[PCT '23] Sony - Force India
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Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 19:12
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ivaneurope |
Posted on 22-08-2023 12:01
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We did make moves with no less than 6 riders total across two deals. Hopefully the riders I've sent you will contribute to your cause as yours to mine
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 22-08-2023 12:22
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We round out transfers with the Free Agent signings of two veterans to add to our hills line-up for the season.
Jan Tratnik | Puncher
Age: 33 | Wage: 50,000 We've had a Slovenian rider in every season of our existence except for 2022. We did not like that and had to bring in Tratnik for the season. It must be said however, that it's not just for statistics that we made this move, and he is expected to be an important domestique for Benoot all through the season.
Stats OVL | FLA | MON | HIL | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FTR | DHI | PRL | 73.72 | 70 | 72 | 76 | 61 | 73 | 74 | 68 | 61 | 60 | 69 | 70 | 64 | 61 |
Choon Huat Goh | Puncher
Age: 33 | Wage: 50,000 Goh joins us from Free Agency as our last move this transfer season. He will play a similar role to Tratnik and mostly support Benoot in the hills.
Stats OVL | FLA | MON | HIL | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FTR | DHI | PRL | 72.87 | 68 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 61 | 61 | 66 | 78 | 64 | 68 |
Daan Hoole | Loaned To: Assa Abloy
Age: 24 | Level: 3.82 Stats OVL | FLA | MON | HIL | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FTR | DHI | PRL | 70.29 | 69 | 68 | 66 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 67 |
Naveen John | Loaned To: Stela-Vita
Age: 28 | Level: 3.00 Stats OVL | FLA | MON | HIL | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FTR | DHI | PRL | 69.35 | 66 | 68 | 67 | 71 | 67 | 69 | 69 | 58 | 64 | 66 | 73 | 66 | 72 |
It will take too long for us to individually say goodbye to all riders in the list above, but we like to thank all of them for their contribution to the team, be it for a few seasons or for a few hours.
@ Ivan: Hope it works out well for both of us. Both Ahmad Zamri and Kozhatayev were on our list of targets for the season and we're glad to have got them
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alexkr00 |
Posted on 22-08-2023 13:36
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World Champion
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Really sucks for me that I didn't have the budget this year to feast into that Dutch exodus, but I guess there's plenty Dutch talent left in the squad for me to be knocking on your door in the next years.
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SotD |
Posted on 22-08-2023 14:03
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World Champion
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Hayter and Kozhatayev was really high on my short list. Well done on signing those!
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baseballlover312 |
Posted on 22-08-2023 14:09
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Tour de France Champion
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Tratnik was a nice late pickup! Considered him for Aranburu support but ultimately went with JJ for RP reasons.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 23-08-2023 10:01
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Directeur Sportif
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Flying High on the Hills! Benoot was magnificent for us last season and we felt it only fitting to invest in him once again. We considered some other trainings for different riders as well, but didn't believe they would have nearly the same impact as this one. We hope this power up allows Benoot to maintain, if not improve on his results and return from last season.
| FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | 2022 | 71 | 75 | 80 | 63 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 69 | 71 | 62 | 66 | 62 | | | | ↓↓↓ | | | | | | | | | | | 2023 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 63 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 69 | 71 | 62 | 66 | 62 |
@ alex: Shame that things didn't work out between us this transfers but there's always next time Having said, I only kept or acquired riders that I intend to get through development and beyond, so it may need some convincing!
@ SotD: Glad to have got them ourselves
@ bbl: Tratnik was one of the best FAs left at that point and we needed support for Benoot, so it was the perfect fit. Also our Slovenian connection demanded it JJ for you is a very feel-good signing!
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jandal7 |
Posted on 23-08-2023 10:17
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World Champion
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Sure you didn't want to do cobbles instead? Scaring me a bit...
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2
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redordead |
Posted on 23-08-2023 10:22
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Benoot should now be vying for the #2 spot in hilly races after Areruya
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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Nemolito |
Posted on 23-08-2023 11:21
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Classics Specialist
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Damn, big training for a big rider. Yet another important step taken towards seeing Sony in PT?
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whitejersey |
Posted on 23-08-2023 11:23
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All that money spent on training and he still won't win the most prestigous race in MG; Viana Do Castelo!
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 23-08-2023 13:30
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@jandal: Spent less to get cobbles leader
@red: Quite a few punchers still in pct, so not sure about that. Repeating or getting close at least to last year's haul is the hope.
@Nemo: No idea yet how most of the competition stacks up. Plan is to try and improve on last season.
