Teromaafan

Would love Sedge back. His average with Brum was 4.79. If he could ride at 6 it would be great, but that would have a knock on affect on the middle order if the plans are to bring in an 8+ rider. If the new points limit is 39, the Lions would have to lose just over 3 points (excluding British reductions for team building) from this years team.

Quite right, sorry, was thinking of Joe!

Wouldn’t rule it out. If Hagon struggles to beat the opposing RS at home, he just might get another chance.

Thanks RTB! I guess the Lions will have Hagon again. The kid is out of his depth at this level and if he is retained it can only be because of connnections, as I cannot believe that Dickson would want him if he had a say.

Will that just be a list or confirm who they will be riding for?

There is a lot of talk about admission prices and the correlation with attendance figures. If prices were a couple of quid lower, would a few more of hundred spectators show up? Trying to apply simple business economics in this sport in its current state is pointless. If prices went up or down by around £3 to £5 next season I do not think it would make much difference to attendances, due to the fans age demograph. The sport relies on die hards in the 60 plus age group who will always moan about prices but will still pay to watch the sport because ‘we always have done’. Being brutally honest, even when some clubs have offered serious discounts on certain meetings, the number of additional attendees is usually underwhelming. Getting people through the turnstile is one thing, but then delivering a product to want the casual supporter to return is another. Club’s are not naive enough to think that there are queues of people waiting for admission price tweaks to visit their tracks. Fact of the matter is, the people that could make an impact financially aren’t aware of the sport and worse still, are not aware of a track that might be local to them. Promotion of the sport in the UK on the whole sums up all of the above.

The way things are going, every team in the Premiership could be represented in a single tournament!

Despite the dire situation the sport is in, I cannot believe that a club would hesitate to approach a rider in case it made another team weaker.

Belle Vue, Ipswich and Sheffield will all have riders at No.5 who are better than Masters and Douglas. They both might have to be sacrificed if a they can bring in a suitable 8+ rider to support Fricke, resulting in obvious weakening elsewhere.

I was determined to have a couple of big hitters at 1 & 5 and a decent No.6. I came up with the following based on a 39 point limit: Fricke Sedgmen Lawson Howarth Lindgren C Cook RS Total of 38.74 by my sums, taking into account the discount for British riders. Big emphasis on home winning margins, with only Freddie having never ridden for the Lions previously.

Clubs taking things seriously will do everything they can to keep a top two on 8+ averages (regardless of the points limit) as this seems to be the way to go of late to win the league. The shrewdest managements will of course seek the best riders available(on the up) on lower averages for their middle order which will have to be compromised. If the Lion’s backbone is as named previously on this thread, then next season will not surpass this one, since half of the league will have a better No.5 than Masters. Since any points scored by the RS would appear to be a bonus, a 5 pointer at No.6 is something the Lions should be looking at. That said, if you are having the two required big hitters at the top end, you are highly likely to have at least one 5 pointer in the main 1 to 5 of the team! Think we’ll just have to rely on Dickson’s judgement again, which I’m happy to do.

Yes, the upturn coincided with Becker punching above his weight.

Whether you’re right or wrong regarding the owner’s motives, I don’t think they were queuing around the block when Bates announced that he was looking for someone to buy the club. People should therefore cut Mr Cairns a little slack, just ask the many thousands of speedway fans who no longer have a team to follow.

Whilst I admire the owner for pumping money into the club, it is their risk. Going cap in hand to gullible supporters in an attempt to keep the ship afloat is naive to say the least. The bottom line is simply that there is very little interest in the sport in the city and hasn’t been for a number of years. Nobody wants to see any club close, but it’s a business, supply and demand etc. Enthusiasm and passion does not pay bills.

No better than this years team, reasonably solid, but won't win you the league. I'd want Sedgmen at 6 with a re-jig of the middle order (much of a muchness) to accommodate an 8 pointer to support Fricke. Easier said than done though with points limits and rider availability/affordability to consider.

How would that approach work today when half of the riders in each of the top two divisions are double uppers? Where will all the additional riders come from?

My first thoughts are that this would leave a weak middle order ‘engine room’, but if you are trying to fit in a couple of GP level riders, which I agree is the approach to take, there has to be a compromise. Sedgy would be good value (particularly at home) on that average at reserve.

Would have been box office a couple of years ago, but now? Would question his desire? If the next AGM decided that teams are required to field a DJ, how about bringing in Tony Blackburn? Would surely come in on a very low (age related) average and no doubt free up points elsewhere for team building? Any seventies era DJ would feel quite at home at most tracks, since the music played over the PA is what they were playing when they were on air.

Agreed. The team that won the league and others that should have won the league (according to people in Suffolk) have a stronger No.1 and a No.5 at least as good as Fricke. Problem is, if a better rider can be persuaded to join the Lions, fitting them in with team average limits. A five point reserve is essential if we are going to have to carry a RS at No.7. The current middle order would then therefore need to take a dent. Take your pick with the current No.2 to No.5, their averages are pretty similar. I would personally want to keep Lawson and trade any of the others to accommodate another another big hitter along with someone like Sedgmen or Kerr.

Basketball takes the same sensible approach.

Carter and Larsen were only dangerous on a bike though, OAPs did not fear them.

The SGP should feature the best riders in the world. Looking at the 2024 riders, Emil & Laguta are comfortably better than half of the field. On that basis they should be competing in the SGP but politics will have a say on that matter. Non qualifying riders for next season’s series will be decided by the sport’s powers that be and not dictated by public opinion. If either or both of them are selected for next season’s GP, league racing in the UK is hardly a priority, which would be totally understandable.

I think that’s just one too many heat advantages to concede for the Lions. Only two race winners all night and no heat advantages although they did tuck in well for a number of shared heats. Got to point the finger at Fricke.A GP rider on a track he should know well and turns in 3 points, absolutely p*ss poor. Dickson will be furious. Young Hagon has to be worth a mention. Rode his socks off and put in a massive contribution. Hats off the Aces big guns, they simply don’t know when they’re beaten and breeze past the opposition with ease at home.

Doesn’t taste great though, offal actually 😉

Lambert is trying to earn a living and like everyone else he will be trying to maximise his income in what will be a relatively short career. Your reference to be being British and supporting the sport in this country is laughable. Loyalty went out of the window long ago, with riders and club owners both at fault, but clubs being the worst culprits and able to axe riders at the drop of a hat.