Nottingham Lions

[Adam]

Jun 15, 2012 12:51:04 GMT Shaggy said:

Josh Ward officially on a two-way deal between Panthers & Lions:-
nottinghamlionsenl.com/2012/06/panther-ward-joins-lions-on-two-way-deal/
Good news for the Lions!

Not really.

As according to Josh on twitter he'll maybe play 2 or 3 games at most.

[humbucker]

I suppose it is always a wait and see situation but I believe that a player might have to appear about seven times a season to qualify should a play off be required at the end of the season. Not saying he is not right but the season is some way off yet.

[cooperphil156]

Lions sign Thomas from Solihull:
goo.gl/m1rpr #icehockey #bih #eihl @solihullbarons @_TheLionsPride

[cooperphil156]

LionsTV Interview with Head Coach Matt Bradbury on the signing of Simon Hunt - #LionsROAR #Nottingham

[texpef]

Damn my ALL time favourite player, seems i may have to watch Lions next season

[humbucker]

Number 13 is back and looks in quite good nick for an oldie. If the youngsters learn anything from Simon it will be total commitment and plenty of bump and grind. I wonder if that if he can still pull the trigger on that vicious slapshot that he was well known and will he still get into the corners even though they might not be as inviting as they once were to one of the most feisty of the British players. Welcome back Hunty!!

[loveday]

Welcome Simon and well done Matt for getting him signed up.

Like old times. Make sure your dad goes to watch you as well, when Panthers are not playing that is!

Will have to really make an extra effort to go and watch the Lions now!

Cheers

[Pucky]

Good luck to Alan Levers - he'll be staying in ENL 1 having signed for Sutton Sting.

[humbucker]

Just watched Lions TV and the link with Stratstones Landrover looks a good deal for the season ahead so well done to all for their continued hard work. Looks like there could be some news on signings in the pipeline so I suppose you losing the odd couple of players opens up the opportunity for new blood, not a bad thing really. Good luck to Alan Levers at Sutton for the coming season. Might be an exciting old time for the newcomers in the top flight it will be interesting to watch their progress. It also looks as though most of the team from last season have put pen to paper after losing some elsewhere and others not being offered a place for the coming campaign. Lots of young hopefuls to work with from the 18s.

[humbucker]

Ben Wood has re-signed for the Lions so looking good for the team as the new season approaches. It looks to be a busy old time in the Lions camp as they have now welcomed on board as sponsors South Notts College with this development looking to promise profitable for the team and for the students who will gain an insight into the sport and media. A great opportunity for all involved in this valuable local link.

[Pucky]

Interesting opening for the Lions - they head to Cleveleys for the first time ever on 1st Sept to take on Fylde Flyers - couple of weeks later and they could have checked out the Blackpool Illuminations on their way back!
Lions open their home season in Division 2 on 16th Sept when they face Hull - should be a good home opener, games between the two sides have historically been good, and it was a 5-5 draw when the team was Kingston Jets that prevented the Lions retaining their League title.

[Shaggy]

Full Lions fixture list can be found here:-
nottinghamlionsenl.com/fixtures-results/

For those who like to catch a Lions home game directly after a Panthers home game on a Sunday, there are two such this season:-

Sunday 16th September (Panthers hosting Belfast, Lions hosting Hull)
Sunday 16th December (Panthers hosting Belfast, Lions hosting Sheffield)

And for those who will only consider a Lions home game if it doesn't clash with a Panthers game (home or away):-

Sunday 30th September (Lions hosting Deeside)
Sunday 11th November (Lions hosting Lancashire) - no Panthers at all this weekend, GB at the Olympic pre-qualifiers
Sunday 13th January (Lions hosting Bradford)
Sunday 10th February (Lions hosting Deeside)
Sunday 24th February (Lions hosting Hull)
Sunday 17th March (Lions hosting Fylde)
Sunday 31st March (Lions hosting Solihull) - although it's likely there'll be a Panthers play-off game

Obviously all of the above subject to change if the NIC get extra concerts in (and then there's the 3 Panthers home fixtures recently announced as being changed - no news on them yet).

[formerlion]

Very sad to hear that Nick Whyatt has been axed from the Lions team, having captained the team for many years I couldn't think of a better person to take over the job and appalled to hear that the news wasn't even passed to Nick by the Coach but by somebody else (classy move by 'the organisation'). Nick has had more cut's, bruises and damaged knuckles in recent years than any other lions player I played with, often dropping the gloves to look after his team-mates, especially the younger guys coming through. I've not posted on here before, never felt the need to, but hearing a mate of 20 years, and a servant of the Lions team and Nottingham club has been crapped on isn't right. Terrible decision, badly delivered! Chris #7

[Pucky]

Sad to hear that. Although I'm no longer involved in the Lions I wonder why someone like Nick's been dropped - especially this close to the start of the season. Whatever he did the coach still should have told him, that's not a job for a 'Manager' to do!

