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Disagree,you get the nod over klindt

I completely disagree. If anything, signing Drew Kemp brings in a far better calibre of rider for where the Comets are at right now. For a start, Kemp doesn't come with a history of not turning up or pulling out at the eleventh hour. Cook has had chance after chance at various tracks, and the unpredictability just drains a team. Workington are completely correct in wanting to give the paying public a reliable, committed 1-to-7 on the track each week. Kemp works hard, and he puts the laps in. Reliability and commitment is far better than sporadic talent in a team sport. This is definitely not a write-off.

That meeting was British speedway alive and kicking. this site is very negative and Plymouth being its own micro climate and living in its own bubble is working. This meeting was superb, great racing, drama, last heat deciders. The fans from Redcar travel superbly and handshakes with gladiator fans at the end as well. incredible attendance I wouldn’t be surprised if that could be a new record for the colosseum. as I say I’m sure this site will be negative about something and ultimately it’ll help towards the demise of British speedway but Plymouth are bucking the trend and really getting good crowds and promoting speedway properly ! Plymouth is on the up and nothing less than mark deserves from all he has put in.

Rubbish! They both had 8pt+av last last except Kemp rode in all the fixtures and Cook threw in the Towel after 8 matches.Kemp is a decent replacement and will turn up every week.

Under the circumstances kemp is a fantastic signing imo.

You do realise the GP circus has been haemorrhaging money at a rate of knots in recent years Phil? I find it staggering that the likes of you AND others on here, are critical of Mayfield for tightening the budget and making cuts. That’s exactly what’s been needed for years now. It simply couldn’t go on the way it was and we’re fortunate to even have a GP series to watch at the moment reading the articles in the Star the last few months. Richard Coleman knows exactly what he’s doing, its a pity he wasn’t in place a long time ago. As for Ipswich, I also find it staggering he’s already getting criticised there too. People do realise he didn’t actually take over until the arse end of February? Three and a half months ago. What are people expecting? Belle Vue signed Doyle because they have a vacancy, Ipswich don’t. I’m not sure sacking a couple of riders already to fit him back in would be the reputation they’re looking for, especially when they already have a cup final booked! Give them a chance ffs 🙄

Fifa are ar**holes, you'd think they'd have put England on a later slot knowing Oxford are riding....

At least Kemp won't just turn up when he feels like it.

Our team manager is Peter Schroeck. There was no fury as he probably thinks we won.

Ahhh, if ever a post reflected a nickname...Respectfully that's rubbish. The impact on his confidence finishing that far back in every heat can't be good for him and he's 26! It's not like he's a teenager who is upcoming, I'd argue 26 is far too old to be classified as a rising star anyway. Can't fault Tom's efforts and his professionalism but at this time he's clearly not ready for this level of racing. Hopefully a focus on NL for him will help him potentially secure a Championship place in the future. As for his replacement Ben Whalley, it's a brave shout bringing in an NDL 2 point rider straight into the Championship even with the amount of points he's scored. Anyone know much about him from his Edinburgh form? Either way got to be worth a try!! Good luck to him.

And this exact topic is exactly why this forum is going down the pan. Surely mods can delete this rubbish and trying and make speedway have a little ounce of respect. Imagine if you were knew to speedway and this forum or even posting on this forum loads to discuss and you see a couple of people just insulting and arguing over non speedway related stuff. Surely mods can get some control over this and all ow this site half a chance to get back to being a proper forum of speedway discussion.

Sadly even the most loyal supporters have become disillusioned with the offering and if you look at the lapsed supporters and even those who use to contribute on this forum no longer bothering it sums up why no one bothers any more. A few hardy souls will traipse along to the meetings but for what, a contrived league that holds meetings as and when and if someone is pissing in the wind it is called off because of adverse weather. Where did it all go so wrong. Time for a major reset and focus on young up and coming talent and stop pandering to a few who see the UK as a supplementary income to fund overheads without the need to over do anything apart from turn up at the track. The riders are not to blame but those who employ them are. These guys are contracted to overseas clubs paying top dollar and they are not going to jeopardise everything for a tin pot Monday/Thursday night league with six clubs where the teams are made up of the riders doubling up who are screwing the system by trying to make an annual return out of possibly 20 plus meetings. For the bean counters, work out how many evenings/days they actually race in the UK and then you have an idea of the restricted working pattern with individuals seeking an annualised return that does not stack up if compared to the alarm clock worker who in person in this the country has to graft five plus days a week or more to try and make a decent annual living. You then ask why would they attend a meeting simply to line the pockets of part timers. The sport has lost its way with supporters, sponsors and the trust of many. Fingers crossed someone comes along with ideas to turn it around because as a spectacle and Plymouth can prove it, racing and excitement can prevail, it just takes balls to offer the public what they want when they want it as opposed to the riders.

