Leicester V Lakeside 12 Apr

[The Voice Of Reason]

Last night was a farce to be honest.

 

I really don't know the extent of Adam's problem; suffice to say he came back out very quickly, and was at the tapes, ready to race. And, let's be honest about this, most riders have, and always, will do the same if they are able. And to answer points above about adrenaline; other riders' safety, etc.

 

- So are we now saying then that prior to each meeting, every rider should now have a full medical assessment in order to prove themselves 100% fit?

 

- Are we saying that riders should not be riding if they are recovering from a recent injury? Or if, as often happens, with certain limbs in plaster/support, etc. as they could be a danger to others?

 

- Are we saying that if a rider falls off/crashes during any meeting, he should be deemed unfit to ride for the rest of the night in case he suffers delayed concussion, or is in pain, etc?

 

Utter cods wallop. This is Speedway.

 

Now, for the referee - Peter Clarke. In Heat 9, Most referees would have declared that race a restart with all four riders. In particular, bear in mind, it was also the reserves race - so it makes common sense to allow some degree of error from the younger guys new to this game. NOT ONE of the riders, not Clegg, Perry, Morley nor Ellis held their racing line going into the first turn. Ellis was clearly going in too hard, appeared to lock up and went rather spectacularly over his handlebars, collecting the machine on his way down. Meanwhile, Ben Morley, who was BEHIND Adam Ellis clearly tried to lay his bike down to avoid hitting Adam.

 

Mr. Clarke - how in this world, with your obvious knowledge of this sport, could you have decreed Ben Morley to have been the primary cause of that stoppage? It truly beggars belief. If you were not going to give a re-run with all four, then why didn't you exclude Ellis instead of Morley? Because you probably got the two riders confused, and were not man enough to go back on your decision once it was probably pointed out to you.

 

So therefore, we had a re-run with just the two Leicester reserves. If Ben had been allowed to race in Heat 9, a 5-0 would have become (at worst) a 5-1, and Lakeside would have subsequently earned an away point.

 

Well done to Leicester as they don't have a team of superstars - but they all chip away and score points.

 

Congratulations also to Leicester as a Speedway Club. The track improvements have produced a very fair racing circuit conducive to good speedway and overtaking. And it appeared to be a very healthy gate too.

 

I genuinely wish you every success this season.

 

However, through no fault of yours, we WERE robbed of an away point last night due to what appears to be over-zealous medical staff and a referee that made a very poor call.

 

 

To hear that Lakeside are to make an official complaint about the referee & the paramedics at Leicester is unreal.

If the paramedic says that a rider is unfit to continue the meeting then who is Neil Vatcher or anyone else to argue that.

Fact is that I'm told Adam Ellis popped his shoulder out it's socket & was in a lot of pain.

If Lakeside win or even take a point from the meeting there would not even be a mention of a complaint.

Lakeside are looking for a scapegoat for losing to a tiny club that everyone feels will prop the league up.

Lionking - with all due respect, a popped out shoulder can be quite easily (albeit painfully) popped back in. It's happened through the ages in countless meetings. I have never known a rider to be ruled as unfit following this procedure.

 

And if you are inferring that we are poor losers, I'd have to strongly disagree with that statement. Doubt it? Take a look back as recently as last season. Many of us feel we let Poole and Kings Lynn get away with utterly pathetic excuses of why they didn't want to ride against us - due to being under-strength. On both occasions, we took it on the chin.

 

I can appreciate anyone not liking our track, facilities or other aspects of our club. But one thing I will not agree with is us being deemed 'bad losers'.

 

And nobody that I have spoken to perceives you as being a 'little club', here to prop up the rest. And whilst you are more than welcome in The Elite League, I would suggest that you do some homework and learn a little about your competition before making such crass, Ill-founded remarks about us not playing this game with a straight bat; or considering others as scapegoats. We treat ALL competition with respect - both ON and OFF the track; rider or supporter.

