Eagle727

At least you guys have got some idea of who is riding for you... Eastbourne have either forgotten the meeting is on or have given up bothering about it as there's absolutely no news about our line up anywhere to be found... Pathetic...

Rumoured Eagles line-up for Friday: Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb... + R/R Couldn't do any worse than the shower we've had representing us for the last 35 away defeats... Guaranteed 6 points and nice confidence boost for the Bees after the poor performance at Swindon...

If this season is to see the demise of the once proud Eastbourne Eagles... then all those responsible should hang their heads in shame at the fact that in all probability they are going to bow out on the back of a run of 40 consecutive away defeats... it's a total disgrace... Would be a sad end to a once thriving and successful club that has all but given up away from Arlington for the last 3 seasons...

Well ... that was certainly worth the wait...

Terrible news for both rider and club... best wishes to Lewis for a full and speedy recovery... But surely the Eagles bosses can follow the example of their cousins from along the coast and use a liitle bit of creative rule manipulation to bring in an adequate replacement for the rest of the season... If it's good for the goose,,, and surely no-one in British speedway would want to see what could be Eastbourne's final season fizzle out with a wimper...

Sounds great... and I'd be up for it too... But 100 fans is about 1 in every 9 of the average attendance... And (more importantly) do we think £100k would be anywhere near enough?

Where did you hear that Lewis Blackbird is missing? According to both clubs websites he's down to be riding... Was going to go tonight but if what you say is true I will have to have a serious rethink...

What about allowing the lowest averaged of the top 5 riders to take the place of the (genuinly) injured reserve... but off a 15 metre handicap... Just a thought as a way to keep it a 4 rider race...

Around Arlo aint too much of an issue... it's away from Arlo where the problem lies...

i reckon there's only one reason why Geer is still Eagles team manager... he's cheap! How else has he survived a run of 29 away defeats...? As I understand it he doesn't draw a salary... just gets paid expenses... So his niceness, his dedication, his loyalty and his decency can't be questioned... Unfortunately, his man management, his tactical awareness and his ability to inspire and get the best out of a rider are virtually non-existent... Too many Eastbourne riders seem to be in a comfort zone... and it's Geer who allows this to happen... Simon Gustafsson... looked a million dollars when he first came over... under Geer's guidance he has gone backwards... Cameron Woodward... reached a certain level 3 or 4 years ago... under Geer's guidance has progressed no further... Lewis Bridger... had the potential to be a top English rider... under Geer's guidance he stalled as a decent 2nd string... And there have been others... I'm dreading to think what influence he's going to have on Mikkel Michelsen!!!!

Sadly a fair few Eagles supporters would agree with you... and also tell you that he's not the only one currently at the club... Agree with you about Blackbird... but if they wont sell we're stuffed... He and Michelsen are the only 2 of the current team who have performed up to scratch so far this season... any of the others could be shown the door... but they won't be... But you say you want JK at no.1 for away matches... do you realise that his away average so far is a dreadful 3.84...????

Swindon came to Eastbourne on Saturday without a no.1 and with no facility to cover... they still scored a creditable 37 points... Eastbourne lost their no.1 at Wolverhampton after 2 rides and were able to cover the other 2 rides with their heat leaders under R/R... but still only managed a pathetic 32 points... I really don't think Eastbourne as a club are that bothered about what happens away from Arlington... but that could eventually come back to bite them... The Eastbourne management are full of retoric and hot air about making the play-offs and challenging for silverware... lots of blah blah blah... but they preside over a club that has now lost 29 away matches on the trot... a run during which they have managed just a woeful 5 losing bonus points... At the moment something like 800 to 1,000 diehards still turn up at Arlington on a match to match basis... but from the rumblings that I'm hearing, even some of the most died in the wool Eagles supporters (including myself) are getting close to running out of patience... We have Bellerby telling us what a strong top 5 we have... We have Geer telling us that an away success is just around the corner... We have Woodward telling us that he can't see there being a problem... Exactly how stupid do they think we are...? It needs a major re-think and change of attitude for Eastbourne to get back to anything like the proud and successful club that they once were... and under the current regime I really can't see that happening anytime soon... It's quite pathetic...

I've given up trying to keep up with all the crazy rules and regulations so perhaps someone a bit more in the know could answer this for me... Eastbourne are using Steve Worrall tonight as a replacement for Mikkel Michelsen... So with the new R/R rules that apply this season, what would happen if after his first ride Worrall was to develop a severe migraine or nasty back spasm (or a genuine injury of course) and be unable to take his remaining 3 rides...? Would Eastbourne be able to apply the new R/R to replace Michelsen's average therefore allowing Woodward, Lahti and Kylmakorpi to take the rides... would it be R/R for Worrall's average... and if so could Lahti take a ride... or would it only be the reserves who could fill in...? I'm guessing it would just be the reserves... but the way Speedway works sometimes I'm not so sure...

For a start... "Eastie" have only got 2 of their 3 heat-leaders... and are probably missing their best one... and secondly... have you seen how BP and JK have been performing so far this season??? With Mikkel we might have had half a chance... without him... even if Lewis does hit double figures... I can still see us coming away empty handed... Though I certainly wont be upset if I'm proven to be wrong...

Hope I'm wrong... but with Eastbourne's terrible away record... plus missing maybe our best rider... could be Birmingham's first 3 pointer of the season...