T.N.T.

If Freddie says no I can only see Jason Doyle or Hans Andersen as possible and I am sure to like Freddie and Tai will not be short of offers and this creates a problem for every Elite League club. These riders know that they are needed and so ask for better deals than is offered or affordable by the track but without their signatures they are left with little choice than to field a weaker team using riders with inflated averages after being a second string in 2014. With most heat leaders seeing their averages drop, it is a bit of a surprise that there is a limit on two seven plus riders, but this is because there was only 15 managing to get over seven but a few of those have already said they are not returning in 2015. So at least one team (possibly more) will start with just one rider over seven. However if that team only signs for example Kenneth Bjerre 7.41, even signing Simon Stead 6.92, Daniel King 6.74, Davey Watt 6.71 and Rory Schlein 6.22 would bring them to 34.00 but that would tie up 4 of the 20 six plus riders (20%) and again there are some riders in that category that are unlikely to return like Jepsen Jensen, Pawlicki, Hougaard, Bridger etc. Setting a high 34 point limit on just 5 riders is far too high and riders will be after better deals as they know how important they are. There are 36 riders with a six or greater average, 37 if you include Lindgren. But from these I would say there are at least eleven that won't be around leaving just 26 and these are not enough to equip all teams with a five man team up to 34 especially when each team still has second strings to sign up with five point averages. The only way I can see more top riders come back are if any of these scenarios happened ... A = One meeting a week on a set night or on whatever night B = Twelve weeks of one home and one away meeting in a week (meaning two meeting most fortnights) C = Setting two race nights (Monday and Thursdays) for Elite matches Hopefully Freddie and Tai will both sign and let other teams struggle on how to get to 34. Its a good job its unlikely that Piotr and Tai will both return as along with Jacob and Oliver it would still leave 7.40 for the last rider meaning Simon Stead 6.92 is the strongest possible signing.

Freddie is Wolves through and through but if the offer isnt right then there will nr others ready to step in for his services now the points limit has been raised.

Sorry but I can't see Kenneth Bjerre leaving Kings Lynn as there could be question marks on Iversen starting and think they would want Bjerre to back up Iversen or whoever they get as a number one ? How about FREDRIK LINDGREN 8.94 TAI WOFFINDEN 7.03 JACOB THORSELL 6.25 OLIVER BERNTZON 6.00 KIM NILSSON 5.63 LEWIS BLACKBIRD JOE JACOBS I wouldn't worry about Jacob being a third heat leader as every team will have a sub seven third heat leader and in Berntzon and Nilsson there should be plenty to back them up and the reserves should be one of the strongest pairings in the league. Tai is at the NEC on Monday talking about his plans for 2015, hopefully he can be at the talk in that evening to tell the fans if this includes riding in Britain and especially Wolverhampton.

So Coventry can protect Garrity as he was there in 2014 but that would mean that Sarjeant and Jacobs would be up for grabs in the second pick. So as Wolves get second pick in the Grade A riders, maybe Wolves should protect Jacobs in the second pick and at reserve with possibly Josh Auty or Lewis Blackbird it would be a formidable partnership. Maybe I am putting two and two together and getting five but if talks have started with Freddie, surely the first question would be "do you want to ride in Britain next season" With no Grand Prix series then I would have thought he would have said yes straight away and only terms to bebsorted, so maybe the reason he isn't sure is he may well hold out for a better deal or elsewhereelsewhere. Hopefully the talk in on Monday night will give a clear picture of how the team will be heading and who could be retained as it looks unlikely now that Lasse Bjerre will be back due to a low 4.67 average and the high points limit. In the Speedway Star there is nothing about there being a rule on seven plus riders being limited to just two per team until you read about Chris Holder looking to return Look at for example Wolves wanting to start with Pawlicki and Woffinden or Swindon keeping Peter Kildemand and Troy Bachelor both on 7.58. How would Wolves fill in 19.53 for three riders without another seven plus rider. Sadly Pawlicki is a no go next season and the quiet coming about Tai seems to point to him not returning to Britain.

