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I'd have Ulrich over the likes of Barker, Lasse & Garrity every day of the week. He turns up every match and busts a gut every time.

Honestly Jesus man... hes not started yet give the bloke a chance FFS!!!! Regards THJ

Yep good luck Jason nice to see Rob acted quickly to appoint a new manager at a time when he must have an awful lot on his plate... New owner new team new manager new web site new catering new roof on the office and a new floor too new track fence going in along with new drainage and some new track staff to boot... it's all taking shape... isn't It? No need for the doom and gloom "things can (and are) getting better" are they not? I'm sure there will be a million things on Rob's to do list and I hope he doesn't over stretch himself... sometimes New promoters want to change to much to quickly and they can miss some of the smaller more important points... All we need to do as fans is turn out in force to back the guy and show him that he made the right choice taking the Diamonds on... let's hope he can make a few Bob and build on what he inherited... which wasn't much to be fair to him... So again good luck to all the promotion here's hoping it works from day one... Regards THJ

I'm not holding my breath there. I'm still pretty stunned at the pulling of the petition off the back of one conversation with zero details whatsoever made public. After all that fuss aswell. Sadly sums up things over the years in speedway - those on the inside are quite happy to clam up when pushed for details from the paying public.

Well, I for one won't be there after he single handedly got a meeting abandoned at Peterborough a few years back. Not the only time he's done this. In fact he should probably allow free entry as a payback to the many fans he's cost over the years

Welcome back Jason Crump. Always thought he retired too early and still plenty in the tank! Great signing for Ipswich and for British speedway in general

You knew that anyway - As I put on the same day as you posted the link "If they were going to look at it again then they wouldn't have issued an official statement that made the situation worse." - And you said " simply urging the Promotion to look at the situation again from the perspective of a Blue-Badge holder" - which they clearly haven't done at any point but you've gone from up in arms, to a petition, nearly page long solution that you offered to administer and then one chat where you're told "that's the way it is mate" and you say, OH OK ! Reminds me of Boris accusing Corbyn of being captured, jugulated, reprogrammed by his friends and turned into a Remainer! (we can use promoter for our purposes).

first rider to be confirmed is none other than Belle Vue legend Jason Crump

Yes, he's not liked and if you've spent any time with him , know his previous and listened to his ' surmons ' you can understand why. Lets hope he talks less and let's the results speak for him.

Hans and Ulrich riding together at 6 & 7 wow what a crazy pair to have at reserve, would scare the crap out of any other reserves on track

The current setting following one apparent discussion is tighter than a camel's arse in a sandstorm. There are times to say and do nothing and this was one because "not going to change" is a pretty pathetic stance, without better explanation, from someone who felt the need to start the thread and petition in the first place.

Why does this always happen at a time when it will be so difficult to get a replacement. Tungate ?

Sad for BWD but he is becoming a bit of a liability with his injury record which is a shame for a talented rider. This could make Panthers stronger. With British reductions. Iversen MPT Andersen Harris Tungate Nicholls R. Worrall

Nah. Nicholls for BWD, almost identical averages.

What about give it a chance before it's pulled to bits straight away. You Geordies are an impatient lot

its Barclays now.....

I agree

My theory, having listened to what he has said (previously) and what I have read a few times over the winter, is that the logistics of riding in the British, Swedish, Polish and Danish leagues coupled with the GP’s meant it took a bit of sorting out.

He didn't exactly pull up many trees the last time he rode for us in the Championship.

A lot has been said on this subject already by myself included ,above all it is great that he wants to race will have the best kit money can buy so lets just saviour the prospect we have lost one w/champ from the sport and another is returning . If he can stay clear of injury and not get tangled up chasing points or go to war with Doyle or Niki Ped he should be able to hold his own if not sparkle from time to time as the rider of old .

Even if the track has changed drastically, which mostly they won't have, he can set up a bike to be spot on after one race while less experienced riders will be chasing the set up all night.

I think Tofty will probably get the no.2 race jacket. That's a good looking side, and I think Buster for all his faults ( I know about the BB farce) has put together a strong team for 2020. That isn't a making up the numbers side. It's a strong side all the way through, including strong reserves.( with around 4.80 for the no.7 spot). If they all stay fit you have yourself a play off side imho.

Very difficult to make predictions before we’ve seen a few meetings - I do however think the league like it’s going to be very close this year, no one looks like they’re going to run away with it and similarly no one looks like they’re going to be tailed off either. Home form will be paramount for everyone

I’m not even gonna bother having a bash to be honest. Swindon look a touch better than the rest, but apart from them the rest could literally be in any order.

I think he'll do pretty well and you have to add on the points his team mates will gain by learning from him. I would think on top of the points he scores you can expect another 5 a meeting (especially away) from helping his team with set ups and coaching.

