Ipswich Witches 2026

[GeneralMelchett]

moved

Edited Thursday at 02:52 PM by GeneralMelchett

[YeOldPitGate]

3 hours ago, siggysigalos said:

Doyley won't ride for Paul Hurry......It actually seems like no one will ride for him to be fair...Hence Edward Kennett and Michael Palm-Toft are his guests so far, cant count Chris Harris as he rides for anybody. But as the great man Coleman said at the start, we have to keep backing him in 2026....Coz 2027 will be when he needs to be judged. On Lawson, he does seem to get a lot of hate, or let's say criticism, mellow that down a bit....But he does score big points, many many more than Tom who is still sitting at Number 1. It's been a tough season, after the last 2 or 3, i suppose it had to dip, but under Paul Hurry it seemed to of dipped even lower than i thought.

But don't forget those immortal words.....Judge me on 2027..NOT 2026

Whats the issue with Hurry ? maybe Rosco for 2027.

[Bagpuss]

Why on earth would Doyle not ride for  Hurry? Bizarre.

[TTT]

6 hours ago, Gavan said:

Add up the 3 averages it doesn’t leave much for the other 2 alongside Doyle … who would you have had 

Two from Three -> Jenkins, Jeppesen, Juhl Pedersen and Klima.

[Teromaafan]

All this talk from the Ipswich promotion about 2027 being ‘the’ season makes me smile. The sport is on crutches in the UK and hobbles slower each year into the next season. If the Witches can assemble a decent team I hope for all of us that they are competing in a league that has some credibility.

[Aries]

Companies house has been updated with Wroclaw now a “person with significant control” of Ipswich Speedway, along with the appointment of Artur Rusko as a director of Ipswich Speedway. 
 

Nothing we didn’t already know of course but it’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. 

[Aries]

4 minutes ago, Teromaafan said:

All this talk from the Ipswich promotion about 2027 being ‘the’ season makes me smile. The sport is on crutches in the UK and hobbles slower each year into the next season. If the Witches can assemble a decent team I hope for all of us that they are competing in a league that has some credibility.

Coleman has spoken far far more about the issues and his concerns about British Speedway in general than he ever has about Ipswich specifically in the short time he’s been here 🙄 

He has a duty to the supporters of the club he owns to give them hope for better in 2027 though. 

[siggysigalos]

On 7/9/2026 at 2:16 PM, Bash said:

Where did you hear that Siggy, always thought it was a strange choice for team manager, doesn't seem to be the motivator you need to get the team going. Maybe if Scotty does retire he could take it over next season.

It's obvious Bash, Paul Hurry is like a Reserve Team Manager, the 1st team manager leaves, and you bring in a stand in, that's how Hurry looks, like a fish out of water, a choice that surprised most, but as The Messiah Coleman has said, they were left in the last minute.com section, so Manager and Team was scraped together. Just don't believe all you hear Bash on that situation. I agree on Scotty, maybe if Scotty is Manager, then Paul Hurry will be in the team.....But i Quote....AGAIN, keep spending your money in 2026, it's going to be tough, but judge me a year later, so that's what we all have to do....I will just leave..Edward Kennett and Michael Palm-Toft....Then when Kennett decided Ipswich and Hurry weren't for him, out comes Coleman and Hurry backing Bangs.....Week Later Bangs is gone.

Just an opinion, ive supported the Witches long enough to have my doubts on Coleman.....But i have no doubts on Hurry at all.......

[TTT]

17 hours ago, siggysigalos said:

It's obvious Bash, Paul Hurry is like a Reserve Team Manager, the 1st team manager leaves, and you bring in a stand in, that's how Hurry looks, like a fish out of water, a choice that surprised most, but as The Messiah Coleman has said, they were left in the last minute.com section, so Manager and Team was scraped together. Just don't believe all you hear Bash on that situation. I agree on Scotty, maybe if Scotty is Manager, then Paul Hurry will be in the team.....But i Quote....AGAIN, keep spending your money in 2026, it's going to be tough, but judge me a year later, so that's what we all have to do....I will just leave..Edward Kennett and Michael Palm-Toft....Then when Kennett decided Ipswich and Hurry weren't for him, out comes Coleman and Hurry backing Bangs.....Week Later Bangs is gone.

Just an opinion, ive supported the Witches long enough to have my doubts on Coleman.....But i have no doubts on Hurry at all.......

Nicholls for Team Manager in 2027 is something that should happen as long as he wants the job.

Hurry has to go regardless, Musielak not being picked for Heat 15 may have cost Ipswich 4th Place (Not that it matters this year) but his rant on Stewart Dickson was pathetic imo, Better Team Won and it was that simple.

Coleman has put his balls on the line with his choice of words in regards to 2027, He's left himself with no choice but to deliver a GP Rider @ No.1 or a certain Russian who's GP calibre along with six other riders that can compete for the title.

If the Team is a let down then he'll have nowhere to hide as he's got everyone's hopes and expectations up, We'll just have to wait until the winter to see what happens on this front though.

