Motox92 10 Posted November 21, 2019 13 minutes ago, poolebolton said: I appreciate they aren’t there assets. But between Rowe, Kemp, Gilkes, Jenkins. I thought one would have been there. Gilkes would have been my choice Yeah but assets mean nothing really now in speedway, there are plenty of other names with the ones you have named, Bickley, Lawlor Smith, Kinsley, Hume, stoneman, Morley, Georgie Wood, and many more, and to pick a 48 year old over any of them is insulting to the sport in my veiw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
East End Fan 426 Posted November 21, 2019 14 minutes ago, Motox92 said: Yeah but assets mean nothing really now in speedway, there are plenty of other names with the ones you have named, Bickley, Lawlor Smith, Kinsley, Hume, stoneman, Morley, Georgie Wood, and many more, and to pick a 48 year old over any of them is insulting to the sport in my veiw I watched a lot of racing at Sittingbourne this season as I was unable to support the Hammers. It's fair to say that I am becoming a Kent fan although I did not start there. In my view, and considering the whole season and the various injuries and stuff, 3 riders stood out for me, even after suffering big injuries, who consistently battled for every point in every race. They were Gilkes, Ledwith and new kid, Mulford ( hugely impressed with him). All the others blew hot and cold. So I am not surprised to see Ledwith in the new team, I AM surprised that GIlkes has not been included. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandelion 775 Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) Maybe Gilkes, Jenkins, Rowe and Kemp (Obviously) are all signed elsewhere and Kent couldn't compete... And thought Ledwith was the next best Or maybe they've spent all their money on Scott I hope Ben Morley signs for Kent... Maybe Ledwith is considered the 'senior' reserve and there'll be Gilkes along side him... Edited November 22, 2019 by Dandelion 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poolebolton 464 Posted November 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, Dandelion said: Maybe Gilkes, Jenkins, Rowe and Kemp (Obviously) are all signed elsewhere and Kent couldn't compete... And thought Ledwith was the next best Or maybe they've spent all their money on Scott I hope Ben Morley signs for Kent... Maybe they have which is far enough. Jack Thomas has signed somewhere as well. With the increased limit I’m surprised that clubs haven’t gone for the strong reserve technique like Scunny have. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy279 1,038 Posted November 22, 2019 Believe midweek speedway is the issue stopping Gilkes to confirm yet. He wants his dad in the pits with him but it's hard for his dad to get the time off. Hopefully he will be number 1 in our NL side and 7 in our CL side. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poolebolton 464 Posted November 22, 2019 46 minutes ago, teaboy279 said: Believe midweek speedway is the issue stopping Gilkes to confirm yet. He wants his dad in the pits with him but it's hard for his dad to get the time off. Hopefully he will be number 1 in our NL side and 7 in our CL side. Very weak bottom end. Think that’s risky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dandelion 775 Posted November 22, 2019 1 hour ago, poolebolton said: Maybe they have which is far enough. Jack Thomas has signed somewhere as well. With the increased limit I’m surprised that clubs haven’t gone for the strong reserve technique like Scunny have. Didn't realise Jack was back racing? Not sure why he stopped tbh? Glad to hear he's back if it's true Too many young Brits 'taking breaks' never to be seen again 14 minutes ago, poolebolton said: Very weak bottom end. Think that’s risky. Think Gilkes would increase his average to at least 3.00 if he was in the CL for a season of injury free racing... Mind you most of his points would be around CP... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poolebolton 464 Posted November 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, Dandelion said: Didn't realise Jack was back racing? Not sure why he stopped tbh? Glad to hear he's back if it's true Too many young Brits 'taking breaks' never to be seen again Think Gilkes would increase his average to at least 3.00 if he was in the CL for a season of injury free racing... Mind you most of his points would be around CP... He announced that on Twitter this evening. I think it’s great for young riders. really it makes the strategy of the team build and racing interesting. if you think you have the top 5 to get 3-3 every time they go out then fair enough. But I’m always a fan of having a good scoring reserve and enables that rider to take top 5 rides or 1 of the fellow reserves rides Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Islander15 1,062 Posted November 22, 2019 I didn’t expect Ledwith to step up. But of the riders from last year it was hard to see who might return as Rowe was always going back to Somerset, Kemp was highly likely to leave, Jenkins didn’t really ever get going last season and Gilkes struggled with the midweek track because he signed on the premise that they were moving to Saturday’s. Still I thought Ledwith would leave his comeback at NL only and it looks a big ask for him to ride a lot of new tracks consistently and stay fit. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blueherb777 571 Posted November 22, 2019 Excited about climb to Championship...excited and impressed with Scotty signing....but Ledwith sounds like a desperate signing and quite frankly disappointing. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flipper11 134 Posted November 22, 2019 Age is just a number. Looking at some of the other reserves in the CL Rob is well capable of mixing it with them & he got better as a rider as the season went on. He has some fantastic back up to go with it, Michael Lee is with him I the pits a lot of the time to give advise & he has has some of the best equipment in the league. He is also heavily sponsored by Kents sponsor Touch Tech. Very very popular rider with the Kent supporters. Gilkes is not being considered for the team at the moment because his family don't feel he is ready (although he probably does) he will be in the Kent NL team if there is a NL & will not be looking for a track nearer his home. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Motox92 10 Posted November 22, 2019 20 minutes ago, flipper11 said: Age is just a number. Looking at some of the other reserves in the CL Rob is well capable of mixing it with them & he got better as a rider as the season went on. He has some fantastic back up to go with it, Michael Lee is with him I the pits a lot of the time to give advise & he has has some of the best equipment in the league. He is also heavily sponsored by Kents sponsor Touch Tech. Very very popular rider with the Kent supporters. Gilkes is not being considered for the team at the moment because his family don't feel he is ready (although he probably does) he will be in the Kent NL team if there is a NL & will not be looking for a track nearer his home. Age may be just a number but rob is hardly going to be one of GBs stars of the future, this is why the poles and the Danes and every other country has so many youngsters coming through, because they get rid of the dead wood and bring the new blood through, where as we just stick with the same old people all the time and then wonder why the British are not coming through, the reserve spot at championship level should be a British under 21 and be there all year no matter what there average is ,weather they have a couple bad rides or not shouldn’t then we sacked straight away, cos then we get so many of them quit, as what’s the point if you just gunna get sacked after a couple bad rides, People need to open there eyes and look at the big picture here 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnTwo 317 Posted November 22, 2019 BREAKING NEWS! Sheffield sign 42 year old 3 x world champion! In other news Kent sign 48 year old that bought all of said world champions bikes and said he will attain a 10 point average in his first NL season!...meanwhile his gsa is: 5.93. This signing echos desperation to me. Surely when Len said top international he was referring to ledwiths machinery lol 1 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blueherb777 571 Posted November 22, 2019 36 minutes ago, Motox92 said: Age may be just a number but rob is hardly going to be one of GBs stars of the future, this is why the poles and the Danes and every other country has so many youngsters coming through, because they get rid of the dead wood and bring the new blood through, where as we just stick with the same old people all the time and then wonder why the British are not coming through, the reserve spot at championship level should be a British under 21 and be there all year no matter what there average is ,weather they have a couple bad rides or not shouldn’t then we sacked straight away, cos then we get so many of them quit, as what’s the point if you just gunna get sacked after a couple bad rides, People need to open there eyes and look at the big picture here Agree,teams should have young British riders in reserve (like Leicester)....as you say no wonder we are miles behind Poland etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sings4Speedway 3,231 Posted November 22, 2019 Ability wise Rob will be in the mix with other reserves but can he kick on and do any more than that? He is a really nice bloke and my other main fear is that he will get beaten up at CL level and his track record for recovering from injuries isn't good. I wish him well but think he would probably be better suited sticking to NL and helping other riders develop. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
