E I Addio

What exactly is the rule? It seems inconsistent that Bomber can ride in the CL and Scott can't.

Ok , take out Newman and Bridger, then bring in Sedgemen who knows the track ( and has beaten Lindgren and Hancock there) and any one of Williamson, Bacon or Clegg from the NL who all like the track, and are all on an upward curve and you have a team that will be stronger as the season goes on.

Quite possible. Coventry always came down on a Saturday.

Of course, we never know what goes on behind closed doors but if Ed is signed it will take a hell of a good rider to beat him round Lakeside at. Championship level , but question marks remain over away performances. On the basis of entertainment level he would be one of my first choices, and then turn a blind eye to away performances.

Ah so the stadium owners have phoned up Stewart Dickson and told him there won't be any stock cars on Saturdays next year ? I doubt it. There might be a few Saturday's , as there always was when there were fixture clashes even in the EL days but I will be astonished if Saturday is the regular race night. Experience over the years has told me that at this stage of the game only two people know what's happening, that's Jon and Stuart. Tony Davey ?

Spot on. The other side of the coin is that owning a rider as an asset doesn't stop him going elsewhere if he wants to (and gets paid more ) as Swindon discovered when Adrian Medzinski went to Poole a few years ago.

What's wrong with once per match ? Personally I would rather have no T/S or T/R at all. I never did like them and the present scoring system of league points makes the T/R even more unnecessary in my view. So why should your opinion trump mine ? As much as I dislike the T/R and T/S I accept some like it and some don't. Once per meeting is a reasonable compromise between the two opinions. You can't please all the people all the time The truth is that you are like a spoilt kid throwing tantrums who wants everything your own way, and will never be satisfied whatever the promoters do.

Harsh words but absolutely justified where that idiot is concerned.

Kim, Stuart Robson, Rob Mear, and technically Adam Shields, Kauko Neiminen and (sadly)Lee Richardson. When you look back at the assts bought over the years, Kim and Robbo are the only ones the club have really got their money's worth from, including loan fees so you have to wonder if it's worth buying assets any more. Far more commercially viable to find a new talent, sign him, develop him and sell him at a profit , which is what they seem to have done with Adam and Zak. Of course it does depend on keep finding new talent but there are some coming through, as we have seen from the junior races,

Probably the need to raise money after a financially difficult 2017. Maybe it's tied up with a deal that they get Zak without paying loan fees.

First time in the Championship ? Could that mean a certain club asset from Sweden ? I suppose technically it coukd mean Ed the Kennett who has ridden in the lower division when it was called Premier but not Championship. Edit : Has Scotty Nic ridden in the Championship ? Didn't he guest or something in the CL last season ?

I haven't seen Nobby for a couple of years. As far as I know he is OK but maybe has become an ex-fan. Maybe a visit from Ippo will bring him back

According to Leigh Adams in his book the worst track he ever rode was his home track in Mildura, and that by mastering that track he could ride anywhere. Maybe we need a few rubbish tracks for juniors to ride and master if they ar3 going to get on.

The talk seems to be that the Glasgow team is being broken up and rebuilt so there is more than a fair chance he will come to Lakeside, plus it looks like he will stay with Somerset, and it would suit him to stay in the South rather than running the length of the country. Lakeside will surely be natural home for Edward and he can probably earn more points money there than anywhere else. Zach, as an asset, must surely be nailed on, but Ben will will probably have to wait to see how the points limit pans out. The two of them will be a good reserve pairing, especially at home. Lewi Kerr tweeted a couple of weeks ago that has his two clubs lined up which perhaps tends to suggest he will be elsewhere. Sedgie might be a bit erratic but he’s not Brit and Cookie did say he wants an all British team. On the other hand will Lewis Bridget be tempted back. Finally, Kim. Not a Brit but almost more than any other rider at this level will put bums on seats, and would be the crowds favourite, but the two problems are Thursday tracks that might clash with the Swedish Alvestan league, and secondly whether he would want to fly in and out twice a week if he had a Premier League club as well. I would love to see Kim back.

I agree. Prefer no t/s at all but it's not a perfect world you can't please everybody all the time. Complaints from the usual suspects but most should be reasonably satisfied.

Bridger is a good rider and when the mood takes him, very exciting around Lakeside. To be fair he can be a very good team rider, thinking about the way he used to nurse Richard Lawson home at times when Richrad first joined the club and was reserve/second string. But I gave to agree he is not much of a team man most of the time and not all that hot on many away tracks, so although I wouldn't say no to him I agree on balance that Lakeside would be better off without him.

It was actually Briggo that first took training seriously , from quite early in his career, Ivan follwed. Briggo said that fitness didn't make him any better, but kept him at the top longer. Of course, today fitness is more of an exact science than it was in the fifties, sixties and seventies, as is diet. You are right about smoking and drinking though. I have just been reading the Kelly Moran biography and in the early days there was friction with his manager because he was spending too much time hanging out with Chris Pusey, another one who was fond of the grog and lived life in the fast lane, which he could cope with when young but by the time he hooked up with Kelly his lifestyle was catching up with him a dragging his career downhill. Then again, there was Kelly Moran himself, what heights might he have reached with a more responsible life style ? Plenty more like that.

I think you have to throw into the mix the fact that as long as riders stay fit these days they have much longer careers because the financial incentive is far higher. In the past most riders had to think in terms of setting up alternative forms of income and often retired to concentrate on business. If Greg had been earning £1 start and £1 a point, even if increased with inflation he would likely have retired long before his third World Title. Earnings of several hundred thousand pounds a year are a massive incentive to keep riding. The other thing is the technical aspect these days. It is known that Briggo's bikes in particular weren't up to much mechancally and he relied on skill and strength to get by but the early 70's when tuners were starting to play a greater part Briggo was not quite the same, plus of course he had the distraction of outside business interests by then. Bottom line is you can't compare. You can only judge riders by the era they ride in each generation learns from the one before.

Tai has been almost dripping in sponsorship from Day One in the sport, whereas Lewis has never had much, and that makes a big , big difference in the modern sport. Having said that, Lewis has let people down at times and that in itself turns potential sponsors off. However neither Tai nor Lewis can be described as genuine team players and I wouldn't particularly want either in my ideal team. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. Lakeside's licence is for EL/Premier League and their application to join the Championship has yet to be accepted.

With regard to an all British team, I don't think it is written in stone yet. Jon rattled of a few names and said we "could " have an all British time if I heard him correctly, but I agree that everybody's favourite Swede would be ruled out by his average. I wouldn't rule out Scott Nicholls. He has wanted to come for years and would probably like a CL place an hours journey from home at this stage of his career. With regard to Alfie, I like him a lot but at this stage of his career I think he is still trying to find his feet in the CL, and we really need someone to kick on a bit. Alfie, by his own admission, has done well this year because he has been partnered by Paul Hurry who has protected him a bit, but he has found it hard going when he was on his own in the CL.

I think you are probably right. I am not as up to speed with the regs as I used to be but just had a look at them and it is a big confusing. I think Ben still has a Championship average of 3 from the 2016 season so maybe we should wait till the new regs come out before we work it out. I tend to agree with you about big hitters though.

As Rider of the Year, Ben would get the approval of the home fans, and personally , I have noticed a big step up in his professionalism and confidence this year. Zach would gave to be first choice though as an asset and a bit better away, but Ben and Zach together would be one of the strongest , if not the strongest reserve pairing in the Championship. If it was down to be me I think would definitely have those two as first names on the team sheet and build up from there.

I think we would still need a big hitter that could get the points home and away. I have worked out the averages exactly but on rough figures those five woukd take up around 31/32 points, but the best that could be done is probably two four pointers or a five and a three. Adam Ellis would be very difficult to sqeeze in if the points limit is 40 or less. Same goes for Robbo, who is still an asset and has been knocking up a 7+ average at Newcastle. I like Max Clegg and would be delighted to have him but I think he is only about a three pointer who would share reserve with Ben and Zack. Is you had Max it wold be even more important to have a capable scorer home and away in the top 3.

I would be ecstatic with those three, and if Edward The Kennet was in the mix even better. Can't see AJ coming back though, but desperately hope I am wrong.

I always remember the former European Trials Champion Don Smith saying you can tell if a man is a true enthusiast if her carriers on riding when he was "over the hill" . Super Simmo was, to my mind one of the great enthusiasts as well as one of my all time favourites.