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Absolutely disgraceful call off. I was leading the boos. How can one short shower cause a rainoff when in the previous race there was quite a bit off dust? There was zero attempt to do anything about sorting the trac, which to be honest needed no more than a quick grade! The tractor came out and at the same time it was announced, that with the referee, that conditions had got bad and both managers and captains agreed to abandon the meeting. No thought for the large crowd in attendance who had just been short changed, on the whim of riders who probably hadn’t even given a thought to those that had paid a chunk to watch. The ref, Dave Robinson, should have demanded a track grade, which would have sorted the track in five minutes, and stuck the 2 mins on. It was a thin shower line which passed over in less than ten minutes. Blue skies on the other side. But instead Robinson cowtowed to a few riders and the meeting was off. It’s like going to a football match and one team is 4-0 down after 75 mins and they say they don’t want to play anymore, so the ref blows full time. Totally unacceptable. The meeting itself was average fair. The track was underwatered and slick. Not as good as recently. Still some passing butmore gate and go than it has been. Can’t be bothered to write a meeting report as peed off with this abandonment.

maybe ippo can squeeze a few Friday fixtures in eh !

That is exactly the way I feel. Speedway evolved from "dirt-track" racing. Watching burly men wrestling bucking broncos through heavy cinders was a spectacle! It wasn't just about passing, or close racing; watching the skill and sheer strength that was needed to keep a bike upright was worth the admission price! Sad thing, it's not just speedway. Now, we have fancy "motocross" on man-made indoor circuits instead of "scrambles" in waist-high mud! We have cool looking indoor trials over man-made obstacles rather than run the risk of getting dirty outdoors. Football went from a man's game to a an over-refined non-contact sport. Hell, look at life in general. We see these Facebook posts about what life was like when we were kids. We went outside, we got dirty, we got wet, we ate dirt, we drank from hosepipes, we played football with metal studs, we fell off slides and roundabouts and landed face first on gravel! "Ooooh no, we can't do that now..." None of that is cool now, and a much duller world it is as a result... Steve

I want to see is my team v their team with the contracted riders and not a whole host guests and doubling up etc. Until they can get rid of doubling up and and guests no one can take it as a serious team sport. Its impossible to build up rivalry either between teams or individual riders if the following week some of this weeks visitors are riding for you. The blame for the chas that doubling has brought and the resulting lack of riders can only be placed firmly at the door of the BSPA. Before I get shot down and the 'guests are part of speedway and can't be helped' line comes out remember if you can the National League of the mid to late 1980s. That league ran for number of seasons with out guests and injuries were covered either with a member of the junior team stepping on or with rider replacement and a number 8 being named. So it could be done however the policy changes brought in over the years by the BSPA saw that system removed and changed to the shambles that we see today.

Absolute disgrace to call that off. The track was wetter prior to heat 1 with the hose pipe watering! I was amazed and shocked when they called it off with not even an attempt to grade. Something isn’t right here at all. Never seen a end to a meeting like that, fans booing & all the riders walked over which was strange, where was Nigel? No interviews, nothing! Really poor. I’m the mug because I come back week every week. Bloke next to me with his daughter made it clear he won’t be, said this happened at the last meeting he came too and said he won’t be coming back again as felt he was being short changed! The BSPA wonder why the sport is dying in this country.

This abandonment is everything that is wrong with speedway today - no thought whatsoever for the people who have forked out to watch - who were short changed for what appears to be no valid reason. No wonder speedway is on its @rse! This is a general rant about British speedway and not specifically aimed at Poole!

Do you think it would of been called off at heat 9 after a similar shower?

It wouldn't have been 47-43 because there would have been no Belle Vue tac sub. If the heat results were as you say, heat 11 would probably have been 3-3 instead of a Belle Vue 5-1. The final score would still have been 49-41.

Well, to be fair, Poole haven’t won it for a while, and we don’t mind the lesser clubs getting a look in now and again.

Transponders have been around for years and are used in most levels of motorsports. They would be a godsend to speedway, not only eliminating the discrepancies of the finishing order but also to the many false starts that are called back. Good starts can then be rewarded instead of being pulled back all the time... Not having transponders in a sport, where speed is everything, to me is a no-brainer….

Nice posts, Sidney. Thanks for those. Good to see someone actually making some comments on last night's meeting instead of all the other crap.

It’s all if and buts. Belle Vue wouldn’t hsve been able to run with a Tac Sub in 11 if heat one had gone as a 1-5 instead of a 2-4. Ok we got the rub of the green last night but these things have a habit of evening themselves out over the course of a season. Wait till we get Mick Bates again, I’m sure he would even things out for us.

