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Yes quite considerably up which I’m surprised about. We have a team that works as a team and although we won’t be topping the table we are getting lots of effort and entertainment. I think we will do well at home and get several thrashings away.

Oh dear the amazing vanishing posts... It reminds me of the Joke about the Lady Cleaner who whilst undertaking her job in the local working men's club and upon entering the Gents toilet found a drawing on the wall of a mans appendage, so immediately, and to protect everyone's modesty she washed it off. The next morning she did her rounds again and low and behold the offending drawing had reappeared much to her chagrin, again she washed off the graffiti and completed her tasks. Next morning she set about her work and again on the third day the appendage had reappeared even larger and bolder than before and this went on for the whole week, each morning a larger drawing on the toilet wall of a mans appendage which was starting to frustrate the Lady Cleaner so she wrote a note on the wall which said "Please stop drawing rude pictures on this wall" to which on the eight day she found a picture of the offending article that filled the full wall with the comment underneath "The more you rub the bigger it gets" Happy trails Regards THJ

You're just a Swindon Troll & you have the nerve to criticize Gavan over Poole. Try being honest for once in your life, it won't hurt you!

If you don't believe that Zach will score more as the season go's on, then you know nothing about speedway. Each season he has slowly increased his average.

No-one mentioned Peter York yet? Having put up with him at Coventry for several seasons commenting on each race my answer is definitely NO it is not needed and is damn annoying.

If all teams keep the same line ups then in my opinion Swindon will win the league. The top 3 will score more than enough to cover the rest most of the time. Cant read to much into the Swindon v Poole meeting as no riders knew the track........and Swindon had the bad luck in that meeting as well...... Swindon soon made light work of the Poole side in the return Swindon have rode 5 matches and their heat leaders have scored 35,33,41,30,,32 As you can see from that they dont need much from the other 4 to win a meeting and in most cases Ellis is always good for 6. In the match where the heat leaders scored 30, Lampart and Ellis scored 18 between them Look at Poole and Ipswich heat leaders in comparison 23,17,31,21,24 for Poole 29,14,23,18,19 for Ipswich Both Poole and Ipswich reliant on reserves doing well and if they dont the team will always be beaten It just happens that Ipswich reserves are flying 17,19,17,14,20........and like last night v Swindon we have reserves scoring 20 and still only win by 6. Poole are struggling because they have built strength in depth but unlike Ipswich their reserves havent been as good 13,13,7,12,9............if you build strength in depth you need the reserves to pop up with 15 plus Swindon will win most meetings and keep most away meetings close which is the recipe to win the league. Only Belle Vue and Wolves look like troubling them Dogfight for 4th between Ipswich and Lynn with Poole and Peterborough looking also rans..........but rider changes can make a difference

Swindon’s reserves will be their achilles heel all season but they faced the leagues strongest pair last night, probably better to judge them properly after a few more home meetings against the other sides. Swindon are hardly struggling as a team so far but one change if the opportunity arises could turn them into league winners.

Agree wholeheartedly - one other point - Parade 10 mins before start time. 1st heat bang on start time. 1hour 45 mins/ 2 hours (at the latest) everything wrapped up.

A blip due to the track. Last year we were poor at home early in the season but look what happened there. Poole will be there come playoffs. Happy to have a £100 on it with anyone.

I also think it's a daft idea ,when we can clearly see what is happening. Also, would we be able to hear above the noise of the bikes, plus in some parts of a stadium we cannot always hear the race result being announced. Might it also cause noise problems with the neighbours?

Me too LOL, I remember Ashley Jones commentating on a race at the end of the 2005 season, it was great fun and definitely added to the race It would definitely be great for the kids who would be better engaged imho ..... ask Phoebe lol

Wallinger was always a bizarre signing. He's not that good, and he has baggage. But, to give him the R/R ride in heat 5, when he's already programmmed for heats 4 and 6, was an amazing display of incompetent team management. Three rides on the trot is a tough ask anywhere for a man not in his first flush of youth, but 3 on the trot around the IOW is impossible. It's not surprising he didn't score all night after that.

