john birch

I went to Leicester a bit last season due to the rotten Bees side and saw some tight PL matches. I like the stadium and Hemsley put out a good team. But I don't like the track. The straights are too long and the entry to the bends needs to be taken in to make it more like Somerset / P'boro. Having said that I expect it to be better in the Elite League this was the case with Lakeside when they moved up IMO.

Lewis Kerr based on last season. Jason Garrity if he stays fit and Adam Ellis. But I think all three teams have decent B graders too. Whereas Leicester, Birmingham and Swindon look weak and in the case of the first two not too hot at the top end either.

This is another thing that needs to be sorted. IMO riders should be allowed a max. of two years as an A grade rider before having to ride in the top five. Ditto max. two years as a B grader before moving up to A grade or dropping out of the scheme. However in the case of drafted riders (Eg Garrity) as opposed to assets (Eg Ellis) teams would either have to use them in the top 5 or allow them to be picked by another team next year. It wouldn,t be fair for Coventry to possibly have the best pick two years running (and I'm a Bees fan!). Riders in the B grade could move up to the A grade in the close season but not vice versa.

I can't see any mileage in opposing the sale of the stadium or future use of the site. Best bet is to put our trust in Sandhu. Surprised no one is mentioning Ryton / Tollbar on the opposite side to the car factory site. Think motocross operates there and there is also a scrap merchants. Still within Rugby borough and has the advantage of not being too near many Rugby borough electors. Any new location would need to be within the city limits or around the Eastern Bypass (which covers the likes of Rolls Royce and Ryton) or near to J3 in the borough of Nuneaton & Bedworth. Having said that there is an ideal arena for speedway ten miles south of the city centre - the Royal Showground at Stoneleigh. (For people who don,t know it,s a carbon copy of the E.of Es at P,boro) but it's covered by a Tory council in a very middle class area. You might think the Royal Agricultural society would welcome the extra revenue it would generate though.

Birmingham and Leicester will soon be fighting for the wooden spoon!

All part of pathetic attempt to reduce immigration. We can,t stop Eastern Europeans coming here so we stop commonwealth citizens instead. Who are not likely to claim benefits and are likely to put a British tax disc on their vans. Anyone with any common sense should vote Ukip. (incidentally my employer has started asking us all to prove we have the right to work in the UK - you can't make it up!)

This prediction I think is there or thereabouts. Would probably swap Lakeside and Swindon around due to the Hammers having better reserves. Predicted the same top 4 earlier but am warming to Eastbourne - don't see them dropping too many points at Arlington

Reserves race reserves twice the second time possibly being ht.11 (which may also be the last race in which someone can go on a tac. ride). And also race second strings. Presumably second strings will race all comers and heat leaders race a mixture of their peers and second strings. However their is still a final choice from three formulas to be made, apparently. Couple of concerns: Second strings could end up with higher averages than heat leaders and could in theory be replaced as the playoffs draw near by heat leaders currently without a place. How are averages to be carried into next year worked out? If a tac. ride is allowed in the second reserves race that could potentially benefit the likes of Coventry, Kings Lynn and Lakeside (who have the best pairings) further.

What I wan't to know is this. If a No.4 or 5 in the averages meets the British reserves more times than the heat leaders then their average will shoot up. What then is to stop them being replaced by the likes of Larsen or Sundstrom?

I've said it before and i'll say it again - the doubling up rule is destroying British speedway. No British riders will go full time Elite League anymore(Tai the only one of note since Danny King but the moral of that is lost on messrs Cook and R.Worrall). And it's a complete nightmare supporting a Friday night track when up to 8 PL sides can be in action on a Friday. Belle Vue without Craig Cook is just a joke. And i'll be joining Barker and Kennett in missing one of the Brummies matches at Brandon. And perhaps signing Howarth wasn't so wise given like Garrity he rides for a Saturday night track though in principle i'm still looking forward to him riding for Bees. Doubling up should be capped at one with an alternate like it used to be.

What I wan't to know is this - if second strings race generally themselves and the reserves and don't meet heat leaders in some races- what happens if someone increases his average from say 5.00 to 7.50? Can they then be replaces by a rider of heat leader standard eg Larsen or Sundstrom?

Steve, the proper analogy given the teams' location would be like watching repeats of crossroads! A contender for the wooden spoon IMO.

Yet another competitive and well thought out line-up put together by Matt Ford. Milik rode very well throughout the u21 and GP rounds last year and should do well given time. Legitimate signing on a 4, because he doesn,t have a Swedish or Polish average that would result in anything higher. (Where the system is wrong is in the case of Piotr Pawlicki whose home league average should be discarded in favour of his Swedish one.) Onto to Shamek - i'm a huge fan as a result of his excellent performances for Bees on the tight tracks of Monmore Green and Lakeside in 2011 (the latter lost in the ether of the Kennett farrago). Looking forward to the matches against you guys this year now that we seem to have reasonably similar teams.

Very much in agreement with this. Although in the case of B.V. depends on who the seventh rider is and whether they are still there come July. Eastbourne won't drop too many at Arlington and i'd take their top 2 over Lakeside's. I remember being on the Cov. supporters coach in 1990 (a rotten season) bemoaning the fact that we hadn't signed P.K. when he rode with Tatum at Ornarna. Trouble is that was half a lifetime ago. Swindon I don't rate this year other than the other PK. Leicester look horrible, Brum need another heat leader and Wolves team is for 2015. Coventry and Poole (with a decent last rider) look good with Kings Lynn favourites IMO.

