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perhaps with the wolves link schlein/heeps could persuade masters to come on a 28 day to begin with and then if danny is fit can return or maybe sam would stay on if not

Very entertaining meeting against the Tigers with all the ingredients that can make speedway such a great sport worthy of a much bigger audience. No lack of effort by any rider from either team . Harris tried his nuts off but just couldn't find a win against a very resolute home side . Richie Worrall had a couple of great scraps with Rene Bach with honours even. Claus was solid again, nearly had Ty Proctor tasting the paint on the fence in heat 15 in a very hard move which resulted in handbags after the race. Starky kept plugging away, was also on the end of a hard racing move by Nicolai in heat 7 and expressed his displeasure after the race.. Was also involved in the first half point score i've ever entered on a speedway programme in heat 11 after hunting down Mason over the four laps, we actually thought he nicked it on the line. James Sarjeant again won the reserves race after Mason was just spinning up off the line and unable to reel him in. For the Comets the boys were solid throughout but it was the performance of Rene on a reportedly new engine that gave most satisfaction, he will be much happier with that i'm sure. It was good to see Ty return with no obvious ill effects and 3 good wins to boot. He wasn't happy with the referee in heat 5 when it looked as though the Tigers pair got a flier and he ended up biting the dust on turns 3 & 4 playing catch up. The home 5-1 and two 4-2's in heats 8 through 10 turned a 2 point deficit into a 6 point lead which the Comets never relinquished. It will be great to see the full seven back in action and disappointing Nicolai and Rene won't be available for the Fours. Thanks to all the Tigers fans who made the journey, must have been very disappointing to not get something from the meeting.

I never ever ever thought I would say this but I'm on the verge of giving up on league speedway altogether. The sheer stupidness of those promoting the sport is staggering. After 20+ years of speedway on TV they STILL haven't managed to grasp the basic concept that it's vital to make it look like a place to be. £10 entrance should be a mandatory requirement. Before long TV matches would become looked forward too, not dreaded by those attending. Why? Not just the reduced entrance, but a bigger crowd means a better atmosphere which in turn means an average race seems like a good one, a good one a great one and so on. Then of course those watching will get a much better impression. But no, show it in front of sparse crowds which drills the message home to the sheep... nothing to see here.

Was good to see craig cook in the pits with kyle and offering advice after match with kyle having a practice , he is well on the pace just needs one win and he will be lifted.

I would see the difference is clear from the meeting listings I have posted. After all, its the same engines at all the above tracks isn't it ? If that's the case, why is it that those engines cause 3 or 4 fallers and no injuries in 15 heats at almost every NL track and then 13 fallers and 3 injuries in 10 heats at Stoke ? Do they suddenly disastrously misbehave when they get to Staffordshire ? Or is it quite simply that the track is in such dreadful condition there that even the best and most experienced riders in the NL can't stay on ? Bluntly, its insulting, unsubstantiated and unjustifiable to claim that the carnage at Stoke the other night was caused by rider incompetence and, worse, it attempts to deflect the blame away from a club absolutely notorious for their shoddy practices.

We have a new angry aussie the last one was mal in the 70s welcome ty the new angry aussie.he was well stuffed in the last heat where as nic and harris both rode hard but left room for for others to ease off or give it a go .

Shouldn't they be questioning people who DON'T go?

Slightly concerned that Poole might get a point out of this??? so I’ll go for 89-1.

No what I’m saying is if different engines and to a point tyres were used then even inexperienced riders would cope no matter what the track was like , the modern engine just isn’t fit for the purpose, as I said in an earlier post if you put NL riders out at Cardiff after 10 heats when the ruts apear it would be carnage, unless it’s smooth and dry they are a pig to handle ,speedway needs to address this problem which is far bigger than one track which you clearly have issues with

Are Poole fans really that fickle? One poor season and everyone stops going? Swindon didn’t win the league for 45 years but we’re still going. Stop sounding like a load of spoilt brats, and support your riders. Kurtz and Grajczonek will come good, even if you don’t win it this year.

