There some 'discussion' between the Monarchs promotion and riders about the way that the track should be prepared for the visit of Sheffied in the Cup Semi-Fial on Friday. After the loss to Newcastle last week, John Campbell laid some blame on the slick track conditions which he, justifyably, felt was ideally suited to the fast gating David Walsh and Robert Eriksson.
Campbell suggested that the track conditions should be 'deep and wet' for the visit of Sheffield. Peter Carr has disagreed with this when the two spoke in the pits on Friday. John Campbell commented:
"I want deep and wet conditions against Sheffield, because this will give us a better chance of coming from the back - something we couldn't manage on the slick conditions against Newcastle."
James Grieves supported Carr insisting:
"If you meddle with the track the only riders who will suffer will be Edinburgh's. There was nothing wrong with the track against Newcastle. In my opinion it was perfect. We lost because one or two riders had an off-night. And tactically our management got it wrong."
"The track needs to be gritty against Sheffield. I'm worried that the management are planning to meddle with the track and I'll be voicing my concerns to them."
It is possible to see both sides of this argument. Generally, the home team should have an advantage with track with more dirt. Edinburgh certainly caught out Newport when they visited for two successive weeks by making the dirt deeper for the second visit. Equally, Newcastle riders such as Walsh, Eriksson, and Gould seemed to relish the slick conditions last Friday.
The difference is that Sheffield are not Newcastle. Sheffield are largely a team of racers rather than gaters and might find deep grippy conditions much to their liking. Blair Scott is probably the only Edinburgh rider who goes well on deep and wet tracks.