[formerlion]

To echo what Chris has said, I was very annoyed to hear that the current Lions captain Nick Whyatt had been released by the club! After only one pre-season training session with the team, where the head coach wasnt even present he was contacted out of the blue by the manager and told he was to be released by the club. The lack of respect shown to Nick here after all his years playing for various Nottingham teams is unbelievable. Not only could the matter have been discussed face to face at the next training session, especially to prevent any crossed wires, but also the coach (unsuprisingly) got someone else to do his dirty work!! The reason behind this shocking decision apparently, was Nick asking why there was such a lack of signings to replace all the outgoing Lions players from the end of last season to help Nick and his remaining team mates push to get promoted and play in ENL1 where they belong. Nicks committment and desire to want to succeed and have a good season again hardly a legitimate reason to release the player. Plus, how on earth in a non-professional team/organisation where lads who want to play the sport with their mates as a hobby at their local club, can be told they are to be released as if its the NHL!!!!!

What has happened to the lions over the past 16 months?!
After a decade of success under coaches such as Urquart & Etheridge, they have competed for silverware in ENL1 each season. The recent improvements in sponsorship, advertising and PR are good for the club, but the actual product that is being put out onto the ice each week is probably the worst team in Lions history! I went to watch one game and said never again! They couldn't even string two passes together!
You have to question whether the Lions have got the 'Right man for the Job'. In just over 1 full season since a second placed finish in ENL1, there are currently now just two active players from that team. Local quality players are being forced to either play for other teams or opting to stop playing all together rather that play for the current coaching outfit! You can't knock anyone willing to volunteer their time! But should it be that several players are penalised for the sake of one man? Not only this but they have proven to be unsucessful as the Lions coach on two occasions now.

Like Chris, I've never felt the need to post anything on here before. Nor do I plan to make it a habit. However I wanted to put my opinions across. The Lions team was always about team spirit & having FUN with your mates, playing sport at a competitve level and striving for silverware. Its seems to be going down the toilet!
These facts may not true as there are always two sides, however many examples of poor communication, decision making and man management come to mind.
-Coaches getting players to have a 'talk' with their team mates, passing on negative messages from the coach regarding certain players performances so they didn't have to do it themselves (compromising relationships between friends).
-Telling volunteers who enjoy giving up there own evenings and weekends, and have helped the team for many years that they are no longer needed to help out!!
-Striking up deals with the Panthers, who have never done anything to help out the lions team over the years, so that the back up NM for panthers gets more games! So not only is the Panthers back up getting paid I imagine, but also getting to train every single day. Now he has two teams and the likes of Griffiths and Levers who have been good enough for ENL1 all these years are forced out of a team that is aimed at people like them. They live nearby and want to PAY to play for their local club with their friends. I may be wrong but can you see the panthers back up paying to train each Thursday night? What makes this all worse is that, again the coach gets the manager to call these players during the summer and explain they are not welcome back!! Shocking treatment!

Again shame for Nick. He really enjoyed being the part of the Lions, and was especially proud to be the captain!

Ex player

[formerlion]

I think the way matt bradbury treats players is despicable. He has no respect for them as people or as hockey players or what they have achieved either for Nottingham or in the game in general. He is a bully who treats players like crap, crushing their confidence and their love for the game because he is so arrogant and on a power trip that he seems to enjoy destroying players love for the game. he thinks it’s acceptable to talk to kids and adults like they are not good enough to be in his presence.

In the time he has been in charge of the lions he has destroyed all the hard work urqhart and etheridge put in as well as destroying the lions team spirit. Etheridge and a lot of players left last summer including several who would rather quit than play for him again!

After a disastrous season where the lions got relegated he decided to cut more players. Changes were necessary but getting rid of players like alan levers, mark corfield, jonny bell and richard griffiths (who were all part of the clubs only silverware) is absurd. Not only gassing them from their local amateur pay to play team, he did so without any explanation and more infuriatingly, he didn’t even have the balls to do it himself, instead e-mailing the team manager to do the dirty work for him.

More and more players left this summer but several re-signed – some of the more experienced players despite offers from higher leagues. Captain nick whyatt being one of the first to be announced. Bizarrely after 1 training session – which the coach did not even attend - he has been released. Not by matt though, but by the team manager he e-mailed telling to do so.

If I was still in the lions team I’d feel very disillusioned as to where this team is heading. Is matt trying to rid the lions of all the best players? Does he want a team of yes players with no personality? Is promotion back to enl1 even on his agenda? Does the Nottingham ice hockey club even want this type of character in charge of their senior team? Who’s next to be treated like garbage? Does simon hunt, marc levers, josh ward and dan green really want to play for this guy? It’s a shame to see the team going down the pan considering where it once was…

ex lion

[formerlion]

Taken from the lions website on June 10th 2012.

