KENT 2019

[Islander15]

3 minutes ago, East End Fan said:

Sounds like you did not attend.  I did go and enjoyed the evening.  Very close score line all night and several excellent races in spite a what looked like

a lack of shale. Reasonable size crowd from where I was sitting.  How Sings4speeday can judge what Jamie Couzins and William O'Keefe did when he

was not there is slightly bewildering, but typical of lots of commentators on this forum.  Personally I was impressed with Drew Kemp who looked in a

class of his own.  I was on my way home by ten past 8,

Tbf to S4K, it’s pretty obvious from both of their scores that Couzins did well but O’Keefe definitely did not. 

[Sings4Speedway]

5 minutes ago, East End Fan said:

Sounds like you did not attend.  I did go and enjoyed the evening.  Very close score line all night and several excellent races in spite a what looked like

a lack of shale. Reasonable size crowd from where I was sitting.  How Sings4speeday can judge what Jamie Couzins and William O'Keefe did when he

was not there is slightly bewildering, but typical of lots of commentators on this forum.  Personally I was impressed with Drew Kemp who looked in a

class of his own.  I was on my way home by ten past 8,

Whoops "For Accounts" should have said "From Accounts" meaning those who i have spoken to who attended confirmed that the gulf between Couzins and the others was plenty wide enough. Obviously Laker & S.Wooley get exceptions as they have not been full time NL riders but O'Keefe was Kent rider and was being bettered by infrequent visitors which says enough to me (without the confirmation of those in attendance).

[flipper11]

Not a bad crowd, not a bad meeting.

Kent does have a good fan base & Len likes to keep them used to going every week, so although meetings like this & against Lakeside are seemingly pointless it does the trick.

I no Len had it a bit slick because of the number of inexperienced riders.  S4S, i think you were spot on with your summary.  One of the r/r was supposed to be Luke Clifton who seemed to have just not turned up!  If you count Clifton there were 8 unattached riders last night, no-one can cause Len of not giving riders a chance!

[Sings4Speedway]

15 minutes ago, flipper11 said:

Not a bad crowd, not a bad meeting.

Kent does have a good fan base & Len likes to keep them used to going every week, so although meetings like this & against Lakeside are seemingly pointless it does the trick.

I no Len had it a bit slick because of the number of inexperienced riders.  S4S, i think you were spot on with your summary.  One of the r/r was supposed to be Luke Clifton who seemed to have just not turned up!  If you count Clifton there were 8 unattached riders last night, no-one can cause Len of not giving riders a chance!

There's no debating that tracking unattached riders and giving themselves a chance in the shop window is very admirable (and cheap) but it does create a gulf in class in the meetings. Very disappointing that Clifton didn't take part considering he was billed to attend for a long time but anything could have occurred to prevent him riding so until announced won't comment further. I still think these meetings are expensive though with the riders on show, especially as the class difference can be wide. Not checked the fixtures but maybe the Fururama events would be a better bet on off weeks?  

[Mike.Butler]

I enjoyed it. Not a bad crowd and some interesting races (albeit often 2 in the same heat!), I was half expecting a run-off for the trophy but then again where would Wimbledon put it!

 

[Chris116]

5 hours ago, Mike.Butler said:

I enjoyed it. Not a bad crowd and some interesting races (albeit often 2 in the same heat!), I was half expecting a run-off for the trophy but then again where would Wimbledon put it!

 

Down the developers of Plough Lane's throats with any luck!

[HGould]

It is an interesting question

Do you race every week to maintain interest but ask people to find £64.00 (at Kent) to enter every 4 weeks per person?

Do you have an average of a meeting every 2 weeks (which is what football do realistically home one wee away next) and ask people to find £32 every 4 weeks per person?

What is higher risk, pricing them out or having them lose interest?

Every week seem old fashioned but brave

Every fortnight seems more business savvy and personally I've never lost interest with a 2 week gap?

