King’s Lynn manager Alex Brady admits he has some sympathy for recently axed Polish star Krzysztof Kasprzak.
The former World No.2 was a winter signing who divided opinion, but there was nothing wrong with his form at the Adrian Flux Arena.
Away from home it was a different story and Kasprzak ended up making way for recent recruit Artem Laguta, although there was one other key consideration.
Premiership clubs are only permitted to track two riders who also compete in the Polish Ekstraliga, meaning that to bring in Laguta the choice of departing team member could only have been between Kasprzak and stand-in captain Frederik Jakobsen.
Brady said: “Away from home was where it went wrong for KK. His home form was excellent.
“He got a 15-point maximum against Wolverhampton and Peter Adams (Wolves manager) himself said you could have put anybody on track against him that night and he’d have beaten anybody.
“He scored paid double figures in our other home matches so he was certainly brilliant around the Flux, but he failed to replicate that away, which was disappointing.
“I said at the start of the season that he was a bit of a gamble, but he leaves with my best wishes. He was professional, his kit was immaculate and he had the right mindset, but for whatever reason he just couldn’t make it work away from home.
“KK is a rider who divides opinion, and when we signed him some people expected brilliance, some expected him to be beaten by the Rising Star, but he did ride to the best of his abilities at home.
“It was just too much to carry those performances away, and with the way we’d built the side without a genuine No.1 at that point I’ll hold my hands up and admit we made a slight mistake.
“We’ve done our best to rectify it in the best possible way we can, by signing one of the best riders in the World right now, and hopefully our season will begin to turn around.”
Brady is calling on fans to keep the faith as they look to find the winning formula, with Laguta’s home debut last week totally overshadowed by an incredible display of gating from opponents Sheffield.
The Stars faced another tough test against Belle Vue last night (Thursday) before Monday’s return in Manchester, and they host Wolverhampton next Thursday.
Brady said: “We have to have the fans’ backing, we have to be supported, and we’ve been very lucky at King’s Lynn that the fans have stuck with us through a tricky couple of years.
“We’ve not had the greatest success since the 2018 period, but we’ve always been blessed with big crowds.
“In my personal opinion, Artem is one of the only riders who could consistently compete with Bartosz Zmarzlik at the very top table.
“So from a promoter’s perspective we need to bang the drum, make the noise and get people here, and get as many of our loyal fans to bring a friend.”
