The Weasel 306 Posted April 23, 2020 7 hours ago, DC2 said: That’s all well reasoned. But would you pick the 2007 Chrzanowski, Ulamek and Gjedde over the 2019 Ellis, Musielak and Jensen If you were picking a team for this year? I certainly wouldn’t. It's always difficult comparing riders from different eras due to variables and bias but I think I'd lean towards the riders from 2007 in those particular match ups and as a whole the 2007 side (despite how dominate the 2019 team was) wins hands down for me largely down to the 2 reserves and relative strength of opposition sides. TC 6.12 v AE 6.49 (final season averages). Both spent the majority of the season riding in the #2 position and finished with similar averages, whilst I have no doubt Ellis will go on to be the better rider and he would be my pick purely on his youth and potential, there really was little between them in their contributions for the seasons in question. CG 7.13 v RJ 7.86. Another difficult choice, both exciting to watch and strong middle order riders, Gjedde had a month at reserve mid season and i think probably rode in every position bar #1 at some stage but he'd be my pick simply based on his extra experience and the fact he'd been an established top flight rider for a number of seasons over RJ who has only had half a season at this stage. SU 7.11 v TM 6.21. Controversial here I'm sure, Tobi is a crowd favourite, hugely entertaining to watch and we all love him, I'd certainly want him in my team every season on such an average, but if it came to a straight choice between the 2 at this particular stage of their careers it'd be Seba for me all day long, he represented his country the previous year (no mean feat), filled the #3 position when your 2nd best rider had too (his main adversaries that year would have been Kasprzak, Pedersen B, Screen, Schlein/Harris, Bjerre/NKI, Zagar, Louis, Norris, Hamill and Pepe) and upped his average to 9.31 early on after a blistering start to the campaign before tailing off slightly after a falling out with riding partner Gjedde and a wrist injury sustained at Ipswich in the mid summer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DC2 11,150 Posted April 23, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, The Weasel said: It's always difficult comparing riders from different eras due to variables and bias but I think I'd lean towards the riders from 2007 in those particular match ups and as a whole the 2007 side (despite how dominate the 2019 team was) wins hands down for me largely down to the 2 reserves and relative strength of opposition sides. TC 6.12 v AE 6.49 (final season averages). Both spent the majority of the season riding in the #2 position and finished with similar averages, whilst I have no doubt Ellis will go on to be the better rider and he would be my pick purely on his youth and potential, there really was little between them in their contributions for the seasons in question. CG 7.13 v RJ 7.86. Another difficult choice, both exciting to watch and strong middle order riders, Gjedde had a month at reserve mid season and i think probably rode in every position bar #1 at some stage but he'd be my pick simply based on his extra experience and the fact he'd been an established top flight rider for a number of seasons over RJ who has only had half a season at this stage. SU 7.11 v TM 6.21. Controversial here I'm sure, Tobi is a crowd favourite, hugely entertaining to watch and we all love him, I'd certainly want him in my team every season on such an average, but if it came to a straight choice between the 2 at this particular stage of their careers it'd be Seba for me all day long, he represented his country the previous year (no mean feat), filled the #3 position when your 2nd best rider had too (his main adversaries that year would have been Kasprzak, Pedersen B, Screen, Schlein/Harris, Bjerre/NKI, Zagar, Louis, Norris, Hamill and Pepe) and upped his average to 9.31 early on after a blistering start to the campaign before tailing off slightly after a falling out with riding partner Gjedde and a wrist injury sustained at Ipswich in the mid summer. For me, all 2007 riders were on their way down while the 2019 ones are on their way up. Did any of the three get a team place in 2008 (or do well if they did)? Yes, Gjedde only at Belle Vue. Pretty much the end of his career though. Easy choice. Edited April 23, 2020 by DC2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hacksaw Jim Duggan 199 Posted April 23, 2020 Christ, still running with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anzum 250 Posted April 25, 2020 2012 grand final on you tube at 18:30 today and second leg tomorrow, in case any of you haven’t checked the robins website recently. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DC2 11,150 Posted April 25, 2020 Hoping Poole can run us close this time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,636 Posted April 26, 2020 So with the Polish Extraliga agreeing to start racing in June behind closed doors and riders having to commit to staying in Poland - what will the likes of Doyley (Pedersen, Kurtz etc) do if British Speedway is allowed to start in say July/August/September? I mention Doyley in particular cos he lives in the UK. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Weasel 306 Posted April 26, 2020 38 minutes ago, Skidder1 said: So with the Polish Extraliga agreeing to start racing in June behind closed doors and riders having to commit to staying in Poland - what will the likes of Doyley (Pedersen, Kurtz etc) do if British Speedway is allowed to start in say July/August/September? I mention Doyley in particular cos he lives in the UK. First things first, he'll be tuning in to the Robins Youtube channel tonight at 18:30 to enjoy the 2012 Elite Lge Championship all over again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crabba59 156 Posted April 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Skidder1 said: So with the Polish Extraliga agreeing to start racing in June behind closed doors and riders having to commit to staying in Poland - what will the likes of Doyley (Pedersen, Kurtz etc) do if British Speedway is allowed to start in say July/August/September? I mention Doyley in particular cos he lives in the UK. Also the poles have said if you ride there you have to base your self there. So that means you will have to pick which country you ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craigACE 91 Posted April 26, 2020 Swindon look the strongest to me. After them anything can happen. Robins have the main man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hyderd 1,216 Posted April 27, 2020 21 hours ago, Crabba59 said: Also the poles have said if you ride there you have to base your self there. So that means you will have to pick which country you ride. baffles me how the Poles can get away with this, surely if a person is self employed to work for someone/company/team on a set day of the week, then said person has the right to work for someone/company/team on the days outside of the contract with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,636 Posted April 27, 2020 21 hours ago, Crabba59 said: Also the poles have said if you ride there you have to base your self there. So that means you will have to pick which country you ride. Thats why I asked the question!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MattK 3,447 Posted April 27, 2020 27 minutes ago, hyderd said: baffles me how the Poles can get away with this, surely if a person is self employed to work for someone/company/team on a set day of the week, then said person has the right to work for someone/company/team on the days outside of the contract with them. Depends what the contract says. Given that short haul flights are likely to be extremely rare in the short term, it makes sense to require riders to based themselves in country. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wolfie456 500 Posted April 27, 2020 12 minutes ago, MattK said: Depends what the contract says. Given that short haul flights are likely to be extremely rare in the short term, it makes sense to require riders to based themselves in country. Especially with the size of signing on fees paid to riders in Poland the clubs will expect them there every week not stuck in another country. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BluTiger 21,692 Posted April 27, 2020 2 minutes ago, Wolfie456 said: Especially with the size of signing on fees paid to riders in Poland the clubs will expect them there every week not stuck in another country. Hard to criticise any rider for choosing Poland, they have families to feed... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites