g13webb

Just back from a few days away, touring North Wales and was really pleased that I was able to watch live streaming of the 2nd Semi-final on You-Tube. As been said, a terrific advert our sport desperately needs. This meeting had all the ingredients for close racing and didn't disappoint. I have often argued that the Lynn track disappoints me, but I am in no doubt had the semi-finals been switched venues, the excitement would have been the same . With four teams chasing the SWC the 2nd SF was always going to be the one to watch. Had that been run at Lynn there would have been lots of excitement and not necessary the same winners.. Likewise, had the first SF grouping, rode in Sweden no way would that have been the dream meeting it has rightfully been acclaimed. but no doubts the result would have been similar. I think the FIM have made a pigs ear of the rules and organisation of this event . Why is it , every year, we always have the weakest group of teams in our Semi-final. USA, without Hancock, aren't good enough to compete at this level any more. and the fact that they are through to the play-offs instead of Denmark merely illustrate the poor organisation and planning... But my biggest moan has been reserved for those blasted JOKERS. This sport will never be taken seriously while these are in place. The governing bodies should be strong enough to tell the TV people this sport is not a joke and doesn't need false positioning provided by the use of the Joker...

That's where the management comes in . motivating of the team. making them believe they are the best. Make no excuses !! We need that winning mentality!! Man for man; rider for rider, we are equal to any other team in the league. Unfortunately recent results don't back that up. but that doesn't mean we are weak, just that we don't perform when it matters.,,,.. Our heat leaders of Holder, Batchelor and Lambert are as good as any other team and should be good for 28 to 30 plus points each meeting. Our 2nd strings of Huckenbeck and Jorgensen ought to be grabbing 8 to 10 pts leaving the Reserves the small task of the collecting the rest. It sounds too easy to be true. Like you say, ' when we click?' but we have been waiting for that to happen now for years....... We need someone to find that switch !!!

Having now watched the recording of the meeting, I thought the occasion was far better than the recorded one on the box. I don't think the crowd was as high as previous years but the atmosphere was pretty good. Team GB have to be congratulated for winning so comfortable. Once Doyle was withdrawn from the match the Aussie team was always beatable. but to win with 3 races to spare was very impressive..... The selection of Cook, Lambert and Bomber were never in doubt. Worrall was my only query, but he proved me & everyone's doubt were unfounded. As a team, they did all that was expected and more.. You can only beat what's on the table, Australia started the meeting off poor and gave away 4 pts in the first 2 races.. and were never to recover Obviously it was nice to see Holder back to something like his best, Yeah he made a couple of mistakes, but he was always there or thereabouts in all his races. Batchelor was consistent and deserved his call-up. But the others were poor. I don't think the inclusion of Doyle for the play-off will be enough to get them through and will probably need FIM help to strengthen. I think the venue was tailor-made for meetings like this. but the location in the east needs to be questioned.. The track was again disappointing and offered the riders very little opportunity to pass. Most races were processional and any overtaking was created more by mistakes than excellent riding. When watching the tele, I heard Scotty say the surface at AFA, Buster uses clay based shale that offers a lot of grip, probably too much, in that all the riders can go equally as fast. I know we contently moan about the track but its good when seasoned riders like Scotty comes out with comments like that.... ​Yeah, pleased we won, but not the best of meetings. I sometimes think, are our memories playing tricks with our minds ?? When looking back, I believe meetings were far more exciting than they are today. I can't imagine I will look back on this meeting with fond memories like I use do with many others.....and that's a shame......

When it comes to the top teams in the speedway world we don't even come close, whereas Australia are capable of competing with the best. Looking at the Aussie team, they are all capable gaters and here holds the key to the outcome. In the UK side, Cookie is the best gater and will be able to fight from the front, whereas Bomber and Lambert . will always be playing catch-up. You can't do that at this level. I am also in no doubt of the outcome. If Buster provides a decent race track, then at least we could look forward to some exciting races...... But don't hold breath......

