Kent Kings V Cradley Heathens Nl 27/4

[waco]

An incident packed meeting, the track which had a pre meeting shower proving difficult for the less experienced riders causing several falls, , With that hold the tapes forever ref Chris Gay causing further delays,red lighting fast starters Ben Morley 12 Point max and Max Clegg both of whom made perfect starts in my opinion,,but that does not seem to be allowed these days by a crop of the worst refs i have seen in 65 yrs of following speedway ,,One or two great races in between the mayhem the best of which Ben Morley,s win of a 15 mtr handicap swooping on the last turn to take the win, and Danno Verge rode well in the same race.. James Shanes continues to excite the fans including a blinding ride from the back to take a fine win one of 3 on the night . The final result was almost inevitable without Danny Ayers ( still injured ) but Kent did not go down without a spirited effort 38-45 .Curfew after heat 14 Result stands

Edited April 27, 2015 by waco

[greyhoundp]

Another meeting to show Cradley are NOT going to have it all there own way this season, personally I thought Ben got a flyer in Heat 1, but it gave us a good race, Ht 2 i never thought would be completed LOl, some good races during the meeting, especially when James Shanes was invoved, dont the Kent crowd just love him, I think a perfect night for them would be Kent to win, and Shanes to miss the gate every time. I thought Cradley made hard work of this win, they seem to have got into the BAD habit of throwing points away, when in points scoring positions, Perks, Williamson, Neale and Harris all did this again tonight, however as i thought Cradley had the greater all round strength, 18 points from 11 rides from the Cradley reserves, against 5 points from 8 rides for the Kent bottom end, 32 Kent top four, 27 Cradley Top four, i think that says it all.

For Cradley Arron Mogridge continues to show big improvement, Matt is doing a fine job as 3rd Heat Leader, Max never knows when he is beaten, and Mike is showing not only Ellis can grab vital wins from reserve.

For Kent, James Shanes showed what a racer he is, Ben did what Ben does best, gates and goes except for Ht 10 when he passed both Verge and Perks on the final bends, Baseby should really be scoring more at this stage of his career, Verge Ht 10 showed that Danno can do it, but when he misses the gate sometimes he looks a shadow of what he did in that race, he really needs to get some confidence down at reserve, but Kents reserves are not strong enough to allow that to happen.

 

Two final points i was surprised to see how much the crowd has dropped off since i was there 2 years ago, Cradley fans sometimes Im embarassed by there attitude which is why i always stand away from the bulk of them, some of them really need to grow up and realise respect is earned not given, i had a good chat during the meeting with a couple of Kent fans on the far side. apparently they are Lakeside season ticket holders, but the Kings are on there doorstep.

I stopped and asked directions whilst i was on the Industrial estate from 2 young guys who were about 25, they didnt seem to have any idea where the Speedway Track was, though as it happens i was about 1/4 mile from the Stadium, that seems to indicate to me there aint a lot of promotion of the Speedway going on, which has always been a weakness of Len Silver Promotions, he gives me the impression he is anti promotion/publicity.

Edited April 27, 2015 by greyhoundp

[cityrebel]

Last night was a meeting that Had it all. Rain, numerous re runs, crashes, fence damage and a few good races thrown in. We only got 14 heats, but after the earlier mayhem, we did well to get that amount!

[TurnTwo]

What on earth was Perks playing at the start line? I understand he would be frustrated but refusing to move is quite childish isn't it?

[Paul]

Two final points i was surprised to see how much the crowd has dropped off since i was there 2 years ago, Cradley fans sometimes Im embarassed by there attitude which is why i always stand away from the bulk of them, some of them really need to grow up and realise respect is earned not given, i had a good chat during the meeting with a couple of Kent fans on the far side. apparently they are Lakeside season ticket holders, but the Kings are on there doorstep.

I stopped and asked directions whilst i was on the Industrial estate from 2 young guys who were about 25, they didnt seem to have any idea where the Speedway Track was, though as it happens i was about 1/4 mile from the Stadium, that seems to indicate to me there aint a lot of promotion of the Speedway going on, which has always been a weakness of Len Silver Promotions, he gives me the impression he is anti promotion/publicity.

