Ipswich 2012

[nick]

We won two trophies last year (Anglian Cup) and already have one in the cabinet this year (Anglian Cup). I know they don't really matter but Pete Simmons took offence when a mate of mine suggested that we only won one trophy last year, so we don't want to upset him if he reads this forum!.

[Ipswich Jules]

Well Lanham has to go, firstly his piece in the local paper probably isn't what most Witches fans want to hear - that he's not a number 1, he's not happy being at No.1 and once out of no.1 he won't be going back there. He also said that the Witches can drop him but it won't improve the situation.

So lets break that down:

He's not a No.1 - he would of known he would be riding at No.1 when he signed up for us so he should of taken a more posititve attitude knowing he would be riding there rather than keep moaning that "he wasn't signed as a No.1" and such, he's not a kid, he's a senior member of the team who has probably done more laps of Foxhall than the rest of the team combined - get a handle on being at No.1 rather than waiting to get out of there.

He's not happy being at No.1 - As above, he knew he would be there, don't like it? Don't sign for us! Don't sign for us knowing you're starting at No.1 and then moan about it in the press!

Once he's out of No.1 he won't be going back - Ok this I have a big issue with, Who rides at No.1 (and 6 & 7) is determined by averages - nothing else, so when he drops to 2, 3, 4 or 5 he should be happier to ride there, should improve his scores, what will this do? Increase his average and there is every chance he will end up back at No.1! So unless he's planning on plodding along in the 2 to 5 to keep his average down then I don't know what he's on about? If he is planning on doing that then he can leave right now quite frankly!

Dropping him won't improve the situation - so is he saying there are problems elsewhere? Is he saying that on his average there is nobody better? I find both hard to believe quite frankly!

 

After the shambles last night Pete Simmons told ALL riders to go out and practise as there was about 30 mins left before the curfew, who was there, lets have a look:

Lanham. Nowhere to be seen, lives on the doorstep of the stadium, underperformed on the night then went home against his managers wishes - who is running the show here? The management or the riders?

Tungate. Was present but didn't do any laps, imn his defense he was in heat 15 and rode reasonably well on the night

Doolan. Was one of the first out, was disappointing to see him sulking on the centre green on his own after being dropped for his last ride - not much of a captains role model there - dones 6 laps or so then disappeared.

Risager. Also one of the first out, done about the same amount of laps as Doolan but at least Morten rode quite well in the meeting.

North. Nowhere to be seen, was unlucky in his first couple of rides when taken right to the fence - and I do mean right to it! Had he of laid it down it would of been the other rider being discludedfied. In saying that though he did seem to be riding a bit of a bucking bronco in his races, disappointed not to see him out there.

Tress. Another no-show, top scorer for the Witches so maybe given a pardon for it?

Heeps. First out there with Doolan and Risager, probably done the most amount of laps afterwards, rode well during the meeting and scored what you'd expect from him but still went out - maybe the experienced Lanham should look at the approach young Cameron takes to the sport?

 

So Pete Simmons told ALL the riders to go out, how many did? 3 riding, 4 with Tungate also there. Tress may of been excused but I fail to see why North and Lanham weren't out there but at the end of the day "all" does mean all! All seven!

I hope the riders who didn't go get a dressing down, management need to remind them who is pulling the strings!

 

Taylor Poole was also out there and surely it's only a matter of time before he's back in the team? I know who I'd drop for him.....Lanham!

[Baldyman]

OK so Doolan went out after meeting, but he just rode round on same line, surely it would be a good time to try set ups for different parts of track or at least explore the track a bit more.

[Greg]

Im a big fan of Doolan did he have bie problem or just did not ride well ?

[semion]

It gives me no pleasure to hear of Kev Doolan struggling at Foxhole. I wonder what Simmonds has done to him ? Ippo have paid Lynn for a 10 point Number one and turned him into a 7 point 2nd string all in the space of 18 months. Maybe it was a cunning plan of Busters to send over Secret agent Doolan, thats Doolan, Kev Doolan(000) licensed to mess up the twitchers. maybe Louis could beg Rob Lyon to take him back for a while and sort him out for them.

