Bagpuss

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.

The truth is we got lucky with Lewis Rose in 2014, others could have picked him before Lynn but didn't as they didn't know much about him and he was far better than those of us who knew of him thought. Injuries at the end of that season and the start of last have really curtailed his progress unfortunately, hopefully with a good injury free year he might get back to where he was in that first season. The FTR system has its faults but on the whole I think its doing what it set out to do and the reserves picks looked reasonably even until Lynn released Kerr. I think Lambert & Rose will probably hold their own at home but away from Lynn they look easy pickings unfortunately.

Unless Lewis or Simon have a breakthrough season thats a very weak reserve pairing. Are there still two reserve races? If so thats an eight point head start for the opposition in several matches unfortunately. Need a huge signing at number one to have even a sniff of the Play Offs, the latest rumour I've heard is Sayfutdinov but I can't take that seriously at all, plus I thought Russian matches are ridden on Thursdays anyway. As Haza says I just can't see the benefit of the club moving race nights as it stands, would be nice if the promotion came clean. And as mentioned by semion at some point the team so far does little to attract the floating supporter. All rather deflating to be honest.

Can't speak for others but I'd be opposing this whoever it was signing Davey because it absolutely stinks. Plus I praised you lot last year for having two young British reserves.

Unfortunately the points limit results in riders being forced out every year, Brandford is one of those. The harsh reality is that if he was good enough to start the season he would have got a spot somewhere, hopefully he will get one at some point during the year. The number seven rule was designed to keep some poor foreigners out of PL reserve berths and provide a pathway from NL to PL, unfortunately signing Davey would fulfill neither of these principles. No disrespect to the rider or Edinburgh who I appreciate have found it hard to get somebody to travel up on a Friday night, but this signing would be a poor, poor show.

Poor show.

My understanding is that extra 'squad' members are only to cover for missing double uppers?

The Iversen thing is a non starter if somebody else has to be released to fit him in for a month.

Lynn fans love Mads because he has always given 100%, whereas KB very often looks uninterested. Most people will forgive shortcomings if they can see maximum effort being given.

A couple of absolute headcases.

The numbers mean a team had to be seeded really, could have been either the hosts or the holders, don't see the need for the moaning and groaning to be honest. The main concern is the scheduling, hopefully other events won't interfere.

Sounds like an excellent idea in principle, hopefully the nuts and bolts will match it!

Its not just money though, its also fatigue through lots of matches on lots of different nights of the week. British speedway has failed to adapt to the changes in World Championship speedway, I understand if people would rather go with riders who are prepared to ride over here in the current conditions but at the same time we can't moan about GP riders staying away if we don't change. Any rider with ambition will want to get as far in the sport as they can and in terms of being fresh enough to make as big an impact as possible in the GP's nobody can blame the top names for racing in countries with set race nights, and that includes Tai. I'd love to see him and all of the others riding over here in the EL but I understand and accept why they don't.

I think if Nik averages 8 he will have had a very good season.

But would you feel the same if BSI weren't involved

Not really, they can ride once a week on set days in those countries, far less hassle and running about.

Completely agree with the second part, but if this situation is as Skidder describes I fail to see how it has anything to do with Leicester or Lynn struggling to complete their teams.

Its a fact of life though that successful GP riders have cut the UK out in order to be fresher for the GP rounds, the proof of the pudding is that Tai won it again last season. I would rather have a British world champion than a rider who is 'loyal' to the EL but halfway down the GP standings. Until British Speedway decides to fit round GP riders we really can't moan about them not riding over here.

Seems like a good idea in principle, but a proper BSPA press release is conspicuous by its absence.