Pirates: Ford seals deal for teenage sensation Ward (From Bournemouth Echo)

Pirates: Ford seals deal for teenage sensation Ward

7:00am Wednesday 18th November 2009 in

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MATT Ford believes he has pulled off the signing of the decade after teenage sensation Darcy Ward put pen to paper on a full Pirates contract.

The 17-year-old Australian completed his move from Kings Lynn last night and will line up alongside fellow Aussie Chris Holder (8.76) and Leon Madsen (4.00) in Poole’s embryonic 2010 team.

Ford confirmed the deal was a new Pirates record signing – topping the £28,000 paid to make multiple world champion Jason Crump a Poole asset in 2007.

Ward, who joins Poole Castle Cover on a 4.56 average, became one of speedway’s hottest properties when he clinched the world under-21 title in October, on top of the 2009 Australian national crown.

And with a host of other Elite League clubs vying for the Queenslander’s signature, Ford’s Pirates class of 2010 is fast becoming the envy of promoters up and down the country.

The Wimborne Road chief told the Echo: “It’s hard to explain to people just how good Darcy is. In football terms, Manchester United paid £12 million for Cristiano Ronaldo and I hadn’t heard of him.

“Darcy wasn’t cheap either, but, like Ronaldo, I know what he will do for this club. It’s a Poole transfer record, although I won’t disclose the figure.

“It shows how important this kid is, and can be, for the next 15 years. Kings Lynn were extremely easy to deal with and I’d like to thank Jonathan Chapman.

“It came out of the blue three weeks ago when Chris Holder told me Darcy wanted to come to Poole. It snowballed from there.

“Chris was the deal clincher. He and Darcy are very good friends off the track and live life at 100 miles per hour.

“I can see the Holder and Ward show leading Pirates for the next umpteen years.

“We beat off much richer clubs than ourselves to sign him and I just hope that this makes up for the poor season this year with the fans.

“I hope they will come out and support Poole Speedway because this is the signing we all wanted and we’ve invested heavily in this.

“It’s an early Christmas present for everyone.”