Hunters

Well Claret73's is looking pretty sick Plymouth 5th and Eastbourne 9th ? He must have been on the claret wine.

Don't be too despondent I still make it a 6 horse race for the top 4 and Brum are in with a chance against Cradley and Lakeside I feel for the 4th place. If, and I pray I am wrong, there are one or two injuries to some of the top 6 then the whole thing will be wide open as there is precious little chance of anybody finding like for like or managing a re-declaration with the lack of more suitable British riders.

Not possible now as Birmingham on new averages. The way the system works only like for like replacements unless a re-declaration for two or more which has to be at a team total of 39. Makes any replacement for Ritchings almost impossible unless a better like for like can be found at his average. This is why we were saying Eastbourne had a deadline of June 2nd to re declare in order to bring Jake Knight in. After that date new averages meant that we could not re-declare to 39 as we were way over with Brennan alone increasing from 3 to 9.7. In simple terms Birmingham's current GSA total is now 45.67 . Taking out Ritchings and Leek drops it to 35.12 leaving 3.88 to bring in two replacements, not possible of course. This is a problem facing all teams after they have completed four league meetings. As a foot note this is one of the penalties of starting with such a low points limit (39) when the across the board average is going to jump to 42 after those first 4 matches. The situation will be compounded if he continues to drop his average because any like for like replacement will have to be at his then current average not his starting one.

You should know by now they are always underestimated. Year after year they were placed bottom of the Elite League by all their detractors but never ever achieved that distinction. Some people never learn!

When they made their re-declaration to bring Jake Knight in before Saturdays deadline Alex Spooner was the unavoidable 3 pointer to make it work. Spooner almost immediately changed his mind leaving them short for Saturdays planned match with Kent which was postponed. I believe Saul was a short gap volunteer to fill in the re- declaration while a replacement was found and Hampshire is their desired target. Would not surprise me if Hampshire is declared at No 6 , Saul at No 8 & given a pit job. Very difficult being a promoter in this mainly young and amateur league where riders come and go at the drop of a hat to suit their other life preferences.

Let us just hope the weather holds. Wednesday is the only day with no rain forecast until later at night. There have been far too many postponements and I can see another season when all matches are not completed in the NL

Expect both Brennan and Saul have exams, I see Jenkins had the same problem. You have to expect that with young riders still at school. Baseby is the only surprise and it is probably a work thing. Nothing we could have done about it particularly with Georgies injury. The team looks competitive on paper but so often riders do not perform to their usual standards as guests. Even JPB only managed 5 from 5 rides when gusting for the eagles. On paper the eagles heat leaders look more than a match and the reserves should also profit but second string is a problem as only I heat leader and Bates can take an extra ride. It looks like 5 rides for Bates and 7 for Powell with 3 for Hampshire. If the guests show their true form the eagles will have a good chance of winning this otherwise it will be a question of trying to get the away point. Either way I think it will be a meeting worth seeing, just a pity it is too far away for me nowadays. .

But we have Birmingham at Perry Barr on Wednesday. An important match which I presume will have to be r/r for Georgie. Don't often agree with Silver but they do have a point, we should have borrowed their Air Blowers if that was the only thing missing. but did it cross their minds to ask?

Terrible news, presumably Grass Tracking. Lets hope it is not as bad as first thought and does not have any adverse effect on his career. The penalty I suppose of being an out and out racer.

As I anticipated a month ago. Kelsey will be a big plus, with his new engine he is fast and did his fastest time so far beating Boxhall. Just overdid the pass in his 2nd outing and hit the fence. Would expect him to average at least 6 at IOW. Look after him, sad to see him go but we just had to have a true No 1 and this was the only possible way.

It is only because they lost those matches with the resultant drop in Compton, Smart and Andrews averages that they are able to make the switch. They never were in a play off quest, will now move off the bottom but still not up to several other teams standards. Will get better home results but not a lot away where others also have good No1,s. For them to improve away Compton and Andrews have got to up there game considerably. The only one that impressed me apart from Boxall was Walker.

They are all in good form so we can expect some good Scraps with Bowen and Hopwood if he makes the gate but he will struggle to catch them from the back. Also gives young Spooner a chance to show the Kings they should have picked him over Rowe. As neither have appeared at Arlington before it is a level playing field. How will Tom fare at N0 1, I do not believe the riding order in the Argus will be correct. Bates has got to be 4 not 2. Maybe it is experimental but I bet it is not that way at Birmingham on Wednesday.

Catch 22 for him. His average is false because it covers a very easy start. Home to Kings Lynn, Plymouth and Buxton, away to Kings Lynn and Stoke. Such weak opposition. If he packs up now Brumm will have a massive gain being able to use so many points which no doubt will cause a lot more argument but he will be saddled with an average that will make it very unwise to include him in future declarations this year or next year. I suspect Red & Yellow is right and he is only a bit depressed with the championship which seems to have been a bit tough for him. I wonder if it is Sheffield who have initiated this? The next match is Wednesday so we should know soon. Now that would start a riot, he has a 7.64 Premiership average. Even the BSPA could not justify that. JPB will change is mind after a couple of days thinking.

