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Rider Changes in the championship


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Meant to post this a few weeks ago but forgot :unsure:

As per the green sheets that came out on the 28th June, there have been 16 rider changes since the start of the season in the championship,only one for injury (this was before Jake's ankle)

With 9 teams in the league and 63 riders that means 25% of the riders that started the league aren't at the club they started with.

Now I know that the 40 point building average affects the ability to change the layout of the team and multiple changes are needed to fit one rider. But riders like Hook, Pearson and Thomson are losing their jobs when they're actually perform up to or greater than their averages.

This surely can't be benefiting the sport or bringing on the young riders especially if they don't know wether or not they're going to keep their places from one week to the next?

One suggestion that was brought up would be to have fixed transfer windows within the season to limit the periods at which riders can be moved on or brought in.

What's everyones thoughts?

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My main objection to the current system is that only league fixtures count. All competitive fixtures should count, for me.

I would set an upper limit to riders’ averages - 9, perhaps. Prevents the top riders from managing their averages to remain employable.

I would be tempted to reduce a team’s building average slightly every time they make a change. But that could reward mediocrity… maybe it would be counter-productive.

Maybe you could get rid of R/R and that would give some of these riders more opportunities?

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Don't think transfer windows would work, with teams racing different amount of matches each month, do you go by fixtures raced or dates? Then what if you have an injured rider, can you replace him outside of the transfer window? Last year in the Prem showed how that can be problematic. 

Three simple changes I'd make are, 1) all riders get a minimum amount of matches before they can be dropped (6/8?). 2) as riders get a 28 day ban for leaving a club, I feel it's only fair a club pays a rider for 28 days after he is dropped (unless signed by another club) 3) allow riders without clubs to be able to guest. It's rediculous that Paul Starke could ride for Plymouth's rivals when he was in their side, can ride for Birmingham's rivals, now he's in their side, but couldn't guest when he didn't have a club!

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5 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

It's ridiculous that Paul Starke could ride for Plymouth's rivals when he was in their side, can ride for Birmingham's rivals, now he's in their side, but couldn't guest when he didn't have a club!

I genuinely had no idea this was a thing and only thought this morning, Luke Harrison had his first ride in the championship as a Guest last night, but is it because he has an NDL team?

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2 hours ago, Cast1rn said:

I genuinely had no idea this was a thing and only thought this morning, Luke Harrison had his first ride in the championship as a Guest last night, but is it because he has an NDL team?

National League riders can guest (mainly used to replace reserves), but dropped riders like Ty Proctor, James Wright & Jake Turner can't. I'm not sure how it works with someone like Max Clegg?

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1 minute ago, szkocjasid said:

National League riders can guest (mainly used to replace reserves), but dropped riders like Ty Proctor, James Wright & Jake Turner can't. I'm not sure how it works with someone like Max Clegg?

Do they write this Rulebook in Crayola pens or Crayons?

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9 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

Don't think transfer windows would work, with teams racing different amount of matches each month, do you go by fixtures raced or dates? Then what if you have an injured rider, can you replace him outside of the transfer window? Last year in the Prem showed how that can be problematic. 

Three simple changes I'd make are, 1) all riders get a minimum amount of matches before they can be dropped (6/8?). 2) as riders get a 28 day ban for leaving a club, I feel it's only fair a club pays a rider for 28 days after he is dropped (unless signed by another club) 3) allow riders without clubs to be able to guest. It's rediculous that Paul Starke could ride for Plymouth's rivals when he was in their side, can ride for Birmingham's rivals, now he's in their side, but couldn't guest when he didn't have a club!

The trouble with that is you would then have riders that it benefitted to be a ‘gun for hire’
 

Purposefully have a poor spell when in a team so you get a deflated average then the next season tour round the country guesting for everyone that needs one riding 3 or 4 times a week naming your price.

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39 minutes ago, Cast1rn said:

Do they write this Rulebook in Crayola pens or Crayons?

