Ommer Mon

Thanks to Jason Pipe for delivering Will Pottinger's team talk for him on the Buxton website. "Cradley are not the force they once were" and "Our 3 heat leaders are capable of beating Cradley's Heat leader trio" should do the trick nicely. Heathens to win narrowly on the back of that, even though Buxton are expecting a 12 - 14 point win. Ommer 'em!

Enjoy Dan Bewley. Best prospect i have seen in many years. Should fly round there.

It wasn't quite as large a margin as I predicted, though it would have been close if James Purchase hadn't slowed up twice while in scoring positions. Same old story for the Heathens with the Heat Leaders unbeatable and the tail not wagging significantly though James and Bradley are showing signs of improvement and I've been satisfied with Ben's contribution from the outset. Especially impressed with the progress Martin Knuckey has made over the last couple of seasons. he looks the part now at this level.

Hmm....... Yep hadn't thought of that! It will be a real nerve jangler and go right to the wire. There... that should do it ... I'm sure nobody noticed.

Let's get this one started then. Revenge is on the cards for the Heathens and it should be pay back time for the 12 point defeat at Brandon. I'm taking the Heathens to stroll it by 22 points. Weathers good. Plenty of blue sky around but could get a bit cold as the night goes on.Forecast is dry though. Come on down.

I know it's never going to happen but it would be interesting to have an end of season challenge run under the old rules. Doubt if any of the current riders would be able to adapt for a one off meeting though.

I agree waihekeaces1, Erik really struggled to sort himself out when the rules changed and he suffered a string of exclusions. Many said at the time that it was a cunning plan from Pratty to lower the averages but it certainly wasn't. Erik turned it round eventually though on his way to his three world titles.

Watching the GP where a couple of seemingly great starts got called back by the Referee reminded me of the days when you had to break the tapes to get excluded. So who were the great exponents of the art of the roller or sending their opponents through the tapes? Ivan Mauger and Erik Gundersen may feature but the name I'd like to put forward was former Belle Vue skipper Tommy Roper who seemed to have a 'Roll-Stop-Roll' technique at Hyde Road and when he stopped the others usually went through the tapes. Any others? .................................and as a second question would anyone want to see those days return?

I'd track it back to the lack of personalities and 'grudge' encounters. Penhall / Carter or Gundersen / Nielsen encounters and other similar really put bums on seats.Somehow Woffy v Greg hasn't got the same edge to it. So 1990s started the slide for me.

Hmmmm! Even I might back an away win with that one!

I've said it before on here Dam Bewley is a magnificent prospect. Reminds me of Chris Morton when he started out. It won't be long before he features in a British Final (which is meant as a compliment rather than a comment on the rest of British Speedway). I hope he has a long and successful career.

Pete cc - I don't do the lottery but I think I might start. It was a cracking meeting with Tom Perry and the Boy Wonder performing very well indeed. The result was in doubt right to the end and I was happy IOW got something out of it. They made the most of the situation by doing their homework and picking the right guests and who can blame them. We've done plenty of that ourselves in the past (1989 springs to mind). As I thought, the key players were Ben Basford and James Purchase. They picked up a string of very vital points and without their efforts we would have been sunk. Special mention for Ben Morley. His 'from the back' victory over Lee Smart and James Cockle was magnificent. He gave them the length of the back straight start after a rough first bend and stil passed them. Brilliant. Finally a note about Gary Patchett's programme notes with some Heathens fans having a go at some of the riders on social media after the Coventry match. Well said Mr P! Come on guys, we know some of the riders are struggling at the moment but they are out there doing their best. If you feel that strongly about it buy them a new tyre or do something a bit more constructive to help. Ommer 'Em.

Some decent sunshine curently in the West Mids with temperatures to stay around 19/20C until 9p.m. Should be a good night's racing but this will be a very stiff test for the Heathens.I have a feeling we will be relying on Ben Basford and James purchase to come up with some very good performances if we are going to pull it off.

Oh Boy! Just seen the news that Benji Compton and Kelsey Dugard unfortunately got injured last night and IOW have booked Tom Perry and Dan Bewley as guests. With Ashley Morris, Jack Kingston and Bradley Andrews out I think the Heathens could be in for a very tough encounter. I take Cradley to win by 4 but that's with fingers firmly crossed. All we need is for Lee Smart to turn it on and we could be in trouble! Should be an entertaining encounter at the 'Wood'. Best wishes to Benji and Kelsey for their recovery.

Good luck to all concerned at Belle Vue. It will be a huge relief to finally get a meeting run successfully at the new place. Fingers crossed.

Monmore Wood is about 10 miles away and takes about 25 mins drive. I believe Monmore Green is quite close too but I never go there on religious grounds!!! Dudley Wood was 10 mins drive away. good luck to those still trying to get a local solution.

Like I predicted, a healthy win for the Heathens and I don't think 57-33 would have been too wide of the mark if we'd got to the end. Really encouraged by Bradley Andrews improvement. Saw the gaps and went through them. Don't forget he's been injured for a considerable time and is feeling his way back. Keep up the good work Brad! Ben also continued to look very promising. He can gate and he's certainly quick enough. The top three were magnificent again but the star of the show for me was Dan Bewley. He's one heck of a prospect. I agree with others that Jack's unavailability won't help. Let's hope he can balance those work commitments soon. I thought the crowd was a little down tonight but given the temperature and the rain not too bad. Most had the common sense to head for the bar!

Yep It's Dan Bewley's presence that caused me to go for such a high winning margin. He was brilliant on his Monmore debut. What a shame that one got away!!

Any thoughts on the score? With Dan Bewley in for the injured James Purchase and R/R for Jack Kingston again I think it could be a healthy win for the Heathens. I'm going for 57-33.

Anybody want to organise a car auction? I may know a suitable site!!!!!!!!!! Oh for the days of Hyde Road.

Oh well, I was pretty close with my initial assessment of 52-38 with the Brummie Second Strings and Reserves making the difference. Credit to Cleggy, Ash and Luke for making a match of it. Jack and Ben also put a lot of effort into it and will get better. There was some excellent racing with the Heathens making the gate on many occasions only to be picked off in great style. The Brummies have got a cracking side and we have got a lot of improving to do to catch them. Could be a different story at Monmore Wood though as, apart from Daryl and Tom, the Brummies won't have seen a great deal of it. Could be one to look forward to! Roll on Monday when we can take on the Young Stars.

Wonderfully sunny day in Brum. Not a cloud in the sky but a bit cool. Looking forward to tonight. I think it's going to be an entertaining meeting.

I've heard that there was a problem with parking at the One Stop Shopping Centre when Birmingham rode against Stoke a few weeks ago. Some fines were dished out. Has that been resolved now? What is the curfew time at the Shopping Centre?

I'm taking good contributions from Cleggy, Ash and Luke as read as they have been brilliant so far. I think the key man for Cradley will be Jack Kingston. I've been very impressed with him in past seasons but he's not had the best of starts to this one so far and had to miss our last match. Hope he can turn things around and give the Brummies a run for their money. Can't expect too much from James, Bradley and Ben in view of how their opposite numbers have been performing but you never know. I'm already impressed with Ben. Lovely sunny day in Brum today. Let's hope that continues tomorrow.

Predictions please! I think the Heathens are going to struggle to get anything out of this one. I'm very impressed with the way the Brummies have built their team and I expect them to be very near the top when the trophies get dished out. 52-38 with the Brummies reserves and middle order making the difference. Hope I'm wrong!! We'll be there.