STEVEHOLS54
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Posts posted by STEVEHOLS54
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43 minutes ago, BLACKHEART said:
Heats 13 & 15 are going to be a big problem again. Shame the money has gone could've put an offer in for Greg Hancock.
I think Hancock's deal in POL was probably more than what Matt's total wage bill will be in 2019. No wonder the crazy guy running Rzeszow came a cropper. Sounds a real shady character reading the various press articles on what he has been up to and defaulting here there and everywhere. Not surprising the POL Authorities refused the club a new licence for 2019.
I wonder if Josh will get fixed up elsewhere now as he was dropped by his team of last season and now ends up with probably no side due tho this crazy guy - unless someone comes along but then the likes of Hancock & Morris also caught up in it. Josh will be way out of pocket otherwise with only Prem as it stands. Let's hope somebody steps in.
Seems to me he was signing riders in volume.
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11 minutes ago, Gavan said:
Cant yet see how anyone can mock the Ipswich side as of yet as we dont know the riders.
By all means have concerns over the availability of what is out there.
So far we have signed a potential top second string certainly at home.
We have signed a young rider that most teams would have loved to have seen in their team
It could look awful with the next few signings but at the moment nothing wrong with the two we have signed.
As we all know Gav it's not even a case of what your named side is at this early stage. They should be judged more by results after a couple of months (say in June).
We all know that some get carried away positive/negative on how good/bad the side looks in Dec/Jan.
Irrespective of Poole eventually winning the league, not many thought that the original named 7 would be languishing near to bottom of the table after the first few months. Too much is prejudged before a wheel is turned. I would hope the Witches put out a competitive team in 2019. Let the results determine if was a right/wrong choice. It's crazy that some dismiss the team before its even been announced.
King/Allen are a decent start to team announcing and hopefully they will still have a decent team even if on paper it does not look league winning. We all know only too well from all 3 leagues in 2018 that finishing top of the leagues doesn't always win titles ;-)
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5 minutes ago, Skidder1 said:
They will be co-promoters NOT owners and mainly responsible for the day to day arrangements with Matt flying in on match days - a bit like riders do. Matt has stated this himself.
I know. BUT thinking ahead if Matt does not find a suitable buyer for the club, could it be that he lets the co-promoters i.e son & sponsor, continue to run the club going forward in his continued ownership after 2019 ?? If they are interested in continuing that is.
I know it's not Matt's first choice option, but unless someone with a love for the sport and deep pockets, or a large Commercial operation shows interest, it would surely be better than just stopping the sport ??
Anyway that's one for the future.
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6 minutes ago, Gavan said:
Rohan burnt a few bridges at Foxhall before he left, constantly moaning about the track not being prepared properly and having a fall out with Louis.
If thats all water under the bridge then he could easily be in the 1-7 but wouldnt leave huge amounts for the last rider
Tungate & Jakobsen as an option ??
My only fear on Jakobsen is I think he will develop later rather than earlier so would the team be able to carry him (possibly) early season ??
Matt Ford said in an article last few days that 1/2 teams had shown interest as Poole cannot accommodate/afford him due to cost constraints.
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3 minutes ago, Skidder1 said:
Well one of them at least + one from one of the sponsors - unless there's been a last minute change which might be the reason for the delay in the announcement?!
If one or both Matt's sons are involved, then IF Matt were not to find a buyer this coming season, maybe he will support his son/s carrying the sport forward at Poole after 2019.
I personally wish them the best of luck and let's hope that with some input also from Matt if overseas, the Ford Dynasty can continue in some form within Poole Speedway for many seasons to come. Good luck also to the Sponsor if one of them has taken a leap of faith into jointly running the club.
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15 hours ago, Skidder1 said:
Matt hasn't got a 'total lack of finance at the moment'! There are many other sponsors still firmly on board, but As he says himself he needs to cut his cloth accordingly for the time being.
He's already talked about Fredrik Jakobsen potentially being brought in mid-season if required! So presumably there would be funding for such an occurrance?!
Okay remove the word "total" but the fact is he is working on arguably a much lower budget in view of the situation.
As for Jakobsen. You sound like Matt's PR machine. The Echo article states:
“I am hoping he will get set up in Britain and there is a possibility with one or two clubs. But if he doesn’t, he would certainly come into our consideration should we need to make change.
I hope Jakobsen does get fixed up somewhere as he can at least use another club to get a full seasons UK experience which hopefully Poole can use for it's benefit in future.
Matt has always had kind words for rider he has been forced to release. He regularly says he would hope that xyz rider could be used again in the future. It would indeed be presumptious to assume he would have the finance in place to use Jakobsen again this season, and that is even on the assumption he was available.
Not having a dig at Poole. I just feel that in times like these fans need to be realistic in their expectations of the team. I am sure Matt will still put out a competitive team which will hopefully keep within the top 4, but most importantly give home supporters entertainment and enough home wins to keep the fans clicking through the turnstiles in good volume.
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5 minutes ago, Gavan said:
Still it could be worse you could support Ipswich and just be waiting for the scraps nobody else wants!
That was the last line of my post..............................funny how i get a response saying Poles 1-7 is better than the Ipswich one.............obviously didnt read it!
Still some interesting possibilities out there for the lower order for Ipswich such as Jakobsen and Jensen who many would have been happy to see both. Also if deep enough pockets Woryna although tend to agree he is a level below the likes of Drabyk/Smektala and an expensive risk if he performs to a 6/6.5 GSA again. Think a good chance Allen will be in and lets hope Louis can attract a decent HL so would not give up on them yet by any means.
As for the Banter. Well you know from some you will never get anything else but lines intended to mock/wind you up ;-)
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40 minutes ago, foreverblue said:
Because he thought he was on a false average I expect and plenty of room for improvement. Who has signed Rasmus Jensen?
Considering the expense involved it is a strange one as thought even he would have looked at the Poole - Spaniak situation last season. Also with so much cost cutting someone like a Rasmus Jensen or even a NBJ would seem to make more sense one would assume a lot less expense.
Maybe Ipswich will go after Jensen as plenty of positives were being posted on our Poole page at what we thought was going to be our other reserve. How wrong those who had certain inside info were, unless he was over what Ford could/would pay with his now restricted budget.
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5 minutes ago, Gavan said:
Yep...........and if you had actually bothered to read my post my last line said exactly that.......guess it was easier just to have a pop
You have to say Gav that only on the Poole Forum can you enjoy the banter ;-)
You know full well after some 7100 posts almost, that some of what you say will always be chewed over by some of the Poole faithful. Nice to see you seeing the lighter side of it more these days :-)
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9 minutes ago, Arthur54 said:
Do you really think matt is just going through the motions in his final season, the bloke bleeds Poole speedway, he wants to win just as much now as he did when he first took over
Matt's real predicament is the total lack of finance at the moment. It's an Alien situation to him as Sponsors were plenty in days gone by as was the main team sponsor even if the Volvo deal was not up to say that of Readypower. Even so losing your main team sponsor plus 2 other decent ones is a big blow when trying to negotiate deals for the best/good riders.
I am sure Matt is doing his level best to secure the best he can in riders for the club considering the severe cost constraints he has without Bankrupting the club or himself. He is fortunate to have so many decent assets to call on such as Kurtz/Holder who will also be based in UK at for example Middlo properties plus the likes of Klindt also an asset living in Wolves area. Plus Josh G and Richie W who are also UK based. I assume same for Covatti at least during the UK season anyway. No heavy travelling expenses for the club or flying in riders/mechanics every week (even on rain offs as they happen so late normally).
I for one still think its a strength in depth team and as said before you only get 3 points if you win at home by 2 or 30 points.
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1 hour ago, BLACKHEART said:
Wooden spoon champions. Don't brag about winning a league title in 2019 because it's not going to happen. Money has gone. Matt doesn't want to be here. Three sponsors gone. Club future in doubt.
Only the results leading up to July will tell us if the chosen team was the right/wrong decision.
Last season showed us that it was about keeping within or as close as possible to the top 4 for the biz end of the season via the play offs. Of course winning at home most important as that is what will keep the crowds hopefully flowing at Poole to keep things afloat should no major sponsor/s come forth.
Matt was normally fairly good at changing things IF rider/s got injured or were way out of form. If things are going pear shaped come July there would still b time, but let's not pre judge things at this early stage. With only 7 teams total I am sure many will struggle to win points away which makes winning at home and picking up away points via less than 6 point defeats important with any away wins or draws a bonus.