The crowd. Well according to the press realise it was another bumper crowd. Haven't been to CP this year, but the crowds did drop last year compared to Kings 1st season.

The promotion of the team isn't just down to Len Silver. Remember Roger Cearns is the main man down at CP.

I'm afraid there will always be people who aren't aware of what's going on in their towns they live in. Of course when the bikes were silencer free everyone new where the speedwat was, unless you lived in big cities.

Many promoters fail to promote their team. But when your not a real speedwat promoter as many are in my view, what do you expect?

[teaboy279]

I think crowd wise what needs considering is a) the weather locally and b ) the absolute shower of the proverbial that has been served up the last 2 weeks. I pairs meeting with very little action and we'll strung out, then last week a SEVEN man amateur meeting with such poor standards I am not Suprised the crowds have suffered. Will no doubt pick up Monday for bank holiday, if the meeting is good then there should be good crowds the following weeks

Edited April 28, 2015 by teaboy279

[blueherb777]

This is my take and opinion of last nights meeting in which I left before the end as it was more strung out than the washing.

I have never seen so many riders not making the 2 minutes which did not help.

A few falls and fence damage which also caused stoppages.

We had the FARCE of Perks throwing his toys out of the pram refusing to go,then going back 15 metres while the other reserve was waiting to take over ???

When there was a stoppage it took miles too long to get the meeting going again - Ref to blame.

Then Greaves falling first bend getting up and then just standing there - very poor.

And fans there last night who do not go often would be put off with all this on a chilly night.

I thought it was a very poor crowd and well down on what you would expect against Cradley.

 

I have to say that Kent had the luck of the Irish to be only a point down after 10 Heats.

Kent were a 2.5 man team and again the reserves were outgunned big time.

Disagree with Waco as we thought that Morley was trying to get a flyer each time and he does not need to do that and risk touching the tapes as he is good enough to come from behind if he misses the start.

Shanes again is just Box Office and a real crowd pleaser - pity Kent do not have 7 Shanes in team ?

Can only see Kent in bottom 3 at end of season unless they make 2 or 3 changes.

 

Cradley are a solid outfit throughout the team and will be in the shake-up when Honours are given out.

They will only get stronger when Harris drops to reserve and Neale or Perks move up.

They could afford Greaves having a poor meeting and still won comfortably.

[greyhoundp]

My view of the crowd in the Grandstand was from the back straight, therefore i can only see what is outside and not in the concourse, i would estimate as around 300, there were far more empty seats than occupied seats, as for the crowd numbers scattered around the 1st bend maybe 10, the back straight perhaps another 10 of us. Two years ago it was difficult to get a good view or even a seat in the Grandstand.

[Sings4Speedway]

Last night was different. It had everything but unfortunately not many positives.

The track seemed to catch several riders out and appeared slick on the inside and loads of drive (too much for some) on the outer.

For Cradley Clegg put in a good solid showing and great captains touch checking on each of the fallen riders.

Mogridge rode very intelligently and is starting o look a real steal on his average.

Perks and Neale are extremely strong at reserve and it showed although a stupid coming together between them and the 2 minutes shambles was astounding.

Harris unfortunate but his withdrawal probably made Cradley stronger and Greaves just no comment....

As for the Kent side Danno can consider himself very hard done by to lead for 3 & 3/4 laps and end up 3rd but just couldn't hold his line in the final corner.

Baseby looked fast but gated like a donkey.

Morley & Shanes very classy although I thought Morley was trying to catch a roller most times and eventually got caught.

I thought Sheppard was brave and determined after a night fully in the wars and will definitely be aching today.

Couzins had a nights to forget, poor to miss the 2 minutes in his first race and from my angle could have done better to avoid the fallen Sheppard.

Nice to see Rob Watts get a spin out at number 8 and notched a steady point.

All in all a drawn out meeting that never really developed any flow with many points thrown away by each team, I was surprised we reached heat 14 after the first four took almost an hour.

Hurry back Danny Ayres......

