Grachan

How ridiculous, though, that Lakeside in the Second Division can have Morris on a lower average than top division Swindon.

He needs to get a move on, though, or the one that he does bin will end up with even less chance of finding a team than they have at the moment.

He did say he was hoping to have a GP rider at Rye House this year, though.

I think Erik would have excelled in the earlier, knock-out system. Once it went to points scored I would go with Hans every time.

After listening to the interview online, what about Doyle coming to Rye House? I wouldn't rule it out completely.

Thinking about Woryna's average, and the issue of GP riders being assessed upwards. Riders like Zagar and Woffinden rode in the old race format where heatleaders met each other more often, hence falsely low averages. By the same token, Woryna rode as a reserve or second string - and would have avoided heatleaders. So, if anything, would his average not be too high? So, should he not be assessed lower than his actual average based on 2016?

Just gave it a listen. He sounds like a sensible guy. It's not 100% clear from the interview that Rye voted against, but sounds like they might have. He certainly expressed dissappointment in it, but also explains why he felt it had to be done. But he says he wanted each side to have a GP rider, so almost certainly they voted against. Sensible views on tv too, saying he needs to get the product out there to attract sponsors.

Me too. He has tweeted that he has his clubs sorted.

True. It's statistical rather than a perfect scenario, but it's pretty much true and it's certainly the intent too. If a league finished with an average strength of 42, then making the following year start at 35.71 they are weakening the product.

It has been. It's been regularly weakened since 2008 (I think) when they did a 39.95 points limit. The 2017 league was weakened by a great deal. This year it is of similar strength to last year.

Gappmaier. Grondal was replaced by Gappmaier who was, in turn, replaced by Musielak.

The same at Swindon, of course, who have stuck with Morris for years and had to choose betwen him and Doyle - both Swindon assets. It's not just about team strength. The points limit sets a team strength. This was, I believe, an attempt to get Grand Prix riders out of the league. Thorsell, in particular, could be a victim here. If Wolves sign Lindgren, will one of the other clubs sign Thorsell as a number one? And he is ruled out of the Second Division now, too. It's not quite so bad with Doyle, I guess, who, even if he doesn't get a UK team place, will be ok as World Champion. This was not a vote for the good of the clubs without 8 point riders - it was, it seems, brought in to bring other clubs down. How can that be a good thing? All it is doing is making supporters of Belle Vue, Swindon and Wolves fed up with part of the sport. The clubs in the league should not be voting for the rules because they are all voting for themselves. The rules should be set in stone from an independent source.

And Swindon.

Newcastle come out well not only with GP riders but with Individual World Finalists too. Mauger, Olsen, Michanek, Lovaas all cut their teeth with the Diamonds.

Not really. It will be pretty much the same riders anyway.

He actually replaced Gappmaier, but the same point applies.

Actually there were several comments about Musielak when he signed last year, with people saying he should be reassessed. I guess Swindon fans saw the logic in it and didn't argue the toss that he shouldn't have been so nothing kicked-off. For something to kick-off, you need someone (for example, a pretend fan of the club) to blindly argue that what people saying is wrong when it isn't.

Slight problem with that. On one of the occasions they let a rider miss a meeting they still won it. So you would have lost a fortune.

That's as may be, but it's probably best to stick to direct quotes as being what comes from Matt Ford.

If you mean this article, he doesn't confirm it. http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/speedway/piratesnews/15695435.Ford_bewildered_by_rumours_of_Woryna_signing/ The part about Woryna being on 4.65 is not a direct quote from Matt Ford but a paragraph written by the writer of the article. When Woryna was originally signed, Ford said he would be in the team barring any "curveballs" from the agm. He's not in the team yet, so maybe he is still waiting for confirmation on his average before naming him.

Last year. Zagar, Harris, Iversen, Jonsson, Holder, Lindback (sort of), Doyle, Lindgren, Woffinden.

This is a good point actually. Nothing was mentioned about this until Zagar said that he wanted to ride here.

I thought he'd negotiated a deal but some members of the BSPA weren't keen to agree to it.

If Holder is being reassessed, then so should Doyle and Lindgren. Holder has an average. There is no reason to reassess him. His average is not from the old format.

I agree. Holder has a legitimate average and doesn't need assesing. Riders on averages from previous seasons are the ones who should be reassessed, but they never reassessed Musielak last year so I wouldn't hold your breath that it will happen.