Aces51

I have no problem with Wolves signing Woffinden. It's within the rules and if you want to do it there is nothing wrong with signing someone on a lower average than the rider being replaced when you can be fairly certain he will easily outscore him. It wasn't a masterstroke. Circumstances happened to fall into place, fixtures drying up abroad, Kylmakorpi and Tai having the right averages and Tai letting it be known he was looking to keep race fit and available to sign. Personally, I am pleased we didn't do it. I wouldn't like to see any of the 7 riders who have given their all and got us to the top of the league replaced. I hope they go on and win the play offs and believe they can but if not, I shall have no regrets.They are Belle Vue 2016. Tai will add some spice to the play offs, hopefully increase the crowds and give opposing riders an opportunity to try to raise their game and beat him.

I doubt Belle Vue would have picked Wolves anyway. If we finish top would pick Lakeside or Swindon and hope to meet Wolves in the final as that would be more likely to bring a lot more away fans.

I think you miss the point. A new track takes time to settle so the conditions and the lines are different week to week. This is even more so with a wide, big track with so many potential lines. Independent opinion from the likes of Rosco and Tatum have said exactly that. Every team eventually does build up a home advantage, some more than others because of the nature of the track. We had a big home advantage at the dog track. I doubt Belle Vue will ever have that sort of advantage at the NSS or, anything approaching it, because everyone enjoys riding there and it is a track where it will be difficult to defend a position once all the riding lines are fully developed.

It was only a few hours ago that some Poole fans were thinking they were going to finish top and have the second leg of the final at Poole. Now after one meeting we're carrying all before us and obvious favorites.

Sorry, I got it wrong. Poole have to pick up 19 not 15 points on their travels. 7 matches left so 5 wins and two draws could do it unless we drop points at home, whenthey'll need less or, Poole do and they'll need more.

Not nailed on but Poole have got to pick up at least 15 points away less any Belle Vue drop at home to overtake us. I would say we are in the much stronger position. Our away performances show how strong we are. If we had the sort of home advantage Poole have we would be uncatchable.

If both teams get to the final and Fricke needs to win heat 14 to win it the second leg will be at the NSS.

Your chances of catching Belle Vue are getting more and more remote unless your away form improves. You will have to win both matches at the NSS and not lose again to us at Poole. You make some interesting comments about Wolverhampton being more formidable because if the Aces finish top that is more than likely where you will be heading for the semi final.

You can sense the anxiety and the realisation that a new era is dawning.

An impressive performance by the Aces tonight. Zagar would have scored more than we got from r/r but to be fair so would Kennett. However, I feel confident that Fricke on present form would have done better than Morris. Another away point gained to consolidate our position at the top of the league. There is certainly interaction with the fans at BV. Last year at Kirky Lane the riders used to walk through the crowd on the terraces at the end of the meeting to chat, pose for photographs and give autographs. That is not practical with the all seater grandstand at the NSS but we now have after meeting press conferences in the Peter Craven suite which riders attend, on Wednesday it was Zagar, Cook and Jacobs and fans can ask questions and later take photos and get autographs. So far they have been popular, plenty of fans have stayed behind to attend. Anyone coming to the NSS who is not impressed with the standard of racing on offer is never going to like speedway.

Maths is obviously not a strong point. A win at home to Belle Vue and a win at the NSS would leave you on +10 and Belle Vue on +17. You would still have to pick up more away points and not lose at home again to Belle Vue.

In fact his CMA at Lakeside from the two matches last year and the one this year, discounting extra tactical ride points, is exactly 9. So in fact a track where Zagar does very well. Each to their own. I have enjoyed the NL matches at Belle Vue this year but for me they don't measure up to the racing in the EL. I'm not on my own either if you look at the respective crowd numbers.

From what I have seen of Wolves this year they are certainly capable of winning the play offs.

You'd think the Aces weren't in contention for the play offs the Sky coverage they've had this year. Prior to 2015 I had assumed it was because of our poor teams but can hardly be that the last two years and particularly now we're top of the league and got the best track in the country.

