ITEM: When is a rule not a rule? When it’s not implemented across the board? When it’s only brought into play because someone flags it up? When it makes absolutely no sense in the first place?
All of the above are true, of course, and never was this more starkly illustrated than when King’s Lynn were punished for breaking such a rule this week. Their crime? At Swindon three weeks ago (the wheels of justice turn slow in BSPA town) they used Cory Gathercole as a guest for their absent double uppers, David Howe and Ulrich Ostergaard. A clever move, given Gathercole’s previous association with the Robins, and one which met with the approval of both meeting referee and the Swindon management.
However, it broke a rule. The rule that says that you can’t have a facility – and using a guest is a facility, as is rider replacement – for a rider who hasn’t yet ridden for your team. Ostergaard, a replacement as a double up rider for Joe Screen (who had a higher average than the Dane in any case), hadn’t yet taken to the track for the Stars, and so the use Gathercole was against the rules.
In a twisted way it makes sense. It prevents teams from signing, say, Tomasz Gollob without any intention of him appearing for their team, and using guests up to his average for the whole season. It clearly wasn’t made to be used in the manner in which King’s Lynn fell foul of it, but there you go – the BSPA is very good at making rules that punish minor transgressions whilst trying to outlaw major ones.
All this only became a problem, though, when somebody protested against the use of Gathercole. It wasn’t the meeting referee (and it’s not his place to, either), and it wasn’t the Swindon management, although they were obviously the ones with most to gain. It wasn’t even any of the sides the Stars are competing against for one of the two play-off places up for grabs (if you assume Swindon & Poole will grab the top two slots, that is). No, it was just somebody with a grudge. Ugh.
I wonder if there’s a statute of limitations on how late a meeting result can be overturned? Because, it might not surprise you to find out, Belle Vue were guilty of this exact same offense in May, using Ricky Ashworth to guest for the double up pair of Charlie Gjedde and Mark Lemon when Lemon hadn’t raced for the Aces. What happened? Nothing. Because no-one complained.
Furthermore, Poole were granted a facility for Darcy Ward at the start of the 2011 season after Ward had injured himself riding motocross. He was yet to make a 2011 appearance for the Pirates but this was waved through. Why? I guess no-one complained. And while we’re talking about Poole, I’m still waiting for their win over Lakeside in May to be overturned. They tracked an illegal team and won by two points. Did anyone complain? Obviously not.
It stinks, basically. If you are going to have rules you have to ensure they’re applied fairly, and across the board. To punish King’s Lynn and not Belle Vue, or to allow Poole’s transgression go without even a murmur in the press is ridiculous, and only gives ammunition to those who claim the sport is badly run. It’s not difficult, BSPA. Sort it out.
ITEM: Ah, Krzysztof Kasprzak, you lovable scamp! With your disappearing acts, you’re really spoiling us! Yes, Kasprzak went missing again. Just like last year, when his Polish club pulled a power play and prevented him from riding for Birmingham, he missed an Elite League for Poole against title rivals Swindon on Monday. Why? He hurt his back, apparently, though it would take the least cynical man in the world not to point out that his Polish league match had been rained off and postponed for two days – after the Swindon versus Poole fixture. Come that rearranged Polish fixture, Kasprzak was fine, his back healed. A miracle! Or was it?
Polish riders cocking a snook at British speedway is hardly new. Yes, we understand that that the Ekstraliga is where their bread is buttered, that they will always put Poland first, and more than one promoter has been scared off a Polish signing for this very reason. But going so far as to manufacture an injury because your Elite League fixture is an inconvenience is taking things a little too far. It’s okay, though, right? He’ll be punished for it, yeah? No-one believes his story, after all. Hans Andersen took to Twitter to express his feelings about the “injury” and even his Poole teammate Darcy Ward, interviewed on Sky Sports, poured scorn on Kasprzak’s story.
But guess what? Come Wednesday night he returned to the Poole team, and he was even well enough to score a 15-point maximum!
It’s no surprise that the Pirates have decided to sweep the affair under the carpet. Kasprzak is only in their side due to a supreme piece of rule manipulation by promoter Matt Ford, and they’re so focused on winning, to the detriment of everything else, that they’ll let it slide. Besides, the rider replacement facility they were granted in Kasprzak’s absence garnered nine points – pretty much at the top end of what you’d have expect him to score.