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5 minutes ago, poole keith said:
i might be over optimistic blackheart but surely someone will take it on,albeit at a greatly reduced price,i have no knowledge of the actual figures involved but eventually surely matt would be better selling for say 40k than asking 200k and not selling,new owners would not have to buy the assets if they didnt want to.some prospective buyers might be deterred thinking matt is an almost impossible act to follow,but id much rather follow a mid table or worse team than have no team to follow,holidaymakers will turn up whatever the quality of the team!
If a successful club in one of the Countries most affluent areas cannot secure a buyer then it will be a sad day for the sport. Hopefully someone will come forward.
Would have been good to also have heard news on the proposed new Co Promotors but seems to have also gone quiet on that front.
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3 minutes ago, BLACKHEART said:
Matt clearly doesn't want to be here in 2019. Will certainly walk away at the end of the season. Final season for Poole in 2019 and it's going to be sad to see us go out on a down note.
Buster Chapman is the only person who will buy a Speedway club and Keith only buys under a commercial agreement. Matt doesn't want to be here under any circumstances so that deal is a no go.
I think all Poole Fans have to step back a little and appreciate where we are as a club.
The facts are - Matt has announced 2019 is his last season - No major team sponsor on the horizon for arguably first time ever - 2 other major sponsors have said they won't be renewing - Little in way of TV money - Matt lost money (a largish amount) in the early part of 2018 due to the 70th Anniv meeting wipe out and all the big costs associated with flying people in from all around Europe with no return, plus subsequent cancellations for rain/track reasons. Bottom line, their is little to no money available and certainly nothing on the horizon in income before tapes up early April.
Matt has come clean now on the situation with the media that he is having to cut back big time for first time in years (or possibly ever) in who/what he can afford to sign. No longer can afford riders based overseas and flying in mechanics let alone compete with upcoming stars like Woryna who gets £35k per year just as a signing on fee for Rybnik. I assume he will no longer be offering accommodation at home to riders as he will now be based abroad in his new biz venture. Another possible negative as he cannot offer the facility.
It may be that he was looking at both Allen & Jensen based on the various normally well informed rumours that were mentioned. Could it be that both wanted above what Matt was able/prepared to pay and as a result both deals fell through. Matt is a master at PR releases and makes it sound as if he had to move quickly to get NBJ due to his expunged Rye results , maybe artificially low GSA, and the comments from Pedersen about how good he thinks he will be. In a way good PR turns a negative into a positive on the reality of what may have gone on.
Think we have to accept that certainly for now the big money and big signings are gone. All Matt can do is work withing the much lower budget he has with no major sponsors and try his best to at least put out a competitive team.
We have to forget the past, and at least support what we do have in what is obviously difficult financial times for the club and the sport in general as far as the Prem league is concerned. Fortunately the Champ/National Leagues seems in reasonable condition and working within its financial needs.
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7 minutes ago, Racin Jason 72 said:
I think the Readypower sponsorship was no cash but in exchange for the Peterborough assets. I may be wrong but I am sure that’s what I was told.
I thought it was a six figure (amount undisclosed) amount involved when I read a long time ago now.
I could be wrong but was led to believe it was a pretty major deal. I thought the Volvo Poole deal was nowhere near as good but best available at the time.
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5 minutes ago, JeremyCorbynFan said:
What a side.
I have a job interview on Thursday for a position in Lynch Wood, near the Showground.
Wish me luck guys. If I'm successful, I will then buy a season ticket.
Sure you won't be pushing the No Confidence Vote with your friend in Parliament ???
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10 minutes ago, DC2 said:
But it’s plain stupid to say that a PL to CL conversion rate of 1.5 will be applied to PL riders to discourage them from doubling up in the CL and yet allow the rate in reverse to allow CL riders who have had experience in the PL be brought back into the PL on lower averages.
So a 2018 PL reserve like Wajtknecht, who is doing his best to progress, now has to face CL heat leaders riding at reserve for another team. That can’t be right.
Rasmus Jensen is anotherer example. He has a CL average of 6.59 (compared to Wajtknecht’s CL average of 5.19) but could come in to a PL reserve berth on a paltry 4.39 (compared to Wajtknecht’s genuine PL average of 4.37).