 

Thoughts would be interesting

[cityrebel]

11 minutes ago, HGould said:

It is an interesting question

Do you race every week to maintain interest but ask people to find £64.00 (at Kent) to enter every 4 weeks per person?

Do you have an average of a meeting every 2 weeks (which is what football do realistically home one wee away next) and ask people to find £32 every 4 weeks per person?

What is higher risk, pricing them out or having them lose interest?

Every week seem old fashioned but brave

Every fortnight seems more business savvy and personally I've never lost interest with a 2 week gap?

 

Thoughts would be interesting

For me personally, because Kent is one of my regular tracks. I don't mind them running the odd filler meeting. I tend to give these a miss, so it gives me a break from attending every week. Two a month would be fine by me, because i visit plenty of other tracks. If kent is your only option, then i can understand why weekly speedway works at Central Park.

[Sings4Speedway]

1 minute ago, cityrebel said:

For me personally, because Kent is one of my regular tracks. I don't mind them running the odd filler meeting. I tend to give these a miss, so it gives me a break from attending every week. Two a month would be fine by me, because i visit plenty of other tracks. If kent is your only option, then i can understand why weekly speedway works at Central Park.

I hold a similar opinion although i do not visit Kent nearly as regularly as i used to for a multitude of reasons but price is high on the list. Perhaps the options of A&B fixtures could become utilised and prices adjusted accordingly? Current high price for meaningful matches and £10 for fillers/dead rubber meetings. 

Coming up there is the Home National Trophy meeting against the IOW when the table is likely to be decided by then, fortunately Leicester then visit to add some excitement before KOC time and yet another challenge match.

[East End Fan]

46 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

I hold a similar opinion although i do not visit Kent nearly as regularly as i used to for a multitude of reasons but price is high on the list. Perhaps the options of A&B fixtures could become utilised and prices adjusted accordingly? Current high price for meaningful matches and £10 for fillers/dead rubber meetings. 

Coming up there is the Home National Trophy meeting against the IOW when the table is likely to be decided by then, fortunately Leicester then visit to add some excitement before KOC time and yet another challenge match.

Crikey...you're looking for something to moan about. I am old fashioned...because I AM old...and to me, Speedway should run every week of the season.

Challenge matches can be just as exciting as official fixtures and, obviously there must be a few of those. True supporters will attend all events...the thought

being that non attendance harms the club's finances. And we all have seen what that leads to..  £10 admission for unofficial fixtures, as advocated by Sings

sounds attractive, but is hardly practical.  Costs are the same, whatever the event I would presume.

[Sings4Speedway]

5 minutes ago, East End Fan said:

Crikey...you're looking for something to moan about. I am old fashioned...because I AM old...and to me, Speedway should run every week of the season.

Challenge matches can be just as exciting as official fixtures and, obviously there must be a few of those. True supporters will attend all events...the thought

being that non attendance harms the club's finances. And we all have seen what that leads to..  £10 admission for unofficial fixtures, as advocated by Sings

sounds attractive, but is hardly practical.  Costs are the same, whatever the event I would presume.

Ironically the costs associated with challenge matches are potentially higher as Kent would have to pay both sides out of their takings. Obviously this could be negated by paying riders less per point for these meetings as they are glorified practices, money spinners, unattached rider racing opportunities.

With only 8 teams in the NL so 7 home meetings its entirely possible to run one every other week May-July with fillers in between so spectators have the option of weekly or fortnightly attendance? 

[mikebv]

33 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Ironically the costs associated with challenge matches are potentially higher as Kent would have to pay both sides out of their takings. Obviously this could be negated by paying riders less per point for these meetings as they are glorified practices, money spinners, unattached rider racing opportunities.

With only 8 teams in the NL so 7 home meetings its entirely possible to run one every other week May-July with fillers in between so spectators have the option of weekly or fortnightly attendance? 

