Teromaafan

So the Championship play off dates have now been announced. If the promotion/relegation play off to follow does actually happen ( still not convinced) we are looking at early October for their meetings with the Lions. Have the Lions riders been told to make themselves available? Are potential guest riders being approached with regard to their availability to replace Lions riders that might be riding against them? (Don't laugh, this is speedway remember). Personally I do no think it matters what league we ride in next year (so long as we do actually compete) since the majority of riders racing will be the same names due to all the doubling up. Such is the lure of the Premiership that I do not think any Championship team is busting a gut to join the 'big' boys (I said stop laughing). Further re-structuring of the leagues would seem a priority and if it is necessary to bring in weaker riders to reduce the number of double uppers, so be it. Teams with similar ability having riders who do not ride for other teams has to be the way forward. Fans will relate to a regular 1 to 7.

As a neutral I wasn't bothered about last night's result and enjoyed some very competitive racing. When Ellis broke the tapes he was put back 15 metres and I noticed that he lined up with the gate 3 position. I always thought that a rider put on 15 metres had to take up the outside gate position (with the other 3 riders re-shuffled/moved across to gates 1 to 3) to give the start marshal the best chance of not being run over. Is my understanding incorrect? has the rule changed? Please let me know!

Did anyone else pick up on the post match interview (on BT Sport) between Kelvin Tatum and Pete Adams? Kelvin asked Pete a very reasonable question regarding choice of first leg venue for the play off semi final which prompted an unnecessary confrontational response from Pete. Kelvin covered himself with his response to Pete's accusation that he had not done his homework but was clearly miffed (and rightly so) at the juvenile response to his simple question. Pete Adams did not do the sport any favours in front of the TV cameras. Having a face resembling that of a camel (anyone else spotted that?) is no reason to have the hump!

I really think that Jolly Jim shot himself in the foot in the post match interview. He didn't think that any of the riders were going anywhere (his words) and didn't therefore bother with the tactical ride as soon as the Lions went 10 behind. If that was the case and he couldn't see where the next potential strong heat advantage was, why did he not go for the 'black and white stripey hat' there and then? A tad harsh but could have won us the meeting. Overall I was impressed with the fight back and it seemed that everyone, including guests were up for it.

Whilst I do admire the enthusiasm of other posters, I find it a little sad with regard to their 'excitement' for the next meeting when Lions can field a 'full strength' team. At this stage of the season, the league table doesn't lie ( same for any sport really) and the bottom line is that we are/have not been good enough to be any higher than we are in the league, regardless of who has represented us ( guests or official 1 to 7 riders). Being realistic and not wanting to be negative, we are now too far adrift to avoid the wooden spoon. We have been unlucky with injuries, but he sport is unlucky with injuries.The most frustrating thing for me is the amount of match points squandered home and away where we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. This frustrates but does not surprise me when the team manager tells his team to just enjoy the away fixtures. Since his job is to motivate and encourage, Jolly Jim clearly doesn't give a toss and should be told to enjoy 'gardening leave' as it is referred to with proper jobs.

.....and line up at the tapes to race against a guest rider who is replacing himself due to his absence!

A team is bottom of the league with two of their main men unavailable through injuries. They have a meeting and although their captain is fit, he is unavailable because he is riding for another team who are pushing for promotion in another league. The team suffers yet another defeat, whilst their captain is the top scorer for his other team in a meeting that they have won. If his great form for his other team continues, that team may well get promotion and replace the current 'top' tier team he captains. You couldn't make this up......but this is where speedway is in 2017.

There are now a couple of Aussies looking for work after being moved on from their jobs just down the A47....... (Surely not?).

​​Anyone manage to get to the Q&A with Dave Darcy in the track bar? Any interesting comments to share?

This discussion regarding who will remain with the Lions for next year (based on the likelihood that they will be relegated) makes me smile. The current seven, just the right side of the revolving door, will not be the same next month yet alone next year, due to injuries and the (rider form related) fickle/panic nature of the club managements within the sport. How many speedway fans have any affinity with riders in their team, the vast majority of which come and go in a relatively short space of time compared with other sports and who also ride for another team in Britain? I know several people who do not necessarily follow the sport, but have an understanding of it and are staggered by the fact this can happen in a so called professional sport. Regardless of whether the relegation/promotion will actually happen between the current top two tiers next year, we will still see the same riders in both leagues, its just a case of which team colours they will be wearing during the close season rider scramble.

As much as the league misses Coventry do fans really want to see a meeting where riders might be doubling up for two teams in the same match! The sport is getting to a stage where this scenario might not be far off!

Looking at the latest averages, Bjerre and Riss will be at reserve. My immediate reaction was that this paring is as good as, if not better than, anyone's in the league (when they are available of course). Then my glass half empty outlook tells me that there is a reason why they have dropped to reserve in a team that are serial wooden spoonists. If they can ride to their capabilities however, especially at home, some serious points could be racked up (although maybe not enough to elevate us to a lofty top 7 league spot). As long as they enjoy themselves eh Jim!

Nothing short of embarrassing tonight. We remain the joke of British Speedway despite all the recent rider changes (just different punch lines). Although not strictly true of tonight's line up, how can a team be at it's weakest when they are supposedly at full strength! This is not as stupid as it may appear since we had some very close away meetings at the start of the season with a heavy guest presence. Would love to know how 'no pressure Jolly Jim' took this one tonight and hope he apologised (adding a beer wouldn't seem unreasonable) to any Lions fans who made the journey to Somerset. Is there any better example of it can't get any worse?

