Thursday 16 January 2014

The Rights and Wrongs of Rossiter (and other things)



ITEM: The wait is over and we have a new TeamGB manager. I've fallen into the dirty habit of calling it TeamGB for no other reason than everyone else seems to do so, always reluctantly, and that's the worst possible reason. It should be England, of course - no rider from any other nation has ridden for the representative squad for quite some time now, but the inclusion of Scottish (and, latterly, Welsh) clubs in the BSPA - and with the national team farmed out to that organisation like a naughty stepchild - means that it really should be just Great Britain. But that sounds odd, and unwieldy in the face of Poland, Russia, Sweden and the rest. But I digress.

So, yes, Alun Rossiter is the new Great Britain manager, and the news of his appointment was met with almost total positivity, with some reservations and exclusions. Rossiter is the right man for the job in all the ways Neil Middleditch was the wrong one. Over the last half dozen years he has shown he is willing to include homegrown riders in his club sides, and has actively lobbied for them on occasion. Contrast that with a team manager whose club sides have been shockingly, abjectly defined by the absence of British riders - if you are charitable you could argue that Middleditch had no input into Matt Ford's Poole teams because anything else looks like he deliberately favours riders from his rivals on the international scene. Middleditch wasn't unique in his seeming reticence to use British riders whilst occupying the national team manager's job - Rob Lyon, in his brief spell at the helm, filled his King's Lynn sides with all kinds of non-Brits, although he, at least, had the defence that he was managing a second division side at the time.

Rossiter, on the other hand, has a decent record when it comes to using - and therefore trusting in - British riders. This season is some kind of aberration - his two mandated youngsters are his only homegrown riders - but he has worked with, and with some success, Chris Harris, Edward Kennett, Ben Barker, Lewis Bridger, Simon Stead, Kyle Howarth, Josh Auty, and Ashley Birks, as well as the late Lee Richardson. He has also mentored Nick Morris, who may well have been a mainstay of the British SWC side but for a tough decision made by Alex Harkess in the spring of 2011.

There have been slight reservations expressed by some - myself included - that Rossiter got the job ahead of the outstanding candidate, Phil Morris, but that should not denigrate Rossiter's suitability for the role. Quite why the BSPA management committee decided against the Welshman will probably never be revealed but, let's face it, they've hardly covered themselves in glory over the years. Luckily, this is one situation where the second most-suitable candidate, in my opinion at least, is very much up to the job. That won't please the folks down Poole way, though - they're waiting for Rossiter to slip up, certain he will, because their beloved team manager wasn't up to scratch. One thing's for sure, Rossiter would have to try very hard to have a season as bad as Middleditch had last year - all he has to do is finish ahead of Latvia and he'll be the most successful Great Britain manager for quite some time...

ITEM: Regardless of who got the job, the task ahead is a big one. For whatever reason you’d like to choose, Great Britain’s standing in world speedway – Tai Woffinden notwithstanding – is close to an all-time low. Being beaten in the SWC by Latvia and the USA was an humiliation it will be hard to come back from, but the path is clear – because other countries have already lain it for us.

Poland are the reigning world champions. They take their national side very seriously and have just announced a get together for their senior and junior national sides. Not for practice, like the Danes do twice a season, but to help the riders bond as a unit. Rob Lyon did get the British lads together for a training session a few years back – one that resulted in an unfortunate injury for Adam Roynon, not that that should stop it happening again – and if the top two sides in the world are doing it, who are we to say its not essential in today’s speedway?

The Poles also planned ahead for their SWC Final triumph by taking a full test side to the Czech Republic, annihilating the hosts on the Prague track where the final (and race-off) were to be staged. This year’s final and race-off are hosted by Bydgoszcz, and one of the first points of order for Alun Rossiter should be arranging a test match – against Poland or a Polish Select – at the Bydgoszcz venue. Funding may not be readily available from the BSPA, but an enterprising sponsor could reap the benefits of such an endeavour.

