PTW 37 Posted December 14, 2023 I would go with Ben at 5 purely because atm I think he’s better than Brennan and can handle the tougher heats and it’s his natural progression to go to no5 now as he’s s had a very good year at no3 and many times deserved ht15 so think his time has come to go in the big 2 heats 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JanAndersen 822 Posted December 14, 2023 We’ve got quite a few riders in the championship not ready for that level. Inevitable really when you cut the totals. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 3,033 Posted December 14, 2023 1 hour ago, PTW said: I would go with Ben at 5 purely because atm I think he’s better than Brennan and can handle the tougher heats and it’s his natural progression to go to no5 now as he’s s had a very good year at no3 and many times deserved ht15 so think his time has come to go in the big 2 heats Poole nearly always seem to put their strongest 2 at 1&5 (correctly imo). I don't see why you'd keep Ben & Zach at 3&4 just because they ride well together, especially if it makes them weaker with Brennan at 5. Look at Holder & Ward, they were fabulous riding together, but they weren't partnered at 1&2 (could've been) just because they rode well together, would have upset the balance of the team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 3,033 Posted December 14, 2023 54 minutes ago, JanAndersen said: We’ve got quite a few riders in the championship not ready for that level. Inevitable really when you cut the totals. Maybe a couple are stepping up early, but as long as they ride at 7 & meeting the opposing no 7 three times a match, should work out well. Putting them at 6 (harder rides) and it does nothing for their development (or certainly makes it harder). Wish the Champ teams had followed the Prem rules re number 7s - if they really cared about rider development, they would have imo. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STEVEHOLS54 380 Posted December 15, 2023 Considering a good few knew well in advance our 6 named riders, any ideas/clues on who the last one is. Have seen comments from it being a new Aussie to a untried Continental/Scandinavian rider. One would assume they already have him signed up. I'm intrigued if he is an untried Eur/Scand rider how they would get around the 5 point limit for these riders if they have already ridden in Leagues around Europe/Scand. Same applies to an Aussie if he has ridden Europe prior to UK. An thoughts/ideas who it could be ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foreverblue 6,096 Posted December 15, 2023 Personally I do not like the way this team has been built, looks very vulnerable lower down, I would prefer not having Brennan and having better riders lower down with at least one strong reserve. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SharpenRake 1,505 Posted December 15, 2023 On 12/13/2023 at 1:04 PM, Nickinho said: If I was the Poole boss I'd bring back Joe Thompson on a 3.51 Towards the end of the season he was looking like a number 4 and his performance in the u21s around Ashfield was terrific. And speaking of Ashfield, in the first leg of the Championship final he beat Tarasenko fair and square and really impressed me. Bringing in a 4.00 foreign rider could have its disadvantages and being old fashioned I'd rather see places go to British riders. Firstly, Joe wasn't in the U21 meeting at Ashfield, it was brother Dan that impressed. Secondly as already posted at the time Vadim felt his engine vibrating and was trying to nurse the bike home. You will remember he won his first 3 rides and was extremely fast. To be fair Joe didn’t give up unlike some more experienced riders and managed to pass him but they were both some way behind. To put Joe's performance in perspective he scored 2+1 from 6 rides. I wish him well at Plymouth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisa-colette 6,032 Posted December 15, 2023 33 minutes ago, foreverblue said: Personally I do not like the way this team has been built, looks very vulnerable lower down, I would prefer not having Brennan and having better riders lower down with at least one strong reserve. A lot of 2 pointers in the league this year though FB and have to bear in mind the league is weaker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foreverblue 6,096 Posted December 15, 2023 3 minutes ago, lisa-colette said: A lot of 2 pointers in the league this year though FB and have to bear in mind the league is weaker True but our reserves may struggle against teams who havent gone with 2 pointers, could have got Ablitt back, at least he has experience in this league, Perry may well be one that struggles, just think Brennan's points could be used better lower down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,637 Posted December 15, 2023 I think the plan was to keep Zach as a 2nd string rather than heat leader, which was made possible by Tom Brennan's availability! Most teams have at least one 2-pointer at reserve to start with! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisa-colette 6,032 Posted December 15, 2023 51 minutes ago, foreverblue said: True but our reserves may struggle against teams who havent gone with 2 pointers, could have got Ablitt back, at least he has experience in this league, Perry may well be one that struggles, just think Brennan's points could be used better lower down. Fair enough. But some teams like Redcar have got riders just over 2 points, so not much in it. Also who else has some like Zach as second string. Not many! I am looking forward to H2, you won't be able to predict what will happen but there is a lot of potential there. Exciting times! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisa-colette 6,032 Posted December 15, 2023 12 minutes ago, Skidder1 said: I think the plan was to keep Zach as a 2nd string rather than heat leader, which was made possible by Tom Brennan's availability! Most teams have at least one 2-pointer at reserve to start with! Plus they said Max was always in the plans whatever happened. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FishersGate 522 Posted December 15, 2023 Poole built a team last year on always being strong at reserve and 2 n 4. This time round they've gone for complete fire power. For a 38 point limit to be having 4 heat leaders in some doing. They are going be destroying teams at home with that firepower. Yes weaker at reserve but many other teams have 2 point riders in the side. I've watched M Perry last year at Leicester, super smooth style and has a bright future. Don't expect him though to fly around the air fence just yet. He's only 16 and is coming off a bad crash, but what I will say is II rarely saw him fall off the bike. Always gets points and if he's a Poole fan even better. Curious to see who the last rider is Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foreverblue 6,096 Posted December 15, 2023 (edited) 52 minutes ago, lisa-colette said: Fair enough. But some teams like Redcar have got riders just over 2 points, so not much in it. Also who else has some like Zach as second string. Not many! I am looking forward to H2, you won't be able to predict what will happen but there is a lot of potential there. Exciting times! We could have kept the reserves and had Newman and Rowe. Edited December 15, 2023 by foreverblue Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 10,781 Posted December 15, 2023 1 hour ago, foreverblue said: True but our reserves may struggle against teams who havent gone with 2 pointers, could have got Ablitt back, at least he has experience in this league, Perry may well be one that struggles, just think Brennan's points could be used better lower down. I think you could have a long old tail unless the last signing is a gem/ringer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
