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Big Al

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Everything posted by Big Al

  1. Announcing Simon Wozniak joining the side on his previous CMA wouldn't be a bad piece of news!
  2. Big Al

    Leicester vs Belle Vue 19/4/23

    They need to get on with it tonight. Northeast wind blowing cold and some rain around from 8.
  3. Early days maybe but is pressure increasing on Jake Allen who, although able to pull a surprise win later in the match, needs to be a "banker" for a win in heat 2 at home? Not being helped by Max Fricke taking time to get the hang of BP (he needs to have a chat with Emil S?) but Lions ideally need Sedgmen to be at 6. Allen hasnt been helped by lack of action in Champ so far or in other meetings whereas Sedgmen has at least been riding a bit more. Hopefully over the next few weeks that situation will change and he can start getting wins in heat 2.
  4. More like the ground hasn't dried out enough from autumn and winter yet, so it's softer at this time of year anyway, but this year it's worse than usual. Plus, at present the temperature drops steeply once the sun has gone and that produces dangerous track surfaces as moisture rises to the surface - like it was at Swindon a few years ago when Martin Vaculik had his early season crash. Once the ground is generally more dry as the weather (we hope) warms, rainfall should be less of a problem unless it's torrential of course.
  5. Due to be a item on East Midlands Today this evening. Fingers crossed a big football story doesn't break and wipe it out (When I say "big football story" I include something like Notts County signing some unknown Peruvian)
  6. They may as well call it off now. Wet n damp set in and I don't think any amount of drainage improvements will make much difference.
  7. Big Al

    Ipswich 2023

    On the one hand, prior to the invasion of Ukraine there were thousands of young Russians working in IT and finance jobs for non-Russian companies in the UK, a large proportion of them in and around London. Not multiple property-owning super-rich or agents of the Russian state. I presume they are still here, unless having made their own decision to leave. Then you have the head of the IOC apparently absurdly suggesting that Russian competitors could be allowed to compete as neutrals at the Paris olympic games in 2024, seemingly not realising that in a great many cases, those competitors would still be supported and even employed by the Russian state. Emil S seems to be an instance falling in the middle. I presume he still retains a Russian passport along with his Polish one. He has represented Russia relatively recently, and has not seemingly renounced his Russian-ness. But I'd doubt if he is currently funded or supported by the Russian state. Where does he keep his money? Does he have any private backing from Russian companies or Russia-domiciled individuals? Where did he live and get income from during 2022? Surely these kind of things would need to be clarified before clearance could be given - or maybe they already have been?
  8. Buster Chapman has his critics and might not have much "PR" ability but he seems to have the best interests of speedway in his DNA so will be playing his part in trying to make sure this all goes well. I remember him stepping in to buy Leicester on a short term basis which enabled the club to be taken over by the Bates family and I doubt if he made a profit on that, more likely it cost him by clearing some of the debts accrued.
  9. Maybe it was Mountain's CL average that swayed Stewart Dickson's mind in making his decision. Hopefully Connor will take up the challenge, put a point or two on his CL average, and make himself into a rider who any PL club would like to include in their team. The decision also may have taken account of the potential to win heats 2 and 8 on a regular basis, especially at home. Again, SD may have concluded that Allen or Sedgemen are more likely to provide race wins in these heats than Mountain.
  10. Big Al

    Sheffield Tigers 2023

    Strong enough to carry Dan Gilkes if necessary for a while during his comeback after his bad injuries.
  11. So maybe he has retired?
  12. Choosing Allen is going to be a key decision
  13. Big Al

    Plymouth Gladiators 2023

    He perhaps ought to hang his riding boots up now because his downwards trajectory is only getting steeper. Think he might also have taken quite a few concussions, the risk of long term harm is going to increase sharply now, if he has more
  14. Big Al

    Plymouth Gladiators 2023

    It's almost as bad as another word which has crept into sporting boll**cks-speak, the "Marquee signing". Strange, I've always thought a marquee is a large tent. "We've signed a large tent".....
  15. Big Al

    Plymouth Gladiators 2023

    What does "out and out" actually mean? Sounds like a bulls**t expression, used by people but with no clear meaning. A rider's either a number one or not. Defined by his CMA
  16. Got the feeling Nick Morris had majority of his race wins for the Lions during the first half of matches, especially away and particularly on the occasions the wheels came off from heat 8 onwards. Also I don't have stats, but there might have been a tendency to go with Howarth and Worrall in heat 15.
  17. Always a big disappointment when a rider starts with an unexpected win but then can't repeat the performance or runs a load of last places. We know there are reasons for it, but all the same it's a downer!!
  18. Phil Herne and Finn Jensen from the early 1980's come easily to mind.
  19. Big Al

    Swindon Robins 2020

    Might be mistaken but the tractor at Sheffield looks very much like the one at Blackbird Road in the 1970's and 1980's. Built to last, those Fergusons.
  20. Could Kyle Howarth be fitted into the side? Or maybe Castagna back?
  21. I still hold out hope that Wozniak will return, but the chances must be very small now
  22. The team struggled and it just went further downhill after Doyle realised he needed to get out. Just a very poor "product" which people walked away from.
  23. Last time it wasn't "they", it was "he" (sorry - haven't been trained in woke-speak!), and he did it too soon, was generally shafted by the other clubs, made too many enemies, and made outrageously bogus claims about the "product". All rounded-off by a verbal assault on a referee. Hopefully this time those mistakes and pitfalls will be avoided. Buying better track equipment and sorting out the drains and lights sounds like a good start, as does signing a top rider to start.
  24. Get a few taller Poles in. The bloke who delivered my DPD parcel today will do for starters - well over 6 foot
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