[waco]

Most riders have an occasional off night ,,seems several Ipswich riders had one on the same night ,,,Law of averages says they could all have a good one next time out,,,so have a bit of faith in your team which is still good on paper...

[aljack]

The Witches have become a shambles since dropping into the inferior premier league. There was all that hope and talk of glory at the start of the 2011 season and we won naff all and what happens in 2012 exactly the same!! Still no genuine no1 and genuine no2 signed and we are struggling big time with riders taking no notice of the managements wishes and hinting they dont want to ride for the club. I personally can never remember the club being run like this when in the elite league and if things dont change very soon I fear for the club and its existence after all they cant run if hardly any fans go and the riders dont care a jot!!!

[Badge]

Im a big fan of Doolan did he have bie problem or just did not ride well ?

He just doesn't seem to have any speed in his engines. I know this will sound strange, but it appeared that he was going faster than his bike, instead of sitting back and opening the throttle, he was over the handle bars almost pushing the bike forward.

 

It was so sad to see him last night when he was replaced in his final race, he cut a lonely figure sitting on some steps on the centre green.

[Baldyman]

But he deserved to be replaced, do Doolan's bikes always go slow in the summer just like last year? A rider of his experience and supposed ability shouldn't be riding like that. Maybe this is his true ability and he just rode well at big tracks like Lynn and workington? And if he was over the front of the bike he wasn't suffering with spinning then, where you have too much power. In the year and half he has been with us, I've only ever seen him have 3 or 4 really good top notch performances. And he doesn't want to ride at 1 either? If that's the case, he should pack his bags and find another job.

[aljack]

But he deserved to be replaced, do Doolan's bikes always go slow in the summer just like last year? A rider of his experience and supposed ability shouldn't be riding like that. Maybe this is his true ability and he just rode well at big tracks like Lynn and workington? And if he was over the front of the bike he wasn't suffering with spinning then, where you have too much power. In the year and half he has been with us, I've only ever seen him have 3 or 4 really good top notch performances. And he doesn't want to ride at 1 either? If that's the case, he should pack his bags and find another job.

 

Couldn't agree more baldy but I would just like to add lanham to that suggestion of packing his bags as he do not even want to ride for the Witches!!! What a shambles this Witches set up is eh baldy its an embarrassment to be a bl**dy Witches fan!!!

[Badge]

But he deserved to be replaced, do Doolan's bikes always go slow in the summer just like last year? A rider of his experience and supposed ability shouldn't be riding like that. Maybe this is his true ability and he just rode well at big tracks like Lynn and workington? And if he was over the front of the bike he wasn't suffering with spinning then, where you have too much power. In the year and half he has been with us, I've only ever seen him have 3 or 4 really good top notch performances. And he doesn't want to ride at 1 either? If that's the case, he should pack his bags and find another job.

where has it been said that Kevin doesn't want to ride at No 1??

[Baldyman]

Someone said on here somewhere, ok so I didn't hear it from him, but he will be as much as a joke as Lanham at 1.

Edited July 12, 2012 by Baldyman

[MrMungo]

But he deserved to be replaced, do Doolan's bikes always go slow in the summer just like last year? A rider of his experience and supposed ability shouldn't be riding like that. Maybe this is his true ability and he just rode well at big tracks like Lynn and workington? And if he was over the front of the bike he wasn't suffering with spinning then, where you have too much power. In the year and half he has been with us, I've only ever seen him have 3 or 4 really good top notch performances. And he doesn't want to ride at 1 either? If that's the case, he should pack his bags and find another job.

 

I remember one match a few years back when he saved King's Lynn bacon in a match at Rye House scoring something like 20 points!

He's definitely not just a big track man in my eyes.

You don't get a 10 point average by just doing well on big tracks. Admittedly, that 10 point average seems a lifetime ago now!

 

I remember one match many years ago. It was a home match for King's Lynn against either Glasgow or Berwick.

It was a very tight match. It got to near the end of the match. Heat 14 to be precise, and his bike died at the start. I don't think I have ever seen anyone more pis...annoyed at their machinery! He was totally gutted, but King's Lynn still managed to narrowly win...thankfully (in case you were wondering)

 

After that match, his form turned from regular 5-6 points to regular double figure scores eventually helping King's Lynn to some cup success at the end of the season.

