Steve Irving

Rew’s a good signing also, a rider very much on the up. Musielak’s performance surprised me, he’s much better than that.

Some have zero shame and couldn’t care less how or why they won, as long as they won. Entirely their prerogative of course. I personally would have been a little embarrassed and kept it a bit more low key but each to their own. And before anyone pipes up with “it’s not Belle Vue’s fault they can only beat what’s in front them” I totally agree. But it’s still unsatisfying it has to be. It’s like a 100m runner at the Olympics pi$$ing it with 10 metres to go and then pulling a hamstring and you go flying past to take the gold. You wouldn’t then go on a lap of honour dancing around giving it the big un would you? Except for AceBelle obviously. Take it, admit you got away with one and move on.

We won’t get the truer picture with Lynn until they’ve ridden a few more meetings, starting this Thursday away at Oxford. With most teams you kind of know which direction they’re likely headed. For me Lynn are a bit of a head scratcher and I can’t quite make them out at the moment.

You get the sense there’s already far too much expectation on the young lad’s shoulders which isn’t fair really. As good a talent and prospect as he may be, nobody should be expecting him to come in at this level and start taking decent points from riders with far more experience. I mean he may well do, but similar expectations were thrown Boughen’s way a season or two ago. I’d let him settle in at Poole for this year and see how he gets on. Then make a decision for 2026 in the top flight based on that.

I mean, it’s possible! Doyle Emil and Brennan could all crash out of the meeting in their opening rides and Belle Vue could then jump all over it and then claim they’ve achieved the impossible with a superhuman effort! They’re very good at that.

Everybody knows why you won it last year. You’ll need to jump on someone else’s poor luck again this time otherwise you won’t stand a cat in hells chance.

Yes I know but why wouldn’t you use their actual average to get a true reflection of performance? There’s no such thing as an official green sheet for team building and rider position purposes on the “rider averages” section. It’s simply a form guide and a performance stat for that particular year even though a “GSA” is listed.

Since it opened in 2016 you’ve lost three opening meetings at home and won 5 including last year against Sheffield. That isn’t doing what you “do most” is it?

Someone had already started one.

Still don’t know what to make of King’s Lynn. Harris isn’t getting a paid max at reserve every week is he, Oxford are truly awful. Still think they’ll get outgunned most weeks because the majority of the side are inconsistent and flaky. A strong reserve will keep them competitive though. Tough battle with Leicester for fourth.

Saw some ridiculous stats yesterday. Doyle’s average at home in 2023 over 11, same last year but only three meetings ridden due to his crash. The biggest surprise for me was Ellis. 9.42 home average over all home meetings, a shade under Emil’s 9.65! Throw in King who can often be a double points scorer at Foxhall along with Brennan who also rides it very well, and nobody is getting a sniff here are they?

Quick wasn’t he? The fact he wasn’t well either made it even more impressive. Enjoyed that battle with Cook in heat 14. Got done by Cook, never gave in blasted back in the blink of an eye. Good to see. Seems to have been around a little while now but unbelievably still only 20! Leicester dropped one almighty bollock there I’m afraid. Ipswich just far too good and that’s the reality. Belle Vue and Sheffield are their biggest challengers but Sheffield will run in to the same problems. Sheffield’s top four more than a match for Ipswich, but the bottom end of the team isn’t. Ipswich have strength all the way through.

Belle Vue are going to need Ipswich to stink yet again if they’ve a chance of going through because they’ll get comfortably beaten at Ipswich.

He’s clearly replying to Gambo and not you, supporting YOU you monumental cock.

And yet the man who won hasn’t done a lap in anger for 8 weeks short of a full calendar year. And at the very same place where he had his horrific accident. The man is phenomenal.

Bet365 just released their odds for the Premiership 2025 Ipswich 15/8 Belle Vue 10/3 Sheffield 10/3 Kings Lynn 13/2 Leicester 8/1 Birmingham 12/1 Oxford 16/1

Incredibly difficult to predict opening meetings when you have no kind of form guide. In theory Ipswich should comfortably win the tie on aggregate because they have a better side, that’s a fact. BUT, Ipswich have more questions that need answering than Belle Vue. Has King’s hand surgery worked? Or will he still be heavily restricted in his movement? Doyle’s first competitive meeting for nearly a year, will he be sharp or sluggish. You never know how riders start the season either, even world class riders. Emil last year had all sorts of issues mechanically and didn’t get going for a couple of months. He inevitably found the solutions and started blitzing everybody again but it just shows it’s almost impossible to predict opening meetings.

Well don’t you seem really nice.

It is good to see him back on the bike of course, but a spin on his own shows us nothing let’s be honest. The real test will be when he resumes competitive action. The same can be said for Doyle also, who has been out even longer. It’ll be nearly 11 months out of racing for Doyle by the time late March comes around, and for a rider his age, it may take a while to get back in to things. I’d expect both to start pretty conservatively by their high standards but we’ll see. Having said that, the type of characters both of them are, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they both start as if they’ve never been away either! They’re very similar in character and the way they’re seemingly made so you could argue you’d have less concern with these two then you would most other riders. It'll be interesting to watch their first meetings.

D Thompson and Jenkins is a powerful reserve pairing. If and when Thompson hits the big numbers at reserve which I fully expect him to, then Either King or Ellis will replace him at reserve. That potency at reserve coupled with the heatleader trio of Doyle Emil and Brennan is what makes Ipswich far and away the strongest side in the league. Normally when you get such a strong top end you suffer further down but that isn’t the case here. Helped of course by Thompson’s 25% reduction. Let’s be honest here, for anyone else to have a chance this year they’re gonna need Ipswich to run in to injury problems again.

Only way Ippo ain’t winning it is if they get struck by injuries again. That’s the only hope the others have IMO. It’s the best side on paper and comfortably so.

Harris not being at Oxford is the reason Boughen isn’t either despite him originally being in the side.

Bullsh!t. Unfortunately for you we all have eyes. Emil being the racer he is and type of fella he is, went for it but got caught up in that huge pile of dirt that gathered by the fence and it almost stopped him dead in his tracks. It’s dangerous and you know it. Stop trying to deny something which is blatantly obvious to everyone with a pair of eyes. Correct. Again, unfortunately for you we all have ears as well. Chris Holder literally admitted live on TV that there was an issue with the track and had been for some time.

Only picture I can see was them clearing out the drains. Nothing about the banking or “digging up the inside of the track”, nada, zip. More hot air PR from Louis? “Extra banking which will improve the racing immeasurably”, youth event announced with great fanfare and yet no fixture on the fixture list. So far nothing has been delivered. Still time, let’s see.

And paying the same price for the privilege. Couldn’t watch that dross every week there’s very little to get excited about there! There HAS to be envious eyes looking up to the Premiership and seeing fans watching the likes of Sayfutdinov, Doyle, Holders, Woffinden, Fricke, Bewley, Kurtz, whilst their leading lights are Richard Lawson! Used to have Shovlar telling all and sundry when Poole were in the top flight that he’d NEVER support lower league racing because it was crap..