I dont think Lewis Rose was protected last season but simply still availsble when Kings Lynn came to select thei second pick. Once the first picks are selected, last season the team with the lowest ranked rider got to pick first so I think that would be the same again so Poole, Belle Vue and whoever gets Blackbird and Garrity would be the last four to pick Grade B riders. It will be interesting to see which order the top draft riders are ranked. In my opinion Kyle Newman would be number one followed by Garrity, Blackbird, Kerr and Worrall but Auty has possibly been added and Wright and Birks will be good riders too. Unless I have missed anyone those I think will be the top eight draft riders and all should be capable of big pointsat reserve. There looks to be some good picks in the second pick too so the teams getting the two picks should be pleased. Until the lists are made public, its pretty much guess work but at least we have had a year of experience behind it. It does look like Wolves will end up with Garrity or Blackbird which will be good but put us near the back of the queue for the second draft. Hopefully the fixtures will be OK with Tai as there was a thought that grading would be back which obviously hasnt so on just 7.03 he will be the bargain next season. Got a feeling Freddie could be elsewhere next season so how about this for a team ? 8.44 Jason Doyle 7.03 Tai Woffinden 6.25 Jacob Thorssell 6.21 Craig Cook 6.00 Oliver Berntzon Res Jason Garrity Res ? ? To be honest I could see Ricky Wells instead of Cook possibly being the team .... If Tai rides ?

EXAMPLE ONLY Grade A Kyle Newman (Poole), Jason Garrity, Lewis Kerr (KL), Steve Worrall (BV), Charles Wright, Paul Starke, Josh Auty, Adam Roynon, Lewis Blackbird, Ashley Birks. Grade B Joe Jacobs (Cov), James Sarjeant (Cov), Simon Lambert, Lewis Rose (KL), Adam Ellis (Lake), Stefan Nielsen, Nathan Greaves, Josh Bates, Max C!egg, Ashley Morris {W) and others PICK ONE Poole get Newman, Belle Vue get Worrall, Kings Lynn get Kerr. Leicester (Auty) pick first followed by Wolves (Garrity) then Lakeside (Blackbird), Swindon (Wright) , Coventry (Roynon). Depending on how these are graded will determine the best order on picks for Grade B riders

It is weird that Greyhound racing has six in each race and have never had to change the colours while speedway can't decide on just four colours

Next year the main topic will be what colour will be used fr the tactical ride as people are getting confused with the white/black and the yellow/black A Green B Purple C Black D White with Purple stripes and a Green star

If the pick system is anything like last years, tracks firstly get to name an asset in the list. So if Kyle Newman and Steve Worrall are in the list of Grade A crafts then Poole get to name Newman and Belle Vue get to name Worrall with the rest up for grabs. Leicester by not having an asset in the list gets to pick first from the list that should still include Garrity and Blackbird with the next lowest team then picking and so on. Once the first picks are done then the team with the lowest ranked Grade A rider picks first in the Grade B pot and so on so Poole should have Newman dominating and the last pick in the Grade B pot. The only change to the order in the second pick is a team may be allowed to pick an asset as long as they didnt do so in the first pick.

Regardless of what has or hasnt changed in the rules over the years the one thing that the sport lacks is bringing in new fans and making it a more respected sport to a wider audience. I am not saying it will ever get as big as football or even rugby or darts but those three sports along with Cricket and possibly more have marketed their sports and made them move into the 21st Century. In my opinion speedway needs to do this as the product in its self is exciting and has the right ingredients to be more successful but it still has the problem of being just 15 minutes of action over 120 minutes. Junior races, go karts, live bands ... Something is needed to make it a full evening of entertainment and marketing needs to be increased like posters when a Circus is in town, you see these everywhere but do you ever see them for speedway ? I do believe however that the Elite League needs to be just that. The best of the best and this should be a more sort after product of less meetings but stronger teams making each one a meeting you don't want to miss. One fixed race night would be great but why not simply make it one meeting each week for each team. This would mean just 14 meetings and only seven at home but the Elite League needs to be what it says on the tin. So domestically the sport of speedway needs to be more basic as it is now and if the few Elite League meetings can generate new interest then the lower levels should benefit in the long run. Run the sport as it is now for all tracks in a British League with cup competitions, individuals, team events but throw everything at the Elite League to make it a special event each week containing as many top riders as possible by making a squad of star riders allocated to each track. I'm sure virtually all the current GP riders plus others like Zmarzlik, Gollob, Laguta etc could be tempted to sign up and feature in a few meetings when possible. After all its only seven home meetings where the big wages are needed before the play offs.

