STEVEHOLS54

Hmmm could be. Hans A 7.75 Brady 8.08 Chris 7.16 Kasper W 4.65 Shanes 2.95 Ellis 5.56 (if now an asset and also covers with Shanes the 2 Brit rules) Jack Holder 5.82 Total 41.97 or if Klindt 5.78 instead of Jack Holder = 41.94 just shot of the 42 points if that's the limit. It has a solid look to it IF Holder Sr performs this year. Allows for Woryna to push on from his low 4.65 - Jack to improve without too much pressure and with Chris alongside him in the pits. of course many want a so called true heat leader so no doubt the rumours and opinion will continue. Andersen also maybe not so expensive these days ??. He has lost his Swedish place and as it stands hardly any slots left so may miss out. Perhaps he may even consider doubling up in UK if he doesn't which may also keep costs down for travelling etc ??.

Just announced Magic has signed a new 2 year deal with Wroclaw. Deal was near enough in place but on hold while the riders and authorities sorted the new rules they were trying to impose. Those were sorted today. Still no clarification if they are only allowed 3 leagues incl home league if riding POL EXL. Yes BUT there was talk about the Poles relaxing maybe for 2018. They had their meeting today and sorted all the rules the main riders were holding out on and not signing contracts. BUT still no news if that rule regarding how many leagues (incl your National league) you can ride in. Magic signed his new 2 year deal (just announced) as the main problems were resolved, but still no news about how many leagues POL EXL riders can ride in, which I thought was part of the agenda ??

Before anyone gets carried away with any rider who is not British or Aussie and is riding in POL EXL and Sweden. Have the Poles relaxed their rules ?? I just saw an article on the main Polish website stating that a lot of the onerous rules upsetting the big stars had been either cancelled or amended/clarified after a meeting today, but couldn't see anything clarifying if the Poles have canned the 3 league rule (incl your home league). That menas for NKI as it stood POL/SWE/DK and NOT UK. Can anyone clarify ??

The main reason for me that Chris was not firing in 2017 was due to his engines. If you look at the likes of Zagar he had similar problems for a lot of 2017 until Johns (I think) managed to come up finally with a tuned engine/s that enabled him to suddenly fly and win 2 end of season GP's plus also had him flying in Sweden. Think you will find he is not the only senior rider who had problems (especially on John's tuned motors). I think there were numerous World class riders who suffered similar problems although admittedly Chris suffered more that a lot of them. I did read somewhere Johns had a problem with his springs supplier (or something similar) and that was evidenced by the lack of Johns tuned engines being in the top SGP riders list this year. Was even a recent article about the issues on the main Polish Speedway site recently. For me Chris deserves his chance in both the SGP and Poole for at least one more year if he can get his tuning issues sorted. Come on guys think about it. In 2016 his GSA was 12.53 - third only behind Doyle and NKI. Or 8.95 in normal language. Even Janowski in 2015 was only 8.97. If you look at Magic's scores for example in SWE in 2017 it was hardly setting the World alight. Just over 8 from 4 rides. If I look at the Polish stats his 4 ride av (excl bonus points) for me av out at about 7.41 per 4 rides. (Correct me if I am wrong). I would argue that although Magic did well in the GP's this year (until his last third of the season where it collapsed) His league form wasn't so good. I think Chris on PROPER tuned engines giving their true speed is better than his GSA this season portrays. Now of course the $64,000 question is can Chris get his tuning gremlins sorted so he can fire as he did in previous years. Pls remember that he probably has one shot at a Wild Card with all the pressures of all the younger riders coming through. Similar also with Pedersen and Hancock who are getting on. He is also in my opinion heavily under pressure to get his finger out with Torun (who are allowing him to stay in the hope he does rediscover some form ) also to be a mentor to Jack and other young riders coming thu at Torun. Maybe similar with Lejonen this year. Also for sure Matt Ford will only tolerate so much underperformance from Chris and his brother who at least has an excuse as a developing young rider. For me Chris deserves this year to hopefully prove the doubters wrong. I could be wrong and hope my faith in his ability is rewarded. The Darcy situation and his personal split from Sealy are behind him now. He has to knuckle down on his riding to show us all he is the rider who won the SGP a few years ago.