Take a bow Freddy Hodder. I don’t think anyone seen that coming. Phenomenal performance

Awful from Oxford, what on earth was that track all about? Tracks been poor all season for me. Without Riss we have no second heat leader, Rowe is barely contributing 3rd heat leader scores, meaning McDiarmid is riding out of position. Fair play to Glasgow, a deserved victory, a great night for Hodder but any home team should not be letting an away reserve averaging under 3 to go unbeaten.

Can we ride you every week Can we ride you every week Oh hang on we do

I see you are still around. Upsetting people, irritating people, winding folk up. You aren't even funny. The fact is, you know what you are doing, and that makes you a very unhappy person. I'm sorry for you.

I've been fortunate enough to witness several incredible sporting moments, from Argyle beating Liverpool in the FA Cup, Plymouth Albion going to Twickenham in the old Powergen Cup Final, several incredible cricket matches with Somerset... That last night is right up there. But it wasn't just last night, it was 30 heats of speedway, every twist and turn with jeopardy involved. We all hoped the racing would be just as exciting as it was on Friday up in Redcar and the Coliseum delivered. People do enjoy bashing the Plymouth track but the racing across every heat last night was off the charts. Jake Mulford and Jody Scott belying their age and producing fabulous performances. Jason Edwards once again delivering around the Coliseum. Danny King and Scott Nicholls standing up when their club needed it most, Ben Barker leaving everything out there for the cause. Tremendous crowd, fabulous atmosphere and I loved every moment of being on Gladiators TV commentating on that clash. The final will be a brilliant occasion whether it's the Bandits or the old foes the Pirates. Redcar left Devon with nothing but respect last night for playing a huge role in an excellent knockout clash. Fair play to the Bears fans who made the long trip down and added to the crowd noise. The final will be a great reward for Mark, Garry, Barry and everyone involved with Plymouth Speedway for the hard work they are putting in to buck the trend of speedway's popularity in this country. It's alive and kicking in Devon that's for sure but they will not be going for the day out in the final... they want that trophy!

Yep, Batchelor, despite getting a lot of hate, has never missed a meeting for us and he travels a long way. He may have his off nights but he's saved us a lot more than he's let us down. True captain. UTC!

Fair play to the Ipswich promotion, they now provide audio for the streaming service before the meeting and some of the interviews during the meeting to those at the track. And on the big screen of course.

The track’s condition has been appalling for some time now and shows no improvement regardless of the weather. It’s always slick and dusty. Just a couple of seasons ago there was always an outside line and plenty of passing. Think Bomber, Scotty, Charles Wright and others; they were never off it. However Mitch’s performance last night demonstrated otherwise. I know we’re fortunate to have Speedway at Oxford but after what we’ve been used to it’s hard to justify standing around watching the guff that’s being served up now. Perhaps, as another poster suggested, they know the inevitable.

Deanno is the kind of guy that the powers that be should be listening to, but i suspect he says it as it is, something the BSPL frowns upon as they prefer to be the secret society rather than what they should be which is the Promoters of this sport which has been allowed to run down for as long as i can remember.

I hope Craig is ok, sport comes second to mental health.

I think it's now abundantly clear that unless you're starting in mid May, due to a global pandemic, a 6 team league is pretty 5hite!

30% chance of rain forecast around 12/1pm, will the meeting still be on?😉

Death, taxes and Glasgow Tigers fans pontificating about 'entertaining racing'. Gie's peace man.

But you've got to do it in a horse and cart 😉

Feel for you mate, unfortunately British speedway is getting worse by the day, no one seems to have any joined up thinking of how to organise things, same as the British final being on a Saturday when 6 championship teams already had fixtures in place

I did laugh when schroek described the defeat at Workington as a good defeat. thought he was wrong to blame the reserves as he choose a top heavy team and the consequences of that is weaker reserves signing his mate Riss ,who for the fourth year running is unfortunately not able to ride due to his eye issues. Always a big risk especially as big hitting replacements are hard to find. thought the track was better than normal in respect of the dust but it seems the watering equipment is far from adequate.

