No, no, it's a "please Sir, please Sir, I know the answer" wave.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

GavinUK wrote:

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johnnylad wrote:

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Hey Gavin!

You may find this thread useful -

http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=61841&p=3&topicID=13666061

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Hey, thanks for that, yes it helps a lot, but raises more questions which I should probably ask in another thread.  Or just wait till I figure it out.

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Ask away Gavin, as someone already said we all started from the same place and are more than happy to help out a newbie . As for which thread to ask in, any of them will do, just so long as you remember which one to read the answers!!

Bravo to Evans, and Flanagan. It certainly looks as though the ban has done Evans little harm though as ever we don't know the full story. Whatever the reason I'm glad to see him succeeding, I was beginning to worry that he wasn't the prospect we've all hoped he'll turn out to be. As for Flan, I can't begrudge anyone for doing something they can, even if it does "take points" from the other Brits. You have to win to get the points and I whilst I would, of course, love to see Flan playing more regularly; if the other Brits can't beat him on the occassions he does play, they don't deserve the points.

Jack B - That's a very big can of worms you've (re-)opened there. I haven't got time to find the main thread on this but let's just say for now that your pair of questions says it all.

Bethan - It's not really Flan 'nicking' points from other Brits that I object to, I agree with what you say about that, it's seeing someone not get anywhere near fulfilling their potential because, apparently, they can't be bothered that I find really frustrating. Of course, as usual, we don't know anything like the full story, but there you go - I just can't get as excited about a player getting points that he almost certainly won't spend long trying to build on.

To cut a long story short, the main reason the LTA gave was that having "too many" Futures was making life "too easy" for the GB players and they ought to be forced to go overseas more to "toughen up".

I guess the aim was to make us as successful as Spain, where they are so "tough" on their players that they "only" have 43 Futures in the first 46 weeks of the year  or Argentina, where they have about the same number of Futures as we do but every one of them is a virtual points share-out among the Argentina players because hardly anyone else turns up ... and when there isn't a Future in Argentina, half of them hop over the border to Brazil, which has 35 Futures this year full of Brazilians, Argentines (+ the odd Uruguayan and Colombian to act as R1 cannon fodder) that the points get carved up between.

How are Futures events funded? Is it entirely the LTA, or are there corporate sponsors as well?

Does it cost anything to go watch a Futures event in the UK, if so, how much?

On the subject of coaches, does the LTA provide coaches to all players, or does it cut off at a certain point? I believe Brad Gilbert was originally hired to work with Andy Murray, before Andy decided to go his own way. Surely Andy earns enough money to have hired is only coach. Hence my question, when does the LTA pay for coaching staff and when are you left to fend for yourself?

Wow!!

SF: (Q) Dan Evans WR 1129 beat (6) Clement Reix (FRA) WR 677 by 1 & 1 (!!)
SF: Ian Flanagan WR 1076 beat Marcus Daniell (NZL) WR 1028 by 5 & 4

FI: Ian Flanagan WR 1076 v (Q) Dan Evans WR 1129

Both Brits are in their first Futures Final, I believe!

-- Edited by steven at 14:40, 2008-08-08