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Kasprzak The rest

100% The greatest rider to never be World Champion

Exactly! People just get something in their heads, and can't consider any alternative. Most of us (not all of us, apparently) would rather see four riders in a race, rather than just three or two. It's okay to punish a rider or team for a starting offence, but why should the fans be punished by being forced to watch races with riders missing?

I think its probably time to move on from the Holder thing, he's had his say and P'boro have signed someone else

Silly response. Typical Poole. Should stay in their station. The league don't run around you.

Whether or not this change is successful will depend on the rule being properly enforced. I notice that Wolverhampton had a two minute clock all last season but referees and riders paid scant attention to it and riders were regularly continuing to "garden" after the time had expired and I can recall only one instance when a rider was excluded for exceeding the time limit. Referees need to put their foot down and rigidly stick to the letter of the rule. There might be a brief time of chaos and howls of protest from riders, but they would soon get the message. Personally, I'd be strongly in favour of NO RESERVE replacement for excluded riders too!

He is on the clubs retained list in case we get an injury

I don't think that it was actually the weather that caused the problems. I believe it was found that stones had been allowed to get into the shale mix, making it unable to bind as normally expected.

Ha, maybe I should have had a few when watching Southampton last night. But apparently I somehow managed to get through that sober! Not sure how

I see you got quoted in the star this week flappy. Peterborough mentioned a long running saga over winter, often played out via rumours and semi informed leaks on social media.

Deja vu all over again. Should have signed Chris Holder....oh, hang on......

I guess cos you know what you will get with Shanes. Whereas Connor is still learning? Also he is really good at Glasgow but how did he get on with away tracks. Although no rider should have any issues with Redcar as their home track. I would expect Connor and Jason to swap between reserve and no2 throughout the season.

Deffo not Buster, Lisa. It's just people are quick to blame him for the Holder thing. I think it might well have been MT in the wrong there. Jumping the gun. The little video wound me up. I had a fewwatching the football which didn't help

4.69 Shanes, 4.32 Bailey. Close to like for like but Bailey likely to do better over the season.

So did Jason crump in 2021

I fancy Ben Basso to gatecrash this party

If he can sort out the mess that is British speedway it'll be money well spent.

At least I can debate without resorting to calling people names

Oh hi there Buster! Made any new grudges lately

Has looked pretty ropey at Foxhall to be fair, but he’s a young rider who is improving all the time. No doubt he’s a better rider now than the one that last came to Foxhall in 2021. He’ll be an obvious threat but Masters will still be the biggest threat at Foxhall for me as an away rider. Loves Foxhall and lowered Doyle’s colours twice in one meeting last year.

IMO the main reason for this is we are watching in the current world champ one of the greatest riders the sport has ever seen , barring injury he will continue dominate for a number of years to come . Back on topic I am not a fan of Morris but his face obviously fits !

"Integrity, Transparency and Perception"... Does Phil come on here? Great news... Just as long as his remit isn't influenced by the self interest of others it could be a major move forward for the sport in the UK... Chris Louis seems to be a voice that can see the UK version of Speedway's major fundamental issues that hold it back from being taken seriously, (which impacts crowd levels negatively and also major sponsor involvement), but can also see the huge potential that the sport has if ever done "properly" in the UK... A very positive move, and with the "major names" starting to come back, let's hope the "custodians" see the bigger picture rather than just their own team being "successful" in such a small minority sport, which currently resonates little.... A good year to launch some major marketing of the sport given the quality of riders on offer, and hopefully with his contacts, Phil Morris can help facilitate this... Just hide the water truck from him on TV race nights...

Can safely donate via PayPal so proof of payment can be uploaded on here at the end of the season. Either way Ben Fund gets an extra 50 quid donation so all good.

Daft rule. Could end waiting longer. Movement at the start one minute goes on. Rider misses the one minute. Fresh 2 minutes go on for a replacement. Just do what all other leagues do in the world 2 minute clock and if you’re not at the tapes by then you’re out. Don’t know why we love to complicate things in Britain.

