King Jamie

Excellent. The Championship needs a Benjamin Hopefully he won't go all Barker-esque and change it to 'Ben' less than 5 minutes after his UK career begins. Also hope he will be referred to by his full name at sunny Armadale on Friday. Abbreviations really are somewhat disrespectful.

"Sheffield Monarchs". Yep. Definitely much more pleasant sounding than the current tag.

I'm not sure I agree with the highlighted part of your post. The vast majority of Kye's good work at sunny Armadale is done on the inside. Almost all his outside dabbles have seen him either land in the fence or lose position. Even when trying to overcome Connor Bailey in heat 9 on Friday, he almost took a trip to the track shop before finishing last. Heat 12 on Friday was his first real successful venture round the boards and long may that continue

Cook must go

Joe struggling? Is that comment related to last night or all season? Last night, he did his job by beating Connor Bailey in heat 2. Pray tell where else you expected him to pick up points? Re the grading on the start line, I didn't really pay much attention to it. However, if there were inconsistencies afoot then hats off to Sir Jim for upholding the rule book. As for awkward Ostergaard, fair play that he managed to escape relatively lightly. I somehow doubt he'll receive a get well card from the real THJ though, especially after Reading 2008...

I didn't realise Masters was on tea making duty tonight.

Excellent result. The type of scoreline which may even gain us a mention on Eurosport instead of "Glasgow this, Glasgow that" during the brief roundup on a Monday night. Over to you Nigel, Kelvin and young Abi...

This really is tremendous stuff. Just one tiny gripe though - how Josh Pickering costs less than Scott Nicholls, Ellis Perks or, to a lesser extent, Broc Nicol is beyond me!

Not sure if it's a Scottish thing but my dad (68) is type one diabetic and Nicola hasn't sent him a letter as yet.

They should show that meeting when you guys were 'allegedly' average fixing. See what fans from other parts of the country made of it. Personally speaking, I actually found it quite funny. I mean, it was so blatantly obvious! But I get what the aim was and fully understand why. I would want my team to do the same if roles were reversed, even if it meant losing heavily to Glasgow.

Pipe down baldy

2010 was one of those seasons when the team who finished top of the table was declared Champions (and rightly so). However, there were also promotion / relegation play-offs, which Newcastle won (as mentioned in my earlier post). I think 2009 was also run the same way (KL finished top = Champions but Monarchs won the play-offs before losing to Belle Vue). Golden Heats were 2009. One of the tensest evenings ever at sunny Armadale. Good old Matthew Wethers! And I'm fine Sir. Just keeping my head down. Stay safe

Edinburgh finished top of the table that year Sir. We were only 16 pts ahead of Newcastle though! That was the year when Sheffield dumped us out of the play-offs with one of the most embarrassing / remarkable 2-legged comebacks of all time. From memory, I think you guys won the PL play-off final but lost the promotion one to Ipswich?

You should know by now, it never rains at sunny Armadale. Therefore, even the slightest spit has to be classed as "torrential"

It hasn't necessarily made a loss every other year though. For example: Capital and reserves: Year ended 28 Feb 2017 - £97,815 Year ended 28 Feb 2018 - £76,881 You may automatically think the company's made a loss of £20,934 in the most recent year. However, it's entirely possible it made a profit of, say, £4,066 but the directors then decided to pay out dividends of £25K. As the company has positive reserves, they are more than entitled to do so. The problem with these types of accounts is too many things can be hidden. But that's the legislation's fault, not that of the companies themselves.

It's not as if Edinburgh hadn't been warned. Here's a little something from December last year: KJ's season review the inferior Riss: achieved the largest increase of any Monarchs' rider in 2017. However, dig a little deeper and there is cause for concern. Yes he started off like a train at reserve, and hats off to him for that, but when he moved into the top 5 he turned into something of a nondescript performer. Once there, he won only 8 races (3 pre-injury and 5 upon return = the same total as the unfairly criticised Max Clegg), averaging only 4.60. You really need a lot more than that from your fourth highest rider. Obviously doesn't handle pressure very well. Whether it be a last place on a TR a Sheffield or his going missing way too often in heat 14, the warning signs are flashing. Oh, and his performance for Wolves in the Premiership play-off final was positively laughable. Back in 2018? For me, it comes down to a choice - who would you rather sign? A - a second string on a 5.76 average, who could only muster 4.60 during his time in that part of the team; or B - a reserve on a 4.15 average, who actually achieved 4.82 during his time in that part of the team. Based on that evidence, there would be no room at the inn for the sunlounger grabber.

The rule about no GP riders in the second tier was in the rule book for a number of years. However, the last time I've actually seen it in print was the 2013 season. Thereafter, it disappeared. I see nothing wrong in what Glasgow did in signing Craig Cook. References to loopholes and unwritten rules smacks of jealousy and bitterness. Sometimes it's better to simply tip your hat and say, "well bowled", regardless of which team is involved.

Where did you get your stats for that Sir? Mark Riss's last ten Championship meetings saw an average of only 4.67. Nowhere near his 2018 starting average of 5.76. Even taking into account the play off meeting at home to Ipswich, and losing his visit to Sheffield, the figures would only improve marginally, up to 4.88, still almost a full point below.

KJ's season review Ricky: the first Kiwi to ride for the club since 19canteen. Added almost a point to his starting average and so, from that perspective, he was a roaring success. Obviously doesn't like heat 1, given that we lost 4 1-5's out of 5 he was involved in. However, he did boast the highest away average by some distance. His most impressive stat was 7 wins and 1 paid win from 11 heat 15's on the road. Back in 2018? Difficult one. Is his average now too high? Who knows? Answers on a postcard. Sam: a disappointing season for the skipper. Not only did his average fall by almost half a point, his away average was pretty poor (just over 7.50). In many ways he was the polar opposite of Ricky. His heat 1 record was something to be proud of (at home anyway) with 11 wins from 14 but heat 15 was a massive let down - 5 wins out of 20 all season, including only 1 win in 10 on his travels. It's probably worth noting Sam didn't appear in any heat 15 since his return from injury. But while the collarbone break may have affected him after his comeback, his average was already down prior to that crash. His performance at the Australian GP probably summed up his campaign for me. Back in 2018? I guess so. He is our asset. And we all know there's a rider in there somewhere. Just sort out the away form please! the superior Riss: the biggest compliment I can offer is that watching him ride reminded me of when Craig Cook was making that move to the next level. Suddenly everything just started to click. Barring the odd meeting, his score charts did tend to slide away at the business end of things but that's to be expected. New territory and all that. Back in 2018? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And, no, that wasn't my Meg Ryan impression! Sadly, I think the talented German has bigger fish to fry in the future... the inferior Riss: achieved the largest increase of any Monarchs' rider in 2017. However, dig a little deeper and there is cause for concern. Yes he started off like a train at reserve, and hats off to him for that, but when he moved into the top 5 he turned into something of a nondescript performer. Once there, he won only 8 races (3 pre-injury and 5 upon return = the same total as the unfairly criticised Max Clegg), averaging only 4.60. You really need a lot more than that from your fourth highest rider. Obviously doesn't handle pressure very well. Whether it be a last place on a TR a Sheffield or his going missing way too often in heat 14, the warning signs are flashing. Oh, and his performance for Wolves in the Premiership play-off final was positively laughable. Back in 2018? For me, it comes down to a choice - who would you rather sign? A - a second string on a 5.76 average, who could only muster 4.60 during his time in that part of the team; or B - a reserve on a 4.15 average, who actually achieved 4.82 during his time in that part of the team. Based on that evidence, there would be no room at the inn for the sunlounger grabber. Josh: started off reasonably well, dropped off a bit, picked up again for a fortnight, then went back down again to something more approaching normality. Just a bog standard season for a youngster! It's all part of the learning process. Not much else to say, except I like his kevlars. All hail pink! Back in 2018? We have to. Otherwise, what was the point of signing him this year? Max: the entertainer of the team. On 4 separate occasions (possibly even more) at sunny Armadale this season, Max pulled off more successful overtaking manoeuvres than the rest of the riders from both teams put together. It seems a number of people were unhappy with his progress this year. More fool them. Prior to the meaningless end of season fixture at Peterborough, he had maintained his starting figure, despite spending almost two thirds of the season in the top 5. As a reserve, he was much improved on previous years. With the exception of a paid win vs. Newcastle he won every heat 2 at home (6 in total), as well as another 3 victories on the road. Back in 2018? Yes please. I like to stay awake on a Friday night and have no desire to spend my hard earned cash watching 15 processional snooze fests. Mitchell: the much maligned Mr. Davey actually boasted the third highest average of all the number 7's in the league (hats off to Connor Mountain and Ellis Perks). Again, prior to the meaningless end of season fixture at Peterborough, he had improved upon his starting figure. His head-to-head stats in the 'protected heats' aren't to be sniffed at either: Heat 2 at home = 12 'wins' out of 18 against the opposing no.7 Heat 4 at home = 15 'wins' out of 18 Heat 2 away = 9 'wins' out of 18 Heat 4 away = 12 'wins' out of 17 (Jack Smith withdrawn in heat 2 at Glasgow, hence n/a) All in all, an honourable comeback to the second tier of UK speedway. For all your efforts, I say, "thank you Mitchell". Back in 2018? For whatever reason, I suspect he won't be involved. Theo: I'll be honest, I would've preferred us to sign Kai Huckenbeck as the injury replacement for the inferior Riss. He would've made his debut one day before his Premiership average increased markedly and I couldn't find any fixture clashes for at least a month. However what actually happened was everyone's friend, Mr. Pijper, came in and lowered his average sufficiently to save his future career. 4.23 was that final figure, only marginally lower than the German's top 5 exploits, which meant we weren't really damaged too much as a team. "win win" as they say! Back in 2018? Depending on rules and numbers, you never know... NB: the stats used above are based on Championship fixtures only and do not include KO Cup ties or Play-offs.