 

Notwithstanding this, as a direct result of errors last night, we lost (what could be at the end of the season) a very important away point. We have, as a Club, EVERY RIGHT to appeal decisions we feel were made in poor judgement. Your Club has exactly those same rights.

 

Don't take it personally as these complaints are not being aimed at Leicester Speedway Club; rather at officials who clearly do not recognise how to carry out their duties in a responsible, and fair, manner.

Edited April 13, 2014 by The Voice Of Reason

[SteveLyric2]

Speedway with a straight bat??!! Now that's a great motivational tool for the team managers!!!

[TMW]

He was right the riders weren't sharp enough and we have been giving away points at end of meetings everyone can see that including cook who said the same. What happened the following week? We hit 69 points.

If Lawson had gone in ht 15 rather tgan Bridger you may have gone home with the point. A vote of noa vote of no confidence in the management I'd say

[robert72]

I was stunned when the lad went to the start & the red lights went on,that was bad refereeing and lakeside are right to complain.

 

Not sure how a paramedic can stop you racing,they can only advice you,was a doctor not there yesterday ?

 

Thought the track was shocking again,no grip.

 

Pleased the lions got there first win

[Great Central]

Because he's paid by the home team ?

Paramedics are always paid by the home team so what are you implying. It really doesn't matter if the paramedic knows anything about speedway or not, he is there to give a judgement on how fit the rider is to continue. In this case, at the time of the injury Adam wasn't fit to continue.

[TMW]

Last night was a farce to be honest.

 

I really don't know the extent of Adam's problem; suffice to say he came back out very quickly, and was at the tapes, ready to race. And, let's be honest about this, most riders have, and always, will do the same if they are able. And to answer points above about adrenaline; other riders' safety, etc.

 

- So are we now saying then that prior to each meeting, every rider should now have a full medical assessment in order to prove themselves 100% fit?

 

- Are we saying that riders should not be riding if they are recovering from a recent injury? Or if, as often happens, with certain limbs in plaster/support, etc. as they could be a danger to others?

 

- Are we saying that if a rider falls off/crashes during any meeting, he should be deemed unfit to ride for the rest of the night in case he suffers delayed concussion, or is in pain, etc?

 

Utter cods wallop. This is Speedway.

 

Now, for the referee - Peter Clarke. In Heat 9, Most referees would have declared that race a restart with all four riders. In particular, bear in mind, it was also the reserves race - so it makes common sense to allow some degree of error from the younger guys new to this game. NOT ONE of the riders, not Clegg, Perry, Morley nor Ellis held their racing line going into the first turn. Ellis was clearly going in too hard, appeared to lock up and went rather spectacularly over his handlebars, collecting the machine on his way down. Meanwhile, Ben Morley, who was BEHIND Adam Ellis clearly tried to lay his bike down to avoid hitting Adam.

 

Mr. Clarke - how in this world, with your obvious knowledge of this sport, could you have decreed Ben Morley to have been the primary cause of that stoppage? It truly beggars belief. If you were not going to give a re-run with all four, then why didn't you exclude Ellis instead of Morley? Because you probably got the two riders confused, and were not man enough to go back on your decision once it was probably pointed out to you.

 

So therefore, we had a re-run with just the two Leicester reserves. If Ben had been allowed to race in Heat 9, a 5-0 would have become (at worst) a 5-1, and Lakeside would have subsequently earned an away point.

 

Well done to Leicester as they don't have a team of superstars - but they all chip away and score points.

 

Congratulations also to Leicester as a Speedway Club. The track improvements have produced a very fair racing circuit conducive to good speedway and overtaking. And it appeared to be a very healthy gate too.

 

I genuinely wish you every success this season.

 

However, through no fault of yours, we WERE robbed of an away point last night due to what appears to be over-zealous medical staff and a referee that made a very poor call.

 

 

 

Lionking - with all due respect, a popped out shoulder can be quite easily (albeit painfully) popped back in. It's happened through the ages in countless meetings. I have never known a rider to be ruled as unfit following this procedure.

 

And if you are inferring that we are poor losers, I'd have to strongly disagree with that statement. Doubt it? Take a look back as recently as last season. Many of us feel we let Poole and Kings Lynn get away with utterly pathetic excuses of why they didn't want to ride against us - due to being under-strength. On both occasions, we took it on the chin.

 

I can appreciate anyone not liking our track, facilities or other aspects of our club. But one thing I will not agree with is us being deemed 'bad losers'.

 

And nobody that I have spoken to perceives you as being a 'little club', here to prop up the rest. And whilst you are more than welcome in The Elite League, I would suggest that you do some homework and learn a little about your competition before making such crass, Ill-founded remarks about us not playing this game with a straight bat; or considering others as scapegoats. We treat ALL competition with respect - both ON and OFF the track; rider or supporter.

 

Notwithstanding this, as a direct result of errors last night, we lost (what could be at the end of the season) a very important away point. We have, as a Club, EVERY RIGHT to appeal decisions we feel were made in poor judgement. Your Club has exactly those same rights.

 

Don't take it personally as these complaints are not being aimed at Leicester Speedway Club; rather at officials who clearly do not recognise how to carry out their duties in a responsible, and fair, manner.

I'd be interested in your take in ht 7 where you were gifted a point by the ref as it should have been re run.as Clegg was in front of Morley at the time of the incident so what you lost on the swings you gained on the roundabouts. Yoi just in your team managers words 'not good enough on the night'

 

And as for Watt's pathetic atrempt to blame the grippy track having seen the track you gave us last week when it was shining after ht 4 was priceless

[mickyp]

this was my first meeting for 18 months as I got bored with follow the leader speedway in the premier league at Leicester , well last nite was awful nobody tried or could pass the track was like the m1 and got bored of seeing tractor racing all the time ,THERE WAS NO SHALE TO MOVE! the crowd was the same as they got in the premier league and most of them were asleep! to make matters worse I took 2 friends and they cleared off to the pub at heat 13, the rain was the final straw,its a shame with it being a nice setup there, but I,ll come back in 18 months and try again. mickyp.

[speedflash]

robert72 The riders were complaining that there was to much grip all night and had me take the dirt to the very out side. So for you to say there was no grip ????????????????????

[robert72]

Paramedics are always paid by the home team so what are you implying. It really doesn't matter if the paramedic knows anything about speedway or not, he is there to give a judgement on how fit the rider is to continue. In this case, at the time of the injury Adam wasn't fit to continue.

I thought it had to be a doctor to have the final say After fully checking over the rider not a paramedic ?

 

Also When Bridger crashed why didn't track staff help him get his bike off the track.

[Jonny the spud]

Paramedics are always paid by the home team so what are you implying. It really doesn't matter if the paramedic knows anything about speedway or not, he is there to give a judgement on how fit the rider is to continue. In this case, at the time of the injury Adam wasn't fit to continue.

How do you know he wasn't fit to ride ?

[bigcatdiary]

Watt's averaging 8.67 without and 9.33 with bonus points this year. Granted some of the opposition hasn't been great, but I'm sure that's a pretty decent increase in average in a tougher format.

 

It appears Lakeside will make an official complaint about Adam Ellis being withdrawn from the meeting. It left Lakeside without a rider in heat nine, effectively causing them to lose a league point.

 

http://www.lakesidehammers.co/content/?p=7252

And isn't that what it's all about.

 

Lakeside couldn't beat Leicester and didn't get anything out of a match they were clearly expecting to win, it's pure sour grapes.

[robert72]

robert72 The riders were complaining that there was to much grip all night and had me take the dirt to the very out side. So for you to say there was no grip ????????????????????

if it was that grippy then why wasn't there any overtaking ?

 

I have seen speedway for far too many years to know that was Not grippy last night,the shape is and always will be the problem for most riders.

 

The problem is if people don't see racing with overtaking they will go elsewhere,the novelty of going into the EL has clearly gone,there were plenty of spaces by the fence to stand last night.

 

Leicester is gate and win 99% of the time,that's Not speedway.

