Aries

37 for top 6, plus a rising star with same rising star criteria as recent years.

Personally think it MUST include Ipswich Phil. If it doesn’t, we’d have heard more concrete news on a new track if they have a currently guaranteed 5 starters. Waiting game goes on unfortunately. Edit: what I will say though, is the current five shouldn’t be completing their teams just yet. They should all have a collective responsibility to help a possible sixth team come to the party and be competitive. If that means a certain team not including a rider they wanted, so be it. It’s no good bringing a sixth team in late in the day, and everyone else has hoovered up the worthwhile riders that still want to ride here leaving that team trying to cobble together a team of misfits. They’ll inevitably finish bottom, the crowds won’t come and it obviously won’t end up being successful. Someone will always finish bottom yes, but you don’t want to see anyone bottom and totally uncompetitive and getting a hiding every week. They need to try and make all six (if it is to be six) as equally matched as possible.

This is true, but Flagrag’ description of a great new number 1 who if he can master the track could push him on in the GP’s, describes Bewley to a T. Can’t think of another GP rider that fits that description better. *please don’t mean Jack Holder 🙏🏻

Bewley then. Interestingly, Ipswich’ social media team have been second to none over the years. Always leading the way. Since the British speedway announcement yesterday confirming a minimum five team league, Belle Vue, Lynn, Sheffield and Leicester have all retweeted, responded, or done both. Ipswich the only club not to have done either..

Think we’re on the same page here Speedy. I’m going to wait and see what the structure and team line ups are (if any) before I decide if I’ll attend or do something else on race night. Let’s just say it’s not looking promising! Cash saved I suppose.

Decent by championship standards, but nothing like we’ve seen in recent years which I guess is to be expected. From a personal point of view, I picked and chose the odd meeting here and there when we were in the second tier, more for the nostalgia to be honest. Things like just being in and around the stadium that I’ve been in since I was a nipper, and to see old friends. When we moved back up, I never missed a meeting, and when Emil signed, I brought a season ticket for the first time ever and have had one for the three seasons he was here. I doubt I’ll go to many next year IF we even run. Some people love the sport so much that they’ll go whatever the level, and good luck to them. I’m certainly not one of those.

I’ve always said this. Should have GP’s on a variety of different shapes and sizes of tracks. Would make it much more interesting. On the sale front, I know these things can take time to resolve but they really need to get a shift on. It’s clearly holding things up for everyone concerned. Not sure on the Sheffield situation and if it’s the same scenario. Have the current Sheffield promotion said they’ll run even if a buyer isn’t found, or is running next year solely down to a successful sale?

Not particularly no, but it kind of depends how competitive and I mean equally competitive, those five teams are. I’d rather watch four teams visit three times each if they look attractive, than several teams visit for “variety” where you’ll know the result before the tapes go up in heat one. We had that even in a seven team league this year. Our poorest attendances at Foxhall this year were unsurprisingly when Birmingham and Oxford came to visit. Is it really a positive thing to get more teams involved for the sake of variety, if those extra teams end up as cannon fodder like Birmingham were this year? The reality is there’s such a small pool of top class riders that want to ride over here, that our top division doesn’t suit a league with large numbers.

Thank you Alex. Well that puts that rumour to bed!

Isn’t he an active poster on here? Or was it someone just using his Name?

Another issue, I wonder whether we’d also need to find a new track man? Bob has been an incredible servant to the club over many years but you’d have to wonder whether he’d also call time with Louis no longer there.

He’s an eccentric no doubt about that, but he’s obviously a successful businessman. As has been said, I wouldn’t pay much attention to what happened at Birmingham. You’re comparing apples with oranges to what he’d walk in to here at Ipswich. Anyway, he may or may not be one of the two parties. We’ve just got to continue playing the waiting game unfortunately.

What makes you so sure of that?

I don’t either! Ah ok. Hadn’t seen or heard anything on their plans if and when they come back. Think we all might be in the Championship by that time anyway!

Nobody wants a five team league but although others seem to disagree, I personally think it’s vital to keep a top league in place. If that means running with a five team league in the short term, then so be it. But there simply HAS to be some kind of plan in place for 2027 and beyond to go with it because a five team league for years to come won’t cut it. If they came out and said Peterborough will be back in business in time for the 2027 season and will be in the top flight along with another club whether that be a club coming up, another resurrected club, or a new club, to make a seven team league again in 27, then I think people would be a little more tolerant of a “sticking plaster” five team league for a season. Maybe.

They will, although you’d think that would start from 2027 IF the sport is still going in this Country. a lot of the preparation for 2026 would have already been mostly done and you’d expect Louis to help with the transitional phase of the handover.

Louis “reasonably” confident Witches will come to tapes in 26. Two interested parties he’s currently in discussions with. Couldn’t elaborate on the full reasons why he’s stepping away but pretty much gave it away actually. Looks like a 5 team league that he has no interest in. Edit: they weren’t exactly his words that he wasn’t interested in a 5 team league btw, but that was pretty obvious to me anyway that that was a strong factor along with the dire way things are run here. Hopefully someone more clever than me can upload his radio piece from a website somewhere. Badge is usually good with that stuff. Was around 9.50 on Gen X radio Suffolk.

Buster falling out with someone? Surely not?? 😁

I see absolutely clueless planks such as @therefused laughing at someone’s post without having a clue who he’s laughing at. That in itself is hilarious!

Those world class riders can produce moments of absolute quality at times though Phil where they literally leave your jaw on the floor and you just know you’re watching the sports Elite. Emil at Leicester a few weeks ago for example, Fricke at the same venue earlier in the season when he made a terrible gate, etc etc. the last few years at Foxhall seeing Emil and Doyle in 13 and 15 was just magical. I’m sorry, you just don’t get that same buzz seeing King and Charles Wright in the same heats. You just don’t I’m afraid. As I say though, there are die hard fans of the sport who will go regardless, and good luck to them. But let’s not pretend a watered down product won’t majorly affect attendances. The attendances at Championship level generally, is pathetic bar one or two obvious exceptions.

I’m in the same boat and agree with every single word you’ve written here. Some will still go whatever level it is, each to their own of course and good luck to them.

It’ll be a mixed bag. Some of those riders will stay loyal, some will back out of those deals and be off quicker than a rat up a drainpipe. None of the championship clubs will feel confident about the signings they’ve already made IF as you say, and that’s the pivotal word, IF, there ends up being one league.

Well it definitely won’t be guy.

There’s no speedway, it’s the off season and I get people are bored. But we’re just going to have to wait and see what develops. Go and do some Christmas shopping ffs! 🙄

But you can’t criticise when you don’t have a clue as to the reasons why he’s put the club up for sale. Nobody on here knows it’s just pure speculation. Louis has said further explanations are coming so he’s obviously restricted by what he can, and can’t reveal at the moment. We’re all going to just have to be a bit more patient and wait and see what develops over the coming weeks.