spin king Posted October 18 Report Share Posted October 18 Surprised to Leon Flint join us, but reasonably happy with the picking him. Lets face it he had a poor season last season, sometimes it happens, but there have ben glimpses in the past that he could have some potential. Sometimes riders are slow burner and take time to reach their full potential. For instances look at Jason Doyle signed for Birmingham on a 6:50 average in 2013. By 2016 he was in the GP's and 2017 he was World Champion, and since then he has been the best rider in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8gdp Posted October 18 Report Share Posted October 18 That’s it then Flints got 3 years to get in the Gp s then win it in his 4th year 😆 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OdsalBoy Posted October 18 Report Share Posted October 18 Not many including myself saw the signing of Flint coming, and i wouldn't be surprised if the management had a few more surprises up their sleeves either. A lot of people already seem to know the line up, but i'm not so sure.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted October 18 Report Share Posted October 18 12 hours ago, spin king junior said: Hope I'm proved wrong, but I feel Leon is a poor fit for Sheffield. Never seemed to have gone particularly well round Owlerton and haven't seen much improvement in last few years. Feels a bit of a make or break season for the lad, and hopefully we'll see some improvement and reap the rewards of his previous experience. Who would you have picked instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted October 18 Report Share Posted October 18 11 hours ago, Gavan said: Is it the strongest top 4….. Doyle Emil Brennan and Ellis similar Rew will do better than Rowe Dan T and Jenkins are better than Gilkes and Flint It’s an ok Sheffield side and will make the play offs but doesn’t look like a championship winning one ….. Then again anything can happen in speedway I'd say Sheffield's 3&4 are far stronger than Ipswich's. But Dan T vs Gilkes is a massive advantage for the Witches. I'm a big fan of Rowe, think he'll do fine in the top 5 for Sheffield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted October 18 Report Share Posted October 18 13 hours ago, Manifesto said: Flint never been great around owlerton but think he will be better than Edwards come mid season. Have every faith Rowe would be an improvement on Howarth too I think Rowe won't be far worse than Howarth, but they have the advantage of his 25% reduction, which makes him a great signing. The biggest concern for me would be Gilkes at 6, he wasn't great at 7 last year, so could easily see him dropping a point from his average. Tough team to call as the top 4 is VERY strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin king junior Posted October 19 Report Share Posted October 19 10 hours ago, szkocjasid said: Who would you have picked instead? Personally I'd have had Gilkes, but I know that isn't how it works with how our team is presumably being built. I've just never felt like over his visits Leon has been a big fan of Owlerton and not looked particularly 'fast'. Whether that's set up issues and not having the right machinery, I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Third Man Posted October 19 Report Share Posted October 19 41 minutes ago, spin king junior said: Personally I'd have had Gilkes, but I know that isn't how it works with how our team is presumably being built. I've just never felt like over his visits Leon has been a big fan of Owlerton and not looked particularly 'fast'. Whether that's set up issues and not having the right machinery, I'm not sure. Gilkes couldn't have been the rising star as he is needed at 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin king junior Posted October 19 Report Share Posted October 19 (edited) 40 minutes ago, The Third Man said: Gilkes couldn't have been the rising star as he is needed at 6 If its going the way people reckon then aye. I personally would've preferred us to scrap one of the Holders or Woffy to give us a stronger middle order and reserve. If the team is what everyone says it is then it does feel like a mistake imo. I've got no doubt in Rowes ability but to me he should be starting at reserve, there's gonna be a lot of pressure at 2, espically if the rest of the team is having to hold up the reserves, and I feel particularly away from home we will get found out. Gilkesy is a fantastic rider to watch - but does he really look much better than he was in 2023? I wouldn't say so personally. He's also very prone to picking up an injury, so for me it feels like a massive risk bringing him in at 6. It just feels like it's too unbalanced and then you've got to question will our top four want to always carry the team if they don't get going? There were whinges last season when we had to go to super heats and particularly from woffy when Howarth was under performing. So how will they handle it with what I'd say is a weaker bottom 3? Edited October 19 by spin king junior 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishersGate Posted October 19 Report Share Posted October 19 If they go for a strong top 5 with Gilkes and Flint at reserve it's still a play off side. Flint and Gilkes will find it tough but if everyone stays fit the Holder bros, Woffy