Speculation from the Glasgow side suggests that Monarchs may have targeted Brian Turner. No confirmation has been recieved from the Monarchs promotion about this move.
Brian started out with Middlesbrough but moved to Newcastle in 1997 after the Bears closed. He was dropped and finished the season with Hull. After riding at Glasgow for a season and a half, he joined Monarchs as a replacement for the injured David McAllan.
Brian had a torrid time with Monarchs. He made his debut at Sheffield in the Cup Semi-Final second leg. He beat Peter Boast for third place in heat 2. He taped in his second ride due to a clutch failure. He ran in last in his third outing and fell and injured a leg in his last ride. The one point scored proved to be critical.
This injury meant that Brian missed the Armadale match against Glasgow. He did make his Armadale debut for Monarchs just over a week later against Arena Essex. He scored a tremendous 11 paid 12 from seven rides. This included two race wins and two second places.
Misfortune struck three days later at Newcastle when he fell in heat 2. He aggrevated his leg injury and also sustained a broken wrist. He did try and come out for another ride but failed to finish. That was effectively the end of his season. He did try a comeback in the Cup Final first leg against Arena Essex but was unabe to complete a heat because of the pain from his wrist.
This injury almost certainly cost Monarchs the Premier National Trophy Final against Newport. His replacement at Armadale, Stuart Coleman failed to score in four heats. Gary Phelps stood in at Newport with 2 paid 3 points from three rides.
There has been one confirmed signing in the Premier League with Hull capturing Mike Smith as their third heat leader. Mike Smith was considered a really hot prospect as a teenager with Middlesbrough. He suffered a bad injury and failed to progress as fast as expected after a comeback with Berwick in 1997 before moving to Newcastle. He did not ride in 1998 or 1999 due to work committments.
Assuming that Edinburgh do sign Turner and Glasgow sign Sean Courtney, the only places left to fill in the Premier League will be at Hull (three point plus reserve), Swindon (three to four point reserve, Stoke (three point reserve) and Berwick (three point reserve).
Probable teams are listed below: