Arch Stanton

Absolutely right he does. And I think he would have done again eventually last year if he’d have been kept on, although nobody can really argue with Louis’ decision to drop him and reshuffle the team. He loves the home comforts of Foxhall and when he’s on song, there are few as entertaining.

I think he’s a favourite because of the way he attacks the track at Foxhall (bar last year). He’s never been particularly good away, but at home he’s often been a match winner and entertains with his outside blasts. Covatti was also popular on the terraces, for the same reasons.

A week to go! A week too late looking at the forecast for next week. Typically, a lovely spring week this week is set to turn much colder again for the first meeting so don’t put the bobble hats away just yet!

Thanks Taps. Got to say the comments seem extremely harsh on Cam looking at those photos. I was one of his biggest critics a few years ago when he came back in terrible shape, but he looks absolutely fine here..

I noticed that too. Batch had 3 on his kevlars but Heeps had no number on his kevlars but 3 on his bike.

Anyone go last night and know the riding order?

If parents can’t afford to take the kids, and let’s be honest, not many can in these difficult times, where are the future hardcore fans coming from? Dont charge them, let them get in and get hooked by the sport like most of us were back in the day, and think a bit further down the line rather than the short sighted here and now approach.

So short sighted and terrible attitude. Costs me 20 quid for me and my daughter to go to Foxhall, will cost me £29 at Peterborough! That’s a huge difference. My daughter wasn’t initially keen to go at the beginning, and I certainly wouldn’t have paid to take her knowing she wasn’t overly fussed about going, but because she was free to get in I dragged her along for company to see what she thought. She now won’t miss a meeting, and it’s actually me that can’t be bothered some nights but I end up going for her. Club merchandise, teenage crush on Heeps, the works! You never can tell, but every chance in a few years once she turns 17, she’ll return as a paying customer. How many others are just like her? Saw more youngsters at Foxhall last year than probably all the away tracks I visited combined. Is there any wonder? Again, well done to the Ipswich promotion for some forward thinking, pity the others aren’t of the same mindset

I’d rather praise the Ipswich promotion for being the only club at least trying to encourage the future support of the club/sport by still allowing the youngsters in for FREE. Everyone else is charging, ranging from a Fiver to 8 quid!

Not even the Number 8?

Is there a more difficult team to read this year than Ipswich? Don’t think there is based on a fair few who have comfortably lower averages than they’ve had previously. There’s those (one in particular who never seems to tire of telling us all how cr@p Ipswich look) who say Ipswich look poor, who are banking on those riders NOT moving their averages up northwards to what they’ve previously proved capable of, and others who rate the team who are banking on said riders doing just that and improving them. Fact is, none of us can be confident either way which makes the team this year very difficult to predict. Batchelor was just shy of a 9 point average as recent as 2019, he’s now 5 and a half. Riss has consistently been around 6-6 and a half, he’s now on a 5, and Heeps who notched 6.30 in his only top flight season with us in 2019 who is now under 5! Are they all on a permanent slide in to oblivion? Or did they all just have really bad season’s for one reason or another? As I said, nobody can be totally confident either way. If Riss and Heeps get back on par to previous figures, and Batchelor puts a point and a half back on his, then it’s definitely a play off team. Continue where they left off last season then it’s a spoon contender.

That’s the spirit.

Why not Oh, and obviously a comfortable opening night home victory..

What we thinking riding order wise? Cam at 2 riding with Doyle? Riss and Batch in the engine room and King at 5?

Makes the season ticket seem a bit better value at £205. Can afford to miss a couple and still be 15 quid better off.

You’ve been saying that since Christmas

What’s happened to stevebrum? Not a single contribution on this thread since it started! Has been a regular poster over the years so hope the fella is ok

Danyon Hume has been told to be at every Ipswich meeting and he’s set to be heavily involved. Not surprising really, as he’s a real coup at number 8 and better than a lot of others main reserves.

Exactly the same as mine, IF Belle Vue retain Bewley. That spearhead would be ridiculous

https://ipswichwitches.co/tru-mix-to-sponsor-ipswich-in-2022/ Guy Nicholls continuing to pump his money in. Interesting interview, even though I don’t agree with him on parts of it. “I think it is our turn to win something. Dare I say it, but it is important to me personally as I’ve been going for years but as a business we don’t come second, we dominate every market we are in”. Ouch. Well building a team a couple of points below the available limit certainly isn’t going to help your chances

Impossible to argue with that. We haven’t won anything for many many years now, so the team building has been a failure. Louis has to accept that. Even dropping a division and arguably having a bigger budget than most if not all, didn’t change that.

I’ll throw my penny’s worth in here if I may, as to be fair I had the same feelings on Allen as Steve has. In fact, I was pretty vocal after a meeting during the season in which I was less than happy with what I saw from him in regards to effort. I don’t know any “facts” either, but I definitely got the impression at times that he was just giving up in a number of races.

Anyway, I’m still cheesed off that we’re so far under the limit! Sorry for sounding like a broken record but that’s really rattled my cage

I wasn’t shocked to see Allen not in the team either. Something seemed very off with him and unlike the previous couple of campaigns, he didn’t look happy. Was there some kind of rift? Thought it was quite telling that Hawkins went to press recently stating that he was building the team, and he’d told Louis exactly who he wanted to work with and who he didn’t and he wanted to build a side that would all get on and generate a good team spirit, and Allen was obviously omitted. Or perhaps it was the other way around? It’s entirely possible he was asked and he said up yours! Who knows..