Grachan

Personally I think it does. I think it can hold them back - certainly with a rider like Ellis who can, I believe, move up into being a top international rider, but needs Polish/Swedish leagues to achieve that. Maybe one more year in the lower league will still be good for him, but I hope he will move on after that. No doubt that signing Adam is good business for Poole though. I think they needed a signing like this to give people a reason to support the club.

The way Ellis rode at the end of last season I thought he was ready to ditch the championship and move on. I think staying in the lower league can hold British riders back a bit. A good signing for Poole though. Could be the top second division rider next year.

I guess Musielak is missing the UK thrn, as he was the obvious signing there. Lawson is ok, but Toby is quality on his average. Tigers will still do well though.

I agree, Sidney. Wells might be a better CL rider at the moment, but he is what he is. He would have just been a filler rider whose average fitted, whereas Jordan is someone who looks like he will improve and could become a part of the club in the future. At the start of the year Wells may have actually been a better scorer, so I can see why people might choose him over Stewart, but he isn't someone I would have a particular interest in seeing ride for Swindon, whereas, from what I have read, this looks a more interesting signing.

I don't know much about Jordan Stewart, but he seems to be rated by Leigh Adams and Jason Crump so it is an interesting signing. A nice side. May not win the title this year, but two good young prospects brought in that should make us good to watch and also build for the future.

My hair is still on, thanks. I guess we'll leave it at that, then.

So I take it you don't rate Vissing then? He's not going to be expected to beat established PL riders all night. I think you are just being negative for the sake of it. You've had it in for this team ever since Batch was announced.

It was his first full year, and his average is based on his scores over the whole season. His form at the end of the year was a lot better than at the start. If Connor Mountain had a higher average earlier in the year than at the end then that means he got worse while Rowe improved.

Obviously a lot of them were, because he rode at number 2. He looks a good prospect. Going through his last few meetings: Against Glasgow he beat Craig Cook in heat one and also beat Claus Vissing. Against Sheffield he beat Danny King (King was off 15m) Against Newcastle he beat Steve Worrall. Yes he is still young, and there's no guarantee he can hit good scores in the top league, but on form alone he looks a good signing on a 3 average.

Looking at Rowe's scores for Somerset, I reckon that if he were a Pole, a Dane or a Swede everyone would be saying we should snap him up immediately. But, because he is a young British rider, there seems a reluctance to accept him as a signing. I haven't seen him ride, but on his recent scoring I think he can hold his own at reserve. He beat Claus Vissing as well when Somerset raced Glasgow. I was surprised at how well he is doing when I looked.

I think Rowe will do ok. I just looked up a couple of meetings on Updates and he beat Craig Cook and Rory Schlein in the last couple of meetings for Somerset last year.

I think that on team strength alone I would have gone with Toby over Rasmus Jensen, but the announcement said they couldn't guarantee that Toby wouldn't get recalled by his Polish club during the season. As for encouraging loyalty, someone had to be released. There was no avoiding that.

So, no place for Musielak. It will be interesting to see if he gets a team place elsewhere or is just lost to the league as a result.

Looks like the purple chinos guy to me.

No, it was voted down. But, did they, perhaps, allow two riders over 8.00 and a 2 point rider as a concession to Swindon?

Why not? He maintained it last year and the league is the same strength.

Swear words are pretty common in all forms of literature other than children's books. You pay your money and take your choice, I guess. Personally I'm not sure it is necessary in a sports auto-biography, but it doesn't bother me. It wouldn't have been wholly up to Tai. It would have been a decision made by both of them.

Tai told his life story to Peter Oakes, and it was up to Peter Oakes whether or not to use any swear words in the book. I think a lot of people would swear when talking at length like that. It was up to Peter whether or not to use those words in the text.

That's exactly what happens. People just go in and out, and the stadium numbers peak at lunch time when workers come in for a bet. A meeting goes on for a long time, with long gaps between races - very much like a horse racing meeting in the UK. There's no real fan/rider association. Riders don't even use their real names, but use a nickname - again, like a horse in the UK.

Good point. Rosco posted that he was in Portsmouth to get a ferry to France last night.

Who knows? They've obviously dropped the "no two riders over 8" rule, so it's possible.

The way Adam rode towards the end of the year makes him a "must" in my opinion. I would say Adam next, then Ellis Perks, then a couple of 3 pointers with a view to bringing Vissing in during the season.

Assuming he is at reserve, Sidney. Perks may well be in the top 5.

Good to see Rasmus back. Surely Ellis has to be in the side, too, which leaves three 3 pointers at the bottom end. I will not be happy is Adam Ellis gets left out.

I've been to a couple of Autorace meetings. The relationship to speedway is very tenuous. The best thing is the noise of the bikes. None of this silencer nonsense.