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"a big man in a small place" starman a ludicrous statement and a touch insulting to somerset speedway,speak regularly to a guy who goes nearly all poole and somerset meetings and was his opinion that last yr of the two, somerset had the better crowds.Its very possible in fact probable that somerset have the better business model,they own their stadium so dont have to pay say 50/100 k yr in rent(pure guess)they keep all food and drink receipts and any car park receipts plus income from all other events at the stadium,of the two businesses to most businessmen i would think somerset would be the more attractive option

Just get professional and make every club use a 2minute countdown clock. Then that ends all arguments. Not ready for tapes at time zero - excluded. Plus no rider to replace that rider. I saw a rider in Poland last year arrive at start with 20secs left. He was called forward by start marshal. Rider came to tapes then backed off to adjust his goggles and clock hit 0.00. Referee immediately excluded him. This rider had also been excluded for touching tapes earlier. When he got back into the pits the Club manager sacked him on the spot. Told him to f..k off and don’t try collect his pay before leaving the city. Rest of team knew then that 2 minute clock meant 2 minutes.

Makes perfect sense - it clearly was not a very well considered amendment for this season. 2 minute clocks are what should have been implemented!

Talk all you wish too. The best 'promoter' in the country has caused hundreds, more likely thousands of fans to walk away from the sport. EVERY SINGLE clubs social media for the last ten years and more has been full every single season of fans sick of the manipulation and downright corruption in the sport with 95% of the time Ford and Poole squarely in the middle of it. Whether or not their complaints/suspicions were genuine or not, they were there and continue to be there. There is no doubt at all the damage it has done to the sport. What has been done about it? Absolutely nothing other than gloating from Poole fans like yourself which have the net result of worsening the problem and zero action from the BSPA either in clarifying rules or being open and honest. Yes, Ford has played the system, however the question has to be asked why has he continually been allowed to do so. In other businesses/sports there would be an investigation into alleged corrupt practices.

Let's face it, SS would say the Aussie cricket team played by the rules if they were based in Poole. His glasses are so blue tinted, it's a wonder that he hasn't fallen off the quay at Poole because he can't see through them properly. Watch him at a speedway meeting, every decision that a referee makes against Poole is wrong.

It has become quite obvious that to most of us, it is you who believe what you hear, after you preach it so many times. In any sport, equality is so important, without that equality you have to question the integrity of that sport. Every other Promoter tries to run their team to the rules as they were intended, not looking at ways to deceive the intention of them rules.. I have often moaned at the BSPA for allowing people like Ford to ride roughshod over our sport, but it is wrong that they have be on the lookout for these kind of people who are only interested in pulling the wool over genuine member’s eyes. The competition of this sport should be governed by the racing of bikes on the track, not by the person who sees a loophole and bends the rules the most. You say ‘other promoters should be like Ford and the sport would be far better’, but in truth Ford has been the biggest disease our sport has ever known. The sport has done well to battle his onslaught of underhanded deception for as long as it has. Poole fans may think they are the cream of the crop, but the truth of the matter is they are nothing more than sour milk. Fans are leaving by their droves because they are fed up to their teeth with how the sport is run. If you are allowed to bend, cheat or deceive them rules to prosper than any rewards are worthless. I‘m so pleased, that the majority of the promoters uses the rules how they were intended, and any success was achieved doing it the right way….

Climb out of his arse. A big man in a small place?! WTF are you actually on about. Poole lost fans last season. How did this happen when the messiah was working so hard?

Well I’ve finally found a good one after a thorough search that predicts dry days for Thursday and Friday.. https://m.accuweather.com/en/gb/ipswich/ip4-2/weather-forecast/330938 im going to ignore the more reliable Met Office and BBC forecasts and whole heartedly believe this one instead

Meet my mate - cheif pi$$ing down

'All the Poole haters'? There's only three or four who have said or even liked anything. There used to be many, many more, even on this forum. They're now lost to the sport. No worries though! Up the Pirates! Pointing out a serious issue that has been going on for the past 10-15 years is not hating, quite the opposite, it's showing a love for the sport.

I think the match against Somerset demonstrated how RR is not going to work for the Lions to cover Josh Bates injury break. At home to get 3 points from these rides is not enough When you have to cover with the reserves this to me is too much of a risk and a change needs to be made to make the team at full strength

Not all of us

I absolutely agree with you. You would think that the Promotion would be pleased that Berwick has a successful Supporters Club, and it doesn't matter how they allocate their hard earned money, it all helps to the success of the club.. I fear that this blow up, is more about Control, rather than common sense.

