Hamish McRaker

Certainly does

It's an achievement to have assembled the 1-7 by the end of January after having had to start from scratch. This type of team is going to depend on a strong collective spirit to develop quickly, and that will be a challenge although the ex-Wolves contingent should bring some cohesion with them. So it will be vital for the three "newcomers" to buy-in and not just regard this an an additional commitment in their diaries. Hopefully the Brum management have some possible replacements in case it doesn't work out. The team manager in this sort of situation is a vital cog with people management skills one of a large set of essential ones. I hope Mr Ermolenko and others are up to the task. The role of LUCK is also going to be amplified in this scenario, including how it is handled when and if the luck is of the negative type. So I wish lots of good luck to Birmingham. I've a feeling you'll need some.

No pressure, but if Drew Kemp can step things up, Leicester will be strong contenders. I think that Becker could turn out to be the signing that gives the top 5 another genuine heats 13&15 performer. Hope I am proved wrong, but Masters might be beyond his best years now.

Wouldn't Iversen be best deployed in a position that gives him more of his rides later in a match, when the track is more likely to have gone slick inside and can get his back wheel onto the dirt? But problem with that, could be that KL has several riders with similar needs!

So, on the basis of the inconsistent one obviously being A. Laguta, the other would have to be B. Zmarzlik.

Will the removal of metal from his body reduce the effects of the starting gate magnets, and enable him to make faster starts?

Is it too late for Oxford to change this Spires thing? Something linked to motor cars or alcoholic detectives would be better, wouldn't it?

I went to see the Doc about it last week. Said there's a lot of it around and gave me some ointment but so far, no better

Jim Lynch as TM? Rory Schlein new #1?

Yes, and I don't know his fitness situation or if he's still eligible for RS but not been signed yet by anyone

Could JT be Leicester's RS? Same first 4 letters of surname, different ending

And maybe get awarded an OBE, too. (Other Buggers' Efforts)

Try that out on Chris Holder....

Are the Thompson family and Stewart Dickson on friendly terms? Suggestions on here last season that the relationship wasn't good

How definite are Luke Becker and Ryan Douglas at Leicester? One of those two would be good captures. If Birmingham can use the composition of the Wolves 2023 team as a template (I don't mean import all the riders!) with a slightly stronger reserve pair, they could fit the bill without having to pay Zagar whatever ridiculous money he may demand

Travel expenses might be a bit on the high side.

Surely more involved than that? A large factor but must be other considerations to take into account

Could be that available riders are having to choose between Oxford and Birmingham to sign for. Perhaps similar situation to the past two seasons in the CL? If you were a rider, where would you prefer to be?

Nicki Pedersen doing a surprise U-turn?

On the evidence of 2023 there are not enough riders of a sufficiently high standard to support a premiership of 7 teams. It would inevitably mean at least one team becoming tailed off from an early stage, with the associated problems that would be entailed both for those clubs and the league. Much better to consolidate into 6 teams and work to ensure they all reach end of the season in good financial state.

The obvious solution is for Phil Morris to hire the Cardiff stadium (at mates rates), bring Ole Olsen over to instal a track, and sell it to Discovery+ at a huge profit for televising.

I thought he'd been sacked by Leicester!

An international team? 1. Krysztof Harriszcz 2. Christophe Harrice 3. Kristian Harrisen 4. Christov Harrisov 5. Kristof Harrisdorf 6. Chris McHaggis 7. Christmate Harristrewth

Reactions to this news on Social media so far.. "They cannot be serious!!" J P McEnroe "I don't believe it!!" V. Meldrew "That's cricket, know what I mean". F.Bruno "Maaaan, I just, like, what's it about, whoo". K. Richards

Would Woffinden be welcome? If he did really use foul language over the PA system, and directed it at Ipswich fans, surely that didn't exactly impress the main sponsor of both clubs?