BRITISH Speedway is delighted to announce the appointment of Phil Morris as its Premiership Chief Executive Officer. Former rider and manager Morris, who will continue as FIM Race Director at Grand Prix and World Cup events, takes on the newly created position with the responsibility of overseeing all aspects of Premiership business. 47-year-old Morris will be a major decision-maker at the top of the Premiership, both in terms of rulebook interpretation and race-night operations, and the specifics of his role also include an active involvement in the running of televised meetings. BSP Ltd Director and Ipswich promoter Chris Louis said: “The Premiership CEO is a new role which we all agreed was very much needed and I think the timing is right, especially with what’s going on in the world of speedway. “We want to enhance the professionalism and integrity of the league, as well as making it simple, transparent and fun for the fans to view and understand, and to improve the product and put British Speedway back at the top of the tree, where it did sit for many years. “Phil is unquestionably the right man for the job. His grounding is in British Speedway, he loves British Speedway, and he also has one of the top positions in World Speedway, which made him the perfect candidate. “He will be tasked with making sure the rulebook is as simple and easy to follow as possible, both for those involved within the sport and also for the fans, and that it is absolutely understood and adhered to. “Phil will also take an active role in televised meetings. He will be on-site and assist with the presentation of those meetings to make sure they are as fluid as possible and that the format is rigidly stuck to. “The appointment has the full backing of the Board of the BSPL, and we’d also like to thank the other people who showed an interest in the position and were part of the process. “We see this as an evolving role which will develop as the year goes on, but fundamentally we’ve brought in a top man to lead the Premiership and I think it’s a hugely positive move. “Phil has seen all sides of the sport as a rider and a manager, he’s never stopped following British Speedway and he has the experience of what is probably for this sort of role, the top position in World Speedway. “We couldn’t have a better guy on board, and as a league we are delighted with the appointment.” Morris enjoyed a long and successful racing career over nearly 20 years, the majority of which were spent with Reading, and as a youngster he was part of the Racers’ British League Division One title-winning side in 1992. After retirement, he team-managed Birmingham to top spot in the Elite League in 2013 before missing out in the Grand Final, and he also took joint charge of the flourishing British Youth set-up alongside current boss Neil Vatcher. Since 2015 he has held the position of FIM Race Director and has officiated at over 80 GPs along with the World Cup, Speedway of Nations and GP Challenge. Morris said: “There are three words associated with this role that stand out for me: integrity, transparency and perception, and all of those are big things for me which I feel need to be improved. “I’m not here to lie to anyone and I’ve already made it clear that I’ve seen some events and incidents over the last few years that I believe we can improve on a lot – and I’m saying ‘we’ here because I’m now going to be part of it. “I want to do my very best to try and lift levels across many different facets of the Premiership, from club officials and regulations to the visuality of the events we’re staging. “Hopefully that will then filter down to all levels of speedway, so even though my job is Premiership CEO, it’s something which can benefit British Speedway as a whole. “I’ve been very lucky to work at the highest level of the sport, so my eyes are probably quite focused on good quality levels of the product, and I’ve always said that speedway is a good product. “We’ve just got to package it right and make sure other things are acceptable along the way, and I’m very much looking forward to getting started.”

Still don't understand the many anti Richie Worrall comments, especially ones like "if he doesn't perform could see himself dropped" wouldn't that be the case for every rider in the league? Anyway compare Worrall as a number 4 against other teams: Belle Vue - close to their 3rd heat leader Wright (stronger in the Champ) & far stronger than second strings Blodorn & Brennan. Ipswich - 0.3 below HL King (stronger in Champ) stronger than Riss. King's Lynn - on a par with Jorgensen / Pickering Leicester - weaker than Morris Sheffield - harder to compare as Bellego has missed Britain, but stronger than Howarth (similar in Champ though) Wolves - on a par with Douglas & S.Worrall So on the whole, don't understand why many were unhappy with the Worrall signing!

I think if people were allowed in the promotion would be changed full rental from spedeworth.