The last few years of Silver on track weren't great. The PR also wasn't good but it was still better than it has been from the current promotion in the fact that it was consistent rather than coming in flurries with plenty of silence between. Let's not kid ourselves that last year we had anything like a great team. Two results mean nothing. Our last truly good team was in 2007. KK fell in our lap last season and dug us out of a hole. The team for this season isn't great either and will rely on Kasprzak again if we are to make a play-off challenge. We've opted for 'names' in Nicholls and Harris who are probably only going downwards, over trying to bring in someone like Sundstrom who may actually increase his average. The way the promotion team build strikes me as "he's done well in the past so he will again." See Watt last year, see Lanham in the Premier League campaign for evidence of that. We're not in the censorship era any longer. Tell us why Barker was released (tell us why we even signed him in the first place, he's bobbins), tell us how the stadium developments are going, give us a reason why there is no Press and Practice as opposed to letting people speculate. It doesn't take long to do these things but they will be appreciated greatly by fans of the club a.k.a. The paying customers.

Perhaps Nillsson has taken them as down payment

So if people dont agree with your opinions , you dont want them to quote your posts ? Im afraid thats not how forums work,

Dont see any need to trial this one. Copypaste it from the FIM rulebook and it would have worked a treat. After 2 mins youre either ready to start or you are out. After which another 2 mins start for either a reserve or 15 m back.

No need really to trial anything... They already have the control mechanic to reduce any drawn out evenings. . It's called the putting the riders on '2 minutes'!! They just need to bloody use it properly!! Put everyone on two minutes after say two minutes of the previous race finishing.. I would also add that if there is an unsatisfactory start then absolutely no pit gates open and the riders come back round straight away, meaning the bike you started the race on is the one you start the re-run on.... No faffing around adjusting clutches or indeed any other mechanical adjustments that get disovered by the 'false start'. (And surely fuel isn't required just by doing a false start)? Call the 2 minutes, and if the race hasnt already started by the time the full 2 minutes have expired, send the tapes up the moment 120 seconds have past and start the race, riders ready or not. (Excluding them will just delay meetings further whilst decisions get made as who will race in the re-run/riders go back to the pits gate to 'faff' with their bikes).. It will take a fortnight or so I reckon to embed the consistent use of what already exists, but isn't used anyway near effectively enough currently..

I heard last night that part of the prize for winning rider of the night was a VIP experience for the rider of the night if wished.

Better than a damp ewe on a cold afternoon......

why does it matter what they do? what should have happened is they have 2 minute clocks and at the end of the 2 minutes if someone isnt ready to race theyre thrown out. for all i care they can go make a cup of tea, as long as they are ready at the two minutes why does it matter?

He’s not the messiah - he’s a very naughty boy

It takes as long as it takes to type "Work on the Track and Stadium Improvements has been severely hampered by the adverse weather conditions experienced this year but we are confident everything will be sorted for our Season Opening Meeting".

I agree with the above, Pearson and Tatum convey excitement, which on TV is important. Otherwise you are sat in a quiet room looking at a small-ish screen. Which is not like seeing something live, where the event is all around you and you fully experience the sounds and smells. The best atmosphere can easily be lost through TV because of how it is experienced, which is why experiments with not having commentators have not been successful. I am not sure what is that different about Rowe and Ermolenko on Eurosport, they just do not draw me into the meetings and make them feel completely flat. But I do like Dave Goddard on Premier Sport/FreeSports, even though he is just on his own describing what he is watching on a TV. Just shows how difficult a job it is to do well. There are definitely times I find Pearson can get irritating, but very few commentators are not hated by some. And those who get the most vocal criticism tend to be by people who would watch anyway, yet are very popular with neutrals who would not watch without someone to help make the experience an enjoyable one for them. So he gets the biggest jobs with BSI and BT because he makes the sport come alive on TV to more than just those wanting dry technical analysis.

