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!
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
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?
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.
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?