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Although it was not ideal due to fixture clashes one of Leicesters options of replacements has gone now with Josh Grazonick joining Belle Vue to replace Simon Stead. The search continues for the replacements

As long as he is still in the team Bjarne is due to be at Leicester on Saturday against Coventry. Based on his Danish final result last season he is a seeded rider straight to the final but Mikkelson and Anderson are both in the qualifier and Auty is riding for Scunthorpe. But Leicester have first call on S Lambert and Coventry on King I fully expect Rory Schlein to be guesting for somebody

LionKing - Walasek has not been signed on a short term deal and am well informed that he was actually really enjoying riding in the UK again as he is getting paid on time. The plan up until his injury was to do the whole season whether he changes his mind only the rider can decide that anyway he is unlikely to be back until June probably after the WTC. In my mind there is no doubt that at least one team change has got to be made but the big question is who realistically who wants to come and do UK racing ? You can rule out pretty much all the GP riders at present maybe later in the year if form drops or don't get paid in Poland or Sweden. You can look at Bridger but is a gamble and needs bikes,Van,Mechanic,driver and knows Leicester are quite desperate so can name his price whithin reason. None of the young Polish hotshots want UK and especially Sat night racing. The club during the winter openly said they wanted to avoid double up riders and have done they could look at this option with somebody like Josh Grazoneck,Brady Kurtz but as the premier league fixtures are only just starting there would be no end of clashes with home and away matches. It made me laugh last night walking back to the car fans saying bring in Magnus or Lasse they are not the answers to the problem and the issue is very difficult to resolve at present.

I heard that Gino was going to have a practice at Leicester today and see how he feels. I know he has been in Leicester today helping the club promote the sport with his bikes and dressed in his Kevlars at Leicester City's football match

Tocha- I would not be surprised if the Leicester vs Lakeside is moved to Mon 27th July for Sky coverage. Obviously depending how next weeks match goes

It makes me laugh about these comments regarding Norrie he is straight talking and you know exactly where you stand with him. All riders know exactly where they stand with him and that is the respect he has got. There is none of what other managers do praise a rider in the program or press then sack them 24hrs later if Norrie is unhappy he will tell you about it. I like the way as well that he always talks to the fans and never shys away from awkward questions

Speedy69 I have a feeling that you could be right about Pederson not being in the UK much longer and can see him withdrawing his services. Although not really for this thread I can see a return to British speedway of s controversial rider for Leicester

Oh dear that latest article about Mr Hemsley now being in the pits trying to advise riders is only going to end in trouble and unhappy riders. I remember the first season it was a disaster and it got to the stage where riders were saying if he is in the pits I am not riding hence why they brought in Jason Attwood. He used to try and tell riders on the lines to ride and how to do cutbacks like he was riding his cycling bike I really cannot see Doyley and Norrie being happy with that or even listening to him personally I think it's a wrong move by the club but shall have to see how it works.

I am not 100% sure about Pederson but if you make a quick decision who else is there out there to replace him we struggled enough to get him and Walasek, So unless there is another rider who has changed his mind about UK racing it may be a case of waiting and hope for Bjarne to turn it around and that he doesn't decide to quit the EL. Lambert is another story as others have said he has been poor in every match and was dropped from PL side as not good enough. The question is who on the draft list is best to replace him this year ? In my view the changes need to happen soon as if we are not careful come next Mon we could have done 4 EL matches with no points

The land to the right as you walk up to the stadium could easily be used for car parking and I believe was looked into last year. All it needs is to remove grass and Tarmac it which I'm sure Jordan Road surfacing could do at a good rate for the club. The biggest problem is if the club do that they then have to pay business tax on the land used and even if you charged £1.50 for car parking it would not cover the extra expense and the costs of building it. I know that even in the summer the club have strict policy of not letting any fans or riders park on the grass as the council could see this and say they are using the land for parking. With regards to the rest of the land when I last asked it was very difficult to use can only be used for leisure facilities so the club could not let the land for industrial units. One possibility in the future would be if Beaumont shopping centre wanted to expand that they knock down the library and leisure centre which is very dated now and the council could build new near the Speedway

I understand that Hans was very fair and calm about the situation he was already over here when it happened and there was nothing he do about it over here so did P&P then gone home to his family this morning

Well I am glad that most fans are happy with the last signing as I have said before I think he adds some strength to the top 5 I understand that he had assured the club that he is fully committed to UK racing this season hence him coming over this week for extensive practice with Wozniak and then going back to his tuner to get the correct engines setup for Leicester

I would be interested to know Lionking who you consider to be realistic options for Leicester this for this team place. It's very difficult to get many riders to do the UK now and then when you add in the requirement of Sat night racing with the need to go Poland on a Sunday. Finally this year we have had the visa problems and the clubs view on avoiding doubling up riders.

