JamesB

Something always seems to go wrong when our Norfolk brethren start to catch up in a limited way with the sporting achievements of their Suffolk counterparts. I seem to recall that the Budgies couldn’t play in Europe when they finally did qualify. I suppose there might come a day when they win a European competition, the Division 1/Premiership or even the FA Cup. 😀

The statement clearly said that ‘the Premiership will feature a minimum line up of five teams’. Therefore, one of the following must have been true at the time of the announcement: 1. The sale of the Witches was all but done bar the paperwork. or 2. A new team had agreed to run in 2026. Clearly, in light of the Louis update, 1. had not happened. If 2. had happened then would they not have been better off confirming that fact, even if it was subject to formal agreement at the AGM which surely would be a ‘give un’. I am not convinced that either of the above had/have happened. My view is that their preferred outcome is that the sale of the Witches is completed and that they compete in the 2026 Premiership. If this doesn’t happen, then I suspect that there is a cobbled together Plan B that they will fall back on.

That’s some welcome good news. Do you think so? I thought he was happy with just Lynn and didn’t want the additional hassle of another team.

Zmarzlik has finally decided that he needs to improve his small track skills………..😀

I hope you are right in so far as: 1. The Witches come to the tapes next season. 2. We have a good number 1 and competitive team.

Hmmm. I smell something fishy here and it’s not the contents of Baldrick’s apple crumble.

Are you sure about this? If Louis is in Australia and there has been no sale agreed, who can they be doing deals with? Have Kevin Long and Bob Ellis been given some delegated authority?

That would be one hell of a schedule particularly when you add in the GP’s as well.

You may be correct, who knows. If you are, then Louis needs to be careful that he is not painting himself into a corner. Closing the club down for a year is very likely to decrease its value further particularly in a downgraded ‘one league scenario’ for 2027. Also, it’s easier to sell a business that is still trading. Taking an offer now could be preferable to a reduced offer or even no offers following the 2026 season. Perhaps, he is hoping for a 2027 model that is more to his liking and continuing to run the club after a seasons break. Only time will tell.

If the idea is that teams are to pick their own race night ‘to ensure their survival’, then that has to be the case. However, this is what I genuinely do not understand about the one league argument predicated on teams choosing their own race nights. De Facto, that must preclude the inclusion of anyone who races in Poland, Denmark and maybe Sweden. The only alternative is to allow these riders and cover their frequent absences by r/r or guest, which would bring us full circle. If they are to be precluded, where are all the riders going to be found for the one league?

Therefore, whatever those nights are then they become the ‘mandated race nights’ for which riders must be available. If that is Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday then so be it.

I agree with you 100%. If there is to be one league then it has to be based on and only use riders that are available on whatever nights are mandated as race nights. I don’t like the idea of one league but if that is the only solution then at least ensure it has credibility.

He can inform them as many times as he wants. If he has signed a contract then unless Scunthorpe agree to release him from it he has to ride for them. If he doesn’t, then he is in breach of contract and can ultimately be sued by Scunthorpe. If he hasn’t signed a contract, then happy days.

That may be what he would want to do, but if he has signed a contract with Scunthorpe and they want to enforce it, then he will have a problem. Unless there are termination for convenience clauses, he could be sued for breach of contract. He could always try and buy himself out of the contract. Unless the promoters collectively agree to make all contracts signed null and void, then I think the boat has already sailed on one league for 2026.

It’s a complete and utter mess. If they can scrape to five, then they will have to go with that. If they can’t, then it looks to me like all bets are off.