INCOGNITO

He won or was paid a win in 67% of his races in 2013 and actually seemed to drop points in his easiest ride of the night. Heat 8 No He increased his 2011 average average of 3.00 to over six in 2012 but that dropped to under five in 2013

So what took so long to announce Pawlicki as he was sorted before his brother signed for Wolves. Good top three who on their day can be unbeatable but are also prone to blunders. Certainly a team of entertainers. Play off contenders !

Smolinski in March to May was a different rider to the one that finished the season and it wasn't an improvement. Doyle was consistent but Woffinden and Iversen were the two outstanding riders of 2013

Michael Palm Toft fills the final place Looking for sponsorship to help him for the season ahead

Smolinski was approached by two teams as far as I can recall but have to say he would have been a big gamble in any team in my opinion. Daniel Nermark to make a return to Birmingham ? But can they afford his demands is the question and will there be a cheaper option ?

If it was based on the rider that changes a teams performance then the true winner would have to be Robert Miskowiak who turned a table topping team into also rans who pulled up in the final furlong

Chances are that the missing rider will be foreign and ridden here before but Sowka is unlikely as he is rolled in cotton wool by his Polish team

Shows how much Sky know about the sport. The real star was Tai Woffinden and everyone knows that Yes he had a good season but he was at reserve at the start which boosted his average up and only got to the GP'S on a one off meeting and missed the cut but takes the place of Iversen. Bomber qualified for the GP's too and nearly finished the season at reserve !!

Poole only wanted him on a low average so they can ditch him after a year ie Madsen and many more. He knows at Wolverhampton he will be rewarded with loyalty and that is important in these times

An excellent signing by Birmingham and a great rock to have in the line up

Adam isn't a motivator and is in fact a quiet person but he is a rider that can raise his game when needed and is the perfect rider for any team to add some stability to the line up and the odd match winning ride. Certainly going to be missed at Monmore Green and had Pawlicki been on a 6.00 I'm sure he would have been back in the pits come March.

There will always be top riders who never win the individual title and Leigh Adams is certainly one of the best. Shawn Moran Tommy Knudsen Phil Crump Dave Jessup Jack Parker Split Waterman You could go on for ages and never have a true answer but Leigh certainly was top class

So talks with the next rider are being held this week. Must admit the inclusion of Adam Skornicki would be a good move for a team that builds to be strong in all departments.

It seems pretty obvious that Pawlicki is the final rider for Poole and the post does seem to be just a rough idea of what a match could look like. There is nothing there to say that is the end article in my opinion but it does seem to be along the right line of which way the format and teams could look. There are some good looking teams this year and it does seem that the team with the best reserves will be in a pole position to reaching the play offs.

NOTE Riders that are at reserve will not receive a new average regardless of how many they score and the only average that will affect them is their Premier League average in 2014. The problem may be riders like Peter Ljung starting as a teams fifth rider and facing easier races. Their first official average could be hugely inflated meaning a 5 point rider could be replaced by an 8 point rider mid season or a 6 plus rider could drop to below 5 and be picked up by another team and then see them score well due to the easier races. Will be interesting to see how many second strings reach heat leader status.

Respect is Respect regardless Yet again Poole have built a team that will challenge for the top and entertain. Well Done to Matt and Midlo .......... love them or not !

The 2013 team was not too expensive to build but the main reason Brummies were in the mix was the form of Jason Doyle and the vast improvement of Martin Smolinski who was at reserve and up to #1 The problem this year is to find riders that will improve again but that is hard to find and another problem is finding a 5th rider who will ride full time. Maybe a new 5.00 rider and Skornicki is the sensible choices.

Man United Marmite Nicki Pedersen Andy Murray Poole Speedway Red Bull / Monster All of these are top of their respective sports or trades but they all have one thing in common You love them or hate them ............ but you have to respect them and their drive to stay at the top

If Poole are the Man United of speedway does that mean they will do well to get above mid table ?

What are the odds on Mads Korneliussen at Swindon replacing Morris and KK at Leicester ? Would also mean Birks joining Swindon !!

Skornicki would be a great signing for Birmingham and a rider that is fully committed and has strong links in the area. The problem Brummies may have is finding a 5 point rider that doesn't need to double up as they already have Barker and Kennett filling those spaces. Maybe someone like Mrozcka or Anderson or even Timo Lahti who is a proven scorer and could be a bargain on 4.80

On the criteria Milik should be a 4.00 rider. However these averages have been changed in the past and with Michelsen averaging over six in the Swedish Elite League he should be reassessed really They are not the same ability and far from it. Pawlicki is about the same level as someone like Rory Schlein Michelsen is about the same as Richie Worrall Andreji Lebedev is roughly about the same as Simon Gustafsson Niklas Porsing is around the standard of Adam Roynon

Mikkel Michelsen is not as good as Piotr Pawlicki and possibly a bit ahead of Vaclav Milik which looks right when they have different assessed averages. However Milik in my opinion should be 5.00 as he has done well in FIM meetings while Pawlicki and Michelsen should be 6.00 and 5.50 due to their averages in Sweden. Wolverhampton may have the best of the three riders but Eastbourne and Poole have the bargains.

British but has a Danish father. With Ashley Birks is out the running after signing for Scunthorpe, could the final place be a foreign rider that has been here before and has so far been better than his average suggests

The list would be massive but it depends on how they are doing in Sweden and Poland in the top divisions and Piotr Pawlicki is scoring well in both while Tobiasz Musielak has done well in Poland. Milik is a very good signing and should be capable of adding at least a point to his starting average and will be the best Czech rider for some time.