Grachan

To be fair, I don't think Tomlinson did much wrong. He always insisted that houses could not be built until the Stadium was completed, and it now seems to be being completed. The reason Swindon closed down was down to Osbourne and Russell. If Terry Russell decided to shut the club down, there's nothing that the local MP can do about that. I guess that what will now happen is the stadium will be completed, the houses will then get built, and then Osbourne will eventually sell of the newly completed stadium and it will get demolished. I'm sure the work that is going on there now is purely a legal requirement to allow the remaining houses to be built. If so, Tomlinson was true to his word.

On paper they cancel each other out over the 14, then Oxford have the edge and take it in heat 15. It's all on paper of course. It's an interesting match up. I might be tempted to go and watch now that I'm not going this week.

Going on the basis of averages, if you go through the programme and assume rider position based on average along, I make it a 47-43 Oxford win. Of course, matches don't turn out that way, but on team make-up along Oxford seem to have a slight edge.

I agree. The £2 extra on the day, along with the weather forecast, means I've decided to give it a miss as I don't want to buy a ticket in advance only to have it cancelled. With speedway so weather dependent, it is a shame that they do add another £2 on the day. I'm very much a "make a decision at 6pm" kind of guy, so I would probably go to Oxford a lot more if I could just rock up on the day and wander in. The crowds seem pretty good though so they probably won't miss me.

Justin Sedgman now riding instead of Troy Bachelor.

It seems very odd that the building work at the stadium seems to be going ahead at a much quicker rate now that the speedway has officially closed own. If the promotion are supposed to be looking for a new venue, why can't they use the new Abbey as a temporary home while they look? All very odd.

You certainly can. On the occasions that I've watched it, that's what I've done.

I think so. Would rather have seen a stronger side with Oxford using guests, but all but Sam are former Robins so I'm happy with that. Would like to have seen Musielak though. (Edit - Not sure Rowe is actually a former Robin, but was an asset so as good as.)

MONARCH CHEETAHS Sam Masters Lewis Kerr Scott Nicholls Cameron Heeps Jordan Jenkins Luke Killeen Henry Atkins ROBINS SELECT Jason Doyle Adam Ellis Troy Batchelor Anders Rowe Claus Vissing Jack Smith Sam Hagon

Or just put the two minutes on as soon as the race is stopped. The hold up isn't the two minute warning, it's not putting the two minute warning on quick enough. So not putting the shiny new one minute warning on quick enough will still mean there is some hanging about. If there was actually two minutes between a stoppage and a restart, it wouldn't be a problem in the first place.

It's actually £6.99 per month. So 8 months would be 55.92.

He is from Swindon. I don't recall him ever riding for them but he may have had some junior matches or something?

It would be good to see more of the 2019 team riding as would be good for fans. Maybe Oxford could sneak Dan Bewley in! There are a few in the Championship too - James Wright, Stefan Nielsen, Claus Vissing, Justin Sedgman, James Shanes for example. Anders Rowe maybe. It would be nice to have some idea anyway.

Any news on who else apart from Jason Doyle is in the Swindon team yet?

He was. I messaged Lee Ashby to ask if it was and he confirmed it.

What about Henry Ashby. Any relation?

That's amazing. Thanks Arnie. Will have to look up Sandleford farm. I know there is a dual carriageway called The Sandleford link, so maybe a clue there. These houses are actually called "Sandleford Farm" so could be the spot. Sandleford Farm - GHE Homes Looks like Maurie Leonard is Brian Leonard's father. About: Brian Leonard (speedway rider) (dbpedia.org)

It's not Swindon. It's a Swindon Select. I did wonder why they didn't just call them Swindon, but you've probably explained it.

I remember hearing about a Grass Speedway meeting in Newbury. I think it was probably near where the Fox and Hounds motocross track was. It would be interesting to see that.

The Newbury "Nomads", who ride at Newbury Showground, just off Junction 13 of the M4 and within 45 minutes of Swindon and Reading. A lovely new track which will be made into a modern stadium in the near future. All the equipment needed is currently in storage and will be delivered soon. Owner: Clarke Osbourne. Promoter: Terry Russell. Guaranteed success story.

If he's exemplary with fans then that's good enough for me.

Me too. When my son was little he loved Troy Batchelor, and always got a good response when shouting "TROY!!!" at him.

It was more to do with whether or not I decided to go rather than re-admission. I normally make a decision on the day, so was more bothered about wanting to go but finding it was sold out. If capacity is now 3500 then that shouldn't be an issue. I hope the Swindon team is a proper representative team rather than Jason Doyle and a bunch of random others. There's still plenty riding here to use, but team strengths may be an issue.

Might be a good evening's entertaiment if Swindon put a proper Swindon side together. It would be good to see the 2019 side again, but Oxford would have no chance riding against them so maybe they will strengthen up with guests? Or will it just be a Swindon "select". Swindon team could, perhaps be: Doyle, Ellis, Musielak, Batchelor, Bellego, Nielsen, Rowe? Or could they even get Jensen over? The only problem is, with Oxford's limited capacity I'll have to decide in advance rather than wait and see what the weather is like!

So, is Wilbur Hancock Swedish?