Bowes out for the season  due to a 3-6 month recovery period from a 'bulging disc'!! Pirates have til their next meeting on 15th July (assuming England aren't in the World Cup semi final that day) to source a suitable replacement.

Is there a case for changing the way in which rolling averages work? Currently at Ipswich Tom Brennan is still heading the rolling averages with 7.24 but his actual 2026 average is 6.49 his 7.24 means he has to line up at number 1 but due to his very bad start to the season, possibly due to his leg break in the winter, Musielak, King & Lawson are all above him on 2026 figures. Should team assembly be done to rolling averages and riding position based on actual in year averages? Tom being forced to ride at number 1, even now in July, is not doing him or Ipswich any favours at all.

If one of the Northampton “directors” or whatever he calls himself, knew of Doyle’s availability, he should have been directing him there. I think now it’s pretty clear to everyone that help was initially there from certain people, to make a top league viable and nothing else. Not, to actually help that new club be competitive. 

We must be down to about ten of us rattling around in here now I wonder who the bookies have as the favorite to turn out the lights when the time comes.

Hopefully when Zagar is back ideally for Batch they will win most home meetings he might be getting on but should still be a 6-7 point man in this league which should get them over the line assuming at least one of Lidsey or Klindt fancy it in the remaining home matches

Actually it isn’t. From a fans point of view, absolutely. But I’ll tell you now there’s an awful lot of riders that hate going there. Doyle is one of them! Until now of course.. Doyle has admitted he missed racing here and wanted to come back. If Mark Lemon said to Doyle there’s one vacancy here, at Northampton, and he offered him the same deal he has for riding for Belle Vue, then he’d now be riding for Northampton it’s as simple as that.    Can you imagine the impact the former world champion would have had at a new club trying to establish themselves?? It would have been HUGE for them and their gate receipts. But that didn’t happen did it? Why? You’ve even got supporters now saying they want Northampton to win their home meetings “but not this week” (sorry Phil”) so there’s always going to be self interest across the board from the top to the bottom.    We all want our teams to win of course we do, that’s only natural! But we also need a creditable league so that’s a league worth winning.    Belle Vue are already sure of the play offs, would it really hurt to see Northampton win a home meeting to help with their next home attendance to keep them going rather than see your team extend their lead at the top of a meaningless table? Im not saying lose it deliberately, we can’t have that nonsense either, but hoping to inflict another home defeat on the bottom club?    Come on we need Northampton to succeed as well as try and entice others to join. If those lower down think the likes of Belle Vue, my own team Ipswich, and Sheffield will just hoover up all the GP riders available then they’ll have no interest in joining if they won’t be competitive.    Bring in a one rider over 8 rule for next year.