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That's a fair point. But would you keep a pairing that lost a 5-1 in heat 15 or try someone else for the "stupid heat"? I don't think Sam has made any particularly bad choices, just every 50/50 choice to change a rider or not hasn't gone well when he's not made the change.

Now before the match, I think Birmingham would have been delighted with a point. But after leading by 10 points a couple of times, this has to be a major disappointment. Again the lack of changes by Ermolenko has to be discussed, now he didn't make any awful choices, but you have to question Lampart being left in heat 12, Brennan not being in heat 15, and then even after losing a 5-1 not being picked for the "stupid heat".

Might have gone missing with an ankle injury though? Or the sniffles? But not enough to stop him posting a run on Instagram!

With it being Workington's first season in the Champ, plenty of opposition fans could be interested in visiting. Would streaming make enough to cover potential lower attendances?

A bit late but a few thoughts about the decision to raise the limit to allow Edinburgh to fit in Max Perry. 1) i'm absolutely delighted Max has got a NL team & think it would have been a travesty for a 16 year old improving rider in his first Champ season to miss iut on a place in the development league. 2) I'm very impressed that the fellow promoters agreed to a rule change that directly hurts their own chances at glory. 3) I think its rediculous to change a rule after the AGM. Mainly because its shows a complete lack of thought & planning. Did they not consider whcih riders could miss out, perhaps it's just easier & "lazy" to just pick a low points limit, create a weak league & hope it works for developing riders. For example a developing 16 year old on a 7+ average almost misses out, but "journeymen" riders who will never make it on lower averages, will have no such issues gaining a team place. Now I have zero issues with these older / more experienced / doing it for a hobby type riders racing in the NL, just feel these rider sgaining a spot over the likes of Perry goes against the supposed point of the lower points limit (development). They coulkd have picked rider gradings based on ability & experience, a % reduction based on experience to help "developing" riders, rather than the quick an easy option of "let's lower the points limit" . 4) Edinburgh could have fitted in Perry by not signing Wood or Watson for example. So in the future, whats to stop a team picking a rider just over the points limit and asking for the limit to be increased?

It's not the same, just pointing out if you are flexible for one rule, clubs may then want flexibility for other rules. Where do you draw the line?

Totally understand the points you are making, but the time to plan for these situations are at the AGM. Did anyone point out a lack of heat leaders to cover for injuries? If they didnt think ahead then they suffer the consequences. As soon as one club is allowed flexibity, they'll all want it.

I'm pretty sure @arnieg forgot Newman was a Plymouth rider whe he posted that, either that or it was a joke.

Have to agree with @phillipsr if you allow a team leeway to break the rules because of injuries where do you draw the line? If Woffinden is injured and Sheffield don't think Danny King is a strong enough replacement, are they allowed to use Doyle, no - becaus that's against the rules. You might consider it tough on Plymouth, but the promoters themselves made up the ruling that they have to agree to.

My actual team Luke Killeen (O) 7.73 Sam McGurk (E) 6.08 Ace Pijper (S) 5.81 Alex Spooner (O) 5.07 Aaran Butcher (L) 4.69 Luke Crang (L) 3.61 Harry McGurk (B) 3.00 Total (35.99)

is this breaking the rules, as technically ive only signed one rider from Belle Vue lo! Matt Marson (5.86) Matt Marson (5.86) Ace Pijper (5.81) Jody Scott (5.31) Alex Spooner (5.07) Aaran Butcher (4.69) Luke Crang (3.61) Total (36.21)

A few thoughts, if you're worried a rider getting dropped for a stronger rider will knock their confidence, is Speedway a suitable vocation for them? Riders can't go around expecting not to get replaced (not saying Leon thinks that) so team managers need to be ruthless for the good of the team. Now you point out the clever move made in heat 13, which worked a treat, but could that not have knocked Milik's confidence, if that's on Sam's mind? Now when you're 30 points in front, by all means give a weaker more rides to boost their confidence, not in a close match though. As for the heat 8 win, that's a perfectly acceptable reason to leave him in. If Sam though Leon had got the right set-up etc & left him in for that reason, can totally support that decision.

That was dated March 2022!

I guess I'm talking about a tracks permanent race day. The question still remains, would they have be able to plan their fixtures around the TV nights & stay in the Champ if the alternative was closing down?

Rowe is a better option, agreed. I more meant Morley is the strongest rider who is likely to sign. If Rowe wanted a Champ spot, surely he'd have signed for Workington months ago? But there's always a possibility he'd take a short term spot?

I've been talking more about Oxford than Poole, so some of my points aren't relevant. They'll always be a debate on a forum re prices. Simply because not everyone will agree.

I think Ben Morley is the best option. Just be honest & say he might not have a team spot for long, but as you say it's an opportunity to put himself in the shop window for another team, till Covatti is fit / another rider is found. Even then he might keep his team place if he's out performing Hook or Joe T?

When a team has "no facility" that means a 75% guest. That's what happened last year when Dan T was signed & got injured before his Plymouth debut. Maybe it's different pre-season? But Wolves & Scunthorpe were allowed guests for Becker & Kennedy.

Sam may surprise me. I expected the weaker Dan T to struggle at 6 (Joe T at 7) on his first season, but he exceeded everyone's expectations. Same situation with Edwards at 6 (stronger Jenkins at 7) Edwards really improved. I really would prefer the Champ (& NL) to have the same number 7 rule as the Prem, better for British riders development.

While it's officially "irrelevant" as riders can get swapped round. It doesn't happen that often when the weaker rider is "sacrificed" at number 6. Even if McGurk beats Hodder in heat 2, a couple of last places against Berwick's strong top 5 pairings,.could make it hard for him to get his 4th ride.

To reply to @allthegearbutnaeidea & @Toady I totally get your point, but while you make a fair point about fans expecting promoters to absorb their increased costs. I could turn it around & say why do promoters expect fans to absorb the increased costs? As @Bagpuss suggests there will always be a price that some find acceptable and others don't. It could be going from £19 to £20 maybe not. If all the fans turn up, then it's a good decision. If they get fans picking & choosing matches more due to price increases, could go against them.

Irrelevant now but should Birmingham have been allowed to carry on in the Championship on a Monday? Only Belle Vue are a Monday track, the rest race on Thursdays. Of course Prem clubs have priority, but Birmingham could've picked a team minus any Belle Vue riders. Then sorted the fixtures (not many these days) so their opponents weren't missing riders based on who is racing at Belle Vue. May have to allow the occasional guest, but who would even notice, with the amount of guests used these days anyway?

Unless they swap the reserves round, can only see Sam struggling after heat 2 against the 1/2 & 3/4 pairings, especially against Berwick. I'd rather see the two 2.00 reserves racing at 7 & meeting each other 3 times, better for their development. If I was Berwick, I'd now counter this by putting Borke at 7.

Can't say it's very weak at 3 & 4 till you see them ride. Normally I'd agree & put Vissing at 3, but as someone said - let's them see the track before their first outing. If it doesn't work, can change the riding order for the official matches.

If I was Birmingham I'd have sacrificed heat 13 & aimed for points in heats 8 & 14. Plus tell Ermolenko he can put Cook in heats 12 & 14 if he's riding better than Flint. 1. Vaclav Milik 2. Steve Worrall 3. Wiktor Lampart 4. Scott Nicholls 5. Tom Brennan 6. Zach Cook 7. Leon Flint