Aces High

Cookie at 1, Stevie at 3 and Tungate at 4? I think that would be stronger away from home.

Unless Drozdz was assessed at something stupidly high or Cook isn't returning (unlikely) Shanes would leave us way under the 42.5.

Stevie finished on 6.77 didn't he?

Bull in a china shop is the perfect description.

Only saw a few Colts meetings last year but the Bickley really impressed me towards the end of the season, I thought he looked a better talent than Jack Smith. Has a really smooth style, always looks in control. It will be interesting to see how he gets on in the Championship but he certainly has talent. Dan is pretty much the exact opposite, with an all action style but sometimes pushes a little too hard. Was way past NL level last year, most meetings last year were spent trying to break his own NL NSS track record. Best of luck to Workington in 2018!

Given that Jacobs is a specialist around the NSS he'd probably be good on the continental tracks...then Poole would be desperate to sign him!

Totally see where you are coming from but it is worth bearing in mind that neither of those sports rely on gate receipts as their primary source of income. While we would all like the price of speedway to be less I think it is fairly obvious what would happen if it was. Speedway is stuck in an impossible place. Every sport that is trying to survive on gate receipts alone is struggling but the only option for speedway is TV. Sky tried but are no longer interested and they don't seem to be able to offer BT the product that they want. It doesn't help that little of the sky money seems to have been invested in making the stadiums look a bit better which doesn't exactly help sell the sport to TV either. Cutting costs to maintain will work in the short term but sensible investment is the only way to survive long term. Slightly off topic but £20 for football is dirt cheap too....tickets for my club (Leicester) usually cost £38-48 and were pretty similar to that in the Championship. Good on Villa for offering reasonable prices.

Very pragmatic of you but it is still sad that doubling up is just justified because of a lack of riders and then lads are having to retire because of that same rule. This shouldn't be happening.

In a normal season yes but I think Cook is as strong as most of the number ones so far (Kurtz, Thorsell, Morris).

Fricke should be looking at kicking on and pushing Craig too. Could see them both averaging 8.50 or so. We look good at reserve but a lot will depend on how Drozdz and Tungate do. Also nice to see continuity between last years team and this.

Maybe one of the aussies is more likely with ML running the Australian team? Todd Kurtz would be good, has experience in the UK too so might be less of a risk. Lots of pressure on Drozdz though if he is riding in the main body of the team rather than at reserve.

Assuming Tungate and Stevie are back and Bewley gets a reduction I make it about 5.12 should Drozdz be assessed on a 4. I'll reserve judgement until seeing the whole team but it does seem like a risk. Smith is a trier but in reality he was the worst rider in the league last year, his average was less than 2. Some more time in the Championship will do him good and hopefully he is back in 2019.

3.89 if using the 1.3 conversion.

That team looks really good, I hope it is close to what we get. Lebedevs would start with a lower average that Dan too

Shame, although Tai on a 9 would make more sense than Thorssell on 8.64.

Is Tungate still rocking his Aces Kevlars like in the GP?

He was a bit out of his depth in the top league but he did show some signs of improvement and I hope he is back for the Colts at least. Bit concerned that our 1-5 is going to be a bit weak now, we only really need someone to take three rides.

Makes sense about the blood clots. Not sure getting on a speedway bike is the best thing you could do either though!!! Fair play to him for getting back on the bike so soon after the surgery then.

Good shout on 7.0 but without TV money I suppose it all comes down to cost. He didn't exactly cover himself with glory by missing meetings for Leicester after his crash whilst continuing to ride in Poland (unless I am missing a part of the story of course).

Wouldn't the one over 8 rule would mean that it would be almost impossible for Cook to ride in the UK if we don't pick him up? I can't imagine him not being here, but that puts the club in the stronger negotiating position. I guess that any delay is purely due to numbers with Cookie quite within his rights to want to get paid like a number one but the club being careful not to overspend and offering somewhere in between what he was on last year and whatever Kenny was on.

Now that 2018 is here hopefully we can soon look forward to seeing the aces lineup for the upcoming season!!

Not a criticism of him specifically but of the situation which has led to the most marketable British rider not riding in this country for the second year running. I suspect any potential offer by BT to televise British Speedway would be significant improved if Tai was leading a team next year. Appearances in shows like this, being mentioned by name in BT's most recent ad...they know they can market the guy.

My first experiences of speedway was watching Rickardsson and Adams ride for the Knights when I lived in Norfolk. Sad to see so much negativity around the club at the moment, hopefully they turn it around soon. Still loads of good number ones available, Zagar was a good shout.

Well done Somerset! Very glad that Doyle will still be riding in the UK after winning his world title.

"So Tai, if viewers haven't seen speedway before and are interested in coming to watch you do your thing, when can they look forward to seeing you next season?" ....