Nothing to do with 2010. I took a break two years ago due to too much work and the forum was an unnecessary distraction. Wasn’t posting the year Pirates beat Belle Vue in the final.

You could always arrange a challenge against Glasgow not as though were down much and keeps your eye in .

so apparently the bspa are not happy that our season has been poor so far due to the fixture list we were told last night Workington and other clubs have been asked or told to try and rearrange some fixtures dispite 1 or 2 clubs been already offered dates to reschedule which they have turned down looks like Workington gonna struggle again to fit in fixtures I wonder if some of the fixtures the bspa want rearranged don't suit certain teams and they want a date that does suit them when Workington have riders missing now come on bspa and all other teams start to play fair whats wrong are you now scared Workington are a force to be reconed with as apposed to the team that most wrote off and slagged off as no hopers pre season

I'm sure everyone in speedway has issues with Stoke I'd they have any sense, their promotion have been a shambles for years and the track problems have come to a very dangerous head now. They should have their licence revoked until such a time that the BSPA / SCB are satisfied that the place is safe enough for racing. I'm sure your views on modern bikes hold water but in this particular case they are of very little consequence otherwise Stoke wouldn't be the only track with their problems.

Pretty much the point I was making... Your crowds are very good (up against a pretty poor Sport average admittedly)... (And obviously when you are winning). The problem you have though I would suggest is Matt will budget his income on a certain base crowd level which he would guestimate being linked to success... The success he would have expected to be delivered given the team he put together.... I would suspect therefore his calculations were based on an expected better set of results, hence no 'breaking the bank' to bring in any World Class rider or any up and coming young 'four point superstar' which he has done so many times successfully in the past.... To Matt it has always been a business.. And quite rightly he cuts his cloth accordingly.. Those fickle fans staying away (which given their crowd numbers, Poole clearly have more than most), therefore cannot moan if he doesn't put his hand in his pocket and take risks with the overall business. .

Remember one in the seventies, 34.5 to 43.5, Scunthorpe I think it was back in the day's of 13hts and Ken McKinley's famous JAP!! There's an old throwback to ponder!!

Slamdunk home win. Lions are carrying too much baggage at the moment.

I thought it was a very decent meeting indeed Some cracking racing - proving once again that passing isn't absolutely necessary, only knowledge that a rider can pass - with a close score line and some handbags thrown in. Vissing left Proctor with nowhere to go, Klindt shunting Starke on to the fence being almost as hard. Improved performance from Bach and Jensen and I thought Bickley was more on the pace.

or a poole win or P.P. or match abandoned.....now all bases are covered

I really didn't get that either. Ok we probably weren't fantastic away from home but as you said we won at Kings Lynn who hadn't lost at home. Last time I checked we were in the top 3.

Good to read Pearson waxing lyrical in the local paper today regarding the TV match at Wolves this week. " The raw noise of the bikes ,the smell of the methanol , and it always looks better with busy terraces, and Monmore always delivers that. In fact Monmore consistently delivers some of the best action on BT sport. While Belle Vue is my favourite Monmore is right up there. All accompanied with a picture of about 12 fans on the home straight. Obviously Nigel has not been to Monmore for a while. In the real world, there is no raw noise anymore, its more of a hum, there is absolutely no smell of methanol, and the terraces are less busy now than they have been in all of the last 90 years. .And as for saying Monmore is "right up there with Belle Vue he is really having a laugh, like comparing apples with pears. Belle Vue is outstanding Monmore is average, occasionally at that.

I don't agree that bad control is a bigger issue than track surfaces. Looking at the most recent meetings at all NL tracks on updates : Belle Vue 2 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Birmingham 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Buxton, 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Coventry 3 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Cradley no falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Eastbourne, 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. IOW, 3 falls, 1 injury, 15 heats. Mildenhall, 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Plymouth, 8 falls, no injuries 15 heats. The one injury was Adam Roynon, - one of the best and most experienced riders - whose throttle stuck open. Plymouth's track surface was described as 'inconsistent'. And then we have Stoke. 13 falls, 3 injuries, 10 heats. Meeting abandoned due to the state of the track, following meeting cancelled a day before hand due to track issues. The above very much suggests to me that the issue here is not about poor throttle control at all, but a dangerous track surface in which all riders - and not just the young and inexperienced ones(I repeat, Ben Morley fell twice) - were unable to cope.

