Friday 30 November 2012

NO MORE BOMBER, NO MORE BARGAINS, NO MORE BOWDEN & LOTS MORE BEES

ITEM: I've never really had a favourite rider. For a while I flirted with Shawn Moran, all Bad Boy Club chic and hanging off the bike cool, and I had a thing for racers obviously riding at the limits of their ability and beyond, with often wild results, like Roman Matousek and Thierry Hilaire, but never really had someone I'd pay money to see, whenever I could.

Chris Harris changed that. The first time I saw him ride, live in the flesh, he captivated me. I'm sure I'm not alone. His absolute refusal to make any kind of good start meant that he was forced to hunt his opponents down from the back and, when the track preparation allowed, he more often than not did it, or at least came very close.

Simply put, Chris Harris is a speedway racer in a world of speedway riders.

Don't worry, he's not dead or anything, but simply extremely unlikely to wear a Coventry racejacket in 2013. Harris has a clear idea of his worth - some say inflated beyond reality, without actually knowing what he earns - and Mick Horton isn't prepared to meet it. Whether you call it fiscal responsibility or lowballing your star rider, they appear to be a million miles apart, money-wise, although - as Horton may soon find out - a rider's worth should be judged on more than his points scoring.

Harris has a special connection to the Coventry fans, forever cemented by that night at Wimborne Road two years ago, and the 2011 season (which he spent on loan at Belle Vue) was devoid of something, that x-factor that makes our sport special. Although results were less than fantastic this season having Harris back - joined by another of the Bees' talismans, Scott Nicholls - brought that special something back, and earned a struggling promoter some breathing space he badly needed.

If Harris leaves again - and rumours are that it will be just up the road to Birmingham, dangerously close for Horton's wallet, with fans able to travel to Perry Barr easily - then the Bees will be missing something once more. I'm sure it's a gap that can be filled. It will have to be at some point. But none of the current side, or their rumoured future teammates, have it in them.

It's going to be another strange season down Brandon way, but we're getting used to it now. I just wish we could say we knew the true value of our assets. Sadly, I think that's far from the truth.

ITEM: So the days of bringing in a promising youngster on a 4.00 average are over, and not before time.

Far too often, the wealthier clubs have been able to cherry pick the foreign talent, ending up with bargains few others can afford. The competitive advantage of this "talent spotting" has helped a select few clubs dominate the Elite League of late, and has often resulted in those riders being dumped as soon as they achieve a "real" average in favour of the next 4.00 wonder.

At the other end of the scale, clueless promoters have been sold a pig in a poke or two, bringing in riders on a 4.00 average that struggled to achieve half that - in its own way far more damaging to British speedway, because the likes of Fajfer, Sowka, Burmeister and Sitera score no more than a British rider, starved of opportunity, would score.

So goodbye, then, arbitrary system that did most of us no favours, and hello to, well, what? You'd think, by the reaction of certain south coast-based promoters, team managers, journalists, and fans, that the new system was destructive and wanton - no good for anyone, damaging to the Elite League, and carrying the Ebola virus or something.

What it actually is is an attempt to give every rider who does not currently have a CMA earned in either the EL or PL a realistic figure based on performances in the Swedish, Polish, and Danish leagues, and in FIM events. An independent assessor - and it's now no secret that it's respected veteran Peter Oakes - was given a list of riders and asked to come up with figures for them all. I'm not aware of his methodology, but the final decision, in any case, rests with the BSPA management committee.

The big noise on the south coast regards Piotr Pawlicki, little brother of Przemyslaw (who, you might remember, had his average changed to a more realistic figure when Poole decided to hamstring Coventry in the winter of discontent), and latterly a Poole Pirate.

Piotr came into the Poole team at the back end of last season, as a replacement for the injured Dennis Andersson (himself a "bargain" 4.00 rider a year before), but only managed to ride in four meetings due to injuries of his own, averaging 7.29. Under the new system he has apparently been given a 7.00 assessed average, which seems a little high - perhaps half a point - but is certainly closer to his real ability than the previous 4.00.

To listen to the Poole management, and their pet journalists, its on a par with a war crime, and rules the poor lad out of British speedway. Because who would sign a rider on an average close to his actual ability? Why bother signing Chris Holder on a 9.62 average when he might only average 9.62 points a meeting? Crazy talk.

