STEVEHOLS54

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ;-)

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.

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 :-)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sure you won't be pushing the No Confidence Vote with your friend in Parliament ???

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.

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.

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.

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).

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 ;-)

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.

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.

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.

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.

I think your top 4 will keep Swindon in the hunt and in the top 4. If the bottom half does not do it's job then Rosco can always look to change riders should he not feel they will do what he needs from July onwards. I would hope not for the team, being Brits involved but ultimately we are in a results driven biz.

On top of that, those of us who follow POL Speedway have noticed over the last couple of years how these POL EXL owners and Nice 1 as well have been signing up a fair bit of this young Aussie talent that does not get reported much in our Speedway media news in UK. They are signed up young and then either go on loan to lower league teams for experience or if not get the chance to do practice with the big guys to gain some experience. I think POL Speedway seems to have a decent scouting system in place both here and in Aussie reporting on the progress of these up and coming stars with probably similar in SWE/DK. Would like to think that Fricke will come good together with Brady & Jack and let's not forget they are 22/23 not 32/33 so plenty of time to reach the very top. All 3 are already in the World's top league/teams so already achieved what most British riders can only dream of.

Especially if your anticipated top 2 young Aussies realise anything of their true potential this season. Prefer anyway that many treat us as underdogs and let's see how the season progresses. Too much anticipation and over hype put on many of our teams over the years at Poole.