You mean Ben Morley, one of the NL's top riders ? He fell twice in three races on Saturday. Word I got from IOW was that it was so bad they did not want to send their riders out. Trying to pass the buck and blame riders is not just a cop out, its a sham - and it could be seen as an attempt to get promoters whose tracks are dangerous off the hook. If this were happening everywhere and there were multiple fallers and unacceptable levels of riders leaving stadiums injured as a result of the track surface you might have a point. It isn't, though, and no other track in Britain has a reputation for such incompetence as Stoke - and that's by a long chalk. The sooner the SCB get involved, the better.

Sheffield don't ride Newcastle well but I hope Kyle has a speedy recovery, that is our main concern at the moment.

Well in the last couple of weeks, 2 Kamikazi rides by 2 riders in about third place, deciding to do a full blast in a straight line have tried it and got hurt. Nowt to do with the track which you might be implying, just stupid tactics at the wrong time. There are 4 laps to each race, but some want it over during the first lap and in the last two weeks 2 riders have learned to think a bit more next time. I could ask how many riders have been badly hurt on the second bend at Owlerton. Incidentally I talked to one of the Sheffield riders tonight after the meeting, and he absolutely loved it.(note to oneself of his name for next year I think)

Before this season started I thought Workington were refused permission to run meetings at home on Friday nights as too many teams were already doing so, how then have we managed to get half a season's worth of home fixtures arranged for said Friday nights? We all know it's as much the riders dictating these meetings as promoters so....half way thru the season and these arrangements have to be altered to suit and we go back to racing Saturday's, hey, that's good for me and it's how it should have been from the start but seriously, is this likely to happen, with little to no cooperation within the speedway ranks thesedays I would think this to be nigh on impossible to achieve? Certainly have had/ still got loads of Saturday's available but will we get any reinstated for official fixtures, to be fair many were simply to avoid clashes with the GP's and Craig Cook,s participation in them but it's not just us that have to change, if we moved meetings to the weekend would other clubs come anyway, if you asked them nicely and you received a polite "no thank you" it's not in our interests... would they be forced to race, is this likely? Going to cause some problems this and I await the outcomes with some interest?

There's loads of feedback most clubs hold evenings when fans can go along and meet the management and riders. The big problems are that most people don't actually know what they want and those that do are often suggesting things that are not financially viable or unpopular with others. Glasgow proved what money can do and that was with promoters who had no history or experience in the sport.

I love the sport, am a critic and attend sporadically. Why would that drive anyone to despair, I'm a customer and its up to the supplier to tempt me in. They could do that with me if there were no guests, the entrance fee was more sensible, the bikes were slower and the tracks designed for overtaking

Now that I like the sound of buttons.

No rain expected in Rybnik until 7pm so should be good to go.

Did notice that Bewley was on Craig Cook bike in Rybnik the other week

Maybe it's time for that knee jerk reaction given the way your season is going

But that is their choice/problem. Marketing is an integral part of running a business and it can rarely be done on a shoestring.

Definitely a head scratcher. Achilles heal all year has been a lack of punch at both ends of the team. JS returning to some kind of form gives a glimmer of hope, but one heat win from our top 2 over 2 away matches is not going to cut it. Staring down the barrel of just 5 more Tigers meetings at Ashfield this year, surreal.

It is OK, Vatcher will change it in midweek to a definative point for one or the other.

Correct Incorrect. What do Lakeside do to promote speedway? I live and until recently worked in Swindon. You can go the whole season without see any signs that speedway even exists in the town. Don't get me wrong, the product is now very poor, but don't think it isn't completely within the gift of promoters to address both the quality and attractiveness issues.