In my original post it was not my intention for people to think I was referring to all Wolves matches, my only comparison was when you played KL. Such was our weakness that night the match was over before it began. I didn't think your guest selection last night was poor and thought they would score as many as the riders they replaced. But for whatever reason that wasn't the case......

That was the one I was referring too. Missing Huckenbeck was as tremendous loss and rendered the R/R as a waste of time. I don't blame Wolves for that, but thought that fortunes favoured them...

When I saw the teams for this match, I thought that fortunes were favouring Wolves again, in that they are riding against teams severely weakened by injuries and guests. As good as Batch is riding this year, he would never be as good as Jason Doyle. The form of Morris has probably been the biggest eye opener of the season and represented a massive lost. Kurtz was never going to fill that void and was never the ideal replacement. Whereas, on the other hand Wolves, using King and Starke to replace Howarth and Riss I thought to be more than adequate, and if anything made them even stronger. and all thoughts were directed as an easy Wolves win. For Swindon to overcome such odds and win must rank long side their best achievements ever A truly memorable performance, one that few could ever had forecast. Wolves would have gone home disappointed. They wont think they won a point tonight, they'll actually think they lost 2 pts in their quest to finish top of the league. A big well done to Swindon , It must have been a good meeting to have witness....... I have always said, the closer the score the better the match........... ​

No doubt, we all like to think that Lambert would put preference to this club when compared to the others he ride for, and any decision he made about racing would be directed this way. When injuries require time off to recuperate we want him to forego his other commitments and rest ready for our next match. After all, the other clubs are not as important as ours. Probably it is us with our head in the sand and Robert see all the clubs as equal and rides the meetings that suits him....

I have no problem with riders missing meetings when they're injuried, but its when the rider picks and chooses the meetings he's misses I have a problem with. We heard loud and clear that Robert had broken his wrist and will probably miss the SWC. From that statement, we would have assumed he would miss both of Lynn's meetings this week. understandably. My view would be to miss the SWC and concentrate getting fully fit ASAP. But when we hear he went to ride in Sweden on Tuesday, we can only assume the wrist is not broken and he is not as bad as first told, which is good... But why was the announcement made in the first instance.... Some say ' we had nothing to race for on Monday' was irrelevant. but you cant pick and choice which meetings you race. By riding on Tuesday, he really let his team mates at Lynn down Monday night...... You expect better than that from your Captain......

The tracks at Kings Lynn and Poole are a world apart. OK, they are both usually 'Gate and Go' but compared to the ruts at Wimbourn Rd , the AFA is a Mill-Pond. The only problem we have is the crap shale that Buster uses.... Probably this being a World stage, Buster will excel himself and provide a racing surface we all know the track is capable of supplying...... Steve Worrall usually go very well and only recently score double figures in BV win over KL. There should be no worries about Steve in the team...

We stand little or no chance of winning the SWC, so why risk further damage for the sake of unimportant meetings..... Surely Lambert would be better to rest up and let the wrist heal, than enduring to persevere and making the injury worse. Had this been the Final or an special meeting I would understand. Riders like Woffy and Hancock can't even be bothered and they're fit.. I suggests he stays by the pool with his girlfriend, like he posted on the Social Media and gets fit...

Not being there it's hard to makes comments of any relevance except by the scores. This must go down as a good result for the Stars as it was much closer affair then I imagined. Something about this fixture in that we always go there with riders missing. Whether this is down to luck or bad luck who knows, but just for once, it would be interesting to see a match where both teams were at full strength. Pleased for the Wolves fans that this was a closely fought match, and it was only toward the end that Wolves pushed home their advantage. To me nothing is worse then looking at a foregone conclusion... Batch and Rose scored well, as did Jorgensen . RR and Ayres done their bit , but from a former World Champion , you don't expect 3 NS... Shame that, he never has liked that track.,

As a neutral, I thoroughly enjoyed tonights meeting. I never thought it would be a classic, but close scores kept it interesting. From all the teams I have seen this year, Belle Vue have impressed me the most. Led by Capt. Cook and ably assisted by Bjerre, they seem to have most heats covered and are a hard tem to beat. Poole, although weakened by injuries, were always 2nd best. The 2 young Aussie served them well but they were missing KK and last night HA The team will improve when them two are back and will be in the reckoning when it counts. What a shame they have to race on that track. It's an accident waiting to happen. Each time they race I pray nobody gets hurt. The times riders were shutting off or having to control a bouncing front wheel was alarming.....

