Speedball

Don't think Aussies can double up now due to work permit regulations so he'll need to make a decision on either EL or PL. He's clearly a considerable talent so sure he'd cope in the EL if he chooses that route. If Fricke is the last man, Belle Vue will have a solid look about them and with much stronger reserves compared to last season. Reckon they will be in the mix for a playoff place.

As suspected no real surprises with the team announcement other than the shock retirement of Joe Jacobs. Shame to see him fall by the way side. Hopefully a year out will make him re-discover a love of the sport again. Not many options out there. Can't say Ashley Morris fills me with much excitement but we have to go with whatever options are available. Did sense a quiet determination to make amends for last season. Certainly rare for a team to finish so high in the league to be able to keep their top 5 together. Now up to the middle order to push on. If not, don't think they'll be slow to make changes if someone is not performing. Also nice to hear Buster talking about further stadium improvements on the back straight . The Norfolk Arena has come along way since the Saddlebow Road days and Buster deserves enormous credit for turning the place around. Roll on March 15th!

Was mentioned at Lynn forum tonight that Jacob's was due to ride for the Witches in the PL this season before dropping the bombshell of his retirement.

I defo agree that last season was probably our best chance but that's been and gone now. What we need to do is learn from it but very little you can do about riders getting injured. Niels, Kenneth, Nicklas and both Lewis' were injured at some point during the business end of the season. However with the realistic options available, feel it might be better sticking rather than twisting in this case. Robert and Nicklas have now ridden everywhere so should kick on. I agree Rory should be doing better, he probably knows that himself but after Buster splashed out on the transfer fee, he's always likely to be used. If Kenneth can stay fit then he should be near the 8 point mark (at least) at the end of the season. The Kerr/Rose decision is swings and roundabouts really. Joe Jacobs is a pretty decent rider, especially at the NA. I've seen the majority of Young Stars meetings over the past few seasons and without doubt he's been one of the most impressive visiting riders. He's not kicked on in the PL as quickly as Kerr & Rose but Lynn is a track that will suit him. Back to Belle Vue or Leicester I imagine. But you're not seriously suggesting drop Bjerre for Cook are you?

Can't see anything other than the same top 5 as last season announced tonight. There should be scope for improvement from Bjerre, Schlein, Porsing and Lambert. Should be enough to see us involved in a hunt for a playoff place. After that, it's a lottery with form and fitness. After the break for the SWC several riders dipped in form due to varying reasons. If we can avoid that, we should be in for another decent season. Always nice to have some continuity in the team as well.

The prospect really doesn't bear thinking about. Wouldn't really want to go into the season with Bjerre as No 1. Any rider that could remotely fill his shoes is already snapped up, not riding in the EL or likely to be banned. If the worst does happen, guess we'd try and tempt Nicki Pedersen back. It was mentioned at a fans forum that he phoned and enquired about a team place. Can't remember if it was for last season or the season before now. However Nicki's diary is pretty full so always a risk he could be missing. He'd be a rider tempted back by being a shared No 1 I reckon.

Get well soon Star Fever :-)

Pretty certain that Rory is back with the Stars for 2015

I'd be happy with either of those two sides. Agree it would be hard on Nicklas to miss out but the return of Mads would offset that in my mind. I guess there's two main factors to consider with Mads. Firstly he's not our asset and Swindon may want to use him, especially on that average. Secondly is how he views the promotion after being dropped once Kenny became available last winter. I would hope that following his successful testimonial meeting, any ill feeling would have been resolved. If we went with the same top 5 as last season (33.66 by my reckoning) I'd be happy with the continuity but not convinced it could be a title winning side.

I totally understand that. But surely if it's an Elite League draft, their Elite League form is the most relevant. It's like saying we'll rank them by shoe size and then using their inside leg measurement as the deciding factor. Might be a good indicator but not the most relevant. And as for Kyle Newman being ranked 6th on the list

No surprise to see Kerr protected in Tier 1. Now to see who we get in Tier 2!

