Brummie Kev

Happy with both signings, hats off to David and Laurence for making changes as I wasn't sure they would yet to be honest. Thanks to Kyle and Tobias, I wish them both well for the future. Adam Ellis is great signing, I was over the moon when I was told the other day we were signing him. Hes the number 1 we should have signed in the winter but Im glad hes here now, he has a high average but hes worthy of that for sure. You only have to look how good he was for Swindon last night to show what a good signing this is. Its important he gets back up and hopefully it takes the pressure off Ulrich not being at number 1. It was probably between Newman and Morris of who went with Thomsen, Ashley has struggled this season so I hope now it can kick start his season as I definatley think there's more to come from him. Nathan Stoneman is good signing, hes a rider in very good early season form in the NL with 30 points in his first 2 meetings, he fully deserves a chance in the championship. As hes only on a 2 point average I dont really see it as a risk. He will always be along side a strong reserve so at least its not like last season with two really weak reserves. I'm confident he can do well, he rides Perry Barr well when Ive seen him in NL. Overall the side has a much better balance to it, its okay having a strength in depth side but you still need a rider scoring double figure point hauls, that's what we lacked but not now. I'm not expecting playoffs, just a competitive side that can hold its own at home and importantly we can start winning meetings. I much more confident now with these two changes.

Ellis and Stoneman been confirmed. Happy with both signings

There's times when you can put a positive spin on it but honestly last night for me just wasn't acceptable, I was really disappointed. The score after them awful 7 heats was 13-29 and even after abit better next 8 heats we still lost be a margin of 16 points!. Its no positive that we avoided a drubbing and only lost by 16 which is resounding enough. People are totally right to feel annoyed, angry and disappointed after last night but I hope we all keep the coming every week and give the side our full support in the coming meetings. We need a reaction from the team next week against Berwick, better gating and more consistency from some of the riders is needed so we can avoid a night last night again.

What an awful night!. The performance was totally unacceptable , the crowd was pretty woeful and to be honest I was glad to get home. Fair play to Eastbourne it was easy for them but they pretty much all did the job. Good Luck in the semi finals I cant see who we are going to beat home or away with this side, we have too many passengers. Its not just we don't have a number 1, tonight to be fair Ostergaard had a decent meeting anyway but we need more from Kyle Newman and Ashley Morris. Newman tries as ever and he can have a great ride coming from the back to win then 3 awful rides. Morris has been disappointing bar a few meetings, hes a rider I thought was a good signing that could kick on and progress but its anything but at the minute. He maybe needs to ride in the NL to get some confidence. Thomsen is finding it tough, hes had a few meetings now and really we need points from him at home. I dont see his scores dramatically improving when he drops to reserve. So we need changes but I just dont see it happening. Last season I felt there were times when we should have made changes at reserve earlier but none were made.So I worry that when a big decision needs to be made will Mason and Rogers be bold enough to go for it. Then when you look at how many turned up tonight, could we afford to strengthen the side? So Im worried whats going to happen, I just hope the riders that arnt performing can up their games. They are better then what they are showing right now, we NEED to be winning matches at home even if its by 1 point.

I always find its much better to watch weather radar maps on the day rather then weather forcasts in advance, they might aswell predict the lottery numbers as they have a better chance of getting that right. Seems to have dramatically changed again in less than 24 hours, mostly dry in the day now. Only 25/30% chance of showers in evening.

I will be very surprised if Sheffield dont hit 60 to be honest, hope im wrong and we keep them honest but theres a sizeable gulf between the two sides. Do we have Castagna for this as hes riding for Italy in the Speedway of Nations this weekend?

I dont blame the management at all for calling this off. Leicester are now our local rivals, their a club we have not raced against since they returned and also there's the offer of 10 pound admission for Leicester season ticket holders. We need as many people as possible to come through the turnstiles to make the move up work, so I can understand why it was called off ifs there's any doubt at all , small or big. It was one of them days where there maybe wasn't a lot rain in one place and in others it was torrential with flooding which was the case for me driving through Cheshire this afternoon. Its hard to forecast, thats the joy of April showers for you!