We’re you there? It was due to how hot it was. Unfortunately no one can control the weather

Could be a tough league this year, hope it is. predictions are way harder as you could put a valid argument in for any of the teams. 1. Ipswich. Look the strongest on paper. Rew is probably the key and it depends how quick he settles in. The strongest top 2 bar none. 2. Belle Vue. Solid look with young chargers only getting better. Lidsey is on a steal of an average. How that hasn’t been reassessed I’ll never know. 3. Sheffield - extremely solid. Bellego is a much better rider than when last here. Gilkes definetly one to watch. If he comes back well from his injury they are going to be very dangerous. THE REST 4. Leicester. Solid top 4 but very iffy bottom end. Will need one of them to step up to be serious challengers. 5. Wolves. Look exposed compared to some of the other teams. Masters has proved he is a true number 1. Becker or Douglas (or both) really need to step up otherwise we could be hovering around the basement. 6. Peterborough - Pedersen and Iversen are so injury prone so both need to stay fit. Basso should improve also. Definetly an improvement on 2022. Lots of injuries to other riders with dirty Nicki back here. 7. Kings Lynn - solid but not real leader. KK has to be the worst signing. How long will he last before he stops trying and gets kicked out. Never been a big threat in the UK league. Jakobsen at reserve is a huge bonus.

Connor Bailey has also signed for Redcar for 2023. http://www.redcar-speedway.com/2023/03/02/bears-bailed-out-after-massive-injury-blow-to-shanes/ Remarkably only 1 fixture clash that I can see, will miss Oxford away on Weds 16th August as Redcar are at Poole.

He was going to ride for Redcar and Leicester? But they seemed to suggest his heart isn't really in it.

Shane's is what he is, a 4.5/5 point champ rider more committed to grasstrack. Connor is dedicated and determined to make a success of speedway. If he can up his away average a couple points you've got 6 pointer on your hands. I think moving from Glasgow will be the making of him personally Additionally he has NDL now too, his form dipped when was a lull in the season having the extra meetings will definitely help his progress

He was poor away from home at a number of tracks,but he is still only 20(I think)and learning.

Agreed. Yesterday's news/chip paper. Nothing is going to change and Peterborough have their 7. Move on!

Better signing than Shanes in the long run imo. Disappointed we didn't fit him in as this could be the season he really kicks on. Suspect will only be at 2 until first set of averages and swap with Edwards. Really like look of that side now.

Idk, if we moved down to save money. Why move up and have a bigger wage bill. I mean how much are Peterborough forking out for Nicki. I think I would rather stay in the Champ if the club is more financially stable.

I think the Foxhole is quite different to Monmore (or Kirky Lane or Arena Essex), they are/were all very tight tracks whereas Ipswich is smallish without having to turn really hard to get round the corners. Sayfutdinov won't take long to master it IMO.

There are more prickly people,,,, but I think that has a lot to do with that there are more clueless morons on here. Oh and don't mess with Taps,,,, just one look at his boat race and you can tell he has been in many a street brawl

Bewley won't finish with a higher average,,, Bewley won't come to Ipswich and take points off Doyle,, but Doyle,, Fricke,, Pedersen and Holder could all take points off Bewley at the NSS

What if there is?? Do you want some!

Not sure Morris would stand for any shenanigans of the past that got you there though

Think I’ve added more to the ignore list last few months than I ever have. Is it me or does there seem to be a lot more short tempered and prickly people around this winter than usual? Season can’t come quick enough!

Not underestimating just being realistic considering his age. He will still be a difficult opponent but can't see him beating Doyle or Emil or Bewley on a regular basis.

50 notes to the Ben Fund says he doesn’t?

With all that he has been through in his personal life, hopefully the role will in a strange way provide some sort of therapy and help him and the rest of the family cope with the loss last year. Cannot be easy but wish him much success in the role and that he can take the sport to another level without undue influence or interference.

This is going to be the big test. Phil always comes across as somebody who doesn't suffer fools gladly. If he decides something needs changing and the promoters all close ranks again he won't stay in the job long. It's a a role so many of us have called for over a long period of time, but it will only work if everyone buys into it.

The big question is 'how much authority will he have?' What happens when someone says 'its my business, I'll run it my way'

Doyle could get outscored by a couple of riders next season but I doubt Nicki will be one of them.

Doyley will be too far in front of Nicki for that to be a concern.

If Lindgren wanted to ride here I am sure he would be offered a place at Wolves.