Bojangles

I'm still quite surprised Oxford signed Craig Cook as an injury replacement. Peter Schroeck was pretty adamant the team would use guests to replace Kerr, with Scott Nicholls taking the majority of those. As good as Cook has been so far this season, I doubt he will score the points Nicholls would have done. Is Nicholls no longer available? Or has the decision been made with a focus on the longer term?

In addition to what arnieg said, there's also loads of street parking. You'll struggle to get anywhere on Sandy Lane, but always spaces on Balfour Road (a less than 5-min walk from the stadium) if you get there within 30mins of it starting. No restrictions on any of the roads.

Sorry....couldn't resist!

Anybody else thinking that the Nicolai Klindt release was instigated by Klindt, and it was a mutual decision in the end? I doubt Tarasenko leaving King's Lynn has come as surprise, so the team place was probably known about. Oxford have got a bit of stick changing the team so soon, but perhaps it's what Klindt wanted. It would explain why they've got Riss in quickly on a lower average without using it to replace Kerr.

I'll give you £1 for every hypothetical person that physically attends a speedway meeting.

You can't pay 'on the gate' as such, but you can buy the tickets online right up until the meeting starts. It does cost £2 extra if you buy on the day, though.

No, they won't be finished. Said at the Chargers match that they've been extended until at least the end of the month.

Should be a comfortable win for Glasgow. Jenkins and Atkins not firing and Heeps struggles away from home. 54-36.

The averages I quoted were the official averages for the 2023 season (all comps, inc. bonus points and minimum of six meetings). Copied below from Wikipedia (which I presume are also taken from the official averages as they are exactly the same) 1. Ryan Douglas Scunthorpe 10.09 2 Sam Masters Oxford 9.80 3 Charles Wright Redcar 9.66 4 Scott Nicholls Oxford 9.54 5 Chris Harris Glasgow 9.47 6 Benjamin Basso Glasgow 9.45 7 Richard Lawson Poole 9.37 8 Craig Cook Edinburgh 9.08 9 Danny King Redcar 8.58 10 Josh Pickering Edinburgh 8.55

Based on last season's averages (discounting Ryan Douglas), only Sam Masters (9.80) and Charles Wright (9.66) were above Nicholls (9.54)....so while you're right that the Cheetahs don't have the best two riders in the league, they're pretty close. Back to Plymouth, and I was impressed with what I saw, especially from the Thompsons and Bowtell. If all three of them have good seasons (and Covatti returns and scores well), I think Plymouth will pick up plenty of points. No real weak link in the team. Dan Thompson is riding like a heat leader at the moment.

Have to say it's a similar story at Oxford. I would say the Chargers got a crowd that wasn't too far off the Cheetahs vs Plymouth match the Wednesday before. Well down on the Spires (which is to be expected), but still a more than decent crowd considering Oxford are trying to get people to pay to attend all three leagues.

He was pretty poor for the Cheetahs on Wednesday, though. Just got 2 points at Championship level, only beating Ashton Boughen and Jacob Hook in heat 14. Still, it's early days, you don't become rubbish over one winter, so I'm sure he'll find his form in time.

There was an interview with Peter Schroeck during the interval of the Cheetahs match last night and he was adamant Kerr wasn't being replaced. "He will be out for five weeks, and we'll use guests...with Scott Nicholls already agreed to take a few of those bookings"

Hope you enjoy your trip down. There's a decent restaurant at the stadium, but you'll probably have to book that in advance. Otherwise there is a fast food bar within the main grandstand which serves the normal fare, and there's also a hot food outlet on the fourth bend. Quite a few options. Also plenty of places to eat within walking distance of the stadium if you get there early and are feeling peckish.

Thoughts on this one? Oxford Spires: 1. Maciej Janowski, 2. Charles Wright, 3. Nicolai Klindt, 4. Chris Harris, 5. Rohan Tungate, 6. Lewis Kerr, 7. Ashton Boughen. Sheffield Tigers: 1. Jack Holder, 2. Kyle Howarth, 3. Chris Holder, 4. Josh Pickering, 5. Tai Woffinden, 6. Jason Edwards, 7. Dan Gilkes.

Surely that's a contradiction? You just said it's wet for both teams, but then claim it's not even.

I was there and it was drizzling on and off until about 8pm. Certainly don't think it could be called 'heavy', though, and don't think the meeting was ever in any danger. The track started to dry out pretty quickly. One thing that was refreshing was the speed on the meeting. Was all over in just over one hour and 15 minutes - not one track grade!

Great to see Oxford doing livestreaming and glad to hear it was good. I shall definitely be watching in if I can't make it this season. Rising stars have to be riding at No.7, so Cook can't ride there (unless Flint gets an average good enough to enable him to ride in the top 5).

Scott Nicholls in for Piotr Pawlicki on Thursday......

What do you want him to say? "We're not very good, don't bother coming"? He's got to try and be positive regardless.

No team survives on gate admissions alone though (there wouldn't be many clubs left if that was the case). There's plenty of other revenue streams - sponsorship being the main one, plus merchandise and programme sales, catering profits, media profits, plus others I'm sure I've forgotten. Appreciate it is the main income, but it's not just black and white like that.

Joke ---------------------------------------------------------> Supersteady84

Luke Killeen, Jody Scott and Jacob Clouting are certainties, and it seems like Senna Summers is nailed on as well. That leaves 14.91 for the other three, which means either Ryan Kinsley or Jason Garrad misses out. I wouldn't rule out Nathan Stoneman and two more three pointers.

Good grief, it's not that bad is it? What do you want Tolley to do? Sign riders way above his budget and go bankrupt long before the season has finished? Yes everybody wants a competitive team, but speaking as an Oxford fan, Birmingham fans should surely just be grateful they've got speedway to watch, no? The first season the Cheetahs came back, they were pretty woeful, but it was just great to have a team again. Sometimes we just need to be thankful for what we've got.

Plus grammar and spelling. Hint, hint.