TTT

It's sour grapes though Phil. The way your lot are going on anyone would think Mayfield are signing Lindgren on a 6.00.

Phil -> Hi, Mark Mark -> G'day Phil -> Not Really Pal, It's a bad day because I'm still gutted about Dan. Mark -> Aren't we all, It's a good job that I'm an Aussie otherwise we would've lost Brady to them as well. Phil -> I know right, Have you heard about Nilsson? If yes then you need to stop this from happening. Mark -> I'll see what I can do, No promises though. Phil -> Thanks, Pal. Mark -> No worries.

If you thought the sour grapes were already bad, Just wait until the first picture of Bewley in Witches kevlars is released. A new river will be discovered in Manchester that's for sure.

Every Club will need some experienced Leaders in the pits due to the amount of youngsters in each team. Some of the youngsters have bright futures granted but they still lack experience to a point where they've still got a lot to learn and who better to learn from when it comes to riders like Doyle, King, Harris and co to name a few.

If Belle Vue for example try to block a move for a 4.50 Nilsson. Then Ipswich should block a Belle Vue move for Pawelczak on a 6.00. Introduce a new rule in 2027 that states all non-GP top tier Polish League riders will be given a minimum 7.00 assessed average due to them being classed as part of the Elite. Pettiness can work both ways.

Can't whack a couple of points on someone's assessed average purely based on them having a great night in a one off meeting. It's the GP qualifying criteria that's silly because any half decent rider is capable of having a good night on the bike to a point where they find themselves in the GP's. Nilsson has been riding in the lowest Polish tier for Landshut along with riders like Leon Flint, Erik Riss, Charles Wright. Other riders in that League are Thorssell, Masters, Lahti and co. which is British engine room standard. This year Mayfield were rumoured to sign Thorssell at one stage on a 4.50 and as I highlighted last night Oxford signed Gusts on a 4.50 in 2025 while Nilsson doesn't meet criteria's mentioned in the 2026 rule book. Therefore everything points towards 4.50 even if I admit that it's a little on the low side.

Oxford signed Francis Gusts in 2025 and he was given an assessed 4.50 average when competing in the Polish 2nd Tier. Kim Nilsson rode in the Polish 3rd Tier last season (National League) and he doesn't meet the GP criteria in the rules, Also nothing in the rules about being the National Champion of your Country. Kim's last average is also irrelevant because it was 9/10 Years ago. Unless other Clubs want to be petty by demanding the rule book to be re-written just to block Kim Nilsson from competing in Britain then he'd meet the 4.50 criteria per the current rules.

Credit to King's Lynn for not running off to the CHAMP whilst making up every excuse under the sun to avoid the big boys like Poole have done for a good few years now. Not Buster's biggest fan as everyone knows but I can respect the fact that he's not afraid to mix it with the big boys despite him operating on a tight budget.

Must admit, I'm amazed at how Nilsson is a 4.50. Richard Coleman is a true professional to a point where he's found something wrong with the rules set by amateurs on assessed averages. 6.00 would've been a fair assessment imo as it's likely that Kim's final average would be anywhere between 5.75 and 6.50 which would be on point with the vast majority of engine room riders.

The last averages I have for Nilsson and Riss in the Top flight are Nilsson 7.13 and Riss 6.69 = 13.82 Rumoured to sign both of them for a combined 9.55. That's some serious saver on the pair, Just got to hope Riss stays fit but at the end of the day I'd rather take a chance on Erik then a Youngster from Europe with no UK experience as I've seen too many of them flop drastically like Gusts and Hellstrom-Bangs to name some recent examples.

Agree I always back the Brits (Except Lambert) because I just can't take to him at all.

King confirmed on the socials now. Deserved his place in the 1-7 imo, High GSA for sure but last year Danny stepped up when the Club needed riders to step up and embrace the pressure of the tough challenge ahead.

Riss is much better than his average and he proved that at Oxford when beating some top riders on a consistent basis. Scored 20 odd one night against Ipswich if I remember correctly and that was with Doyle and Emil in the side which goes to show Erik's ability. Just got to hope he stays fit, Nilsson would have a familiar face in the pits to help him settle in so it's looking good on the Team spirit front as well which is something that was lacking last year.

Remains to be seen but one thing for sure is that Picko won't be fazed by going out in Heat 1 with the opportunity to lead by example. His mindset and the self belief Picko has is top draw to a point where he wants to be a No.1 because he's not satisfied being a No.5 who spends his career playing second fiddle to a GP rider. He'll throw the kitchen sink at every race and if he doesn't do well @ No.1 then it won't be the pressure that gets to him.

Kemp isn't great but he's a more reliable option then others on the table. I personally look at it this way.... ERIK RISS Postive Good rider if he's fit (Big If) and he's been part of the Landshut setup with Nilsson so it's a good combination for Team spirit. Negative The illness keeps coming back so if it's him then you're playing poker because if the illness returns after others have improved GSA's then it could be a case of scrambling around for a rider on a 3 something to replace him. 4.50 YOUNGSTER Positive If they click, Then they really click to a point where you end up with a gem who makes a mockery of an assessed average. Negative They're BOOM or BUST merchants as we saw this year with Hellstrom-Bangs and if another one falls into the BUST category then it's a scramble for a replacement because with the RS not likely to score many points (If any) then it's too risky to keep the faith by running a Team with two riders not scoring points. DREW KEMP Positive Can ride Ipswich and Leicester very well and has a good few years worth of PREM experience. Negative Can be frustrating and his head does go at times.