Gresham78

Rosco and Terry Russell should hang their heads in shame at that excuse for a speedway meeting last night. A poor track, sloppy tired presentation and some riders just going through the motions in scruffy delapidated stadium. And both Rosco and Terry R have the cheek to urge supporters to make an effort to support the team. As somebody else said on this thread the BSPA rely on the goodwill of the current supporters to watch dross like last night. There's little chance anybody else than die hard fans would put up with it. As Rosco said in his programme notes he and his chums at the BSPA have to be radical at this year's AGM to save the sport in this country.

I support Rosco in most things regarding the Robins but I think he's got this wrong. I appreciate he's frustrated at losing money over the KO cup but criticising fans for calling this a dead rubber is ill judged. It is a dead rubber, the result changes nothing. Furthermore, I know it's not their fault but the Aces have half their team missing so it's not exactly an attractive event. Why should people fork out another £17 per head to stand about on what is likely to be a cold night. I think if he chose a more conciliatory tone he'd get a better response from supporters.

Why is it when it rains we have to go through this pointless ritual of getting the tractors out to try make the track raceable? It must have rained for about 20 minutes and you could see the water lying on the track. But we have to wait until the referee, clerk of the course, Rosco,Ronnie Russell and anybody else who wants a say, have all said their piece just to decide the tractors should come out. All they do is turn over wet shale. If they'd ridden on it, it would have been like ice and somebody would have been injured. It was obvious after it had been raining for 20 mins it wasn't going to dry out, so why waste everyone's time trying to return the track to a raceable condition? As per usual the long suffering Speedway fan gets shafted.

Congratulations to Kings Lynn Stars for finishing top of the SGB Prem. Good luck in the play offs

Congratulations to both Belle Vue and Somerset Rebels on their play offs qualification. Good luck to both teams...

Frustrating evening for the Budgies as with 3 heats to go they were only 6 points adrift and earning a league point looked possible but then it all came unstuck with those three 5-1 reverses. As Rosco said the Heat 7 crash damaged the Robins chances with Tobias being adversely affected by it. There were some positives; I thought David and Adam both rode very well but with Toby being off it and Nick Morris fading badly it wasn't enough again. Much as I like Nick as a rider I wonder if a move to another team next year might give his career a boost? I thought after last year he might kick on but he's slipped back this season. As for Poole, after numerous changes Ford seems to have found a winning set up and I would now consider them as favorites for the title. Kurtz and Grajczonek look to to be back to their normal form, Bomber seems to be thriving in his new team and the reserve set up is very strong. Somerset are very reliant on Doyle and Holder, Kings Lynn similarly with Lambert and Iversen and Belle Vue have the overrated Cook, and Fricke who can be brilliant but also be very average at times and a not fully fit Steve Worrall . Big crowd last night which was a boost for the sport in the UK.

That's a shame but I understand, having to swap teams doesn't seem right; even though I only saw them for one season I'm still a Bulldog at heart

I'd probably opt for Somerset Sid, it's a fairly straight forward journey for me - as long as the M5 behaves!

I feel the same way Sid. With very little news about the redevelopment of the stadium and the new houses being so close I really can't see a long term future for the club. Regarding Doyley would love to have seen him at the Abbey again this year but they didn't want to shell out the bucks did they? I think he would have brought a few more punters in.

Totally agree with your views Grachan. The Robins were the very model of consistency last season yet this year they're the complete opposite. We all know they can do so much better but for whatever reason it's not happening. Like you I support Rosco in picking virtually the same team for this year; these guys did so well in winning the Championship they deserve a chance to defend it. For sure we miss Doyley but I'm sure the decision to let him go was financial; I suspect our former No 1 wanted a significant pay increase after becoming World Champion. I know on current form we look out of the race for the top 4 but Wolves and Belle Vue have tricky fixtures on their respective run ins for the play offs, there may be a surprise yet.

This was really very poor from Swindon. No reaction or response to last weeks home defeat to Belle Vue. With Schlein out and only R/R to cover for him the Budgies had an excellent opportunity to get something from this meeting but Wolves outrode them on the night. Nick and Toby did their best getting 5 wins between them but there was little support from the rest of the team. Despite the dissapointing run of recent form, Swindon remain in the top 4 (just) and could still qualify for the play offs.

Only Morris showing any kind of resistance. 11 Heats gone and Swindon yet to record a heat advantage..

Sadly I agree with this. The stadium's now in a residential area and I think it's only a matter of time before there are noise and environmental complaints. Add to this the general demise of the sport and the feeling I get that Terry Russell wants out means the long term outlook for Speedway in Swindon is not good.

This is awful luck for Wolves again against Swindon. Despite the Budgies poor away form I think they'll win tonight especially after the poor effort at home to the Aces. If they lose then they really don't deserve to be in the play offs.

Deserved win for the Aces. Cook did them a favour riding in Glasgow tonight as Brady put a shift in for them and returned a decent score certainly more than Cook would have managed. The Budgies will have to win on the road now to make up for this but on current form I can't see that happening. The team's just been too inconsistent this year - Rosco's not been able to get them all firing together unlike last season.

Leicester have to be the unluckiest team ever - whatever team they put out at the start of the season always ends up being modified significantly due to injuries. If they'd managed to retain Vaculik Bates and King I think it unlikely they'd be in this position now.

Yeah i thought Morra was going step up again this year but he's fallen short as have Toby and David. Guess last year they were all on it together. As you say our matches with the Aces and the Poole Pikeys are crucial now.

Totally agree Sid. Last season the top 5 continued to click together on a consistent basis hence the long run undefeated but this year there always seems to be one or two riders off the pace on the night. We have to hope that it comes good again at some point before the end of the season.

I really think Robert will be the next big thing in British speedway. I don't think he gets all the plaudits he deserves whilst lesser riders who do well in one GP just seem to have to put their Kevlars on to get people raving about them. In football terms Robert was unplayable last night and really put on a display. I notice he's top of the SS averages and it's clear to see why. I really enjoyed watching him race yesterday and I genuinely hope he goes on to fulfill his massive potential.

Considering a number of the Robins riders are carrying injuries and Zac was just returning from one the team did pretty well. I think with a fully fit team the Budgies could have won it. Lambert aside (who's different class at the moment) KL are nothing special. Other than Jack Smith I'm with Rosco in not making any changes. It's good to have some continuity in the side and you can actually identify with a set of riders. If we don't make the play offs so what? Things aren't going as well as last season but let's see if these lads can turn it around.

The Robins did their best but had no answer to Robert Lambert who looked in a class of his own. Batch, Nick and Adam all did their bit but unlike last season the Budgies don't seem to all click on the same night. Another wretched night for Jack who fell in his first ride and was withdrawn from the rest of the meeting. No doubt some will continue to call for Rosco to make changes but that's not always the answer - look at Leicester.

I'd be happy if the Robins could pick up a point tonight. Great that Zac is back but he is essentially riding for two with poor old Jack struggling for points. Nick seems to be really struggling at the moment so that puts a lot of pressure on the remaining 4. Really hoping Batch scores well just to p*** of Chapman..

Speedway has no long term future in Swindon because of the close proximity of new houses to the stadium. And I'm sure Terry Russell wants out as well.

The sports taken a battering in the U.K. this year, we could do with a really good GP to try and reignite some interest. A British winner would be brilliant.

Totally agree. Been up to Monmore Green at least a dozen times over the years and that's the worst racing surface I've seen. Having said that the Robins were very poor except for Batchelor (again) and Conor Mountain who did well under the circumstances. Think this performance will prompt Rosco into making some changes.