The article also said this rule was already in effect anyway but had never been implemented. I think its more aimed at making sure riders do not ride elsewhere when they should be riding POL EXL. Having said that could one really imagine a rider giving up a POL Exl meeting to ride elsewhere ?? I think these kind of rules are to insure the Worlds most highest paying league does not have its riders taking the pee. They have every right to impose these rules I suppose when you see the eye watering amounts of money they pay out. They are doing what is best for POL Speedway and are over protecting their product. If they lift the max amount of leagues one can ride in then maybe they have already shown some flexibility. Don't forget they are putting their interests at risk allowing a rider such as NKI to ride say POL/SWE/DK and UK which he would given half a chance. Same as he did before the rule change. More chances of that rider getting injured if he is chasing his backside all over Europe. Poland only has 14 league meetings in a regular season. Max plus 4 if you get to the Final or plus 2 for the semi's. Being the big sport it is over there can one blame them for protecting their Crown Jewels in the interest of their league/interests ?? The amount of sponsorship their is massive.

Yes there was plenty of enthusiasm on the Poole Forum about possibility of Vaculik signing but surely that's what the forum is about. A combination of rumour/banter as well as informed and not so well informed comments and opinions. Whether you like Poole or not and same for Matt Ford, as far as the BSF is concerned it generates so many more comments and pages of Forum contribution than any other Prem League team by a wide margin. Those who enjoy having a pop and taking the pee out of premature excitement on the Poole 2018 subject will probably find that Matt Ford has a good team lined up for 2018 and will take every step to insure 2017 is not revisted again. Vaculik may have passed through but there are other riders of possible HL status and many have ridden UK tracks so wont need a large adaption period as Vaculik might do. I am sure Matt Ford has it under control and will let the Poole public and supporters know when the timing is right.

Can you elaborate as to where he has said it. I know he hasn't signed in Sweden yet which was an indication maybe he was considering UK. Many of us have made noises he could be at Poole. I was maybe concerned that a Wild Card in SGP might scupper that, but if he misses Sweden then maybe he will come to UK and hopefully Poole. I wonder what GSA he wil be given although I assume Matt would already have sussed that out with the BSPA/SCB ?? As for Holder and the SGP. I think he deserves his chance as a Wild Card after his ever presence for years in the elite and also as a previous WC. I could imagine all the fuss amongst the Poole dislikers after last season, but it wasn't so long ago he was also close to the top of the qualifiers and comfortable always in the top 8. To me this is the make/break season for him in respect of SGP/Torun and maybe also Poole if he does sign. If he bombs like last season then I think he will be out of all 3 and for sure cant see him being given another Wild Card and Torun will let him go. Its up to him now to prove the doubters wrong. I think he deserves his WC on what has been achieved but just like Pedersen/Hancock I think if they don't get top 8 in SGP this season then the knives really will be out to have the new blood getting them. As previous WC all 3 deserve one last bite of the cherry. Love them or hate them they deserve at least that. I would fully support the out campaigners after this season as they would have used up their WC chances and the likes of the Milik's/Drabiks/Ledbedevs should be given their chances. If those guys don't qualify by right anyway which if good enough hopefully they will anyway. To me its crazy that a rider like Craig Cook can qualify and most people know the guy will probably be another Harris in the GP season. I know he qualified by right but its crazy that a guy who cant even get into a POL Exl side can ride the series ahead of riders such as those named who for me are in a different league. Much as I want to see a Brit in it (besides Tai) for me he will be outclassed. But that's how it is and we have to live by it. Whoever put the final qualifier in some far flung part of Russia where many take at least 2 days to get there I will never know. But suppose part of promoting the series in distant parts of the World.

