4thbender

Can't have Wilson Dean and Parkinson Blackburn in the same team: Wilson Dean Parkinson Blackburn... sounds like a firm of solicitors!

Prices unchanged next year. The news just keeps getting better.

Klindt has already signed for Poole, Esbjerg in Denmark and Poland's Wanda Krakow. Surely a fourth weekly commitment would see him burnt out by June because of all the travel?

Be careful in the shower.

This time last year someone had the temerity to suggest on the corresponding 2016 Forum that the only role for a team manager in Speedway is to hand out the black and white helmet cover. I think Steady will, in the course of the coming season, prove that the right manager can be better than an eighth rider. His contribution off the track may prove to be greater than his contribution on it (only this time he won't be breaking his bones). Well done to the promotion for a very canny appointment.

He does a nice line in lampshades. Is he still selling them?

A right decision to go out on top. A great servant of the sport who will be remembered as an Owlerton legend. What's more, many young riders (e.g. Josh Bates) have benefited from his influence and are much improved as a result.

Top marks to the promoters on pulling that one off. The team is looking like a unit with strength in depth. How about Steady for team manager?

Are you for real? Batesy did indeed score 17, but then caused a near-riot when he took on the entire Glasgow team and track-staff in a game of bare-knuckle fisticuffs. His antics didn't endear him to the Glasgow faithful.

Thrilled for the people of Plymouth. Great news that Devon will not be lost to our great sport. Hope everything goes well for you in the NL and hope to see you back in the Championship in the near future (if Sheffield haven't won their way into the Premiership by then!)

Sorry mate, you're wrong. The early bird catches the worm; If you snooze, you lose; need I say more?

So you'll settle for whoever's left after all the other teams have had their pick? Doesn't sound like a promising strategy to me. I hope and trust our promoters are getting their bids in before the cream of the crop gets snapped up.

Going by the colour of his hands, Eric Boocock might qualify.

"Is football failing black managers? BBC Sport investigates" says the headline (see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/31970841). Heaven forbid that they should ever decide to investigate speedway in the same way. Anyone know of a black speedway manager?.... or rider? ....or fan? ....EVER?

Steady's guesting at the Glasgow Tigers Supporters Group next week: https://goo.gl/gdDRWA Wonder what he'll say when asked if he'll be riding next year!

It wouldn't surprise me.

Don't jump to conclusions about Kyle and Josh; neither one of them has agreed terms yet. Grajzc and bomber are pure speculation.

Holder please.

When Garrity's on song there can be few riders more capable of getting the crowd on their feet. He has that Doug Wyer quality of making sure no-one goes to the bar when he's riding. However his propensity for finishing up in A & E seems to mean he only ever appears in half the fixtures (the rest being filled by guests or rider replacement). On that basis his loss is possibly not as serious as it might otherwise be. Having a 9-point rider who's missing for half the season leaves a big hole for the rest of the team to fill and guests rarely live up to expectations.

Sounds as if this could be the best thing to happen to speedway for years. Anything that makes the sport more affordable for riders, promoters and sponsors has to be good news for the fans as well.

If it were that simple all the riders would be using it already. There has to be a downside. How does it compare (in terms of price and performance, for example) to GM or Jawa?

Don't quite understand what you're getting at GPR. My point is that, for 2017 at least, what we have effectively is a Southern League and a Northern League in all but name. Simple really. On a more technical point, does anyone have views on the announcement that the BSPA will be working with the Swiss manufacturers of the GTR engine which, allegedly, will drastically reduce riders' maintenance costs? Would any techie on this forum care to explain to the rest of us what impact this may have on the sport or whether it's just pie in the sky?

The North/South divide has been achieved by stealth. Look at the comparative geography of the two leagues and anyone who fails to see that geographic location played more than a small part in determining the makeup of the two leagues is deluding himself. Glad to hear that Workington are definitely running.

And we haven't got the PLRC (or its new equivalent)

It seems that next year we'll be riding in a smaller league (the Championship) consisting of Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ipswich, Newcastle, Peterborough, Redcar, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, and possibly Workington. We'll be racing on a 2 x home and 2 x away basis, with automatic promotion for the champions to the higher league (Premiership). Rye House and Somerset have opted for the Premiership in 2017. Crucially, we'll only have 40 points to play with in building a team.