I’d be trying to get josh Pickering if I was pboro management with 4.8 left

He’s always loved Foxhall, after a month or so I can see him scoring well at home. Nobody can be expecting him to hit the ground running so we’re going to need to be patient and not make knee jerk conclusions after a few meetings. He’s going to have to show something in the early meetings mind you to show that there is something still there. I remain on the fence and it’s just a wait and see situation. Nobody can confidently predict what’s going to happen which makes this the most intriguing signing of the winter. We also have to remember this isn’t a half decent heatleader who was a 7-8 pointer who is making a comeback, it’s a rider who last posted an average over 11 in a much tougher league. I don’t think an average of between 7-8 is unrealistic. We started with Harris on an inflated average last year who dropped over a point and half and we still made the play offs so even if his average drops as most are predicting, it doesn’t mean the end of our chances.

Haha Actually not quite true... the riders asked me to take the job on full time and said I could take over from Jacko anytime I wanted... however they may have been pulling my leg... Furthermore I got a good hydraulicing off Jacko for spoiling them... the riders that is.... but I've never had a problem with man management or motivational speaking though to be fair... However what I will say is it's harder than you think it would be... and definitelty harder than it looks... it was pretty stressful that's for sure and any manager of a speedway team gets my respect... It might only be 15 one minute races but there is always something going on in between times... and that's on top of the riders moaning their puddings off... Regards THJ

His longevity was remarkable, and a tribute to his fitness. His winning of four World Titles has to earn respect but he lost a great deal of respect from me when he kept failing to ride in major events in Britain, coming up with the excuse of "Giving kids a chance". I suspect the real reason was a good deal less positive. To me he snubbed his British fans on more than one occasion, but then when did the fans count? His antics at Melbourne didn't impress either. It rather echoed the appalling mistake made by Bruce Penhall at White City. It's sad that there is no American representation in the SGP for the first time. A great flow of talent has come to an end....for now. I do hope that Nicol or Becker can meet the challenge to replace him in due time. Over the years the Americans have given us a lot of fun, even if some of it was rather worrying ;-) Not in Greg's case. I did work with a few and those smiles weren't all that real in several cases in the 80s. I never got to know Greg so can't comment on him. The illness to his wife will have changed all priorities. I wish him a good retirement with the woman he loves at his side. Speedway is important but not THAT important.

It should make Boro stronger.

I’ll buy it off them:-)

That's not the reasoning why Reading and others were stopped, and as others have said, their best hope is a few challenge matches.

1 Swindon 2 Kings Lynn 3 Sheffield 4 Belle Vue 5 Peterborough 6 Wolves 7 Ipswich In truth it all looks quite tight. With only 7 teams it is pretty hard to predict what will happen, actually looks quite an exciting league to be honest!

Berwick currently due at Edinburgh the same night. I feel a fixture switch coming on and I dont mean the Redcar meeting.

I’ve seen a few saying this, but he’s just done an interview with Mike Bacon of the local paper, who asks if any family are coming with him. He goes on to say his son Seth has one more year at school, and his wife will come over a few times during the season. So maybe it’s purely a racing decision from his part?

Who did he get rid of?

Its definitely new, and looks similar to the way some websites are heading. Sometimes it's about accepting change, am no techno geek, but found it ok to navigate by clicking on the box with the lines in.

Ben Barker would he be a good option at reserve?

Could still have THJ I believe. If he did a full season I am sure he could be a decent reserve.

He has agreed to ride in the Peter Craven Memorial meeting...can’t wait to see him ride again

I agree, very competitive and as you say, hated losing. Will this be one of the reasons he cuts short his return? I just can’t see him being satisfied being beaten on a regular basis, and by what he and others consider much less talented riders. I used to love watching him at Swindon, especially his duels with Leigh Adams. I can’t wait to see him ride again, but something tells me it’s not going to last.

Blimey talk about glass half empty... look around Sheffield's a good side, seeing Pedersen again, Belle Vue look really strong, then there's Swindon with 4 heat leaders.. Panthers look competitive at least, the icing is seeing Crumpy again, and the Witches always good well at the Showground. We're going to have a good year.

Honestly All right my love... Let's have a look at the old score board.... Because you know what points make... However you get nothing for a double... well not in Speedway anyway... Should a get me CV polished up Ruff because a still have a 100% win record from a triple winning team from 2018... Undefeated.... Not many can boast that now can they... Regards THJ

I was told that the arrangements were not going to change - so I decided that the petition had run its course. I was disappointed by the outcome of course.

He has had experience at it. Team manager I mean.

I believe it's his IQ - but he missed out the decimal point

But the riders are not as good as they were 8 years ago

Surely they hold his registration - nothing to do with contracts.

Too busy helping out at the stadium, looking forward to seeing our season tickets, checking that our tigers jackets will last another year, planning our holidays so we can support our team home and away. I could go on, just excited that's not long before the season starts. Hope all speedway fans have a great time supporting their team.

I find both these posts slightly odd to say the least. I would be the first to admit the Greg Hancock isn't my favourite rider but anyone who is a multi World Champ, has had the longevity that he has and has ridden at the highest class be it SGP or any league throughout his career must be regarded as one of the best ever and a legend of our sport.