Worse still, according to Poole, it's the death of the Elite League which, already struggling to attract top riders (in reality, it can't afford them), will now be shorn of the international bright young things that fill our teams. One journalist even claimed this would hamper efforts to make the sport "cool" again, because nothing is cooler than a spotty teenager from Warsaw who can barely speak English and puts his Polish and international commitments first. Right, kids?

The rest of the Elite League promoters, as evidenced by the new system being voted in at the AGM, are okay with it, recognising that it gave some teams with deep pockets an unfair advantage. I'm not sure it's a perfect system - but what is? - and probably needs tweaking before it gets there, but it's a massive step in the right direction. For once, well done BSPA, we might make a sensible rulemaking body out of you yet!

* I did actually work out my own formula for assessing these riders, based on their performances in the Swedish, Polish, and Danish leagues. According to my formula, the following riders would be assessed on these averages:

Piotr Pawlicki 6.49
Tobiasz Musielak 5.65
Mikkel Bech 6.02
Mikkel Michelsen 6.48
Martin Vaculik 8.20
Patryk Dudek 7.85

As a control, this is the formula applied to some current EL riders:

Sebastian Ulamek 6.95 (actual CMA 7.10)
Matej Zagar 8.09 (8.04)
Peter Karlsson 8.03 (8.61)
Andreas Jonsson 9.94 (9.66)
Kenni Larsen 6.54 (6.57)

It's not perfect, and there are some anomalies, but it works pretty well. The BSPA, with better statisticians than I, should adopt something similar.

ITEM: Things are looking up at last for Plymouth! After a torrid couple of years during which it became clear that speedway in the frontier town was becoming a joke, and further uncertainty over its long-term future, a new consortium has secured a tenancy to continue racing at the St Boniface Arena.

The four-man consortium, led by Plymouth legend Seemond Stephens, and former Trelawny promoter Godfrey Spargo, have reached an agreement not only with outgoing promoter Mike Bowden, but also with the landlords, St Boniface College, who were previously only willing to grant a year's lease.

Whatever Plymouth latterly became under Bowden, he was the man responsible for bringing the sport back to the city, and should be lauded for that. But, as with Keith Denham at Workington, there is often scope for a one-man show to go off the rails, the bigger picture sometimes missed for petty vendettas and blind faith in your own infallibility.

Still, brighter skies ahead for the Devils, and one of speedway's furthest outposts continues to take the gospel to the unbelievers...

ITEM: Coventry promoter Mick Horton took to the BBC CWR airwaves last Friday, answering questions from a supporters' forum about all things Bees. Much of what he said had already been reported, and certainly has been since, but the most interesting thing, for me at least, was a little snippet that underpins the whole reason for the Bees running in the National League.

Horton declared his aim - or at least hope, I'd say - that every rider turning out for the NL Bees (and I hope they keep that name, keep it simple) would be a Coventry asset. "Why do it otherwise?", he seemed to argue, and it's hard not to logic.

Using an NL side to unearth future assets has been a roaring success for Scunthorpe and, to a lesser extent, for Rye House. Even if those riders don't always graduate to the senior side at PL level, finding second division berths elsewhere, the loan and transfer fees brought in should more than compensate for the effort.

That is at Premier League level, where the step up is less jarring than straight to the Elite League, but there is no reason to believe it can't be successful for an EL side, too, perhaps in partnership with a "friendly" PL partner.

The Bees have already made steps towards creating a side of their own assets by signing Oliver Greenwood from Scunthorpe and local lad Richard Franklin from Dudley. The tricky part will be finding a rider of sufficient quality to lead the side and find a club willing to sell him.

There are also a number of "free agents" floating around - NL riders can opt not to become an asset of any club - and while some are badly-advised by parents and "agents", you'd hope that the benefits of signing for a big club can be made evident.

Business done at this level, where rewards for the riders are traditionally slim and beefed up by sponsorships, is seldom straightforward, and there have already been accusations of dodgy dealing and tapping up targeted at the Bees. As someone who values ethics over success, I can only hope that Mr Horton & Mr Rogers are of the same mindset, and that this is idle talk.

It's a brand new adventure for Coventry fans in 2013, and I hope they back it in numbers. I'm sure we'll have a team to match the passion of the Bees' fans for competitive speedway, and new heroes to build legends at Brandon for many years to come.

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