[YeOldPitGate]

2 hours ago, TTT said:

Nicholls for Team Manager in 2027 is something that should happen as long as he wants the job.

Hurry has to go regardless, Musielak not being picked for Heat 15 may have cost Ipswich 4th Place (Not that it matters this year) but his rant on Stewart Dickson was pathetic imo, Better Team Won and it was that simple.

Coleman has put his balls on the line with his choice of words in regards to 2027, He's left himself with no choice but to deliver a GP Rider @ No.1 or a certain Russian who's GP calibre along with six other riders that can compete for the title.

If the Team is a let down then he'll have nowhere to hide as he's got everyone's hopes and expectations up, We'll just have to wait until the winter to see what happens on this front though.

That Russian better not be Laguta though another one who's not interested half the time in the UK you would be better off with Rambo Lambo at least the bloke gives 100%, of course if you could get Emil back whole different ball game gives 100% and one of the most exciting riders about.

[SteveArena]

Chris Louis leaving was a disaster for Ipswich. This guy Coleman is like when Posselthwaite went into Reading and changed everything which ended in tears.  He wont be here long and soon realise he cannot change things in British Speedway.

[mikebv]

2 hours ago, SteveArena said:

Chris Louis leaving was a disaster for Ipswich. This guy Coleman is like when Posselthwaite went into Reading and changed everything which ended in tears.  He wont be here long and soon realise he cannot change things in British Speedway.

You can't change what a majority dont want changing....

[mac101]

KJP had a bad crash today at Glasgow off to hospital 😟

[szkocjasid]

22 hours ago, TTT said:

Nicholls for Team Manager in 2027 is something that should happen as long as he wants the job.

Hurry has to go regardless, Musielak not being picked for Heat 15 may have cost Ipswich 4th Place (Not that it matters this year) but his rant on Stewart Dickson was pathetic imo, Better Team Won and it was that simple.

Coleman has put his balls on the line with his choice of words in regards to 2027, He's left himself with no choice but to deliver a GP Rider @ No.1 or a certain Russian who's GP calibre along with six other riders that can compete for the title.

If the Team is a let down then he'll have nowhere to hide as he's got everyone's hopes and expectations up, We'll just have to wait until the winter to see what happens on this front though.

Musielak was picked for heat 15?

I don't get the talk of waiting for 2027, teams should want to be successful every season, Ipswich have had chances to improve if they were ruthless (& riders were willing to come).

[cowboy cookie returns?]

I really struggle with all the negativity currently around the club.

we had an amazing 3 years with Emil & Jason & bar injuries should have won more & let’s not forget how we threw away the title in 2023.

Coleman & co coming in late was always going to provide problems with the team in terms of who was available. 
 

I was always prepared to write this year off however we have a cup final & are still in with a shout of the play offs. To win the play offs you need a team that goes well at Belle Vue & not many sides do that. Your going to meet them either in the semi of the final.

If Mayfield puts together similar team in 2027 & this time next year we are having similar conversations then they will deserve the criticism.

The negative part for me is that in 5 years time of Coleman hasn’t managed to change this both in the uk & at gp level he will walk away form both. However at that point if he hasn’t managed to get change though & we are not seeing uk speedway improving to be honest there won’t be much to walk away from at uk level.

 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

15 hours ago, SteveArena said:

Chris Louis leaving was a disaster for Ipswich. This guy Coleman is like when Posselthwaite went into Reading and changed everything which ended in tears.  He wont be here long and soon realise he cannot change things in British Speedway.

Not sure I fully agree with you.

Louis leaving if his heart wasn’t in it any more was 100% the correct decision.

Due things beyond the control of Louis & Coleman the take over took a lot longer to be finalised than in should. My understanding was that everything was agreed between Louis & Coleman before Christmas. 

That it didn’t happen until March ment recruitment of riders was tough as most already had their calendars sorted.

I’m confident for the short term of the club Coleman has kept onboard the existing sponsors that Louis had & has since added some new ones. The sponsors from the Louis era all seem happy & excited about the future enough to keep them onboard.

Now where I do agree with you is that Coleman definitely wants to make change & drag the sport into the modern era.

It appears that a 5 year timeline has been set for this to happen & it’s possible that at that point Coleman walks away if he can’t take the old guard with him.

However if in 5 years he has been unable to make those changes & we still have the same issues as today there won’t be much left to walk away from.

The first step of change I think has been laid with Wroclaw coming onboard they wouldn’t get involved unless there was the possibility of light at the end of the tunnel.

[Steve Irving]

On 7/9/2026 at 5:20 PM, YeOldPitGate said:

Whats the issue with Hurry ? 

There isn’t one. 

