E I Addio Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 He's the prime example of a spoilt child who has always got his own way, whenever something goes wrong it is never his fault. don't really want to comment on the depression thing as I've seen it effect some people in a really bad way. but I agree that his comeback from that was all too sudden How do you know he is over it? Amazing how people who are not doctors and have never met the bloke know what's wrong with him. Anyway back to the point of the thread. By this stage Jon Cook usually has a pretty clear idea of who the team will be. We know that Richard Lawson is nailed on and Kim Nilsson is 99 % , so it seems to hinge on how many points are left to play with depending on whether they get AJ. As Lewis talking about a year out he obviously hasn't been given the nod on a team place as yet, either at Lakeside or anywhere else. Lakeside now have first call on Danny King. who is not as prolific or entertaining as Lewis round Lakeside, but he is generally better at other tracks, and he has indicated he would like to come, plus he is more of a team player than Lewis,so he must be in the running. In addition, if KL release Rory, Lakeside seems to be his natural home. He likes the track, most of the fans like him and he, like Danny is a good team player, which seems to count a lot with Jon Cook. But if AJ doesn't come the club would still need an all out No1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevtheRev Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Can't believe some of the comments on here. How is Danny more of a team player than Lewis? If the Brummies come back (and I hope they do) then Danny will be back there IMHO. 2 years ago, Lewis could have taken the easy option and doubled up the the PL, like some others. But he took the brave option to branch out into Poland in an effort to better himself. He should have been given more credit for that decision. The guys has improved for the last 2 seasons and certainly other clubs are now sniffing around to see his availability. I'd like to see AJ, Bech, Lewis, Kim & Richard back in the Hammers colours in 2015. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'd like to see AJ, Bech, Lewis, Kim & Richard back in the Hammers colours in 2015. They wouldn't fit on a 32 point limit, which seems likely to continue. Even if they knocked 2 points off Richards average to off-set the fact that he spent most of the season as a second string, they still wouldn't fit. Therein lies the problem. Everyone would like to see Bech back but there is no point if he is going to be missing lots of meetings again. He was on a bargain average when he came in on a five-point average last season but on a 7.24 his average is not quite such a bargain. If AJ comes back I doubt if you will see another continental rider in the side, apart from Kim who seems more committed to British speedway than most. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbee Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 They wouldn't fit on a 32 point limit, which seems likely to continue. Even if they knocked 2 points off Richards average to off-set the fact that he spent most of the season as a second string, they still wouldn't fit. Therein lies the problem. Everyone would like to see Bech back but there is no point if he is going to be missing lots of meetings again. He was on a bargain average when he came in on a five-point average last season but on a 7.24 his average is not quite such a bargain. If AJ comes back I doubt if you will see another continental rider in the side, apart from Kim who seems more committed to British speedway than most. we are having AJ back keep your hands of squad system he would fit in just nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 No idea on points or even if the Elite League will resemble anything like what we have seen this year but i would love to see AJ back as its a treat to watch him miss the start, Lawson certainly should return, he is now very much an out and out Hammer and someone the crowd can really get behind as one of their own. Mikkel B Jensen if conflicting dates can be avoided or limited is another i would welcome back with open arms, Kim Nilsson i am sure will be in contention, he still needs to improve his scores on these shores but can be a handy rider down the card and if there is any chance of Danny King returning that would be good, he has always been a popular rider at Lakeside much like his brother was. Other riders who have never been Hammers riders bar guest that i would like to see possibly included are Hans Andersen, Rory Schlein, Ricky Wells and Timo Lahti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countershaftcounter Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 if there's only one FTR next year, who would you like to see ride for the hammers ? ( not just limited to Morley/Ellis) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim3751 Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 No mention of Davey Watt. Sorry just an observation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjolnir Posted October 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 if there's only one FTR next year, who would you like to see ride for the hammers ? ( not just limited to Morley/Ellis) Definitely Ellis / Kingston for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 No mention of Davey Watt. Sorry just an observation I am an fan of Davey. He gets. Bad press because he has some howlers at away tracks, but when he was riding in conjunction with Peter Karlsson he did a decent job IMO and in 2013 especaially Davey and PK went out plenty of times in heats 13 and 15 to secure the full 3 points when the rest of the team had wavered. The problem is that Davey is a decent second heatleader but he is not really a genuine No 1 so when PK went off the boil this year it was too much for Davey to carry it off on his own, without consistent support from the others in the big heats. Personally Iwouldn't mind seeing Davey back in a second heatleader role but as the clubs priority is for a full No 1 I think it will be, difficult to fit Davey in if the points limit stays at 32, but who knows. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 With respect Addio i think you are possibly being a bit harsh on PK, I don't think you can blame him directly for Davey Watts scoring, looking at the averages from meetings rode for Lakeside there is only 0.11 difference between the two, they both equally under performed. In my opinion Lakeside took a chance having two elder statesmen in the team and it backfired, of course the new format played its part but its quite damning that both PK and Davey started out as our top two and would have finished 4th and 5th respectively had they both seen out the season as Hammers. Regarding Davey, he is still a very reasonable rider on his day, in fact he can be as entertaining as any but its that flip side of him that appears more often than many would like is the reason i would not have him back, for whatever reason, sometimes he just does not seem to have his heart in it. The club has made good strides in the last season or two of bringing down the average age of the side, hopefully this will continue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) With respect Addio i think you are possibly being a bit harsh on PK, I don't think you can blame him directly for Davey Watts scoring, looking at the averages from meetings rode for Lakeside there is only 0.11 difference between the two, they both equally under performed. In my opinion Lakeside took a chance having two elder statesmen in the team and it backfired, of course the new format played its part but its quite damning that both PK and Davey started out as our top two and would have finished 4th and 5th respectively had they both seen out the season as Hammers. Regarding Davey, he is still a very reasonable rider on his day, in fact he can be as entertaining as any but its that flip side of him that appears more often than many would like is the reason i would not have him back, for whatever reason, sometimes he just does not seem to have his heart in it. The club has made good strides in the last season or two of bringing down the average age of the side, hopefully this will continue. I am not being hard on PK or in anyway critical of him . In fact he would be in my team of all time favourite riders, but the unfortunate fact is that 2014 proved to be a season too far for him. This had a knock on effect on Davey because although neither is a full,out No1 but as a joint spearhead they were doing a pretty decent job but when PK's form faltered there was too much weight on Davey's shoulders with no one else quite ready to step up. I know what you mean about Davey going awol. at times but almost every 6/7 point rider is the same. Adam Shields was like it , Bomber has some complete howlers, Rory , Kenny Bjerre, Hans, Bjarne Pdersen, and plenty of other quality riders have meetings where it just doesn't work for them. On the other hand you have to remember that on the credit side Davey has been a good captain when you look at the way he has worked to bring on riders like Richard Lawson, Ben Moreley and Adam Ellis. A lot of captains don't bother with things like that. So all in all I think with Davey the pros outweigh the cons as second heatleader/captain, but having said that, it could be that after 3 years with Lakeside a change of club for him and some new faces in the Hammers squad might be a positive move.,I have some great memories of some Heat 15s with Davey and PK at their best though. Edited October 24, 2014 by E I Addio 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) With respect Addio i think you are possibly being a bit harsh on PK, I don't think you can blame him directly for Davey Watts scoring, looking at the averages from meetings rode for Lakeside there is only 0.11 difference between the two, they both equally under performed. In my opinion Lakeside took a chance having two elder statesmen in the team and it backfired, of course the new format played its part but its quite damning that both PK and Davey started out as our top two and would have finished 4th and 5th respectively had they both seen out the season as Hammers. Regarding Davey, he is still a very reasonable rider on his day, in fact he can be as entertaining as any but its that flip side of him that appears more often than many would like is the reason i would not have him back, for whatever reason, sometimes he just does not seem to have his heart in it. The club has made good strides in the last season or two of bringing down the average age of the side, hopefully this will continue. That is a tad harsh if not just untrue. Davey did see out season and, solely from EL meetings in 2014 and exlcluding bonus points, finished on a 7.37 average. On the same basis, the other four ended up as under: PK 6.43, LB 6.95, MB 7.28 and RL 6.90 (with the latter three all having had rides as second strings and thus weaker opponents). Edited October 24, 2014 by TonyE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 you misunderstood Tony as what i meant was had we finished the season without making a change and with the averages i go off the combined ones as printed in the speedway star and in years gone by bonus points counted, they don't now but that's a different story. Much of my disappointment with Davey and PK has been on the basis i still believe they are better riders than their averages suggest, however that is possibly not the case and my expectations of them are now too great at this point in their careers. I think every team should have one rider who is a safe eight point plus man, bordering on nine and that's a concern i have with the Hammers, AJ would filled that void instantly then its perfectly setup to have the initial back up riders around the six/seven point mark, whether that's using a safe pair of hands experienced rider or a younger hare um scare um type rider will down the clubs choice but i know what i would rather see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostonian Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 No Bridger for 2015, sounds like he won't be riding speedway at all. All his equipment on sale on his twitter also.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveLyric2 Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 No Bridger for 2015, sounds like he won't be riding speedway at all. All his equipment on sale on his twitter also.. Yes Lewis has confirmed he will NOT race speedway in 2015!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therefused Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 (edited) Maybe Bridger should look to Woffindens mentality and fitness and look to emulate that if he does return in 2016, and finally reach the potential he does still have. That is, if there is still a league for him in 2016 mind. Edited October 31, 2014 by therefused 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjolnir Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Yes Lewis has confirmed he will NOT race speedway in 2015!! It's a shame for us fans, as he was without a doubt one of the most entertaining riders to watch at Lakeside the last couple of seasons. Best of luck to him though, and I hope that he'll rediscover his passion for the sport and we'll see him back on a bike in the future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agrotron Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Mind he can probably see what a joke Speedway has become and opted out can't say I blame him at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Who are you Pirate Oliver, perhaps u need to change your name to Pirate Negative?! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Stummings Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Bridger, no great loss. He needed a mentor and to be ultra professional like Tia Woffinden or Nicki Pedersen Unfortunately for soeedway he thought he could party and still be world class, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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