Thought this thread was going to be about Craig Cook!

Kemp is a really good signing, suits our track for sure. He can be very fast on his day. Scored 12 points last season at Northside from the No.1 position. Glad he's been snapped up and in the side for this weekend. Averaged 8.57 when riding in the No.1 position last season, so obviously has the ability, he kicked on massively over the last 2 seasons. I would move Kemp to No.5 and have Batchelor ride at No.3 with Tate, but that's just my opinion.

Yes to the above, but he is nowhere near the standard required to replace Cook, anyone with a knowledge of speedway will tell you that. You've replaced a number one with a 2nd/3rd heatleader at best

I filmed for Bob Tasker/GRT Media every week for a season at Derwent Park and remember recording some great meetings. I also went over with Bob the season before to do the interviews for the DVD's and watching Simon Stead and Carl Stonehewer going up high on the 3rd and 4th bends, was a sight to behold.

When the season is running, people want momentum and routine. If you have big, erratic gaps between meetings, some fans lose the habit, find other things to fill their evenings, and just drift away. The winter break is different because everyone knows exactly when it starts, when it ends, and the anticipation builds up for opening night of the season the closer you get.

The plan was to have 2027 completed well in advance.... July would be "well in advance"... They are running an operating model simply unfit for any purpose other than giving riders a chance to earn a living riding Speedway... Two leagues being ran of similar inconsequence.. "Any Speedway" being put out, devoid of any jeopardy, consequence, or credibility... And all done on nights to suit riders but not necessarily the fans.... In 1976 you would walk into Woolworths on a Saturday morning, and it was heaving, with people of all ages, as kids even went there to buy records and pick n mix.. In 2006 you would walk into Woolworths on a Saturday morning and it was empty apart from a customer base of a sparse number of 50+ somethings.. But the stores, and their operating model, stil looked like it was back in 1976... UK Speedway is Woolworths... Decades of zero plans to move the business forwards due to the lack of skill set of those running it, and a reliance on doing the same thing every year, and hoping an ever dwindling, and ageing, customer base would suddenly, one day, wake up and decide to return.. They didn't in Woolworths case, and they won't for UK Speedway... It needs proper, radical change...

😂 that’s doubling up for you!

I have to say that some of his posts were "interesting" to say the least although he did have some strange theories on some subjects which personally I thought were somewhat questionable but each to their own!

In fairness Luke was pretty dross last night . We made a bad decision on set up after the rain prior to the meeting and from then on it was a chore all night. Personally I was surprised he didn't get pulled from his last ride with the meeting being close but he pulled it off, but in all honesty don't think even with that ride he did enough to warrant heat 14 .

Can we just take a minute to actually realise it will be around the end of June before any witches fan sees a different team at Foxhall when you realise only Northampton and Kings Lynn have raced here this season. And shock, the next meeting is Kings Lynn. It’s really not that exciting for any Ipswich fans to keep watching the same riders race round.

I think I've just spotted a mistake in the Ipswich fixture list for next week. It says we're racing Belle Vue. Surely it must be Northampton or King's Lynn?

I'm glad I grew up watching Gordon Kennett...a master of the white line and passed many opponents and created so many special memories! Sadly missed but his legacy lives on!

As a Southampton supporter Lisa I thought you'd be watching the football from behind a tree!!(sorry)

That’s positive, but unless they sort out the track issues and, by consequence, improve the racing, they’ll continue to lose support, as is becoming more evident every week.

Cook wouldn't have won them the league either. Good signing who won't let the team down unlike his predecessor.

It appears some comets " fans " want a superstar signing when none are available and on what could be a limited budget 🤔 imo kemp is a good signing, could be a bit like batch at times, but this year batch has done well for the Comets

Hearing Charles Wright is ready to make his comeback, can he jump straight back in for Klindt, not sure what rules are with these multi 28 day rules

The odds for a Tigers/Croatia double must be sky high. Tigers lucky to hit 30.

First official league match in 8 years.

Guests and doubling up are speedway’s pick ‘n’ mix! 😀

Dean is one of the few who talks sense in this forum!

I'll miss him. I enjoyed his Posts. I hope he is OK and that he will return soon.