DJWolves

With Schlein, Becker, Nicol and Douglas we have around 22 points to play with for the last three places. Cant see why we would keep Nick Morris who to me looked like he had lost his mojo last season and rarely showed any fight in his riding. So main question is whether we keep Masters and/or Thorsell or neither. Lindgren? Iversen? Kliindt? Musielek? Jepsen Jensen?

I am assuming Ashley will be the 7th rider, but how many points do we now have to play with? Not much more than his average I guess

I'd be amazed if the last two aren't Jacob and Ashley and barring a bad summer of injuries I would be surprised if that team missed out on the play offs

Didn't someone come on here recently and say 'wait until you see the Aces team'. Well I waited and its ok, but no better than ok

I think most of our team are capable of improving their average in 2019. Thorsell, Nick Morris and Howarth are certainly capable of improving theirs, and Sam Masters seems to get a bit better every season. Rory Schlein may be the one in the top 5 that will find improving his average the most difficult I suspect. At reserve I agree Ashley can up his, and who knows how Becker will do. I have a feeling he will certainly average more than 4.

Winning races is obviously important in speedway but in league matches its probably even more important to not fill last places. With the team that it looks like we are going to have next season, I don't see us filling many last places at all. We have a top five that is strong all round, and if Becker lives up to expectations he will be beating most opposition reserves. Injuries permitting, I cant see this team finishing outside the top 4 in the league.

In 2017 Thorsell was winning many races by a distance and any defeat to the three riders I have mentioned would be a disappointment no matter whether he was riding at number 1 or 4. He was actually beating much better riders than those by a distance in 2017 and by the end of the season was often going round faster than Lindgren. Last season the club decided to go with Thorsell instead of Lindgren and apart from his races at number 1 being more difficult, I think the pressure of being number 1 weighed heavy on him and as a consequence he didn't ride as well as he had done in 2017. I suspect most regulars at Monmore would agree with that. But I think there is still improvement to come and even if he ends up riding much of next season as number 1, I think his average will increase.

Only the part where you said you don't think he can top 2017 without Freddie's influence, I think he can

and yes, most fans haven't a clue and simply fail to grasp the difference between riding at No 4 and No 1. You've just shown you don't understand it at all in your answer. ------------------------------- Well at least your responses will have enabled people to grasp what an arrogant tw*t you are, even if they wont be convinced about your level of understanding

Not sure I agree with either bwitcher or stevebrum really bwitcher doesn't seem to have grasped that Jacob was losing races in 2018 to people that he would have beaten by the length of the straight in 2017 But stevebrum I think Jacob will come back strong and will improve his average in 2019 and I wouldn't be surprised to see him top our averages

Strange choice by the Aces. Would much rather have Cook than Bjerre

Swindon wanted Doyle back then chose Musielak and Bachelor ahead of Morris. Nick had quite a disappointing 2018 so I don't think it was a surprise that he is leaving there. I don't think its quite the same with Thorsell. He too took a backward step in 2018 and I think most of us expected he would average more than 7.25. The question now for Wolves to me is not just that he is on a low average so we should keep him, its that can we really get anyone better on a similar average. We could bring in Craig Cook or maybe go for a more all round team and have Ricky Wells. But I don't think either are a better option than Jacob. I think of those three Jacob is the one most likely to improve his average, and if there is one question mark against this Wolves team its whether they will win enough races away from home. And Jacob is quite capable of progressing to winning 2 or 3 races on most tracks. And if he got back to his 2017 level, he is capable of beating any rider in the world at Monmore Green. By the end of that season he was going round just as quickly as Freddie.

I presume Jacob will be confirmed and if so then we do have a very strong top 5. Cant believe many team would have a stronger pair of second strings than Morris and Howarth. Ashley Morris looks the best bet for number 7 although Greaves is still improving

Nikolai Klindt advertising on twitter that he needs a new England based mechanic, ideally from the Wolverhampton area. I presume that's just because he lives round here and there's nothing more to be read into that?

Yes I stand corrected that is the rule so it will apply to N.Morris, Howarth and A.Morris. What a shame Thorsell and Masters didn't have a year in the National League

Cant see the argument for Nick Morris getting a deduction really. I know he could be considered partly british through his parents but I don't think its logical to give someone that rides for the Australian national team a deduction for being british. That's against the whole principle of why the deduction exists

If Howarth and Becker were the reserves then its difficult to imagine a stronger reserve pairing in the league. The likes of Swindon and Belle Vue are going to be quite weak at 6 and 7 given how many points they will have to play with. A top 5 of Thorsell, Masters, Morris, Wells and Worrall would hold their own, with the likelihood of Worrall and Howarth alternating between riding at 2 and 6 as their averages get a boost from riding at reserve. Just need Jacob and Nick to put their disappointing 2018 scores behind them and ride to their capabilities.

Swindon have used up 24 of their 42.5 points on three riders. So 18.5 for the last 4 Belle Vue ended last season with averages of over 45, so they have got to knock off more than 2.5 points from their team of last season

So all the rumours about Nick Morris were justified and he is surely a good signing coming in on an average below 7. The club are saying no more announcements for a few days while they weigh up their options. And the key will be whether to retain Thorsell or Schlein or both. I suspect both will have had interest from other clubs. If we were to sign both then Morris and Howarth would be in the team as second strings, and I doubt there would be many clubs that would have an all round team that strong. If Becker lives up to expectations at reserve then it looks very promising.

The averages on the Speedwaygb website look slightly different to some I have seen quoted on here. Masters 8.11 Schlein 7.92 Thorsell 7.25 N.Morris 6.60 Howarth 4.96 Becker 4.00 A. Morris 3.66 TOTAL 42.50

I am thinking of it from a Wolves perspective not just looking at Becker, who may well be a very good prospect. If he comes in as 5th in the averages and Howarth as 4th then the team starts to look no stronger than the one that didn't make the top 4 in 2018.

So if Becker came in on 5 then he would be in the main body of the team not at reserve. That to me makes the difference between being a good signing and a poor one. Surely we would only have signed him if he came in at reserve

Am I correct in saying that if 6 of our riders are Thorsell, Masters, N.Morris, Howarth, Wells and Becker, that we still will have over 5 points left for a 7th rider?

Becker looks to be an exciting signing. We know what we would get from having Morris and Greaves at 6 and 7, but we don't know what we are going to get from Becker. Things may not work out and we could be looking for a replacement mid season. But he seems to be a good prospect and if after settling in he can get to the point of regularly having the beating of opposition reserves, that would be a real boost to the team. I suspect a top 5 of Thorsell, Masters, Morris, Howarth and Wells. That gives a fairly strong all round team and one where all 7 are capable of improving their average. Just a question of whether we would have enough heat winners away from home.