That form continued into 2006 and so on. By that time, he was an out and out number 1, who rode with distinction home and away.

I have always thought of that match against Glasgow as the turning point in his career. The moment when he decided he was fed up with having unreliable machinery (which he had at the time) and either invested heavily in machinery, or found some good sponsors.

I could be completly wrong though!

 

I can not believe for one moment that he is a worse rider than he was some 5 or 6 years ago.

I just think he is probably at the age now where his priorities have shifted somewhat. He has a family to look after now (I think!), and possibly doesn't throw every spare penny he has into his bikes.

 

Didn't he have an improvement in form late last year when Chris Louis did an engine for him? Or did I imagine that?

[Badge]

Someone said on here somewhere, ok so I didn't hear it from him, but he will be as much as a joke as Lanham at 1.

[Baldyman]

An improvement yes but nothing amazijg. If was meant to have invested in new machines this year. He started ok for a few meetings but just like last season is going backwards again. I'm sure he was good at this level for a few years, but that was then, and this is now, and last night even conference league riders were leaving him for dead

[MrMungo]

Didn't he also have something like a 6pt average for Belle Vue in the EL not so long ago? (when it was stronger than it is at the moment)

 

It's a shame to see him struggling so much. Hope he's able to get it sorted, and turn the corner sometime soon.

[mickthemuppet]

I remember one match a few years back when he saved King's Lynn bacon in a match at Rye House scoring something like 20 points!

He's definitely not just a big track man in my eyes.

You don't get a 10 point average by just doing well on big tracks. Admittedly, that 10 point average seems a lifetime ago now!

 

I remember one match many years ago. It was a home match for King's Lynn against either Glasgow or Berwick.

It was a very tight match. It got to near the end of the match. Heat 14 to be precise, and his bike died at the start. I don't think I have ever seen anyone more pis...annoyed at their machinery! He was totally gutted, but King's Lynn still managed to narrowly win...thankfully (in case you were wondering)

 

After that match, his form turned from regular 5-6 points to regular double figure scores eventually helping King's Lynn to some cup success at the end of the season.

That form continued into 2006 and so on. By that time, he was an out and out number 1, who rode with distinction home and away.

I have always thought of that match against Glasgow as the turning point in his career. The moment when he decided he was fed up with having unreliable machinery (which he had at the time) and either invested heavily in machinery, or found some good sponsors.

I could be completly wrong though!

 

I can not believe for one moment that he is a worse rider than he was some 5 or 6 years ago.

I just think he is probably at the age now where his priorities have shifted somewhat. He has a family to look after now (I think!), and possibly doesn't throw every spare penny he has into his bikes.you are talking

 

Didn't he have an improvement in form late last year when Chris Louis did an engine for him? Or did I imagine that?

Is this the same rider you are talking about that scored a maximum 11 days ago

[Mr Snackette]

There has been some debate as to whether Young Poole should replace Lanham. At the moment he can, but I suspect if Ipswich wait until the next set of GSAs they might be out of luck.

 

Following the Scunthorpe debacle, Lanham now has a RA of 6.94. There are three more meetings that will be included in the next set - Somerset (H), Sheffield (A), and Leicester (A).

 

In order to maintain his 6.94 average he needs to average 2.4 per ride, not easy for a rider totally committed and on the top of his form, which Lanham clearly isn't.

 

So the chances are, that by the time the next set of GSAs are issued, Young Poole's average of 6.90 may well be higher than the revised Lanham figure.

 

Whether it is wise to replace Lanham with a race rusty and clearly not fully fit Young Poole, is the subject for another day. What is clear, is that as Lanham's average plummets the options become increasingly limited.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Mr Snackette

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

I dont believe anyone is deliberately not scoring points.

Im told there is no lack of investment in equipment and time/effort to put things right.

We will all find out what if anything will change in due course.

Things can only get better though - surely!?

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

 

 

The unmistakable fact though is that lanham has stated outright that he doesn't want to be #1, and has said that he won't be when the new Green sheets come out. The only way he can know that for certain is if he doesn't score sufficient points ...

Even Leigh were to score 12 from 5 in each of the next 3 meetings his RA will drop so it is as good as given he wont be number 1 in August.