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Me too, he demonstrated such a commitment to racing British speedway last season, tbh if I was Chris Louis I’d have chopped Emil in for him!!

I'd take riders at Berwick with the ability to gate.... You can certainly pass at our place, we've seen that a lot over the past 2 years, but gating is half the battle! We need to ensure we win our home matches this year .. 4 and 5 losses a season at home isn't good enough! The 3 we've signed so far I am happy with

I know that’s why I was trying to convince Poole he would be a steal on that average.

Riders seem to scared to stand up to their Polish teams, look at Woffinden, seems he was "forced" to race when injured in the play-offs when he didn't want to, if a 3 times world champion won't stand up to them who will? What does Woffy do this year, sign for the same team again - so why would his club ever put his health first again? They've shown winning is more important. Surely another Extraliga club would've jumped at the opportunity of singing Tai if he wasn't happy with how he was treated? Regarding Laguta, it was very disrespectful of him to call off injured / ill then post on IG when out a run, almost like he was laughing as his UK team imo.

The Paris meetings in contrast were billed as world championships. As were maybe one or two others ? There was even a world championship in the UK that Jack Parker won in 1931 was it ? All so confusing. And i d think it shuld be left as it is and not revise things As i posted elsewhere. If you look at my profile, there is an old poster advertising that World Champion Sprouts Elder was coming to Hamburg in 1930....

No leave it be. Renaming these competitions nearly 60 years later is wrong in my opinion. Think every speedway historian recognises and acknowledges that they did show who was the best rider in World Speedway at the time. BUT the authorities of the day named them as they did and not "World Championships" and they should remain in the record books as they were originally named.

Thats fair enough, already think the team looks better than last years. All teams need to be competitive at home, very dispiriting to lose a few home matches.

I don't know. What comes next? Declare the winners of the Star Championsips of the early 30s as world champions as well? Don't mess with historic facts. Those meetings never were contested as world championships. I am against any retrospective change of historic facts.

Who do you remembervgiving the sport up too early? https://classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/december-2023/retired-too-soon-1950s

He knows where he is appreciated!

If Bailey & Edwards ride to their potential, gonna have an excellent top 5.

Think Poole are going to have the best top 4 in the league. Expect them all to hit 8 point averages in a weaker league.

Really hoping they manage to get a half decent team just for Andrew having the balls to take Workington up. A team in the championship getting beat at home like the comets last season won't keep the crowds to a level to cover his costs.

Someone should write a book about him

As he's a Plymouth asset I guess it's ok to discuss our rider on this thread,

Zach Cook back for Poole

Season Ticket prices announced this evening. Cheapest so far of those clubs that have confirmed theirs. £189 for 11 meetings (£159 Concessions - 65+) and you get a guaranteed seat in the main grandstand for that! Not forgetting 10% off merchandise in the track shop and the usual invitation to the Club's P&P. And Zach Cook returns!!!

West Auckland won the "Thomas Lipton Trophy" TWICE (1909 & 1911).

It's not that it stops me going - it's just that I'm looking for Oxford to in"spire" me (see what I did there) to get me along. Oxford Rebels would have inspired me. It takes a lot to get me into a speedway stadium these days. I kind of want to support Oxford (I was born there, after all, and it is just as easy for me to get to as Swindon is) but I'm still not feeling it, ya know! Two years it's been back, and I've been twice - once each year. Premier league might get me along more though. How about the Morris Oxford. That's a car don't you know.

Ace signs for Glasgow !

Agree at practice Theo looked real quick when he done a few laps with Leon Flint.

Just 5, having been seeded as reigning champion, something I disapproved of.

When you start losing at home regularly the fans vote with their feet and crowd levels drop. Track most weeks was quite slick which suited the away teams, we need to prepare a track which gives us home advantage as other teams do. Winning your home matches especially with bonus point addition being in place can help towards a playoff place.

Maybe you're being a bit too harsh on him. Probably his Poland club were exercising a lot of control, and stepping into a new situation partway through a season isn't ideal. If he's available from the start and without strings being attached and pulled he'd be a cracking signing

Think Theo has enough on with long track and his two lads who ride now

That's because they've lazily only chosen averages to "maintain the ethos" of the league. It's gonna be easier for a journeyman 40 year old 6 point rider to get a team spot than a 16 year old 7.5 rider in his second season for example!

Probably strongest side I've seen announced/ rumoured. Will obviously depend on the injured riders form when come back and Edwards stepping up in the main body like Connor did this year.

The suspicion I'm having, is of the BSPL allowing Birmingham into the PL only as an "extra" and with a high risk of the club not being able to complete the season taken fully into account. It was therefore essential to have a solid core of 6 clubs, all of them with stability and a good chance of not just completing the 2024 season, but 2025 as well. If the Brummies do complete season 2024 then it will be a "bonus" - if they can return for 2025 that will be beyond a bonus! So I very much doubt there will be any collective "bailing out" done by the other 6/BSPL if things go wrong at any stage. Survival of the 6 will be uppermost. There were two lame ducks in the 2023 league and the management committee couldnt allow that possibility to repeat in 2024. The performance of Kings Lynn will be of more importance to them, than that of Birmingham. Can just keep fingers crossed it works out ok for Brummies. But I doubt if Ermolenko will be effective or even competent - maybe young Adams will be.