in what way? all Damo said was that he thought the Monarchs would beat Ipswich over 2 legs but that, should they eventually go on to face Glasgow, he hopes they would, er, lose heavily. he's a Glasgow fan. I thought his post was quite funny! it's only half time baldy well done on last night though.

when does Holub serve his 28 day ban? is it between now and then end of the season, when he won't miss any meetings anyway? (where's the punishment in that?) or does he sit out the first month of the 2017 campaign and become available thereafter? (although, exactly who would want to sign him is another matter)

just out of interest, when did that come into force? I seem to remember as recent as September 2014, Monarchs running a double header on the Friday night (Redcar and Glasgow) plus Newcastle (KOC) on the Saturday (Sept 12th and 13th). I have a feeling there may well have been other Friday / Saturday meetings previously but, equally, I could be completely wrong. my memory isn't what it used to be! did we get into bother after the 2014 'noisy weekend'?

you want a moan Sir? here goes! last Friday we were treated to the Richard Lawson school of team riding (blast past your reserve partner in two separate races, leaving him vulnerable to home riders for the remaining laps). this week, it was something much, much worse. now I've seen Peter Carr knock Robert Larsen off, I've seen Daniella Nermark shoot straight across the path of various team mates countless times, but heat 14 of the Redcar meeting last night took the proverbial German biscuit. it was rash, it was reckless. it was the kind of move I would expect from Ryan Fisher. speaking of him, I have to say his heat 8 fencing of Stefan Nielsen during the Plymouth meeting was nothing more than gross stupidity. what if Nielsen had actually ended up injured and forced an abandonment prior to reaching heat 10? would the Yank have personally offered to cover the financial costs of bringing the Devils back up North? doubtful. going back to Riss though - listen son, if you want to fight with Dame Edna Etheridge, go ahead and do so, but make sure it's confined to the pits area. don't take it onto the track and put other, innocent, riders' lives any more at risk than they already are. as for the meetings themselves, some random comments: in recent years, Monarchs have enjoyed having a number one whose first name and surname started with the same letter. we finally had that again last night. hats off to Ludvig Lindgren. statistically, presumably, our best guest ever? well done to young Max on his highest ever score. such a pity some untimely machine gremlins, a clown of a team mate and a ridiculously incorrect decision from the ref prevented it from being even higher. Lassie Bjerre - what an absolute embarrassment to the family name. he really should hang his head in shame. Zdenek Simota - it's painful to watch such a naturally talented rider perform like that. time to hang up the kevlars Mister. Kyle Newman - every time he visits sunny Armadale, I think, "maybe this time he'll look the part" but it just never happens. overall, 6 points happily accepted. however, certain off track events and things which were said really lead me to wonder why I even bother with speedway. and it's Glasgow again next week. right now, I can see that one far enough...