So who loses out then? Just about the rest of us, is the simple answer. The Swindon promotion and their fans, and Sky Sports and their viewers lost out because Poole didn’t track a full team. The rest of the Elite League suffer because, in a league competition where just about every fixture counts, you expect your opponents to track their strongest team wherever possible. And, once again, it sets a horrible precedent – what’s to stop another Pole (or Swede or Dane) deciding they don’t fancy riding in England one night, and coming up with a bunkum excuse?
The one I really feel for, though, is Neil Middleditch (and that’s not something I expect to type often). Although Matt Ford, as a promoter, will ride roughshod over the rules and conventions of speedway to ensure Poole are successful (and, thus, profitable), Middleditch is responsible for ensuring his team win. To be handicapped by the loss of a heat leader, and to have his authority undermined by that heat leader clearly deciding that Middleditch’s team is less important than his Polish side, must be hard to take.
I was hoping that, as a proud man, Middleditch would at least express his disappointment – as he did over Tai Woffinden’s no-show for Team GB last week – but he’s stayed silent, when even his own riders has spoken out. A great shame.
ITEM: Another home defeat for Coventry, and the slim hope of the play-offs finally seems to have slipped away. So what next? Well, before we write 2012 off completely, there’s still the Knockout Cup to be won, with a semi-final against struggling Belle Vue or Birmingham standing in the way of a final appearance. Besides that, it’s a case of looking to next season already.
Mick Horton would be the first to admit he made mistakes when he took over at Brandon. Slowly he seems to be righting the ship, and he should be commended for this, despite the obvious commercial advantages of doing so. For 2013, though, he needs to get out of the blocks fast, declare his intentions and do everything he can to make them happen.
The signing of Michal Szczepaniak is a step in the right direction, and the fact that King’s Lynn seem to have had few problems with his brother is encouraging, especially when you are dealing with a Pole (see above!). Adam Roynon is looking like the rider many always thought he would be, and Kenni Larsen is settling into the steady, unspectacular role many Danes seems to find themselves in. Beyond that, who knows. Aaron Summers has had a disappointing middle third of the season, and the heat leaders are a baffling puzzle of inconsistency and machine problems – none of them can be sure they’ll be invited back at this stage.
What Coventry obviously need is an out-and-out number one. They have Greg Hancock and Andreas Jonsson on their asset list, but neither is likely to commit to a full season in the Elite League. Emil Sayfutdinov may, and has Coventry connections, of course, but is at a stage in his career where he’s either going to kick on or reach a plateau, and while he may be box office, he may not be exactly what the Bees need.
It’s a tricky one, but one Horton will have to solve early on, and then build the rest of the side from there. I wish him luck – he may need it.
ITEM: And while I’m on the subject of top riders, it’s often said that the Elite League is not Elite because it doesn’t have the top stars riding in it. While it’s true that Hancock, Gollob, Pedersen, and the rest, are at the top of the sport, describing them as “stars” is an interesting choice of word. A star is often thought of as someone who gets top billing. They earn the most because they are who the fans wants to see. The appearance of Greg Hancock, a stranger on these shores lately apart from the British GP, at the Brandonapolis certainly put a few on the gate, and Sayfutdinov’s appearances for Coventry were met with big crowds wherever he rode. So, yes, the half dozen riders at the top of the Grand Prix standings every year can be considered as stars in speedway, but they are not the be-all and end-all.
You can promote speedway in three ways: the sport, the team, and the riders. As a curious mix of individual and team racing, the riders can be promoted more heavily than in other team sports, like football or rugby. However, most clubs seem to rely on promoting the sport and the team, rather than the riders, and by doing this they are missing out on a huge chunk of marketing potential. You can make characters of every rider in your team, and those in your opponents’ team if they’re not doing the job themselves. By doing this, in the same way that darts and wrestling give personality and a uniqueness to every competitor, you can create stories, add meaning to the even the blandest fixture, and turn the most average, journeyman rider into someone people want to see.
Play up on a rider’s aggressive riding style, emphasise the consistency of that rider who averages six, turn your French or German or Russian rider into the worst caricature of that nationality seen since Allo Allo… do something!
It worked in darts without losing the purity of the competition and it can work in speedway, too. Who’s going to be the first to try it?
No comments:
Post a Comment