Crabba59 156 Posted March 7, 2020 Think you will find that you have got a lot better rider in Becker than BWD once he finds the lines on track. I know Birmingham did try to sign him but for whatever reason he said no. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ray c 2,299 Posted March 7, 2020 luke could easily beat the best riders in this league Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 10,683 Posted March 7, 2020 Don’t think he’ll maintain his average but a great signing who should do an excellent job, and I think a year in the Championship will do wonders for his development. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Cheese 2,020 Posted March 7, 2020 Happy to be proved wrong on yesterday's post, excellent signing 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HGould 2,200 Posted March 7, 2020 Won't know until he rides if he is on a par with BW-D better or worse. Most tracks will be new to him and may take him time to bed in. He'll likely have all US linked Competitions to deal with plus Poland so key for Somerset will be how many Friday / Saturday / Sunday matches he will miss on FIM or Polish commitments. He will do well to average 8.5+. It's a more than adequate replacement for BW-D in my eyes but the weakness or strength in Somerset team will be Barker / Bates who if they stay fit and focused could make Somerset a top 4 team, but if they don't stay fit or focused could make Somerset a bottom 4 team. If Barker or Bates bomb out, and both have a tendency to self-destruct it looks like a long tail to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SomersetBlue 212 Posted March 7, 2020 45 minutes ago, Bagpuss said: Don’t think he’ll maintain his average but a great signing who should do an excellent job, and I think a year in the Championship will do wonders for his development. I think he can tbh in his first season on these shores he was getting double figure scores in the top tier and while some people say the two are close the Premiership is still a fair better standard of quality than the Championship. I'm really excited about this signing. Strong heat 13 partnership too with Schlein riding together week in week out. A strong middle order with Barker/ Bates Rowe improved a lot last season and Cook looked a decent little rider too. With the right equipment Stoneman should mix it with the other reserves as well. I think we could be in for a good season. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 10,683 Posted March 7, 2020 He will have to finish in the top ten of the averages to maintain his starting figure....not knowing the vast majority of the tracks makes that a very tall order. If he finishes with a figure somewhere between seven and eight he will have had a good year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SomersetBlue 212 Posted March 7, 2020 6 hours ago, Bagpuss said: He will have to finish in the top ten of the averages to maintain his starting figure....not knowing the vast majority of the tracks makes that a very tall order. If he finishes with a figure somewhere between seven and eight he will have had a good year. Other than Wright, Cook and Masters I would say Becker could mix it with pretty much any other rider in the league tbh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 10,683 Posted March 7, 2020 23 minutes ago, SomersetBlue said: Other than Wright, Cook and Masters I would say Becker could mix it with pretty much any other rider in the league tbh. I’m sure by the end of the season he’ll be mixing it with those three too but there are several other riders he’ll be facing in the Championship who averaged more than he did in 2019 in the Premiership. I think your expectations of him are a little high, he’ll need time to settle in and learn the circuits and he is still young so I expect him to improve fairly quickly but as I’ve said anything over seven will be a good year for him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crabba59 156 Posted March 7, 2020 Believe me having watched Luke all of last season he will easily be in the top ten in the championship averages. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SomersetBlue 212 Posted March 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Bagpuss said: I’m sure by the end of the season he’ll be mixing it with those three too but there are several other riders he’ll be facing in the Championship who averaged more than he did in 2019 in the Premiership. I think your expectations of him are a little high, he’ll need time to settle in and learn the circuits and he is still young so I expect him to improve fairly quickly but as I’ve said anything over seven will be a good year for him. Well yeah there are 17 riders who averaged over him other than the other 3 but I think realistically he can beat most of them. As I said last season was his first season in British Speedway and personally I think he can improve again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RebelDan 203 Posted March 7, 2020 Well done to the management a terrific replacement considering the circumstances. Im sure he will be great around the OTA once dialled in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pinny 2,536 Posted March 8, 2020 Without doubt there’s already a lot of pressure on Becker’s shoulders. Think he will average around 7 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted March 8, 2020 2 hours ago, Pinny said: Without doubt there’s already a lot of pressure on Becker’s shoulders. Think he will average around 7 I think he is more than capable of averaging over eight he was impressive last year at the Abbey. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,616 Posted March 8, 2020 Good signing. Does he start as the second heat leader? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites