Sheffield v Leicester- 25th June

[GeneralMelchett]

3 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

Well done to Joe T for a good score.

Pleased for him as when he was at Ipswich the other year you could see that he gated well and had ability but often just got overtaken, its seems his career was perhaps a slower burn than Dan but he starting to show the decent scores now!

[IainB]

1 hour ago, Gambo said:

How is it 'Throwing him under a bus?' It's not unreasonable to expect a couple of points from him whilst riding at Reserve.

3 lines devoted to Howarth's appearance and no score... and Dan's absence only gets 1 mention 

[Aries]

2 hours ago, IainB said:

3 lines devoted to Howarth's appearance and no score... and Dan's absence only gets 1 mention 

To be fair I’m not sure more than one mention for Dan was needed? It was a review of the meeting and he wasn’t in it.

Howarth on the other hand, WAS involved in the meeting and him uncharacteristically scoring zero especially at reserve, is a deserved talking point.

[1 valve]

5 hours ago, IainB said:

Personally, I wouldn't allow any facility only the promotion of an affiliated junior

And you’re the one saying a couple of posts back “It really cannot be taken seriously as a sport”.
your idea above would see a top heat leader “substituted” by a NDL learner which is hardly the way to ensure a competitive meeting is it? 
 

[Fromafar]

6 hours ago, IainB said:

Hardly one for the future Lewis Kerr... get these kids in, and when they lured by Poland, wave them goodbye I'm afraid

Even the youngsters are going to bail out to Poland as soon as they can,happy to be sitting in the Pits (with money in bank,maybe in some cases).GB speedway has too take step back to go forward again.Sad Times.

[IainB]

32 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

And you’re the one saying a couple of posts back “It really cannot be taken seriously as a sport”.
your idea above would see a top heat leader “substituted” by a NDL learner which is hardly the way to ensure a competitive meeting is it? 
 

Handing facilities out willy nilly is hardly going to stop clubs from arranging fixtures when they know their riders are going to be away... you can continue to go and watch the charade if you like, I kept my £25 in my wallet last night, the first time I've done so with the Lions visiting Sheffield since they stepped back up into the top flight.

[mikebv]

42 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

And you’re the one saying a couple of posts back “It really cannot be taken seriously as a sport”.
your idea above would see a top heat leader “substituted” by a NDL learner which is hardly the way to ensure a competitive meeting is it? 
 

Of course it won't, and that's the point...

Such a deterrent would stop so much nonsense being accepted...

Similar to one point each and no rearrangement for called off meetings...

That would ensure far more meetings that currently get called off would take place..

The nonsense has to stop...

[IainB]

1 hour ago, 1 valve said:

And you’re the one saying a couple of posts back “It really cannot be taken seriously as a sport”.
your idea above would see a top heat leader “substituted” by a NDL learner which is hardly the way to ensure a competitive meeting is it? 
 

... and believe it or not that's what happens in proper sports 👍

[szkocjasid]

7 hours ago, IainB said:

Hardly one for the future Lewis Kerr... get these kids in, and when they lured by Poland, wave them goodbye I'm afraid

But Leicester aren't in the Prem to "get the kids in" that's what the NL is for, they should pick the best riders for the Prem.

[szkocjasid]

8 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

 

I can understand the frustration, Edinburgh fans have experienced it to, but replacing a 6 point Prem rider with a 4 point Champ rider is not the answer.

Now if Leicester said they'd prefer Lewis Kerr because he'd be available every match, that would be understandable.

Even if the decision was made to let Dan go & sign a rider who'll turn up every week, you'd still want to sign the best available option surely?

8 hours ago, PersonalResponsibility said:

The right answer depends on what the question is. If it's to sign someone who'll turn up every week then it is absolutely the right answer. 

[Teromaafan]

Just seeking some clarity here. Did Dan have a choice regarding in Poland last night or was it an ultimatum from his Polish club?

[IainB]

47 minutes ago, szkocjasid said:

But Leicester aren't in the Prem to "get the kids in" that's what the NL is for, they should pick the best riders for the Prem.

They did, unfortunately one of the riders decided he'd rather watch a meeting in Poland than ride for his UK club 🤷‍♂️

20 minutes ago, Teromaafan said:

Just seeking some clarity here. Did Dan have a choice regarding in Poland last night or was it an ultimatum from his Polish club?

The rider always has a choice... to sign a contract or not, if he'd rather watch a meeting in Poland than ride for the Lions or if the Lions management want to arrange fixtures knowing he'll be away, fine... just don't expect me to pay £25 to indulge them!

[mikebv]

22 minutes ago, IainB said:

They did, unfortunately one of the riders decided he'd rather watch a meeting in Poland than ride for his UK club 🤷‍♂️

The rider always has a choice... to sign a contract or not, if he'd rather watch a meeting in Poland than ride for the Lions or if the Lions management want to arrange fixtures knowing he'll be away, fine... just don't expect me to pay £25 to indulge them!

A very pertinent comment on this evenings Polish coverage from @TTT

Where he mentions how injuries have made this Polish season interesting as the big guns have been impacted by injuries, so other teams can compete...

That is sport....

In the UK, Wroclaw, and Gorzow, as an example, would have brought in guests from other teams to cover...

If Poland did that, they know they are finished as fans, sponsors, and TV would walk away..

A few years ago Wroclaw, the best team overall, got hammered in the final due to their injuries...

Sh*t Hapoens...

That is sport...

[PhilTheAce]

2 hours ago, IainB said:

They did, unfortunately one of the riders decided he'd rather watch a meeting in Poland than ride for his UK club 🤷‍♂️

The rider always has a choice... to sign a contract or not, if he'd rather watch a meeting in Poland than ride for the Lions or if the Lions management want to arrange fixtures knowing he'll be away, fine... just don't expect me to pay £25 to indulge them!

Not as simple as that though is it. 

 

Hes signed a contract in Poland for weekends, with the odd chance of a weekday meeting. Can't expect dan to. Not sign a deal in Poland incase lodz ride the odd Thursday. 

 

End of the day the blame lies totally with Morris for giving Poland priority on Thursdays. 

 

 

[IainB]

11 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

Not as simple as that though is it. 

 

Hes signed a contract in Poland for weekends, with the odd chance of a weekday meeting. Can't expect dan to. Not sign a deal in Poland incase lodz ride the odd Thursday. 

 

End of the day the blame lies totally with Morris for giving Poland priority on Thursdays. 

 

 

To be honest I don't give a toss who is at fault.

You can blame Morris, you can blame the UK clubs for riding knowing their talent won't be there, you can blame the rider for signing a contract that hasn't got the right clauses in it...

All I know is, that as a paying customer of British Speedway, I'm sick of it, it's literally almost every match effected by one thing or another and... I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore 😂

I'll be picking and choosing my matches in future when riders decide they don't want to ride for their team. 

Whoever has advised Dan Thompson to sign for Lodz on those terms has done him no favours. If the rider is good enough they'll always negotiate from a position of strength and he'll be able to name his terms. That's just business. 

[Teromaafan]

47 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

Not as simple as that though is it. 

 

Hes signed a contract in Poland for weekends, with the odd chance of a weekday meeting. Can't expect dan to. Not sign a deal in Poland incase lodz ride the odd Thursday. 

 

End of the day the blame lies totally with Morris for giving Poland priority on Thursdays. 

 

 

Your last sentence is bang on! This sport (?) is very expensive for competitors and you cannot blame riders for  chasing the money and if we’re brutally honest most of us would have done what Dan T did yesterday. If Phil Morris hadn’t dropped his pants and bent over to Poland regarding Thursdays these situations would not generate such frustration among followers of the sport in the UK.

 

[IainB]

All I know is it's a bit of a 5hitshow, it's bad enough that these riders go missing, for them not to even rode just adds insult to injury!

This so called agreement obviously needs looking at so our clubs know when and when not to arrange clashing fixtures, especially with so many blank dates in our fixture list there's really no excuse for this kind of thing to be happening

 

Edited 1 hour ago by IainB

[PhilTheAce]

Unfortunately we are far far down the pecking order, most country's leagues can probably hold us over a barrel now. 

 

Can that change. Absolutely but it needs some strong heads to go against the dinosaurs. 

[BarryIsland]

On 6/23/2026 at 3:54 PM, InTheDeepStuff said:

This is going to be a tough one for all the riders involved, will be in excess of 30° during the meeting, lord knows how much hotter in the pits and in their kevlars!

Imagine Sheffield will go down the R/R route for Jack Holder as with only Northampton and King’s Lynn not riding only really Chris Harris as an option.  You’d think Chris Holder, Pickering, Flint and Rowe could get maybe 7-10 from 4 rides not sure if Harris would get that from number 1. 
 

Did I hear right on BSN last night that Dan Thompson could miss this for Leicester of Lodz decide to use him for their Ekstraliga 2 meeting that clashes (practising today to decide squad)? If he ends up in Poland that would be a big loss for Leicester as looked on fire last night and had good meetings around Sheffield too, would they go guest or R/R?  Can see Howarth again being a busy man down at number 6 maybe getting a ride or two extra from  likes of Kemp, Morris or Joe Thompson 

Just due to Jack Holder being a consistent big scorer around Sheffield and R/R or guest not covering adequately I think Leicester will come away with the away win 41-49 

Dan Thompson is a greedy money goblin. He likes the smell of coins apparently hence his absence at Sheffield .