Team spirit was lacking at end.

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Team spirit was lacking in the latter part of the season

RICK Frost has called for an end to 'adverse comments' about his team and individual riders.
He fears team spirit was affected by criticism during the final months of the Elite League season.

Frost believes it is ludicrous to suspect a rider would affect his livelihood by not performing to his best ability.

Frost said: "Team spirit is an essential element for any successful side and in that I include the riders, club management and supporters.

"I feel that - particularly in the latter part of the season - this has been lacking with us. If we lose a meeting, after our riders have done their best, they need our support even more and we sometimes have to accept that we were beaten by a better team.

"What I have been seeing is critical comments against both individual riders and the whole team. With that comes the erosion of team spirit.

"If a rider is not giving his best for the team, it is for the manegement and other team members to deal with. Adverse comments etc. are not helpful.

"There is usually a good reason a rider has a bad night because they all want to win and points means money for them. Remember this is their livelihood as well as their chosen sport, so it be an odd situation if a rider deliberately rode below his best knowing he would lose money and his reputation by doing so."

Last Updated: 16 September 2009 10:19 AM
Source: Peterborough ET

[schumi]

Adverse comments etc. are not helpful.

It's all objective though - the riders think they're being criticised by the fans, the fans think they're being criticised by the management, and the management probably think they're receiving unfair grief from all quarters. In all likelihood the "blame", if indeed there must be blame, can be attributed to all parties equally - and that goes for any sports team.

Probably more constructive to say: "okay, so we didn't have the year we wanted, but let's move on and do better next time." Although I do see the point he's trying to make.

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The fact is that it wasn't dealt with by management and other team members. The discontent was allowed to grow from very early in the season to a point where it could potentially be given as excuse for failure on track.

Bolting the door before the horse bolts and communicating it to the paying public are two lessons learned one would trust!

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After reading before the meeting Mark Plummer's Panthers piece in the Star I was feeling quite depressed and his programme piece was going the same way until I got to the last paragraph:

"But there is one view that doesn't sit well with me. Frost claimed that 'adverse comments' have had a damaging effect on the spirit of his team during the second half of the season. I don't buy into that. Professional sportsmen have to take the rough with the smooth and paying punters should always be allowed to have their say. Riders will be lavished with praise when things go well but should expect stick if that's not the case.