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Leicester Lions 2021

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Obviously a long way to go but I would stick with the present team at the moment. I think the Thompsons are doing ok, from what I saw on Sunday they were on the pace but could do with getting out of the gate more quickly. I heard or read that Nick Morris and Ryan Douglas were going to help them with that so that should be beneficial.  Agree Josh Bates is a concern, but I'm not sure where we would get replacements from to score 6/7 points a meeting. I can't see Polish riders being allowed to ride in the Championship - are there any in British speedway at the moment? The problem with bringing in  promising Scandinavian riders not based in the UK, apart from  travel/quarantine  issues is Brexit. They would need a visa. 

At the moment Glasgow look the strongest team and Edinburgh on Friday will be a good test, but I think we are strong enough to  make the playoffs. 

 

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7 hours ago, Lionspride said:

So its quite clear changes are needed at Leicester if we want to compete for the play offs .

Maybe an unpopular opinion but Dan & Joe have not been the same this season , last season they dominated in the NDL but this season they are nowhere near that, in the past around BP they would wipe the floor with the over rated Flint & Bickley but not last sunday.   

Josh Bates has to go , he is well off the pace . Not making starts & there is no sign of improvement .

The options are so limited though. The only people I can see out there are Nicolas Porsing or the return of baby Bjerre . 

If we look at making 2 changes (Bates & Proctor) then do we go with someone like Krystian Pieszczek & then a 5 point rider at no 2 like Young Scandinavian with room for improvement?

I think it would be harsh to sack Proctor though because for Leicester he has done well in 2 of the 3 lions meetings. 6+1 & 5+2 . Thats what you expect from the number 2 berth. What he does for Kings Lynn where he has been poor shouldn’t effect his spot at Leicester .

Would love to hear fellow Lions fans thoughts on the team situation.

Dan & Joe have not been the same this season......

You are quite right. They have both improved dramatically.

Looking at the NL (which is the only comparison you can make 2019/2021) Dan has inceased his average from 5.50 to 10.00 (+81.82%) and Joe has increased from 6.48 to 8.00 (+23.46%).  This is based on the new averages from next Sunday. I would say they are outperforming all expectations (Well maybe with the exception of yours) . But why let the facts stand in the way of a social media post. :angry:

Edited by W9 Lion
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4 hours ago, Bandits4eva said:

Okay..... *take a deep breath*
 

first of all... I’m not a Leicester fan.. my name clearly states that... but I’ve got a problem with this part of your post... 

You talk about the Thompson twins and how they dominated in their last season racing... they’re young laddies who have worked their way up to heatleader status in NDL and have taken a massive jump into championship level... with the top 5 you have, they should be 2 that are exempt from criticism. 
 

Now... “the overrated Flint”... are you having a laugh... that laddy has worked his way up and deserves every bit of praise that he is receiving and has rightfully earned the chance to ride in Poland for Rybnik. You need to remember that this is only his 2nd full season at championship level. He’s probably had to work harder than most due to his locality... Berwick now has the facilities for the youngsters in the north but Leon has had to travel many thousands of miles over his short years in this sport... he’s worked hard to build up sponsors... he’s completely changed the way he trained and his overall fitness level is second to none... he’s got a great team behind him and is quite frankly the brightest prospect to come from North Northumberland for quite some time! So quite frankly, “the overrated Flint” is quite an insult to what that lad has actually achieved! :angry:

I did all four meetings over the weekend. And the rider of the weekend was not Ryan Douglas who looked like he could have raced another 100 heats at Berwick and still not be beaten, or Nick Morris who could be the new King of BP but Leon Flint. 

I was also at the British Youth training day at Leicester last month and his attitude, combined with putting into action what he was told to do really impressed me. Now granted, I have never thrown a leg over a speedway bike, but I do spend alot of time shouting at people that do.

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9 hours ago, Lionspride said:

So its quite clear changes are needed at Leicester if we want to compete for the play offs .

Maybe an unpopular opinion but Dan & Joe have not been the same this season , last season they dominated in the NDL but this season they are nowhere near that, in the past around BP they would wipe the floor with the over rated Flint & Bickley but not last sunday.   

Josh Bates has to go , he is well off the pace . Not making starts & there is no sign of improvement .

The options are so limited though. The only people I can see out there are Nicolas Porsing or the return of baby Bjerre . 

If we look at making 2 changes (Bates & Proctor) then do we go with someone like Krystian Pieszczek & then a 5 point rider at no 2 like Young Scandinavian with room for improvement?

I think it would be harsh to sack Proctor though because for Leicester he has done well in 2 of the 3 lions meetings. 6+1 & 5+2 . Thats what you expect from the number 2 berth. What he does for Kings Lynn where he has been poor shouldn’t effect his spot at Leicester .

Would love to hear fellow Lions fans thoughts on the team situation.

A good post to start the ball rolling for a few people to get things off their chest.