I get numbers and connections but Simpson apart there is nothing about that side that backs the 'ethos' of the development leagues that the top brass have been harping on about.

For oldies like me, it should have been Cheetahs.

I don’t know how you get any optimism from that interview….. he clearly stated he was going to be making it up snd learning as he went along. He has no ooomph about him. Dull as dishwater. Did you listen to the Worrall into? Steve clearly stated … Sam is from a different era when speedway was totally different, if he thinks he’s going to tell me how to set my bike up, that’s not going to work. %

He'll need to hit the ground running this season in a weaker League or the young ones will swallow him up quickly. Never quite hit the heights he was tipped too after being chucked in at Newcastle at Number 7 in CL. Seems more interested in Tattoos and go faster stripes/exhausts for his car than investing in machinery. Time will tell if he's hungry enough to work for it or continue to expect others to make it happen for him.

Theo looked good practising at Worky a few weeks ago but even Theo would think twice about making a comeback. Worky are starting on the back foot with not having any championship riders from last year to start off with so have a clean slate more or less to compile a team. I am sure we will have a competitive team in 24 though.

Yeah 100%, even as Friday track we've found more and more issues. I assume why we've gone with a predominantly British 1-7 this year. Only a few years were several Saturday tracks in champ, last season was only Berwick. With worky and I think Plymouth will be more this season right enough

3 NDL meetings at Edinburgh at the end of the 2021 season, is 3 NDL meetings at Edinburgh at the end of a season. Not enough to gain an average. A full season at Belle Vue is a full season at Belle Vue. As I said, the only full season he's had. A season where he went from 3.00 to 5.29 which is pretty decent. He crashed out in his first meeting of 2023, and made 1 guest appearance in the last match of the year.... So still only completed 1 full NDL season. It's not difficult to understand. I didn't say he'd become heat leader standard. In his only full season he increased his average by 2.29 which is very decent.

So one season at Edinburgh and one at Belle Vue makes one season ? whatever…. The lad still has a long way to go to be considered a decent heat leader standard rider.

Please define "has beens". If you check out last years Polish League averages you'll see that Janusz Kołodziej was 3rd in the averages, and Jarek Hampel out-performed the likes of Robert Lambert who you said would be an awesome signing, let alone Maciej Janowski and Patryk Dudek, who despite his unavailability, has no end of admirers here. https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/pge-ekstraliga/statystyki

Only if you wanted them to end up being called "Oxford Cheetah McCheetahface". With Oxford being synonymous with boating, it might have been better to honour the local river and called the team "Oxford Isis"

If I was being really pedantic, I'd reply with - why even have a league? Why does the top team win, why not give 3 points to all riders who complete a race? I'm sure everyone would say "that's insane" - so clearly the result does matter - after all when riders go to the tapes the aim is to win the heat - you don't see top riders miss the gate on purpose to practice their overtaking do you? Also if the strength of teams doesn't matter why even have a points limit? I would change a couple of things to make it more of a "development" league - like the Prem, weakest rider has to go at 7 (can't be replaced in heat 8) look at Mildenhall last year, William Richardson getting the harder rides, while his stronger reserve partner meets a reserve in every race. There's no way that was don't for his development - weakest riders at 7 meeting each other more & stronger riders at 6 racing opposition second strings must be better for everyone's development - so clearly Mildenhall did this to win. If the number 6 couldn't replace the number 7 baring injuries (call him a supplementary reserve) all riders would likely get 4 rides a match - it just goes a bit further than simply stopping tac subs, which they do to stop riders missing rides (unless you have a strong reserve).

Some people say the weakest team gets first pick of the RS, if true Birmingham would have taken Flint before Leicester got the chance - personally I don't know why that rule would even need to exist! EDIT the latest SGB post explains the RS ruling & for the first time I've seen it announced that the lowest ranked team gets pick of RS.

Looks a very weak team, but that's always the case when the first team is (almost) declared with a lower points limit. Once other sides are completed, they may not look so bad.

His away GSA was higher than his home GSA this year, so I suspect you might well be correct... https://britishspeedway.co.uk/2023-rider-statistics/

The following articles are included in this months editionTrains and Boats and Planes - a look at riders travel in the 50s and 60sThey Retired Too Soon -guys who gave the game away too earlyAlphabetically Speaking -The "I"s have itThe Italian Job 1966-a short season in the Italian Riviera.Big Birthdays -who is celebrating this month?Anyone Remember Number 13 -our monthly test of your recall skillsPreview of January's editionclassicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/december-2023

Really like Alfie returning. Great bloke and really good at Plymouth, away form has improved over the last season too.

I've just been looking at some pics of a a very happy & smiling Chris Adams. He must take after his mom.

Fair enough, I must say however that I don't find Sam inspirational in any way , but I do hope the Brummies make a success of next season . The current owner deserves that for his continued financial commitment to the club.

Can't wait to see the tactical genius moves of Sudden Sam....

If this team.was not bad enough .they put Sudden 'stick a fork in it "Sam as the team manager.

Looking solid if not spectacular at the moment, the 8th man (as it were) at Leicester is the track, so if the can get a team of track specialists they'll always stand a good chance of a 2 legged victory imo

If Joe gets a team spot but Max doesn't I'd be disappointed with Leicester (although they are just trying to win) but also with the BSPL, should be a rule that you can't ride in all 3 leagues. After all of you're good enough for the Prem, must be too good for the NL right?