'The Nottingham Lions are delighted to welcome back their captain Nick Whyatt for the forthcoming 2012/13 season.

2011/12 was his most productive season so far with the Lions, notching up 9 goals and 17 assists, finishing second-top points scorer behind Joe Wightman.

Head coach Matt Bradbury also spoke to nottinghamlionsenl.com, adding;

“Your captain is always one of the most important signings you can make and having Nick back is key for the team.”

“Nick was not only the obvious, but the right choice to work alongside the coach and management team – he did a great job in stepping up to the plate as captain when we lost Chris Colegate to injury prior to Christmas and he must be commended for his efforts.”

What changed?


Concerned supporter

[formerlion1]

First time poster here, a former lion of over 7 seasons. I have just heard the news regarding Nick and I am disgusted, but frankly it has not come as a surprise. The coaching staff are more concerened about the publicity surrounding the club than what goes on the ice. I attended one game last season against manchester and couldn't believe what I was seeing, people that shouldn't even be playing rec hockey were icing over better players, obviosly because they work with the coaching staff. I was so disgusted that I told my girlfriend we should go to the pub instead of watching the final period. The lions have always been a great senior team but over the course of a season have become a laughing stock. Nick was one of the last remaining senior players, and I imagine that former team mates and friends of mine including the likes of wightman, o'flaherty and wood will look at this decision and wonder what's going on at the club. I hope that this is the last we hear of this but I wouldn;t be surprised if more players left soon. I would also like to add that the decision to team up with the panthers over the last year has been faceless and shows no loyalty to those who have represented the club over the last few years like Griffiths and Jonny Bell. Dan Green, Josh Ward and Levers are clearly good players but I doubt any of the current lions players or loyal followers would enjoy seeing them get ice time for free ahead of people that have and will represent the lions for years to come. It is nothing but a publicity stunt to attract panthers fans, who couldn't care less about watching the real nottingham lions week in week out. The one reason I chose to leave the team is when I heard Matt was returning. He is an egotistical bully and can't see what is clear to everyone else, that he is losing his best players one by one and thinks he can save the team by playing lightweight kids who look scared to play and panthers players in a couple of games a year. It is stupid and I hope he reads this forum and resigns for the sake of the club, Mike urquahrt should take note.

[formerlion]

Firstly I have a hatred of forum folk who hide behind a pseudonym so I'll come clean early. My name is Mark Corfield I've given the Lions 6 seasons of blood, sweat and tears, and I must say I'm disgusted with whats currently going on at the club.

I'm in the same boat as the rest of the guys who have posted on this thread, never posted before, not interested in posting again, but I feel passionately about what is going on with the Lions right now. The treatment of players since the new regime has been in place has been pretty poor to say the least, this goes back before players being gassed in the off season. Unfortunately Bradbury seems absolutely determined to drive out the "old blood" of the club, the same old blood who have made the Lions so successful over the last decade.

The thing I can't quite get is the contradiction of what he thinks he's trying to achieve. At the start of last season all the talk was about how Etheridge had ruined the club by playing non Nottingham players, and now the club had no youth coming through as a result. Actually the fact there is that he played and developed several excellent local Nottingham players who are now playing in the Elite league and the EPL. I won't list them all, I'm sure you know who I'm referring to. This apparently is why the Lions squad last season was not as qualified in years gone by. So to combat this, the plan was to develop the youth we had in the squad, a long term plan I suppose. If you were to stick to this plan, especially after being relegated to ENL2 which would actually be a better level for the younger lads to cut their teeth in senior hockey, why feel the need to bring back an ex panther from the 90's, Luke Thomas and several Panthers on 2 ways! The same could be said for bringing Nicky Balchin and James Robinson back last season in fact.

On to the treatment of the players in the off season, it can only be described as a disgrace. To tell Jonny Bell he didn't want him back as he was too old then sign a player in his late 30's is a joke, to sign two goal tenders before asking the two lads who have played in net for the last 6 years shows absolute disrespect. And finally to gas your team captain, a man who Matt went on record only weeks prior saying he was "delighted to welcome back", really just shows his true colours. To get someone else to drop him via a phone call just sums it up perfectly. At least Nick got the call, all I received after coming back from injury last season was a text the night before the game, surprisingly not from Matt but his manger.

I'd like to say on the record that not all of the new staff behave in this way, Danny Harrison is probably one of the best managers I've worked with and he really can't do enough for the players, something I know everyone appreciated when I was there so I don't want him taring with the same brush.

