Speedway Star Article By NEIL EVANS

Tigers Year Went Awry Away

Long lauded as having one of the best race circuits in the Premier League, The Glasgow promotion embarked on a winter team rebuilding exercise that many fully expected would see them bracketed amongst those likely to finish the season with something tangible to show for their efforts.

The passage of time proved that the theory was woefully out of synch, yet there was no disguising that the promoters efforts over the winter smacked of optimism and potential.

Backed by Travel Inn, Glasgow not only hung on to James Grieves and George Stancl, but they completed a top four by bringing in Shane Parker and Paul Bentley, the latter on a full transfer from Berwick, to boast a top four that was likely to give any team a headache or two.

“There were opportunities to bring in Shane and Banger which we felt would add a lot of qualities to the side and, whilst conceding it looked a bit top heavy, we felt it was too good an opportunity to overlook” said co-promoter Alan Dick.

“The theory was that, providing the top four rode to their ability, we should generally be in with a shout of crossing the winning line. James grieves and George Stancl were known qualities in Glasgow colours and there wouldn’t be many in the Premier League that don’t rate Shane or Banger.”

“Having brought together four influential riders, it was up to us to get the balance and the pairings right.”

With those thoughts in mind, Glasgow showed clearly that they meant business when they made an eleventh hour change that raised a few eyebrows way beyond the fringes of the city.

Generally regarded as a couple of ‘nice blokes’, Dick and co-promoter Stewart Dickson showed that they had a steelier side by drafting in Graham Jones at the expense of Trent Leverington in order to create that sought after balance.

“Trent had got the nod over David McAllan in the first place and it was awful having to tell him we were making a change even before a wheel had been turned” continued Dick, who says there is a lot of pleasure in the fact that Leverington was one of the first riders handed a 2005 contract.

“We did what we thought was right for Glasgow speedway at the time, that’s the bottom line. Its just that we felt Jonah could do a really good job for us coming in on a low average for his ability given the experience that he had.”

“It was important to get as much out of the top five as we could in order to give the reserves a bit of breathing space. Barry Campbell came in after Grant MacDonald had to step down, and the other spot went to Corey Blackman.”

“We had faith in them whilst accepting that it wouldn’t be easy for them either. But on the whole, the line up looked strong and capable.”

After loosing out 92-91 to Edinburgh in a two-legged challenge that blew the cobwebs away, the Tigers slipped easily into top gear throughout the Premier Trophy campaign.

A 54-39 win at Hull was their biggest victory on the road in a decade, and all 15 heats were won by the home side in the 63-28 mauling of Berwick for the first time since their switch to Ashfield in 1999, as March proved to be a fairly good opening few weeks.

April proved equally optimistic with home and away wins over Newcastle – the home victory saw the Tigers top five drop just one point between them – and good performances on the road at Sheffield and Stoke, the latter meeting earning a point from a draw after a heat 15 that Potters promoter Dave Tattum described as one of the best races seen at Loomer Road.

“There was a good atmosphere about the place and the team was gelling reasonably well,” went on the co-promoter.

“Shane was in breathtaking form and was very much at the top of his game. Apart from what he gives you on the track, his enthusiasm and general banter is infectious and the confidence and self belief in the side was growing all the time.”

“That was an important element because the reserves were still finding things a bit of a struggle to be honest. But it’s a team game and the other lads rallied round and helped rather than shut them out.”

Jones took a bad knock at Berwick where a win for Bentley in heat 12 preceded a 5-1 from Parker and Stancl in the next race which ultimately set up a 42-48 away win.

The following day saw Glasgow beat Edinburgh by 11 points, though a defeat at Armadale in the return saw them miss out to the Monarchs in the bonus point stakes 94-93 – the second time the Tigers bitter rivals had headed them by a solitary point.

Narrow home wins over Workington, where Stancl recovered from an horrendous crash in heat 15 to join Parker for a 5-1 in the re-run over Rusty Harrison, and Hull and Stoke, ensured the Tigers had a 100% home record and a guaranteed semi-final Premier Trophy slot.

The pleasure in going through to the semi-finals was tempered by defeat in the first round of the KO Cup to Reading, the team that they would face, and lose to, in the Premier Trophy semi-final.

A heavy fall for Jones in Heat 1 at Ashfield when a chain snapped left the Shropshire-based rider with hip and leg injuries and ruled him out for the rest of the meeting and the return in Berkshire the following night.

“Our home leg was an absolutely brilliant meeting and there were never more than four points between the teams throughout. That was good for the neutrals, maybe, but we knew it was not the sort of advantage we needed to take to their place,” recalled Dick.

“To be fair, we pushed them reasonably hard at their place without being able to get our noses in front. The KO Cup is one of those competitions that everyone wants to do well in, and there’s no denying that it was very disappointing at the time to go out in the first round.”

“Both Reading and ourselves were fairly evenly matched on paper and it was a heavyweight clash, there’s no doubt about that. We can look back and wonder what might have been had Jonah not piled up – but these things happen and you have to regroup and get on with it.”

“But yes it was quite a severe setback to our hopes of winning something during the season.”

What happened over the ensuing few months is anyone’s guess. The smooth, well-oiled machine that had eased through the Premier Trophy competition virtually came off the rails, as the Tigers failed to claim a single away victory during what was a bitterly lacklustre league campaign. Two defeats at home – to Hull and Workington, first and second in the final league rankings admittedly – only served to see Glasgow settle in eleventh spot in the table, a far cry from their early season expectations.

“Where do we start trying to explain it all?” said Dick. “It was a huge turn around in our performances and I think a lot of it stemmed from a drop in confidence after we started poorly.”

“We did alright at home, but, for some reason, things just weren’t happening on the road. That led to a bit of frustration because the expectations had been so high and then things snowball.”

“There was no one reason as to why we fared so poorly away, if there was we would have sorted it, I’m sure. It was a combination of four or five things from which we didn’t really recover or get to grips with.”

“I’m not sure that the pairings were quite right. We had Grieves and Bentley together for a while and that didn’t always work. Two terrific lads, two terrific riders – but they didn’t always compliment each other.”

“Graham Jones called it a day in July and that was quite a blow at the time. To be fair to Jonah, he had given us everything but found it really hard to hang on to his engine building contacts and race for us on top of carrying a few knocks. Maybe one or two of the Elite League boys were giving him a hard time regards engines and, to be fair, that is his future.”
“After Graham left, Lee Dicken came in. But, try as he did, and Lee is definitely a trier, he didn’t quite get it together and we seemed to find it difficult to get a full team riding to their capabilities on the same night.”

“Grieves had a really good spell at home but struggled away, and he took quite a bad knock at Newcastle which cut short his season.”

“Then George Stancl had a spate of mechanical problems that you wouldn’t wish on anyone. The lad is so stylish on a bike and can rattle up big scores home and away – but he went through a spell where eh couldn’t win a race for love nor money.”

“They aren’t excuses and I know enough about professional sport to accept that you have to tough some things out and just get on with it. But the Premier League is so competitive these days that you have to be on top of your game or you get punished.”

“Loosing at home to Hull and Workington just might be acceptable given their record over the season. But for us not to earn anything other than bonus points on our travels was very poor indeed.”

If the introduction of American Eric Carrillo had proven to be something of a shining light, the sacking of team manager Ian Steel after 13 years with the club surprised many within the sport as a whole.

“We were genuinely very sorry to see him go and he knows that he is always welcome here – but we felt that there were a couple of decisions that Ian had made which were not amongst his best and we just thought a change was needed.”

“I suppose the riders would have felt it to a degree because Ian is popular and has been for many years. But its forward we go, not back and we took the decision in what we felt were the best interests of the club at the time.”

“Stewart took over and will possibly continue into next season.”

“As for Carrillo, he came in and was like a breath of fresh air. He generally had a smile on his face and was very exciting on the bike. I think he hit double figures on his debut and went on to nearly double his average during his spell with us.”

“David McAllan also came back in and James Cockle was another newcomer who I thought impressed quite a bit. We all know that David is a trier and James is on of the best young riders in the country.”

“In terms of media coverage, Glasgow have a tough time competing against the likes of Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers. But reaching the premier League pairs and Fours helped eke out a few column inches.”

“Its not easy for us and it is our intention to try and push our crowd level beyond the four-figure mark,” pointed out Dick.

“We have around 800 loyal supporters and, to be fair, that figure didn’t dwindle despite our league programme not coming up to scratch. But we need to raise that to 1000 of more if we are to build up club assets and invest more in the future.”

“Travel Inn were brilliant last season and offered accommodation to various riders over the season for which they, and we, are very grateful. Hopefully Travel Inn will be back next season.”

“We do have a number of contacts and we are very grateful for all the media coverage we get. Reaching the Pairs and Fours was very important to us in that respect – but again we were there or thereabouts without crossing the line in front.”

“On the whole, it was not the season we had all hoped it might be. But there were positives and no one doubts the efforts put in by so many to make things happen.”

“All we can do is learn from those setbacks and hopefully improve during 2005.”

Alan Dick on his Team

SHANE PARKER Shane had a marvellous first season with us and was most certainly our first choice for 2005. Very professional and a top team man, Shane’s early season form when he lost something like one race in seven meetings was breathtaking. On top of everything else, the lad is an entertainer and the Glasgow public loved him.

PAUL BENTLEY A very reliable and solid team man. Banger is very professional and you never see him turned out other than first class. Had a few knocks but gets on with the job and is very dependable every time he takes to the track.

JAMES GRIEVES I think the season was disappointing for James going by his own high standards. He was very good at home but mediocre away and maybe the change of track next season will do him good. He actually saw a sports psychologist midway through the season to try and get back on track, that’s how serious he was. Again, a smashing lad and one we still see as part of Glasgow’s future.

GEORGE STANCL George was beset with mechanical problems and it was tough watching him scrape three and four points instead of the 15 or 16 he was capable of. But he is very capable and he plans to move to Newcastle for next season in order to cut down on his travelling.

ERIC CARRILLO We were delighted with his attitude and professionalism and he was undoubtedly a big hit with the supporters. He wouldn’t have known hardly any, if any, of the PL tracks, yet he got stuck in and did very well.

JAMES COCKLE We rate him as one of the best young riders in the country and had no hesitation bringing him in for next season. He lives in Cambridgeshire so it’s a lot of travelling but he’s very keen and we will aid his development all we can.

DAVID MCALLAN David is a bit of a journeyman maybe. But he loves competing and always gives you 100%. David was stronger at home than away. But you would expect that and, again, a good team man to have around.