If draft reserves go to parent clubs and the lowest pick first, Wolves would get to pick from Garrity, Blackbird, Auty and Birks from the Grade 1 picks (may be wrong) If we could get Blackbird and Paul Starke at reverse then I would be happy but how do we fill 34 points if Freddie doesn't return ? 8.94 Frederik Lindgren 7.03 Tai Woffinden 6.25 Jacob Thorssell 6.00 Oliver Berntzon 5.78 --------- Res Lewis Blackbird Res Paul Starke Kenneth Hansen 5.50, Ty Proctor 5.37, Nicolai Klindt 5.16 or Lasse Bjerre 4.67 ? If Berntzon was 5.00 then it could be Daniel King or Davey Watt !!

See if I have this right There will be 8 Grade 1 draft riders with each tracking getting one each. Josh Auty, Ashley Birks, Adam Roynon, Lewis Kerr, Kyle Newman, Jason Garrity, Steve Worrall and Lewis Blackbird. If as last season tracks got to use their assets first then would that mean Adam Roynon goes to Coventry and Jason Garrity moves on ? If so we have Roynon (Cov), Kerr (KL), Newman (P) and Worrall (BV) leaving Auty, Birks, Garrity and Blackbird to be picked by Lakeside, Leicester, Swindon and Wolves. .... Do the lowest finishers get to pick first so Leicester and Wolves get Garrity and Blackbird, Lakeside get Auty and Swindon get Burks but that would have to swap due to Burks being at Sheffield. Have to say I think Roynon is the weakest and would have thought Paul Starke was more qualified to be in group one while Burks should not have been selected as a draft rider if he has already limited himself to clubs by signing for a PL club already. Would settle for Blackbird and Starke at Wolves but find it hard to see how we could fill 34 points if Tai and Freddie don't return. He expressed an interest in riding if it was less fixtures and before he secured a 2015 GP place

Have to say my initial reaction is one is a cross between sadness and anger that there is not drastic changes to the sport to see it a more level playing field for all teams,riders and fans. We have heard how a number of established riders have expressed their views on riding 28 or more meetings yet they decide to up the points limit to 34 for the top five (6.80 each) yet there was only 15 riders that finished last season with a 7+ average and 8 of those have questioned about riding here next season. So Kings Lynn can in affect keep Iversen, Bjerre, Schlein and Lambert and still bring in Mikkel Michelsen to make it 34.00 and then still have one of the best reserves in Lewis Kerr !! How can Leicester match that or even Lakeside with Bridger also opting out of next season. He could return however with Beach, King, Watt and LawsonLawson ..... But Beach and Bridger look unlikely so who is there available ? I still don't see how a team with the best reserve rider won't be on a level playing field as we saw with the likes of Newman and Garrity how influential they were on results due to the easier rides. Will sit back and take it in and see if I have it wrong but I think an opportunity has been missed to move forward with drastic changes But at least we have YELLOW / BLACK back which will have them queuing at the turnstiles

Kenneth Bjerre has already said he will give up Sweden before he drops riding here and Kings Lynn won't want to lose Lambert, it looks like Rory Schlein could be on his way as they are on the verge of signing a number one rider with a nine point average. Sometimes it is best to have more balance than top end power but Kings Lynn will start with the best pairing in the heat leaders berths next season.

I would love to see Wolves start the season with Freddie and Tai but it looks unlikley and I don't blame Tai one little bit for missing the next season as he can see by past results that the riders that perform the best don't ride here anymore. World Champion Greg Hancock World number two Krzysztof Kasprzak World number three Nicki Pedersen World number six Andreas Jonsson World number seven Chris Holder World number eight Jarek Hampel Add to these Bartosz Zmarzlik, Tomasz Gollob, Adrian Meidzinski and many more who these days have so many meetings it doesn't fit in riding in a league that has fixtures spread across various race nights meaning more time spent in airports and on the road. While he was pleased to hand over the title to Greg last month, I know deep down that really hurt and in 2015 he is determined to do all he can in getting that title back and that means leading a more settled race schedule like Greg, KK and the rest. So next season Wolves need to find a new number one or go for a more settled and balanced line up. Much will depend on the race format that was unbalanced last season but I think the more sensible way is for a balanced line up. If it stays at 32 for the top five and there has to be a British rider in the main body then how about 7.58 Scott Nichols 6.25 Jacob Thorssell 6.22 Rory Schlein 6.21 Craig Cook 6.00 Oliver Berntzon Res Paul Starke FTR Morris or Perry All can score points and you won't get many last places which in turn means you won't lose many meetings home or away. Rory Schlein may be available as they look to be going for a powerful top two of Bjerre and a 9 point rider !!!