Don't know about other folks thoughts but Jim Lynch's laid back approach to away matches to me is frankly unprofessional. His most recent comments in the Wolves preview on the website such as 'having a bit of fun' and 'don't take things too seriously' are embarrassing. For your information Jim there aren't too many people laughing. I can understand the mindset of trying to relieve pressure on riders but for goodness sake don't make comments like that public. It's not like we are dominating at home, like he said was the priority at the start of the season. From the outside he appears be taking the pee. For all his faults, Norrie told it like it was.

Yes I was at the meeting. My comments regarding track preparation were based on what I saw upon arrival (about 1.30pm) from hands on grafters/volunteers, not decision makers who would have over all responsibility for track work prior to that time and I agree that an hour delay is poor. You make reference to a first class surface, were you there! Rain did not really come in to the equation until heat 15 and up to that point the track was as good as it had been all afternoon. Rain fell heavily for the last race which was unfortunately decisive but I don't see how inadequate track preparation relates to a last heat decider outcome?

Lions are supposed to roar, but this lot too frequently prefer to roll over and have their tummy tickled. The optimism associated with the new takeover is rapidly fading based on what I witness from spectators sitting near me. To put today's performance into perspective, Rye House haven't mustered a point to date on the road but hadn't of course been to good old 'Speedway Charity' Leicester had they? So what's the answer, more changes? I do appreciate that options are very limited. Last time Lasse Bjerre went through the revolving door he met himself coming in. As fragile as we may be, incoming double upper changes are not a good idea as we seem to be struggling to field our own seven on too many occasions as it is. Whilst we have a had a couple of good spankings of late, we have also thrown away decent leads in matches home and away. When leads slip, we clearly do not have big enough guns to deliver and pull us back in heats 13 & 15. Although I have not recently stayed to listen to the team manager's post match comments/excuses, I do recall Jim Lynch publicly saying early in the season that he just wanted riders to enjoy riding away without pressure, but should look to deliver the goods/entertainment at home. So when can we expect this home delivery, can it be tracked like with Amazon? At least 'subtle as a brick ' Norrie seemed to care. Looking at the bigger picture, it yet again has the hallmark of a club (and its uncertain future) assembling a team from leftovers. Regardless of what could have possibly been done in terms of pre-match track preparation today, hats off to all involved on the day for attaining a reasonable track surface.

Stop making me laugh when I'm trying to have a good old fashioned rant! If I can't get anyone to replace me, the promotion are apparently going to exercise/enforce the supporter replacement facility which equates to other supporters paying increased admission and they will also be expected to spend more on refreshments etc to cover for my absence. Anyone smaller than me who can demonstrate a strong appetite on the night could of course be encouraged to consume up to seven burgers, with the possibility of two minute buzzer allowances introduced between burgers if necessary to ease digestion.

Lions were woeful tonight. Continually out gated and when we weren't, passed (often) without much resistance. Three away team riders unbeaten by an opponent! can't remember anything like that before (and I go back long enough to draw on plenty of dark days!). Whilst we were up against the league champions, who admittedly appear to be an even stronger unit than last year, the manner and margin of defeat at home is unacceptable from a promotion that vowed at the start of the season to send us home entertained. What makes this more frustrating is that we have come very close to a couple of away wins, although I can now see why the Lions have rolled over after being in front for large periods of these meetings. On the positive side, I got to see the (current 7) Lions without any guests or R/R which has become (and is likely to remain) a novelty due to the number of double uppers we have. I may not be available/bothered about the Rye House fixture and if not, I will endeavour to provide a guest supporter for my seat.

Any news or rumours on the team manager front? There is a very nice Italian guy who is looking for a team to manage without having to move house!

How many people on this forum have bought or will be buying season tickets? The obvious question to me is.......why? We (me and my son) have season tickets at Leicester City. The main reason is that if we didn't have them we would struggle to get tickets on a match by match basis. Over all, we also save a fair bit over the course of the season. Looking at the Lions website the season ticket prices have been reduced due to fewer meetings associated with Coventry's demise. If I were to attend all of the 14 league meetings (which I can't due to holidays, as I suspect will affect most supporters) and paid on the day it would work out less than the cost of a season ticket! The club states that the season ticket price includes KOC matches (only 1 guaranteed) and challenge fixtures ( of which there are none on the fixture list). Having never bought a speedway season ticket, I'm not sure that it entitles you to any other privilege over other spectators (such as a designated seat), but correct me if I'm wrong. So if the upfront financial outlay is only a nominal potential saving and the chances of being turned away on the night are beyond remote, what is the incentive?

So, new owner sorted, promoter sorted, team sorted, track soon to be sorted. Team manager? Let the rumours commence.

JCB sponsorship would appear to be a major coup although we don't know what their level of commitment will be. What better company could dig (pun intended) us out of the 5h1t left by the previous hierarchy!

Having only just got back into the sport recently, I wondered why the Stars club colours were blue and yellow. Back in the 70s, I remember them being green and yellow. Club colours are something traditional in any sport so would someone be kind enough to explain the reason for the change?

My last post was obviously not aimed at people like your self False Dawn! You are absolutely right with regard to Pepe Teromaa's stint with the Bees (I'd forgotten about Ila's little brother!). I'm now so mellow that I could cope with the odd defeat to the Bees as opposed to never seeing Brandon again! (Did I really just say that?).

Oh ffs I'll let you guys get on with it as I have a life to get on with. How many people/anoraks on here have arguing for the sake of it (hobbies and interests section?) on their CV?