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If the rumours at Leicester are correct it may well be both of them plus Ellis to bring in Holder,Mountain and 3pt rider. With Leicester getting Howarth and Kerr I agree that’s not going to be enough it needs a more high hitter who is going to get 10+ away from home with Cardiff this week a perfect opportunity for a rider to leave some kit over here but nobody wants to do it now Plus of course we need a miracle to get points away at BV, Peterborough and Wolves

Just got home after accident closing the motorway but Leicester just do not have enough current top end support for Max Fricke when it comes to racing the opposing 1&5 we come unstuck especially in heat 13 & 15 The strength in depth option has not worked and now all the GP stars that wanted to do UK have signed elsewhere so anyone incoming is likely to riders released by other clubs as they strengthen for the Play Offs . Unfortunately after tonight I feel this may have been one home loss too many to get into the Play Offs and Fan support is going to drop now so Monday will most likely be the last Lions Premiership meeting at home

I think the inclusion of Ryan Douglas and Jason Edwards for Sheffield at Leicester shows that both clubs need to beat each other. They could have just gone for RR and used Ashton Boughen as he will already be there for the Cubs match

Unfortunately for Leicester the play offs do seem to be slipping away from them with 0 points from the last 4 meetings then a tough meeting Saturday which could easily go Sheffields way then another tough day Monday away at BV at lunch then home to Kings Lynn at night, then away trips to a strengthened up Peterborough and Wolverhampton. On paper based on current form it’s hard to see where the league points are going to come from other than possibly against Kings Lynn who will be tough themselves depending on guests

As others have alluded we don’t know the final fee but it is substantial amount for a 16yr olds signature and Oxford have done well. Previous to this all indications were that Ashton was not swayed by money as family already invested significantly in his Speedway career paying for top equipment, personal 1-1 sessions with Speedway legends and current GP riders maybe they feel now is the time to try and get some return on that investment With regards to Poland I have been told that Wrocław are keen to strengthen their U24 team up and have dangled the same carrot that was given to Dan Bewley sign for us get Unlimited practice and help with equipment with the chance to ride ExtraLiga if he beats their juniors if not he will be loaned out to a lower league team

The exact reason why Leicester/Sheffield and Poole didn’t sign him as always the risk could pay that money won’t ride enough meetings to be an asset then decides he wants to go elsewhere. There is already signs he may be at Wrocław next season in both U24 and ExtraLiga which will rule out Championship anyway

So I understand a number of fans are having their tickets changed for Cardiff as sections of the stadium are to be closed off and that WBD are changing some of the their camera positions so to show the more populated areas. I can only assume ticket sales are very poor i wonder how many of the Blue light seats will be used I think it will depend on the weather if it’s a nice day people will go if not will simply not bother as not losing any money well £2.50 . I have spoken to a cameraman doing the event and has been told he can have free tickets for his wife and kids if he wants. Even hotel prices have started to drop again as hotels getting worried that they may have empty rooms, Holiday Inn by stadium is normally full months in advance but they have rooms now . My estimate is that they have only sold around 7,500 seats will be interesting to see the final crowd with Blue Light freebies and riders/sponsors/broadcasters getting unlimited tickets now

I have a feeling that Ashton may sign for a Premiership club as an asset then be loaned to a CL team for the rest of the season in a similar way that James Pearson is a Belle Vue asset. There was a lot of talk back in July that Ashton was Birmingham bound this year however after some recent performances the last I heard it was turning into a bit of bidding war on who was prepared to offer the best deal. At the start of the season money was not the main objective for him and his family it was what could help further his career more long term hence joining Leicester with free practice when you want and a winning team so pressure is off to develop at own pace . For 2024 I have heard he is going to Wrocław for U24 and possibly 1st Team so Championship may be more limited if not available Tues,Fri and Sun plus Wednesday if he returns to Slangerup in Denmark

Kacper Pludra is the name that I have heard he rides with Tarasenko and Fricke in Poland and was offered to Leicester but they decided against signing him

Like most fans it is a rather disappointing with the final proposed lineup. As much as I would like it to be a Lions win on Thursday I have a feeling it could be a Belle Vue vs Sheffield final, If there is a bit of grip round the outside then I will go with a Belle Vue win

I was told that SCB were not able to ban Ashton as he is deemed to be a minor as only 15. If I recall something similar happened at British Youth Ace Pijiper and Max James couldn’t be banned but their fathers were given fines

If what I heard at Leicester last night is correct Birmingham are making wholesale team changes and Nigel Tolley is backing the club and Stewart Dickson even more with the play offs a possibility.

