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Cook was there for anyone to sign, maybe if they asked. So good on Glasgow for showing the ambition to try and win, it's better than rr and guests for half a season or more.

No Edinburgh in the play-offs - a tainted title for the eventual winners.

that's an interesting comment, that our track is still viewed as "pants and needs improvement" out there. I can hand on heart say that I (we) would like a perfect track (even though our riders currently complain because its now really smooth). We have used the motorway plane, that we found in undergrowth, had serviced and is now fully operational, on several occassions this year and the track is now really quite smooth. We made further improvement to the banking to bends 1 and 2 over the year. You may of course be refering to the terrible shale that we put down at the start of the season which we had to take off and we are now using a better quality shale. I guess you can also judge the improvement by the average times this year which have been reduced by over a second and the racing quoted as some of the best ever at the Stadium. We of course continue to put our heart, soul and all that we are into making the Warriors the best night out in speedway and continue track improvement (such as replacing the whole back straight fending last off season) will continue to take place this off season. Hope to see you at the track sometime in 2019 and if you let me know who you are, I will gladly do a track walk with you, show you the improvements we have made, our vision for tomorrow and welcome any thoughts you may have. All the best Barry

NOTHING NEEDS TO BE DONE just a few riders need to understand one of the fundamental.principles of the sport from down the years. Be at the tapes and be 100% ready to race when the 2 minutes expires. And you will NOT be excluded. Bugger about as it expires and you cannot have that certainty. It's your risk.

Doesn’t bother me wether we are the best or not The sport as a whole is what matters not just one club. Ive always said Matt Ford has been good for Poole as a business but he certainly isn’t good for the sport as a whole and it has to be said that some of Pooles title wins have had controversy about them. So no I would rather have my club run the way it is right now and keep the sport running

That is the biggest load of sh!te I have read for a while! I believe that if you asked Joe Public (who are not speedway fans) about famous Speedway teams, they would probably mention Belle Vue, Wimbledon, White City and even Coventry before they would think about Poole! Yes, Poole have had good successes in the last decade but no way on earth can you compare that to the history of Belle Vue. Anyone who agrees with you is either a troll or deluded. Simple as that really!

In the last twenty years Poole have won the Elite lge 7 times, Belle Vue have not won it once. I would suggest the biggest club in the country would be the one that wins titles and attracts the biggest crowds. Just my opinion of course ...

If the riders were truly ready to race no one would have been excluded. That is all they needed to be. It is that simple.

I had a feeling Ipswich were vulnerable after seeing Berwick were 4 points ahead last week when the meeting got abandoned , but still absolutely delighted with the outcome tonight . Hoping for a Glasgow v Workington semi final now , which would bring bumper attendances to both tracks over a weekend .

Really you need to lighten up not our fault your team is Sh*te . Obviously the dry sense of PAISLEY humour goes way above your head, but on a night like this Carlsberg would be hard pushed to do better.

I know the cheek of Cookie doing that shocking. Tough and sh*t spring to mind .

I thought you won the league last week?

Well done Tigers Hope you make the play offs and win it

Well done lads that will do lovely and seal the deal .

Look, Ben has special needs you can't discriminate against him like that.

If only speedway had a few more" Barry Bishops", a promoter who understands the requirements of operating a business in the 21st century and the importance of keeping the fans onside.

Genuine question not a criticism, why is Poole the best destination for Speedway? Competition from 2 Premiership football clubs and lots of other competition in the area for people's disposable income as befitting a holiday area but still you see comments on here like "we've got football and bangers but there's nothing else to do in Poole but go to speedway". I'm also lost by Bridport? That's 40 miles away! If it's so easy to promote in a perceived affluent seaside area then what happened to Weymouth & Eastbourne who don't have any competition from football. I haven't got my head up Matt Ford's arse and the last time I went to Wimborne Road for speedway was to watch the Buccaneers but he promotes Poole speedway tirelessly and keeps the profile of the club high and in the public eye. All over Poole and Bournemouth there are adverts for the speedway, sponsored roundabouts, sign's along the seafront etc. which can't come cheap and his professional approach has been more key to Poole's success than the location in my opinion. I'm genuinely interested to know why people think Poole is an easy place to promote Speedway.

Cookie can't win (well actually he can). on other threads he is slagged of for not being good enough for the Grand prix and he should forget having any further ambitions of being a Grand prix rider. Hes even slagged of for not being a real number one in the premiership. But now even though the rules allow it and there's little difference between the top tier and the Championship and with the vast majority of other riders doubling up/down we get a sarcastic comment worthy of an Edinburgh fan or The Scotsman

There's a bar and a coffee kiosk and some bogs. Oh and the burger places do liquid too.