If anyone was to trawl through my posts they would find I touted Milik as a good signing on a 4 pt average for my team (Bees). Entirely legitimate signing under the rules. As for Shamek i'm a huge fan but he needs to stay on the bike. Great signing for you guys potentially - saw him at Lakeside and Wolves in 2011, was brilliant on the small tracks. But please if he gets his average up don,t then replace him with KK, absolutely abysmal for us last year - i'm still having therapy after watching his performance in that Peterborough meeting. As for the testimonials by all means go to Havvy's but give kk,s a miss. Poor signing for Belle Vue ,Lakeside, Birmingham and Coventry (Horton)- not deserving of one imo. In spite of the rule changes another good team put together by Matt Ford - there's a moral there.

You're telling us! A Premier League rider at No.1, a collection of journeymen none of whom are likely to be able to compete in hts 13 and 15. And one of the weaker reserve pairings (tho.had this been done as in the US they would have been able to pick Garrity). It's 2011 all over again!

Can I ask a question guys, why are you simply not signing KK and going top heavy like Belle Vue and Kings Lynn. Re Janowski he was abysmal at Brandon (SS commented at the time) but Poles can be awful away. Ask Bees fans about Zengota at Belle Vue. Ironically the exception is Shamek Pawlicki, brilliant at Monmore And Lakeside in 2011. Could still be great if he could avoid injuries.

I think that on this occasion Mick Horton has done an excellent job with the team. Choosing Garrity was a no brainer but very pleased we got Sargeant as well. And the coup de grace getting Howarth from under the noses of Poole. Maybe they shouldn't have dropped him last season. Has the look of a playoff team even at this stage. I particularly wish Scott Nicholls all the best at Belle Vue (whilst agreeing Bomber is the better choice for this year) but won't miss any of the others.

So far I think Mick Horton has done a great job but the junior draft worries me a little. Last year the mantra of having two good reserves was used to justify some signings (which shouldn't have been made), when really you only need one good reserve. So I hope we don't pass on Garrity just to get a better pick in round two. And if we do end up with the last pick can we replace them later with someone eligible but not on the initial list once the season starts Eg Olli Greenwood or Liam Carr. Also who if anyone is eligible to sign Robert Lambert?

So in the case of my club Coventry we get first pick of the non protected riders and if we take Garrity, then last pick in round two. If that choice ends up struggling can we then replace them with someone such as Olli Greenwood or Liam Carr. What are the rules if you wan't to replace someone and who gets the right to sign Robert Lambert (if anyone) ? IMO it should be given to teams in the same order as their second round pick. Also what happens if some of these riders become PL heat leader standard by season end -what happens to them or any of the others re their eligibility next season?

Yes, along with everybody else I'm also very happy with the signings made so far. Let's just hope the last one is the right one. For the reserves, I wish Mick had signed Greenwood as an asset and he'd be my first choice from the storm team with either Sargent or Jacobs but i'm in the dark as to how the allocation of reserves will work anyhow. The sensible way would be for teams to nominate a qualifying asset (Eg Lakeside, Ellis) as their 1st draft pick with the other spots filled like a US draft with Leicester having the first pick followed by Coventry and Poole the last. But of course this is speedway. For the last rider in the top five I'd prefer someone foreign with potential, Rosen or Mikkelsen if we could get them or (and I say this for the umpteenth time) Vaclav Milik before someone else signs him!! Or even one the Latvians (no work permit issues) any one of Bogdanovs, Podzouks or Lebedev. Well done to Mick Horton on the team as it stands.

The introduction of the academy league reserves muddies the issue but Poland have introduces a rule halving the points rate for riders on tac sub rides thus allowing an economic way for them to be reintroduced if adopted here. Those riders taking them would still earn more than if the tac sub ride didn,t exist.

Does anyone know if doubling up has been scrapped? And if hopefully so what will the likes of Cook and Barker do now that there are 36 meetings in the Elite League. Formula should be simple - just revert to that of 1988, second reserves race in ht 14 and top scorers race tacked onto the old 13 ht formula. Anyone under 21, British and a current el average under 5.00 should be eligible. Can't see how a draft will work - why should Kings Lynn give up Lambert or Lakeside Ellis. One choice by club, the other by draft maybe. How can a rider be made to ride for someone that they don't wan't too? And what happens if two or three riders beat not only their contemporaries but also take points off the top 5 - are they eligible next year and for how long. Tai rode in the third tier is British and was still u21 when he rode in the GP. Would he still have been eligible to ride at reserve? More details please!

They surely can't just race against each other. NL riders should have been compulsory at 6 and 7 in the Premier League. Has doubling up been abolished, as that would be the best way to encourage British talent. This is like 1986 all over again. And who did that produce? Arguably only Sean Wilson and maybe Andy Hackett. Complete utter bollocks expecting people to pay to watch juniors race against seasoned professionals. RIP British speedway.

STOP them doubling up for not just the sake of the sport but theirs too. Got told the other night that one Polish match was worth as much as five Premier League meetings. If this is the case just who the hell is advising the likes of Craig Cook ? On a more positive note, a compulsory U21 Brit in each PL team and a total of three UK born in each side.