Bagpuss

Perhaps they've given up on it because its a cesspit.

Probably because too many riders were getting hold of too many dodgy sick notes. Absolutely they should be aligned, up to the FIM to step in and sign a rider off from all speedway if they've been knocked out/had a concussion.

In the case of Blodorn I think its sensible to sign a rider off for a period if they had a bang on the head. The illness thing was to discourage riders from fibbing if they fancied a night off but the jury is out on whether it actually works. FWIW Kurtz's absence for Wroclaw the other night suggests it was genuine.

Are they the minutes that Norwich are going to score in on Saturday 😁

Of course the latest forecast has rain/showers on one day of the next seven, guess which one 😂 Plenty of time for that to change though. As excited as I am about this Lynn side I think the two reserves will find life tough initially and Ipswich have an awful lot of Foxhole know how in their side, so I reckon a home win of something in the region of 48-42.

Can't remember, but I'd agree that any team who races every home meeting on one particular track will naturally have a home advantage, stands to reason. You could argue that teams who stick with riders for multiple seasons might build up more of it but everyone has at least some, and as you say the quality of the line up has much more to do with it.

You'll have to remind me of the context of that comment, although I'm pretty sure I didn't say it 😁

I don't think he 'slagged' anyone, was a light hearted dig. Interesting though that he talked about a 'numbers game' (which is what I originally thought once Fricke was in the frame) whereas Lynn say he never wanted to be back. Both could of course be true at various points in the winter, as we know riders set out for the best deal they can get and play clubs off against eachother, and clubs can change their minds on their 1-7 if riders become available. Adds a little spice to the East Anglian derbies if nothing else.

I'd definitely get rid of tactical subs for home teams.....if you are 6 behind at home then tough luck.

I took that as attitude to returning rather than attitude during the season. Bit odd though that he told Lynn early on that he wasn't coming back and then had a whinge on social media that he didn't have a Prem spot. I'd always have him back at Lynn in the future, has been a very good servant since 2021.

I take your point, I'd get rid of all tacticals personally. I guess its the knockout element which makes it more unfair for me. It was the Golden Double but I think that highlighted the imbalance of the tactical option if one team gets to use it in both legs.

I thought it was after the 2006 final where Peterborough used four tactical rides across the two legs? For me it's spot on, you can't have one team using tac subs and one not in a knockout tie.

I'd quit while you're behind 😂

So in other words he did his job.

Pride of the East podcast has an episode available now previewing the Premiership season with Rob Lyon & Dale Allitt as guests:

Revised: Sheffield Lynn BV Ippo Leicester Northampton

You commit to every single fixture or you're not allowed to sign.

Is that suggesting that Cairns doesnt 'go about his racing quietly'?

It's odd to be hammering a young lad one meeting into the season IMO but there we are. I'd far rather see our own youngsters at reserve than foreign tripe and at Lynn the most exciting element of this year's team is Scott and Rushen for me, can't wait to see them develop. You are right about the hype bit but thats not the riders fault as far as I can see, I'm sure he'd rather be left alone to develop at his own pace. It's us as fans who hype them up because very good ones seldom come around and we get all excited when it looks like one or two hit the scene.

I'm finding some of this Cairns criticism OTT and rather odd to be honest. The lad is 16 and it was his first meeting as a fully fledged RS. I hope Rushen won't get this kind of hammering if he makes a slow start.

Pleased to see Luke Harrison in there, liked what we saw from him last season and exactly the kind of rider that the RS system is about.

And so it begins......

Yep I think more than anything else Polish sparring/pre season camps have screwed us over gradually. The Polish megabucks mean riders will ask how high to jump and dor the time being there is very little we can do about it.

While I respect the views of the 'good old days' brigade I think we are way past the point where random bikes and kevlars for team mates are acceptable or appropriate for our sport or any other which claims to be professional. British speedway gets plenty of things wrong but the correct team image is vital with social media, live streaming/TV and merchandise sales etc. Can't think of any other team sport where a side looks like waifs and strays and doesn't all wear the same kit.

Exactly, its a nod to their history, although I'd have preferred Badgers!