greyhoundp 990 Posted November 18, 2012 (edited) Well, now we can start our Team building for 2013, but before that we need to look at 2012. Adam Roynon; 11.64 Tom Perry; 9.88 Ash Morris; 8.51 Byron Bekker; 7.54 Dan Greenwood;5.90 Darryl Ritchings; 5.84 JWW; 4.88 Total; 54.09 So basically we have to lose most likely 3 riders, beginning with Adams 11.64 to get under 40. Whichever way we go, some difficult decisions lie ahead. strong top 2 with weak bottom end, whichever way we go some supporters will be extremely unhappy. keep Tom and Ash lose Byron, Dan or Darryl and JWW, Tom is an asset, Darryl is Patchetts asset, so both likely to remain, Ash is a Wolves asset, so will we choose Tom over Ash, Ash over Tom. I think much depends on whichever 3 pointers we can sign, if somehow we can get the better youngsters, and we all know who they are, then maybe we will go for an all round Team, if we are unable to get these youngsters, then probably we will go with a Strong top end. I would go with,. Tom; 9.88 Byron; 7.44 Dan; 5.90 Darryl; 5.84 Leaving us 10.84 for three riders. I have sacrificed Ash to bring in a stronger 2nd string such as, Luke Chessell on a 4.59 could well be worth a shout, especially if Janno could iron out his technical faults, cuz Luke can certainly gate, or Connor Coles on a 4.30, who impressed me when he rode at Monmore, then as i said earlier, a couple of 3 pointers, and Im sure The Heathens have a few irons in the fire already with two that readily spring to mind. Edited November 18, 2012 by greyhoundp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrMungo 708 Posted November 18, 2012 A team average of 54.09 is truly staggering! Even if you lose Roynon and Morris, bring in a couple of rookies, it still wouldn't quite fit! Roynon is no longer eligible to ride in the NL, so that is one less decision that has to be made. I'd suspect the toughest decision will be: Perry or Morris. Keeping both will make them strong for heats 13 and 15, but could be very dubious in other positions. Bekker has been a number 1 in the league before, so he's more than capable of backing up either Perry or Morris. He looked to be coming good towards the end of the season before his injury. I'm fully expecting Greenwood to be at Coventry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martin_t 219 Posted November 19, 2012 Pity they didn`t move up and we could have kept Adam,Tom,Ash and Darryl. I think we are going to have a very weak team next year ,struggle and win nothing,having said that we had a very strong team this year...and still won nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrMungo 708 Posted November 19, 2012 You won the National Shield. Got to remain positive! Must admit I was surprised when I heard Dudley were staying NL. Now seemed to be the perfect opportunity for them to make that step up. Could keep 3 riders (in theory) which would maintain some sort of continuity & with the Swindon/Wolves links, there would always be some decent options there for the rest of the side. If Dudley can't make a go of it with their fanbase, there's little hope for the rest of the league! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davebeagle 5 Posted November 19, 2012 Might appease the fans if we could keep Tom, Ash, Darryl and Dan and "find" three decent 3 pointers-I know, it's a pipe dream.......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Derek 613 18 Posted November 19, 2012 I have to say it is a sensible decision to stay in the National League. I feel that it would be far better to get a stadium of your own first before taking the plunge into the PL as riders wages in the Premier increase significantly and if the promotion had to dip into the funds built up for a new stadium project when a piece of land is eventually found for Dudley it could put the club at risk and as a Stoke supporter (even if we do have our banter between clubs) I'd not like the Heathens to get into that situation, I'd much prefer to see the Heathens in their own stadium moving into the PL with stability and continuing their success and then eventually long term moving back into the Elite League where I think everyone believes the Heathens should be. I'm sure the Heathens supporters will get behind the club now the decision has been made and knowing the promotion at Dudley I'm sure they'll put together another cracking team for 2013. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TividaleHeathen 11 Posted November 20, 2012 (edited) I would like to see the heathens keep the below four riders as below from 2012; 1. Perry 9.88 2. Greenwood 5.90 3. Ritchings 5.84 4. 5. Bekker 7.44 6. 7. Then it will just be filling the spaces as best we can, your going to be looking at two 3 point reserves and a rider to fill the number 4 spot with 4/5 point average - Richard Franklin?? The main question the management have to look at is who they keep on - Ash or Tom as i cant see both being here in 2013!! Edited November 20, 2012 by TividaleHeathen 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted November 20, 2012 (edited) Just a minor point; Tom would have to be at No1 due to his average, but that 3rd Heat leader spot will be vital, and either Dan or Darryl will need to step up in 2013. I am guessing but those that keep linking Dan with Coventry, is it purely bcuz the Main Man connection?, so if we choose not to retain Dan, which would imo be a wrong choice, that would give us just under 6 for our 3rd Heat Leader, or retain JWW and give us 5 1/2 ish for another rider, the permutations are endless, If Rye House dont run in 2013 then young Connor Coles must be tempted to sign, him or JWW ? then it would be young Connor every time. The two 3 point riders are going to be important for us, I can see 2 english riders being in the frame, one whom everyone says wont do NL racing, and another Coventry linked rider must be in the frame. If we look back over recent seasons, Teams who have had progressive young riders at reserve at the beginning of the season, are the Teams who have come out on Top at the end of the season, Im not saying that is the only reason, bcuz you also need good Heat Leaders, but imo thats where Stoke lost out last year, whilst Ben Reade was at No7 they were doing well, when he finally went into the Team there season tailed off, Adam Ellis he almost single handidly got the IOW into the play offs, the