A routine home win for the Robins but there still looks a vulnerable look to the side.Adam,Zach,Tobi, David were all really solid.The track held up ok in the end and seeing that the meeting did not start until after 8 the meeting was pushed through pretty promptly.For Leicester Hans ( when he rolled and gated) was decent Scott was great value Dave Howe was very good always in the mix they all did well.Also though he didn't score many points i thought Connor Mountain for a NL rider was always on the pace and being at number six against the likes of Bellego,Ellis,Musielak was difficult i think the lad can make progress.

No getting away from the fact the call off was a lousy decision. It could even decide who finishes top. If we miss out on top spot by points scored it will serve us right.

You left a bit out of my post...I said Ford or Middlo. I'm sure when Ford hears about this from his office he will be pissed off and arrange some sort of money off next meeting kind of thing.

Another nail in the already overflowing speedway coffin.

Not quite fixed race nights were to avoid clubs being in conflict with double up riders, it was to allow riders to ride in both leagues if necessary. Once guests were needed on a Friday 3 CL clubs were chucked under a bus to make more riders available.

If Steve thinks it was a disgrace...then it really must have been.

Would love to have gone to tonights meeting but work and a 600 mile round trip rules that option straight out .Really enjoyed our visit to Wimborne Rd a couple of weeks ago even allowing for the result. Great Stadium , track and Poole Quay itself was great. What more can you want !

SRBF collection last week £1820.

Hope Matt will return the gesture to another team, in the interests of speedway and all that

To suit Matt Ford yes

...and therein lay one of the major issues in British speedway; what the riders want and what the paying customers want are two totally different things! The supporters resent the riders for wanting conditions to suit THEM, when it is the riders who are the ones risking their necks. Of course, the riders then resent the supporters for wanting things that interfere with their jobs! Both opinions are totally justified, but it gets us nowhere. The issue seems to be the modern "all about me" concept, but unfortunately, I don't know what the answer is. Without the riders, there is no speedway. Without the fans, there is no speedway. Looks like we're screwed either way... Steve

Just being a pragmatist, I see a need for fund raising in specific areas of need, the Cancer Cars need donations to help cancer victims, the Air Ambulance need donations to help save lives and so on. Speedway is an entertainment provision where the entertainment is disappearing, the way forward is to provide entertainment that the public are willing to pay for, they gates will improve and will pay for itself. This format is asking fans to prop up the sport because of it's own failure, hence perpetuating the poor entertainment that is provided. As you say use it or lose it, the answer is USE IT. Sort out the structure, reduce the running costs for riders, this will result in lowering overpaid point money, the gate money is already overpriced for the entertainment provided probably worth £10 a meeting. If fans want to donate, so be it, I already do via heat sponsorship and rider sponsorship, most fans are not in my situation, simply they cannot afford it. IMPROVE THE PRODUCT, TO IMPROVE THE GATE

Left Andersen for dead last night as he may well do to your reserves when you come to the Abbey. He's one of the top riders in his age range & I'm glad that the Robins bought him as an asset. He will be a great rider in the future & I'm more than happy with him as a reserve.

It isn't each week unfortunately, more like each month these days, so that doesn't help. It's always rideable but raceable and providing entertainment depends on who you're asking or which report you're reading. Good point about what type of track is provided and the entertainment it provides. We've long been told that the riders want the EoES slick but I doubt many paying punters do, especially long term supporters or those who are no longer paying speedway supporters. Think that was Ostrich commenting on the track? A couple of meetings ago someone else moaned (can't recall who) that it was never the same two meetings running. Batchelor was always the best though with typical aussie tact and diplomacy I don't think the team is a budget buster. Rathbone seems to send anyone packing who gets lost in their self importance so I guess that the extra clicks are money in the bank this year at least.

We have a better home record than Belle Vue and a better away record than Wolves, so no reason why we can't qualify if we keep winning at home. Very tight though.

Shall we give it a chance before writing it off?

Support comes via the fan paying at the gate surely, plus businesses like mine paying for advertising which I class as a donation to the club. Get the gate up with good quality entertainment and the business should pay for itself

Harris does what most fans want and that is riding his best for the team and we like his attitude and spirit.

we were standing approx 15m behind the tapes (I know this as when someone goes off 15m they are level with us , and yes max fricke definitely had more speed than Eric Riss, and yes if the finish line was 10m or maybe even 5 m further on he would have nicked it , but I'm not convinced he beat riss, in fact our group were a bit surprised when the man on the Mic called it as a 5-1. same in heat 15. my opinion from where I was standing.

At last, someone else who feels the same as I do. I have only got to plonk an old video (now dvd) on and I know I still love speedway... just not this speedway of 2018. It is so different now. Where have the times gone where riders had to earn their point, beating both opponent and using their entire strength for 60-odd seconds to defeat the track as well? Nowadays the track seems so smooth but the riders still aren't able to fully control the machines that sometimes turn into pogo sticks mid-race. It seems like rev -and -go speedway now. In my day, even if the racing was dire you still admired riders battling, say, to a four-point score and walking away feeling he deserved double that for his efforts alone. I look at score grids now and, tell me if I'm being daft, but even a 13 point score doesn't seem the same as a 13 point score from when tracks were deep and riders were men. And leathers made them more appealing too.

No No wasn't but you diddnt need to be. Even the announcer stood right on the start line was announcing belle vue a belle vue 5-1 in heat 1. The kings Lynn fans o start line said ref was wrong. In fact I bet you would not find 1 fan in the stadium agreeing with referee. They will take it yea. But agreeing to it. No chance. I've been to alot of matches over the last 30 years and them 2 were by far the worst ref decisions I've seen.

Hans has tweeted this morning praising the track staff for all the work they did & managed to serve up a good race track. Good work by all considering the amount of rain which came down around 5.30ish...

Oh Yes! Will there be a backlash in the next 50 years or will the interest in "tasting life in the raw" lead to humans really being dominated by AI and robots of all kinds by the end of this century? Maybe going outside and climbing trees will be an extreme sport for kids in 2075 and even a teenagers only event in the Olympics ( before their scrambled risk-taking brains settle down ). Think of the changes in society since 1900 and let your imagination visualise 2100! Wow! And speedway? Well, it will be viewed on antique digital devices and people will gasp in wonder at Tai Woffinden other GP warriors of today.

That was pretty much how it was for me Mr Webb. The excitement rose for me after the comeback on Monday at the NSS and with the signing of Eric Riss. Of course, as a Lambo fan, I was dismayed after his first two rides and even Niels looked off-colour in the early heats. An exciting see-saw meeting where to some huge extent my mojo returned. Well done the KLS promotion ( I know you will be surprised at that Trees! ) and my bum is firmly ( but painfully ) back on my seat. A superb home debut Eric! An 8/10 meeting for me.

Poole & the future of English riders....oh wait.....

So worky had all meetings arranged...then they were told to cancel those meetings and re arrange, think that's a bit off if they are not given extra time.

You be proud of keeping the same team then and leave yet another league title to us. I can live with that.

Only teasing, Steve. We all know you’re a top independent trader.

I sincerely wish Lakeside every success in their efforts to find an alternative venue. We certainly do not want to lose any more tracks to the developers, and when things looked so bleak at Birmingham, we were showered with good wishes from Lakeside supporters in particular and one did send us an anonymous donation of £100 with the message "from a Lakeside Supporter" - and these gestures are remembered.

People have too high expectations of speedway that's the problem. Many think that unless all 4 riders are swapping places every corner of every lap of every heat its a poor meeting. I for one have very rarely not enjoyed a meeting. And I have experienced many one sided affairs and many meetings with very few overtakes. Its the thrill of watching 4 riders give it their all for the whole 4 laps just inches from disaster that makes most of the enjoyment. And until people start seeing this I can't see the popularity of the sport improving. The actual product is good enough over here (and in my opinion superior to the majority of Swedish and Polish League meetings) Its just the politics of it all that is the problem. In terms of the 2 meetings last week I enjoyed my trip to Ipswich and the meeting, despite the result and refereeing along with lack of overtaking. And thought that Fridays encounter was yet again brilliant at the raceway.

You don't give yourself any credibility by being sarcastic about the best youngster the area has produced for years. If we didn't bother to try to bring on the better youth of today, I suspect you would be the biggest Terrace Grumbler for "doing nowt as usual'.

And these riders that don't want to race for the paying public, want people's help with sponsorship and stuff.

Good job Poole were winning..

Strange one this, Why were we forced to race 3 meetings at the start of the year on a Wednesday without our Danish riders , when it appears Thursday is now an option... Is this another new rule ????

Every thread is a Poole thread when DC2 is on it!

Perhaps the Lynn fans gave him a purple lollipop - refs love them and can respond with these decisions as a thank you

Thats far too sensible an idea.

Fines can be applied if a team does not complete their official fixtures by 31st October and have been in the past.