Sheffield 2020

[4thbender]

Well, someone's got to start the new thread so it might as well be me!

I think the most important and fundamental issue for Sheffield in 2020 is ownership. I get the impression from Steady's comments in today's rag that a change of heart on behalf of the owners is not out of the question. He says “Personally I’d like the current promotion to carry on. I think they’ve done a great job over the past few years and we all have common goals. There’s still so much to achieve with the Tigers."

I would personally fully endorse this view and maybe if enough fans follow suit it might just be enough to encourage the present owners to take down the "for sale" sign and give it another go. We might from time to time criticise certain team decisions on this and other forums, but I still believe that the Bates' ownership is best placed to make those decisions (even if they do get it wrong occasionally!)

I hope they change their mind, but what do others think?

[The Third Man]

The bottom end of the team needs to be McDonald, Kennedy and Nichol, the rest can wait until after the conference

[OdsalBoy]

For me the first two names that must be on the team sheet for 2020 are:

Broc Nicol

Zaine Kennedy

[squall]

2 hours ago, The Third Man said:

The bottom end of the team needs to be McDonald, Kennedy and Nichol, the rest can wait until after the conference

Bang on what I was thinking

[Charlieboy]

Nicol has got to be retained.If we are to keep Zaine and josh they have got to improve vastly away especially Zaine.Around Sheffield he's top rider but struggles big time on smaller tracks. I think he need to find a small track in Aussie this winter and work really hard on tight turns.All 3 riders have potential but need to be more consistent.

[ScunnyDan]

57 minutes ago, OdsalBoy said:

For me the first two names that must be on the team sheet for 2020 are:

Broc Nicol

Zaine Kennedy

Not forgetting David Speight as your number 1

[The Third Man]

40 minutes ago, Charlieboy said:

Nicol has got to be retained.If we are to keep Zaine and josh they have got to improve vastly away especially Zaine.Around Sheffield he's top rider but struggles big time on smaller tracks. I think he need to find a small track in Aussie this winter and work really hard on tight turns.All 3 riders have potential but need to be more consistent.

It was their first season in this country, both did well and will improve next year, not to mention the entertainment from Kennedy as well

[Charlieboy]

Yes I appreciate that.But we can't afford to have a long tail again next season as proved this season you don't win owt.Entertaiment from Zaine at home has been top drawer,his style and guts he has shown have been a highlight in a poor season.I was at Birmingham for Josh's debut and was impressed with him especially as he got wiped out by the out of control Stoneman,then showed total commitment for rest of the meeting .Broc was just hitting form before he got wiped out by Bates,and has got back to form since the injury.So if we keep these 3 we must get a decent top 4 to carry any indifferent performances.All 3 are worth keeping dependent on the other 4 to be added.End of the day it's a numbers game.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Charlieboy
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[Charlieboy]

I would like to see Jake Allen ride for us he can ride most tracks consistently .Hes been at Scunthorpe for a while and might fancy a change of scenery.He would be good for our other Aussies and he gets on well with our promoters.Ryan Douglas would be another I'd like but I think he may be back at Scunthorpe .

[Red Flag]

2 hours ago, Charlieboy said:

Nicol has got to be retained.If we are to keep Zaine and josh they have got to improve vastly away especially Zaine.Around Sheffield he's top rider but struggles big time on smaller tracks. I think he need to find a small track in Aussie this winter and work really hard on tight turns.All 3 riders have potential but need to be more consistent.

He was practicing after meetings at Wolves for last couple of months

[Byker Biker]

Interesting that you are straight in to team building, surely the priority has to be to secure the sport at Owlerton and that may mean having to support a "mediocre" team until the promotion stop haemorrhaging and that is what is likely to give them the incentive to carry on. With some TV money swishing about next year it may be a lesser risk to race at the higher level but not try to buy the trophy and race for a sensible league position instead.

I'm not a fan of the Bates' at all but I would give them an opportunity to regroup then go again with at least a chance of covering their costs so keeping Speedway in Sheffield, they deserve that at least.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Byker Biker

[spin king]

I think we need to know what the points limit for teams will be for next season before we start looking who we are going to put in the team.

I would not rule out the two top leagues merging into one league, one of the big gripes this season for many fans of clubs in the Championship has been the lack of fixtures and of course riders doubling up is another big gripe all round and has been for a number of years, merging the league would change all of that.

Sheffield speedway is up for sale, but the Bates boys have said if a buyer is not found then Todd Kurtz will be the first name on the team sheet which would suggest that if a buyer is not found they will continue to run the club.

One thing that I think has to happen whoever is running the club is that they ditch the Sunday afternoon racing has to be either Wednesday or Thursday night depending what league structure we race in.

Personally I would go with either Macdonald or Kennedy at reserve alongside Drew Kemp.

Second strings  would be Kurtz and Nicol.

I would go for a whole new heatleader trio possible targets I would look at;

Erik Riss

Ryan Douglas

Jake Allen 

Adam Ellis

Lewis Kerr

Rasmus Jensen

David Bellego

Cameron Heeps

Josh Pickering

 

 

[romans lovechild]

it baffles me that the current management have said that kurtz would be the first name on their list if they are still running the show, the first 3 names should be a shoe-in, no matter what the points limit is, and those for me are  broc, chunk, and zaine. 

if we retain the 38 pt limit(which I hope we don't)

1. Richard lawson

2. macdonald

3. jake allen

4. nicol

5. howarth

6. kennedy

7. Nathan stoneman

if its raised to 41 pt limit replace Stoneman with either connor mountain or Stefan Nielsen.

however I do fear that kyle might want to move on, but we will have to see what the conference brings.

[squall]

Stefan Nielsen on a bargain average, loves the Sheffield track. An injury-free season would see him add at least 2 points to his average.

[MD]

16 minutes ago, squall said:

Stefan Nielsen on a bargain average, loves the Sheffield track. An injury-free season would see him add at least 2 points to his average.

Has he ever had an injury free season?

[scunny1]

Not his fault he keeps getting torpedoed off and breaking limbs. One very unlucky guy!

[squall]

11 hours ago, MD said:

Has he ever had an injury free season?

First time for everything

[Moranboys]

For me.nicol and Kennedy should be nailed on along with Ellis perks if we could get him.

[poolebolton]

Nicol has an agreement to ride for Kings Lynn next season. 

Well, its 99% sure that the top flight will have 8 teams and well rumour is it won't be you who makes the move up. 

SO Nicol is free to use. 

Edited September 28, 2019 by poolebolton

[The Third Man]

22 hours ago, poolebolton said:

Nicol has an agreement to ride for Kings Lynn next season. 

Well, its 99% sure that the top flight will have 8 teams and well rumour is it won't be you who makes the move up. 

SO Nicol is free to use. 

Very good of you to allow us to use one of own riders

Edited September 29, 2019 by The Third Man