Will be interested to see the riding order. I believe only 1,6 &7 are designated places with 2,3,4 & 5 interchangeable. I would go with Mark Baseby at 2 as back up to Tom Brennan, with Georgie at 3 and Mattie Bates 4.This leaves Jake at 5 to cover heat 13, and Alex Spooner 6 and Charley 7. Looking forward to Saturday there should be 5 good heats against Bowen with Ben Hopwood showing his liking for the track and being competitive. Apart from that it will probably be a bit one sided.

Makes me a happy bunny, With the likes of Lakeside improving their squad we had to make the change. Now we really do look good enough to make Belle Vue a little less comfortable. Jake will have to start at No 3 until the next set of averages which should see Tom drop back a bit. Feel a bit for Kelsey he really looked good on his new Gerhardt? engine beating Boxall but he must curb his enthusiasm. I am sure Coles will have a new club within days (IOW?)

I keep asking myself the same question but time is passing and I can see no logical reason why his new team has not announced him. Looking at his new bike covers I just cannot match them to any side, particularly with the Union Jack. Perhaps Mildenhall 1965 can throw some light after his reliable source said Connor Coles had been released. Was it just a wind up?

I think the big problem was the lack of a star No 1 to keep us competitive away. We had Martin Dugard and then 5 years of Nicki Pedersen who had cult status. after that, one year of a fading Scott Nicholls then an odd assortment of Bridger, Watt, Bjarne and Kilmakorpi. Nothing inspiring and often bad away from home. Since dropping to the NL we regained some of the aura with BWD and Adam Ellis which is why I have been the keenest to get Jake back. Tom and Georgie are big favourites but the demands of No 1 are such that whilst we enjoy seeing the occasional surprise at home (Morley, Zach and Boxall all beaten) we cannot compete at no 1 away. We will see on Saturday but what an ask of Tom against Bowen. I think we have a very good all round side but we will usually be vulnerable if we don't have an 8 point lead after 12 heats away from home against the main 5 challengers for the play off.

Why should Speedway be any different to other sports. Do you think Man Utd management and fans were happy to 'enjoy the football' without getting in the top four last season. And during the summer you will see the 'all costs' to them of trying to win. Between £100 and £300 million no doubt. All sports are much the same but just because we want to win does not mean that we disappear if they don't, at least most of us. Nearly all sport is now professional and the desire to win is what motivates the successful sportspersons regardless of whether they are Owners, Managers Supporters or Participants. The only concession is that 'all costs' must be within the predefined rules.

Good win for the boys today. Brennan's last match at reserve and could Kelsey's injury be the one that forces the re-declaration. Two or three reserves available from KL now so maybe we will soon know. Saturday is deadline one way or the other.

It is because of the very small base amount. 2 on 15 is 13.3% whilst 5.88 Average plus 13.3% =6.66. As the season progresses the effect of 2 rides will be less and less. Why oh Why they did not have rolling averages brought forward for riders with an existing average and 4 matches for new 3.0 pointers I will never understand.

These are the reasons I have 17 rides not 15 or am I too logical? Pages of rules but still don't seem to describe some things but we should know in a few days when the changes come about. Meanwhile Georgie is riding for Belle Vue at Mildenhall today so I hope he stays safe. I have a feeling we are going to win at Kent tomorrow with the way his current form is.

Don't know who compiles their table but it is wrong and even differs from the programme. At home he had 4 each against Cradley and Stoke that's 8 not 7. this can be found inside the last page of the programme. I suspect that whoever compiled the stats thought his last ride against Cradley did not count as his bike packed up as the tapes went up. Be interesting to see how they treat Brennan who had the same thing last night in heat 4. To add to the confusion he is down as 4 rides at Plymouth, BUT he was nominated for a 5th ride in heat 15 and started it but crashed and was stretchered off. By the time the medics were finished the curfew was up and the heat was not re-run. As he had been excluded as causing the stoppage it must count as a ride although they have not said so in the programme. We will have to wait and see what the official BSPA statistics say.

As it stands the team next week will be as follows: 1 Brennan 9.71 2 Powell 6.35 3 Baseby 7.78 4 Coles 7.11 (No 4th meeting yet) 5 Wood 8.71 6 Bates 5.88 7 Dugard 4.62 Over 11 points more than the starting average but it has been an easy start to the season. The next three League matches are a challenge and will see another big change in order no doubt. If there is no re-declaration and Kelsey has a broken ankle we will have a rookie in there which will make a difference.

Hope you are right, could only be Kelsey which is probably necessary as he looked like he had broken his ankle last night. Real shame because his victory over Steve Boxall was flawless and the fastest time of the night, the best we have seen of him and a lay off just when beginning to shine is what he does not need. Georgie Wood produced the second fastest time when beating Boxall and Baseby matched Boxall's best time with Brennan only 0.1 more. Steve Boxall proved a very good yardstick to measure them by despite poor opposition from the rest of the devils. Coles picked up his best score and certainly tries but he is struggling to adapt to Arlington. Hope he gets a slot at IOW that would suit him better.

And that is down to the large number of riders who have moved into the Higher Leagues allowing them to replace foreign and expensive imports. Some like Carr and Clegg have been persuaded back to fill injury gaps whilst others like Branford, Perks and Ellis have not. The NL is doing a sterling job for British Speedway with little or no recognition of it and certainly no reward. JPB should have been a Buxton asset in 2015 when he made his debut, imagine what his Loan Fees for the next few years would have done for them. Old subject I know but the two are linked.