He had a dressing on his neck on Wednesday from a tapes burn and it was mentioned then it was a bad burn. Seriously weakens us and can now only see a Lakeside win.

No Matej Zagar, r/r. He had a dressing on his neck on Wednesday from a tapes burn and it was mentioned then it was a bad burn. Seriously weakens us and can now only see a Lakeside win.

The best way to look at the league table is home points lost against away points gained. The current table is Belle Vue +20 Wolves +15 Poole +7 Lakeside +4 Swindon +1 Kings Lynn-4 Coventry -6 Leicester -18 From that it looks as if Belle Vue and Wolves are fairly certain of a top 4 finish. Poole are likely to get there, certainly if they pick up more away points although they could be in danger if they don't and lose points at home. The fourth place is up for grabs especially if Swindon can pick up a couple of away wins and Lakeside continue with their poor away form.

R/R for Kennett weakens Lakeside, whether that is sufficient to overcome their strong home advantage is the question. The Aces seem to be on a run at the moment. If Morris rides as he did for Swindon and he has the incentive to keep Swindon in the top four, we could get another 3/4 points.

Hardly surprising considering he has only just come back after another lengthy lay off due to injury. I am amazed he has come back so many times after serious injury and been able to recover his form. He's got guts, I'll give him that and I hope that he's soon back to the form we know he is capable of producing.

I think we're trying to fit in some of the top teams first. Despite the score there was some good racing tonight. Lakeside were unfortunate that AJ was suffering from food poisoning and he certainly would have scored more than r/r achieved. Kennett and Bridger had their moments and Lawson was solid but overall they were very poor and Jonsson would have only turned a mauling into a heavy defeat. It was one of those nights when every Belle Vue rider and King did well. There were no weak links anywhere, evidenced by only one last place. I doubt any team would have fared well against us.

Particularly so after his promise of openness and transparency, which I assumed was to relate to his Chairmanship from day one. No reason to delay that until 2017. I interpret that promise to mean keeping the fans fully in the picture. Like you I will reserve judgement until next year but I have seen nothing yet the inspires confidence in fact, just the opposite with his childish outbursts and disregard for Stars fans.

Not necessarily. Mear rode well on his last visit and Kerr should do better after his change of machinery. King is a good guest but unlikely to do as well as Fricke. Much will depend on which AJ turns up and how Kennett, on his first visit to the NSS and Nilsson perform. I think the Aces will win but it could be close if Aj is as good as he can be and Kennet takes to the wide open spaces.

It seems to have crept into some threads recently. It's a pathetic response to someone who happens to have a different opinion. If you disagree with a post then put forward a resoned argument why, not a response more suited to a junior school playground. Not a Bates fan then? I wasn't sure.

Tai Woffinden @TWoffinden @TheAces should be awarded best track in the UK would love to ride there every week bravo but until next time 8:11 am - 31 Jul 2016 Just to upset a certain Wolves fan. A brilliant final on a track that was a fitting stage for some of the world's best to show off their talent. After the rain on Thursday and Friday had made the perfectly smooth track too grippy I must admit some concern that it might still not be at its best last night but we had the sort of track many of us have now seen on a regular basis at the NSS. The track staff deserve full credit and particularly Colin Meredith. I understand that he retired last night so what an event to end on.

That was the poorest meeting I have seen at the NSS and I have attended every EL match, a few Colts meetings and the British Final. Not only was passing at a premium but there was generally significant spacing between riders and that is certainly not what we usually see. The explanation is as given by Philip Rising. The track was smooth, no bumps, no ruts and there was so much grip that riders of that quality were generally uncatchable. Let's hope the weather stays dry today and that we can see the sort of track we have seen for much of this season. It just shows that tracks with more grip are not necessarily conducive to good racing. The general organisation last night seemed to work well, no problems with parking and no queues to get into the stadium when I arrived. There were problems with the PA on the third and fourth bends so hopefully, the sound levels can be ramped up a bit tonight.