Big Al

Under this scheme, is there any protection given to the riders against being "dropped" by their club? Especially if a rider not currently within the scheme substantially improves his form/average. I'm only using this as an example because the circumstances were very different - but last season at Leicester the reserves positions became something of a revolving door situation as the club strived (unsuccessfully) to improve the number of points being scored from those positions.

I personally couldn't give a monkeys about the teams or if GB is good enough, the cause is far more important on this occasion and it is a very worthwhile one. But hopefully the RoW team won't be too strong and it will be a close match, but as i said i think that's a secondary issue, just on this particular occasion.

Whoever designed that thing had clearly been on too much of the stuff

Simon Stead - good that the final place is taken by a UK based rider and a good guy; even though he's probably worked hard on his fitness this winter, could still need a month or two to get back into things properly. Lions (and Tigers) might need to have some patience. Norrie Allan - does he have any experience with teams or has it mainly been with individual riders ? (speedway disappeared off my radar for about 20 years!). Is he more likely to be forthright with DH (and be listened-to), or to speak with forked tongue? His comment about avoiding injuries was very spot-on, with Leicester's restricted scope to sign replacements in mind. Two things still awaited - confirmation of John Doe's visa, and the new race formula plus rules for replacing riders. You two aren't married to each other are you by any chance?

Spot on! Probability is associated with random-ness. Success rate (in this case anyway) includes the need to meet criteria. I will change my word "chance" to "rate of success". Many thanks and hope this is now finished and we can all go any have a good drink!

Well I suppose you can't legislate for the possibility of someone making a mess of the application itself and having it rejected before even being considered - which probably accounts for a fair number of rejections.

90% ?? The figures provided by UKBA on success rates of applications for the most recent 12-month period for which they have statistics, shows over 36,000 tier 5 applications were made, and just over 8,000 of them were successful. Of course this covers the whole tier 5 spectrum of worker categories, and it could be that the sportsperson applications have had a higher success rate than the others but I'd be surprised if if it were 90%. I do think that Doyle's application, however, could have a better chance of success than average. And who knows what went on at the reported recent meeting between BSPA and UKBA which although was meant to have been general discussions about avoiding future problems, might just have also included some attention to present problems??

oops - forgot to add a ......didn't realise we had visitors. Naughty step for Al Seriously though, all the talk about what Doyle's going to do etc - he aint got the visa yet. Tier 5 applications only have less than a 1 in 4 chance of being accepted. And as yet no sign of rider # 5 although that's of course due to the Doyle situation. So any predictions are still a bit premature I guess till its all finalised. Except that Poole are in the playoffs

Jason Doyle, if.......................

Would only help until the first green sheets start to apply, then all Lions riders will be going off 15mtrs

Also nailed-on for EL playoffs, so should be a bit more earnings there - unlike Swindon who have noo chance

Indeed!

Just woken from a long sleep?

Good news. But the bit about DH "championing Jason's cause" and "liasing with the UKBA and BSPA" sounds a bit in contradiction to the "leaving it in the hands of Somerset to resolve - not our problem" slant of his reported quote in Speedway Star a week or so ago!

Leave it in the capable hands of Keith Vaz to fix that one

Presumably Speedway Star is where you'll find anything more and even then whatever "news" is released will be carefully limited.

Are we bovvered??

Let's hope they all think its worthwhile to their businesses. I think McRaker may have been doing a bit of stirring!

Having a tie-up with Spearmint Rhino could be the way? Discounts for both venues and pep-up the start-line activities to begin wwith.

He'll also have to do what he's told, ditto reason

Flagrag - who sounds like someone very "in the know" said a while ago on here that MK signed for a Polish team, as well as having Swedish commitments, and won't be fitting UK into his plans for 2014

The potential clashes with EL/PL doubling up do seem horrible, dont they? Particularly as you say with Leicester's race nights. Someone on here said a while ago that Doyle would miss 9 (maybe more?) matches. Leicester is also not Bjerre's kind of track - he may have got away somwhat with his poor gating at PL level, but don't think he'd find things very easy at Leicester in EL. Nemo's name keeps popping into my head for some reason - but there is rumour he could be linked with the vacancy at Plymouth - however i think with Nemo Leicester would have first dibs on his services in the event of clashes.

Phil Morris seems to be a man with a strong will and can motivate riders including kicking backsides when necessary. He probably also wouldnt take any s**t or interference from DH. Would DH appoint such a person??

I guess my point is, that this sorry episode should prompt all of the BSPA's "membership" to demand answers about how their governing body (which I think is formed from elected representatives of its membership plus appointed officers, but I am open to correction) created the situation, and what will be done to ensure something like it never happens again. Maybe DH was working on the basis that Glyn would continue as TM, but when Glyn decided not to, and in order to not cause any delay in getting on and negotiating with riders by spending time hiring a new TM, DH decided at that time to concentrate on signing riders rather than on seeking a new TM.

Seems it was caused by the wrong advice given to Somerset by the BSPA, of which Swindon is a member Blimey! Bit sensitive arn't we? Take no notice of Jenga - he pops up on here now and then when things get boring up in Cumbria.