Thanks for clarifying. I was hoping to pay with some magic beans when I came up to 4 point road later in the season but will have to make do with cash instead.

Is it just me or is Jenga like Thrush He's irritating

Your much better off putting that ton in to the ‘Shale for Wimborne Road’ fund rather than giving it to Brum.

Buzz was the Tac for Lindback Col..... Hence he went in 15 as well. . Watching Polish Speedway really does show up how poor the offering is in the UK... And I don't mean the best riders being on show, as it's clear the UK cannot afford them.. For me it's the whole package that leaves us decades behind regardless of the standard of rider.. Fans all in T Shirts of their teams.. It would cost approx one heat leaders salary for one match over here to buy 1000 T shirts at cost and give them away to fans.. The riders lined up waiting for the 2 minute whistle meaning they all come out together building up atmosphere, (music being played as they enter the track).. Buzz had four minutes allocated between HT 14 and 15 to be ready... The racing starting 2 mins after the whistle so riders don't go back to get things rechecked as they don't have time, and gardening has to be done quickly.. The starts meticulously ran by the Marshall with head phones on directly linked to the ref meaning tyres are mm away from the tapes, hence no rolling at the starts and each rider has to comply or the ref instructs the Marshall to speak with the one not following orders.. The mechanics and managers all in club colours, not their own overalls... All these things bring professionalism to the sport and it's also noticeable how tribal it is, there is hardly any congratulations given to an opponent by the riders, (which may be down to not being able to ride on any given night for every team in the league like you can over here, being team mates one night in the Premiership and rivals the next in the leagues below)... And all done and dusted under two hours inclusive of TV advert breaks.. Unlike over here, the only thing Mickey Mouse about Polish Speedway is the ZG badge! No wonder the crowds are so good..

Just switched it on and an interview was taking place... Screen said ZG : GRU. 20:30.... I thought "wow never thought that would happen"... Then they cut to the line ups standing for the National Anthem... And I realised it was the start time!!!

Every so often someone brings this idea up and every time the response is broadly the same. A completely silly idea - please, no-one ever bring this idea up again.

Good vibes around the Abbey at the moment. 2 good size crowds, some good racing on the new track, good results, and with Lee Kilby coming in as co-promotor much better communication with the fans. Even some people that havent been for years are interested again.

Damn annoying hardly does it justice - and of course most of the time he got the facts and figures wrong!

So have Poole. A win, a draw and a 2 point defeat. Better record than anyone else.

and Arena Essex

In both matches v Swindon the Poole reserves outscored Swindons by 12 points to 2 and then by 12 points to 5 and then didnt win either meeting so it isnt reserves that win meetings at all its the all round strength of the team At Kings Lynn , Ipswich reserves outscored Kings Lynn by 19 points to 11 and lost the meeting by 14 points....

Still chat to Martin Ashby, Barry Duke, Mike Keen on the Swindon terraces.

Good replacement, going well at the moment, also good chance for him to get set ups etc sorted for Easties visit the following weekend.

It's a pity Wally Loake isn't with us now, there was a man who could " paint a picture with words "when it came to race commentary.

how refreshing to hear some good reviews for the potters for a change. I have been going to stoke for several years now and while I would admit things have not always been great in the past this year I think there is a good vibe about the place. the track is riding very well and the team look a lot more competitive so I say a big well done to dave and his team. up the potters.

Swindon haven’t struggled at all so far despite their reserves not scoring well, taking at least a point out of each meeting away from home. They are the standout team of the season so far. However will be interesting to see what happens when teams strengthen up later in the season if Swindon respond as well. With a top 4 performing well they only need 3 or 4 points from each of the bottom 3 to be in with a chance in most meetings this season. Early days I know but so far no struggles at Swindon.

