Who's
Missing?
Posted 01/03/05
With the last 24 hours revelations at Reading,
there are now technically 5 Premier League places still to be allocated
– three slots at Reading now they have signed Richard Wulff,
a reserve slot at Newport and a replacement for the injured Kolenko
at Exeter. There are currently almost 30 riders who rode in the PL
last year who are still looking for a position this year.
A list is below, and it is those in the middle and
lower order that seem to be most affected. Of those at the top of
the list, Olsen was persuaded out of retirement to ride a few meetings
for Newcastle last year so it is no great surprise he is not returning
this year.
Peter Carr made it clear that if he did not retire
he only wanted to ride for a track near to home, thus limiting his
options. Similarly Mark Simmonds had said he would only ride if he
were in Exeter’s plans. Graeme Gordon’s injury meant he
was never going to be available until July at the earliest and he
has now taken over as team manager at Exeter. Scott Smith has returned
home to Australia.
You could therefore argue that the highest average
rider affected solely by the team building rules is Richard Juul on
6.05. Of those left, Karl Mason and Tom Brown are in the frame for
the final place at Newport whilst two of Chris Johnson, Chris Mills
and Trevor Harding may be considered for the Reading slots.
Two of last years Tigers, David McAllan and Eric
Carrillo, are still without a team for the start of the 2005 season.
Still technically looking are; -
| Name |
Team
Building Ave |
| Jesper Olsen |
8.10 |
| Peter Carr |
7.94 |
| Mark Simmonds |
7.22 |
| Graeme Gordon |
7.40 |
| Scott Smith |
7.00 |
| Richard Juul |
6.05 |
| Glen Phillips |
5.99 |
| Aiden Collins |
5.82 |
| Eric Carrillo |
5.75 |
| Shane Colvin |
5.36 |
| David Meldrum |
4.90 |
| Carl Wilkinson |
4.68 |
| Steve Bishop |
4.62 |
| David McAllan |
4.58 |
| Chris Mills |
4.34 |
| Trevor Harding |
4.03 |
| Simon Walker |
3.10 |
| Chris Johnson |
3.00 |
| Darren Mallett |
3.00 |
| Daniel Giffard |
3.00 |
| Steven Braidford |
3.00 |
| Karl Mason |
3.00 |
| Tom Brown |
3.00 |
| Luke Priest |
3.00 |
| Jamie Westacott |
3.00 |
| Danny Norton |
3.00 |
| Gary Phelps |
3.00 |
| Sean Stoddart |
3.00 |
