Bojangles

Funny how those crowd levels do keep paying it for Oxford.... easily. The biggest fairytale of all is your story of Oxford closing!

Hahahaha, where did you get that utter nonsense from? You're just making up stuff to suit your own agenda. Boothby has a 10-year lease, running to 2032, and there are already talks about extending that. Speedway is a big part of Boothby's plans, mainly because the speedway is still making a healthy profit. The ONLY doubt is whether Oxford run in all three leagues again. Attendances are still extremely good at Championship (1,200 ish) and National League (800+) level, and have only waned slightly at Premiership level (but still at around 1,200) - mainly due to results I would imagine. There is zero doubt about whether Oxford will be running next year - what a totally uninformed thing to say, simply said to scare people without any evidence whatsoever.

I agree the crowd did seem a little down last night, but there's plenty of reasons for that.... the main one being that the Spires have been pretty woeful, and that Birmingham line-up was hardly exciting. Not to mention the supposed threat of rain, which thankfully arrived after the meeting. In general, Oxford crowds have still been extremely good I would say. Spires have been attracting far more than most despite the poor results, the Cheetahs have to be one of the best supported teams in the Premiership (on a par with Poole) and the Chargers also get good crowds as well. Financially, I'm Oxford could run in all three leagues again next year, however whether they will or not will probably come down to top rider availability, which is something the Spires have struggled with.

How would you know? You love to make sweeping statements without any evidence. Absolutely nobody knows if they would make any difference or not. League form is no marker when it comes to GPs - as 2021 proved.

I've had my disagreements with you in the past, but this is spot on.

Thoughts on this one... Oxford Cheetahs: 1. Sam Masters, 2. Alfie Bowtell (G), 3. Francis Gusts, 4. Jordan Jenkins, 5. Zach Cook (G), 6. Mitch McDiarmid, 7. Luke Killeen. Glasgow Tigers: 1. Chris Harris, 2. Luke Harrison (G), 3. Justin Sedgmen (G), 4. Leon Flint, 5. Kyle Howarth, 6. Freddy Hodder, 7. Max Perry.

The Oxford Cheetahs (5) have only got two more Oxford riders than Redcar (3).

It's not the first time they've done it, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Just enjoy the gift that keeps giving.

Based on Luke Harrison's performance tonight, the Spires could do a lot worse than giving him a chance in the top league as a rising star (it'll also give Killeen a good chance to reset a bit). Harrison also rides Oxford pretty well.

On a par at the moment... but has got the potential to rise above them in the coming years (if not months).

Gilkes likely to be out for a while. Multiple ligament injuries, and potential surgery required.

Scott Nicholls was interviewed at the track a few weeks ago. Seemed very keen to return, but did say it's likely he'll take the whole season off to recover and will be back in 2026.

But so was Charles Wright. In fact, he was that little bit closer...

It's an interesting thought.... NSS PCMT British Final 2xGP Aces (league and playoffs) Colts Oxford Stadium Ben Fund Spires (league) Cheetahs (BSN, league and playoffs) Chargers I think Oxford probably just shades it on the fact that the two Grand Prix and British Final would have to roughly equal all the Cheetahs league and BSN fixtures. But it's all hearsay really as attendance figures aren't announced.

Yep..... Oxford last year. Almost deja vu.

We've already beaten Scunthorpe, Plymouth and Middlesbrough. The joy of three leagues! 😜

Has Josh Pickering dropped a point to an opposing rider yet this year? He's started the season on fire. Edit: Just checked and Michael Jepsen Jensen beat him once.

You'll be fine @IainB. At the Cheetahs on Wednesday, Schroeck kept going on about how they want to get the meeting done quickly as they've got to get back up to Leicester in the evening.

Yep, was also at Oxford's.

Apparently so.... https://x.com/OxfordSpeedway/status/1910596484795359493

The old rivalry renewed. Should be a great a meeting - it always is between these two. Thoughts? Oxford: 1. Sam Masters, 2.Jonas Knudsen, 3. Jordan Jenkins, 4. Dan Gilkes, 5. Cameron Heeps, 6. Mitch McDiarmid, 7. Luke Killeen Poole: 1. Richard Lawson, 2. Tobias Thomsen, 3. Anders Rowe, 4. Zach Cook, 5. Lewis Kerr, 6. Paul Starke, 7. Matt Marson

If Gilkes is still on the rising star list it would be a no-brainer to get him in the team. If Jenkins is supposedly the best rising star in the league, then Gilkes would be just as good - if not better. He looked superb against Scunthorpe, better than Jenkins, and was even team riding him at one point. Get him in the team.

Thoughts on this one? Oxford: 1. Sam Masters, 2. Jonas Knudsen, 3. Jordan Jenkins, 4. Dan Gilkes, 5. Cameron Heeps, 6. Mitch McDiarmid, 7. Luke Killeen Scunthorpe: 1. Steve Worrall, 2. Luke Harrison, 3. Simon Lambert, 4. Connor Mountain, 5. Jake Allen, 6. Declan Kennedy, 7. Zaine Kennedy

And that's exactly my point. A salary cap wouldn't change that. If Ipswich couldn't afford him, he just wouldn't ride over here any more.

Are salaries really the issue here anyway? Surely more to do with rider availability (or rider desire for this country). I bet the likes of Maciej Janowski and Michael Jepsen Jensen are getting paid less than some of the other top riders in the UK. There's only a certain number of riders that want to ride over here so they are never going to be evenly distributed with current club ties (Emil and Doyle at Ipswich, etc.).