Given it's a "development" league, would fans not turn up to see a weaker team, if the club were obviously building for the future?

It’s no cop out at all. Had we not of brought Simon in to this team it was highly likely there would not have been a young stars team in 2026. Simon will be a fantastic rider coach. Even Jake Mulford will learn more from Simon. I like to have a rider coach in my teams whenever it’s been possible. In 2007 at Redcar I had Mark ‘buzz’ Burrows and in 2015 at Buxton I had Tony Atkin. 2 great captains and rider coaches. Every team should have one at this level, for the younger ones to learn from. 

Can you tell me, which ‘young’ rider is losing out on a team place because of Simon ? All the other heat leaders have either decided not to compete in the NDL in 2026 or they’ve already got team spots. There was no way I was going to run with just one heat leader, 3 second strings and 3 reserves, especially when all the other clubs have 3 heat leaders and a couple of teams 4 heat leaders. We wouldn’t have been able to compete had we not have brought Simon and Jake in. I’m sure no one wanted to see the league reduced even further and also this way we can still give rides to 5 other riders over the season and 2 of those are starting their first full seasons at NDL level. So let’s look at the positives. 

I can 100% assure you that Lynn did not push for a 42 limit. Don’t know where you got that from. Lynn were 1 of 2 clubs who voted against the higher limit. The higher 42 limit nearly had the league down to only 5 clubs. We lost a full team and didn’t have a clue where we were going to get any Heat leaders from, as they’ve either decided not to race NDL in 2026 or they have managed to fit into the other 5 teams because of the higher limit. Believe me, we came very close to not having a team in the NDL in 2026. Simon Lambert and Jake Mulford coming in has made sure we can come back to the tapes for another season at this level. 

JA ?

But it isn't.  It's a moderately well-off man's plaything.  If a Speedway team loses £100k in a season, that's chickenfeed to a "rich man" Look at football.  Look how much, on average, a Premiership football team loses.  Look at Championship football, look at League 1, Look at League 2.    League 2 is most economical, but even there, each club will lose, on average, around £3 million a year.   A £100k loss on a Speedway club is a bargain.