Challenge matches will have the same costs (or maybe less dependent whether rider costs are lower due to it being a non NL league match)..

Because, instead of paying out for two matches from that one match's income, like they would in the league, the promotion will pay out for the two team's points money..

In every match the home team promoter needs to take enough to cover two meetings worth of points money..

That nights costs and the away legs costs...

[teaboy279]

As a kid I remember every Saturday going to Canterbury, the only gaps really being when riding away on a Saturday.

So for me weekly speedway has always been the norm.

I think the crowd Monday whilst down on usual was still over 500, which I expect most clubs would be happy with for a "competitive" fixture. I suppose all the time weekly speedway pays, then len will continue to supply us with it.

Imagine next week could be a bumper crowd, mildenhall often travel well especially to Kent on a bank holiday, and with them needing to reverse the home loss Kent inflicted at west row, it should be an exciting afternoon's action.

[East End Fan]

Does anyone know if any one or all of the 3 injured riders in the Kent side will be riding on Bank Holiday Monday ?  If all of them are absent it would

present Mildenhall with a great chance of an away win.  Big blow for Kent to suffer injuries so early in the season and it could upset their expectations.

[Sings4Speedway]

12 minutes ago, East End Fan said:

Does anyone know if any one or all of the 3 injured riders in the Kent side will be riding on Bank Holiday Monday ?  If all of them are absent it would

present Mildenhall with a great chance of an away win.  Big blow for Kent to suffer injuries so early in the season and it could upset their expectations.

The preview has Spooner & Gilkes still out but Ablitt set to return with Clouting guesting and RR for Alex. Kent should still have enough fire power at home though as it would need the expected performances from Ayres & Edwards to be well backed by Brooks & Wallinger plus a reserve to mount a challenge. 

As for seasonal aspirations much will depend on how fit the others are when Leicester visit on June 10th as that looks potentially a really key match.

[East End Fan]

On 5/24/2019 at 11:28 AM, Sings4Speedway said:

The preview has Spooner & Gilkes still out but Ablitt set to return with Clouting guesting and RR for Alex. Kent should still have enough fire power at home though as it would need the expected performances from Ayres & Edwards to be well backed by Brooks & Wallinger plus a reserve to mount a challenge. 

As for seasonal aspirations much will depend on how fit the others are when Leicester visit on June 10th as that looks potentially a really key match.

Thanks for that. I'd picked up that news as well.  Kent are still a lot weaker without Gilkes but r/r for Sponer isn't too bad.  Clouting still has to prove himself

for me.  Occasionally looks classy, but very slow from the start. Looks like a big confidence issue watching from the grandstand.

[East End Fan]

Really pleased to see Kent Speedway featured on BBC television news. So the rumours were true.  Was not impressed with the racing clips that

were shown particularly when there were a few very very good races on the night, but otherwise good cover. Maybe the BBC are now taking an

interest that has not been in evidence for many many years ?

[teaboy279]

The last who visited really enjoyed it, and has inferred she will return. Albeit she did not say whether that would be in professional or personal capacity.

Had a bit of coverage on BBC radio 2 today too, although I was asleep so didnt hear it.

[Sings4Speedway]

Kents woes continue with Jordan Jenkins taking a break from the sport. Nice lad but hard on himself and his progression curve has levelled off quite a bit although considering his burst onto the scene that is partially to be expected. Has an awkward average that is ok until the end of the month if Ledwith returns but if he moves to 5th in the list is going to be tricky to cover.

[blueherb777]

1 hour ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Kents woes continue with Jordan Jenkins taking a break from the sport. Nice lad but hard on himself and his progression curve has levelled off quite a bit although considering his burst onto the scene that is partially to be expected. Has an awkward average that is ok until the end of the month if Ledwith returns but if he moves to 5th in the list is going to be tricky to cover.

Has a team ever lost so many riders through injury and taking time out?

Probably but it will tell on the team in the end.