I can just imagine the conversation between the 2 rival Promoters ahead of tonight’s meeting… “Morning Norman” “Morning baldy” “How’s Steady? A bit unsteady last night I heard” “Aye, he’s goosed unfortunately. But, don’t worry, we’ve got New Zealand’s finest to replace him” “Jason Bunyan?” “Nope. Ricky Wells” “But he’s a Yank. I saw him pootling round at the back on my TV screen on Tuesday night” “Defo a Kiwi Mr C. Hence why the Trump mob have binned him” “Damn. He’s pretty decent at sunny Armadale. He might beat a few of our guys” “And how’s things at your end soupy?” “Lovely weather. I was sitting in my deckchair earlier. The one negative is we had a slight mishap with the hospitality food. The frogs legs have been damaged” “Oh that’s a bonus. We can use r/r to cover him then. Also means we can bring in Richie Worrall for Jason Gar/rity. He can knock his brother off again!” At this point, Mr Campbell hung up, desperately fearing a home defeat

dreadful meeting. I'm not entirely sure what was worse - the constant buckaroo of the first 6 races or the fact the track slickened off so dramatically thereafter that the paying punter was almost treated to 9 further processions.  I say almost, of course, because at least heat 14 provided us with a pass. from pretty much the only rider capable of exciting the home crowd nowadays. step forward Max Clegg. that second place was just reward for his efforts on another frustrating night at sunny Armadale.  quite why folk see fit to criticise him is beyond me. it appears it's ok for fellow youngsters Riss I and II and wee Daniel to have off nights or poor races with nothing said (quite rightly so) but Max is fair game. it doesn't make sense. people shouldn't forget he's still just a 19 year old laddie (I'm not gonna use the 'British' tag cos I don't care about all that drivel). were all the moaning punters the finished article in their respective jobs at 19? I know fine well I wasn't! I've long said the youngsters should be left alone to progress and find their way in the sport. progress itself is very rarely a consistent gradient. there will pretty much always be ups and downs. shining examples are the Worralls. both looked ok in their first season. Richie kicked on then stalled somewhat before improving recently. meanwhile, Steve went backwards for a few years before suddenly becoming a Monarchs' Legend. he's never looked back since! the fact is each and every youngster is different. but they should all be encouraged. no negativity whatsoever. it's completely unnecessary. as far as Max is concerned, he has progressed each and every season to date in his short career. from mascot at Sheffield, through being reserve then second string and on to heat leader at Cradley Heath. he also had an excellent first PL season with the Champions in 2015, defeating a number of 'top 5' riders along the way. it's almost inevitable that, at some point, some will think that progress isn't continuing any more (even if they're actually wrong). is there any chance those folk could have a massive reality check some time soon? any chance at all? going back to Friday, I was interested to see Josh Bailey standing on the centre green watching the tractors doing their stuff during the latter part of the meeting (no Norwich jokes please!). seeing him and young Daniel Bewley on track in the same races was a bit like watching twins. both very small chaps, not too dissimilar styles, both struggling manfully to hold on to their bikes. good luck to both lads. let's hope the blood bayers don't target you in the near future...