Bagpuss

This is what people don’t get about Lynn signing Proctor. Don’t get me wrong he could be a poor signing but just because he had a bad 2019 doesn’t mean he won’t be a good reserve this coming season.

Dedication to what? King’s Lynn? British speedway? Speedway in general? I think it’s good to have two very good riders pushing each other to be number one, should give them both extra incentive.

The Lynn surface doesn’t help either, no point busting a gut if it’s going to make no difference.

I’m disappointed he didn’t return to Lynn, one of the few who can pass there nowadays and a solid second string / strong reserve.

I thought Cook filled the Puk void quite well last season while recognising he had one or two dodgy meetings and that he can probably improve in 2020 with more meetings at Lynn.

I can’t see Iversen doing four leagues and GP’s but I hope I’m wrong as we all want P’boro and every team to be competitive. I wouldn’t see it as a kick in the teeth as a Lynn fan, when he was last with us his average dropped and he wasn’t his usual self especially at home, it kind of feels like we’ve seen the best of him and in Cook we have a pretty good replacement.

Are you saying we may finish third As we’ve seen over many seasons what a team looks like on paper very often doesn’t ring true. Everybody seems to be fancying Sheffield but I just don’t see it personally.

I like to think of myself as having a balanced opinion. I don’t think being completely positive or totally negative does anyone any good. I would also have had MPT back but he has a higher average than the two second strings signed so until we know the whole team it’s impossible to know the circumstances of his non inclusion. Mad for attitude and effort, I’ve always wondered how anyone can know how many per cent a rider is putting in unless he is quite obviously trailing at the back. Riders can be low in confidence aboard a speedway bike and look as though they don’t care when in actual fact they are trying their hardest. I’d be interested to know who you think was lacking in attitude and effort last season.

Which we usually do.

Kerr certainly wasn’t because he wasn’t part of the team but to say that Proctor and Jorgensen didn’t contribute to finishing clear top is daft, they were a pretty good engine room. I acknowledge they were both dire last season but why should that be any more of a barometer than the year before? I think this team will have every chance of finishing top four. The frustration is that they could have gone with three or four new faces in an effort to finish first.

Apart from 2018 when we had by far the best away record in the league and finished clear top? Lambert, Jorgensen, Proctor and Riss were all in that team. By all means criticise them for a dreadful 2019 but don’t gloss over the year before that. And yes I get people’s frustration, many of us wanted a clear out with fresh faces and I appreciate and agree with that. But don’t rewrite history.

No idea but he would be a great number seven. I think the expectation will be that all seven can improve, particularly on the back of a pretty awful 2019. Whether they can or not is another matter. As we know it won’t be through home performances as there’s very little wrong with those, it’s about being far, far more competitive in away fixtures. The hiding at the Foxhole last March set the tone unfortunately.

We have that issue at Lynn too

Proctor has plenty to prove, he is at reserve for a reason but should make hay there early on looking at some of the other reserves around. If his confidence and his shoulder are in good nick from the off he could put two points on his starting figure. You can certainly see why he has been signed on that figure. Assuming Cook and Riss return and Robert can get back to his 2018 form or near to it then we have very capable heat leaders and a good reserve which gives the side a good structure. Disappointed MPT won’t be back and Kerr and Jorgensen have to improve from poor seasons to warrant their inclusion and for the team to finish top four. The final signing will be crucial, it needs to be somebody who can contribute consistently as the number seven position has been troublesome for far too long.

Ahead of Swindon spinny? Wow.

Meanwhile the next rider looks suspiciously like Riss.

I can’t argue with that mate as things turned out as you predicted but I’d also argue that Lambert and Kerr significantly underachieved in 2019 and the number seven spot once again was an issue. Only really Riss and MPT (along with Cook) met expectations. I’d have had a bit of a clear out for 2020 personally to try and sort the away form but that’s not going to happen and while disappointing I don’t think anyone should write off our chances. Assuming Cook returns and we have a decent reserve the team will have a much better balance than the one which started last season but fingers will have to be pulled out on the road.

So what’s your barometer, 2018 or 2019? Very little difference in personal or I daresay attitude between the two seasons but little things either go your way or don’t and they add up to either a good season or a pretty bad one. Impossible to know how this coming season will go until it gets into full swing. I’m sure the experience of 2018 left everybody desperate to go one better, the hunger is there to win it and tat doesn’t happen by going through the motions.

I suspect he was always returning to Wolves and nobody else got a sniff.

With Kerr and Jorgensen signed I’d be very surprised if MPT is at Lynn. A pity as I’d have him over them both.

It wasn’t meant to be in 2018, the injuries completely screwed us over unfortunately, without those we would have won the final by twenty points on aggregate IMO but that’s sport. Even if the referee had done his job correctly we would have been without Palm Toft for the second leg and with two ineffective guests we had no chance. Just one of those things. As for 2020 I would be much more positive than that, I don’t agree with some of the choices made so far but we are going to have three good heat leaders and a decent reserve so all is not lost. Apart from Swindon every team has question marks over it and look at where Ipswich finished last year, as well as us in 2018 and Swindon the year before that. Unfancied teams can do well.

I don’t go very often nowadays for various reasons, some speedway related and some not so I do get people’s apathy. However could you please explain a couple of things from your post, firstly what shenanigans robbed us in 2018 and why you think we have no chance of finishing in the top four in 2020. Thanks.

If nobody signs Pickering I’d be astonished, maybe he doesn’t want to ride Premiership or can’t get the correct visa? Must be a reason.

Come on Sidney, let’s be having you

I thought I read that he expects to be fit for the start of the season?