating preparations and his experimenting with different riding lines. Overtake of the night (how did he close the gap on Knuckey) in heat 14. Also, my rider of the night. Sure, we'll have sterner tests, especially from the visits of Stoke, King's Lynn and Cradley. Still hopeful of a top 4 finish though.