Lakeside In The Play Offs?

[HAMMER180]

well in mho we will have to get 4 points from either Coventry tonight or kings lynn in our

last away fixture to realistically make it and of course 6 points from our last two home

fixtures. even if we can get something from both aways it will proberly come down

to winner takes all against Swindon in our last one.but failure to make the play offs

by 1 or 2 points will be down to the farce which was losing to the patched up poole

team a few weeks ago. plus a few untimely ILLNESSES at cruial awat legs.

[stevebrum]

If would be a miracle for lakeside to get anything away. However if there are 2 meetings that the hammers should be targeting for points it's the last 2 away ones.

Just can't see it personally.

[Pirates Of Poole]

Not a chance now sadly, early season form has gone. Cook and co need to start a fresh next season, build the team around AJ and stop bringing back Lawson, Kennett and co as they always let you down when needed.

Fresh faces at the race way is a must.

[Fourentee]

Yeah, that Lawson has only put over a point on his average this season. Tchah.

[mdmc82]

Watching Lakeside last night I would say the answer is no. If it wasn't for their home track advantage then they wouldn't be anywhere near.

 

Both reserves are way out of their depth. Bridger is the worst visiting riders I have seen on both visits. He just does wheelies instead of racing. When he was in 2nd place, King passed him and he suddenly lost 3rd spot as well and ended up last.

 

If Lakeside get in they would just be making up the numbers as no chance of beating Poole, Belle Vue or Wolves.

 

for Lakeside to have a chance of making a final, next year they need to use riders who can ride other tracks rather than just Lakeside. AJ, Lawson & Kennett would be worth keeping & build around them

[marko]

its only our home track advantage which has saved us from being in another battle for bottom spot like in 2015

[SteveLyric2]

For me Lakeside have done exactly the same as the past few seasons - got a lot of fixtures in early with some good home results which gave them a false position at the top of the table.

 

Then as the season progresses and other teams play catch up with fixtures, Lakeside slowly slip out of play-off contention!!

[mikebv]

For me Lakeside have done exactly the same as the past few seasons - got a lot of fixtures in early with some good home results which gave them a false position at the top of the table.

 

Then as the season progresses and other teams play catch up with fixtures, Lakeside slowly slip out of play-off contention!!

Spot on...

 

Same M.O. every season...

 

Get ahead on matches at home then hope a bit of 'scoreboard pressure' sets in on some of the Leagues teams...

 

However as it is done so often every team knows Lakeside will 'come back to them' as the season progresses...

 

A classic example of a team with a large home advantage so maybe, if they pay a rider say £200 a point, change the deal to £300 a point away and £100 a point at home!!!

 

Maybe that would change those threes and fours away to sixes and eights as they try and make up the 'shortfall' from their usual home track earnings..?

Edited August 27, 2016 by mikebv

[bigcatdiary]

Spot on...

Same M.O. every season...

Get ahead on matches at home then hope a bit of 'scoreboard pressure' sets in on some of the Leagues teams...

 

A classic example of a team with a large home advantage so maybe, if they pay a rider say £200 a point, change the deal to £300 a point away and £100 a point at home!!!

?

As others have said the Lakeside team this year is built solely around riders who are very good at Lakeside.

[SCB]

Lakesides plan is just good business sense. 90% of favs only ever watch home meetings, so justify and win at home. Anything else is a bonus and should result in play-offs.

[mikebv]

Lakesides plan is just good business sense. 90% of favs only ever watch home meetings, so justify and win at home. Anything else is a bonus and should result in play-offs.

And they also spend the first couple of months of every season able to include 'table toppers', League leaders, 'heading the title race', 'just off the top spot' etc etc etc in every press release...

 

Not a bad thing to be able to say when trying to extract any 'undecideds' out of their armchairs, especially when the season is still fresh and fans' enthusiasm is at its highest..

 

(By that I mean pre Poland and Sweden starting so you get regular Speedway)..😉

Edited August 27, 2016 by mikebv

[MattK]

And they also spend the first couple of months of every season able to include 'table toppers', League leaders, 'heading the title race', 'just off the top spot' etc etc etc in every press release...

 

Not a bad thing to be able to say when trying to extract any 'undecideds' out of their armchairs, especially when the season is still fresh and fans' enthusiasm is at its highest..

 

(By that I mean pre Poland and Sweden starting so you get regular Speedway)..

 

There's something to be said for getting your meetings in early.

 

Unlike a certain other team who still have five home fixtures to run, the final two of which are against other play-off contenders.

[bigcatdiary]

Lakesides plan is just good business sense. 90% of favs only ever watch home meetings, so justify and win at home. Anything else is a bonus and should result in play-offs.

Of course it helps if you do the fixtures

[E I Addio]

Lakesides plan is just good business sense. 90% of favs only ever watch home meetings, so justify and win at home. Anything else is a bonus and should result in play-offs.

Kelvin said at the fans forum at the start of the season that he wanted to make the home track a fortress, which he has pretty much done except when a few of the team went to sleep against the Poole select.

