Teromaafan

I may be cynical but I suspect that they did not want to advertise that a team that is likely to get a good spanking will be even weaker without their top man and poor R/R options. It will be hard enough trying to drag people in when the CL final and GP are both on TV.

Unless they could get Riss or Palm Toft there wouldn’t appear anyone else worth having. My money is on R/R unfortunately which could end up as a battering and the return fixture then becoming meaningless.

Does that make him any worse than a former Glasgow rider was was accused of knocking another rider’s wife off?

It would be a shame if the Champions League Final was abandoned because the trainer had lost his magic sponge and nobody had a spare one!

Ah, the Leicester track…crap… no passing…quality of racing etc, seem to recall this may have come up before. The best riders have never made an excuse for the BP track (which does seem to be getting better), attack it and find racing lines to pass. That goes for home and away riders. On the subject of the Scunny stream presenters, I watched the Lions league match recently (didn’t bother with tonight) and found them to be quite embarrassing. I accept that they may be doing it for free, fair play on that front, but they really need to up their game before they could be considered anything near amateurs. Most important thing about tonight of course is young Joe’s injury. Fingers crossed for him.

How about third rule. 3. A guest rider cannot be called Chris Harris. (That should do it).

The management have now looked into this with a view to combining the sun break and interval which will take place after heat 15 to avoid delays. Personally I think the twins have out grown this level of the sport. Their only gain will be experience at other tracks fielding teams at both NDL and Championship level. Even when they do race at these tracks, if they are going to progress, are other NDL level riders going to push them to the next level?

Would have settled for a point before the meeting so delighted with 4 points. Whilst the Lions will be one of the stronger teams to visit Edinburgh this season, their reliance on Masters and Pickering will most likely cost them a play off place. Other than this pair, they only had one other race winner tonight. The writing is on the wall (whatever that means) when you need to use tactical substitutions at home. A pat on the back for Bickley tonight as it is highly unlikely that Rowe would have scored more than him.

A bit off subject, but I was wondering how many of these ‘Rider Replacement’ guys are related to the Norwegian Reidar Eide who rode in England in the early seventies?

Rowe absent again. Does anyone know what his 'illness' is and how long he will be unavailable for?

Can anyone shed light on Kennett’s absence? Is he actually injured? If, as some have suggested on this forum, he may have just been used for one meeting to gain a guest facility, the situation stinks. Fair play to the Plymouth riders for their performances to date, but they are using guests for someone who is unlikely to sustain his current average if he were to continue racing. At what point does the guest (or R/R) facility get reviewed or expire if he is not actually injured?

So much for the rumour about Rowe’s departure. Would love to see him bang a few points in tonight.

Maybe, but his priority is his home track. I’d like to think that we’ll stick with him although the gaffer is not renowned for his patience. That said, what are the replacement options?

Spot on. Any visiting riders reading this forum might develop a negative mindset and think they have a ready made excuse before the meeting starts. The better riders prepared to attack the track have contributed to some great racing so far this season at Leicester.

Hard to disagree with any of your points. I would be amazed if another team comes to Leicester and claimed three points and I think that, with the odd away bonus point, or even one win, will be enough to secure a play off position. The reliance on big home wins will then find the Lions wanting when it comes to two leg matches against Poole and Glasgow (although tonight was good!). I’m sure Dickson (along with every other team manager) is constantly looking at replacement options for when he feels certain individuals can no longer be carried. The problem at the moment though seems to be a general shortage of riders in the sport. Dickson is a winner but I think he will need to be patient with what he’s got for now.

Sure I read somewhere on social media that he didn’t feel that Poole really wanted him this season, for whatever reason.

Agreed. Credit to all three of them for their efforts. Pleased that the twins showed a ruthless streak which is needed if they are going to progress. Basso is a real talented and gutsy racer, can’t fathom why Poole let him go?

When no one in your team can beat Sarjeant, the Grim Reaper may be lurking. Hope not, but being realistic.

Howarth would surely have scored more than Jorgensen tonight which just might have been enough for three points. But in view of recent away performances, I think we have to accept the point. (I think that Redcar will finish the season higher placed than Scunny and Plymouth, which makes recent away results more frustrating!). Mountain and Rowe appear to have more than done their job tonight, but I agree that the Thompson’s are a concern on their travels. A team can only really carry one one rider in away fixtures if they are seeking a win. I remain loyal/biased and think that Dan and Joe will still kick on and hope that Mr Dickson is in agreement and has patience. That said, axing riders and bringing in better replacements is proving difficult in the current climate. As much as I’ve enjoyed the Lions upturn in recent seasons, I like the idea of sticking with young and local riders even if there are sacrifices in team achievements. Think I’d better stop there before trying to bring loyalty into speedway!

Having to debate the level or lack of cover for a dangerous sport is quite embarrassing from the outside. No wonder the sport is a mess when the level of medical cover becomes a financial option. If it keeps Brum afloat this season I will gladly arrange for loads of plasters and paracetamol tablets to be available for race days (sourced from Wilko obviously to keep costs down). As farcical as the situation may seem, the sport needs Brum, but they need to demonstrate that they can be taken seriously with what ever financial resource they have to meet essential health and safety criteria. Oh.. and best wishes to Auty. If he is determined to continue in the sport, I have nothing but admiration for him, since his current outgoings surely fall short of his recent earnings.

Quite right. It’s not as if both teams will have the same riders as last season is it? Recent performances against other teams mean nothing, particularly in this sport, where team changes are made throughout the season.

Fair comment. The team was built with a strong top three. At home, visitors will do well to gain a point. Away, the big guns need to score well to keep things tight going into the final three races, where two big hitters will get you over the line or look to at least salvage a point. Lions have now been spanked away by two teams who many will see as being borderline play off contenders. Having watched the stream the track appeared to be slick and dusty which no doubt accounted for the lack of passing. As disappointed as I was with my track observations (which grates when I read of the constant criticism of the Lions track), the score margin cannot be excused. With the clubs expectation of a play off spot as an absolute minimum, the obvious imbalance of home and away performances ( to date) would suggest that it would be very difficult to overcome another top six team over two legs.

If they do go for R/R Lawson wouldn’t be able to take one of the rides since MPT is third in the averages. This is despite him being the current number one for the league champions in the ‘superior’ Premiership. Try and explain that one to someone who doesn’t follow the sport.

The Lions heat leaders will really need to be on it for them to get anything out of the meeting. I just can’t see our middle and lower order providing too much in terms of heat advantages. Plymouth will definitely be stronger with an in form Lawson.

A full team contribution…. they were all cr*p. Nothing in it up to the half way point and then the gutsy Scorps took the pee. Our three heat leaders need to post at least thirty points between them for us to have a chance against the Pirates tomorrow.