MD

An excellent match with some great racing from Robson and Screen, especially in ht13, one of the best of recent times. As each week passes Joe Jacobs grows in stature, not intimidated by other riders, Henry was particularly brutal coming under him in ht12 but he never shut off and let him know it at the end. His ht14 round the boards to win off gate 4 was the match saver, replacing the woeful Bager. Be interesting to find out if he had bike trouble or was pulled for his final ride. The other constant from the last few weeks was Grieves bike spluttering round, after a good first ride he was dreadfully slow and never got off the line in ht15. Newcastle were excellent opposition, solid right through apart from Lindgren. Tully's r/r rides yielded 9 points, about 7 more than he would have got but that's speedway.

But if he gets excluded twice for bursting the tapes and his team end up one point shy of the 3 league points in a home match there is an issue. We need all points to count as the new riders settle in.

The ref on Sunday was wise to him, possibly why he was twice caught out. We can't afford any needless exclusions on Sunday with everyone allowed an extra r/r ride for Tully.

I'll settle for James Wright not anticipating the tapes and some decent racing. Reserves are crucial for us as is Bagers need to turn round his poor start to the season. Draw sounds good to me.

The meeting was moved on quickly with the poor weather. Not the best one you are likely to see but more practice for the new riders. Each is coming on pretty well, the early concerns are with Bager who is sluggish from the starts and far too slow on track. He's not really helping himself by sticking to the inside line, even in the latter heats. He's been around long enough and should be doing better. Someone also needs to have a word with James Wright anticipating the start. There were no pressure heats today, no need to do it and the fact that he's trying it this early in the season when there's little at stake is concerning.

Heavy rain and windy

Garrity was excellent for Rye House, got stuck right in with some great passing, just what you need to light up what was a foregone conclusion with the KOC. All the early heat winners came from gate 4, just coincidence or the way the track has changed? The two new Aussies looked not bad today, though we will come up against stronger reserves in future. Redcar next Sunday, hopefully Kus retains his place, they could do with another confidence booster at home! And why does the enter key no longer work when posting?

Our experienced top 4 must be on the money pretty much every match whilst the 3 young riders find their feet. Its a long road until the Australians receive 3 point averages. Performances like that from James Wright won't do but I feel we must also get more from Henning, he is an experienced rider but often takes his time to get going, especially at Ashfield, something we can't afford right now.

DB mentioned on parade at Berwick this would be James Grieves final season. Is that official?

Perhaps it is also the long term effect of laydown engines, being too fast.

Glasgow pretty poor, Screen and Grieves apart. James Wright's 2 from 4 rides was deplorable, gave up at the first bend when comprehensibly outgated, other than the heat he jumped the start. Bager did ok but stubbornly stuck to the inside every heat despite the dirt moving out. The 3 newbies found the going tough against the fast starting home riders. Bellego again reminded us of what an excellent rider he is growing into and even calamity Edberg managed to get amongst the points, perhaps reflecting the lack of opposition in some heats. Could be a close one tomorrow at Ashfield, and Glasgow will be acutely aware they must win their home matches with such an inexperienced bottom end.

Just make it as quick as possible, the siberian wind chill isn't pleasant. Neither I feel will the scoreline on Sunday but let it be.

Would be a shame if he quit speedway. Great rider for Glasgow in 2010, one of the hardest first bend riders I've ever witnessed.

Joey Ringwood's appeal was today. Anyone know the outcome?

Speedway at PL level is an amateur sport. A few of the top guys are full time but for many others it is their hobby that they fit in with a normal job. It is a once a week summer only sport run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts and teams/clubs are much like Not for Profit Organisations in that if they break even for that year it is a success. I'll leave others to comment on the EL. Committee's are often not the best way to run things however it is either that supervisory structure or nothing, speedway simply doesn't generate enough money or profit.

Best news I've heard all week and rather than take a cynical dig at the BSPA Chair, I rather look on it as the governing body doing their job preventing a new promotion from fielding a very weak team and its potential effect on crowds. I don't believe any other team in the PL would be allowed three 3.00 riders, its a recipe for disaster we have been saved from. I'm trying very hard to support the owners, on team building we won't agree, all I would ask is that we save our efforts on an appeal and use the 10 points available to get in some experience. We already have a novice in Joe Jacobs and thats enough for one season.

And if they turn up equipped like Jayden O'Malley?

O'Malley had that opportunity last year and never improved. The senior guys like Screen, Grieves and Sean Courtney can offer valuable advice and direction, but they cannot turn Fiat's into Ferrari's, the riders must already have the desire and potential to be unleashed. Both assessed riders are a couple of years older than O'Malley and hopefully that extra maturity will help them adapt to living over here. However until we get to see them ride here, they cannot be considered anything other than 3.00 pointers, and along with Jacobs gives us a long tail to start, assuming work permits are granted. That puts the pressure on the top end of the team, and with James Wright widely being regarded as a confidence rider and needing time to settle, those are perhaps not conditions he will thrive in. I will be there to watch week in week out to support my team and the new owners, but I do worry about whether we will see the wavering supporters.

Having a team full of assets is easier said than done. It could take years of trying out newbies when in reality probabably less than 50% make the grade, however it is more cost effective in the long term. I got the Tigers weekly e-mail this morning where it says the break even crowd figure for 2013 will be 745 spectators. Last season apparently the average crowd was in the 500's, down from 2011, though this could be largely due to the awful weather of 2012. Its a good move from the new owners to keep the fans up to date now on a weekly basis and appreciate information such as this being shared with us. Will give us greater insight and help to understand any decisions being made as we move forward.

Not a lot happening, perhaps Chazzer Wright has signed for someone else. I notice Dilger hasn't re-signed for Redcar, could he be an option? Sedgmen would also fit and could be worth a punt as a reserve, even though he may come with attitude!

Tough choices, annoyingly Campton would have fit also on 4.87 and significantly added to that. Schramm is definitely better than Chazzer Wright though I think he may be based well below the too far north line of the country. Fricke I've heard a lot about though is again untried at PL level. I wouldn't be adverse to signing him should it have to happen as we started with two 5.00 assessed's last year just that I would expect changes very quickly after the first set of averages rather than dither on like we did with O'Malley this year.

Not much choice between 5.01 and 5.30 to get Horwood at reserve. Ironically Bellego would have fit perfectly on 5.27 ! Looking at who is still not officially signed: Chris Schramm 4.91 Chris Mills 4.87 Justin Sedgmen 4.99 The Raj K 4.87

Still thinking about this one. Hopefully the final rider will be above 5.00 meaning Horwood will start at reserve. It is a bit a of concern that Jacobs is untried at this level, Horwood is a complete unknown and James Wright is as stated a confidence rider who seems to be declining year on year. The top 4 including Wright will be under pressure from the start to bring in the points.

How many points are we left with for the final rider?

Perhaps its the floodlight money!