Its been well documented that in their final Premiership/Elite seasons - having won the titles several times - Poole took a big hit financially. Crowds dipped on Thursdays, sponsors changed. stadium rental/costs increased (and Matt was moving temporarily to France). Fans were asked what level of racing and what race night they preferred - the answer was Championship on Wednesdays. So be it! At the time MF stated it was 30% cheaper to run in the Championship than the Prem. A greater variety of fixtures/opponents also appealed to the fans who continued to attend in good numbers - especially as Poole continued to track successful, winning teams, all built within the same points limit as everyone else. In the background was - and still very much is - the long term future of Poole Stadium, Council owned and until recently leased to Clarke Osborne's Gaming International company. (CO passed away in August leaving his widow as the sole Director of Poole Stadium Ltd who still have 14 years left on the lease). With all Councils under pressure to generate more house building, everyone is waiting for some clarification as to the stadium's future....  No club no matter how successful or otherwise, will take a major step into something that is going to cost significantly more when its traditional home maybe under threat - or at the very least requiring firm clarification.

Crucial winter for Redcar following a very mediocre season , only one true heat leader in Klindt / Wright the former who did such a great job stepping in for the skipper and Charles himself when he coming back from such a nasty injury and his own personal issues, achieving such a magnificent return including being Britains best rider behind the World Champion in the GB team in the WTC. On to 2027 , I’d love a top two of Wright and Klindt but fear the stupid 8 point rule will scupper that , a return for Danny King would be very welcome , but we must keep Jody Scott who I think has been the 2026 rider of the year and next season will be massive for him, as for the rest , very inconsistent and for a few I think a change would be as good as a rest, but we know this sport is a numbers game and there ain’t no Man City in this league to bend the rules apart from Poole of course, an interesting winter coming up. 

Just looked and based on last season's assessed averages rules Matias Nielsen would come in on an 8.50 championship average. with 'this rider would only be considered dependent on fixture clashes' next to the figure. So I guess any clashes would exclude him from being allowed to ride in the championship. Similar riders around his average in the Polish Ekstraliga 2, just so people have a rough idea on how good he actually is: Just above him in the averages - Jakub Jamrog, Luke Becker, Gleb Chuganov Just below him in the averages - Ben Basso, Zach Cook, Dimitri Berge

Forget rivalries aside, Kings Lynn are a fine Speedway Club. They’ve always been a big part of top flight speedway going back to the Terry Betts and Michael Lee days, had some of the best riders in world speedway. The fact they’ve never celebrated a top flight title isn’t right really. They’ve a loyal fan base and they deserve their spot in the sun. Until change happens, I doubt that will come unfortunately for them. 

Birmingham were always a club with a high number of "colour wearers"... I think an elderly demographic is the underlying key.. If you attend football now it is mainly kids and the middle aged and above who wear club colours... With many of those circa 16 - 40 not wanting to be seen dead in a replica top... A decent money earner for the clubs though I would think.. 

Apologies....