I read in the Birmingham Mail last year that the Bordesley Green area where Birmingham Wheels is is earmarked for industrial redevelopment. They only have a short term rolling lease on the site so from what I read ,so if a developer comes in,the council could sell the land off. So im not sure what their short term future is like although it seems the council will help them find alternate land, if you believe them I agree with Brian that Speedway is safe in the short/ medium term at least at PB but you never know what will happen long term. Its good to see Tony had a commitment from the Council that they would find an alternative venue for speedway if redevelpment was to happen. Hopefully its legally binding rarther than just a pledge from the Council. In this day and age promises from politicians count for very little.

I dont think so at all, its still early days for a change and tbh hes had good races in both home matches. Last night we needed more from him but he had a great race with Summers and beat him plus he had a decent meeting against Wolves two weeks ago. So he deserves more of a chance before the axe is wielded but even then im not sure they would anyway.

Confirmed tonight that Zach and James are riding for the Brummies at Eastbourne on Good Friday. Championship has priority over Premiership unless its a Monday or Thursday.

Credit to Somerset on the win, fully deserved and i just knew they would hit us in Heats 13 and 15 just like every team will do this season. Covatti was on another level, could have had another 5 rides and not be beat. The Brummies were just too inconsistant, they would have one good ride, followed by a poor one and so on. That was true of every rider apart from Paco Castagna who was superb, its a shame he wasn't utilised more. He should have replaced Thomson in Heat 10 dont know why he wasn't or put in Heat 8. We are in with a shout in matches but at the same time its hard to see when we are to win unless we are 10 points up going into Heat 13. Hopefully we can improve in the coming weeks.

Think it will be close, we could win this but I think the decisive heats will be Heats 13 and 15 where Somerset can can put Schlein/Harris in.

Really glad Paco has started well, he will be a fan favourite for sure

I completely agree, for me the number 1 priority is long term stability of the club especially after what happened in 2014. We are newcomers to the league, you dont run before you can walk and we arnt in the same position as some of the more established teams with more resources. The management have done their best bearing in mind how late they decided. In reality we are 1 rider away in my opinion from having a decent side, its just we lack a number 1, the rest is okay. I do like Ulrich but like everyone has said hes not a number 1 although to give him credit he looked better last night at Somerset.

Absolutely, I made the trip down last night and to be honest I was really pleased driving back up the M5. I never thought we would keep them so close, especially with the top 3 they have. Its gonna be tough everywhere we go but as long as they give it a go and keep the score respectable thats all we can ask. Ashley Morris rode so well last night, Zach again having a solid meeting to, thats a good pairing at 3 and 4. Ulrich was more on the pace, Castagna won two races again to prove the haters wrong and Shanes scored his average. Good night all round

If not Charles Wright then who else is out there that could do a decent job at number 1?

He hasnt signed for anyone in the championship yet. A good option imo.

Not for me now sadly, we need a number 1 so the last two should be a 3pt reserve and someone around 7.5.

I'm not so sure because a week ago David Mason said the team was all signed up, and about the same time Davey put a tweet out saying hes looking for teams for next year in the CL and NL.

Kyle Newman to Birmingham, average is 5.83.

Really pleased Kyle Newman is back at Birmingham, I was disappointed he couldn't return in 2011. Hes the type of rider you pay your admission money to watch, Perry Barr is a track suited to his style and hes on a decent average. Good signing all round.

Ashley Morris is a really good signing, a solid second string who has had a good few seasons up on Tyneside, so its easy to see why alot of Newcastle fans wanted him back. He averaged 6+ at home last year and for me hes more than capable of putting a points on his 5.44 average esp now the points limit has been reduced. David Mason said in the double page feature in the Speedway Star that all the team has been signed up and we be announced before christmas.

Ashley Morris to Birmingham

Ashley Morris is the next rider signed

Would love to see Ben Barker back, one of my favourite riders to have rode for us. You pay your money to watch riders like him so I hope hes announced tomorrow or in the coming weeks. It would be great to have some of the riders that rode us last year, Tom Bacon has gotta be nailed on as hes been fantastic in his time at the Brummies. I would have Shanesy back aslong as he is available for most of the meetings, felt he missed too many meetings last year with his grasstrack and longtrack commitments. I would give Mitchell Davey a consideration, not sure what average he would come in on.