Some of the people in the holding pool have been there some time according to the postings here. Some will no longer qualify under the new criteria, some will not bother going for a reassessment, especially as you have to pay your own airfare, some will have lapsed in recency etc etc. That will still leave plenty to fill any courses this year IMHO, the call for further applications will be to have another pool of potential recruits for the next 12 - 24 months. There have been statements to the effect that total recruitment for 2010 will be well down on previous years and the actual delivery schedules have been subject to delays. Given the lead times in getting pilots in and trained, they are probably looking 1 to 2 years ahead for people applying now. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, I would love a job next year because in 12 months, my recency will be out the window as well and after that I will be looking at B&Q, unless there is a big improvement in economic conditions.
Again, I really hope that I am unduly pessimistic.