Batch

[Grumpyloser]

So after my last rant, i decided to sit back and see how the team performed.

Against Ipswich they fought back to a last heat decider, which has to be said, seems to becoming their forte only to lose in the last heat.

But there is fight there.

after tonight match against Belle Vue, have to say they fought well.

BUT.

Batch must go, have question either his resolve or professionalism.

Now i've never been on a speedway bike, let alone on a track or raced. I can only go on what i see.

Thought we were going to get well thumped by The Aces, so 5 points is good.

However, Batch seemed to manage to throw points away.

Either with what appeared bike trouble (not the first time) (professionalism) or interest (resolve).

Now i could be way off the mark.

Getting rid of Batch may not solve the problem, but if we got Jeppesen back, at least he has a future.

[the hobbit]

It will happen and very soon in my humble opinion. 
I have a sneaky feeling there might even be a surprise departure before to long . Nothing more than a gut feeling but, a strong one. 

[the hobbit]

On the face of things, his score tonight looks half decent but in reality , it was far from so being. 
he got a very lucky two points in heat 7 when two riders suffered machine problems. 
Managed  to go from first to last twice and was passed far too easily to lose points in other races which was very very frustrating when he appears to switch off on the last bend to allow Kurtz to pip him. 
 

how odd that every time he gets overtaken, he shows no fight snd is always looking down at his bike as if to look for an excuse there, rather than admit he has no fight, no desire and in my opinion, no interest in the teams results. 
 

[Whitelinehugger]

12 hours ago, Grumpyloser said:

So after my last rant, i decided to sit back and see how the team performed.

Against Ipswich they fought back to a last heat decider, which has to be said, seems to becoming their forte only to lose in the last heat.

But there is fight there.

after tonight match against Belle Vue, have to say they fought well.

BUT.

Batch must go, have question either his resolve or professionalism.

Now i've never been on a speedway bike, let alone on a track or raced. I can only go on what i see.

Thought we were going to get well thumped by The Aces, so 5 points is good.

However, Batch seemed to manage to throw points away.

Either with what appeared bike trouble (not the first time) (professionalism) or interest (resolve).

Now i could be way off the mark.

Getting rid of Batch may not solve the problem, but if we got Jeppesen back, at least he has a future.

Nothing but a miserable sod who picks his meetings for his points

[Haza]

And then you have Klindt scoring just 3 points so don’t see how you can criticise Batch on 5 points 

[SteveArena]

He is way past it. Northampton need young and hungry riders.

[Whitelinehugger]

17 hours ago, the hobbit said:

It will happen and very soon in my humble opinion. 
I have a sneaky feeling there might even be a surprise departure before to long . Nothing more than a gut feeling but, a strong one. 

You in the know? Spill the beans

[Whitelinehugger]

2 hours ago, Haza said:

And then you have Klindt scoring just 3 points so don’t see how you can criticise Batch on 5 points 

He needs booting out also.

[Andrew]

Just be thankful he hasn't gone from a near 9 point rider to under 6  like he did in 2021 !

[YeOldPitGate]

3 hours ago, Haza said:

And then you have Klindt scoring just 3 points so don’t see how you can criticise Batch on 5 points 

As we all know they were left with the scraps and have ended up with three riders who may or may not fancy it on any given night.

You can carry one rider like that in a team but not three. Plus side Thomsen has been outstanding, Iverson is being solid as ever given at end of career and ditto Zagar. They will have to stick with Lidsey and Klindt due to lack of other options and the fact both can hit double figures when in the mood. Batch as you say though has to go Jepperson should be good for 4-5 a match and will try and you can't ask for anymore than that.

[the hobbit]

1 hour ago, Whitelinehugger said:

You in the know? Spill the beans

No 

just a judgement based on watching this sport for 50 years. 

[marko]

Trouble is there is a lack of riders so in years past, riders like Batch would have been quickly tossed aside and never seen again, there is always some mug willing to give riders like him another chance because they don’t have much options.

Batch is like Craig Cook and Drew Kemp, there is a decent rider there, we have seen it years ago, something has happened, and by trying to carry on they will only dig a bigger hole for themselves mentally and get a lot of stick from the speedway going public, is it really worth it?

[Youhave2minutes]

5 minutes ago, marko said:

Trouble is there is a lack of riders so in years past, riders like Batch would have been quickly tossed aside and never seen again, there is always some mug willing to give riders like him another chance because they don’t have much options.

Batch is like Craig Cook and Drew Kemp, there is a decent rider there, we have seen it years ago, something has happened, and by trying to carry on they will only dig a bigger hole for themselves mentally and get a lot of stick from the speedway going public, is it really worth it?

All 3 are irritating 

[mikebv]

Never understood the grief Batch, and riders like him, get...

They make up the majority of double uppers who run at HL and SS levels..

And all pretty much do the same thing, and are of not too different ages...

If they gate first, they can win in the second tier, and maybe, now and again, hold on in the top tier..

If they gate last, in tier one they stay there, and in tier two they may get third...

Many of them certainly won't be busting a gut to make any risky passes at this stage of their careers..

And, given so few riders of their level want to ride over here, they are all desperately needed to fill two team places..

a) to ensure full teams, and b) let both teams share costs..

[YeOldPitGate]

26 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Never understood the grief Batch, and riders like him, get...

They make up the majority of double uppers who run at HL and SS levels..

And all pretty much do the same thing, and are of not too different ages...

If they gate first, they can win in the second tier, and maybe, now and again, hold on in the top tier..

If they gate last, in tier one they stay there, and in tier two they may get third...

Many of them certainly won't be busting a gut to make any risky passes at this stage of their careers..

And, given so few riders of their level want to ride over here, they are all desperately needed to fill two team places..

a) to ensure full teams, and b) let both teams share costs..

Spot on the mentality is certainly in second division if i get out first I should be able to hold on if not settle for what you can get and don't take a risk, Sedgeman is another example and to be fair even if it drives us crackers you can't really blame them for trying to avoid a bad injury if they are at the tail end of their career.

[W9 Lion]

On 7/10/2026 at 5:36 PM, SteveArena said:

He is way past it. Northampton need young and hungry riders.

Such as....

[W9 Lion]

1 hour ago, Youhave2minutes said:

All 3 are irritating 

Drew looks to be turning the corner this season with the Lions.