This has been discussed many times, Mr Ford has been excellent for Poole but along with a weak governing body and rule book his time in speedway has been pretty disastrous for the sport in the UK as a whole and the rule bending has contributed to crowds falling along with other factors. He would not be missed by many people.

thats good news.....praying the weather forecast isn't as bad as met office looks for tomorrow we really need tomorrow nights meeting on for these boys they have worked so hard to get us where we are be an absolute sin to fall short when we are nearly there , come on lady luck get the rain moving on eastwards !!

This is a great opportunity for speedway to draw on existing fans from Lakeside AND from Rye House - PLUS we hope, new ( or returning) people interested in speedway racing per se and not only those with club loyalties. Fingers crossed.

Only one more nail to go!!

How long has he been planning his wedding for?

I heard rumours this was coming and decided to make a return to forum after confirmation came elsewhere. As an ex-Coventry fan I would like to offer my commiserations to some of the Poole supporters on here. If Ford goes it will be a big loss to Poole but you Poole fans will know that he will have the left the sport in a much better position than when he became involved in it! His service to the well being of the sport and its fair and honest running is second to none (and none is pretty bad). Oh, and if the stadium is unfortunately converted to student flats or a Wetherspoons I suggest a certain Mr Shovlar could come up with a good name for the new facility. Must go and get a tissue to wipe my tears away!

Nice to hear you're taking it sportingly in the right manner , think you need to lighten up a bit though or you will be making yourself ill.

Do you think they could do that again on Saturday night

Well done to the Tigers, Cook has transformed them.

Only ourselves to blame chucked away a point at Sheffield and Workington in heat 15 on both occasions and were horrendous on Tuesday night. Right I’m away to dig out my ABG banner

Weymouth was very tight and very small but I saw some very good racing there. Not as good as Plymouth, but still good. My point was - and remains - that custom built speedway tracks are better than those that are fitted into an existing stadium. Belle Vue is better than the others, but Scunthorpe and Somerset have established reputations for high quality racing, and Plymouth has always been one of my favourite tracks. I am sure we all want more tracks like Belle Vue - I certainly do. But your obsession with having all circuits like that is ridiculously impractical. Just where are Isle of Wight - and every other club in the country - supposed to get the funds to adapt their existing track or build a new one from ? In a sport that is in dire straits financially, that's simply not going to happen. Personally, I would say the true measure of a promotion is not simply the quality of the racing that their track puts on but far more about how successful the club is - on, but more importantly, off track. After all, if people are paying their entry money on the basis that the speedway is only part of the night out, what does it matter ? Isle Of Wight's racing isn't as good as the NSS. But, in a straight comparison with the previous promotion, they have now increased average gates 5 fold and sponsorship has increased massively. They have attracted almost unanimous credit and praise from speedway fans from across the country for their attitude, enthusiasm and spirit. Finally, according to Barry Bishop they have broken even for the last two seasons. Belle Vue, despite their superb race track, don't even come close to a record like that (to be fair, nor does anyone else).

Honestly you surely cannot believe the tripe you write...... Who is the biggest football club? Man City or Man Utd Huddersfield or Leeds Bournemouth or Aston Villa You think the man on the street would say Poole if asked to name a speedway team lol. For someone to write the post you have your are either totally delusional or trollong Oh and the definition of troll is someone who says something to deliberately inflame.... see your post for details There are probably at least 4 or 5 clubs bigger than Poole...........or in your little world did speedway only start in the year 2000??? You do write a lot of garbage but this post is your best yet

Anybody need to do your hair? Try the inside line you can already see ya face in it Drier than an Arabs flip flop - no grip no passing no entertainment no hope and no need to be that way

We're on Friday this week, newcy on Saturday when I went to school they were two different days,so yes aarnio will be riding unless he's going on Simon lamberts stag night

To me the biggest club is the one that has the history and prestige not about who has won the most in the last 10 years lol Ask non speedway fans to name a speedway club and they would say Belle Vue maybe Cradley or Coventry. So you are saying that Man City are a bigger club then Man Utd or that Huddersfield are bigger than Leeds or Aston Villa. Belle Vue are the biggest club in British speedway right now. Not the most successful true but they are the biggest in name

Can’t get my head around people not wanting a British world champion. Saying hopefully Zmarzlik can catch him is just a bit strange as can’t see how anyone can support a Pole over a Brit! Was never a fan of Havvy but wanted him to win in 1992. As an Ipswich fan I would never have cheered the likes of Sigalos and Cook over Carter in a test match

yes an emotional evening on and off track lets hope its the fitting finale that a lot of people are hoping to see Then its off to rye to finish our season and beyond hopefully to return to Essex as the hammers in 2/3 years time to start the next chapter in this great clubs life keep the faith COYH.

Isn't it forecast to rain all day then snow in the evening, followed by a hurricane?

