TTT

Witches by 20+. I don't see BV coming out on top in any department on paper.

Francis Gusts looks like he's going to be a good signing, Unfortunately he's in a team where team building was messed up during the winter. Oxford cant have Wright and Kildemand riding together @ No.3 & No.4 as it'll be a disaster waiting to happen so Erik Riss has to ride out of position at No.4 when he's a No.2/No.6. Long long season for the Spires.

He didn't look bad in the Peter Craven meeting tbf, Matej was in the mix for his first 4 rides scoring points in all of them against a very tough field.

Yes, The way to get around it is by refreshing the page about 5 seconds after you click the submit reply. It happend to me where it would take 20-30 seconds for it to work automatically so I refreshed the page once and it worked straight away so I've continued to do the same since.

Not that it matters too much because it's a long season and injuries can wreck a clubs season on any night but Ipswich are now 13/8 to win the Premiership after one meeting (15/8 before tonight's meeting)

Ipswich are now 13/8 to win the Premiership after one meeting. I took the 15/8 as it was the best price I was going to get but I know full well that it's a risky bet as I need Ipswich to stay injury free.

Only two things can stop Ipswich from cleaning up this year. 1. Injuries and 2. Poland withdrawing Emil's starting permission. Doyley and Emil weren't firing at all tonight and Ipswich still won by 10 which goes to show how strong they are in every department. Best British side assembled since the old Sky Sports Elite League Days imo.

Just not meant to be for Birmingham Speedway is it? The Management worked hard in the winter to snap up some proper HL's and it's already deja vu. Keynan Rew doing Tom Brennan's job of last season by carrying the team on his back could become a regular occurence if tonight is anything to go by.

Really good all round team performance from Ipswich tonight. Danny King and Dan Thompson were brilliant from start to finish.

bet365 only have the handicap at Belle Vue -4.0. Kurtz and Bewley will do their usual thing but Ipswich really should be winning the 2nd String and Reserve battle tonight with the way both teams have lined-up (Brennan @ No.4).

BEN COOK Under & Exactly 9 @ 1/1 & 11/2 (Has never ridden at No.1 before, Partnered with Kvech x3 whilst racing against Tungate & Janowski x2) TOBIASZ MUSIELAK Over & Exactly 10 @ 11/8 & 5/1 (Being underestimed here imo, Partnered with Jeppesen x3)

Comfortable win for Birmingham imo.

Despite it being early in the season, I still see a one sided meeting here. Oxford just look very weak on paper compared to the rest of the league.

Have to be winning the reserve battle for sure, King & Brennan should be able to match Blodorn and Z. Cook at 2nd string.

Correct me if I'm wrong, But aren't BV still using the same suits as last year? I saw that they had different kevlars on the bikes but the suits in the P & P photo looked the same to me.

If he is then Dickson should give him his P-45 anyway because he's taken the micky out of Stewart and everyone else associated with Leicester Speedway. Cookie has had all winter to come to a decision, But he's dropped out at the last minute leaving the Lions management scrambling around to a point where they've had to revert back to a formula that didn't work at the start of last season (Weak Reserves). Could've given the Lions management a months notice in advance to give them the best possible opportunity to scout Europe for a rider on a assessed 4.50.

I agree regarding Cook. Just my opinion but Leicester started with Kemp @ No.6 last year and he struggled, Then Drew got replaced and Leicester went on a run and that was with Lawson @ No.2 instead of Howarth. Personally I think the league is stronger this year and that Leicester tail end is weaker than the one that struggled at the start of 2024. I think Leicester already had their work cut out for them in regards to a play-off place in 2025 before Cook done his usual bail out.

Another club that's learnt a very harsh lesson this winter, Oxford being the other club. Leicester are now fighting for the wooden spoon.

£14.99 was a very fair price to watch the meeting on BSN, If you went to the meeting then you'd pay that money just for parking, programme and something to eat/drink. Don't forget that Sky/TNT charge £20+ to watch high profile boxing matches.

Doyley will be fine, Everything hinges on King imo, Doesn't need to set the world alight, Just needs to be consistent with 6 point returns instead of 3/4 point returns and then everything will be alright.

It's best to start the season with King @ No.2 to see if Danny can build himself some confidence early on with the pressure off being paired with Doyle. That way you'll know early on whether King's 2024 form was down to his hand injury or his age.

Doyley hitting the ground running is very encouraging, As I said on the BV v Ipswich thread, Nothing to worry about with Jason as he's comeback stronger after every big injury he's had in his career.

The one key factor that it could come down to is Zischke never doing a lap around a tricky Foxhall circuit.

Is it really tosh though? Lidsey was vocal last year about needing the weather to get warmer during his early season struggles in the cold, Zischke's returning from a big injury who's almost got no top flight experience. Reason why I'm confident in Jason Doyle hitting the ground running is because it's nothing new for him to recover from a massive injury, He's made a whole career out of it tbh. Emil Sayfutdinov rode in the Polish Ekstraliga Play-Offs last season after his Sheffield crash so nothing to worry about with him, King is the only question mark after his surgery on his hand. As for the results, I just don't see how you get close to Ipswich around Foxhall when breaking down the 1-7's. Would any of the following really happen around Foxhall? Kurtz, Bewley & Lidsey outscoring Doyle, Sayfutdinov and Brennan? Blodorn and Z. Cook outscoring Ellis and King? Zischke and Mulford outscoring D. Thompson and Jenkins? Ipswich are ahead in every department for me and quite comfortably, Around the NSS I'd side with BV 2 - 1 but only just.

Ipswich normally struggle around the NSS however they may catch the Aces a little cold here so I'm expecting this to be a tight meeting. Normally it takes most riders a few meetings to get back into the groove and the weather is still cold so that could have an effect on certain riders. I remember last season when Jaimon Lidsey struggled early on in the cold weather, Tate Zischke may take a few meetings to get going as he's coming back from a big injury and he's got to overcome the psychological effect of the injury that happened on the NSS track against the same team (Ipswich). As for the Witches, Jason Doyle's rebuilt himself time after time and he's always comeback stronger so I don't see why it would be any different this time around, Danny King is the only question mark for Ipswich imo. I'll side with Belle Vue to win the First Leg but lose the tie overall as I don't see how any side will even get close to Ipswich around Foxhall this year. 1st Leg -> Belle Vue 48 - 42 Ipswich 2nd Leg -> Ipswich by 14-18 Points.