[Gavan]

How do you know he wasn't fit to ride ?

as Adams father i think you are in a much better position to talk about this then some of the Leicester fans

[TMW]

if it was that grippy then why wasn't there any overtaking ?

 

I have seen speedway for far too many years to know that was Not grippy last night,the shape is and always will be the problem for most riders.

 

The problem is if people don't see racing with overtaking they will go elsewhere,the novelty of going into the EL has clearly gone,there were plenty of spaces by the fence to stand last night.

 

Leicester is gate and win 99% of the time,that's Not speedway.

Źzzzzzzzzzz

[Daniel Smith]

I know nothing of the crash & withdrawal of Ellis from this match but all I will say is it seems very harsh on the rider.

9/10 times a paramedic / track doctor always leaves physical injuries down to a riders own opinion as to whether they are fit enough or not to continue. The only time you really see a paramedic / track doctor make an official decision is with regards to concussion. This clearly wasn't the case. Normally when a rider (none concussion) withdraws is 'on the advise of the paramedic' never a forced withdrawal

 

I fully back the Lakeside stance with this one

 

Not for one minute do I think this went on but it's happened before where a home club official has had a word in the paramedics ear and advised them they think an opposition rider is unfit. Bare in mind Leicester were desperate to get a home win and the opportunity arised to remove the strongest reserve (potential match winner) from the meeting.

 

Just a thought

[liam]

If Lawson had gone in ht 15 rather tgan Bridger you may have gone home with the point. A vote of noa vote of no confidence in the management I'd say

Bridger just did the quickest time of the night and won heat 13. Iam quite happy with the management of our team cheers.

[The Voice Of Reason]

Seconded Liam.

 

In Lewis Bridger's fourth ride (Heat 13), he really looked a different class - sweeping from third to first around the second bend, then finishing the race about 30 yards in front of Doyley.

 

To this end, giving him the responsibility of Heat 15 was a good call. We know that Lewis is lacking in confidence, and this decision COULD have helped that to grow tremendously if he could repeat the performance.

 

In management, you have to make decisions. Sometimes they work, other times they don't. But it's having the gonads to make those tough calls that make some managers (in any walk of life) different to the 'play-safes'.

 

And with Jason Doyle having been chosen to ride in Heat 15, I can see Neil Vatcher's logic in many ways by choosing Lewis. On hindsight, yes maybe he should have put Richard in. But we all know what hindsight is!

Edited April 13, 2014 by The Voice Of Reason

[TMW]

Bridger just did the quickest time of the night and won heat 13. Iam quite happy with the management of our team cheers.

Good.... but don't whine when you lose.

Seconded Liam.

 

In Lewis Bridger's fourth ride (Heat 13), he really looked a different class - sweeping from third to first around the second bend, then finishing the race about 30 yards in front of Doyley.

 

To this end, giving him the responsibility of Heat 15 was a good call. We know that Lewis is lacking in confidence, and this decision COULD have helped that to grow tremendously if he could repeat the performance.

 

In management, you have to make decisions. Sometimes they work, other times they don't. But it's having the gonads to make those tough calls that make some managers (in any walk of life) different to the 'play-safes'.

 

And with Jason Doyle having been chosen to ride in Heat 15, I can see Neil Vatcher's logic in many ways by choosing Lewis. On hindsight, yes maybe he should have put Richard in. But we all know what hindsight is!

Can you afford confidence building ht 15's when only a point in it? Lawson had been consistant all night Edited April 13, 2014 by TMW

[The Voice Of Reason]

TMW - yes, fair point.

 

However, as I said, given Lewis's last ride (too little, too late in many respects) I can fully see Neil Vatcher's logic. I truly believe he made the right call AT THE TIME.

 

And who knows; Richard Lawson may have sneezed or farted in the pits, and was subsequently ruled out of the meeting by the 'wrap them all in cotton wool' brigade.

[liam]

Good.... but don't whine when you lose.

Can you afford confidence building ht 15's when only a point in it? Lawson had been consistant all night

I've not whined at all have i? I've just defended our management.