NO TAI WOFFINDEN IN 2015 Although it has to be confirmed by official means I have been told tonight that Tai will NOT be riding in Britain next season and will be concentrating on the GP's, Poland and Sweden. Tai along with others like Kildemand, Janowski, Iversen and others had expressed concerns about riding in so many meetings here and on various race nights so it would seem that the AGM going on at present is moving ahead with a 28 match Elite League season.

Didn't we sign Steve Johnston to replace Sam Ermolenko !! Can't see any suprise signings like that as its not the sort of the rider that would fit in with Thorssell and Berntzon and probably no better than Peter Karlsson points wise. If you have to include a draft rider in the main body then I would go for Paul Starke or Lewis Blackbird but if it is just a British rider somewhere in the main body I would love it to be Tai but if not Craig Cook could be a good choice.

There may only be one fast track reserve but the other will be British. Pretty sure Berntzon will be 6.00 às Tobias Musielak looks like he could be at Swindon on a 6.00 average also.

Any rider could have his average reassessed if it is felt they have progressed from the time he last rode here and the fact he has become Swedish Champion and a GP rider in that time means they could reassess his old average, but its not important as he won't be riding over here. Davey Watt has been enquiring about doubling up next year on an ACU licence, so could he be back as captain over Grajczonek, Milik and Newman ?

Don't think Ty would qualify as a fast track reserve !!

Would love Wolves to get Berntzon on a 5.00 average but like Musielak they are both class acts and with a number of top riders unsure of their future riding here, both should be better than a five average and 6.00 would be a fair assessment. I must admit I have a small feeling Jason Doyle could be elsewhere next season so maybe Bachelor and Morris would join Musielak and either North or Gustafsson also in. The final place in the main body seems to be a British rider next season so maybe Ed Kennett doubling up or someone like Lewis Blackbird or Steve Worrall maybe ?

Ricky would rather go full time Elite League if given the choice while Ty Proctor will be back but not convinced he will be riding ? 8.94 Frederik Lindgren 6.25 Jacob Thorssell 5.00 Oliver Berntzon (6.00) ? If those three Swedes can be signed, there seems to be a call for all teams to include a British rider in the main body of the team as well as the reserves. If it's not Tai then rumours seem to be Craig Cook or Jason Garrity but would Belle Vue want to lose him on a modest 6.21 average and Garrity seems pretty happy at Coventry. ..... Lewis Blackbird (#2) and Paul Starke (#6) ?

A very good signing like many others from Poland at that age like Tobias's Musielak who looks like he could be hesding over here next season too but regardless of his age, many Polish tracks order their riders to attend practice on the Saturday and if this happens Leicester could get stung. Oliver Berntzon looks set to be at Wolves next season but he hasn't signed just yet and it is a bit of a gamble as to what average he would come in on but I would think they would both be at least 5.00. Think it will be hard for Jason Doyle to stay at Leicester with him now he is a GP rider ...... What would people think about Hans Andersen leading the team ?

With Bachelor and Morris plus possible returns for Gustafson and North (visa allowing), would Swindon need another big scorer if there are many of the few seven plus riders that seem interested in coming back next season ? If Doyle is to carry on riding here as well as Poland, Sweden and the GP's then it would be hard to see how Leicester would fit him in with the clash of dates so maybe Swindon could finally use him for once.

Frederik Lindgren could be tempted back with a full fixture list as he thrives on more meetings and missing Britain this year didn't help him one bit. As for Craig Cook, well there doesn't have to be a bidding war for his services as he could still double up with Edinburgh and if Belle Vue are to have Zagar return along with Richie Worrall, it could be a choice between Nichols and Cook as to who they keep and Scott had a pretty good season at Kirky Lane. Wolves have always looked to start the season with a big number one rider but if as expected so many are set to miss next season then I see no reason why they shouldn't look at a more balanced line up and in Craig Cook they could see him as a bargain on 6.21. With Berntzon expected and assets in Karlsson, Thorssell and Wells they have assets to call upon as well as Proctor and Klindt but Lasse Bjerre should be of interest to fill the fifth spot in the team. Not too sure what the plans are but it has been suggested that each track has to track a British rider in the main body of the team and if its not going to be Tai, Craig Cook would be my pick. Would be nice to see Freddie back just as it would to see Tai but both look unlikely at the moment.