torpointfanatic22

Indeed, the feedback from the texter on the updates to me last night said similar. The two dilemma's are will Bowden get rid of him given the various connections he has down at the SBA and also who would replace him? Looking at the greensheets we probably have around 3.7 to replace him with, so who would be out there? Ksiezak may fit, Hughes probably would fit, Branford, recall Cockle (who shouldn't have been dropped in the first place), or take a punt on an NL rider. Webster, Starke, Blackbird? Sadly I don't see many options that would be much of an improvement.

In fairness Newman is no NL rider and is in fact a very good reserve at PL level but I see what your saying. That said I do feel your being slightly on the harsh side especially where Holder is concerned Holder's scores so far this season... Home v Rye - 5+2(4) Home v Somerset - 4(4) Home v Leicester - 5+2(4) Home v Somerset - 2(4) Away v Rye - 3(5) Away v Somerset - 5(4) Away v Ipswich - 0(4) Whilst Gino has... Home v Rye - 5+1(4) Home v Somerset - 2+1(4) Home v Leicester - 6(4) Home v Somerset - 6+1(4) Away v Rye - 1(4) Away v Somerset - 2(3) Away v Ipswich - 0(3) Neither rider has pulled up trees but in Holder's case bar last week against Somerset he has done OK at the SBA bearing in mind the track is new to him and he's riding in the main body when he should be at reserve. His away form bar last night is respectable given that he is again riding in a position he shouldn't be at. Gino has managed just two more points than Jimmy at home (if we include bonus points) yet he has had easier riders at reserve and has been at Plymouth for pretty much a full year now. His away form is woeful and has been since he signed for us. First question is are there better riders out there on the same averages who would do better? Branford for me isn't! We have little to play with on top of the team already assembled, perhaps 0.2-0.3 so little room for movement on the team. We'd have 8ish available to replace both, or it's like for like and at this stage I don't see much better out there. That aside I'd be hugely and I mean hugely shocked if Bowden binned Gino for all sorts of reasons, IF anyone goes sadly I think it will be Holder which would in my opinion by the wrong move.

Just as a point of reference there is a new 'unofficial' site for Plymouth Speedway up and running here... http://www.plymouth-devils.co/ I think you'll agree it's far better than the 'official' one and offers far more user friendly surfing.

It means technical fault.

Judging by the Devils forum I'd say most fans are very pleased with the change and I tend to agree. Gathercole is a good 3rd heat leader in his own right and with Barker and Fisher hopefully scoring big points at the top end he should be able to support them well. I do though feel Cory has maybe found his level as a 7 point PL rider, he had undoubtedly become stale with the Somerset/Swindon tie up and hopefully a small track will improve him as an overall rider and maybe will enable him to kick on again. I'd question whether he is actually more talented than Boxall but he is far more consistent and committed which is what our middle order needs, so that alone gives him my vote over Boxall, it's just a shame that such a talent is being wasted. Overall though we are still painfully weak at the bottom end and replacing Boxall with Gathercole wont change that fact. Arguably the strongest top 3 in the league and the weakest bottom 4. That said we have 1.57 remaining and should the bottom end not hit the ground running we have options which is certainly more positive.

I would suggest the deal was brokered and agreed over the phone on Saturday after Boxall's no show, hence it then going in the paper as an 'agreed' deal for Sunday morning. The contract would then have been signed on Sunday in Swindon.

The return match is the following night at Plymouth

It appears Gathercole is a Devil... http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.14739.8

Im pretty sure he lives in Swindon with his girlfriend, but thats close enough in my book

If that is the case I hope Mr Bowden gets the deal sorted quickly as with Ipswich on the hunt for two riders as well as the various injuries suffered to Rye, Redcar and Scunny, Gathercole may be in demand.

