Wilcats feel eigth place is 'just champion.'

An eigth place finish in the Conference League and third spot in the Trophy table might not be everyone's idea of a successful season. But for Wildcats boss Brian White it was as good as winning both titles and the Knockout Cup to boot.

Wilcats feel eigth place is 'just champion.'

An eigth place finish in the Conference League and third spot in the Trophy table might not be everyone's idea of a successful season. But for Wildcats boss Brian White it was as good as winning both titles and the Knockout Cup to boot.

Not that the Weymouth supremo lacks ambition, far from it. It's just that if you'd offered him those finishing positions two years ago he would have bitten your hand off.
Back then, the prospects of speedway returning to the resort after a break of almost 20 years looked unlikely White's plans to build a track at Buckland Ripers on the edge of the town had been met with fierce opposition by residents and with no other suitable site available, hopes of hearing the Wildcats roar once more appeared remote.

However, a change of leadership at Weymouth Football Club provided the boost White needed and within days of lan Ridley taking over, a deal had been done to lay a track on the Terras training pitch just yards from the original circuit at the Wessex Stadium.

After running a handful of challenge meetings in front of big crowds at the end of last year, White and his newly re-formed Wildcats were ready for competitive speedway when the tapes rose on the 2005 Conference League campaign in April.

He said: "Just to have a speedway club in the town again was amazing so it really didn't matter where we finished in the competitions we entered. We felt like champions before the first heat of the summer was raced and so to finish eighth in the league and third in the Trophy was a fantastic effort."

Having been given the green light to enter the Conference, White's first move was to acquire the services of the experienced Shane Colvin. However, he threw a spanner in the works by quitting on the eve of the season following a bust-up over expenses.

Things went from bad to worse after the Wildcats' opening league draw at Newport. Captain Justin Elkins was sacked due to persistent mechanical failures while squad members Paul Candy, Danny Warwick and Nathan Irwin all departed in search of new challenges.

Fans started to raise a few eye-brows in the direction of the Wessex Stadium pits but the capture of ex-Rye House favourite David Mason as Elkins' replacement soon had them smiling again. He proved his worth with 14 paid 15 on his debut at home to Carmarthen although he still managed to end up on the losing side.

The Wildcats first victory of the summer came at home to Stoke in the Knockout Cup and one of their finest hours was a superb 47-42 success in the second leg at Loomer Road. But despite those two excellent showings, their league form continied to suffer and they entered June vith just two successes under their belts and that despite securing the services of veteran Wayne Barrett to bolster the middle order.

However, things picked up followng the arrival of Dan Giffard from Stoke with Weymouth winning eight of their next ten fixtures in all cometitions - the pair of defeats were at the hands of Wimbledon in the knockout Cup.
August was a totally different story with a 55-40 victory over Boston in the league on the south coast being the only bright spot of a wet and miserable month.

Injuries, unavailabilities and mechanical problems and manager Mike Vernam's resignation due to work commitments all contributed the slump and if that wasn't enough, the club's prestigious 50th anniversary meeting between Great Britain Under-21s and Young Australia was cancelled by the BSPA because it fell during the week of the World Cup at Poole.

The fixture was then twice lost the weather and proved a bit of damp squib when it was finally hosted in freezing conditions in October with a hastily put together Rest of the World team providing the opposition for the hosts.
Like a yo-yo, the Wildcats were on the up again in September with supporters celebrating another four successes, three of which came in the Trophy.

In all, Weymouth were involved in 18 rain offs and abandonments and so there was a big sigh of relief from White and his team when the campaign finally ended on the last day of the season proper on Sunday October 31.
And the Wildcats signed off in style that night by hammering King's Lynn 62-31 in the Trophy to bring the curtain down on an indifferent, but historic summer at the Wessex Stadium.

White added: "It's been great fun but very hard work. Team wise we've competed brilliantly at times and been a bit disappointing at others. Personnel changes haven't helped. We've lost quite a few riders over the months like Shane Colvin, Justin Elkins, Corey Blackman, Nick Simmons, Danny Warwick, Mark Thompson and Nathan Irwin and replacements like Wayne Barrett, David Mason and Dan Giffard took time to settle in which is understandable."

"But we've also blooded a lot of youngsters such as Jack Gledhill, Chris Ferguson, Matt Bates and Carl Warwick and overall I'm delighted with the season we've had."

He added: "We've come an awful long way in two years and obviously we've made some mistakes along the way. But what's important is that we learn from these and improve next summer. I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped in any way, especially our main sponsors Haven Holidays and our landlords Weymouth Football Club."

"Already we're hard at work making improvements to the track and stadium in general and to the team and I've every confidence we'll come back bigger and better in 2005."

He added: "Already riders like David Mason, Dan Giffard and Jack Gledhill have committed to the club next season and on top of that we've also picked up 15-year-old Lewis Bridger who is an excellent prospect. There we have the back-bone of a very strong side and I reckon we might just spring a few surprises when the summer comes round again."

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