National League aside, Dan & Joe are now competing at a higher level and are punching well above their averages and will surely continue to do so. Any criticism of them is extremely harsh, especially at this stage of the season. The team that Dickson built was based on it doing 'what is says on the tin', and any criticism should focus on the 1 to 5 of the team. So far, that narrows it down to the second strings. Proctor is only going to move in one direction, but if he can maintain his average I think that is all anyone can expect of him. No need to press the eject button there (for now). Bates is the big concern, as other posters have highlighted. Being brave and fearless is important for a rider, but so is being responsible. For some time now he has been a danger to himself and other riders. So when he has to withdraw from a meeting and miss the next one, where does that leave his team? Using R/R is a strain on the Lions since only Proctor and the twins can cover. Going back to Dan & Joe, that's not fair. Guests are an option but the availability of alternatives is more limited than ever. Let's not forget that we are talking about the current Lions track record holder here though! Surely someone can educate (okay, could be a big task) him to ride with his head not his throttle. (Back to Dan & Joe again, sorry to say but they already seem to be smarter than Josh in this department). Josh might be relying on his management connections but I'm sure that Dickson won't tolerate that for too long.

Always end on a positive though, the top three are flying!

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Is Dakota Ballantyne eligible to get a visa?

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7 hours ago, Bandits4eva said:

Okay..... *take a deep breath*
 

first of all... I’m not a Leicester fan.. my name clearly states that... but I’ve got a problem with this part of your post... 

You talk about the Thompson twins and how they dominated in their last season racing... they’re young laddies who have worked their way up to heatleader status in NDL and have taken a massive jump into championship level... with the top 5 you have, they should be 2 that are exempt from criticism. 
 

Now... “the overrated Flint”... are you having a laugh... that laddy has worked his way up and deserves every bit of praise that he is receiving and has rightfully earned the chance to ride in Poland for Rybnik. You need to remember that this is only his 2nd full season at championship level. He’s probably had to work harder than most due to his locality... Berwick now has the facilities for the youngsters in the north but Leon has had to travel many thousands of miles over his short years in this sport... he’s worked hard to build up sponsors... he’s completely changed the way he trained and his overall fitness level is second to none... he’s got a great team behind him and is quite frankly the brightest prospect to come from North Northumberland for quite some time! So quite frankly, “the overrated Flint” is quite an insult to what that lad has actually achieved! :angry:

Overrated Flint got 11+2 tonight 

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20 hours ago, False dawn said:

But the long term aim is to help develop them into top class riders and the Leicester management have taken this brave decision on that basis.

Let's not kid ourselves, if their averages don't fit they'll be farmed out elsewhere. Look at Connor Mountain who had an excellent season for Leicester, showed great promise, was signed with great fanfare and then binned off when his average didn't fit.

I've only seen the twins at Scunny so far this year and I was well impressed with them!

To be chopping and changing in this season of all seasons, with rider availability, imo is, as King's Lynn are proving, complete madness

Edited by iainb

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37 minutes ago, iainb said:

Let's not kid ourselves, if their averages don't fit they'll be farmed out elsewhere. Look at Connor Mountain who had an excellent season for Leicester, showed great promise, was signed with great fanfare and then binned off when his average didn't fit.

I've only seen the twins at Scunny so far this year and I was well impressed with them!

To be chopping and changing in this season of all seasons, with rider availability, imo is, as King's Lynn are proving, complete madness

Only time i can see the Thompsons moving away from Leicester is because of thier choice to better themselves on other tracks. The club and local sponsors have invested a lot into the two over the years and i do believe they acknowledge that and have a good degree of loyalty. Averages whatever they may be the team will be built around these two for years to come

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On 6/9/2021 at 11:03 AM, Lionspride said:

 

Maybe an unpopular opinion but Dan & Joe have not been the same this season , last season they dominated in the NDL but this season they are nowhere near that, in the past around BP they would wipe the floor with the over rated Flint & Bickley but not last sunday.   

 

Something tells me your going to regret this, now we can either keep coming back to this post every time Leon knocks in another good score or we can sit back and let Leon himself make a bit of a fool of you.:)

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11 minutes ago, screm said:

Something tells me your going to regret this, now we can either keep coming back to this post every time Leon knocks in another good score or we can sit back and let Leon himself make a bit of a fool of you.:)

Can we keep coming back to it please? Its priceless in so many ways.

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1 hour ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Only time i can see the Thompsons moving away from Leicester is because of thier choice to better themselves on other tracks. The club and local sponsors have invested a lot into the two over the years and i do believe they acknowledge that and have a good degree of loyalty. Averages whatever they may be the team will be built around these two for years to come

History, especially since the play offs were introduced, clearly shows there is zero loyalty in British Speedway. Clubs will drop a rider like a hat if their average doesn't fit.

Who, I wonder, was the last rider to actually achieve a genuine testimonial, for actually being with a club for 10 years? Believe it or not it used to happen, these days you get a testimonial if you manage to stay in the sport for 10 years let alone a single club!

Believe me, they will be dropped if their averages don't fit and Leicester are struggling to secure a play off place.

Edited by iainb

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2 minutes ago, iainb said:

Who, I wonder, was the last rider to actually achieve a genuine testimonial, for actually being with a club for 10 years? Believe it or not it used to happen, these days you get a testimonial if you manage to stay in the sport for 10 years let alone a single club

There is one due

https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/133/josh-auty

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1 minute ago, arnieg said:

1! In the whole 3 leagues! Who was the last I wonder?

How many promising youngsters have been lost to the sport over the years because of a lack of loyalty? Countless! Well the chickens have come home to roost this year.

Are the "rising star" positions this year protected?

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