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May be that's what he tells all the girls ?

I know there is a lot of banter with Poole and sometimes it goes too far but this is genuinely sad news. Jack is a great kid, potentially a very good rider who has had no luck at all with injuries. Wish him and Poole all the best.

Hope jack isn't going to be one held back by injuries never reaches his potential. Was a lovely kid in his spell in the stripes be a shame if he becomes a Mitch Davey/ Adam roynon. Most importantly hope he makes a full recovery from his injuries

It’s the start of an independent body hopefully. im all for it. And no better guy to do it. good luck Phil

It’s that you Richie

Poole have 5.21 to replace Thomas,kemps average with British reduction is 5.20.

Kings Lynn have a different fence

May be Jim Lawrence should get off his backside and get up there to check it then. Rider safety is paramount. Maybe they could ask NORA92 to offer some expertise.

Batch is available....

....re-introducing concrete starting gates would end all that!

Kings lynn don’t have an air fence that pops or that you can slide under at Scunthorpe if the bike goes in first 9 times out of ten the body takes the full impact into the armco. It really is a dangerous fence that as caused far to many serious injuries the last few years

Surely it would be prudent to move the air fence in 1m or more leaving a gap which would certainly lessen the chances of hitting the armco barrier Jack Thomas, Dan gilkes, Joe Alcock would certainly have had more of a chance imo. Zane Kennedy not so much as he went right over the top. As has been previously stated definitely needs some sort of investigation 3 serious crashes in less than 12months is not a coincidence !

It's just a shame we missed out on Sue Gray

Dan Gilkes, joe Alcock, Zaine kennady 2 of those required air ambulance

Best wishes to Jack Thomas for a full recovery, meanwhile Ipswich & Poole fans instead of worrying who will replace him how about getting some fund raising going to help the very unfortunate lad?

From a lions point of view it would be great if he signed for Poole. Always said it from the start that with time and patience he would do well there. Us lions really rate him. Yes his away from is average but he's only just turned 18 .

Brum wont have that tho. i wonder if KK was claiming disability allowances when he was posting those scores for BV?

5.09 (with the reduction). He would fit. It would take Poole to 39.88.

I rate Thomas, but given Kemp had a higher average than Thomas in both leagues last season I fail to see how it makes them weaker. Both have lots of potential, the question is can they fulfil it.

You need to check your facts regarding “ twice the size”.

My first thought: they mention Morris being the decision maker in terms of rulebook interpretation - it's a shame they realise the rulebook can be interpreted many ways & have to hire someone to make sense of it! Ideally you'd want a rulebook that can only be interpreted in one way? At least they mention he's in charge of making the rulebook simple & easy to follow. That should be a priority!

Has he got a new 5 year plan ?

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

Thurrock councillors have unanimously backed a motion calling for Thurrock council to use the local plan to support the retention of Speedway in Thurrock and identify a new home for Grays Athletic FC.

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.”

I would go for Drew Kemp, with the proviso that he listens and responds to the senior riders in the team and acts with more maturity, rather than sulk when races go against him. He gas the ability ad we have all seen but did himself no favours at the tail end of last season. A fresh start and I feel confident he will bang in some good scores. Prefer him to Dan Thomson.

My point is riders crash regardless of ability or experience, the safety fence at scunthorpe possibly needs looking at to see if it could be made safer,possibly repositioning it,rider safety is paramount, what's your point?

Sunderland 'Saints', 1964: Mike Parker/Bill Bridgett. Sunderland 'Stars' 1971 to 1974: Len Silver, Charlton and Fell, Elizabeth Taylor. Here endeth Sunderland's involvement with Speedway.

Danny Dunton at Oxford, White City and Peterborough...he was also part of the Allied Presentations Promotion therefore had input at the likes of Reading etc.

Dan Thompson away stats 6,6+1,1,2+1,2,7,4+1,11+2,1,4+1,3+2,3,3+1 Average 3.72 5/13 matches were at reserve his 11+2 score was at Poole

Behave!!! Too high then. Would have to swap out a reserve.

Think Dan T would do as well as JT. Wish JT all the best for good recovery what what seems like nasty injury.

Crashed practicing at Scunny yesterday. Ribs, neck and lungs all damaged.

If Jack didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any. Feel for the lad

Surely Dan Thompson would be the best bet not currently got a ride and would slot in without any disruption,please not Drew Kemp….

That's a shame, I was rather hoping he'd stop the sun delays we get at Leicester by stopping it from setting between 19:30 and 21:30... I think we need somebody else!

How does Phil Morris change the rulebook? The rulebook 'belongs' to the ACU/SCB, except for the sections on league racing rules, for which responsibility has been delegated to the BSPL. But Phil has been appointed by Premiership promoters ( whose only influence over the rulebook is as BSPL members), so how can he change rules that effect the Championship clubs without them having a say? And if the solution is to allow changes that just effect the Premiership but not the Championship that further complicates the rulebook.

Another victim of Scunthorpes track, obviously dont know what happened or how he crashed but there have been far to many serious injuries at Scunthorpe

Maybe his appointment is being encouraged/led by Discovery? Their sporting hierarchy will know him via the GPs.. Maybe they see what Speedway can be when they see how it is ran, followed, and covered in Poland and want to try and replicate it over here? The sport in the UK has generally got viewing figures that "punches above its weight", so possibly they feel that if they could get rid of the "Mickey Mouse" rules and reputation of its leagues, then UK Soeedway may become a relatively inexpensive to cover (for them) success story? Europsrt/Discovery will be used to dealing with bone fide CEO's and business leaders, and, with the best will in the world, I would suggest those who try and administer it currently are only willing amateurs, without a lot of the required skill set to run a major professional sport,, who are "doing the best they can" to run things. Hence UK Speedway remains very much a minor professional sport in the UK... Best of luck to Phil, his starting point this season with some major talent returning has good timing for him...

You've just never liked KK, he has had quite a few top seasons in the UK with Poole and Coventry. Also wasnt he an 8 plus rider with Arena and BV ?

With the number of times I have sat through Swedish rain delays I am used to it!

Making the rules is not his job. This will still be on the Promoters. He will recommend ideas & be sole interpreter of said rules. No longer (as happens all to often) one promoter rings another on how they interpreted a rule. If it's not what they want to hear they'd ring another until they get the answer they wanted to hear. Then stake claim that it not just them that sees a certain situation as they do, and works it to their own benefit. With Phil Morris as sole interpretater it's his way only & matter of fact.

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 agree completely, each team has a positive side to it imo

Really feel for James, he's not really a rider I've followed much and don't know a lot about him, however it's awful seeing him so disappointed and worried about his health and progress, I would love to see him back on a bike, enjoying himself again asap, but I fear it'll be a long while before that happens again. The life of a speedway rider, who'd want it? Hope he recovers fast, and that he can be supported by the Ben Fund.

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?

His first major decision should be to retrospectively remove all tactical joker points from the 2006 play- off final scores.

The official scorecard is here: https://britishspeedway.co.uk/22results/leicester_04.11.22_res.pdf Dan Thompson was placed third in heat 5.

I too have Dan third I my prog

Still not gypsies though