Oxford 2026

[salty]

Following the budget yesterday, BetGoodwin have announced that they are going to cut all their horse racing sponsorship as they look to absorb the effect of the increase in online betting duty. No mention of anything else, but possibly could impact on their sponsorship of Speedway.

[Hilly]

First signing to be announced 7am Tuesday, I'm hoping for somebody outside the normal expected signings or confirm McDiarmid to snuff out a sneaky feeling I have about other teams trying to tempt him away.

[TigerIain]

Only Oxford, Glasgow and Redcar still to announce their number 1 (8+ rider), and it would be a major shock if the 3 didn't retain Masters, Harris & Wright respectively. 

Outside of Masters, I expect Kileen, & McDiarmid will have interest from elsewhere but will stay. I think it will be one of those 3 that are announced.

Outside bet would be former Spire Victor Palovaara who might not be back at Edinburgh

[CoffeeandTV]

2 hours ago, Hilly said:

First signing to be announced 7am Tuesday, I'm hoping for somebody outside the normal expected signings or confirm McDiarmid to snuff out a sneaky feeling I have about other teams trying to tempt him away.

Gilkes?

[BackInTheDHSS]

Oxford have signed Anders Rowe from Poole

[SteveLyric2]

Next rider announcement on Thursday morning

 

[ASpeedwayfan]

1 hour ago, BackInTheDHSS said:

Oxford have signed Anders Rowe from Poole

Good signing for you guys. Was frustrating at times with inconsistency’s, capable of gating and passing but also capable of being beaten by anybody. 
Certainly likes getting his elbows out. Maybe in a league of only 1 over 8 rider he could make a good number 5 

[TigerIain]

4 hours ago, BackInTheDHSS said:

Oxford have signed Anders Rowe from Poole

Don't think anyone seen that coming. Good move though, strengthens the Cheetahs and potentially weakens one of their rivals (unless Poole tempt Zach Cook back, in which case it also strengthens Poole)

[szkocjasid]

2 hours ago, TigerIain said:

Don't think anyone seen that coming. Good move though, strengthens the Cheetahs and potentially weakens one of their rivals (unless Poole tempt Zach Cook back, in which case it also strengthens Poole)

I would probably word it differently, both Poole & Oxford finished above the points limit so have to weaken.

Assuming Masters signs, then Rowe strengthens Oxford's top end, but will it strengthen the team as a whole (maybe depends if they sign Rushen).

Almost certainly will weaken Poole, even if they sign Cook, as that'd mean Bowes was effectively the replacement for Rowe.

[BackInTheDHSS]

3 hours ago, TigerIain said:

Don't think anyone seen that coming. Good move though, strengthens the Cheetahs and potentially weakens one of their rivals (unless Poole tempt Zach Cook back, in which case it also strengthens Poole)

12 minutes ago, szkocjasid said:

I would probably word it differently, both Poole & Oxford finished above the points limit so have to weaken.

Assuming Masters signs, then Rowe strengthens Oxford's top end, but will it strengthen the team as a whole (maybe depends if they sign Rushen).

Almost certainly will weaken Poole, even if they sign Cook, as that'd mean Bowes was effectively the replacement for Rowe.

Would you have said 'saw' instead of 'seen'? 😆

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:36 PM by BackInTheDHSS

[foreverblue]

15 minutes ago, szkocjasid said:

I would probably word it differently, both Poole & Oxford finished above the points limit so have to weaken.

Assuming Masters signs, then Rowe strengthens Oxford's top end, but will it strengthen the team as a whole (maybe depends if they sign Rushen).

Almost certainly will weaken Poole, even if they sign Cook, as that'd mean Bowes was effectively the replacement for Rowe.

We are always going to be weaker, that is the system.

[szkocjasid]

19 minutes ago, BackInTheDHSS said:

Would you have said 'saw' instead of 'seen'? 😆

 

I hope I'm not pedantic enough to call out spelling lol!

[szkocjasid]

17 minutes ago, foreverblue said:

We are always going to be weaker, that is the system.

If Oxford could replace a rider who hardly ever turned up with a very promising youngster, it's possible they wouldn't look much weaker at all. Whether riders can live up to their potential is another question obviously.