On 7/10/2026 at 4:27 PM, siggysigalos said:

It's obvious Bash, Paul Hurry is like a Reserve Team Manager, the 1st team manager leaves, and you bring in a stand in, that's how Hurry looks, like a fish out of water, a choice that surprised most, but as The Messiah Coleman has said, they were left in the last minute.com section, so Manager and Team was scraped together. Just don't believe all you hear Bash on that situation. I agree on Scotty, maybe if Scotty is Manager, then Paul Hurry will be in the team.....But i Quote....AGAIN, keep spending your money in 2026, it's going to be tough, but judge me a year later, so that's what we all have to do....I will just leave..Edward Kennett and Michael Palm-Toft....Then when Kennett decided Ipswich and Hurry weren't for him, out comes Coleman and Hurry backing Bangs.....Week Later Bangs is gone.

Just an opinion, ive supported the Witches long enough to have my doubts on Coleman.....But i have no doubts on Hurry at all.......

What? So you’re saying he’s actually lying and there WERE better option out there? Name names as you seem to be another playing the “in the know” game. 
 

Let’s look at the facts here shall we? It was your “messiah” Louis and his mate that decided to bugger off at the eleventh hour leaving not only Ipswich hunting around for the scraps left on the table, but also inconvenienced every other club in the league with his selfish attitude. 
 

He left his own die hard supporters fearing the absolute worst over the long winter months, not knowing whether their beloved club would still even exist, which also threw the whole league set up in chaos with no clubs able to release their own fixtures and sell their own season tickets which clubs rely on for winter cash flow. 

I find your post along with those from TTT incredibly ungrateful to both Richard Coleman, AND Paul Hurry for rescuing Ipswich and the top league this season. Hurry by all accounts, doesn’t get paid a single penny for his role as team manager, just expenses paid. He’s doing the club a favour here.

I find it genuinely staggering that an Ipswich supporter of all people, are looking at Coleman’s arrival negatively. In my opinion, he’s been a breath of fresh air and spoken incredibly well on lots of varying issues. The communication has been first class despite him only being in place a matter of months.

Coleman knew his media man Paul Burbidge had written up the main story in the Speedway Star about the partnership with Wroclaw a couple of weeks ago, so he gathered supporters at Foxhall to tell them the news first, 24 hours before the article went to press. That again, is first class. 

That partnership should be exciting the Ipswich supporters, not creating negativity. It’s certainly ruffled a few feathers of fans from other clubs judging by their catty comments on here! I see one from Leicester a few posts up has joined the party, “liked” by the usual suspects from Manchester.

The bloke has literally just walked in the door at your club, he’s given the supporters another year of Speedway despite only getting the keys in March, all whilst promising the supporters a better 2027 when they’ll be given a fair chance of building a team. 
 

Show some gratitude. 

[Bagpuss]

54 minutes ago, szkocjasid said:

Musielak was picked for heat 15?

I don't get the talk of waiting for 2027, teams should want to be successful every season, Ipswich have had chances to improve if they were ruthless (& riders were willing to come).

That's the issue though, as other clubs have found out previously. Very, very difficult to get riders over here during the season, and there appear to be few new ones who want to sign in the winters. 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

7 minutes ago, Steve Irving said:

There isn’t one. 

What? So you’re saying he’s actually lying and there WERE better option out there? Name names as you seem to be another playing the “in the know” game. 
 

Let’s look at the facts here shall we? It was your “messiah” Louis and his mate that decided to bugger off at the eleventh hour leaving not only Ipswich hunting around for the scraps left on the table, but also inconvenienced every other club in the league with his selfish attitude. 
 

He left his own die hard supporters fearing the absolute worst over the long winter months, not knowing whether their beloved club would still even exist, which also threw the whole league set up in chaos with no clubs able to release their own fixtures and sell their own season tickets which clubs rely on for winter cash flow. 

I find your post along with those from TTT incredibly ungrateful to both Richard Coleman, AND Paul Hurry for rescuing Ipswich and the top league this season. Hurry by all accounts, doesn’t get paid a single penny for his role as team manager, just expenses paid. He’s doing the club a favour here.

I find it genuinely staggering that an Ipswich supporter of all people, are looking at Coleman’s arrival negatively. In my opinion, he’s been a breath of fresh air and spoken incredibly well on lots of varying issues. The communication has been first class despite him only being in place a matter of months.

Coleman knew his media man Paul Burbidge had written up the main story in the Speedway Star about the partnership with Wroclaw a couple of weeks ago, so he gathered supporters at Foxhall to tell them the news first, 24 hours before the article went to press. That again, is first class. 

That partnership should be exciting the Ipswich supporters, not creating negativity. It’s certainly ruffled a few feathers of fans from other clubs judging by their catty comments on here! I see one from Leicester a few posts up has joined the party, “liked” by the usual suspects from Manchester.

The bloke has literally just walked in the door at your club, he’s given the supporters another year of Speedway despite only getting the keys in March, all whilst promising the supporters a better 2027 when they’ll be given a fair chance of building a team. 
 

Show some gratitude. 

Excellent post spot. I think Coleman has ruffled the feathers of the BSPL too.