[blueherb777]

The crowd. Well according to the press realise it was another bumper crowd. Haven't been to CP this year, but the crowds did drop last year compared to Kings 1st season.

The promotion of the team isn't just down to Len Silver. Remember Roger Cearns is the main man down at CP.

I'm afraid there will always be people who aren't aware of what's going on in their towns they live in. Of course when the bikes were silencer free everyone new where the speedwat was, unless you lived in big cities.

Many promoters fail to promote their team. But when your not a real speedwat promoter as many are in my view, what do you expect?

Whoever wrote the report on the Kent Website and said it was a `Bumper Crowd` must be deluded.

And Chris Hunt saying if Danny Ayres had rode Kent would of won ???

Sorry Chris you will not beat a team like Cradley when the team has 3 obvious weak links.

[Sings4Speedway]

Kent have come up against arguably the leagues top 2 reserve pairings so far and come up short. Anybody who faced Cradley before Perks got a true average will struggle. Danny's form hadn't been electric before his injury so hard to say we would have won with him included.

If it was still the traditional play offs I would be saying don't panic as there's still plenty of time but with only the top 2 involved in the shoot out there's a feeling that too much ground has been lost already.

[greyhoundp]

Kent have come up against arguably the leagues top 2 reserve pairings so far and come up short. Anybody who faced Cradley before Perks got a true average will struggle. Danny's form hadn't been electric before his injury so hard to say we would have won with him included.

If it was still the traditional play offs I would be saying don't panic as there's still plenty of time but with only the top 2 involved in the shoot out there's a feeling that too much ground has been lost already.

 

I have seen 4 Teams so far this season, The Brummies, Coventry, Eastbourne, and Kent, without saying which in my opinion is strongest, Kent will struggle to beat any of those at home.

[Sings4Speedway]

 

I have seen 4 Teams so far this season, The Brummies, Coventry, Eastbourne, and Kent, without saying which in my opinion is strongest, Kent will struggle to beat any of those at home.

Now that's not fair. Dan Greenwood could break down on the way giving us a chance and apart from calamity Kirby im not sure any of the Birmingham team have ever ridden Central Park? Not looking forward to the visit from Stoke though.

[waco]

Why has having faster reactions to the tapes going up than the other 3 in the race always have to be classed as getting a roller.. Todays ref,s dont know the difference between a perfect start and a roller, and pull everything back. and Most of the World champions of the past had exactly that ability FAST REACTIONS.....

Edited April 28, 2015 by waco

[Alex2000]

Now that's not fair. Dan Greenwood could break down on the way giving us a chance and apart from calamity Kirby im not sure any of the Birmingham team have ever ridden Central Park? Not looking forward to the visit from Stoke though.

Hardly any of Eastbournes riders have ridden there so doesn't that say something?

[Mike.Butler]

well I thoroughly enjoyed this meeting... but then I always like some incidents to enliven things..

[Sings4Speedway]

Hardly any of Eastbournes riders have ridden there so doesn't that say something?

Bit different when those that had could offer useable advice. Dan Greenwood is a proven performer at Kent as is Marc Owen. Kelsey is no stranger either.

[Alex2000]

Bit different when those that had could offer useable advice. Dan Greenwood is a proven performer at Kent as is Marc Owen. Kelsey is no stranger either.

Owen scored 4 and Wilson Dean got 13 hrs never seen the track before... Nor had Georgie and he got something like 9.

[Parsloes 1928 nearly]

Whoever wrote the report on the Kent Website and said it was a `Bumper Crowd` must be deluded.

The 'person' who wrote it was standing with the promoter Mr Cearns who knew the turnstile figures..! Quite where you got the idea it was a tiny crowd from I really couldn't say.

Other than you should've gone to Specsavers!!

[blueherb777]

The 'person' who wrote it was standing with the promoter Mr Cearns who knew the turnstile figures..! Quite where you got the idea it was a tiny crowd from I really couldn't say.

Other than you should've gone to Specsavers!!

What was the crowd then ?

If the crowd last night was a bumper crowd,god help Speedway.