It just seems sad that for a relatively small club like Berwick which probably needs every side pulling together for it to survive,this never seems to happen for any period of time.You can blame current and previous promotions but at least they all had the balls to put their money in and buy the club.You can blame the supporters club but they do raise funds and help the riders and indirectly the club.Surely to God even in Berwick there must be at least one individual with half a brain who can get both sides together and knock some sense into them.If not, the same old future beckons again - half way through the season,bottom of the league and rumours that the promoters are looking to sell at the end of the season.One time though there just might not be a buyer.So to both sides,swallow your pride,forget your egos and try and work together for the future of the club - please

Look I agree the publicity is not great but how one forgets the last few years of Silver. Crap teams usually bottom three, favorites Bowen Boxall etc, no atmosphere, double headers that lasted two days not two hours and run down stadium. Scott and Jensen have produced the best team in years (Poole 30 Rye House 60 and Rye House 49 Swindon 27 come immediately to mind), track walks and a developing (slowly) stadium. Sure things aren't perfect and perhaps not how you would run the show but have some balance please.

Herein lies the trouble. The Tatum and Pearson night wasn't a Rye House event and not everyone will have 1) been interested and 2) expected to find out news about Rye House there. Jenson's reaction to the AGM came on an obscure podcast roughly a month after the AGM (despite being told in November that he would be commenting on the AGM on his return to this country. They have the internet in Spain so even that seems a little extreme in terms of waiting). Put something on the club website, not on an obscure podcast, not at the shouty twins' trip to the zoo, not on the Facebook group. It isn't hard. A lot of fans want more communication from the club, it doesn't happen so what exactly is being taken on board from the promotion reading these forums and the Facebook group? The promotion have had enough slack to hang themselves more than once already. They first became involved at the club in 2015. This is their fourth season. Look at the changes Glasgow have made in a similar time in comparison. It isn't hard to keep fans updated. Once the team was announced we could have had a weekly profile on each member of the side for example. Not hard to put together and post on the website but there's seven weeks of content out of the winter there to keep people interested. Along with announcing the team that would have given content for over half of the winter break, easy stuff. An update on the developments at the stadium here and there wouldn't go amiss either.

Won't be National league Ford won't encourage British youngsters.

Still can’t see why Poole let a rider like Andersen go with whom you knew what you were getting and instead brought in Sundstrom?

Seems with anything that the ruling body do it might or might not be a rule and probably forced thru by the minority. Anything seems to make no sense with anything they touch, I'm at the point where I'm ready to give up trying to bother.

Shush! That means Shovlar is accusing Matt of smoke and mirrors.

Spot on.... Watch any of the PDC darts streams from the 'floor tournaments' that take place almost weekly around the country as qualifiers for other TV tournaments. Many have no commentary at all.... Many are played in sports halls in front of 'one man and his dog' and sometimes played out in front of no public whatsoever. If a stream has any commentary it is often just someone detailing the scores.. It can very often be therefore mind numbingly dull, with the only sound heard being the match score announcer and the 'thud' of a dart going into the board. There's no way on earth watching that would get you 'into the darts'... Then equate that to watching darts on Sky and ITV... The SAME 'sport'. The SAME players, MVG, Anderson, Cross, Wright, Lewis, Wade etc etc have to play these 'floor tournaments' but its millions and millions of miles away from exactly the same thing played out on a Thursday night in the PL, in front of huge 10,000 crowds with commentators shouting out loudly what's happening above the ear splitting crowd noise. .. Tatum and Pearson bring their passion to the Sport, and as it's a high adrenaline, high octane Sport, there is nothing wrong with trying to impart how exciting it can actually be to a (often ignorant of Speedway) watching nation.. More power to their elbows (and vocal chords)...

The most progressive development in UK speedway in recent years was the building of the NSS, which took more effort and determination than anything Matt Ford has achieved and if you're looking for promotions who have raised their game you may want to consider Glasgow, Isle of Wight, the present Belle Vue promotion and maybe others as well. They have managed it without creating the controversy that always seems to surround Poole and are trying to move the sport forward in ways that benefit not just themselves but the sport at large. Matt Ford has done an excellent job for Poole but little to benefit UK speedway.

Can anyone name the riders and the stadium?

I fear another weird injury if Josh Bates ever wins it

As well they should have been. The club stepping into the top tier for the first time since reformation will have piqued interest. The fact that our nearest top flight club from the season before, Lakeside, dropped into the third tier will have brought fans who wanted to watch top tier racing from there. Coventry folded, their hardcore fans will have wanted a speedway fix and conveniently our side contained (and still does) a big ex-Bees contingent. Rye was also a new track for fans of many visiting clubs which will have put a few on the gate I'd expect. The crowds earlier in the season were better than later on though, we can't expect people to turn up. This season Lakeside are back in the 'pro' ranks in the second tier and to be perfectly honest, their side isn't much weaker than ours. Coventry also have a team back on track albeit in the third tier and based at Leicester, but it is closer to Coventry than Rye House is. The novelty of top tier racing will wear off for other Rye fans too. I'm not being a doom and gloom merchant, it just feels to me that over the winter more could have been done to get fans excited for what is to come. But it isn't 'crap' or 'bile' it is opinion, and one that others do share.