The fact that there is no thread for the second leg of the KO cup, probably indicates that Wolves are as enthusiastic about this match as we are..

Every man and his dog knows Rose is not in Lamberts class. There're not many riders of his age who are. The fact that you want to compare them is in deed a compliment to Lewis Rose . Probably if you compared Rose with someone of lesser talent, you'd realise just how important Rose is to the Stars.... It would be of similar comparison if you compared Lambert with the likes of Dudek or Smarzlik

I appreciate that. If you read my post I did say 'Kicking on to 9', which is in affect a good 8. There are a lot of riders on 7 half that are no considered anywhere near Lambert talent.... This is not a persecution of Lambert, merely stating a comparison, when someone (Tellboy) said Rose wasn't that special.....

Exactly, When I look at the two riders I would've thought their skill difference was more than the 2 pts it.it. Someone of Lambert;s standing. potential and experience, is somewhat disappointing at only 7.46. Whereas Rose at 5.33 is not bad. I expected the gap to be far bigger. Lambert should be kicking on to 9 at least.

Think you're a bit unfair. Rose, late starter, has done well. Had he stopped at Lynn he would have progressed far better than being pushed to pastures new. His luck with accident has been atrocious , but he is still fighting and progressing. A solid gater and a grafter who would be an asset to any team, You want to remember, they're no easy points in this league especially riding as a second string.,,, Quick Note!!! If Lambert could gate as good as Rose, he would double his points overnight....

My sentiments exactly. I don't have anything against Wolves, but it hurts so much, that a sport I have loved for so long is run by numpties who haven't got a clue. They couldn't make a bigger mess of things if they tried... The supporters continue to drift away and the BSPA show no signs of addressing the obvious issues. Like you say, the situation described above, merely highlights the mess this sport is in...

Last time I went I watched, John Louie, ........ sorry, Chris Louie and Gollob and Richardson. Brilliant meeting...

Take Lambert away from Lynn and the gate will be half. You'll be amazed of the number of people who go solely to watch Robert's races from the back.....

Every team goes out to get a squad of able riders, But the sport shouldn't be governed by rider on stupid averages. This year has been a joke from start to finish. All riders were given FT's (fictitious averages) and for Wolves to have benefited by over 4 points from them is outrageous. We were told that those FT were for team section only, Not to be run half a season. No team in their right mind would have agreed to Elite riders being multiply by 1.4 if they knew it was to run so long. Now that the points are out All teams should be on a reasonable level, that everyone can achieve. Not having one (Wolves) 4pts clear of the rest. Everyone could see these problems from the start , all except the BSPA rule makers.

The team limit could be raise to 44 pts ( this would allow all the other teams space to improve) and instruct Wolves that any changes they make would have to come down to that limit..... Like you say, scrap the swap option, whilst the team is above that limit... Either that or keep the limit to 50 pts......... At least everyone would be classed as equal... Its rules like this that kill the sport. Rules should be there to assist the lower clubs not penalise them. Our rules are arse about face. It's the top teams that should be the ones penalised and the lower clubs get the help... ........

That comment contradicts every idea of fairness. Teams like Rye House; Leicester and Swindon are at a such disadvantage. This is the reason why these figures should have been sorted months ago and not wait until all had competed in 4H4A. All this waiting has done is accentuate the differences of those teams who have ridden more than others... And I thought all rules were made to benefit Poole, Seems now its Wolves who are the benefactors.....

Yeah , I like that. I agree with your comments about Holder and Rose and with Robert and Huck. However I'm of the impression Troy would rather concentrate on himself and seems to recent any partner outscoring him. Then it would be added pressure for Jorgensen to perform as we want him too.