I think you will find that communication through the twins father Darren is the family’s preferred method as the same happened to Joe at Scunthorpe Rob Godfrey let Darren know that they were making team changes .

Dan T does seem to have struggled a bit more at home than I expected maybe the track is too smooth now and the advantage he had with track knowledge has gone. I also don’t think he has bonded with the other team members that well, He was very much on his own at Peterborough and Ipswich. He also didn’t come to the Ipswich meeting at home but did go to a Cubs meeting. The slight concern I have with Kemp is being able to maintain the form and also as others have said he has brought his Polish bikes over but what happens at the end of this month when he takes theM back

I must say Basso didn’t look very injured to me when seen carrying his kitbag out of the pits and then signed a young fan’s picture. Not saying he didn’t get hit but think a bit of ice spray could fix it

Based upon what was said at Leicester on Monday I have a feeling that Dan Thompson could be coming to Scunthorpe as he said he had signed for a Championship club but had got to wait to make his debut which fits in with the 28day ruling.

Artem was coming to Leicester and the deal was agreed however he had a change of opinion when his nephew Tarasenko decided that he wanted to ride in the UK so both will now share a workshop and mechanic here in the UK. So good news for Kings Lynn and Peterborough, With Leicester considering other options but depending on results May stick with what they have got.

Just got home and watched a few heats and unfortunately I have to say professionally that was a lazy and poor production by Eurosport and their production team I expect better in future meetings. I knew as soon as I got into the stadium at 6:45 I knew that they had got a few things wrong. I cannot understand why they had no cameras on bend 3 or 4 and the camera on the home straight was too far back from the track along with being too low so the start gate gantry kept getting in the way. Need to be just above the refs box or further forward. I actually thought the head on angle was good and that personally loved the lower camera on bend 2 doing the Slo Mo that allowed some good shots. In essence there was only 3 cameras for the racing along with the forward/backward camera just pass the start line which is not enough. I know they do not have the budget of Sky or BT but the minimum should be head on, Main straight, bend 3 or 4 then at least one slo mo plus couple of wireless cameras for pit and start line shots. I liked the new push off area and the after race analysis from Scott that to me worked well. Kelvin was what you expect and have a feeling it was the amount of meetings taking place tonight was why he was alone with only BV riders available to commentate. David Rowe was at Leicester as I saw him so was the wolves inserts from the screen Hopefully things will improve and that more cameras can be added to the production for future meetings so that it looks more professional production.

Would make sense to ride against Leicester but have a feeling rider availability may be an issue

If it all comes together then I hope Leicester fans will support this change and should make the Lions a more attractive team for away matches

Phil - I think you will be glad that you raced Leicester today rather than in a couple of weeks time. 2023 I believe is going to be the most competitive season yet

No all that has had happened is that Max’s Polish club (Same one as Nicki P) have raised concerns about his start to the season in both Poland and the UK If he goes and wins the GP in Croatia or scores a maximum at Krosno on Sunday then all will be forgotten

But Polish Club are putting pressure on rider as not meeting their expectations in both Poland and the UK

I wonder what Kings Lynn are going to do at Leicester on Thursday with no KK who is riding in Poland and now no Josh Pickering ? Combined with Sheffield vs Peterborough so Tom Brennan or Blodorn looks like best option for reserve and Ryan Douglas for KK

Unless things have changed since Saturday my understanding is that Peterborough plan to resubmit their team on Tuesday morning to be effective from the meeting at Leicester on Thursday. Plans were in place for equipment to be driven over to UK from Poland Sunday However I now read on here that Peterborough do not have any visa sponsorship licenses so this may have all changed over the weekend. I see that some people have been questioning why GRU in Poland have not been tough on Max Fricke as well as Nicki, Simple answer is they know they can’t as the PZM do not have the same agreement with MA that they do with DMU with regards to start permissions . Also Max likes to live in the UK with his girlfriend so a condition of his entry to stay in UK is his working visa so needs to be riding here to live here