Ipswich Witches 2027

[TTT]

20 minutes ago, mikebv said:

When he rode for the Aces, I always had a "Steve Worrall" feeling to Tom..

ie There is a very good rider in there, but "something" will prevent him consistently reaching that international level...

The pressure to perform when he has to step up seems to be the challenge for him...

Birmingham had pretty much zero pressure given they were so poor, which I think reflected in his riding....

And at both the Aces and at Ipswich he has had two genuine World Class riders keeping pressure off him..

I watched him in Sweden last season against the larger number of top riders over there, and he definitely started to look more aggressive on the bike, and in one race pushed Zmarzlik out of contention in a race with a very robust manoeuvre.. 

Then he got badly injured pre season which I think has (as you could expect), dropped him back a bit this year... 

A big season for him next I would suggest as an indicator as to how his career will progress..

Will he just end up a solid UK rider, with maybe a 2nd or 3rd tier contract in Poland? Or will he become a consistent SEC or even GP performer over the next few years, with a top tier Polish contract..?.

I think any team would want him if they can get two top level riders at One and Five, and Ipswich should be in the box seat for that, given they will want to take advantage of this seasons average..

I think Mike makes a very good point here.

Tom's best seasons have come when he's had no pressure on him.

It was the same when he first joined Ipswich, We had Emil and Doyley taking the pressure off everyone else in the side.

[Daniel Smith]

2 hours ago, Bagpuss said:

I don't think he has an 'ego'. I applaud any rider who tries to better themselves by dropping easy money in our Championship and trying to crack the much harder Polish leagues.....unfortunately it didn't work out for Tom this year and he appears to have regressed. A season in the Championship might be sensible if he cant get a Polish gig but I wouldn't give up on that avenue if I was him. 

This 100%

Brennan would be a good addition to King's Lynn imo.

[MP78]

I know a lot of folk are keen to see Brennan go on his way, but after persevering with him all season, surely Ipswich will want to be the ones to reap the benefit of his reduced average

[cowboy cookie returns?]

3 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

This 100%

Brennan would be a good addition to King's Lynn imo.

He’d do well at Lynn no pressure there. 

[siggysigalos]

Complete rebuild is what's needed, and that includes Paul Hurry, he needs to go with all the changes.

I'd keep Tobi and Tom, and let the rest go, no way would i keep King on his new average.

Quote from last night on the Microphone "We have so many exciting announcements to make for 2027, some big surprises, but i can't say anything just yet", if the Mesiah is true to his word, then i would say most if not all of this team won't return in 2027. But let's wait and see............

[TTT]

Brennan is a real tough one for me and I'm currently 51% OUT and 49% IN tbh.

My concern is that this year Tom has gone missing in a very weak League when we've needed riders to step up under big pressure.

For me the final decision regarding Tom's status should be based around whether we can get a spearhead that contains three from the following 4 (Doyle, Fricke, Musielak and Woryna)

[cowboy cookie returns?]

8 minutes ago, TTT said:

Brennan is a real tough one for me and I'm currently 51% OUT and 49% IN tbh.

My concern is that this year Tom has gone missing in a very weak League when we've needed riders to step up under big pressure.

For me the final decision regarding Tom's status should be based around whether we can get a spearhead that contains three from the following 4 (Doyle, Fricke, Musielak and Woryna)

Not Fricke not a fan of his & does tend to go missing at vital times.

I wouldn’t bet against a return for Emil at this stage 😉

 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

1 hour ago, siggysigalos said:

Complete rebuild is what's needed, and that includes Paul Hurry, he needs to go with all the changes.

I'd keep Tobi and Tom, and let the rest go, no way would i keep King on his new average.

Quote from last night on the Microphone "We have so many exciting announcements to make for 2027, some big surprises, but i can't say anything just yet", if the Mesiah is true to his word, then i would say most if not all of this team won't return in 2027. But let's wait and see............

I personally think we’ll see a completely new look side. Maybe Toby from this year with Brennan but certainly no more than that. 
Just a hunch possibility Emil might fancy it again. I can’t see Doyle being back something tells me that’s an avenue Mayfield won’t go down. 
 

