STEVEHOLS54

Some thoughts on this. Covatti - Senior reserve means he could go Shanes (or not reading above) - Maybe a young Australian like Stewart or Pickering or another Young Aussie (well 23) Allen who would all be on lower than Covatti so it's a little ambiguous. Could be another young foreigner below in the 4/4.5 range. Or even a left field signing like Todd Kurtz who wouldnt be expensive living with Brady in one of Middlo's accomodation's. Ref Chris Holder. One again not so clear. Doesn't actually say he won't be racing UK which would have put closure on it. Doesn't Chris have to go back to Aussie anyway to race in Aussie Champs if he wants to qualify for the GP play offs again as no chance he will IMO get a Wild Card again. If Jack is racing UK he could still get a joint house/flat share rental arrangement. We know he had his UK House sold stc but still doesn't clarify his situation as to racing. Maybe Woryna is the rider with unrealistic demands ?? - Could also be Jack who is now an up and coming POL EXL rider. We all know Woryna gets paid plenty as he is the star of Rybnik. Not proved himself enough yet if it is him to warrant super star money in our Prem. Same applies if it was Jack. Hope it's not Brady who probably benefits from cheap lodgings from Middlo and also has Todd benefitting from sharing with him. I'm ok with Covatti but still more questions than answers on rest of the team.

Good & interesting point. With supposedly little money in the sport, I am sure Matt will need as much money as possible close season, also with the main team sponsor still not sorted. Would have thought even 100 advanced Season Tickets would yield around £20/22k. A decent signing announcement would sure accelerate that process you would think. Would also act as a gentle nudge to sponsors for 2019 with the annual xmas do about to come round.

Would be good to give us a decent first signing announcement (besides Brady) rather than further down the team, as we might have a better insight into Matt's thinking on team make up.

Maybe to act as driver & mechanic to get him to and from meetings as well as mechanic for him. Would make sense.

If the rider turns up maybe its James Shanes as he only lives local ;-)

It's simple - don't read them if difficult on the eye. I try to cultivate interesting Forum discussion on my team - i.e Poole. Yes I keep repeating it but it's in respect of trying to get people to engage with team ideas rather than the situation many would like to have seen Harris/Kurtz/Woryna/Graz/Jakobsen & Klindt all back or the majority of that team at least. How do you juggle the balls but stay within the limit. The only name probably not thrown in is Worrall but on 5.60 you won't get much change out of that. Maybe I expect too much from the Forum. The idea is to keep meaningful discussion among Poole fans and any other Speedway fans who want to comment during the dark and quiet close season. Thanks anyway for reading even if it does send you to sleep ;-)

Not so irrelevant if you were on a 5-1 with your team mate though huh ??

And your point is ????? For the purpose of the Poole 2019 Forum (which believe it or not this is...) it is a worthwhile discussion point that MAYBE a combination of Harris elevated GSA allied to the current team being 2.64 over, left Matt in a difficult position that he had to do some surgery on the team anyway to make it competitive (hopefully) for 2019. Maybe if Harris had not had his GSA uplifted and IF the team were not 2.64 over perhaps he would have been retained. We will never really know. Much as some wanted him back I think those 2 factors certainly didn't help. But it's part of forum chat which is better than the crap being aired on who won the league nonsense that's been going on last 2 days. Also many would have liked most of the team retained from 2018 but sure needs some work to get it down to within the limit so something has/had to give on team selection and still does. Again sensible forum discussion.

Hopefully will be a good signing for Pbro and suited to their big track. I feel he would not have been so good for Poole 2019 on overall team make up with his elevated GRI due to Rye results being deleted, but yes was a decent signing from July having overcome any early season set up problems. It's good to see him sorted and with it being only a 2 hour drive from home in Telford on hopefully decent roads also puts him closer to home. I think if he had stayed at Poole he would have had some good days, but I am not convinced he was the way forward for the team although always grateful for his efforts in helping the team become Prem Champions in 2018. Will always be a good team player this side of 40 and hopefully beyond but just feel he would not achieve his uplifted GSA from season start in Poole for 2019 and that's my opinion. A lot happened for Poole in the last 3rd of the season which would be difficult to replicate with a squad built around his higher appointed GSA and with the team also having to lose 2.64 whole points on top.