Wonder if NKI will return to UK if now only an SGP reserve. Cant see DK giving him enough income to cover the shortfall where UK extra meetings probably would. Especially as he also lives in UK. I wonder with all the doom/gloom and dumb down league posters on the KL Forum if he may come back as a HL at another club. Of course there is the possibility maybe that he could go back to KL and Rob Lambert move on ?? The Vaculik position in UK may well depend on the Swedish situation. Find surprising that he was 16th out of 56 in Swedish League but has yet to sign when all the other top stars have. Maybe he has other plans like Uk although perhaps the SGP Wildcard may have thrown a spanner in the works. Cant help thinking maybe even he will be a bit surprised he got one.

Does anyone know on the flwg. I assume a team can sign a rider for the flwg year as soon as the season ends ?? (Even if the team points limit I not ratified until the AGM but almost certainly known well before then). If a promoter wants to sign a foreign rider who has not ridden in UK before or say prior to 2014 can he obtain what that riders GSA will be assessed at before the end of season BSPA AGM in mid November ?? I can imagine their are a few promoters at least out their who are looking around Europe with ideas of who they might like to at least try and sign well in advance of the AGM and 2018 season. Can they get an answer from the BSPA/SCB on what that riders GSA will be for 2018 ?? as they can then consider or discount that rider into their 2018 ideas as they start their planning process and draw up a shortlist of riders they want to maybe approach. The actual team limit for 2018 doesn't totally affect your thinking. For example one may want to sign say a Vaculik/Piotr Pawliki or maybe even other riders who have either never ridden or last rode in 2014. To consider those riders or even say both in your thoughts then surely you must be able to get an idea of what GSA they would be assessed at for 2018 in say Oct. Or maybe not as we are talking about the BSPA/SCB here. I am sure there are some owners/promoters out there who need some idea of a riders GSA irrespective of whether the points limit is 42/43 or 45 points for 2018. It is incredible that the Poles are almost done and dusted on teams even before the 2 week transfer window officially opens tomorrow and looking at an article on Speedway Bloggen Sweden today the 8 teams in the top league are near enough complete with a few odd exceptions incl missing names such as Andersen and Vaculik who are not CURRENTLY included and maybe wont be for different reasons. Andersen was only 40th in SWE av last year and maybe Vaculik has other plans if he doesn't (as many expect he wont) get a SGP Wildcard for 2018. I know the swedes can have bigger squads but normally you are in the main named 1 to 5/6 if you a re likely to figure for the team. Anyway good to hear from anyone in the know on the subject.

Hope you guys are successful in getting them. I think UK Summers seem to be getting more unpredictable with maybe more rain when we should be basking in the Sun. Track covers are a great idea and I am sure they would reduce the amount of meetings lost and also importantly protect the tracks from getting too wet to the degree it affects good racing. Rain is the scourge of our sport and with so many more meetings than say the Poles etc then clubs need to protect their tracks where possible so they don't end up with end of season and non race night replacements. Good luck to BV is their quest to get some reasonable funding for them.

That is what I am hoping and posting on the Forum. My only fear is that if one or both fail or underperform then I could see it hitting Poole big time. We really don't need another KK situation in 2018. Common sense would say that Chris has to get some form back as its his whole top flight career at stake not only in UK but in the higher paying Countries like POL/SWE and his place in the elite SGP. Surely he has got to get back some form. Change your tuner if the current one isn't working. Its your career at stake here for Christ's sake ..... Similar with Jack. I would hope he continues to improve and while MAYBE his development may not be as rapid he is only 21 and if he can find some big scores and consistency riding with Chris in the team then logic dictates it should be a win/win. BUT logic doesn't always work like that as nobody really expected KK to be as dire as he was. Up and down many had warned of but down/down to benefit from a reserve spot elsewhere ?? Matt Ford has the answers no doubt as to who his A team are prior to the SCB AGM but depending on the points limit, if it is 42 points and both Holders are in then a lot of pressure on to see some decent scores. Of course a good solid additional heat leader and not expecting Brady K to just step up to the plate and shoulder all the pressure would greatly assist. We shall see as November fast approaches ;-)

