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I think you are missing the point. Chapman is part of the problem in allowing riders to return on outdated averages. This isn't a Poole problem it's a UK Speedway problem.

Exactly... Another grip of mine is the 'PIT STOP' café' Am I the only on to notice that the prices go up for Speedway and Stockcar meetings. When you use the café during the week the prices are substantially lower. I understand the logic of a captive audience , but if you wish to look after your supporters the last thing you want to do is rip them off If the prices are adequate to make the Café viable during the working day, then why would it be necessary to increase them when you have a far bigger custom base....

This Speedway of Nations is a innovative and exciting competition that's never been seen before, and will stop Poland winning everything. Those who point out that the World Team Cup used to be run with a pairs + reserve format and with Semi-Finals, and that Team Ice Speedway has always been run over a couple days, are merely being churlish and not getting with the programme...

Would like to say thanks for a very positive report there . I think the stats you used were very fair and very true . It' nice to see a report look at the whole picture not just the short comings . Roll on 2018 and getting settled at my new home over the first few meetings Regards wilko

It's off topic (i.e nothing to do with Scorpions 2018!), but we (Newcastle) have 13.40 pts left and I would hope we won't go 8 + 3.5, leaving us 2pts short.

With the field being assembled maybe it would be worth trying to do a streaming? Presume the meeting is not bound by any BSPA TV contract? The team who film the action at BV are excellent, with HD coverage, so maybe time to dip the toe in the water to see if it can attract an on line audience..? I would imagine if promoted well there would be a crowd of 2500 - 3000, so plenty of potential fans around the country to attract who cannot be there on the night..

That's just it, in fear of being ripped off I'd rather go without. After paying £1 of a coffee at dinner time, I'll be damned to pay £1.50 for the same drink in the evening..

Guess it's no to J Holder aswell then!

Go for it Wilko. I've a gut feeling you are going to have a good season. Delighted to see you back with the diamonds.

Can you move the conversation - this is for 2018 teams only...

I think you could be right but my prediction will be closer than yours :0

WTF are u lot waffling on about???

Rubbishio.

Poole..... isn’t it obvious they know a good thing when they see it..... one for the future, unlike one of the past as in ex World Champions who want to pick n choose the conditions they wish to ride in

Some great pictures and the Saturday night under flood lights is brilliant. Looked like good crowds on both days. Thank you for sharing these. Unfortunately I was unable to make it to Berlin on this occasion and really missed the action. For those who have never been it is worth giving it a go and if you can get to one on the European meetings you will not be disappointed. I would also like to thank Conkers and Iris for always providing updates, reports photo and video etc. and other valuable information, it is greatly appreciated and the best reporting you can get.

Wally Loak. The only one I ever bought was the Mildenhall meeting where Mel Taylor stole the NL title from the Rockets.

I think it's a travesty in what's happening at both stadiums...plus Coventry of course. When I last visited Cowley about six or so years ago it was in a real state. Personally I can't see speedway returning there despite all the good intentions.

Biggest average improvers by team. Also going to throw out some names who will take a hit on there averages. BV - Biggest improver - Rohan Tungate. Craig Cook to take a hit on his average. Craig will struggle in the GP's imo and with no Championship club this year his confidence might drop especially if Rybnik drops him during the season then meeting's will also become an issue. KL - Biggest improver - Nobody. Poor side imo. Leicester - Biggest Improver - Danny King. Riding at No.3 will suit Danny. Experienced racer on all tracks expecting a good season from DK. Poole - Biggest improver - Kacper Woryna. Should put 2.5 to 3 points on his starting average. Rye House - Biggest improver - KK. Expecting KK to put 1.25 to 1.5 points on his average. He always has a good season after a bad one. Somerset - Biggest improver - Jack Holder. JD will help Jack develop next season Jack should put a point on his starting average imo. Swindon - Biggest improver - Adam Ellis. Should put half a point on his starting average. N. Morris & Bellego to take a hit on the averages if Bellego can end up with a 6.5 average then he has done well. Wolves - Biggest improver - Nobody. Really is a poor side and all of those riders will take a hit on there averages imo.

Thing is in those days Speedway was supported by the National news papers, they could do with getting involved with Cardiff.

There are a number riders rewarded by wealth by treating the job professionally .

I was at Rye House some years ago and it seems that the week before they had let all fans in for free ( I believe they had a very good attendance, but that's only hearsay ). I remember the announcer asking if there was anyone in the crowd who had decided to come after enjoying the Freebie of the previous week. Not a single hand went up ! So that seemed to prove that free admission does NOT add people to the weekly gate.....There is an old thought in business...If it's free, it ain't worth anything ! I am curious about the suggestion that the new Belle Vue management are working on a 3 year plan to increase numbers. But Belle Vue have been running almost un-interrupted since 1928. I would have thought that the people of Manchester are fully aware of Speedway. Having said that, the new track/stadium IS very special and MIGHT prove to be the magic ingredient.

I hadn't seen those reports of the three millennials falling down and all within an hour. I hope there's an immediate and thorough Health and Safety investigation. Whoever is responsible must be publicly denounced.