So much being aired on Poole 2019 Forum as to who won the league last season , it's getting a bit silly. People must be bored to continue this pointless discussion ongoing. We all know KL were the better team on actual league position as were Somerset but ultimately all the record will show is as what is shown on the SGB's own website - Home Page under ROLL OF HONOUR PREMIERSHIP CHAMPIONS: POOLE PREMIERSHIP RUNNERS UP: KINGS LYNN Until the powers that be change anything on the League Format (if they ever would), this is what will be remembered in the records and not who topped the League. If you want evidence of that look at 2010. Poole finished way out on top by 17 points from Wolves and a massive 26 points ahead of Coventry. But Coventry beat Poole in the Play Off Final and all the record show is that Cov were Champs and Poole Runners up. Now can we get back to the subject of Poole 2019 as history is written and behind us now.

Sometimes a simple news article on Poole website can perhaps be a give away. If a rider was not returning you would have thought this article would not have appeared on the Poole Website 2nd Dec. POOLE'S PLATINUM number one Brady Kurtz returned to competitive racing on Saturday night contesting the New South Wales State Championship at Cowr Would hardly seem to be talking about a rider who won't be back next season. Think most of us know he will be back for sure and his GSA is still decent at 7.05 even if it was uplifted due to removal of Rye scores. Would like to think last season was his initiation into globe trotting around Europe (POL/SWE & UK) so will improve for the experience.

Interesting little stat also on Jakobsen. In 13 matches for Poole after he joined in July he weighed in with 16 bonus points. When the team is trying to keep things tight these BP are important. Would have added over 1 point per meeting had BP been incl in GSA calculations. Of course it does help if you have a good team mate also in reserve as a partner :-) Hence an argument maybe to have strong reserves.

I think he is nailed on to return for Poole. No way Matt will have what is arguably the hottest talent coming out of DK (presently) ride elsewhere. Also still on an attractive GSA of 5.04. Plus had that all important first season (well from July onwards) which gave him an idea of what to expect going forward. When you think about it logically, he COULD be the next Nicki P - NKI - Madsen or K.Bjerre being only 20 (not 21 until next May). In a way pleased he is not doing SWE (although think he wanted to). I think concentrating on POL (now in a Nice 1 team so self promotion) - DK - UK and various Junior Tournaments as well as DK Champ etc will keep him busy. Also with UK being mainly Thur with some Mon (Wolves/BV away x 2) he will not be bogged down doing Pol/Sun - UK/Mon - Swe/Tue - DK/Wed - UK Thur plus individual tournaments such as World U21 etc, would be a hell of a sched for a 20 year old Dane coming through. OK Lambert thrived on it but he was used to all the travelling even as a youngster between UK/Germany and rest of Europe. Having said that Lambert did incredibly well last season. I am all for seeing the young next generation with true potential coming through (especially at Poole).. Even if he is not British ;-) Plenty of the same please, be it Australian's/British or whoever is good with me. The same old same old riders such as Harris/Nicholls will always get team places Prem & Champ as they ride out rest of their careers.

Maybe THJ having ridden for Chapman before and seemingly desperate to ride in UK for 2019 (as no SWE team thinks he's worth what he thinks he is worth and only worthy of a POL 2nd Div slot). Perhaps he will fit in to Chapman's cost plans for either Ips/Pet or even KL. Just a thought as would be on a low av and maybe within Chapman's idea of budget ??

Yep I saw the same thing mentioned but that was based on a comment from one party who mentioned he had been visiting over there. Also heard that besides Fast Freddie living there so had Max Fricke moved there but again like the Holder comment don't know if any truth in it. I know Chris has had a tough time with personal situation and no doubt messing around with the authorities as a result, but would be nice to know if he has commited to living abroad and or has excluded riding again in UK certainly for 2019 and if he has sold up to move abroad . Ultimately for a long time he was a legend at Poole and a WC, and much as that was 6 years ago now many wanted him back for 2018 and were glad he was announced on that low 7.16 GSA. Would just be nice to find out what the outcome is for Chris for the future. I would certainly love to see him back again and with Jack but maybe too much has happened for us to see him racing in UK again ?? Someone out there other than Chris must know what his situation is now.

i was thinking similar for Poole the other week but someone corrected me by saying that being a Foreign rider he wold have to be a min of 4 despite his first season Champ av converting to 3.07. Nice thought though as I aired the possibility of having Pickering and or Stewart as reserves :-)

Was thinking similar. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the new owner IMO. Indicates more to me needs/must or it would have been one big messed up league had he not purchased Pet/ipswich to drag them up in order to maintain a 3 league system. Without you two the Prem would have been screwed to put it mildly.