How is that fair to 2018 PL riders?
Just wrong.
Unfair but one has to take into a/c that Zach has ridden in Prem for 2 seasons where Jensen has never ridden. Zach therefore has established 20 match rolling GSA av in Prem.
Jensen is perhaps an extreme example and when you look at all his results for Workington in OCT (of which quite a few) you would think you are comparing a HL in Champ compered to a reserve in what may well be Poole's Prem side. Perhaps that and Klindt pestering Ford to look closer at him is part of the reason he may well turn out for Poole. BUT then again it could go wrong. Remember Spaniak last season.
I take the point though that a young British rider learning his trade is somewhat disadvantaged by the rules.
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15 minutes ago, Starman2006 said:
Who's going to take it on if Matt decides to call it a day then Steve ?
My last post to Ray C covers.
Honestly Starman, I don't want to see Matt go and I have reservations as to if anyone want's to take on such a high profile club in the current economic climate.
You would think some of the richer business men living in the area would perhaps step up but they so far have not, even as main team sponsors so what chance of someone actually buying it.
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4 minutes ago, ray c said:
matt did say that in a interview on radio solent a few weeks back that if the business was not sold by the end of next season he would not be able to commit to past that date
It was those comments that led me to make similar comment in my post.
It's not for me to scaremonger BUT these are difficult times. For the first time I can remember Matt to my limited knowledge has NO Major team team sponsor as I post this on the forum. He has also lost probably at least 2 of his smaller sponsors(he mentioned this only a week ago I believe in the Echo where he mentioned 1/2 not renewing which normally means more than one).
He has no offers on the table known of to purchase the club, but then maybe if he is so deeply entrenched into his new biz venture come end of next season maybe he will near enough give it away or continue running the club if he still has a love for it. Also we were supposed to hear news in Nov re the new Co Promotors but its been no further news even on that front.
Additionally there was always plenty of positive promotion about Matt's Xmas party for the Clubs sponsors where it was also used to promote the release of team news. Even that has been fairly low profile.
It's a difficult one when you consider where we are in the sport, certainly in respect of the Prem. Chapman had to agree to purchase an addl 2 teams in order to keep a Prem League. Well at least on a possible buyback clause in each case. What would happen if Matt did decide to stop it if nobody want's to buy it and no team sponsor is forthcoming with a Golden Purse like in the days of Readypower. Would Chapman jump in to offer to buy yet another club at a discounted price ??
One has to question how in one of the most affluent parts of the UK down on the South Coast where millionaires live in Luxury in many parts. How nobody with deep pockets deems it fit enough to say come up with £75/125K as the major team sponsor for what is arguably the team with the highest profile in the sport in UK in the modern era. Perhaps that in itself tells you the state British Speedway is in.
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41 minutes ago, Gavan said:
Thank you for a perfectly reasonable response to a fairly simple question and well answered.......perhaps you can teach some other Poole fans how to debate
Carry on posting sensible content Gav, as although its a forum on Poole, other fans with interesting and thought provoking comments make for interesting debate whether it be about Poole or anyone else.
Had it not been for your comment then I would not have replied with what I had read on the various media outlets and possible conclusion drawn maybe also with the Klindt possible connection and a sensible reason to have been bending Ford's ear about signing him. PLUS of course maybe he has been improving (his Oct results would certainly bear that out when you study them in more detail - he looked more like a heat leader than a reserve). Only time will tell us but seems maybe not a lot between him and Jake Allen on latter part of season form.
Out of joint interest, I wonder if Jakobsen has been loaned by Matt Ford to Ipswich for 2019 as Jakobsen said in a POL interview over 1 week ago that he has commitments to race in UK in 2019. Would make sense if as one poster commented that he had spoken to Fred and Matt said he was a victim of the numbers game for 2019. Maybe also Woryna at Ipswich but think it needs deep pockets for him to come over this season. BUT you never know ?? Personally would like to see both racing for Ipswich in 2019. 1) Because Ips are now my most local track being 40 plus miles from Chelmsford, and 2) Would give both more valuable UK racing experience with maybe a view to both returning to Poole in 2020 (That's if Poole are racing in 2020, as we all know there is doubt on that score at this present moment).
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28 minutes ago, Gavan said:
Richie Worrall left Glasgow before signing for Poole or around a similar time.
