1 valve

First, can I immediately apologise for posting something off topic but hopefully what follows makes senses as I wanted to reach out to as many Coventry fans as possible and figured this is the best place to do so. The reason being that I have recently purchased a house as a renovation project and in the dilapidated garage there was a (wreck) of car and within it a large box of speedway programmes. I have not looked through them in any great detail but can say they are from the early 90's maybe earlier and basically cover Bees meetings home and away as well as some individual meetings where Cov riders were taking part - There is even a hat signed by Tommy Knudsen. Interestingly I flicked through a Heathens v Bees programme and noticed that a certain Greg Hancock was riding at reserve for Cradley scoring 11 points...the return fixture at Brandon he scored 5...I wonder what happened to that young lad!! The car and garage went last week, but if anybody is interested in the programmes let me know otherwise I'm sorry to say they will have to go too.

Considerably less than it will take to make good the current facility.

Seems perfect proof that the club was/is and will remain bigger and more important than any individual. Perhaps those previously offended in the past and thus continue to stay away from race nights need to understand their ego/pride is the reason they are now staying away which is a shame because if last season is anything to go by they are missing exactly what they wanted in the first place. i.e. many good nights of speedway and an incredible season of success.

Is that so any sun breaks can be accommodated by the interval?

True that the TM has limited input that influences results. However in addition to tac sub they can (to some extent) select rider pairings for programmed rides plus for last heat. Also choice of guest riders which is important in terms of which riders ride best on the track in question. And yes there is the overall style of management adopted, not just during the meeting but for communication in between fixtures. Such actions all add up and was something SD did so very well at Leicester last season. For the Pirates there must be a question mark on the job share will indeed affect the overall team performance given the lack of consistency in style of management from meeting to meeting.

The previous track alterations were significant and resulted in considerable improvement in racing and passing opportunities for faster riders not having made the gate. Unfortunately towards the latter stages of the season due to wear and tear the track surface became damaged and bumpy in key areas which from reports are in the process of being properly addressed. So have no fear that for 2020 the fours will have a great venue both on & off the track which hopefully a large crowd will enjoy Although the nonsensical clash of dates with the pairs and Cardiff may play a larger part than concerns about the track in reducing attendance.

On the matter of the repairs. As I said in my first post on the subject it will depend on the appropriate clause in the lease. It appears that the landlord has not passed on the responsibility in the agreement so it would be down to the lessee to ask for the repairs to be done and the landlord to comply. However, if this is indeed the case there is a question as to why (as reported by Happy Hunter) the supporters clubs donation was accepted by the promoter (assuming it was the Bates led promotion?) Regarding extra turn styles/entrances. Excellent news as clearly the current limit of two have proven on a number of occasions to be woefully inadequate. Car parking...well a charge for parking will of course be new to attendees at the Lions unless it is proposed that an agreed fixed fee will be paid by the organisers and not charged to the speedway fan. Also not clear is if there will be a section of the car park cordoned off for speedway "parkers" as the shoppers will not be expected to pay for parking so there is a need to clearly identify whos/who. Hopefully all three of the above will get sorted with a positive outcome in a timely manner.

There are significant differences between domestic & commercial leases. As a landlord of domestic properties I am responsible for covering the cost of repairing everything other than general wear and tear which is (supposedly) covered by the tenants deposit. As a tenant of an industrial unit I am responsible for maintaining the property to the standard it was handed to me on the basis of a full repairing lease. If the roof blows off then i would need to make it good (arrange repairs) which is why I have suitable insurance in place to cover such risks. With regards to the missing roof covering at Leicester, the repair is more than likely down to the promoters who clearly for now do not see it as a priority to do so. If the lease ends without it being adequately addressed then the landlord would charge them a dilapidation cost.

If (say) a business leased an industrial unit in which the roof developed a leak or worse blew off, then the lease holder not the landlord would be responsible for the repairs. This approach is to ensure the lessee treats the property with appropriate care rather than let the landlords property fall into disrepair and thus reduction in value. As it appears the promotion owned by the Bates have sole use (management) of the stadium then it would be reasonable to hold them responsible for all repairs & maintenance of the property.

