szkocjasid

After 3 defeats in their first 4 home matches, think I knew better than most regarding Redcar. Don't like to see teams struggling, but it's nice to go against the grain & be proved right (so far).

Not massively surprised, as I just don't think Redcar look that good. Don't think they are awful either, but look one of the weaker teams in the league to me. Great result for Scunny, as I don't see them dropping any points at home, so a great start to their top 4 ambitions.

Hardly anyone said Workington would get the wooden spoon. 99% of people said that would be Plymouth. But most people had them on the bottom 3, I'll give you that.

Many have said that, but where do the riders come from to strengthen the league. Quite a few heat leaders left the Champ, there's a few British second strings happy to do RS & Poland. The only way I can see the league being stronger would be to drop all the 2.00 Brits for 4.00 foreigners. Think fans will have to get used to a weaker Championship in the years to come.

I don't see Hagon scoring any more points than Joe, but I realise they are making the move based on more than just Joe's scores. After a great first match Hagon has had a few lower scores (possibly due to falls) and only scored 2 at Edinburgh tonight. I wonder if Jake Mulford would have been the better option?

Tough to know who to drop for Kerr. While Cook's on a low average, that's largely irrelevant, signing a 4.5 rider when you have 6.5 available isn't getting the best of an attractive average. If they could sign Lambert & Lindgren (not gonna happen I know) then Cook would be on a bargain average. Will be interesting to see what they do with all their spare points.

Are they a poor team though. Look odds on to make the play-offs imo. Leicester keep losing at home, Lynn & Brummies miles behind the rest. Despite the teams low average, don't seem to be doing that badly.

If that's the case, Monarchs have no chance imo

Totally agree, with Poole's top 4, Monarchs need Coles to beat the bottom 3 repeatedly.

Think it will be close on the night, but Poole to go through. Just can't see them losing by 10 points

Don't think we're gonna agree on this, which is fine. Be boring if we all thought alike. But I'll point out Dan T would be at reserve in every other Premiership team, so that's not a great determination of the success of a RS.

Seems I'm in the minority regarding the RS system. Even if I agree Joe T & Boughen aren't ready for the Prem, then my suggested alternative, would be to allow Kemp & Jenkins to remain "rising stars" so it's a more level playing field, not to get rid of the system.

Can't agree with that, Gilkes is a near 5 points Champ rider, so exactly the sort of rider who should be holding down a RS spot.

First year no-one Second year Brennan, Hume, Mountain Third year Jenkins, Kemp These are the riders who have progressed from the RS system & gained team spots in the Prem. Not sure if you can count Edwards, as he's an RS racing in the top 6? I think that's a decent level of progress.

I think the RS system is the best rule they've introduced in years, just because one or two riders are struggling doesn't mean it doesn't work. You can't expect everyone to excel, but as long as one or two progress every year, it's working imo. Personally I think it should be used in both leagues, every Champ team actually has an RS in their team, but unlike the Prem, they aren't guaranteed to meet each other twice a meeting.

While Joe is struggling in the top division, I'm not sure there's anyone better out there, certainly not with Leicester track experience. Lions probably better off just giving him time.

While King's average has dropped, there's still decent riders available to guest. Might not always get a rider as good as Riss, but shouldn't hurt Redcar too much.

Who would you put at 5?

Not really, Milik hasn't been going well. I thought he would be a potent reserve, but after losing a 5-1 in heat 2, quickly changed my mind.

Be tough for him against Fricke & Lawson. I'd use Rew, give him practice before heat 2.

Yeah my (pre-season) Atkins suggestion was based on him being a 4+ Champ rider last year, so statistically the strongest non RS available. As he started the season poorly (till last night) don't see him getting a chance now.

I said pre-season start with Atkins, then if Boughen is outperforming him in the Champ, give him a chance. It's a big step up from less than half a season in the Champ to the Prem.

The Starke situation is an odd one, started with a 4.00 average (4.10 before reduction) has ridden 2 matches for a 5.00 average, yet his green sheets have dropped to 3.52. I think he may have been carrying some high scoring meetings from 2021, which were dropped off once he rode his first 2024 match, so his average has shot down, despite scoring above it. Even last year he rode better for Plymouth in matches that didn't count for the averages (BSN, KOC), but poorer for Birmingham when they did (league).

As much as I love Speedway the attitude from the BSPL towards the NDL leaves me losing interest in it. The first match if this season for example, Leicester allowed a guest for Max James as he was due at Edinburgh's pre-season practice. If the powers that be have decided that is considered more important than a NDL fixture, it doesn't exactly encourage me to attend NDL matches.

While people may not be saying this exactly, at times it looks like they are waiting for Cook to miss matches due to mental health so they can say "I told you so". Do people really get pleasure in suggesting something will go wrong for Craig? Because that appears to be the case at times.