What average would Lindgren come in on? Be gutted to lose Niels but Freddie would be as good as any "available" replacement. By available I mean realistically likely to ride in the UK and possibly available from his parent club. Don't think there is any chance of Tai heading our way but I wouldn't be surprised with Freddie. I know he really likes the track and his name has been rumoured before.

Thanks gents. That's the one

So what happens if tomorrow night is cancelled? Is the first leg of the final at Coventry cancelled and semi re-staged sometime next week or will a decision be made tomorrow night about which team goes through to face Coventry? Could be two schools of thought, depending on which team you support. Poole finished higher in the league and hold a slender lead. We'd say it was Poole's fault that the initial staging didn't go ahead due to the hole in the track their track staff created, the tie is still in the balance and we have already won at Poole this season. Sure I remember the Stars having the meeting awarded 75-0 (or equivalent) to visiting team (possibly Eastbourne) back in the 90's when we failed to fulfil a home fixture. While I don't think Poole could do anything about the subsequent rain off's, last Monday's mistake with the track could be costly. Personally think it should be settled on the track but if Friday and next Monday's Grand Final dates are set in stone, someone is going to have to make a big call if tomorrow night is called off.

Live updates will be available from https://twitter.com/klstarsupdates

Woffy out, replaced by Jacob Thorssell I believe. Any news on whether Nicholls is at Lynn or in Poland?

You can say that again. Glad I'm heading to Brentford instead

According to Speedway Updates, Priest due to ride but he's not on the FTR list so the Stars are protesting. Meeting delayed while getting sorted. What a shambles

Thomas Jorgensen is guesting for PK. Simon Lambert in place of Adam Ellis.

Speedway is a tough sport and hope it remains so. Personally did see anything wrong in any of the moves last night, just hard committed riding. The only problem last night was that there wasn't enough of it. Too many FTG's and drawn out races. Easily the worst meeting I've seen for many a moon. The crowd seemed very subdued from the very start so no atmosphere. As others have said, long delays, re-starts etc just made the whole meeting a drag. Be a hard sell to get any newcomer to come back after that. Thankfully a couple of races near the end livened things up a bit and of course another three points on the board. Hopefully the Eastbourne match will get the bloody pumping for all the right reasons. As for Zagar, now I'd hate to be cynical but in 9 races at Lynn this season, he's made the gate in 6 and won them. In the 3 he's missed the gate in, he's retired whilst last. Either he's very unfortunate, has poor standard equipment or is a sulking tart

Algeria And to get this thread back on track, Tom Perry guests in place of the injured Stefan Nielsen.

Thought at the time that Niels was lucky the referee didn't take any action (possible exclusion) but think from Niels point of view, the frustration came from the start marshal having a pop two races on the trot. You never really notice a start marshal during a meeting but we'd picked up earlier how he was only on at the visiting riders. He was even doing it in the MDL meeting. So biased it's untrue. As for the track, can only agree with what's been said before. My first visit yesterday and was really impressed with the whole setup apart from the track (and the start marshal).

Could some kind soul keep us updated with the weather in Leicester please? Looking forward to my first trip to BP but forecast not looking great

It is a poor looking side but I won't be too hard on the Brummies, we've sent some pretty poor line-ups to away tracks before. Just hope the Brummies get themselves through this sticky patch and the club survives. I'll be there as I'll take every opportunity I can to see this Stars side in action. Been a long wait to be regarded as genuine title challengers and I'm going to saviour every little bit of it.

I think Niels schedule has been catching up with him recently but sure it's nothing more than a blip. Weather has been awful in Lynn today and is meant to be again tomorrow. Forecast does look better for Thursday and if anyone can get the meeting on, it will be Buster. Fancy the Stars for the win but whether we'll get all 3 points I'm not sure. Andersen and Harris can both be up and down at Lynn. Fisher has been this season as a guest with Leicester and was pretty woeful (1pt from 4 rides). Still smiling from Lambert charging under him and giving Ryan a bit of his own medicine Garrity and Sarjeant have both done well on NL duty but not sure whether Hansen or not has ever been to the NA for a competitive meeting. Think he's been part of the Danish training camp that hired Lynn for a couple of pre-seasons so he has ridden here before.