I agree about all the boring nothing going on during the evening, it's part of many issues speedway has. First and foremost what mustn't happen is current fans that go week in week put off going. I've gone nearly every week for 40 years...up until recently...the last couple of seasons has seen me go to half a dozen. They need to keep the likes of me going an find new fans.

OI - leave me out of it. Never had a bad word to say about cookie. He's an inspiration to his teams.

But it's only current fans that go and watch....no one else really cares or even knows what speedway is.

The alleged “one line” OTA produced some superb racing again tonight. At the half way point it looked like the meeting could have gone either way. Once again, Craig Cook looked very fast and blasted to a victory over Jason Doyle in heat 6. Its a very long time since Doyle has been beaten by the length of a straight. Cook looked on fire. Interestingly after passing Holder in heat 4; Cook waved sarcastically at The Aussie on the way back to the pits as Holder went to shake his hand Another spectacular first bend pile up, similar to one which occurred a few weeks back, this time involving BWD and Doyle sent Rebels fans hearts in their mouths as both riders were sent hurtling into the air fence. Incredibly, both men eventually got to their feet and walked back to the pits. Doyle looking decidedly dejected with life and BWD resembling a chimney sweep rather than a speedway rider, his face blackened with shale. The Rebels seemed to raise their game in the face of adversity and began to increase their fragile lead. Cook’s luck ran out after his first bike suffered the gremlins in the pits, so he jumped on his second bike, which then failed at the start. He was without a functionable bike for heat 15. Jack Holder, once again in irresistible form around the Somerset track, literally ‘smoked’ heat 11. His exhaust appeared to be emitting more and more smoke as the laps went on. Rebels fans were left praying that he would complete the four laps as thick smoke poured from his machine. A faulty lead which leaked oil onto his exhaust proved to be the problem and prevented the Aussie taking part in heat 15. Heat 15 proved to be another cracking race with the revitalised Jake Allen producing a scorching last to first victory. The young Aussie, using both outside and inside lines to pass, hunted down Max Fricke, before executing a perfect inside pass. His joyous punching of the air salute as he crossed the line, showed how much his victory meant to him. On this performance, the Rebels look in terrific shape for the second leg at Bellevue, but also the up coming play off 1st leg against Poole. “We will smash em” roared a pumped up Garry May in the after match interview, where he confirmed that Jason Doyle will be fit for that match.

Well, I had a great time at the IL Challenege tonight so many thanks to all those who helped make it so: LaurenceRogers for a super friendly welcome in the pits, uk_martin for a great speedway chat throughout the meeting, and to kitten2502 for coming over to say hi as well! It was lovely to meet you guys, and meeting Richard Greer was a blast. And apologies if I met anyone else but didn't connect the face to your profile here! I really enjoyed some very decent racing in the second half of the meeting, and Ben Barker was as fun to watch as you guys predicted. (I'm very pleased to have caught Ben's excellent 3rd-to-1st in heat 9 on camera.). Looking forward to my further visits at Perry Barr!

If they use 6 man format next year I wont be at all happy, we tried this idea over a whole season a few years back in the elite league . I didn't like it then and unless they use a totally different format then I wont be wasting my money on something I found pretty boring , there will be 3 riders classed as heat leaders and 3 classed as 2nd strings with no reserves . Chapman and Godfrey can think again , taking away the traditional way of 7 rider teams which has been a constitution for 50 years plus is not the answer .

The word is ‘whether’. If 10 clubs had 10 Fords I believe the sport could be in a much better place. Yes he has created controversy, who hasn’t in this game? Appears he’s had enough. Love or loathe, Poole have set the standard for several years. If they go it will be much worse than it is now. In my opinion.

Well if Peterborough can have a full facility because Lambert has a wedding I cant see what justification there could be to deny Worky if Klindt is missing even if its just to wash his beard!

turning the clock back again, I happen to think the choice of gates was better in the 70s. don't like fixed gates in league racing...Olsen always grabbed gate one, Morton usually off 4..this gave slightly more tactics (which lack today), to managers, riders

What has Belle Vue got to do with 'Poole 2019'?

Pinney. You are forgetting, Matt would have lost a fortune on the rain off's at the start of the season and, the 70th Aniversary meeting postponment, and not be able to be re-staged . Money he will not get back. Then you had the knock on effect of crowds lower than the average, after that with people worried about the weather. Will it wont it. Its not all beer and Skittles mate.

Gotta say Sid and Steve Roberts that Reg is a gent, an honest businessman and whose handshake was a word of honour that he always lived up to. I think his comments re Simmo and Poole are the god's honest truth. If I had to choose someone to manage my finances honestly and the choice was Simmo or Reg I would pick Reg every time.

The Mafia care not a jot for what fans think!!