greyhoundp Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 (edited) Malcolm, I have a lot of respect for what you have achieved in Speedway over the years,and i would hate to see you end on a low note at Stoke, so for that reason alone i hope you achieve some success before you retire. However what i see as a Speedway fan in general, is that there is a danger of being tarred with the same brush so to speak, and i would hate for that to happen, as you nor Stoke Speedway dont deserve it. Good luck for 2014. Edited December 24, 2013 by greyhoundp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander15 Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 (edited) I can say this and it is written in all honesty and that is that there is a deep rooted desire at Stoke to perform better as a Speedway team and it is something that we engage in every single day. I wish when criticism is made such as the remaining points we have to play with, that viable alternatives were suggested to the signings we make. Maybe then I could say well we looked into that but it couldn't happen for whatever reason. An honest an open post these Malcolm. I'll make one particular point and I understand that a lot of times when clubs talk to riders that its not in the interests of the club or the rider to make that public, but seeing as you have commented on it so shall I. From an outsiders point of view it looks surprising that Priest has missed out. So imo to give a viable alternative, to accommodate Priest, you'd have to have not signed one of your heat leaders. Wilson takes up a lot of points but several big hitters from last year are missing so I expect him to average around that figure, or drop by no more than 0.5 anyway. The other alternative could've been Lambert at 1 on 9.46 and Priest but maybe Len Silver specifically wanted him at Kent. I'm sure if you asked any Islanders fans who their most consistent rider has been since we've gone NL & they'd all say Ben Hopwood! He won't necessarily add a lot to his average but you can guarantee it won't drop by much either, and wherever he rides he will be in the points. Maybe a slightly biased view but I think he's a good signing. Then we're left with Jon Armstrong. I understand that he's the older head to ride alongside a relative newbie at reserve but both Bens have experience, Wilson has ridden PL & EL and Hopwood was IOW captain last year so I would expect those pair to be able to pass on their expertise anyway. As with the other 2 I can't see a dramatic drop (but I do expect a drop) in Jon's average. And to be successful you need improvement in averages, and with all 3 likely to end on similar figures there's suddenly a lot of pressure on Payne and the bottom 3 to improve. So I would've gone for a lower averaged rider than Jon with more potential, and by signing Priest it leaves 7.23. The obvious candidate to me is Liam Carr who I'm amazed hasn't signed for the 'big 2' of Dudley & Mildenhall as I'm sure he'll average over 8 next year, pushing 9. But similarly I'm surprised he wasn't signed last year, and travelling expenses were reported so I assume the same applies. Or Benji Compton, he seems to ride Stoke well and he didn't seem to dominate at Kent to I'm surprised he's back. Edited December 24, 2013 by Islander15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swift Saint Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 You raise interesting points Islander but the logistics of signing riders is not as simple as your comments suggest. You may offer a rider a deal but he may not respond immediately and in an ever diminishing market place which is what it is you have to guard against losing good options. You also overlook the fact that both Lambert and Carr ride for Saturday tracks in the Premier League and there are often issues surrounding any rider that an outsider to a Club wont know of. You would not say what these are in case you jeopardised that rider elsewhere and I am not talking about anything bad. It might just be transport problems if the rider can't drive or school commitments. Benji Compton was very quickly re-signed by Kent so that was never a possibility. I will often not discuss why a rider has not been signed it might just be that in the market place you build the best you can get and a rider just does not fit. As yet we have not discussed affordability another factor and it may be you just cant match a rider's needs. I hope that helps you to understand the dilemma clubs face. I am not prepared to say anymore but I believe that the team we have signed so far is the best we could have hoped for once it was clear to us that Steve Worrall would be moving on. Steve was a revelation for us last year but he needs to be in Eastern Europe on Sundays and Edinburgh on Fridays and Swindon on Thursdays sometimes Mondays maybe it really is a minefield. So if two and two in people's team selections don't always add up to the four that you had expected them to have there is a short resume as to why that might be so. It's a dreadful process and is littered with casualties but that's the job and that's the challenge and its the same for all Clubs or is it? Malcolm Vasey 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proud panther Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 Where in Eastern Europe does Worrral ride on a Sunday ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swift Saint Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 Where in Eastern Europe does Worrral ride on a Sunday ? It is my understanding that he will be helping Richie in Poland that was their plan it may have changed if you know different. Malcolm Vasey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proud panther Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 Wasn't questioning if it was true or not Malcolm, just curious where Steve had got a ride abroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montie Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 Having always been a fan of Ben Wilson I find it hard to believe the lad is now back in the NL... I hope he blasts a heap of points and is back in the Premier League before to long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Great signing in Ben Wilson well done Stoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Up Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Great signing in Ben Wilson well done Stoke. Certainly pulled a rabbit out of the hat in getting Ben Wilson in but there has to be a worry where the heat leaders are coming from at the likes of Buxton and Plymouth with so many riders, Boxall, Blackbird, Morris, Ellis etc, unable to ride NL this coming season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montie Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 s, Boxall, Blackbird, Morris, Ellis etc, unable to ride NL this coming season. Good....thats progress which is what we need from the NL If you dont use developing riders you wont have heat leaders in the future--simple 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vog Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 So, Chris Widman completes the top 5. Interesting, but it does worry me. Not sure he has ridden in the main body of a team before? Should have the benefit of riding with Ben Wilson, which could well help him though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathen1984 Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looks a poor team at the moment. Who knows thou? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vog Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looks a poor team at the moment. Who knows thou? I don't know if it looks poor, but it does depend on the reserves. Widman signing leaves us with 6.61 for the final 2. If those two are, say Danny Phillips and Matt Williamson, then the team looks better, because the top 3 will score well, and the other 4 can improve. If however, we have 2 untried riders who struggle, the team will struggle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 You beat me to it Vog. With the type of reserves you speak of it could be a competitive side in the NL. Wilson will be a top rider in this league but his 10. something compared to a 7. something for Steve Worrell is a big difference for riders I expect to be on similar averages by end of year. Need 3 pointers to be improvers to make this in to a top four side. Average keepers on 3 will see Stoke in the bottom half. Feeling one will be Tedham and for all his effort; I cannot see much beyond a 3.5 for him this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comebackkings Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Unless they get turn 3 sorted the team will feature r/r a lot. It saddens me the way Stoke have declined over the last decade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) Facilities at Chesterton Stadium, Stoke, are often commented about on the BSF. It would appear that small oval car race followers also have views on the place. This appeared on Roger’s Oval Racing page forum recently: http://www.ukovalracing.info/ 3/1/14 The Wanderer went to Stoke .....”Good to see Stoke advertising World Qualifying and World Semi-Final meetings for the Brisca F1’s in 2014. Both dates are in the diary and I just hope that the promoter manages to organise some decent ‘facilities’ for both drivers and spectators!” Edited January 9, 2014 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banani Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) Next signing is James Mcbain Edited January 12, 2014 by Banani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topcat Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 James must be a trump card for Stoke. Great signing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vog Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 Happy with the signing of McBain, easily one of the better 3 pointers, and has an odd amount of PL experience for someone with very little NL experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeyin Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 James should do a good job for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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