 

37 minutes ago, Noelinho said:

We have some mad rules, that's for sure. I didn't know that one either!

The rule has always (for years and years) been there:  A guest must be in an official 1-7 in any (British) league.     

While it unfortunately prevents unnattached riders such as Proctor or Turner guesting, it also stops a crafty promoter parachuting Zmarzlik or Madsen in for a vital fixture, or more likely in the scenario suggested above where a rider could remain unattached but hawk himself around the leagues on a 'have bike, will travel' basis 

The rule might be harsh on Turner, etc, but it is necessary.

Edited by crescent girl
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48 minutes ago, gmuncie said:

The trouble with that is you would then have riders that it benefitted to be a ‘gun for hire’
 

Purposefully have a poor spell when in a team so you get a deflated average then the next season tour round the country guesting for everyone that needs one riding 3 or 4 times a week naming your price.

Simple fix, guest bookings with no attached team count towards your average.

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1 hour ago, gmuncie said:

The trouble with that is you would then have riders that it benefitted to be a ‘gun for hire’
 

Purposefully have a poor spell when in a team so you get a deflated average then the next season tour round the country guesting for everyone that needs one riding 3 or 4 times a week naming your price.

Or an "average" that doesn't reflect your on track ability like Richard Lawson. How many guest bookings has he had in the last 3 seasons? Nice little earner Rodney.

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10 minutes ago, Noelinho said:

Also, maybe they could allow guests who have been attached to (and ridden for) a team in the current and previous season?

To find a suitable solution, just needs like minded sensible people to sit around a table to discuss and write the adjustments to the rules , provide them to a selective group for dissection and attempt to break or bend them and once the QA is complete implement them the following year.

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Silly rules cost promoters money. 

How did Edinburgh drop Micky Simpson on a 4.46 average (to get Max Clegg in for Kyle) and were then able to reintroduce him into the team on a 3 a couple of weeks later (this was mentioned at a Bullets match).

Therefore Berwick lost 3 admissions last weekend as we weren't working and did other things.

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4 hours ago, gmuncie said:

The trouble with that is you would then have riders that it benefitted to be a ‘gun for hire’
 

Purposefully have a poor spell when in a team so you get a deflated average then the next season tour round the country guesting for everyone that needs one riding 3 or 4 times a week naming your price.

 

4 hours ago, crescent girl said:

 

The rule has always (for years and years) been there:  A guest must be in an official 1-7 in any (British) league.     

While it unfortunately prevents unnattached riders such as Proctor or Turner guesting, it also stops a crafty promoter parachuting Zmarzlik or Madsen in for a vital fixture, or more likely in the scenario suggested above where a rider could remain unattached but hawk himself around the leagues on a 'have bike, will travel' basis 

The rule might be harsh on Turner, etc, but it is necessary.

 

3 hours ago, Cast1rn said:

Simple fix, guest bookings with no attached team count towards your average.

As @Cast1rn points out a simple solution is to make unnattatched guest riders matches count to their averages, like what they do in the National league. Despite any pitfalls mentioned I still think using an unnattatched guest is far more logical than a rider guesting for a rival & potentially putting his own team out of the play-offs / bsn semis etc

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3 hours ago, Cast1rn said:

To find a suitable solution, just needs like minded sensible people to sit around a table to discuss and write the adjustments to the rules , provide them to a selective group for dissection and attempt to break or bend them and once the QA is complete implement them the following year.

They should do that every year for all the rules. Often a new rule is thought of to fix an issue, bit will create a problem elsewhere, it seems they don't always consider the downsides!

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49 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

It’s a simple sport made complicated by ill thought out rules.

Very true, the daftest example I can think of in recent years was Robert Lambert due to be missing a Newcastle match the day after an international, choosing to ride abroad instead. As he was racing in another meeting - no guest was allowed. Then when the other meeting was postponed a guest was allowed as it was a day after the international!

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