[TTT]

4 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Not Fricke not a fan of his & does tend to go missing at vital times.

I wouldn’t bet against a return for Emil at this stage 😉

 

Only reason why I'm keen on Fricke is due to him being the best fit for when it comes to the NSS and Owlerton which are two tracks that always feature in the play-offs and ones that we struggle the most around.

I'd love to have Emil back though.

[TTT]

Mayfield should test the waters with Freddie Lindgren.

Swedish tyre situation and the possibility of no GP's could open up an opportunity imo.

[WookieboyDon]

5 minutes ago, TTT said:

Mayfield should test the waters with Freddie Lindgren.

Swedish tyre situation and the possibility of no GP's could open up an opportunity imo.

And given how good he was around Monmore, he would revel at Ipswich.

[TTT]

Just now, WookieboyDon said:

And given how good he was around Monmore, he would revel at Ipswich.

Agree, I think we'll see him in the UK in 2027 if he doesn't get the final wildcard for the GP's tbh (Assume Bewley and J. Holder are two of the three)

[mikebv]

9 minutes ago, TTT said:

Agree, I think we'll see him in the UK in 2027 if he doesn't get the final wildcard for the GP's tbh (Assume Bewley and J. Holder are two of the three)

Some big decisions re wild cards next year given the injuries to "regulars"...

And, as we know, there is the political angle too, to ensure more "eyeballs" are on the series..

If Poland allow "Sweden plus one" then it could be a bun fight for Freddie...

Denmark, logistically, will have the advantage, but maybe double the meetings over here would sway his decision?...

[TTT]

42 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Some big decisions re wild cards next year given the injuries to "regulars"...

And, as we know, there is the political angle too, to ensure more "eyeballs" are on the series..

If Poland allow "Sweden plus one" then it could be a bun fight for Freddie...

Denmark, logistically, will have the advantage, but maybe double the meetings over here would sway his decision?...

Agree, I think Kim Nilsson qualifying is a negative for Lindgren's chances of a wildcard.

5 Man Teams in Denmark and no guarantee of starts could also sway riders decisions.

Edited 6 hours ago by TTT

[DaveWayne]

5 hours ago, TTT said:

Agree, I think we'll see him in the UK in 2027 if he doesn't get the final wildcard for the GP's tbh (Assume Bewley and J. Holder are two of the three)

Holder has to be the first choice for a wildcard as we was right up there till his injury. 2nd choice is between Bewley and Lindgren, who would also both probably be in the top 7 without injuries, but surely one of them has to go to whoever finishes 8th ? With 4 riders separated by 1 point chasing 3 places, it would be very harsh to not give another shot to the one that misses out. So which way do you go ? The 41 year old with a fantastic record but never been Champion and unlikely to be now, or the 27 year old potential future champion who would probably have been in the title fight this year ?

[ShanoXtra]

Can’t see why people don’t see Doyle staying at Belle Vue and Witches going in for Bewley. Ties to Wrocław and obviously Coleman said we may interchange/share the riders. Bewley said he likes Foxhall and the fans and I believe he is the type of character that the Foxhall faithful would love to have. Bewley, Łaguta Tobi as the front three big hitters.

[Hackett]

8 hours ago, siggysigalos said:

Complete rebuild is what's needed, and that includes Paul Hurry, he needs to go with all the changes.

I'd keep Tobi and Tom, and let the rest go, no way would i keep King on his new average.

Quote from last night on the Microphone "We have so many exciting announcements to make for 2027, some big surprises, but i can't say anything just yet", if the Mesiah is true to his word, then i would say most if not all of this team won't return in 2027. But let's wait and see............

Did see on Socials - Polish journalists mentioning that British Speedway is in talks with PZM and is looking to implement a U21 rule in the reserve spots. One spot for British rider and the other for an international rider - with the hope that Polish juniors get signed or Polish Teams junior riders - could be a costly means of getting junior riders with transport and logistics.