If CH does get signed by Matt next season then he really does need to get his act together. I have been advocating his return to Poole for weeks now but when I see the shambles of a score he posted in the last (and his home) GP then indeed it is a cause for concern. I think it may be his lowest ever score in GP ?? and considering he won it last year it was truly a poor effort. You can blame the engine tuning for so long and whilst I appreciate the crowd Saturday was poor then it is a worrying effort. I expected him to at least get min 8/10 points considering some riders were not even trying hard imo. As evidenced by what Tungate scored. But even so 3 points from 5 rides. How can he go from the rider he was compared to Doyle to what he has ended the season on. A lot of me says I want him back but if we are going to get the rider who has been like this season then maybe not. I don't want to get carried away by one poor score but lets be honest. Its been consistently poor by his standards in POL/SWE/UK (as evidenced by the much lower GSA) and also in GP hence why he needs a wildcard. Perhaps there is some arrogance in knowing a good chance as a Monster sponsored rider that he is nailed on for a Wild Card. Even so the Aussie supporters (what little of the crown there was at the meeting) deserved better from the former WC. Lets hope whoever he rides for gets the real CH and not the performer we have seen so many poor scores/rides from this season. He really needs his engines sorted for 2018 as he cant keep hiding behind poor equipment forever. 2018 will be a big season in determining where he will end up as a rider. Would hate to see Torun/Swe and his UK emptying him if his results continue to be this bad.

Then that would conveniently probably get him out of the brown smelly stuff with UK authorities if he does also have a medical certificate. But when you think about it. I don't think he was first reserve anyway and chances are he would have been sitting around in kevlars in the faint hope one ride would come along. This way he can dedicate full support to brother Chris in the pits and at the same time can say he was still ill and not fit to ride. Had he been so then for sure he could have been in big trouble for next season.

I think Jack will pass on Champ this season as if signing in Poland for Torun he wont need Champ distraction as he has done his 2.5 season stint. (The half being Plymouth's when they went belly up). Just like Chris who did 2 seasons he will move up to do probably Poland (Torun) - UK (Hopefully Poole, and even if not then another team if Matt loans him out. Don't think Jack has much more to learn in Champ as like Chris he will set his sights on riding against the Worlds best to gain more experience and if he was to get into Sweden then good for him but not the end of the World if not. Plus of course the various Indv/Various qualifiers plus Aussie team events. I am sure he wont go hungry. His career path is similar to Chris even if he doesn't quite scale the heights of big bro but who knows ??. I think he has potential talent. Ask yourself if for example would Robert Lambert have been able to knock in those kind of scores he got near the end of the season for Torun had he ridden there. I don't think he would have personally. To me he has shown signs and deserves to develop at Poole with Chris helping him. I agree he has shown some immature attitude but lets not forget even Darcy had his immature days both on and off the track. We forgave him because he was one of the greatest young talents to get on a speedway bike. Jack is still 21 and still a lot to learn. He came to UK maybe one year late due to doing was it some kind of apprenticeship so was 1 season behind Brady. BUT look how quickly he has developed in just 3 years in UK (or 2.5 considering Plymouths not even half season ??). Not even Lambert has been as good in Poland second div let alone the POL EXL. We will have to agree to disagree Ray on the Holder's but that's what the Forum is about. Cultivating and exchanging opinion. For me if they can also get a solid heat leader on top then good enough for me. Whether that be a real number 1 or another season of Andersen I am not so sure. Much as many have said how good Andersen is for the team and a wise head, I do wonder if this guy will be part of a league winning team in his later years with Poole. I have some doubts. If he has also lost his place in Sweden then for sure wont be a happy boy. Much to ponder while we await the BSPA AGM in Nov and then Matts hopefully quick team news to put to bed once and for all who may be in and out of the team ;-)

Come on - you can see the poor Holder Jr is ill/sick. No doubt the medical certificates he gave to Peterborough will prove that ;-) Peterborough wont knock it though. They won the Champ 4's without him and just won the KO cup without him. Perhaps there is an omen that he is better not riding at Peterborough in the important meetings ;-)