The biggest disappointments must be Harris and Sarjeant. Harris was especially disappointing last night and 8 points from 5 rides and no heat wins simply isn't good enough. That's how I saw it, too. Klindt was hard on Starke but he left room whereas Vissing didn't.

Some, not all have Fords win at all costs atitude.Theres only so many riders to piss of before they say, idiot Ford..

Some good hard racing from both teams tonight. I certainly didn't notice a lack of effort from any Tigers it was just that the Comets were better on the night and in fact are not a bad team on the quiet. It was a shame neither team had their full complement, but it was good to see some actual speedway. Throw in a bit of controversy and a couple of pretend fights complete with handbags and dummies and surely there must have been something there for everyone tonight. Finally, on a night where all the Comets contributed it was good to see Rene back on form with heat 13 being a particular highlight.

2 ahead to 7 behind!! Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory again. We won't make the play-offs this year and my big fear is that our new manager won't have the contacts and experience to attract the kind of riders we need to join us next year, willing to travel north of the border, to replace the underperforming chokers in this team. Time to go cap in hand to SD and plead for his return?

Poor guy. Notice he beat Dan in a run-off in Sweden after top 3 on 13 points thanks to racers and royals and Bradford Ace for replies also

Not riding too well? Are you on about the same team who is undefeated at home and won their last away match at Kings Lynn?

It's not all doom and gloom at Stars meetings, but it's close to it. The problem is apart from R Lambert there hasn't been much to get excited about. The racing isn't great the atmosphere is flat and I have my doubts it will get any better. Speedway is on a slippery slope. Hardly anyone in the village where I live know what speedway is. Years ago 99 people out off 100 in my village knew who Mike Lee was. Now 99 out of 100 don't know who Rob Lambert is.

You'd have thought the power's that be would have learnt over the last 20 year's that a low points limit has never been good for any league. There will always be stronger and weaker teams whatever the limit, but as you say a higher starting figure always gives the weaker teams chance to improve, and the likes of Jake Knight and until recently Bowtell wouldn't be without a ride.

That sounds about right to me. Redcar's loss is Peterborough's gain. We love Ged being here despite what some outsiders think of him , he's passionate about his speedway and doing a grand job and long may it continue.

With regard to Poole's chances, to paraphrase the Beatles, HELP !

Yet more impressive scoring from Leon Flint, this time its 16pts in his sides 50-40 win at Belle Vue, I think I`m right in saying that in the next week or so Leon moves from reserve to be the No1 which is quite an achievement when you look at the riders in the Birmingham team who ride regularly in higher leagues.

To be fair, they are not. As CR has said, Isle of Wight, Somerset and Poole have all had problems with defective shale. Isle of Wight was dusty when I was there recently but it didn't cause carnage, which suggests that Stoke's problems are not down to the shale alone.

The self fulfilling prophecy of what we have today is clearly not down to the fans... Any failing business simply cannot blame the general public for not purchasing it's products.. For the past 20 years or so promoters of Speedway (British Speedway), have been given some fantastic constructive feedback from fans (and more importantly possibly) ex fans who still care.. 24/7 Social media has replaced the way a few fans moaned to each other at trackside, getting more and more disillusioned. Or writing the odd letter to the various magazines that do/did cover the sport airing their frustrations at what they were being served up.. As an example, on this thread 'guests' were mentioned as being in the sport for 40 years plus.. Now domestic League Speedway is shown regularly on National TV and Social Media is rife, you simply cannot get away with such nonsense if you are truly serious in trying to attract a wider audience and to entice them to a 'proper sport'.. Many fans, and ex fans, have said this for many years yet (as is their right), British Speedway Promoters have ignored such comments and continued with this policy.. It is irrefutable that the operating and business models of the past 15 to 20 years or so are not fit for purpose as year on year operating costs rise and income dwindles... And let's be honest, it 100% isn't the fans decision to run with these models... Nor is it their fault when they highlight, via their opinions, 'the bleedin' obvious'...

A lot of them have.