[formerlion]

Also first time poster on this forum. I have supported the Nottingham lions for 7 seasons going to a few away games and all home games, however I will not be returning this year after hearing the sad news of the players that have moved on and now Nick Whyatt being axed from the team. What Matt Bradbury has done is cowardly, unprofessional and unsportsmanlike as a “coach” as you should be setting an example. The way he has treated the likes of Nick Whyatt, Richard Griffiths, Mark Corfield, Alan Levers and Chris Colegate is disrespectful. He needs to remember these lads pay to play ……. You can’t gas players at this standard of hockey its not the elite or EPL and it is definitely far from that after last season. The standard of hockey has always been competitive and extremely enjoyable to watch over the years as they were always challenging for the top 4 places or playoff positions under the coaching of Urquhart and Etheridge. Lions being relegated last year was so predictable at the beginning of the season and the only people that could be blamed are the coaching staff due to their poor choices. It was not about what you knew it was about who you knew……

Most of the lion’s players left last year when Etheridge left, and as an organisation you want to ask yourself why did this happen and can one person have such an impact? The truthful answer is they did not want to be coached by Matt Bradbury due to his poor coaching skills, poor communicational skills, poor personality and lack of ability to notice NATURAL TALENT in a player. Last year all I noticed was that he chose to play the players with very little talent in order to DEVELOP them and was not bothered about the clubs reputation or the players that have put money into the lions or the Nottingham club over many years, which HE has ruined. If he wanted to develop players perhaps he should have started a division two team or even better a rec team (as it was that bad to watch last year). The club should have given Etheridge what he wanted and the team would have carried on and could have been that “professional team” you like to portray yourselves as via facebook page, publicity and even sponsorships (it is now a joke).

In all honesty it seems that he only wants to make contacts with the Nottingham Panthers and develop players that only ever made it to the “B league” in their junior history. Therefore the question that Nick asked about “where are the signings to replace the players that have been lost so that we can push to be promoted into NIHL1 the following season.” The answer is there are no new signings, because that is where he wants to stay as he feels comfortable coaching at this level as it reflects his and the other coaching staffs ability.

I hope Josh Ward and Marc Levers know what they are getting themselves into.

If you wanted to go and watch the lions this year I would save your money as I think you are two seasons to late and it really is over priced for the standard of hockey being delivered.
Also if you are the Nottingham Ice Hockey Organisation and reading this I suggest you listen to the comments of the ex lions and spectators and try and resolve the problem and axe this coaching team so they can have a new coach with ambitions of being promoted and perhaps all the ex players who left would return to their LOCAL club.

EX supporter

[tigger]

Sorry to hear about Nick, I don't know anything about the Coach, all I know is that seeing the Lions play last season was pretty awful, what happened to the fast sleek break-outs, tape to tape passing? My son played for Nottingham Juniors and Lions and he didn't have a Notts postcode and yes Martin,Jan and all the other players welcomed him, it was only travel costs that stopped him continuing to play for Lions. The team spirit and support by the Coaching staff was fantastic, as for the current Head Coach i cannot comment but could he be trying to do what AVB did at Chelsea

I'm sure Nick will be playing for someone soon if he hasn't got a Team already.

Off subject but can anyone tell me how many players of the 2008/09 season were not from Nottingham.

[Pucky]

Aug 16, 2012 20:02:05 GMT tigger said:

Off subject but can anyone tell me how many players of the 2008/09 season were not from Nottingham.

Checking the stats from that season I think it's the following:
Simon Harrison (but he played U18/19 in Nottingham)
Dean Mills
Richard Griffiths
Scott Glover
Tom Larcombe (also played U18/19 in Nottingham)
Luke Thomas

On another note - have I missed something? I've seen a couple of people mention that Marc Levers will be playing for the Lions - I presume on another 2-way deal but I don't remember seeing this anywhere!

[Shaggy]

Aug 16, 2012 20:17:55 GMT Pucky said:

On another note - have I missed something? I've seen a couple of people mention that Marc Levers will be playing for the Lions - I presume on another 2-way deal but I don't remember seeing this anywhere!

Ditto... Josh Ward, Dan Green & Sam Gospel, definitely... but has it been officially stated anywhere that Marc Levers is going to be on a two-way? Can't find anything on either the Panthers or Lions sites.

[lee]

surely not

[formerlion]

Well he is on the picture of the first training session that they released last week ..... so I would say something is happening. At least you know they won't receive bad treatment as all Matt is bothered about is his relationships between lions and panthers rather than standard of hockey on the ice.

I am also glad you felt the same as I did Tigger that the lions were appalling last season. It must have been so frustrating for the players that ooze with talent to be coached by coaching staff that are not competent to be coaching at that level but should stick to rec level (which is he level that they competed at or should be at).

Ex supporter