Harris (correct me if im wrong) lives down south so his commute was north
My point is if Jensen lives north will the commute affect him
From what I read Jensen could have resigned for Workington. What swung it was his Danish friend Claus Vissing has signed for Glasgow. Rasmus commented that he agreed to sign for Glasgow as one of the deciding factors was that he could travel share with Vissing thus reducing costs. Maybe this also incl sharing mechanics and vans. Last season Jensen had DK team mates at Work in Klindt and Bach. Believe this season Bach may be staying in DK and Nicolai is not riding Champ as he now has SWE/DK/Prem/POL as his 4 Leagues.
It may even be that Jensen also has an arrangement with Klindt to cover joint travel/mechanic costs if Nicolai has been pushing Matt to sign him, on a similar arrangement to what Jensen has agreed with Vissing.
Kind of makes sense when you think about it. The DK lads looking after each other ;-)
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1 hour ago, foreverblue said:
Strange one that not really a big fan personally.
Suggest you look at the SGB website and Workington's results for October (open the individual match score sheets)
IF RJ starts the way his results read for Oct he could be a very clever signing on his 4.39 GSA (converted from his Champ GSA). Assuming it was RJ from reading the various comments on the forum. Looks like he improved as season went on and at just turned 25 maybe he could flourish. At reserve could be a decent option.
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2 minutes ago, lisa-colette said:
I thought Skidder said it was on 14th Dec...?
Thought I saw similar on the forum but no rider announcements.
In the past there has been a lot of high profile, but maybe this year played down in view of the not so positive situation on the Sponsor front ??
Wonder when our last 4 riders will be announced and if Matt will make any formal announcements on why (if rumours are to be believed) that those 2 exciting young riders Woryna & Jakobsen were not resigned. Seen plenty of comments on forum and twitter that Woryna is down to not enough money on offer compared to his big deal in Poland but Jakobsen ??
No doubt more will be said when team news appears. Hopefully before xmas if the 7 are already known which many seem to think they are.
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Does anyone know if Matt Ford held or is holding his Xmas party for the sponsors this year ??
Am asking as with the loss of the main team sponsor plus in his words 1/2 other smaller sponsors not renewing, if there are sufficient sponsors left to warrant having one and the cost no doubt associated.
Believe Matt in past years also used the opportunity to name riders for the following season which also generated interest.
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42 minutes ago, Aces51 said:
Steve Lawson has said on Twitter that the Doctors have said that Dan is making good progress with intensive therapy and should be back on a bike well before March.
Also don't the Poles do quite a bit of training on their tracks plus the squad get a good few decent friendlies before actual league season starts. Being an important part of Rybnik's team for 2019 I am sure he will get plenty of practice in for the season start. Those big sweeping POL tracks will be great for getting time on the bike without the more fiddly technical UK tracks where you may only get rides on race days and at the official press and practice day.
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Poole 2019
in SGB Premiership Speedway League
Posted
In a recent POL interview he said he was not doing the Aussie Champ as there was too much distance to travel to meetings from his home town area.
However he assured what he thought was his new club, that he was still planning to do some racing in Aussie in order to keep fit during the Winter.
Those plans will continue no doubt even though his new club have in effect blown up due to the unscrupulous dealings of their owner in several aspects of running the club and not making payments to all kinds of people or giving the required financial assurance docs to the authorities. Suppose it was too good to be true that this guy who had various biz interest would spring up out of nowhere and run a club in POL 2nd Div. The club offering Hancock meg-bucks (eye watering by even POL standards) plus other riders. We know for example even Morris had problems getting paid and may still be owed thousands as per the last I heard. Even Hancock at one stage refused to race last season but was able to get legal financial guarantees underwritten by the owners other trading company/ies thus ensuring he gets his money whatever happens.
Not great news for Josh who is thousands of miles away in Aus and can hardly hop on a plane & pop over to POL to try and secure a new club also after the transfer window closed. Although maybe some dispensation for situations like this as this guy signed a lot of riders, many of whom would rarely have got a ride.
Believe the POL window opens in May anyway but if he had bikes planned etc its a while to be out of pocket with only Prem money coming in plus he needs the meetings as he isn't doing Champ again due to doing POL (or so he thought).