Arch Stanton

Well I think everyone knows it already. Looks a super side to me with big improvement in a lot of riders. I actually think the big improvers will come from those that everyone else will least expect it. I think Doolan on brand new machinery will prove to be an excellent number 1, and Risager in his second season will up his average considerably after getting over a horrific hand injury this year.

I think its worth noting that it isn't necessarily important to get your team building right from the off this year. Its not going to be how you start, it will be how you finish. Newport last year built what looked on paper to be a poor side and so it proved. They were beaten heavily home and away and were rooted to the bottom of the table. But that enabled them to strengthen up massively which they did and they went on an incredible run which saw them climb up to fifth in the table. By the end of the season, they had on paper a team far stronger than anyone else. If the league had a play off set up like the coming season, Newport would more than likely have lifted the championship trophy. So for those supporters that are unhappy with their line ups so far i wouldn't be overly concerned as long as you have a proactive promotion. The job is to get in to the top 6, not finish first. Finishing top of the table this time will win you nothing. I've a feeling that a number of clubs will look very different at the climax of the season to the ones that started. To be fair, if the Ipswich team is the one rumoured, you could have the possibility that the team works hard in meetings to be in with a great chance of taking something, especially away, only to see all the hard work undone in the closing heats. Looking at the top end of a few clubs already, Ipswich potentially look like being bullied in heats 13 and 15. Thankfully for them, no tacticals can be used in those heats this year.

I'm sure they'll know exactly who they want and i'd bet more than just the three already confirmed, have already put pen to paper. Rohan Tungate is example of that. The news broke of his signing last Thursday morning first in the Ipswich Evening Star, and quickly followed on the official website. Both the Star and Website carried pictures of Rohan signing his contract flanked by both Chris Louis and Pete Simmons. The article in the paper revealed "Speaking from his Kurri Kurri home last night", so unless Chris Louis and Pete Simmons hopped on a plane to Australia to get the lad to sign which i highly doubt, the reality is the lad put pen to paper some time before last Thursday before he set off back home to Australia which i'm led to believe, was a few weeks back.

Is it "inconsequential" to them though? Its not a Rick Frost situation where the club is simply a hobby is it. Its their livelihood. Sorry but i don't believe for a second that the business of running Ipswich speedway has just been completely dropped. Even if they are not directly involved themselves, they will have somebody working on the team/season tickets etc etc. They can't afford not to. If as you say "so be it" if the team doesn't end up as strong as it might have been because of recent events, i don't think the supporters will be understanding and supportive to an extent to hand over their hard earned money on a regular basis next season if the team isn't attractive enough

That won't be the team as its over the limit as things stand.

Do you seriously believe that? I wouldn't let the fact that Mike Bacon estimates the Foxhall crowd figures to be 1,100 EVERY SINGLE WEEK in the local rag fool you!!!

Of course it isn't. You've been boasting the "fact" that more people have been going through the turnstiles this season compared to last, but now you've decided to up the ante and declare that more people have gone through the turnstiles this season than any of the last THREE Elite league seasons. With the lower running costs of PL, i'm quite willing to go with the suggestion that the club have had a better financial year this year than the last three EL seasons, but more people through the gate? Behave!!

I'm not having that one!!

To be fair the question was previous seasonS, not last season. If you are talking about comparing this season on the whole compared to a window between August and October last year then the crowds this season are favourable. However, and this is my opinion based on how I saw the attendances, the Elite league crowds prior to August last year held up superbly despite the team being both shockingly bad and mind-numbingly boring to watch. When it became a mathematical certainty that the only position Ipswich could finish would be bottom (It looked that way from March!!), The crowd disappeared totally leaving only a few hundred on the terraces during the closing months of the season. Indeed, far worse than anything seen this year. But for such an entertaining team this year who managed a creditable third in the league, winning the majority of home matches handsomely, the crowd levels it has to be said have been disappointing. Chris Louis himself mentioned on radio Suffolk a few weeks ago, that one of the few disappointments of this year was the way the crowds dipped after it was known that Ipswich couldn't win the title.

I agree that a few people need to calm down a little here! Brian Havelock made comments that a club other than his own had thrown "silly money" at Rohan Tungate which led to one Redcar supporter to make the assumption he could be "Ipswich bound". That snowballed and led to others saying a deal between Ipswich and Tungate was nearly done and dusted. Nick Morris is a highly sought after young rider who a lot of Ipswich fans have written down on their wishlist for next season. So have many other fans of other clubs. All this is pure speculation and has led to sniping from supporters of other clubs already who are accusing the club of trying to "buy the title", "cherry picking the best young talent", and generally having a bottomless pit of money to throw here there and everywhere!! All this based on pure speculation. Up to now, the club have signed one rider that came as no surprise to anyone, Cameron Heeps.

Interesting to see a couple of Elite league fat cats at the meeting. I think the ultimate ambition for Chris Louis is to move Ipswich back up to the Elite league, and Mildenhall up to the Premier league.

Cameron is already signed up for Ipswich. It certainly isn't a waste of time him coming over either. Foxhall will be his home track in the coming seasons and the lad will be putting plenty of laps in after meetings. It's all helpful experience for him and certainly isn't a waste of time. John and Chris Louis, and Jeremy Doncaster have already spent time helping him sinced he arrived only days ago.

Birmingham have definitely moved in to the Elite League taken the place of Ipswich who drop down a division.