Bojangles

Yeah, as a fan, I would want to win the cup - so to not even be in it is a bit of a blow. I'm guessing there's been a lot of compromises from both sides (BSPA and Oxford) over running in all three leagues.

Oxford Spires not competing in the KO Cup. Did we know about that?

Interesting team that. Thought they might have gone with Atkins. It is going to be so weird having Masters, Jenkins, Harris, Wright and Kerr racing against us, though.

Looks like the Spires team might be announced at 7am tomorrow according to Oxford's latest tweet... https://x.com/OxfordSpeedway/status/1730293114969927756?s=20

Should have been Cheetahs in the Prem, Chargers in the Champ and Spires in the NDL in my opinion.

Agreed. Ruml was definitely one I would have liked to see back - arguably rider of the year in 2022 and was very unlucky not to be retained. Guessing perhaps he's staying in the US now.

We had both Heeps and Newman in 2022....and Heeps was better, so not sure why we'd go back to Newman? Killeen has plenty of potential, and Atkins was far from outclassed in a tougher league at number 2 last season.

That's a bit of a strange take. Nobody said it was a cheap team last year, and the only difference is Kerr for Killeen - which is understandable with the point limit drop. I doubt any member of that team has taken a pay drop (possibly Heeps).

Team looks decent to me. Personally, I like the loyal approach - that certainly resonates with fans. Yes Heeps was a bit ht and miss, but he was strong at home and that should make winning all the home fixtures the priority. Two strong heat leaders, and four riders would should improve. You'd expect Killeen and Boughen to be key at reserve. If they improve throughout the year I think Oxford won't be too far away towards the end of the season.

If those are close to being true, as an Oxford fan, it's going to be weird racing against Masters and Boughen in the Premiership. Likewise Harris, Wright and Kerr in the Championship. That's the problem with running in both leagues!

They've already announced at least six clubs will be fielding teams in the NDL - just haven't confirmed which clubs that will be. The AGM press release said: "Six clubs have already stated their intention to take part in the NDL next season, and further details will be available in the coming weeks." Oxford, Leicester, Belle Vue and then fill in the blanks...

He owns Henlow. The rest he just has a lease from the stadium owners. And he's not a bookmaker, but a punter and big greyhound owner (the largest in the country I believe).

But there could be quite a few Spires riders with other Champ slots, which is just as strange, no? Harris could be riding for the Spires and then against the Cheetahs for Glasgow etc.

I’m a passionate Oxford fan, but the original closure had a lot to do with crowd levels. Colin Horton’s quote at the time was: “Crowds have been in the region of 400-500 for home meetings and we value greatly the support, but the harsh reality is that we need attendances of double those figures to even stand a chance of breaking even and I just don’t envisage that happening here.“

I haven’t seen any official communication about it either, although they did retweet a tweet from Nicholls saying he was riding for the Cheetahs in 2024.

Not too sure what terraces you’ve visited, but the three venues I went to last season - all of them had loads of kids running about. In fact, Oxford and Poole I’d say there are/were far more kids than over 60s, with a crowd predominantly made up of 25-40 year olds.

There's been a lot of people saying Oxford running in all three leagues is madness. I was initially a little perplexed by it as well, but every other fan I've spoken to has been quite excited about it (bar the Spires name) - and all are saying they will try and go to every home meeting. Not a single person said they would only focus on one league, so maybe it's not such a crazy idea after all. I guess time will tell, and perhaps people will naturally start missing the odd meeting here and there - but the crowd sizes will tell all. Last season the Cheetahs were averaging around 2,500 fans I think, and the Chargers were around 1,000. They're good numbers to build a base from, and it means they've got the finances in place to deal with potential losses if it all goes horribly wrong in 2024 - it won't be a case of the club going bust. Worse case scenario the promotion will just have to reevaluate for 2025, but good luck to them.

I'm currently planning to go to all meetings of all three teams but I live 50 miles away now so it simply might not be feasible. Cheetahs will probably still be my primary choice in the Championship, followed by Spires and then Chargers will have to miss out if I struggle to get to all of them. Season ticket options might also play a part. I'm hoping there will be season tickets available for individual leagues this year, as opposed to all meetings in one bundle like last year.

Yes, but Boughen has confirmed he won’t be racing in the NDL.

Can’t help but thinking it should be the Cheetahs in the top league, and not Spires.

Spill the beans....

I didn't realise they don't have buses in the North....or that all Northerners must check in baggage....or that they must have an allocated seat on a plane. Do me a favour!

You don't NEED to do all of those things if you're on a budget, though. Take any seat you're allocated, don't check a bag (it's only three days) and ask someone to drop you off (or take a bus). It's up to the individual what they want to pay. Regardless, my point is some people are making it out to be significantly more expensive than it is. I'm not claiming it's cheaper than holding it in the UK, but the cost of Tenerife is in the hundreds not the thousands. The environmental issue should be a bigger focus than the financial issue.

Then fly from somewhere closer! Newcastle is just £50 return.

Fair enough. If they can get it done on Thursday, I'd be surprised (but pleasantly surprised).