The Poles, Danes, Russians, and the rest of the continentals, also take the supplementary competitions available to them very seriously. The BSPA sanction British entry into the World Championship, SWC, and its under-21 counterparts, but largely ignore those events under the auspices of FIM-Europe. The European Championship, a junior version, a senior pairs competition, and a junior team event are all open to British entries, should we be interested, and there is little doubt that continental competition, with the experience of riding abroad and against unfamiliar opposition, is invaluable to those riders on the fringe of the British squad.

These are all things that other nations are doing – nations who have deserved every moment of their successes over the years because they’ve worked for it. They represent the very minimum that we have to do to catch up with, and hopefully supplant, those teams at the top of the world rankings.

I’d also look to some events staged on home soil, whether it be full test matches or a series of SWC-formula four-team events, designed to ease the riders – and the new manager – into the role, by familiarising themselves with the format and conditions of racing.

If we don’t look to our rivals, and ape what they’ve been doing, we may as well not bother, regardless of who we have in charge of the national side. A successful Great Britain, on the world stage, will pay off down the line, and a little investment up front is nothing compared to the potential rewards. Time to think big.

ITEM: I feel like an overgrown child the night before Christmas right now because tomorrow, at 9am, the 2014 fixtures are released! I'm hoping for some common sense this year because, God knows, last year's were a mess! Coventry had ridden a quarter of their fixtures before Birmingham had even really started, and an imbalance of fixtures spread throughout the season meant most clubs had gaps of three weeks to a month between home meetings, and Lakeside completed their season before August had finished! Hopefully the addition of four extra home meetings this year, plus some sensible scheduling, will mean that is a thing of the past, and most fans can look forward once more to regular fixtures at their local track.

Like me, I'm sure many fans will be poised over their computers with a diary in hand, copying the fixtures in, and marking the most attractive for special attention. Some of my best times last year came watching the Storm on the road, and although the National League fixtures won't be ready until after the January 31st deadline for new applications, I can see this being the case again. Leicester will be a new away trip for most Elite league fans, and Peterborough a welcome return to the itinerary of Premier League supporters. With Mick Horton and Neil Watson promoting teams in all three leagues, it will be interesting to see if there are any occasions when they are expected to be in three places at once - last year, with only two sides, a rain-off delayed fixture at Kent meant that both Coventry sides took to the track on the same night, with the Bees at Belle Vue of far less interest to most fans.

Compiling the fixture list can't be an easy job - no other sport has to cope with competitors appearing for two, or even three, teams at the same time, and I would be interested to see a diary piece of just how the horse-trading takes place, if a particularly-open promoter were so inclined. I imagine there's some conniving and stubbornness in amidst a huge heap of accommodation and coöperation, and to see it play out would be nothing short of fascinating.

9am, then, and Twitter will be abuzz. Me? I'm looking out for Coventry’s visits to Birmingham and Leicester, and when Peterborough are north of the border. Oh, and who Poole have got in the middle of June when I'm on my holidays down there - perfect chance to test out whether it is possible to see the track from the multi-story car park...

ITEM: Still no news on who has – and who hasn’t – got their visas to race in the UK in 2014, with Jason Doyle, Rohan Tungate, and Alex Davies amongst those possibly caught out by a technical hitch in their applications. The fault lies in the timing of the applications, rather than the merits on which they should be granted, and the clubs involved really have no excuse given the well-publicised issues surrounding Sam Masters and Mason Campton last season.

With Australians, Americans, and Russians the last of the speedway nations to actually need visas, it might be worth considering whether the BSPA can adopt a similar approach to that taken by Scottish football and apply, as an organisation, for a certain number of visas each year, with the BSPA as sponsor, to ensure that this situation does not occur too often. These visas would then be divvied up according to the merits of each application, with the clubs unable to apply for further visas. In one swoop, a limit on the number of non-EU riders and ensuring that those who do come have few problems doing so.

As it is, with riders changing clubs – and therefore sponsors – these hitches are bound to happen from time to time, and fans of the clubs affected may miss out on worthy additions to our leagues. Still, what does it matter if Jason Doyle has to stay home if Joey Ringwood gets to ride?

No comments:

Post a Comment