Whoops - Apologies. Yes I meant Peter Johns. The problem with being a Speedway supporter for 47 years is you slip into old habits. Roger of course was the Wimbledon Speedway rider from many moons ago and maybe his brother I think ?? Yes it was Sealy so apologies again if I misquoted. The main point was though that the split of course had an effect so quickly after the Darcy situation. Notwithstanding having engines that were clearly lacking the speed. Let's hope the guy can move on because if he doesn't then I can see him being out of Torun - maybe Sweden and if they do sign him, Poole. I am sure he will be determined to knuckle down in a dual role of getting his form back and hopefully motivating and giving advice to the young riders. The guy is only 30 not 40/45 and still has much to give to the sport despite what he has already achieved in the last 8/9 years.

Yes I think all Speedway supporters would like to see the (hopefully) new WC back in UK at Swindon for 2018 even though I don't support Swindon. Still want to see him on our tracks and its good for the sport. Also hope the poor bugger can keep clear on injuries for a season as how this guy almost won the WC in 2016 and hopefully will in 2017 is incredible. I suppose being a hard rider always makes it possible you will get into scrapes but man, has he had some serious ones in the last couple of years. Good luck to him as he has done incredibly well to come from the rider he was even into his mid twenties plus to who he is today. As for the team. Well success is great of course but can bring its own problems for the flwg season. IF the BSPA keep at 42 points then Swindon have to shed 4.74 points and for Wolves its even worse at 5.44 - Belle Vue amazingly only 1.98 over. That's a lot to get down for Swindon. Especially if they want to retain Doyle/Morris/Museilak. Also sighted comments about Ellis maybe wanting to stay, but if he has become a Poole asset then something has to give in the Swindon team to shed 4.74 points. There isn't much wiggle room in the bottom 3 with Ellis on 5.56 - BWD on 4.67 and Zach on 3.21. Getting 4.74 points (if it is a 42 point limit as widely being rumoured), then something has to give in the top part of the team. Its going to be interesting but however Roscoe sorts it you cant take away the fact they were brilliant in 2017 and nobody can take that away from the team who won the league and deservedly so considering where they came from at the start and with so many expecting them to be near the bottom rather than the top. They finished top of the league and quite rightly won the play offs to confirm they were the top team. Also partly done at times without Jason Doyel due to injuries. Incredible performance and well done to all at Swindon and their supporters.

Think this is a big season for Chris. He has 99% been given a reprieve with Torun. The well known Polish site have just posted that they see him as a babysitter for young riders coming in at Torun incl Jack Holder who they expect to be in the squad. One would hope that also maybe riding with Jack in UK he will be more settled following the turmoil of what happened to Darcy/his personal relationship due to his break up with Middlo's Daughter and the obvious tuning problems he endured for much of 2017 with his bikes. Something I might add that Zagar had similar issues with Roger John's tuned engines until they found late the problems which allowed Zagar to fly in the last 6/8 weeks of the season. Hopefully Chris's engines for next year will be similarly sorted. I think the guy deserves to be given at least another season with Poole after all he has done for the team for so many seasons. If they include brother Jack then I can see it giving both some stability as they could compliment each other in different ways. Giving Chris a mentor role to young Bro and other young Poole riders (so a similar role to Torun) and also give him stability to help concentrate his mind in banging in more big scores. Its all a big unknown of course but I personally think there is plenty of upside in keeping both Holders. For me a rejuvenated Chris with exciting up and coming young riders such as Kurtz/Holder Jr/Woryna and hopefully also to benefit young Shanes, cant be a bad thing. Its going to be interesting of course as we await with eager anticipation the outcome of the BSPA AGM in NOV and announcements on league make up - team points limits etc. Hopefully Matt Ford will come forth with exciting news on the team shortly afterwards with news on who our number one will be plus some finalisation on if and in what capacity the two Holders will ride.