[foreverblue]

28 minutes ago, szkocjasid said:

If Oxford could replace a rider who hardly ever turned up with a very promising youngster, it's possible they wouldn't look much weaker at all. Whether riders can live up to their potential is another question obviously.

If we get Zach back we would not look much weaker because he is on a very low average whereas Anders may not improve his average much.

[TigerIain]

7 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

I would probably word it differently, both Poole & Oxford finished above the points limit so have to weaken.

Assuming Masters signs, then Rowe strengthens Oxford's top end, but will it strengthen the team as a whole (maybe depends if they sign Rushen).

Almost certainly will weaken Poole, even if they sign Cook, as that'd mean Bowes was effectively the replacement for Rowe.

I meant strengthen Oxfords top end, where they were lacking this year, and strengthen themcompared to other. Yes they have to lose points from where they finished last year but I think a proper number 5 will help Cheetahs do better this year. (contrast their 2024 Masters & Nicholls team v 2025's Masters and second strings).

As for weakening Poole, it takes away their number 5, and if Zach Cook is not back it leaves a problem for Poole to replace him. Per the Pirates page Matt Ford was having an issue with the 7th rider in their line up which was rumoured to be the now departed Rowe, which could mean that Kerr has to take on the number 5 role. Even allowing for stronger second strings I think that would weaken Poole relative to the league. 

In my opinion, a strong number 5 is needed for success in 2026 (could be a King & Nicholls or a Harris & Howarth or a Lewi Kerr or Jake Allen really stepping up)

[szkocjasid]

3 minutes ago, TigerIain said:

I meant strengthen Oxfords top end, where they were lacking this year, and strengthen themcompared to other. Yes they have to lose points from where they finished last year but I think a proper number 5 will help Cheetahs do better this year. (contrast their 2024 Masters & Nicholls team v 2025's Masters and second strings).

As for weakening Poole, it takes away their number 5, and if Zach Cook is not back it leaves a problem for Poole to replace him. Per the Pirates page Matt Ford was having an issue with the 7th rider in their line up which was rumoured to be the now departed Rowe, which could mean that Kerr has to take on the number 5 role. Even allowing for stronger second strings I think that would weaken Poole relative to the league. 

In my opinion, a strong number 5 is needed for success in 2026 (could be a King & Nicholls or a Harris & Howarth or a Lewi Kerr or Jake Allen really stepping up)

All good points

[foreverblue]

33 minutes ago, TigerIain said:

I meant strengthen Oxfords top end, where they were lacking this year, and strengthen themcompared to other. Yes they have to lose points from where they finished last year but I think a proper number 5 will help Cheetahs do better this year. (contrast their 2024 Masters & Nicholls team v 2025's Masters and second strings).

As for weakening Poole, it takes away their number 5, and if Zach Cook is not back it leaves a problem for Poole to replace him. Per the Pirates page Matt Ford was having an issue with the 7th rider in their line up which was rumoured to be the now departed Rowe, which could mean that Kerr has to take on the number 5 role. Even allowing for stronger second strings I think that would weaken Poole relative to the league. 

In my opinion, a strong number 5 is needed for success in 2026 (could be a King & Nicholls or a Harris & Howarth or a Lewi Kerr or Jake Allen really stepping up)

Rowe could be the answer for Oxford, he is a good rider, not sure he can improve much on his current average but better than most others who rode at 5 last season especially Heeps who is fairly useless.

[tyretrax]

23 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

I hope I'm not pedantic enough to call out spelling lol!

That's not bad spelling, it's bad grammar.

[TTT]

1. S. Masters 10.09

2. C. Heeps 4.93

3. M. McDiarmid 5.18

4. L. Killeen 5.15

5. A. Rowe 7.38

6. D. Gilkes 4.59

7. D. Ritchings 2.29

= 39.61

[ASpeedwayfan]

57 minutes ago, TTT said:

1. S. Masters 10.09

2. C. Heeps 4.93

3. M. McDiarmid 5.18

4. L. Killeen 5.15

5. A. Rowe 7.38

6. D. Gilkes 4.59

7. D. Ritchings 2.29

= 39.61

Possibly quite likely?

any news on how Gilkes is? Was at the meeting where he had his crash and couldn’t believe the severity of it considering it looked like a nothing crash. 
was so early into the season he’s had a long time not on the bike and even longer by the time the season starts, or did he get some laps in towards the end of the season?