Many have assumed that Monarchs' preferred line-up is the one that they intended to finish last season had the André Compton/Kevin Little/Will Beveridge swap deal come off.
Peter Carr, Blair Scott, and Chsristian Henry have already signed. Robert Eriksson and Derek Sneddon appear set to sign. Ross Brady is currently negotiating to sign for a third season with Monarchs. That will leave a vacancies at third heat leader.
It is no secret that André Compton has been Monarchs number one target for the heat leader place. The problem here is that his contract is held by Peterborough and they are facing competition from Sheffield. The fact that Compton had two very successful season with the South Yorkshire outfit and that he is based in West Yorkshire probably tilts things towards Sheffield. However Compton himself is on record as stating that he loves the Armadale tracks and is impressed with the Monarchs setup. Should Monarchs lose out on the fight for Compton's services, it appears that Jan Andersen could be set for a return to the capital.
Jan Andersen was a member of the Monarchs team in the Powderhall days. He rode for Monarchs intitially in 1992 and was a mainstay of the Second Division team in 1994 and in the unified British Premier League in 1995. He moved to on loan to Coventry in 1996 subsequently to Peterborough. Jan won a Premier League championship medal with the Panthers in 1998 and an Elite League gong in 1999. He expressed a desire to move back to the Premier League but was stuck with a prohibitively high converted average. Jan sat out much of the 2000 season before he joined Ipswich. This saw his Elite League average fall and gives him a converted Premier League average of around six points.
Mike Hunter argued that both Compton and Andersen hold equal appeal. He commented about Jan in the Edinburgh Pink:
"It was once thought that Jan would not race for us again. But his value lies in his low nine-point average - and he is our own rider. André remains our first choice to replace Kevin, but Jan would be an obvious alternative. Indeed he is potentially a better scorer than André. André is the more spectacular, but Jan is steadier and more consistent."
Jan is typical of many Danish riders in being a very fast starter. He is also very steady and difficult to pass when leading. He is excellent on the big tracks. He beat Mark Loram twice, once from the back, around Exeter the then home track of of the future world champion in 1995. Jan made it clear that he wants a Premier League place and that Monarchs are his first choice.
Mike Hunter added:
"I don't think too much attention should be paid to his performances for Ipswich. He was a late season stop-gap. His main aim was to get his average down to a level where he can return to the Premier League. I am not sure whether we have suggested to Jan that we would like him back. We'll have to wait and see what Andr&eacture;."
"Without doubt Jan will be snapped up by a Premier club and could do a bit of damage. But we won't stop him from riding elsewhere if we don't sign him."