@WJ: Well we must keep trying though
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 24-08-2023 09:25
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Directeur Sportif
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The Sony - Force India management is proud to bring to you our squad presentation for the 2023 season. We were able to finish strongly last season and secured our best ever ranking of 8th in the PCT. The aim this year is to improve on it. These are the riders that will take on the challenge.
Climbers and Stage Racers | Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | Ki Ho Choi | 71 | 81 | 74 | 75 | 77 | 76 | 79 | 63 | 59 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 74 | | Giovanni Carboni | 70 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 61 | 72 | 69 | | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev | 74 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 71 | 70 | 52 | 69 | 62 | 74 | 72 | | Gijs Leemreize | 66 | 76 | 74 | 65 | 69 | 73 | 72 | 60 | 62 | 70 | 74 | 67 | 65 | | Yamato Shirota | 68 | 75 | 75 | 58 | 69 | 68 | 73 | 55 | 63 | 78 | 73 | 58 | 58 | | Muhamma Afif Ahmad Zamri | 70 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 52 | 59 | 69 | 71 | 59 | 75 | | Jan Tratnik | 70 | 72 | 76 | 61 | 73 | 74 | 68 | 61 | 60 | 69 | 70 | 64 | 61 | | Choon Huat Goh | 68 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 61 | 61 | 66 | 78 | 64 | 68 |
Choi is our leader on the mountain this season and we have assembled a strong squad of lieutenants to help him in his quest. Carboni is expected to get a couple of leadership opportunities himself. The additions of Ahmad Zamri and Kozhatayev, helps shore up out TTT strength.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | Tiesj Benoot | 71 | 75 | 81 | 63 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 69 | 71 | 62 | 66 | 62 | | Jan Tratnik | 70 | 72 | 76 | 61 | 73 | 74 | 68 | 61 | 60 | 69 | 70 | 64 | 61 | | Yamato Shirota | 68 | 75 | 75 | 58 | 69 | 68 | 73 | 55 | 63 | 78 | 73 | 58 | 58 | | Choon Huat Goh | 68 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 61 | 61 | 66 | 78 | 64 | 68 |
An improved Benoot continues to lead our line in the hills. He has improved support this time, at least in terms of numbers. Tratnik, Goh and Sirota will have important role of delivering our leader into good positions from where he can make the decisive moves.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | Jo Kogstad Ringheim | 72 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 78 | 73 | 75 | 66 | 67 | 66 | | Saya Kuroeda | 74 | 53 | 63 | 67 | 72 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 74 | 78 | 63 | 64 | 71 | | Shiki Kuroeda | 72 | 63 | 70 | 52 | 76 | 77 | 82 | 76 | 76 | 73 | 67 | 71 | 63 | | Tiesj Benoot | 71 | 75 | 81 | 63 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 69 | 71 | 62 | 66 | 62 | | Piotr Havik | 77 | 63 | 70 | 65 | 74 | 73 | 64 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 75 | 70 | 64 | | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev | 74 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 71 | 70 | 52 | 69 | 62 | 74 | 72 |
We failed to get any of our top cobbles targets but still managed to improve the strength and depth of our cobbles squad from last season. Ringheim has been brought in to take some of the load away from Benoot, especially in the flatter cobbled races.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | Daniel Vesely | 73 | 60 | 68 | 57 | 74 | 68 | 76 | 57 | 81 | 80 | 61 | 71 | 57 | | Saya Kuroeda | 74 | 53 | 63 | 67 | 72 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 74 | 78 | 63 | 64 | 71 | | Shiki Kuroeda | 72 | 63 | 70 | 52 | 76 | 77 | 82 | 76 | 76 | 73 | 67 | 71 | 63 | | Jo Kogstad Ringheim | 72 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 78 | 73 | 75 | 66 | 67 | 66 | | Piotr Havik | 77 | 63 | 70 | 65 | 74 | 73 | 64 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 75 | 70 | 64 |
Our flat squad has a stronger lead sprinter but has weakened overall as we missed out a second sprinter in transfers. However, the support staff is still quite strong and almost all our efforts in these races will go towards securing good results for Vesely.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | Bob Jungels | 72 | 64 | 68 | 78 | 74 | 75 | 69 | 54 | 63 | 63 | 72 | 70 | 78 | | Victor Alejandro Ocampo | 69 | 59 | 64 | 76 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 54 | 58 | 63 | 58 | 66 | 76 | | Ki Ho Choi | 71 | 81 | 74 | 75 | 77 | 76 | 79 | 63 | 59 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 74 | | Muhamma Afif Ahmad Zamri | 70 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 52 | 59 | 69 | 71 | 59 | 75 | | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev | 74 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 71 | 70 | 52 | 69 | 62 | 74 | 72 |
After a long search for a leading time trialist, we were finally able to secure the transfer of Jungels who will lead our TTT squad for the season. Youngster Ocampo, on loan for the season, slots right in as deputy. These two additions immediately help improve our TTT unit as compared to last season, although we're still quite a distance away from being contenders.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | Gijs Leemreize | 66 | 76 | 74 | 65 | 69 | 73 | 72 | 60 | 62 | 70 | 74 | 67 | 65 | | Mick Van Dijke | 68 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 71 | | Marten Kooistra | 75 | 60 | 65 | 59 | 72 | 69 | 60 | 69 | 74 | 74 | 63 | 63 | 64 | | Tim Van Dijke | 73 | 61 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 66 | 70 | 69 | 65 | 72 | 72 | | Leo Hayter | 72 | 71 | 65 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 66 | 61 | 66 | 73 | 64 | 69 | 71 | | Esow Alben | 70 | 58 | 63 | 62 | 70 | 61 | 59 | 52 | 68 | 72 | 62 | 64 | 66 |
Leemreize and Mick continue their development for another season. Kooistra joins back from loan and will finish his development this season. Tim, Hayter and Alben join the squad from Free Agency. Hoole and John have been loaned out for the season.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | Tiesj Benoot | 71 | 75 | 81 | 63 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 69 | 71 | 62 | 66 | 62 | | Ki Ho Choi | 71 | 81 | 74 | 75 | 77 | 76 | 79 | 63 | 59 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 74 | | Daniel Vesely | 73 | 60 | 68 | 57 | 74 | 68 | 76 | 57 | 81 | 80 | 61 | 71 | 57 | | Giovanni Carboni | 70 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 61 | 72 | 69 | | Jo Kogstad Ringheim | 72 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 78 | 73 | 75 | 66 | 67 | 66 | | Saya Kuroeda | 74 | 53 | 63 | 67 | 72 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 74 | 78 | 63 | 64 | 71 | | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev | 74 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 71 | 70 | 52 | 69 | 62 | 74 | 72 | | Shiki Kuroeda | 72 | 63 | 70 | 52 | 76 | 77 | 82 | 76 | 76 | 73 | 67 | 71 | 63 | | Gijs Leemreize | 66 | 76 | 74 | 65 | 69 | 73 | 72 | 60 | 62 | 70 | 74 | 67 | 65 | | Bob Jungels | 72 | 64 | 68 | 78 | 74 | 75 | 69 | 54 | 63 | 63 | 72 | 70 | 78 | | Yamato Shirota | 68 | 75 | 75 | 58 | 69 | 68 | 73 | 55 | 63 | 78 | 73 | 58 | 58 | | Muhamma Afif Ahmad Zamri | 70 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 52 | 59 | 69 | 71 | 59 | 75 | | Jan Tratnik | 70 | 72 | 76 | 61 | 73 | 74 | 68 | 61 | 60 | 69 | 70 | 64 | 61 | | Piotr Havik | 77 | 63 | 70 | 65 | 74 | 73 | 64 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 75 | 70 | 64 | | Choon Huat Goh | 68 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 61 | 61 | 66 | 78 | 64 | 68 | | Mick Van Dijke | 68 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 71 | | Marten Kooistra | 75 | 60 | 65 | 59 | 72 | 69 | 60 | 69 | 74 | 74 | 63 | 63 | 64 | | Victor Alejandro Ocampo | 69 | 59 | 64 | 76 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 54 | 58 | 63 | 58 | 66 | 76 | | Tim Van Dijke | 73 | 61 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 66 | 70 | 69 | 65 | 72 | 72 | | Leo Hayter | 72 | 71 | 65 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 66 | 61 | 66 | 73 | 64 | 69 | 71 | | Esow Alben | 70 | 58 | 63 | 62 | 70 | 61 | 59 | 52 | 68 | 72 | 62 | 64 | 66 |
This transfer window was not a straightforward affair for us. While we were able to secure our sales without much difficulty, we received negative responses for most of our top targets for Time Trials and Northern Classics. Free Agency was a more fruitful affair for us this time, with seven joiners from the same. We had to resort to being creative and bargain hunting in our buys, but do believe we still managed to improve the team overall from last season. The biggest plus point we feel is that we now have viable leaders for every terrain, and sufficient for them as well. We hope this translates into better results in the races and an improvement in the overall points haul at the end of the season.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 24-08-2023 10:31
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jaxika |
Posted on 24-08-2023 09:55
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Choi remained one of the most liked riders for me, so i cheer for you. Great squad! |
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Fabianski |
Posted on 24-08-2023 10:37
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Wow, that's some impressive mountain depth for sure! Choi will be a really solid scorer for you again - maybe even slightly better, with some more luck (e.g. ToA) and an improved TTT lineup. Great rider to have! Now missing a second 80+ climber though with Penasa gone, guess your calendar might be less mountain-centered now?
Benoot has obviously only gotten stronger with the training - and I do hope he'll do more hills than cobbles As you say, the support is pretty good as well - no top puncheurs, but a lot of really interesting riders!
TT-wise, I guess Jungels is more or less a 1:1 replacement for Dumoulin, but adding Ocampo surely gives you more depth. Depending on how TTTs work in the new engine - if 2-3 strong riders are enough for good results - you might do pretty well in these events as well now Surely good news for Choi's ToA challenge - IF he returns there...
Ringheim is a great addition for the cobbles, and alongside the Kuroedas and - where he participates - Benoot, will be a serious threat! They'll surely net you some good points!
Vesely should indeed be an upgrade over Minali, but replacing both his and TvA's points will be a tough ask. Let's see how it works out
Overall, I agree that you should at least be able to get a Top 10 again. I haven't looked at all rosters yet, but I feel like promotion could be possible this year, with two really strong uphill leaders plus a pretty fast sprinter. Good luck
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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 25-08-2023 03:29
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A really well-rounded team. Choi has a great supporting casts. Deep in the cobbles and hills as well. I think Benoot should clearly focus on the cobbles where his combo skill set make him unique.
I didn't realize you had got Hayter, a great pick up at a very reasonable price and a really nice set of young riders with Alben as well.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling
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redordead |
Posted on 25-08-2023 07:26
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Hayter, Hayter, Hayter!!!
Apart from that, despite all the changes the team feels very similar which means another top 10 finish should be on the cards and perhaps promotion
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 25-08-2023 19:27
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Directeur Sportif
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@jaxika: Choi is one of my favourite riders too now. Thanks!
@Fab: Yes number of mountain races and RDs are definitely lesser and the reason why we trimmed that department. Felt that Choi needed more support in TTTs because of where he'll go, so the conscious effort was made to improve in that aspect. I guess we somewhat managed to get there. Benoot did well enough last season with just Velasco as pure hills support and Raileanu as extra cover in certain races. Feel like the support we have now should suffice again while the likes of Kozhatayev and Leemreize might accompany him in a couple of the harder hills races. Do believe Jungels is a better rider overall than Dumoulin was before decline, so hoping that's how things turn out. Ocampo was a loan target especially for the reason you state and glad we could get him in. We understood quite early on in transfers that a cobbles leader would be hard to get, so we decided on the depth approach instead. Hoping the multi-pronged approach can lead to good results. I agree that replacing both of TvA and Minali's points will be a stretch for Vesely but we're hoping he can get somewhere in between the two's return last season. The one thing I perhaps regret most after transfers is not being able to get a second sprinter. Hopefully we do slightly better than a Top 10 and improve on last year's position.
@Ulrich: By having to give up on most big money targets early on in transfers, we decided to dig in on our existing strengths and get enough support. The only major upgrade from a leader perspective is Vesely, who was around third choice for us. We kind of understood which cobbles races suited Benoot last season, so it's unlikely he does a full cobbles calendar again. Ringheim was brought in specifically to take some load off the former. Quite fond of the Hayter and Alben pickups myself, so I'd have to agree with you on that!
@red: No hate, just Hayter! Do believe the team slightly different with leas focus on mountains but do hope your assessment of our chances prove to be correct
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Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 26-08-2023 10:28
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Man, that sure is a solid team. Strong leaders for every department plus good overall depth. Plus Leo Hayter. Congrats, mate. It should be a tranquil season for you. Promotion shouldn't be out of reach, I reckon.
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Nemolito |
Posted on 26-08-2023 10:31
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AbhishekLFC wrote:
Ocampo was a loan target especially for the reason you state and glad we could get him in.
And I couldn't have thought of a better team for Ocampo to join. I hope he does his bit in the ttt's and with some luck he's able to score some minor depth/u25 points himself.
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 27-08-2023 10:53
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@Gustav: Always try to have every terrain covered in terms of leaders. Wasn't possible last season so Benoot had to do double duty. Hopefully that problem is fixed this time. Still a bit early to think about promotion I guess. Hopefully we can improve on last season.
@Nemolito: That's exactly our hope as well
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