Arch Stanton

Seen this a few times and it’s starting to grate to be honest. The fact is, it’s Ipswich that won’t have Tungate back, NOT that Tungate won’t ride for Ipswich. The rider himself has publicly said he’s asked Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins about a team place, and received no reply. He’s simply not welcome back at Ipswich. Good luck to him at Peterborough though. As I said earlier, makes Peterborough stronger. Tungate will be in the 7-8 average range, Harris will drop to 6-7. IMO.

I know a few are disappointed about Harris as they enjoyed watching him during his last stint, but I honestly believe Panthers will be better off as a team with Tungate rather than Harris. Harris will drop somewhere in the 6-7 bracket, whilst Tungate will stay similar to his current average IMO. I also think once dialled in, Tungate will fly around the Showground just like he did at Belle Vue. The track will suit him.

We do have a May bank holiday afternoon fixture though against Lynn so looking forward to that one.

I keep forgetting we HAVE moved up Sue! I keep looking at our line up and thinking we’ve got a cracking Championship team and have a great chance of lifting silverware

Harris done ok at Foxhall last year. Wasn’t brilliant, but he isn’t brilliant anywhere these days. The problem this team has is heat winners. I can see plenty of second and thirds and few last places particularly at home, but there doesn’t look anywhere near enough heat winners there. I can see many many 1-5 reverses in heats 13 and 15. That’s an 8 point swing in the scores in the last 3 heats and that’s where we’re going to have a big problem IMO.

I really really hope that’s the team. We might not finish bottom after all

Totally and utterly wrong I’m afraid.

I wasn’t expecting anything else..

Possibly, and we’ll still be strong at reserve. Could even be the Polish chap if it takes him a while to get used to Foxhall. I quite like Bellego. Inconsistent definitely, that’s why he’s a 6 pointer, but he can produce some eye catching performances as well. I don’t see Bellego dropping his average, so even if he stays 6-6.5 then if he drops to reserve the other two will have upped their game dramatically. Reserve is one area of the team where we’re going to be sound.

I wouldn’t read too much in to what you saw at Wolves last year. Heeps came back last year very poorly prepared and it showed in his performances. He was also damn lucky he didn’t get the chop at Ipswich as well as Wolves and if he had, he couldn’t have had any complaints. I think his close relationship with those at the club kept him in a job and he was a lucky boy. But, we know he’s far far better than that and that first half of the season was the worst we’ve seen him in the half dozen or so years he’s been over here. Slowly throughout the year he got his fitness back and got himself in racing shape. It SHOULD have happened at the very beginning and he was totally unprofessional. But he got there in the end and his scoring returned to the standards we’re used to seeing and if Wolves had hung on to him (and I don’t blame them for sacking him) then they’d have seen an improvement too. We’re hearing that he’s taken a much better approach this winter, kept himself fit and active and that’s good to hear. We’re going to need him to be a potent force at reserve alongside Allen and I think the pair of them will forge a very good partnership down at the bottom end.

The track has been poor for a while. They’ve worked hard on the shape and IMO there’s nothing wrong with the shape whatsoever. But this is a problem that doesn’t seem exclusive to us these days. Plenty of fans on here have been moaning about the tracks at their clubs and the subsequent lack of entertainment, even tracks that have a reputation of always producing good racing in the past. Louis recently said that today’s bikes have changed so much in the way they handle and perform compared to the machines he used to race, that when he’s ridden them they’re “not for him”. I wonder if this is a factor in the way tracks are prepared these days making them slicker and therefore easier to ride? You also have the problem that you’ll never get 7 riders that want the track set up in the same way. Half will ask for plenty of grip and half will want it slick so what gives? Impossible to keep everyone happy and it must be tricky trying to find the right balance.

Good points actually especially the last line. I don’t know much about the Pole but both Louis and Hawkins are convinced he’ll soon be a crowd favourite. We know Harris is entertaining and he WILL be at Foxhall when he’s properly dialled in, and Bellego is entertaining too. King and Heeps we also know can provide good racing around Foxhall so even if the results don’t come, the entertainment will hopefully be there. Hopefully that will be enough as at the end of the day, sport is a results business. Im not impressed with the strength of the team I have to be honest, but I’ll be there for the first meeting and I’ll see how things go.

Hard to disagree. It’s ok for those to say “use it or lose it” but it has to be a two way thing. They have to provide something worthwhile for the fans to pay their entrance fee and an increased one at that. They can’t expect supporters to just turn up out of blind loyalty. I hope I’m wrong, but this very much seems like a team on a par with our last “Elite” league team where fans finally lost patience and voted with their feet. That season nearly killed the club stone dead until we were rescued by the second tier. It’s certainly not as good as Peterborough’s team and I suspect, will be nowhere near Lynn’s either. At least Buster has been true to his word, he really does hate us doesn’t he We have to give the team a chance of course we do, and the team might actually do OK at home, but looking through the home and away averages, we seem to have collected a group that are absolutely dreadful away from the comforts of their home circuit. We’ll get some right batterings on the road.

Ah, is that some cryptic message that he HAS been contacted then

But I’m not a member of the BSPA, I’m a fan that enjoys watching Speedway racing. Am I happy with a lot of what’s going on? No. But it’s out of my control I can’t influence any of it. As I say, all I can do is try and put all the politics to the back of my mind and turn up on a Thursday evening to hopefully still enjoy the racing.

It’s obviously not ideal but it is what it is. We all love Speedway racing otherwise we wouldn’t be on here, so the only thing you can do is try and put all political stuff to the back of your mind, turn up and watch four riders race each other for 15 heats of Speedway and hopefully enjoy what we see. Thats the way I’m going to look at it.

Just like the press releases from both Ipswich and Peterborough when he’d taken over both clubs. Think we know the game now. It’s sh!t, but we know the game. Going to be very interesting to see what the crowd levels are at the start, and throughout next season at both clubs Has all the makings of being disastrous this.

I think CL likewise bruv. I’ve found CL very approachable on social media, and I can honestly say he’s replied to my questions on each and every occasion I’ve asked one on Twitter in the past. This winter though, despite my efforts, he hasn’t replied to a single one. This is despite him still active on there on other matters..

Is Neil still now involved? He’s normally very active on here but since the takeover was “completed” he’s been conspicuous by his absence. Coincidence?

If that’s the only choice, definitely the latter for me.

I think there’s plenty of Glasgow fans who would disagree with you there..

Wouldn’t take either. I’d prefer a couple of riders with hunger and fire in their belly, busting a gut to impress and move up the Speedway ladder. Not riders who are looking for one last Payday to top up their retirement fund.

I’m of the same opinion. I’m hoping within the next 12 months Chris Louis exercises his buy back option..