previous season Richie Worral began the season at No 7 for Scunthorpe, and in Buxtons year, they had Nick Morris and Rob Branford at reserve, whilst The Heathens ourselves had Tom Perry as a reserve. I know this is not a definitive reason, but hopefully we get the 2 reserves sorted out as soon as possible, otherwise we are going to be left scratching around. Edited November 20, 2012 by greyhoundp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TividaleHeathen 11 Posted November 20, 2012 I agree completely regarding the reserves, im sure Nigel, Gary, CVS & Will have already got plans in place and ideas of who they want to get signed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ommer Mon 381 Posted November 20, 2012 Whilst it would be great if we could keep Ash and Tom, its not only their averages that make this unlikely but also the fact that both will be doubling up and we've all seen the problems that causes when fixtures clash. PS I think it is sensible to stay NL for now. The money that is made will be better spent on a track of our own than flying some Number One around Europe. The Promoters need to bank as much as they can over the next 12 months and we all need to support them in doing so by paying our hard earnt at the turnstiles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
21st century heathen 220 Posted November 20, 2012 Just a minor point; Tom would have to be at No1 due to his average, but that 3rd Heat leader spot will be vital, and either Dan or Darryl will need to step up in 2013. I am guessing but those that keep linking Dan with Coventry, is it purely bcuz the Main Man connection?, so if we choose not to retain Dan, which would imo be a wrong choice, that would give us just under 6 for our 3rd Heat Leader, or retain JWW and give us 5 1/2 ish for another rider, the permutations are endless, That'll be me then? Yeah, it's that and that he is not our asset and he rode for Cov in the MDL in 2012 and we can't fit all the riders in. Realistically we will probably have to choose between Dan and Darryl. My view is that I would expect Tom, Ash and Darryl to be pencilled in because of the links with the club. That effectively rules out Dan, Boris and James of this year's team. I think Tom can hold his own as a number 1, Ash will improve again, and Darryl has huge potential to improve with the right backing. I think the 3/4 position could work in his favour too. As I'm sure you've seen before I don't entirely subscribe to the theory that 5th in your averages should be at number 2 but he usually is. So where I think it may have worked against Darryl at times it could work for him if he's in the 'engine room' as Dave Lanning would say. If Rye House dont run in 2013 then young Connor Coles must be tempted to sign, him or JWW ? then it would be young Connor every time.The two 3 point riders are going to be important for us, I can see 2 english riders being in the frame, one whom everyone says wont do NL racing, and another Coventry linked rider must be in the frame. I think we have to assume all the better young riders currently in the league will be retained. I don't think we'll get Coles (I expect Rye to be in - just my opinion), N Stoneman, Clegg, Phillips, Ellis (already signed) or Bates. The two you refer to I'm sure are Lambert and Greaves. I'd would jump up and down a lot if we got either let alone both. But I do fully expect Greaves to be at Cov and Lambert will be PL and DU EL when he comes over, assuming he comes over at all as he's doing just fine without British Speedway so far. There are a few others out there that may be in the frame but I don't know how old they all are or whether they're already lined up elsewhere. I wouldn't mind seeing Brendan Johnson and Danny Stoneman so something like the following would suit me for starters... Perry Johnson Stoneman Ritchings Morris ? ? = 33.31 (6.69 remaining) You need to wave a magic wand over the reserve positions for us to be in the mix. At least one of them would need to average 5.something+ by the end of the year with Stoneman then at reserve but also putting a point on his average (which I think he's more than capable of). If Tom decided to go PL only then the team could have a different look to it and something along the lines of the following is feasible... Morris Stoneman Ritchings Bekker S Worrall ? ? = 33.98 (6.02 remaining) Morris moves up a position to number 1, Ritchings moves down to second string rather than the old 3rd heat leader role, still strong in heats 13 & 15 and the middle order is bolstered with Bekker. If Worrall is not available then substitute in whoever Scunny or Mildenhall can't fit in as both also have to make a significant change. If Scunny keep Worrall, Young, Greenwood, Clegg and Phillips then Hart or Irving will most likely be available. If Mildenhall keep Nielsen, Jacobs, Halsey and Bates then Blackbird could be available (though his Monmore record isn't great). Depending on who this rider coming in is you may free up a point to use at the bottom end. I do feel we will be seeing something roughly along these lines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunty 189 Posted November 20, 2012 If think with Coventry starting a NL team that many of the lads who are local will have a choice to make! Tom has to stay for me, he has that average for a reason and him being at #1 will only be a asset to us! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rami 14 Posted November 20, 2012 Its a horrible choice and one im glad i dont have to make, i hope they go for the top heavy option and keep both of them but that would then put a bit of pressure on Darryl to step up to the number 3 heat leader position, but im sure he could cope with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TividaleHeathen 11 Posted November 20, 2012 Its a horrible choice and one im glad i dont have to make, i hope they go for the top heavy option and keep both of them but that would then put a bit of pressure on Darryl to step up to the number 3 heat leader position, but im sure he could cope with that. I cant see it myself, i can only see one of them staying and keeping Byron, Dan and Daryl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junior fan 132 Posted November 21, 2012 Rob Branford, a steal on his average and rides the track well. Cheers Junior Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