Who’s responsibility it is will depend on the appropriate clause in the lease where it is common place to adopt a “fully repairing” condition meaning the lease holder is responsible for all maintenance, repairs and (approved) alterations not the landlord. this may not be the case for the car park if a specific clause in the original agreement binds the landlord to address specific matters.

The subject of the 4’s is also discussed in the shared events section of the forum which is most probably the most appropriate place rather than this topic which is regarding Lions team issues for 2020.

Nothing. So long as the first part of the agreement was first fully complied with. I.e refurbishment of the stadium and suitable long term future use irrevocably established as specified.

Because planning permission etc would only be granted subject to an agreeable & binding long term future of stadium & associated activities being finalised & implemented?

Winning was indeed entertaining although any neutral comparing the two play off finals from last season would say the CL version provided far more drama & entertaining racing than the PL version shown on BT which on the whole typified the difference between what the two leagues served up last season no doubt helped by having more teams visiting and thus providing a greater degree of variance of what was seen on track.

Good that you are giving it a chance. On a positive note consider that last season attendances at Leicester we’re notably higher than previous year despite dropping down to the championship. generally these days the top two flights of speedway appear to have crowd levels more influenced by entertainment value than which league the teams are racing in and frankly on that matter it is debatable that the top flight does indeed provide better entertainment. Hope you get to enjoy 2020.

Whoops indeed "SD". - As for "being told" - well he had to work to a points limit and was given a budget to work to (and no more), after that the rest was up to him to deliver on and hence why a number of the riders who signed for the Lions had indeed previously rode for SD. This included Ryan Douglas who came back to the UK having missed a year and has openly admitted it was SD who talked him into riding for the Lions on a track which initially he didn't fancy. Also worth noting how astute SD was in the use of guests and changing the riding order to get the best match ups. As for 2020. Lions now have arguably the best 1-5 in the championship and two promising reserves who will deliver the required points and most probably on paper only Redcar come close to challenging Leicester. Edinburgh look strong in the top half of their line up and Glasgow will do better than current thinking suggests. As for Poole, well its great to see such a professional promotion having a team in the championship and as their past record shows they put winning teams onto the track so (yes only on reputation) they will be there or there abouts come the play offs.

SG was "allowed" to build last seasons Lions team which turned out a long way off from being a folly.

Hopefully the boys will stay injury free but if a stand in is required then as long as it is not immediately after the start of the season their averages could well be up at the 4 point mark thus providing a wider choice of guest?

Nick Morris it is. Well done to all concerned for getting this strong team assembled quickly. Looks like it will become the benchmark for all others in preparation for 2020.

When considering the overall average for the season you should take into account: - The boys started in the reserve berths and for the first four matches excluding bonus points their averages were Dan 4.79 Joe 5.39 - For the last four fixtures where the twins were in the main body of the team and again ignoring bonus points their averages were: Dan 6.08 (8.1 including BP) Joe 8.69 (9.8 including BP) Clearly as the season progressed the boys made measurable progress despite the oppositon in their heats becoming tougher thus it is fair to say that looking at their closing averages they fully desreve the chance to continue their improvements and the Lions management have yet again made a smart call re team selection and makeup. Although it has not been made clear if the club will continue in the National League next year, If they do then it would make sense for the twins to double up with the Cubs thereby continuing to help with their develoment as well as being a positive attraction for those clubs the Cubs will visit during the season. Just hope everybody stays fit so that the Lions success of 2019 can continue into next season - good luck to all concerned

Are Torun in the second tier of Polish speedway in 2020? if so does this offer better chances of UK based riders being able to ride Saturday nights in the UK or would this still be a "no no" as per the top tier?

Has Ryan indicated he will be available for next season or will he be looking at opportunities in Poland?

Shame if that turns out that way for the Lions but good luck to Ryan no matter what. if so then hope the averages allow Scotty back for both on track and off track contributions. great team guy who although perhaps in the twilight of his career in terms of top scoring he would be more than useful to the team overall team overall.

Well. What thoughts regarding the 2019 Champions as they set about defending their title? For me the number one priority is to get Stewart Dickson onboard with Perks & Douglas not far behind and assume Mountain given he is a Lion's asset. All three capable of increasing their averages next season which will be needed as it is safe to presume current team average total will fall well above what will be allowed for 2020?

Could be a good idea but you can have too much of a good thing. Maybe 2 home & 2 away fixtures v 1 club is more than enough?