MP78

I don't have the knowledge of the rulebook that a lot of you have so bear with me, but the document is dated 5th March 2024... Was Sheffield's team ratified by the league before or after that date? If after then there is every possibility that a new list needs to be issued (this may have been overlooked?) and perhaps Edwards won't be on it? Genuinely don't know, so not stirring, just asking the question really...

Good choice of guest, but still a huge ask... Luckily the Tigers are equally poor at Foxhall as we are at theirs... so with that in mind, a 10 point defeat would probably be ok if we can manage it!

I realise this may be unachievable, but why not save the money that's being shelled out for the 'big name' winter signings and bag yourself a couple of Lamberts... Make Robert an offer he can't refuse and get Simon in before Lynn snap him up again... The latter will graft and give you everything and might just rub off on a few others...

Heard a brief interview with Chris Louis on radio suffolk earlier... He confirmed surgery for Danny King and said looking like 3-4 week lay off.

I wonder if they'll use the r/r ride in heat one to give one of the reserves a feel for the track ahead of heat 2 maybe?

It does seem a strange one putting Ellis at 5, I can only assume they want to pair Dan T up with Doyle to take the pressure off a bit in 3 of his rides perhaps?

I feel like we can cover R/R at home fairly well... Doyle getting an extra ride is appealing and you could stick him in heat 5 up against the opposition's number 1 perhaps... Away from home, I would definitely prefer to see a guest *EDIT* Posted just after JamesB, but as you can see I agree with him!

What's up with Wojdylo do you think? He was flying last year!

After his indifferent start to the season - based on his usual astronomic standards - I’m expecting a big score from Emil tonight… should be a comfortable home win, but maybe not enough of a lead to make the bonus point interesting for the return

I think this is a great time to face BV at the NSS... They are not all fully dialled in at home yet and the Witches have riders who can definitely collect points and be competitive all night - I'd be a little disappointed if we don't snag the bonus point to be honest.

What’s the thinking with King and Ellis switching positions? Are they thinking there could be a benefit with gate positions?

Enjoyed the stream last night, great job Oxford!

Really interested to see how this one pans out... Should be a home win and I expect the reserves will make the difference for KL

I was thinking earlier, that it was a big surprise that Emil was on the receiving end of back to back 5-1s in this meeting... one for the statisticians out there, but this must surely be the first time it's happened to him riding for Ipswich?? Probably never happen again...

Masters always goes well at Foxhall and Douglas had a couple of good visits there last season, but I think the Witches will pick up most of the heat wins in this meeting, so can't see them being troubled...

Looking at the teams, I genuinely think this is a tough one to call... Leicester's 1-5 looks really solid, but Lynn's reserves could be a trump card... Narrow home win

Should be an entertaining opener... I thought 50 ish with Doyle in the side, but can still Witches edging it with a guest such as Nicholls... If R/R, I'm not so sure

From memory, I think the only team changes were direct swaps with 2 & 4, but I could be wrong...

Ahh… I think it’s about now that I should tell you all that I meant to type Oxford not Leicester… sorry all, my mistake! I do think Kemp will do well this year, but I was in fact referring to Oxford in my original post - sorry again!

I'm inclined to agree with Falcon and Arch too... Howarth and Blodorn have both benefited (and their teams) from dropping into reserve last season, but I think its almost certain that both Sheffield and Belle Vue's number 6s will not move out of that position, which removes the possibility of either team temporarily having overpowered (for want of a better word) reserves to rack up points. In the case of KL and Leicester, they are much more likely to have very strong number 6s for most of the season... So for me, I could quite easily see KL or Leicester making it into the top 4.

Anyone know why Doyle wasn't part of the 1st round of the Australian champs?

Just to chip in on this… my brother gets along to most home meetings and often has no childcare on a Thursday evening so takes his boys with him - he’s not too bothered if they don’t watch the action because he hasn’t shelled out for them. Will he swallow the extra pound each?… probably because it’s still so much cheaper than a sitter… but some fans in a similar position to him might find it is too much of an ask depending on their financial circumstances and then you have potentially ruled out some fans… think the Witches need to tread carefully on this.

I did wonder about that and think you're right - Can only be Janowski's that is different...

Should be good for Wojdylo to start at reserve and paired up with Rowe should see them as the best pair of reserves in the league

5.87 with GB reduction I believe