Gresham78

Congratulations to Poole on their deserved victory against the Robins, there's no question they were the better team on the night. As I mentioned on the thread from last weeks meeting at Blunsdon I felt that a 10 point lead left the door slightly ajar for Poole and Swindon's lead was not unassailable and so it proved with the Pirate's top 3 scoring 30+ between them as I knew they would along with significant contributions from Jonasson and Grajczonek who were always going to go a lot better round Wimborne Rd than they had done at the Abbey. As for the Robins, like a previous poster said, two wins from your 3 heat leaders just isn't enough. Even when we pulled it back to a 5 point deficit after heat 11 I always felt the Pirates where going to do it; we just didn't have enough riders going well on the night and the much maligned poor old Ed Kennett was left with the task of trying to save the day for Swindon in Heat 14 and with his record it was never going to happen. One further comment; I was disappointed with some of the comments from a group of Poole fans stood near me on the home straight who shouted foul and abusive language at some of the Swindon riders. Totally unnecessary and If you want to do that go and watch football with the yobs who supposedly support our national game.

If Swindon were taking a 12 point lead to Wimborne Rd then I'd say it was pretty well done and dusted but 10 points leaves the door open slightly for Poole. It was their middle order and reserves who let them down tonight only managing 10 points between them whereas their opposite numbers in the Robins team scored 24. Jonasson I'm sure will score better on his home track as will Josh Grajczonek and with the top 3 likely to get 30+ between them I think it will be pretty close. Solid performance through out Rosco's Robins tonight and well done especially to Ed Kennett for his contribution after the amount of flak he's taken this season.

i think the result tonight hinges very much on which Janowski and Jonasson turn up. Ward & Hancock are good for 20+ points and Gracjonek is very capable reserve and will give good support. If the two 'J's' are on it tonight then the Pirates will be very close. Robins need the early season Kennett tonight. Let's hope for a good night's racing with no accidents.

Well Sidney, like you I think we're well placed for the play-offs but I am a little worried about our Skipper's loss of form and poor old Eddie K's loss of confidence/self belief/mojo or whatever. He gets an absolute battering on this forum but I'm with you and feel all the Robins fans should get behind him and try and help him get through whatever it is that's troubling him. I doubt if he'll be at the Abbey next year but while he's racing for us he get's my backing. As for the rest of the guys; PK is great to watch especially his swoops around the second bend which are a fantastic sight to behold! Batch is maturing into a fine and dependable heat leader and has stood in so well as Captain when called upon. He's always looking out for the junior riders and is very willing to team ride as he did last Thursday when Hans was struggling. Nick 'the Kid' is really starting to flourish and fulfill his potential; his readjustment to let PK through last Thursday shows a maturity and racing savvy beyond his years. As for the two reserves, definitely worth sticking with in my opinion. Kyle has been outstanding in some of our away fixtures and am sure is getting closer to get dialed into Blunsdon. I think Ashley may need a little more time but again he'll get there. Finally, Rosco's doing it again; showing he knows how to assemble a team and get the best out of it - arguably Swindon's greatest asset?

Interesting to read people's comments about Rosco's mood at Birmingham. He's admitted himself the 'stop start' nature of the fixture list this season is effecting his enthusiasm and that during the Coventry meeting at the Abbey he felt 'flat' and had to to take time out at one stage to psyche himself up. Rosco's such an enthusiastic character that I guess its easy to forget that he's subject to getting p*#*ed off at times like the rest of us especially if things aren't going according to plan. As others have said he's the motivator and instigator of the atmosphere within the team and perhaps that was missing on Wednesday. Some riders more than others would miss that enthusiasm and encouragement more than others ( I'm thinking specifically of Ed Kennett) I'm right behind Rosco as he delivered a lot for the Robins last season and I'm sure he will keep the lads on course for the play-offs this season.

Personally I'm not sure who's right or wrong over this but one thing's for sure and that is that Hans and Swindon need to work a lot closer together regarding fixture planning. Whichever way you look at it he's missed about a third of the Robins EL meetings this season which is unacceptable. At the end of the day its us the fans who lose out.

I feel sorry for Shadders and the other Rockets fans who made the trip up to the Oaktree Arena to watch this mismatch. It was my first foray into Premier League racing (I'm a Swindon fan but we only seem to average one home meeting a month these days!) and I was somewhat disappointed to say the least. Only Anders Mellgren put up any sustained resistance; Allen woke up towards the end whilst Bunyan looked good in his first 2 rides only to fade badly. The other 4 were a disgrace managing just 6 points between them. Having seen Jason Garrity's gutsy performance in the in the British final he must be a big loss especially if the inept Robert Mear is his replacement. I guess the Rebels fans won't be complaining too much but i don't think one sided matches like this are good for the sport in the long run.

I don't think the the meeting was 'shambles' or a 'laughing stock'. Granted the track was sub-standard this year and they need to find out why and make sure it doesn't happen again but I don't think it turned the event into a farce. There was some decent racing and I thought the presentation was fine. I enjoyed the day as I did last year; Cardiff's a nice city and I always like the atmosphere pre-meeting. The Millennium stadium's a great venue and although some people have complained about the cost of tickets, considering you're seeing the world's best riders in decent surroundings I think its good value.

I went to the meeting on Monday and it was my first British Final and first visit to Monmore Green. Having returned to the sport 5 years ago after a gap of 25 years I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the field on display. I guess its one of the things I've noticed most about the sport that when I left it in the early to mid 1980s the British final would have been made up of the likes of Michael Lee, John Davis Gordon Kennett, Peter Collins, Dave Jessup Kenny Carter, Les Collins Chris Morton etc. All these guys were top riders in the British League and there would certainly be nobody from the 2nd tier of the sport i.e the National League. I suppose its the reason interest in the sport has waned given our lack of home grown talent. However that's not say I didn't enjoy the meeting and thought Tai was truly outstanding as his form has been throughout this season so far and I hope we now have a top British rider to really challenge in the SGP series. Credit to Danny King who gave him a hard race when the two met in heat 19. As for Monmore Green I thought it a tidy track and liked the open view of the pits and I know the race track itself is considered to be one of the best prepared, however the stadium does suffer with the limited spectator access to just the home straight and first turn and I assume should the new track at Belle Vue get built the meeting will be shown there given the track's billing as the National Speedway stadium.