LionKing- The thing is yet again you have kind of released the news early before the club have done the press release. I could have put the name and all the details on here last Saturday but thought will leave it up to club to do and I am sure they will be impressed to see your comment that you find the last signing disapointing even more reason for him to prove you wrong.

Lionking- As I have said before the rider in question whom many will know who It is by your comments will add some strength away from home on the smaller tracks.

It's funny how people are reading too much into my comments I was referring more in general to signing riders this winter. The situation at Poole has complicated other clubs team building plans as rightly or wrongly Poole have not been keen to allow other clubs to speak to their assets and riders who rode for them last season until they knew what was happening with their own team. I hear it wasn't just assets as well as they have been speaking to a variety of riders and dangling the carrot of a possible team place As Matt Ford has said previously he and Middlo have had 2 or 3 different teams in mind but i understand have finally settled on their team.

Tocha- Leicester have their final rider confirmed already they are just waiting on getting the paperwork approved with BSPA and then they can announce it. It has become more complicated though with the Poole situation and visas this year

They were corporate customers but last season there was group of about 20 Asians that came a couple of times and used the executive box and seemed to have a good night so much so some of them went to the track shop to buy replica raceshirts and baseball caps.

Ben Barker would have been a good signing for Leicester and am sure the fans woukd have took to him after a couple of meetings. However his premier league home track is fellow Saturday track Berwick and also Norrie wanted to avoid double up riders if at all possible. It will all become clear shortly just awaiting the signed paperwork to be completed and no SCB Wozniak is staying in fact he has arrived in Leicester today for pre season practice this week and to hopefully find some good setups. I am told by various people he is so keen to come here and race and determined to give it his all

I see Sundstrum is in the UK today so suspect he is here for talks for somebody.

Weather watcher - The rider in question I am sure will raise a few eyebrows when he is announced by the club which I am sure will be done once all the paperwork is completed. He is a shown to be a steady and consistent performer with a smooth style who can beat the best on his day which is ideal in what you need in a 3rd heatleader position. This signing will hopefully give Leicester a bit more strength away from home on some of the smaller tracks like Belle Vue, Wolverhampton, Lakeside,Poole and Coventry. It is at these tracks the Lions struggled last season with no back up for Doyle but this year should be different with additions of Bjarne,Michelson and the new signing so if Wozniak struggles it won't matter so much. Roll on the start of the season and hopefully a nice dry summer I saw a pic on the Internet yesterday of Wozniak with his Leicester bikes all ready and excited for the season

Lionking A good list of riders there but as you say it's not one of them on your list . The good news for Leicester fans is the rider in question has the potential to improve further and has shown that they can ride both the small and big tracks at a high level. I would not like to say who will turn out to be the 3rd heat leader this year it could be any one of the new rider, Mikkel or Wozniak hopefully they can all be fighting for it scoring 8-9 points a meeting

Also maybe Magic may have other options to consider now as well, Which could be a team place for the whole season rather than for 3-4months

BarrowBoy- Unfortunately in sport that is not how it works you only announce your targets and plans until you have them signed sealed and delivered for example you don't hear Leicester Tigers saying we are talking to Dan Carter,Owen Farrell as if it don't happen it just disappoints fans. The situation in Speedway is also different as if the rider is coming from another track like at Leicester you have to wait until they are happy for you to announce the rider as their fans may be expecting them in their team. It has not been helped this winter that Poole have had the Darcy Ward situation so have been keeping riders hanging on and not allowing other clubs to sign assets. along with the Leicester management also wanting to avoid using any double up riders in the 1-5 to prevent fixture clashes which is a good idea to me. Finally there has been riders being indecisive about whether they want UK racing one min they do next they don't and then change their minds again I know of 4 riders that have done that to clubs this year and only 1 has actually ended up signing for a UK club. All in all it has been a challenging winter for team building for all clubs but am sure if this final option turns out how I expect Leicester should have a very strong top end to the team

Don't panic Weather watcher it is all in hand with the deal done and am confident the team will confirmed very soon, There has been some circumstances outside of Leicester not the visas that has delayed the announcement and has meant some other options have had to be considered so that the very best and competitive team rides for Leicester.