TTT

What do you think? 42.49 1. Niels Kristian Iversen 7.59 2. Troy Batchelor 5.57 3. Rohan Tungate 6.61 4. Krzysztof Buczkowski 6.02 5. Michael Palm Toft 6.86 6. Hans Andersen 4.93 7. Craig Cook 4.91

It's easy. The pool of riders is going to be thin. Iversen, MPT, Kildemand, Tungate, Jorgensen, Batchelor, Nicholls, C. Cook, H. Andersen, Jenkins + Some riders who may fancy returning to Britain.

I say that because I feel like we're letting the only riders who can win a race around Peterborough go. The replacements would have to be track specialists who can score big points around Peterborough and I just don't see where they're going to come from at the moment. The points limit will be higher next season to a point where clubs won't have to release much if anything from their 2022 sides.

If MPT goes to Lynn then you can pencil us in for the wooden spoon already imo.

Not guaranteed to get any meetings for Bydgoszcz. They've got 3 U24 riders all battling it out for the starting spot (Basso, Szlauderbach & Mihailovs)

Ben Basso gives off LIV golfer vibes. Don't know about other Panthers fans but I'm not too fussed about losing him tbh. Yes he's very good around Peterborough but he's on a 6.81 average and that doesn't represent good value for someone who was pretty poor away from home imo.

Money before career type of rider then. How does he expect to improve and develop as a rider by riding in the Championship whilst dropping the much tougher Premiership.

Dot the I's and cross the T's Will we even be running in 2023? Was it just PR without anything signed in ink? Tonight has left us with more questions than answers

That doesn't sound good at all tbh.

Already shooting ourselves in the foot ahead of the 2023 season and it's not even the 1st of January yet.

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Yes 42.50 I wouldn't be surprised if that happened tbh.

Speakes volumes doesn't it.

Apparently we're getting an announcement about the management structure tonight so I wouldn't rule that out. I agree it really is a long shot but maybe nobody else wants Batchelor to a point where the rider and Buster are desperate so they've got no choice but to bury the hatchet to help each other out?

That's why I don't want him tbh. All depends on what side of the bed he wakes up on every week. He's got the talent but it's irrelevant if the mindset isn't right. Could turn up and score anywhere between 8 or 2.

He does tbh. Think Hans only has a year or two left in him riding as a reserve tbh. Just a case of what frame of mind Cookie's in.

Based off Pickering's interview a few weeks ago where he was talking like he's staying and so are the majority of the 2022 side. 1. Richard Lawson 7.71 2. Josh Pickering 6.14 3. Peter Kildemand 6.67 or 7.10 (He fits either way) 4. Thomas Jorgensen 6.35 or Richie Worrall 6.31 5. Nicolai Klindt 7.39 6. Fredrik Jakobsen 5.04 7. Jason Edwards or Jack Thomas 2.50

All for Troy Batchelor as our No.2. He's got his average riding as a HL so I can easily see some value on his starting GSA. Troy can put a point on that imo. Rob Lyon also gets the best out of riders. Look at the 2021 and look at Harris this year for examples of that. I'd much rather have Hans Andersen at No.6 than Craig Cook though. I think Hans is better around Peterborough as well as the small tracks like Ipswich & Wolves and I think he'll score good points around Leicester too as a reserve.

Problem you've got is Doyle's average. You'll need a team of riders around the 5.50 - 6.50 range to back him up and that's with Hume at No.7

Batchelor would be a good signing for anyone on that average because he'll slot in at No.2 next season rather than riding as a No.5 which will lead to his race programme being much easier every night next season. Batchelor done a good job for Ipswich this season to only take 0.10 off his average considering he was riding at No.5 almost every week and having to face the oppositions No.1 three times a night due to King letting the side down most weeks. Riding in Heat 8's is a whole different ball game to riding in Heats 13 and 15 most weeks.

Five 2022 team members should be a lock for 2023 Fill in the blanks. 1. Jason Doyle 2. Troy Batchelor 3. 4. Erik Riss 5. Danny King 6. 7. Danyon Hume

If he's committed, then yes.

Far too injury prone for my liking. I just build my teams on who I think could race in Britain where only certain clubs would be interested in signing the rider in question.

Leicester will snap him up if he's not at Wolves for sure.

Carl Johnson on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire between 7-10pm