Daniel Smith

A "True No1" is the 'be all and end all' when it comes to big meetings. They are and always will be your match winners. Strength in depth will forever fall short when it really matters. Leicester using Douglas over Fricke killed them over the 2 meetings that matter most. You need a "Team" to get you to the Play-Offs but "True No1s" to get you over the line. Saying what-if's with Masters or Howarth is irrelevant because we all know, there's a reason they're all 6.00- average rider's. Because they're average, thus making them inconsistent.

There's the crux, as that's not quite true. Winning, consistent sides tend to manage to hold on to their main guys. At King's Lynn, they consistently hold on to year on year, even bad rider's for too long. There's actually quite a lot of consistency in teams, it just doesn't feel like it when you're turning up to meetings and getting whipped, especially at home. If things continue as is at King's Lynn, you can guarantee it's the same ol' 'last pick' faces again in 2027.

Clearly didn't read what I said 🙄 "When it comes to those crunch moments in big matches, a genuine No1 makes a huge huge difference."

Leicester are better without Fricke are they? 🤫 Guess what, he comes in as a guest and over both meetings, rips Leicester a new one 🤣 That should be leason learned from the Leicester promotion. When it comes to those crunch moments in big matches, a genuine No1 makes a huge huge difference.

They're all 90yrs old, They're all 90yrs oooooold, These full kit w@nkers, They're all 90yrs old. 🤪🤪 Point being, neither image is attractive to the potential younger audience

It's a mix of everything now but initiated from the top. This season should have been different, on paper it should have been a cert for top 4. It's actually a good septet put together. Almost immediately this season, it fell apart. Cause & effect is what's hit the club full in the face. A recent history of very poor (possibly cheap) sides, rider's not being sacked when they should, then still returning the following season, probably as a last resort due to other clubs not wanting them etc. Management rowing with rider's and visa versa. At King's Lynn it's all very public viewing. It just breeds negativity, even around the terraces and you can just feel it and it really started from that Holder & Batchelor season. Every season from that point it's just gone down hill. Teams gets worse, admission goes up, rinse and repeat. Eventually, there's an atmosphere you just feel and it suffocates you, as an owner, a manager, a rider, and a fan. How, I do not know, but King's Lynn needs a reset, and a major one too. When you have potential like Rushen & Scott, in and around a club that constantly falls short of challenging for titles, that also becomes suffocating and can kill a young lads career. These 2 need to see and believe there's hope at King's Lynn, or they're better off looking elsewhere in 2027. When a club can just stick it's chest out confidently, rider's will just follow that leader. Belle Vue is that leader right now, Coleman at Ipswich is talking a good game. If he proves it in 27, more riders will want a part of that. King's Lynn needs to, and MUST change the approach to next season. It's 2026, people no longer get hoodwinked by words, actions have to be seen.

Why should a rider know the score? The job of rider's is to score & perform when called upon. If all the rider's just do their job, the team wins. For me, managers shouldn't even tell rider's the score either as it can alter the mindset with added pressure.

It should be all pending on the other 4 or 5 riders. These 2 need to be around a team with a winning mentality, that being riders, management and owners. Another set up like the last few seasons at King's Lynn can do more damage than good for their futures.

It's also disgraceful to force someone to ride in a league that they may feel is financially unviable.

I'm intrigued by your opinion of "successful"?? Who has jumped straight in to the top league, without 3rd/2nd tier experience and been successful?? Let's just go from the start of the 'Laydown' era as this is a totally different sport than the Upright game.

So we'll see another Rune Holta, with Robert Lambert riding under the Polish flag and in the Polish World Cup / SON squads. That'll be interesting as I believed you can't ride for Great Britain without an ACU licence??

For the better of a rider's career if the club can't deliver. What's wrong with that?? I much rather be honest than biased. King's Lynn is a suffocating club

In year 1 of a senior career, it would mean they're doing well, how exactly?? Of course, age has to be relevant. Where they start is also very relevant. Nearly all of our British World Champions started out in the 3rd/2nd tier. That alone should be the biggest indicator of 'not running before you can walk'. We've had far to many youngsters thrown in to the deep end, getting their ego stroked and their careers crashing before 25yo. British Speedway, for the protection of our youth, MUST SLOW DOWN. It is imperative for British Speedway to stop forcing natural talents in to the top tier and burning them.

Of course, but if these rider's are "top league standard", between 16-18, shouldn't they manage a 7.00+ average at Championship level?? If they're exceptional, they should be hitting 9.00+. Age shouldn't be restricted to U21 as that forces the Premiership to be a training ground due to the numbers available now, and that shouldn't be acceptable in the top league. At least with U24, all rider's would mainly be fully developed and safe in ability. The Premiership is about getting our own to that next level by their 30s, which is now (in general) the peak of a rider's career. We must, in the main, slow the process down of our kids and make them 'Work' for Premiership spots.

Intrigued to know the long term process of 2x U21s. For me, there is no long term. The numbers available now, the potential of more youngsters taking up the game in 5 years whose U21 just isn't there. With the financial position of British Speedway as a whole just can't sustain U21s long term. The U21s (Rising Stars now) is a process that should be just in the Championship. The Premiership, if they want an "inexperienced" reserve system, should be U24. As I've said many times, the pinnacle of our sport SHOULD NOT be a training ground. I don't think you should be a Premiership No7 until you've achieved a 7.00 in the 2nd tier. We've seen far to often, young lads now want to sprint before they can even walk and their careers get killed. We need to protect, slow down and try to get them ready by 25.