Perhaps it may not even happen but interesting forum fodder whilst there is little in the way of real news knocking around. Its a long time until March 2018 so we need something to keep the forum going ;-) There is a lot to say in favour of Andersen. it was definitely unfair to expect so much from him in 2017. If he wasn't having to shoulder the heat leader position for so long in 2017 he would have been a decent 2nd and probably 3rd heat leader. I would prefer to have 2 above him and relieve the pressure so he doesn't need to be the one having expectations put on him for big scores every week. He is a serious rider who yes is good in the pits and a motivator who feels it personally when he or the team have not performed. But I feel his scores will continue up and down as he enters the twilight of his career. Think about it as well. Having to do 4 leagues in the peak season (his choice as he tries to max income in his later years) plus Danish Indv Champ -Speedway SEC qualifiers or SGP qualifiers and other indv meetings. Its only natural that ultimately all this travelling must take its toll. Supporters probably take for granted that these guys turn up each week and only have to ride 16/20 laps. Try doing all this crazy commuting on planes and then in many cases long car journeys - POL (Sun) - SWE (Tue) - DK (Wed) - UK maybe fixed days Wed/Thur ?? or whatever days. Factor in all the other meetings its no wonder riders like him can have the odd bad meeting or bad ride. He isn't a young 20/25 year old any more and although lots of experience it must grind you down ultimately if you also have your wife/Partner & Kinds in say DK. Personally I would love to have him stay with Kurtz and Holder Sr. Noises are being made on the forum that MAYBE he will go to Somerset and still stay with Matt Ford when in UK. Yes it would be a loss to a degree BUT that depends on ultimately what Matt has up his sleeve as a number 1 be that Hancock or any other true heat leader. We will in the meantime keep debating as to who may/may not and who we would like to see in the team (as well as disagree on rider ideas).

Maybe but lets not forget he has won 4 WC and the last one only last year. Getting on he may be but he is still arguably the best gater around which would be more than ample for our 4th grade league (after POL EXL/SWE/POL Nice 1). I am sure he could carve out a half decent average against plenty of our inept riders and ageing stars. Think the guy would also be good in the pits for young up and coming riders. Also riders like Janowski have a lot of praise for him saying he was his role model having been the biggest influence on his career. The likes of Kurtz/Holder Jr/Woryna/Shanes and maybe even Ellis could do a lot worse than have the likes of Chris Holder and Hancock riding and being an influence in the pits giving guidance.

Well all this latest news on Hancock is indeed interesting. I wonder if something is bubbling up in respect of him racing in UK?? I say that as recently I made comment about the fact that why near the end of UK season was he in UK at one of Glasgow's meetings (seemed a long ay to come for a WC for a Champ meeting) unless he was offered a good deal to come for the meeting". I now read on Gregs own twitter page today that he is advertising the Glasgow end of season dinner & dance on 28/10 for which he is a special guest attending. The suspicious side of me says - could this and the other visit be maybe a bit of a smoke screen for him signing some mega UK deal with Poole. Lets be honest the guy is an icon with many (Even my local garage has a big poster up of him racing in his office). I am sure he could secure some pretty hefty sponsorship deals and at 47 (48 in June) he knows that the chances of him winning another GP with so much young talent arriving in the GP will get less as he gets towards 50. He isn't even 100% guaranteed a Wildcard for 2018, but I am sure he will having been WC 4 times. If he could be secured on a sensible av then indeed a good signing. Especially if they could also squeeze in BK/CH