The point I was trying to make was that the post I quoted implied Ben is riding for Plymouth mainly as it's close to his family so that they can go and watch. The point I'm making is if the deal wasn't right financially he probably wouldn't have ridden for Plymouth regardless of it being close to his family so they can watch. I never stated Ben would ride for another PL club but had Plymouth not offered him a deal this year he may well have. On the other hand he may have gone full time EL. It's all totally irrelevant now anyway.

I'd be very surprised if that was the case, Ben wouldn't be riding for Plymouth on £40 a point just so his family could watch him would he. He's riding for Plymouth because the rules allow it and he's on good money. The fact that it's the nearest track to his family I would think is somewhat down the order of his priorities. Lanham allegedly didn't come down because he felt the travel was too far for him.

I'd say it's more to do with the excellent money he earns at PL level. He's pretty much guaranteed £1000 minimum per match.

I was at Sheffield the first time Plymouth visited and Barker was outshone by the Sheffield top 5 that night and by all accounts he wasn't that much better on our next visit. Barker is a class act but every rider has off nights and sometimes I think you have to give credit to the home riders who may not be as good all round as someone like Barker but on their own track are simply superb. Parker and Ashworth were brilliant on my visit first time around. Ben also struggled at Newport and Redcar he was up and down. That said he was pretty damn good everywhere else! True but we don't have enough points to replace Franchetti with Gathercole, we'd have to make another change to fit Cory in. We are 2.72 under the limit so that wouldn't work however Holder out and Gathercole in would fit or Franchetti out and Kurtz in would be fine also. It depends on what money they're on. With Barker and Fisher around he will need to have some cheaper riders on the books and if they are cheap they will stay probably longer than they deserve too (if they struggle). Plymouth could in my opinion still do OK this year but Mr Bowden needs to make the right changes at the right time. It's been seen in previous years that making positive changes when the averages permit is key to success. There are plenty of riders out there on the sidelines and with 2.72 remaining we have room to move in.

The problem is it's very hard to be an optimist where Mr Bowden is concerned, trust me we've had several years of it now. Honestly though lets get serious and realistic here with the riders that we have signed... Barker and Fisher come in on big averages but are good enough to maintain them in my opinion but to improve on their starting figures by more than 0.2 will be incredibly tough and in my opinion unlikely. Now for the rest. I agree with you about Boxall in that he could do very well for us. He's ridden our place a few times over the years and always gone well and Boxall has the ability to be an 7.5 man in the PL. Sadly his mentality and attitude has ensured that he's got nowhere near that figure of late. If he commits himself fully and displays all the right things on and off the track he could be a steal, but I'm inclined to think his reputation precedes him and hope he proves me wrong. Holder has never cut it at anything above PL reserve level, shoulder injury or not. He's a decent reserve yes and had he started at reserve I'd be happy but he isn't. If he learns the SBA track and gets his gating head on he should dial in OK at home but like most lower order riders his away form is likely to be his problem. Starting in the main body is likely to be too much for him in my opinion. Cockle had a super end to last season and will gate pretty well on most occasions but like Holder he needs to be at reserve and although I expect him to drop down after the first set of green sheets early doors his confidence could be shot! That said I like James and hope when he drops to reserve he can do well. Franchetti is just a silly signing if we're talking about ability. He tries hard but last year did nothing to make me think he is going to improve in any way. I like Gino and the fans in general love him but given we are nearly 3 points under the limit we should have looked at other alternatives to Gino allowing Cockle to start at reserve. Glanz for me is our possible trump card. He's a decent rider and should improve on his starting average quite substantially but come the first set of green sheets he'll be in the main body which defeats the object really. All in all we only look like having two improvers in that side at most and given the rest of the teams in the league I'd say we are certain to be in the bottom few, so that's why I'm pessimistic!

Lanham hasn't and isn't signing. It's Barker, Fisher, Boxall, Holder, Cockle, Franchetti and Glanz

Nedermark was released because Mr Bowden wouldn't keep to his word with his costs, he knew full well Mark and Seemond would be 5's. He also tried to claim that Jesper warranted a reduction for missing a season which was total balony as Jesper hadn't been out due to injury. Anyway that was last year, onwards and upwards as they say...