Middlo will be pleased then as guarantees the rent from him and Todd in one of his hone residencies for another season ?? On the subject of residency. I wonder where Jack will be living in 2019 should he sign for Poole bearing in mind Chris had reportedly sold Holder Towers STC. Also is anyone any the wiser on Chris's plans for 2019. Been very quiet on social media other than a couple of comments re past racing. Would be nice if he could maybe comment as to whether he will be on these shores on not in 2019.

Depends what the plan would be further up the team. Part changes are forced on Matt anyway with the 2.64 over the team limit. If it was Covatti (and no idea where this emanated from) then they would need maybe a Shanes as that is one way of shedding some points IF they are planning Jakobsen into the main team. But Covatti could be a replacement for Worrall but that only saves 0.90 so still have to find a 1.74 saving somehow. At least Wed evening should give us one seventh of the answer :-)

Yes it is a bit frustrating when other teams are starting to announce riders (although not all and certainly no Chapman teams). Doesn't Chapman do this regularly though, wanting to make sure the whole team is signed and then announces in Jan time ?? Suppose as far as KL is concerned Robert Lambert is the main priority with building around him. He already said he wanted back (but as per last season, subject to the deal on offer being workable). Arguably Rob does not really need UK now from a financial perspective now he is with the big boys in POL and IF he is living Germany with his GF then won't come cheap to come over here every week as well as ride in POL EXL/SWE and God knows how other many competitions he rides in overseas like SEC/ World U21 Champ (as it will be his last year trying to win it in 2019) plus maybe also SGP qualifiers. But Lambert is like a sponge - he proved in 2018 how he thrived on riding everywhere and only odd meeting end of season did too many rides take a bit of a toll when called upon for 6 rides if they were well behind.

You mean the elusive Chris Holder. The man who according to POL website late last season, alienated himself from the Torun Fans and was not a nice guy to be around according to some. You would think at least he could put things to bed by saying either he is or isnt planning to race in UK in 2019 after various comments about him having sold Holder Towers (STC) - we know he liquidated Chris Holder Racing UK back in June and rumours have been going around on the Forum about him moving to the Tax Haven of Andorra. He could easily post on twitter/FB or Instagram (as he uses all 3) if he will even be in UK in 2019. Not too much to ask I think. At least we would then be wiser on excl him from any team plans.

Yes but we were supposed to sweep the League easily last season with what was on paper and look where we stood in July. Remember Matt faces a juggling act anyway with the points limit.

I think Ford has a real conundrum on his hands. Many want to retain much of the team BUT with Harris being elevated on GSA and having to lose 2.64 points from last seasons team is a difficult one. Does he go for a strength in depth look as mentioned by Blackheart or does he look more at an established number one which means he has to cut further down and also possibly have weak reserves. Depends on your view. One could argue, and has been proven, that strong reserves keep you in the meeting and is it more about trying to win at home and pinch odd points away to try and make play offs ?? We all know that a really good/strong team on paper doesn't always mean it will perform to that level (as evidenced by Poole first half of the season). Also the team that finishes top isn't guaranteed to win the league, again as proved last season ALTHOUGH both KL and Mildenhall were dogged by both injuries and bad luck at important phases of the season end. We will never know re Lakeside as personally think they were hampered by the loss of their big home advantage track at Arena Essex. I personally feel resigned to the that due to a lack of finance and main team sponsor, maybe Ford has already let us down gently in his Echo press release last week where he eluded to both matters, and may well seek out a more strength in depth team which has scope to improve as the season develops. He faces a problem anyway trying to juggle the points if he wants to try and get most of last seasons team kept together.

if their is the slightest chance that this might happen , I would be intrigued as to who the other reserve will be. Must admit that with Morris having decided on Wolves and with Poole having to lose 2.64 from last seasons team, then Matt faces one hell of a juggling act. Really can't see him going with Harris on that inflated 7.78 GSA and factor in having to lose 2.64 team points it would mean changes further down. Covatti for say Worrall saves you only 1.02 meaning another 1.62 to find. If you retain Harris it means you have to get rid of 1/2 riders from Kurtz/Graz/Woryna/Jakobsen/Klindt and reading various qoutes over the weeks I thought most want to retain all of them in possible. You would only get a 1.62 saving if you replaced the lowest av Jakobsen for say Shanes. Can't see that happening. No doubt Matt has it all worked out, if as a couple have rumoured he already knows his team and the first announcement is Wed evening. Hope it is decent team as its worrying how strong Swindon are already looking with Doyle/Bach and & Musz already signed.

Maybe Rosco wants to spread the news out to keep the fans interest on these dark/damp and dreary days.