I would be very cautious of having Klindt in the team after his nasty injury in 2017. I wasn't over impressed with his av bearing in mind he spent most of it at reserve until moving out 23rd June to main spot and he then got injured shortly after. He only achieved 6.36 GSA from reserve despite all those extra rides and riding against what should have been inferior riders. Riding injured in a couple of meetings in main body of the team then dragged it back further as he could hardly ride a bike by then. I was a bit concerned at some of his scores also in POL/Swe leading up to his injury. Without knowing what toll his injury has taken and having lost nearly 4 months of 2017 will he hit the ground running in 2018 or will he take a couple of months to bed in PLUS chances are he would not come back as a reserve. In that case I would seriously question his scoring capabilities in the main team with the added handicap of feeling his way back. I don't think Poole can afford that luxury after what happened in 2017. I reckon he may be loaned out and only if he is going to be at reserve would I even consider him. No chance if its Woryna and Shanes. If in the unlikely event they chose 45 points as the limit (I wish but I doubt) then they could accommodate Chris Holder plus have a heavy hitter to replace Andersen who can be good - very good, but has also a habit of letting you down at important times. Having said that he is not a number 1 and too much was put on him when many were not performing or injuries. For sure Chris Holder - Kurtz - Andersen and a good number one would be in dreamland with the possibility of Woryna improving if he carries over his impressive Polish form into UK for 2018. The joy of the forum is it allows us to dream and exchange views even if some may think its delusional. If it is 42 points then more difficult unless he goes with the team I mentioned earlier to incl CH/BK/HA as a top 3 in the hope Woryna/Holder Jr will improve as I expect both Ellis and Shanes if signed as the 2 UK riders to be steady rather than big improvements. I am still not convinced on Ellis. Been around a good few years now and although only 22 in March will be starting his 7th year in British Speedway in 2018 having started at 16. He hasn't in my opinion pushed on that much and would not surprise me if he stays in the 5.50/6.50 GSA range. Would hope to be proved wrong but he hasn't pulled up any trees when riding abroad and hasn't broken through into the leagues in POL or SWE. Anyway we can continue to rumour and exchange views ;-)

interesting comment Skidder about Matt assisting Chris with his appeal. Also notice that Chris has been fairly quiet on both his twitter and racing website recently. Maybe Matt with his wiser head has suggested Chris keep out of the limelight while the appeal went through and also maybe in the knowledge that he will be in the side for 2018. After all that went on this year I think no comment is better than some of what was said on social media. Indeed I agree with you that he wont announce any number 1 until after AGM. Doing a quick calculation. IF they make it a 42 point limit. BKurtz/Shanes/Woryna/Holder Snr & Jnr/Ellis comes to 34.22 leaves 7.78. Han Anderson sits on 7.75 so team scrapes in by 0.03. IF they went for another number one then it would seem to put in doubt Holder Sr ?? as they would need a rider with a lower av to accommodate around that number 1 slot ?? We all know the first 3 named are near enough definite, but until the points limit is known plus what plans Matt has for the number one slot then we continue to play the Forum guessing game, which suppose at least it keeps the topic going and ticking along ;-)

Does anyone know when the Poles have their AGM to set the rules on meetings & Countries for 2018 ?? I read this morning that the Polish transfer window is only open for the first 2 weeks of November. (Now that is what you call professional). Would be good for all of us to know when the Poles will announce if the rules on how many Countries riders riding in the POL EXL can ride in will be the same as imposed this year. At least it will help narrow the field further on which riders will/wont be available to probably ride in UK. I.E NKI would only be allowed to do POL/SWE (for which he is already signed) plus his own Country DK as he is a Dane.

The Holder Bros certainly dividing opinion amongst contributors on BSF. I would prefer to have both for reasons aired previously. However we will all have to await Matt Ford to share his words of wisdom with us, and for me it will also depend if they go for a gifted number 1 or whether they go down the strength in depth route using say HA/BK and Chris H. We can debate it all day long and for sure opinion is divided. The points limit on teams will obviously have an impact with the current census of opinion being it will be 42, which for sure limits the possibilities with also needing 2 UK riders included if that remains the rules. In the meantime all we can do to keep the forum going is to air opinions in the hope we guess correctly what the team will be :-) Let's hope the wait isn't too long but suppose with the Poles and Swedes sorting their teams by latest end Nov (if not earlier for most of them) and with hopefully the POL rules on how many leagues a rider can ride in will also be known well before our SGP go sunning their bums in Tenerife for the AGM come mid November. Sorry meant BSPA not SGP :-(