In fairness Seemond and Mark had both spent enough time at Exeter's huge track and Plymouth's small track to be good enough on either type of track. The fact was Seemond wasn't good enough, Mark on the other hand rode very well to achieve a creditable CMA of over 5. His green sheet of 4.52 also deserved praise. Nicki has plenty of experience on both small and big tracks from his time in the NL in the UK and from his time in Denmark and to be honest shouldn't have too much of a problem on any of them. I put him in the same sort of bracket as Simmonds in terms of current ability but given time to adjust Nicki long term should prove a decent investment. That said the standard of rider is much much tougher and as I said earlier, from reserve I believe Nicki is capable of 4.5 - 5. When he moves into the main body, which he will, he will initially probably drop by at least half a point and then we shall see from there.

Nicki averaged over 7 in his last season at National League level away from home for Plymouth so to say that's no better than a reserve is way off the mark. Nicki has potential and in my opinion can be a better rider than Kristiansen in the long run but the Premier League is hard work for any rider and to have not ridden in it for three years makes it even tougher. I fancy Nicki to be on or around 4.5 - 5 early doors but when he moves into the main body that is likely to drop at least half a point initially. It will then be a test to see how he copes long term with a main body role. I do think Nicki can reach a 5+ point average come the end of the season but I don't expect him to.

He put it there in the first place!

Personally I think he is capable of 5ish. But sadly with the make up of our team he is likely to find himself in the main body after the first set of greensheets meaning it will be very hard for him to maintain that or even improve on it. But he is our key rider in my opinion, of the bottom four he is the most likely improver and could be the difference between us being in the bottom couple or in the top 10.

Indeed their were some Monarchs fans in who I had the pleasure of standing and chatting with on the back straight. Cracking bunch and noisy too

Ashworth went on record saying he was offered a very good deal to sign for Plymouth but he still went elsewhere and he did state travel as part of his reasoning (not the only reason though granted). When you get a reputation for yourself it can be very hard to get the monkey off the back so to speak. There have been comments on here from individuals claiming Mr Bowden owes riders from last year money and other comments that suggest he has gone back on his word on various 'deals' he has done. Whether these are true or not they don't help when trying to attract riders. As for Lanham I'd say he's very much unlucky rather than lucky. He had a club until last week and through no fault of his own now finds himself possibly on the sidelines, I get your point though about him being lucky to have a contract on the table so soon after Newportgate.

When all is said and done the whole speedway fraternity has seen the antics of Mr Bowden and his way of running things. He has sadly put riders off wanting to come and ride for Plymouth and right now that isn't what is needed. As for the Lanham situation, well he is a better option than Boxall given his consistency at all tracks around the Country but Leigh it seems is not that keen on the idea as he is contemplating not riding initially rather than the travel to Plymouth every Friday. What worries me, which has been already mentioned on this thread, is that if Lanham turns the offer down Plymouth have a rider in Boxall who is clearly not wanted by the promoter due to 'excessive demands' if you believe everything you hear. I can't see that changing so if Lanham does say no, Plymouth may have yet another problem. Sadly it's the same old song on repeat where it concerns the Plymouth Promoter. On the subject of Berwick, they are my dark horses for the title. Superb top 5 and if young Edberg gets going they have every chance!

Well I can't see Mr Bowden taking on Mellgren or Aspegren if its true that they cost a lot in travel expenses and Gjedde is a no go. Kurtz is the obvious thought although Jones has always been reasonable at out place. Could we see Holder, Boxall and Franchetti gone for Lanham, Kurtz and Jones? Not saying it's right or even what I would do but something like that could happen! Although given Gino has only just re-signed I would suggest Jones is more unlikely that the other two.