and Picko should win them most meetings. Especially at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4BenMoran Posted October 19 Author Report Share Posted October 19 Biggest risk in the side if it’s what everyone believes it to be is Woffinden. In a very big average and coming back from an injury where even now 4 months after he’s still only got 10% ability to fully straighten his arm. March/April season start usually wet, sometimes deep tracks can easily see him dropping at least a point from his average Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted October 20 Report Share Posted October 20 On 10/19/2024 at 12:20 PM, spin king junior said: If its going the way people reckon then aye. I personally would've preferred us to scrap one of the Holders or Woffy to give us a stronger middle order and reserve. If the team is what everyone says it is then it does feel like a mistake imo. I've got no doubt in Rowes ability but to me he should be starting at reserve, there's gonna be a lot of pressure at 2, especially if the rest of the team is having to hold up the reserves, and I feel particularly away from home we will get found out. Gilkesy is a fantastic rider to watch - but does he really look much better than he was in 2023? I wouldn't say so personally. He's also very prone to picking up an injury, so for me it feels like a massive risk bringing him in at 6. It just feels like it's too unbalanced and then you've got to question will our top four want to always carry the team if they don't get going? There were whinges last season when we had to go to super heats and particularly from woffy when Howarth was under performing. So how will they handle it with what I'd say is a weaker bottom 3? If there were no play-offs I'd agree with the risks you mention. But all they have to do is make the top 4. If the top 4 can get you close to 40 points away, they should get plenty of bonus points. Then it just comes down to having a couple of strong meetings to finish the season. It's easier to take risks with teams now, than it was in the pre play-off era. Or even when they started clubs had to be top 4 out of 9 or 10. Now it's top 4 out of 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Posted November 2 Report Share Posted November 2 Stead is the new Rossiter if he builds a team as top heavy as Holder squared, Woffinden & Pickering. Also, who's paying their wages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cue Ball Posted November 2 Report Share Posted November 2 11 hours ago, Col said: Also, who's paying their wages? I would guess the same person who has paid them for the past couple of years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Posted November 2 Report Share Posted November 2 11 hours ago, Cue Ball said: I would guess the same person who has paid them for the past couple of years Well I've been to Owlerton at least once a season in recent years, crowds are not that big. Must have good sponsorship packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manifesto Posted November 3 Report Share Posted November 3 11 hours ago, Col said: Well I've been to Owlerton at least once a season in recent years, crowds are not that big. Must have good sponsorship packages. I’d say Sheffield probably get the best home crowds in the league second only to BV. But as a club we are lucky to have a few people at the top putting good money towards riders and the club in general Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89buttons Posted November 4 Report Share Posted November 4 On 11/3/2024 at 11:03 AM, Manifesto said: I’d say Sheffield probably get the best home crowds in the league second only to BV. But as a club we are lucky to have a few people at the top putting good money towards riders and the club in general I’d say we have bigger crowds at Ipswich than Sheffield, tbh tho it’s immaterial who has the biggest crowds just want to see every club bring in more punters and sponsors and keep speedway going in this country 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojangles Posted November 4 Report Share Posted November 4 1 hour ago, 89buttons said: I’d say we have bigger crowds at Ipswich than Sheffield, tbh tho it’s immaterial who has the biggest crowds just want to see every club bring in more punters and sponsors and keep speedway going in this country 👍 I'd say Oxford get bigger crowds than both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeandTV Posted November 4 Report Share Posted November 4 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Bojangles said: I'd say Oxford get bigger crowds than both. I would say crowd sizes go... 1 - Ipswich 2 - Oxford 3 - Belle Vue 4 - Sheffield 5 - Leicester 6 - King's Lynn 7 - Birmingham Oxford probably would be top if they didn't race in the Championship as well, that has to dent Premiership crowds a bit. Basically the top 5 are all pretty close regardless, and are all well supported. Edited November 4 by CoffeeandTV 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted November 4 Report Share Posted November 4 Shame they don't post the crowd figures like they do in Poland, Sweden & many other sports in Britain. Save all the speculation & be interesting to see the numbers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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