Been out today to come home to three pages of absolute guff. all the Poole haters out in strength. Pooles fault Coventry closed, pooles fault clubs have folded, Pooles fault crowds are down, Pooles fault Trump got caught with a porn star, Pooles fault the Aussie cricket team got caught cheating.............ad nausium. Up the Pirates!

Not if you just spent £200 pius on a season ticket

Amendments to 2018 Regulations 15.2.6 Only if a rider is at the Starting Gate with sufficient time remaining of the 2- minute allowance, be permitted to prepare their Start Area, provided they remain in full, personal control of their motorcycle, have their Cut – Out Lanyard attached, and with their motorcycle facing the direction of racing. Issued 27/03/18 by the SCB Office.

I know this is going to go down like a lead balloon, but some of the crap that has been written over the last few days about the management and promotion really is tiresome. I doubt any of the negative bile is based on any sort of informed fact, just posting for the sake of it. If you don' like what they do, don't bother turning up. I know this is forum for open speach/debate and that's what I've done, but not about the management who I can see are trying to get up to speed with our sport. Just stop the moaning and get behind them.

Think it is much easier to be successful when you can open the chequebook. I guess Poole fans want to be believe that Riders are desperate to come to Poole because of MF/The Track/The fans/ and wouldn't dare to consider the only reason they come is for the Money Ford throws at them. I have far more respect for Clubs that work to a budget and are sustainable. With the amount of cash Ford throws at it the surprise should be when they don't win the league rather than when they do win it. How many times have we seen Poole choke it when it really counts. Yet the Poole fans are the only ones who cannot see it.

I think the Jack Parker photo shows him speaking to the Daily/Sunday Mirror Journalist, Don Clarke.

Don't be so tight. Get a ticket bought. You wouldn't want to miss out on the best seats, would you? If it's rained off you can always get a refund but I have a hunch the weather will be ok.

Trouble is Kiwi's have never gone well around Brough...... One can only presume he's been asked and, like many others, decided not to. Must've been on more than the Diamonds radar (doesn't seem to have a Polish team). Like you say he's odds on to add 2 points to his CL average this season. I Think he even had a PL maximum last season. First Kiwi to do so since one.... Mark Thorpe is what SS reported. Almost exactly the same average as Wethers but I suspect heading in opposite directions in terms of points and geography. You can't force these boys to sign if you can't afford to make it worth their while and the reduced CL schedule probably doesn't help either. Crazy this year not to have a new foreign rider on 5.20. As I understand it the assessed averages (normally 7.00) were set so low to actively encourage this approach. Fredrik Jacobsen looked full of potential at Belle Vue on Friday. Easily looked like a 6-7 point CL rider. Again probably too expensive. Nevermind.

Used to have the odd lunch with Stewart a while back and saw first hand how much the club meant to him , the man bled red & white this must be a really difficult decision for Stewart to make. All the best in whatever you do Stewart and hope you can still attend he will be a big miss.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1904587996281777&id=129552893785305 It's not a great race for most, but for us @TheAces fans this was bloody awesome. Our little dan beating the world champ

On the subject of Leaping Len when is he going to receive an honour from the Queen for his incredible service to Speedway .

I rather suspect this is a "holding" 1-7. As soon as some of the polish mob realise they aren't going to ride and make themselves available, a change will be made.

Because at some tracks preparation of favoured gates already happens. Giving them equipment would only make it worse!

The Parable of Poole Speedway. During the winter, Matt Ford decided he would need some help with the club accounts and team building. He advertised the position in the Echo. Three people applied for the job. A Mathematician, an Engineer, and an Ex-SCB official. First up for interview was the mathematician, and Matt decided to test him with a question.... "What is 2+2?", asked Matt. The mathematician looked him in the eye and replied "Under universally agreed mathematical protocol, 2+2 must always equal 4" Next for interview was the engineer. Matt again tested him with the same question. "What is 2+2?", he asked. The engineer looked him in the eye and replied "Under engineering convention, 2+2 equals 4.000, plus or minus the standard tolerance of 0.05%" The final interview was the ex-SCB official. Matt again posed the same question. "What is 2+2?" he asked. The ex-SCB offical looked him in the eye and replied "What do you need it to be?"