Time will tell. Of course fans applaud free admission. What fan wouldn't? Free stuff! Can't beat it. Be interesting to see the demographics of the increased numbers at BV. If there's been a 30% increase in attendance, then that, from my memory of the place, should mean an increase of about 300-500. So, were there really 300-500 extra teenagers on the terraces there? Was anyone doing the "proper business" thing of monitoring their customer base in order to better understand it? And of course, what will happen when the kid getting a freebie crosses over to the age when he/she has to dip into his/her pocket and actually pay for admission...how many of them carry on attending when they have to contribute to paying the bills of the business? As I said, time will tell. Belle Vue can (afford?) to do things their way according to their circumstances. Birmingham's circumstances are different, so the TwoMasons will do things their way, as they best see fit.

The live tv league match between Arsenal and Man City ,the gate given was over 58,000.Looking at the gaps in the crowd I suspect Diane Abbott was on the turnstiles

I was there.The air horns were deafening. As you say, a great atmosphere

The times are a changing...well they have changed a while ago if we are talking about speedway.There will be a place for leisure,it is very important.How many gyms/fitness clubs have opened up in the last decade?Trouble is,there won't be much of a place for an environmentally unfriendly sport in cities and towns that occurs weekly or even fortnightly.Face facts,we are seeing a change in cars and their use coming pretty soon.It will be extreeeeemly hard to defend noisy,dirty motorbikes racing around for a couple of hours every week and especially if they are sharing a stadium with dirty noisy stock cars as welll

What Holder needs to and does do are 2 different things, the injuries he received at Coventry seemed to mentally affect his riding, then the dreadful accident to his best pal seemed to amplify this. Does C Holder have the ability.............YES......Does C Holder have the mental ability..................we will have to wait and see.

Keeps falling on deaf ears

With what we keep hearing about a new stadium Swndon might be riding at Oxford

They see it as a way to get people interested in the sport particularly, the younger generation. A night at the Colts for £20 for two adults and two under 18's is affordable for many families. The hope is they will give it a try, like what they see and then become fans and then as they discover more about the sport also support the Aces.

It's simply down to personal choice and our views on zoos and safari parks obviously differ but i would like nothing at all to do with either them and i I certainly wouldn't miss seeing beautiful animals held in captivity.

For the millionth time people are fed up with the system, not the team(s) taking advantage of it.

Well I also don’t understand how People can be angry about Szczepaniak. He is on loan from Kings Lynn so Buster knew about the deal and didn’t stop it!!

... and there are a lot more nations who will take part in this brand new FIM pairs team competition, in fact it is now 15 compared to the 12 we had in the SWC ! Slovenia and Finland return, and Slovakia is a new entry !! Isn't that great ? I wonder why Castgana thinks that this SoN will help the smaller speedway nations, especially those struggling badly in Southern Europe (Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) and Overseas (Argentina, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand), to find new riders. Why would youngsters there suddenly be eager to take up the Sport, just because we now have a SoN pairs instead of the Speedway World Cup. Most of the above mentioned countries did not take part in the SWC, and most of them dont participate in the new SoN either. There should be a development programme by the FIM to help these smaller countires with logistics and knowledge, and if possible money and equipment, as is done in other sports such as Football, Rugby and Cricket. The Speedway of Nations will achieve nothing at all, it is just blurring the sad fact that many countries are no longer able to track a national team of more than two or three riders.

He could well do that i think Woryna will will average between 7. - 8.20) and on this instance i don't think Poole have done anything wrong and fair play to Ford for being a step ahead everybody else.

If you're thinking about riders who can add a point or so on their average, I would imagine the list would be quite long. If we are talking about the rider who average will improve the most then Woryna is way ahead of the rest. I hope he doubles his score, then probably it will open the BSPA eyes and see the pathetic situation they have created by using out of date CMA

There is wrapping yourself up in cotton wool and then there is making sensible and mature choices less than a month before the season starts. If it was a Lynn rider I'd be rather peeved.

Take your poole hat off for a change and look at the bigger picture !!!

Now he has a regular team spot at Scunny this season and therefore more track time I fully expect Jake Allen to be a big improver in 2018.

She's probably got more common sense than Bates.

Makes sense

I get he wants to have a laugh with his mates don't we all but sometimes you just have to make that sacrifice and say maybe i best not with season just around corner in case of a freak accident which this is of course. Main point i would like to make is that if i was a sponsor of his i wouldn't be overly delighted, money available for sponsorship specially for speedway is not exactly big and Josh Bates who quit mid winter will maybe have already put off potential and current sponsors and now this happens where he potentially misses meetings which is not what sponsors sign up for, if injury happens riding speedway then fair enough the sponsors know risk of that as riders do. Hope his recovery goes well and is soon back on a bike for us !