Agree. Swindon’s top 5 is strong but they all need to click all the time, otherwise it’s a struggle. Poole proved that with the draw at Blunsdon and looking the better team all night. Swindon’s reserves were completely tailed off against Covatti and Jakobsen. Last night it was the same at Ipswich and Swindon’s reserves again failed to beat an opponent, other than what was gifted. The Robins will struggle without changes and won’t win the league with this lineup.

I think it was a reasonable race with positions in doubt/close together - plus it was Lynn vs Ipswich! The other thing to remember is of course the BSPA adore Harris, always have and I'll never forget the year they changed the Cardiff wildcard just to ensure he was there. Wouldn't surprise me to see him in the SON either.

He really struggled with the track last night, and from memory fell four times. The R/R picks were bizarre to say the least!

It would be interesting to know if it was something that would go down well with the younger audience, although I doubt it. They'd probably prefer an app on their phone which shows them who is winning in real time with graphics and stats. As an oldtimer, I certainly wouldn't want race commentary. I've seen it tried before (even when I was young) and I always found it annoying. For something like Stock Cars, where you have no idea who is winning, commentary is necessary. And other motorsports where you can't see the whole circuit. But in speedway you can see the whole track and it's obvious who is winning. Speedway is more like football. You can see the whole arena and what's happening, so you wouldn't want John Motson down your earhole while trying to watch the match.

No excuse. A crap performance.

8 points from your reserves? No chance. Swindon’s problems were laid bare last night. Ipswich don’t have anywhere near the same top end strength but we’re never troubled. Reserves win meetings as Allen proved last night.

Are crowd sizes up from last season?

Bit harsh on Ledwith, he certainly has not been knocking about this league for any time, infact his last official fixture before Plymouth lat Friday was over a quarter of a century ago and before there was a third tier. Likewise Danny Ayres had never been on a speedway bike until pre season 2014...

Don’t get we wrong, it’s part of one of the many things wrong with speedway these days and one of the reasons why I only attend if the weather is ok. I’m not taking a risk of wasting my time and money in case it’s off. Im sure the promoters feel pretty similar. It’s their business and their money. No one in the sport can afford unnecessary losses these days so I now have sympathy. Sadly however it’s made me a part time supporter as well.

He's an attention seeker who just posts drivel so people react and unfortunately he gets a bite every time.

And in Speedway stadiums the counter is normally broke on one of them

It was lampart last week the blokes an idiot

And for those who might query this.... what’s a turnstyle? Is it one of those gate type things in the country that moves?

I quite like Coles he was at Newcastle a couple of seasons ago his gating wasn’t too bad he was usually in points scoring positions but just couldn’t get the hang of brough park and he used to fall quite often unfortunately, when he later got dropped. I’ve always thought he had something about him but for whatever reason he hasn’t seemed to have kicked on which is a shame.

Becker is a talent and givin luck will go far in the sport.IMO.

Jake Allen looks like he could be the signing of the season. So far proving to be a steal on a 4.56.

so in fact doyley was criticizing his manager then

Rosco had the choice not to list Lampart in the 4 for the vote.......

Heat 11 from Monmore on Monday, Becker shows how it's done from gate 4 http://www.wolverhampton-speedway.com/_mobile/news.php?extend.3116

Scorpians won't win anything ,however Scorpions might.

I asked this as we are in a 3 team group. Actually first question I asked was why are we in a 3 team group, as I would have though Northern/Borders Group that Workington were in should have been the 3 team Group not the Southern Group as that was going to include Leicester. I never got a sensible answer to that other than Southern group is 3 new Teams (2 up 1 down) The answer I was given re 2nd place is that it'll be based on highest points and if level aggregate t or - between 2 x 4 Team Groups as only the winner of the Southern Group would go through. That seems very unfair to me , but we and the others in our Group are "new boys" so I reckon we have to sit quietly in the corner and let Mr Bates and Mr Godfrey walk all over us and be grateful for being in their league...

I think Buster Chapman has done great things for UK Speedway. I think Rob Godfrey has too.