Alex Harkess spoke to David Kinvig for the Edinburgh Pink:
"There will be no wholesale changes to our team, all we need is more of a killer instinct."
While the Edinburgh team picked up a lot of critisism from supporters it probably came closer to taking the championship than more highly rated teams in 1997 and 1999. Monarchs ended up five points adrift of champions Exeter.
"While it was disappointing to finish fivs points behind Exeter, it's the closest we've come to winning the league. We threw at least five points away. We went to single point defeats at Stoke and Glasgow. And we only lost by two at Workington. Those six points could have won us the league, that's how close we came."
It is arguable that Edinburgh were denied wins at both Glasgow and Stoke. At Glasgow Les Collins was adjudged to have passed Peter Carr on the line in heat 13. That decision was very tight and many felt the Carr had edged it. A 46-47 defeat could have been reversed. At Stoke, Carr and Eriksson were on a 5-1 in the final heat that would have given Monarchs victory by 47-46. David Walsh then fell leaving Paul Thorp was adrift as the race was stopped. The referee should certainly have awarded the race but opted for a re-run in which Thorp managed to split Carr and Eriksson to deny Monarchs.
Monarchs also lost at Workington after Carr and Eriksson appeared to be on for a 5-1 in the last heat to win the match. Eriksson was out for a third heat in a row and suffered fatigue and was passed by both Stonehewer and Powell.
So, incredibly an extra four race points could have given Monarchs the title!
David Kinvig suggested that two certain casualties would be Will Beveridge and Kevin Little. One change is inevitable unless the points limit were to be raised. Replacing Beveridge with Derek Sneddon seems the obvious move here. Beveridge has given his all but he has never come to terms with the Armadale track as his numerous falls will testify. Will always found the travelling to Armadale a problem with the Friday racenight and will probably be looking for a track nearer his Durham base.
Kevin Little has been blamed by many for Monarchs' failure to win anything. While this might be rather unfair since others, notably Ross Brady have also failed to live up to expectations. The point is that Monarchs did well on the occasions when Kevin did get the points he was capable of. The away wins at Arena Essex and Hull stand out as does the recent Scottish Cup win at Glasgow. Alex Harkess added:
"It's very annoying when you know what someone is capable of, yet they fail to produce the goods. You sign heat leaders to win races. If they do, you're fine. If they don't you struggle."
All the signs so far indicate that Monarchs are hoping to stick with their top two. This is no surprise as Carr and Eriksson are easily the top duo in the Premier League. That puts most pressure on finding a third heat leader who can score points home and away. While there are a number available, few will fit into the points that Monarchs are likely to have available. André Compton looks by far the best of the available riders within the seven to eight-point band. It remains to be seen who Monarchs will be able to recruit to fill this position.
The points limit set will determine the shape of the rest of the team. While Alex Harkess is of the opinion that the current 45 point limit will be retained, there is some speculation that it could be dropped to 43 points. A reduction in the points limit could signal the departure of Blair Scott so that Ross Brady and Christian Henry can be retained.
As well as talk of reducing the points-limit, there are also suggestions that the averages used for team building will be based on Premier League averages rather than the combined Premier National Trophy and Premier League averages currently used. This would have an adverse effect on Monarchs as Christian Henry, Ross Brady, and Robert Eriksson would have higher averages. Add in the crackpot notion of completely restructuring the Premier League doing the rounds in some quarters, the silly season appears to be back.
Hopefully the BSPA will leave well alone. The Premier League is the only viable part of British Speedway and should be allowed some continuity.