As some will no I’m a cricket fan as well and a member at Trent Bridge- speedway could learn so much about customers service from Trent Bridge from official stewards to box office staff to catering staff they can’t do enough for you as a fan you feel valued they email fans before games about how the club is looking forward to our visit and by the time we get home there is another email saying hope you enjoyed your visit and please let’s us no if there is anything that can be done to improve the match day experience- ok two different sports one cash rich the other not in the same financial league but speedway is up against sports like this and the difference to how fans customers are treated is vast . For me it’s all about being valued as a fan rather than being taken for granted.

Another rib gone. I'm down to my last one!

I managed to to get to the NSS 3 times last season. Meeting 1 was v Swindon in the KO Cup Semi Final. Fabulous meeting that had everything in atrocious conditions. Great racing.Anywhere else, I am convinced it would have been rained off. Meeting 2 was the following night, Colts v Eastbourne. After the night before I wasnt expecting anything special at all. Incredibly, it was again superb entertainment. Track was superbly prepared, passing in almost every race . Inside, outside, through the middle, the young lads could race confidently anywhere at any time,despite the changeable weather. Meeting 3 was a about a month later as the Colts won the NL title v Eastbourne. Once again tremendous racing. An absolute credit to NL racing.The NSS has a superb circuit. I managed to get to Poole 7 times last season. Well, to be honest, I think I saw more full blooded racing in any ONE of those NSS meetings than I saw in any at Poole. Riders were literally bouncing across the track and you could clearly see hestistation. Dont get me wrong, I am Poole through and through and have been since 1955.That wont change. I welcome the track being ripped up and hopefully will produce some better and safer racing. Only time will tell. Fingers crossed, eh?

The decision was not only made at the AGM, it was subsequently confirmed on 1 February 2018 - despite the fact that Peterborough challenged it. As such, they did test the decision and were refused. Three weeks (BCD has stated it was less) later - apparently after solicitors were contacted - the BSPA backed down completely. According to Phil Rising, the SCB were fully aware that the Nicholls decision was illegal and refused to ratify it. I am therefore asking myself whether the decision to retain the rule after review in early February and then reverse it a matter of weeks later was a matter of incompetence, viciousness or both. I don't regard Rathbone as the peoples champion - and I suspect those that do are motivated by their own prejudices - but I do regard him as someone who stood up to a ruling in the interests of his promotion, his team, his fans and his sponsors. That is very hard to condemn. The problem with a closed shop is that no-one is allowed to challenge it. That means however illegal, corrupt or biased their rulings are they must be adhered to. That surely cannot be right, and the answer must be not to punish dissent or dissension but not make such rulings in the first place. Decisions that are fair, open, justifiable, subject to precedent and legal are far harder to challenge. There are those who bash the BSPA at every opportunity - again, almost certainly as a result of their own prejudices. The thing is though is that the BSPA themselves have, to a degree, created such an attitude. Personally, I take pleasure that an illegal ruling has been struck down and I doubt very much that I am the only one with that view. I have made no secret of my respect and admiration for the promotion at Isle Of Wight and its clear Barry Bishop and Martin Widman have put a huge amount of time, money, effort and enthusiasm into ensuring that the Warriors are a paying success. Yet last season, time after time, rulings went against them, be that because they were turned down (despite precedents) or that others received ludicrously beneficial judgements. That undoubtedly contributed to their final league position and no doubt there were times that they would have felt utterly disillusioned by events around them. The thing is I - and I would stand on my own reputation for fairness and impartiality - can well believe that they were denied their share of discretion through simple jealousy, provoked by the remarkable (and totally justified)amount of credit and praise they have received from speedway fans across the country. Ged Rathbone was heavily fined and had his promoters licence suspended as a result of allowing Holder to ride in Poland. Two seasons ago, I went to a meeting where a promoter took part in a sit on the track during that meeting. He, one of his riders and a number of the home support sat on the track on one side of the tapes while on the other side were riders ready to race. I thought that was a grossly irresponsible act and an awful breach of health and safety regulations. To my knowledge, that promoter was never fined, punished or disciplined in anyway and, in my view, there is no question about what was the more serious offence. Any organisation that treats its members with such appalling inconsistency - and, seemingly, favouritism - can also make decisions in precisely the same way and therefore deserves at least some of the odium and criticism it gets.

The real reason could be frostbite of the goolies. He certainly likes finding unusual ways of harming himself. As they say in that part of the world, "daft as a brush".

It's very interesting that the guy who is fronting up the Save Coventry Group, who has probably put in hundreds & hundreds of hours of time and effort into trying to save the stadium for future use stated quite clearly on radio last night that he wouldn't be attending Leicester because he didn't believe that a team racing there & competing at the lowest level represented the Coventry Bees. i wonder if all the posters on this topic who keep telling those of us who have expressed the same opinions, that we are trying to " kill the club" would accuse Jeff of being of the same mind?

Speedway's problem isn't being on TV. Speedway's problem is that most people in the country have no idea what it is or that it exist. Being on tv does not contribute towards that.

The truth is that Berwick find it harder and harder to compete at Premier League / Championship level each year. Occasionally they will get lucky and uncover the odd gem. They had a couple of riders lined up this season until they were gazumped. Hopefully, through time, the academy will pay dividends, but speedway doesn't do long-term.