Edinburgh are back to square one with their team-building plans for the Millenium season after James Grieves caved-in to pressure from his employer and sponsor and signed for Glasgow just over two weeks after verbally agreeing terms to stay at Armadale.
Grieves commented:
"It is great to be going back to the club where I started but I am alos sorry to for messing Edinburgh about."
He admitted that the choice was the hardest decision of his life.
This predictably provoked an angry reaction from the edinburgh camp not so much about Grieves departing but the way it happened. John Campbell commented
"I will lose no sleep over James Grieves. I will lose sleep over the manner of his departure. We will now look for a rider who is genuinely interested in riding foe Edinburgh, as opposed to being interested in money."
The obvious replacement for Grieves is Robert Eriksson who appears likely to be squeezed out of the Newcastle side after the Diamond's signature of Danish pair Bjarne Pedersen and Jesper Olsen. Eriksson is a Edinburgh asset and had three very succesful seasons with Monarchs from 1995 to 1997. He rode at three tracks - Powerhall, Shawfield, and Ashfield - in this period. Robert was a great favourite with the crowd and a big scorer at home and away.
Robert opted initially to sit out the 1998 Premier League season. Monarchs had to lose one of their heat leaders to fit within the points limit anyway. Kevin Little came in to join Peter Carr and Kevin McKinna.
Many hoped that Robert would return to replace the retired Kenny McKinna for the 1999 season. He did agree terms provisionally with Monarchs but his nine point plus average and the very tight 41-point limit ruled out his return. Robert went on loan to Newcastle and James Grieves came to Monarchs.
Even when riding for Newcastle, Robert remained based in Edinburgh. He has reputedly been talking to Berwick and Glasgow after Edinburgh decided that he could not be acommodated within the team.
Robert would come in on an average of just over nine points. This is slightly less that James Grieves's average. His Armadale form has always been excellent. He was outstanding in Newcastle's two wins at Armadale in 1999. His away form in 1999 was somewhat better than that of James Grieves.
A number of other riders could come under consideration for the vacancy. Mick Powell would be a very popular choice and, coming on an eight point plus average, would leave more scope for the bottom end of the team. There is likely to be competition for Powell's signature. David Walsh, likely to be squeezed out by Newcastle, is another rider who is excellent around Armadale. Paul Bentley seems unlikely to be retained by Glasgow but has indifferent Armadale form. Scott Lamb has been considering retirement, as he appears unable to make speedway pay at Berwick would be very popular choice amongst Monarchs supporters if he could be tempted back.
The other possibility is to bring in a new Scandinavian rider on an assessed nine-point average. Monarchs might yet unearth another Nicki Pedersen!
One factor that might sway the decision is performance on the big tracks. With a number of big tracks in the Premier League including Berwick, Workington, Sheffield, Swindon, Exeter, and the Isle of Wight. Monarchs performed badly on such tracks and missed out on the 1999 championship as a result. Grieves was particularly disappoining on such tracks and the recruitment of a big track specialist might give the team a better balance. Paul Bentley, Mick Powell or Scott Lamb might be well worth pursuing.