4thbender

Workington seems to do very well out of Sheffield's past and present riders.

What we are seeing is last season's league champions made even stronger with the acquisition of Wright, Shanes and Smith. We were sorry to lose Josh G, but that will be more than compensated by more power at 6 & 7 and 3 genuine heat leaders any one of whom could finish the season at no. 1 (not to mention a captain who's in the habit of winning titles!)

Sheffield will wipe the board this season to defend their title.

There are those of us who have been saying for two years (at least!) that a single senior league of 18/19 teams is the only way to go, even if it means going down to teams of 5 riders + a 3-point reserve doubling up from the NL. People reckon there aren't enough riders to go round, but there were over 350 registered riders on the SCB Rider Registrations as of 25/09/17. That should be more than enough to service 19 teams without losing out on quality of racing. They could even improve riders' earnings by 25% by retaining the 15-heat format, with each of the 6 riders having 5 outings. A single league is the only way to go if speedway is to survive IMO.

You are testing my memory, but you may have the fourth. I remember me and my mate joking that to get a ride on Sunday afternoon you had to be called Stuart.

I absolutely agree. As a die-hard fan I remember well the 1970s when the Tigers 'A' Team rode in the BL Div. 1 on Thursdays and the 'B' team in Div. 2 on Sundays (the three Stuarts: Jay, Ulph and Hickman Jr. - remember them?) True fans can't get enough of speedway and giving us 17 matches in a season is short-changing us and insulting our loyalty. Thursday night is for speedway, not EastEnders. It's a disgrace.

He'll be a busy bloke. Hope they've doubled his wages.

Are you joking? After the season Steady had in 2017 you want to sack him?

Fixture list looks decidedly thin - lots of blank Thursdays. Excluding "Reserved" nights, it only looks like we'll be called upon to make the journey to Owlerton on 14 occasions plus one Sunday (Steady's testimonial). It seems to me that whatever we fans make of speedway's problems, fewer meetings is not the solution.

Stead was at his brilliant best but found himself having to settle for the bonus point behind the Frenchman on a good few occasions.

He was fine at Sheffield in 2016. Riding at no.2 he regularly got the better of Steady (a feat not many were able to achieve at Owlerton!)

The SS testimonial was promised for the first match of 2018.

Naaaah! Bjerre and Bates have to be at 3 and 4 respectively - theirs is a talismanic partnership.

That's not the impression we're getting.

Injuries aside, this team now has all the appearances of a title -winning side. I can't see any of the declared Championship teams being able to live with us in 2018. My New-Year predictions: 1) In years to come Kyle will join the list of all-time Sheffield greats alongside Wilson, Wyer, Moran, Compton, et al; 2) The Bjerre & Bates partnership will become for speedway what Torville & Dean were to skating, Lillee & Thomson were to cricket, Keegan & Toshack were to footie and salt & vinegar were to chips; 3) Joining Sheffield will do for Charles Wright what it did for Kyle two years ago; 4) Todd will never match the finesse of his younger brother but will become a consistent and reliable 7-point performer; 5) Shanes and Smith will give us a dependable 5 points in every heat two from day one of the season; 6) Simon Stead will be the next Team GB boss.

Kurtz is a good signing. I reckon this indicates Sheffield are confident of landing Kyle, otherwise they would be keeping their powder dry on the TK signing.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Guess they're waiting on announcing Kurtz until they're sure of securing Kyle. If Kyle goes back to Worky they may have to re-think the balance of the team dependent upon who they can find to replace Kyle.

...or wanting him back in the Worky team!

Strikes me the lad has had a fallout with his bird and gone off on a strop. We've all been there and know what it's like to feel broken-hearted and desolate. Give him time - he'll come round. Once the icy blast of winter turns into the thaw of spring he'll start to realize that stacking shelves in Lidl is no way for an all-action Barnsley lad to earn a living. He'll be back on the bike by March.

James Shanes signed for Sheffield: http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.33667

Wood out, Shanes in: http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.33667

Wright is a great signing. It leaves 17.66. Howarth + Kurtz + Wood adds up to 16.08; I reckon there might be a further change of personnel still to be announced. I wondered about replacing Kurtz with Kenneth Hansen but that would push us 0.01 over the limit!

Can't envisage how there can be a balanced side with Smith and Wood at 6 & 7. Being able to call on the experience of Graversen at no.6 is what won matches in 2016. Who will provide the trump card when it matters if we have two 2-pointers at reserve?

Josh Bates back for Sheffield. Josh Bates back for Sheffield.