Bagpuss

I'd say Neils has shown plenty of loyalty to British speedway over the last fifteen years. If he thinks that making sure he is fresher for GP rounds gives him a better chance of winning the world title then fair play to him. There may be a situation where we could strengthen and get more bums on seats by employing him, if it should arise we'd be silly to turn it down just to make a point. Speedway riders are self employed and can get sacked or not even included at the beginning of a season through the points limit, so loyalty works both ways. I don't believe riders owe clubs anything and nor do clubs owe riders, contracts are mutually beneficial so if either party decides not to renew for the next season that's speedway, there should be no need for bad feeling.

I don't blame any rider for cutting out a league if they think it will improve their chances of being World Champion. Its always going to be our league which they drop because of the spread of fixtures on different nights. As for Iversen, its supply and demand. I'd hope that if we needed him and he wanted to come over we wouldn't cut our nose off to spite our face, that would be really silly.

I think Doyle was slaughtered for some his moves last year, and rightly so.

I believe one of the aims was to provide a pathway from the NL to the PL as the jump had become quite a large one, had the only requirement been to be British I don't think that requirement would have been met.

I'd say Swindon look better but 4th place is anybody's really as the rest look as poor as each other in comparison.

I think the difference is that Davey has previously ridden in the PL as an Aussie and it was seven or eight years ago that he first rode over here. Putting an age restriction on the scheme wouldn't be right IMO at it might exclude motocross lads who are coming into the sport late but have plenty to offer like Cook, Kerr, Rose, Worralls etc.

At the end of the day riders who need to be in two places at once are the ones who are going to suffer through loss of earnings. Its a pity all leagues can't get together and co-ordinate their fixtures for the greater good. I'm sure with a little more communication it could all have been sorted out.

6 riders.....

Hmmmm while I get your point there are only two riders to be signed now and I think its pretty obvious that both Lynn & Leicester are scratching around and are highly unlikely to pull any rabbits out of hats, and therefore fairly easy to put them both in the lower reaches of the table.

Ulamek is the ultimate gating tart, gone into the distance if he gets the drop but totally disinterested if at the back.

I am sure he didn't get another EL offer and has only got one because Lynn have cocked up. However the facts are that P'boro are nearly two points under the limit and have a rider (who is likely to drop to reserve quite quickly) now facing nine meetings of unavailability. If the promotion and supporters have aspirations of winning things they would be daft to not consider replacing Simon, not ideal as he is a popular rider but there is very little loyalty either way in speedway because of the points limit etc. I don't think it will happen, and in a way I hope it doesn't as Simon will be a better rider for my team if he has a regular PL gig. But you really can't blame people for discussing it.

Belle Vue Poole Swindon Coventry Lakeside King's Lynn Wolves Leicester

You have to be ruthless if you want to win things, and as others have said he knew signing for Lynn would mean missing nine P'boro meetings. Its a pity that you don't jump up and down so quickly when your own club does things many don't agree with instead of toeing the party line.

Plus both leagues would struggle to find enough riders if they were forced to choose EL or PL. Its unfortunate for P'boro but at the end of the day Simon has always been a Lynn asset and it may be a blessing in disguise if Panthers release him to build up to the points limit.

What clubs decide to pay their riders is entirely up to them, some Edinburgh fans do seem to mention what Glasgow supposedly pay far too much though.

I don't suppose there was an awful lot of choice, and at least Jacobs has some EL experience.

Presumably though any rider who signed both a British and Polish contract prior to these fixtures being released would have, quite reasonably, assumed that all of their Polish fixtures would be held on Sundays? That said the release dates for the two league's fixtures does put a different complexion on things.

Nail on head.

Yes, but riders who have signed British contracts have committed to its terms and conditions, and that means being available for fixtures. Whether Poland pays more or not, if they decide to race fixtures on Friday evenings at this late stage then they should only be able to use riders who are free and available, ie not committed to riding elsewhere. It would have been different had they announced this change last year and riders who signed up for Polish sides known the score when they signed British contracts.

Then they shouldn't be signing contracts over here if they can't / won't fulfill their British fixtures. We wouldn't dream of trying to make Polish riders ride over here on Sundays.

You are right, the EL needs to commit to particular race night(s) for a variety of reasons. But as it stands IF a rider commits to a British club and its fixtures they shouldn't go back on them for other fixtures which may have been moved / rearranged in other countries. And the same works in reverse. It should be about not going back on what has been agreed, a man's word should be just that.

If a rider has already committed to riding in an EL fixture and then decides to ride elsewhere on that date in an event in which he isn't representing his country in an individual or team capacity then he should be sacked immediately. Time to start playing hardball with those who don't take our league seriously.

It would be nice to think that there could be some kind of international calendar for each rider so that as soon as they are committed to a particular fixture on a certain date it can be logged with the FIM and set in stone, not really fair for any country to mess about with its fixtures and then expect riders to back out of prior commitments . That said the sooner the EL rides on set race nights the better.

Absolutely. Would rather finish bottom with a crap but honest team than win by cheating.

Irrelevant, it goes against what the system is trying to achieve. Its another example of the rule bending and loophole exploiting which makes British speedway such a joke.