szkocjasid

Totally agree, it's one thing to say it's a risk not having top heat leaders, but another thing entirely to suggest Lynn would have no chance of a play-off spot. I could see riders like Cook (or Janowski) & Kvech putting a point of their averages, if that happens then you've got 8 & 7.5 riders at the top of the team followed by a very strong reserve. Even if the elder statesmen Harris & Iversen don't up their averages, they don't seem to be on a deep slide either, then there's Klindt who was going much better for Lynn than he was at Oxford. The biggest issue for me is not signing Jenkins or Flint as their RS. I've often liked the look of the Lynn teams only to be proved wrong (everyone else said I was mad) but this team does give me hope for at least a mid-table finish.

He's not a very good manager (but not the worst) and I'm under the impression he isn't cheap.

Harris can't replace Boughen in heat 8, but he could in heats 4, 12, 14 where he meets another reserve. That's the point I was making. Even if he can't beat opposition heat leaders, having a reserve who may score 8 from 5 is better than a 4 point rider scoring 4. I'm not saying I definitely would've gone down the route of Harris at reserve over a top number one, but if they can't get anyone to sign, then if I was a Lynn fan, I'd still feel positive about having Harris at 6.

This is a bit different, Harris has been a 6+ rider for a few years, he's not on a massive downward spiral. Plus he rode at number 5 for Oxford for a lot of meetings, so moving to reserve should see an increased average without him improving. I agree with your point about 7 rides, he'd only get that if multiple top 5 riders are underperforming, which they don't want. But he should have the beating of opposition reserves in heats 2,4,12,14 which is where you gain the advantage.

I doubt it, otherwise they wouldn't have picked him, could've gone for Jenkins or Flint if they thought he'd "lost his bottle"

Agreed, good signing imo

But if they had two strong reserves the lack of 3rd heat leader wouldn't have been a problem, look at Oxford for example, second best team in the league.

Season ticket holders of the Brummies will have free access to Warwickshire County Championship cricket matches whilst Warwickshire members will be able to attend speedway fixtures at Perry Barr in a reciprocal agreement. So regardless of which sport you like to watch, you could just buy the cheaper season ticket then? But realistically fans would probably want to support their "own" team.

There have usually been more than 6 teams in the NDL, so providing riders who didn't get signed this year, there should be riders out there to fill up new teams. I'd also recommend 6 man teams (5 rides each to aid development) and probably relax the 4.00 Champ rule.

100% agree with that comment, which I think applies to Starke

Don't see why so many people have a problem with this post. If Lambert rides as well as he did last year, then it will be interesting - could mean decent races against Lawson, Brennan & the Cooks. Lisa never said it would help Oxford win the Cup, merely that it could be interesting. She's entitled to her opinion, why are so many people bothered by it?

My first thought was far too long a tail, but that top 4 could probably win home matches on their own.

Very much agree.

They both have potential to improve & probably will. Think I'd avoid Hagon because he ended the season so poorly. Tbh it's not a major issue if they've got it wrong, can just swap the RS for another if need be.

You'd think so, signing him on 8, dropping to 7, then letting another team gain the advantage of his improvement throughout the season sounds like something Peter Schroeck would do lol!

There's no denying Joe has been a poor RS, but since he got dropped by Leicester he improved a lot at Plymouth, so I'd have given him another shot.

Who do you think will join in?

If it's a 40 point limit? Justin Sedgmen 7.92 Michael P Toft 7.80 Paco Castagna 7.11 Cameron Heeps 6.37 Lasse Fredriksen 4.67 New foreigner 4.00 Max James 2.00 Total 39.87 If it's a 38 point limit? Justin Sedgmen 7.92 Michael P Toft 7.80 Paco Castagna 7.11 Connor Mountain 5.65 Theo Pijper 4.43 Ace Pijper 3.00 Stene Pijper 2.00 Total 37.91

If there were no play-offs I'd agree with the risks you mention. But all they have to do is make the top 4. If the top 4 can get you close to 40 points away, they should get plenty of bonus points. Then it just comes down to having a couple of strong meetings to finish the season. It's easier to take risks with teams now, than it was in the pre play-off era. Or even when they started clubs had to be top 4 out of 9 or 10. Now it's top 4 out of 7.

Probably not, but till he's announced elsewhere, trying to think up realistic possibilities.

That comment confuses me, as the most promising young Brit since Robert Lambert, why would anyone accuse Leicester of favouritism if they signed Cairns? By all means go to a track which he thinks will progress his career (Belle Vue not Poole), but I wouldn't go to another track just to avoid riding for his Dad. For the last bit, if he wants to make his own way in the sport, should his Dad say "well you pay Greg Hancock for his training sessions then" lol!

If it's a 38 point limit? Rory Schlein 8.08 Leon Flint 6.68 Drew Kemp 6.46 Alfie Bowtell 5.07 Danyon Hume 4.87 Bastien Borke 4.84 Freddie Hodder 2.00 Total 38.00

Depends how many league matches they have left. If they planned it so they had only 5 league matches left (plus BSN, KOC & play-offs) Cairns could still be on a 2.00 average for 2026!

How can this happen in a "professional" sport, surely you'd double check figures when planning teams?