Noelinho

It’s tangentially related to Poole’s rumoured interest in a dud rider.

There won't be any rider announcement this week, AFAIK.

Tbh, he was no help to us. We weren’t making the playoffs with him in the team either.

I think we had him doing laps round here, but the word was he didn’t impress.

I can’t see Max Perry turning up at Poole tbh.

Should be 2.55 from 2023.

Starke averaged 3.15 for Glasgow at the #2 position this season. That's why he was dropped. It wasn't a false average - he was awful, and his equipment sucked. If I were Poole, I wouldn't touch him.

Surely there's not a serious suggestion Poole are dropping Vinnie and signing Starke? That seems very odd. Great opportunity for another club to pick Foord up though - wonder who that might be? Haven't heard much about Vinnie outside of Poole/Glasgow, but I don't think he's coming up here (though I'd love to be wrong).

Hope it works out for Craig and he's on track more. When he's on track, he's still great value.

Pretty sure he's up to it, as long as his injury is fully healed. By far the most exciting new rider to British speedway this year.

That could be a good argument against, for some...

Yes, the rule has changed. This is the 2024 rule (but who knows what they'll do once they're sloshed this week):

It's the Premiership that has a 3.00 minimum rule. Does not apply to the Championship.

McGurk, James, Garrad are the only three other riders with 2.00 averages for next season who rode in 2024, so yes, they are relatively weak. That said, they have experience, which might counterbalance to some extent.

One interesting with this version of the team is that the reserves are almost certain to stay at reserve all season. I’d argue this is a good thing as you’d hope the other five could all hold their own in their respective positions.

They don’t seem interested. I think being based abroad is the barrier. It can’t be his average or his Ashfield form.

Yes, I think you’ve missed one…

Fair enough. It would square the circle, I guess!

Something doesn't add up somewhere. There seems to be quite a lot of people not very subtly hinting at Ashton coming to Glasgow, but surely if he has, Oxford wouldn't be in the dark about it? And yet, they haven't said anything. Still a couple of weeks until we find out for sure, I guess. I'll get some good popcorn stashed away in case it turns out it's true, because I can imagine it would cause a stooshie, which would at least make for some entertainment 😄

Lined, I hear.

They are announcing the whole team at once this year. That's one of the reasons nothing has been said yet.

But I read only yesterday that Boughen was going to Glasgow 😄

I would compare him to the other riders around him in the averages, and yes, I think he is good value against them, albeit a risk. If he can reign in the riding a little, he will continue to improve his average and pick up more points just by crashing less. The risk is he crashes and hurts himself. I'd say he's worth the risk. Speedway is inherently a risky sport.

I'm not a Poole fan but I think people are being a bit over the top. Vinnie's not the only young rider who crashes, there's a few others I can think that have had quite a few of them too!

A very sad loss. I grew up about 500 metres from Rye House - forever grateful for the work he out in bringing the team back at the turn of the century. If only we could do the same today!