King Jamie

Could Clyde FC purchase Shawfield Stadium and return there? Or are they skint? Or is the stadium beyond repair? Or both?!

2006. The reason I remember is because Daniel Nermark signed for Edinburgh in 2005 on some stupidly high converted average, around 11.34. He was one of the most frustrating riders I've ever had the misfortune to watch, home and away, and finished the season a smidgen over 8 (8.06?) It was during that winter when the powers that be decided to exclude bonus points from the team building averages / green sheets, thus lowering DN to 6.74 or thereabouts (I'd need to check my spreadsheet for the exact figures, but it's not exactly important). He left the Monarchs and signed for KL alongside, from memory, the likes of Tomas Topinka, Kevin Doolan and a very young Troy Batchelor. I'm sure Mr Bagpuss will tell me if I've got any of those wrong. Of course, after being next to useless in our colours, he suddenly became untouchable around all UK second tier circuits, and the Stars ran away with the league title by the proverbial mile

They could always charge less for a season ticket in the first place if there are only 11 matches guaranteed, hence making a substantial saving possible. Back their original team building choices and, therefore, take the gamble that extra meetings will be forthcoming further down the line, knowing full well that people should be likely to turn up for 'big occasion' events when they occur.

What exactly is there to "understand"?

The Thomson Twins? Defo the ginger lassie

Good boy

He beat Troy Batchelor in heat 9 at sunny Armadale. Granted, Monarchs got a 5-1 and TB was off 15m but a point is a point at the end of the day

So, £304 for an adult purchasing advance tickets and attending all meetings, or £340 if paying on the day. Season ticket therefore saves either £35 or £71. Quite generous

Why is everyone going on about "£20"? Just purchase the individual meeting ticket online, it's only £18 (albeit probably add a 50p charge). PS your team looks iffy at best.

I would love Rew at sunny Armadale. A top 5 of Pickering, Cook, Thomson, Rew and Castagna would be a match for absolutely anybody in the Championship. Fredriksen / Hook and a 2-pointer at reserve. Wouldn't really matter who, as the top 5 would score more than enough pretty much everywhere. Anyway, time to wake up now. Back to reality...

Wouldn't really matter. They could sign me on a 2.00 and still walk the league with the other 6!

er, possibly

Easy newspaper headline: Tigers Bag Pijper

No, it doesn't. If riders crash, the referee probably puts the red lights on for safety reasons primarily. However if, in their opinion, they can't decide who was the primary cause of the stoppage, there's nothing to stop them declaring an all 4 rerun. I suspect most refs don't do it because fans may think they're 'bottling' making a decision and, therefore, shouldn't be in the job. I would argue the opposite. The option is there. If the situation fits, use it.

Who? I'm a sad git who knows all and sundry riders, including lesser ones, from across the country but I can honestly say I've never heard of him

Given that Lasse finished with a higher average than Jacob (albeit still under 4), despite spending the whole season in the top 5, logically it would make sense to declare the stronger rider as the reserve. However, if Fredriksen still doesn't go over 4 from reserve, Hook will be stuck at number 2. A lack of points there could destroy him. He tends to jump out the start, and sometimes grab a win, once per meeting. I hope he's learned a lot from this season. Nowhere near the worst rider I've ever seen and one I would be happy to see included in 2023.

When somebody falls on the 3rd lap, on their own, they would still be excluded if the race was stopped. Awarding the result would obviously depend on the positions / closeness of the remaining riders, as normal. Re-runs with all 4 can take place after genuine 'racing incidents' on any lap. The thing is, they are still relatively rare. In the vast majority of cases, 'fault' should be reasonably clear and the decision to exclude is, therefore, correct. However as stated, if the ref cannot decide, the all 4 option is still available

I haven't invented anything Sir. I'm just stating a little known fact that the referee doesn't need to exclude anyone at any point in the race. At least 2 refs have confirmed this in the past, one of them a former GP ref. I think he (and the other, hugely experienced, chap) would know what they were talking about

A referee is entitled to use their discretion at all times. They do not have to exclude any rider at any point in a race, regardless of whether it's lap 1 or lap 4. No need for any rules to be changed. We just need refs to stop being exclusion-happy.

Just like the one at Swindon a few years ago?

Funnily enough, I was thinking about that yesterday after I posted. Once the Newcastle meetings are removed, Complin won't have 10 meetings to his name. Therefore, does he revert back to the assessed 4.00 he started the season with, or will the powers-that-be fudge some random figure based on a handful of laps?

Don't forget the 2.5% UK reduction, which would bring Mr Blobby's dream team back under 42.00. However, obviously, it won't matter anyway if the limit is 40.

Danyon's rolling average is showing as 5.83, so his last 10 meetings must've been better than his season overall (5.39, as above). Was he at reserve during that time? I have no idea and can't be bothered checking. Sorry!

I remember asking the question a number of years ago on the Chatzone re the club's name, as in, "does it have to be 'Edinburgh Monarchs'?" My reasoning was along the lines of, over the years, we've also been 'Coatbridge Monarchs' as well as 'Scottish Monarchs'. City of Edinburgh Council didn't want us (presumably still don't), so why not change to Armadale Monarchs or something similar? Does it really make a difference? Some of the replies were 'interesting' and it seemed quite a few posters were completely against the idea. Roll forward to the present day, and assuming CEC are still anti-speedway, I don't really see what other choice we have. Change identity or die a death

Sunny Armadale is apparently set to be flattened soon. Last night, it felt like the demolition men had arrived a few weeks ahead of schedule. The People's Champions, the table topping Leicester Lions, were relentless in their pursuit of first leg victory. It started with Morris dancing into the lead in heat 1 and Monarchs fans certainly knew their side had a Mountain to climb when young Connor passed the hapless Sam Masters to secure the 5-1. Fireman Sam was found wanting against top opposition (not for the first time) and he followed up his heat 1 failure by almost sticking Lasse Fredriksen in the pits on the first turn of heat 6. He did pretty much the same thing in the corresponding race last Friday. What price team riding? He then posted two decent rides before being bullied into submission (and third place) by the classy Richie Worrall in heat 15. Not good enough from 'the league's best rider'. Like a number of others, I was hugely impressed with Connor Mountain, who made a molehill out of all the home men, with the sole exception of Josh Pickering who had to work overtime and a half to force his way into second in heat 11. Part of me actually wanted him to achieve his paid maximum as it would've been a suitable ending to a performance I would rank as one of the best from a visiting second string throughout the entirety of sunny Armadale's existence. It's always a delight to see Max Clegg scoring well, his only defeats coming from his 2 outings off gate 1. Well done young man. For the Monarchs, when the glue that is Kye Thomson has an off night, it's never a good sign. He looked a pale shadow of his usual self all evening, not helped by the Italian plumber also failing to rise to the occasion. So, well done Leicester. Let's hope you finish the job in the Final and sporting justice is done. Say no to artificial, Americanised, climax-chasing razzmatazz. You're the 2022 Champions in my eyes, regardless of the end result. er, roll on Friday...