 

It's the same every year though, irrespective of who is in the team, someone always seems to go awol at the away matches they could realistically get a point, even riders like AJ , and Peter Karlsson who can usually ride anywhere have had duff nights when if they rode to form there could well have been a point in it.

 

As you say though , it's pretty good business in the sense that the home crowd do get behind the home team pretty well, and the riders do seem individually popular with the crowd. Overall, you get far less complaints about the team on here than you get from the fans of any other club so it must have something, although I am not quite sure what. When you have riders like Scott Nicholls and Craig Cook tweeting or saying they liked the atmosphere when they visited I suppose that says something. I think allowing the fans in the pits before and after the meeting to see the riders up close helps. As far as I know, no other clubs allow that.

 

I don't see things changing much on the road though, unless they can find a good reliable second heatleader who can ride most awar tracks, someone like Adam Shields in the sort of form he was in around 2008/9/10, until injuries took their toll. I don't think it is home track advantaged so much as the tendency to pick riders who are good on that sort of track. Riders like Ed Kennett, Dave Watt and PK always rode the track well even before they were Hammers.

 

I suppose it is a question of knowing what your fans want. Some of Ed Kennets passes round the boards this year have been absolutely brilliant. It would be nice if he could do it away as well but does it really matter if I am not at the away track to see it? Rich Lawson is a better point scorer overall and has beaten some big names on away tracks, but he is more of a gater and if he hasn't made the pass by bend 2 he often doesn't make it whereas Kennet can pull out some great passes even on the last lap so he basically is the one that pulls the fans in (therefore rider of the year 2015) .

 

An enigma though.

Edited August 27, 2016 by E I Addio

[foamfence]

They just don't have the spark of the other top teams, especially when you think of their tremendous home advantage of riding on that mini-roundabout of a track. I can't imagine any team gelling greatly with such a disagreeable character as Bridger spouting off.

[Daytripper]

They just don't have the spark of the other top teams, especially when you think of their tremendous home advantage of riding on that mini-roundabout of a track. I can't imagine any team gelling greatly with such a disagreeable character as Bridger spouting off.

With respect you have probably never been in the Lakeside pits and are talking rubbish.

 

Bridger is not really a team player and may never be but he doesn't go round spouting off as you claim. If anything he is the opposite, a bit of a loner generally keeping himself to himself between races. Much calmer in himself these days since he took a year off to sort his life out. Actually if you get him on a one-to-one he his good company.

 

I don't know about this supposed massive home advantage that non riders go on about but are unable to define. You seem to have made your mind up about that, but Neil Middleditch, who has actually ridden it called it a thinking mans track . Kelvin Tatum when asked about it at the last fans form said something similar. He said it is a very formidable place to come to because you constantly have to be thinking two steps ahead , and a lot of riders are beaten in their minds before they even get on the track , but those that apply themselves mentally tend to ride the place very well. Not everybody's cup of tea, admittedly, but as Adam Shields once said, was just as hard for him to go somewhere like Wolves and to gate first and stay in front as it is for Wolves to come to Lakeside and do the same.

[foamfence]

With respect you have probably never been in the Lakeside pits and are talking rubbish.

 

Bridger is not really a team player and may never be but he doesn't go round spouting off as you claim. If anything he is the opposite, a bit of a loner generally keeping himself to himself between races. Much calmer in himself these days since he took a year off to sort his life out. Actually if you get him on a one-to-one he his good company.

 

I don't know about this supposed massive home advantage that non riders go on about but are unable to define. You seem to have made your mind up about that, but Neil Middleditch, who has actually ridden it called it a thinking mans track . Kelvin Tatum when asked about it at the last fans form said something similar. He said it is a very formidable place to come to because you constantly have to be thinking two steps ahead , and a lot of riders are beaten in their minds before they even get on the track , but those that apply themselves mentally tend to ride the place very well. Not everybody's cup of tea, admittedly, but as Adam Shields once said, was just as hard for him to go somewhere like Wolves and to gate first and stay in front as it is for Wolves to come to Lakeside and do the same.

I've seen him openly arguing with Kennett more than once.

[Daytripper]

I've seen him openly arguing with Kennett more than once.

That's not what you were saying in the first place. Riders who ride the same sort of line sometimes get in each other's way and then have a little spat when the adrenalin overflows. I've seen Ivesen and Lambert have fall out over it . Ed and Lewis had an issue over it a few meetings back but Kelvin and AJ had a word and it was sorted before the next race.

That's rather different to you saying Bridger affects team spirit by spouting because he doesn't. As I said before, if anything he keeps himself to himself most of the time between races, as some riders do. Peter Karlsnson and Adam Shields for example were a bit like that as well. Bridger might divide opinion on some things but it's wrong to suggest he goes round spouting off, at least not more than most. You want to hear some of the Aussies sounding off when something upsets them.

Lewis has a good team around him now, in Revolution Speedwáy but has more than a handful sorting the horrible Jawa out without going out looking for trouble I can assure you.