Gresham78

Outstanding performance and victory from the Robins last night albeit against one of the weaker Poole sides of recent years, however you have to beat what's in front of you and this was on the Pirates own track which has not been a very happy hunting ground for the Robins in the last few years. This was an excellent all round team performance from the Budgies with everybody contributing. Confidence must have been high in the team already after the recent run but with the added bonus of Doyley back in the fold team spirit must have been at maximum level.. There seemed to be a determination about the team right from the off which the Pirates couldn't match and with the home team only able to provide 4 race wins and not a single heat advantage on the night ( when did that last happen at Wimborne Rd?) this was really quite a humiliation. The signing of Tobias has given the middle order a real boost and we look well balanced. Credit to Rosco for biding his time and not panicking when early results were mixed. Despite the reaction of some Poole fans I don't think there's a massive amount wrong. A decent replacement for KK ( with the emergence of so many young Polish riders his career seems to be firmly in reverse) and Brady back in the side and I expect Poole to be in the play offs. Lahti is a decent replacement for Klindt and Starke has covered capably for the departure for Newman. I think the current top 4 will make up the play offs at the end of the season. Kings Lynn had a real chance of being in the mix but that club seems to be imploding with the events of the last week.

I think the truth with Chris Holder is that he doesn't want to ride for any other team than Poole. I think he was very hurt at being loaned out by the Pirates but we know Ford is ruthless & doesn't let sentiment cloud his judgement. Holder's not having a good season by his standards; poor in Poland and Sweden, struggling in the GPs & an indifferent start at KL. If you add his big crash at Coventry a few years ago and Darcy's accident (which I think affected him deeply) he's not in a good place at the moment hence this latest spat. I don't think he ever wanted to ride for KL (correct me if I'm wrong but he's never listed Sadlebow amongst his favourite tracks) I think he's Poole or nothing as far as the UK's concerned. I maybe wrong but he's never been the same rider since his own accident and Darcy's (understandably so) in my opinion. Perhaps he could do with a break from the sport for a bit?

This meeting was very eventful to say the least - firstly though I hope Pawel Przedpelski is ok after a very heavy crash in heat 9 and I wish him a speedy recovery. Having seen the replay of the incident today I don't think it was Riss's fault I don't think he was fully aware of where his teamate was - Przedpelski was trying an audacius sweep round the fence which would have been very spectacular had it come off. I have to say though the track surface at that end of the circuit had been very heavily watered and there was a lot of dirt - it resembled a waterlogged ploughed field in some places. I know it was hot and dry last night but the watering looked as though it may have been a bit over zealous as the shale still looked very damp at the end of the meeting. You have to feel for the Lions as they had luck against them finishing with only 4 riders. 3 heats with only one rider on track really handed the Robind the initiative but fair play to the Budgies you have to take advantage of any opportunity presented during a meeting and they were in a position to capitalize. Riss and Bjerre were outstanding for Leicester and didn'tdeserve to be on the losing side. Batch and Morra both made big contibuitions for Swindon but Tobias came away as the star of the show with a very accomplished performance on a tricky track. Let's keep this going Robins!!

I think this one is quite close to call. Yes, the Robins are in great form and had an outstanding win at Belle Vue but its probably one the most even tracks in the country and everybody likes riding there. Leicester is a completely different proposition and very bespoke. Nilsson has done a sound job as the Lions No 1 and I think he'll score well tonight. Also as others have pointed out they have Bjerre and Riss at reserve which gives them a solid tail end. Their real doubt has to be their new Pole, Przedpelski as is the case for the Budgies; I doubt if Tobias has ridden anything like Beaumont Park before. I'm just a bit worried about BWD, yes he was sensational at BV but I think inconsistancy is his problem and he is just as likely to only get 1 or 2 points tonight. Batch has been an excellent stand in for Doyley but who knows if he has an off night the Robins could be struggling. I'm going to this and looking forward to a close match - fingers crossed for Rosco's rampant Robins !

I'm quite sure that Team GB gave their all last night but did people really expect the team to do any better than they did? Love him or loathe him Tai is a huge loss to the team as he's our only world class rider and head and shoulders above the likes of any other GB rider. Let's face it only Tai's outstanding performance last year got us the runners up spot with him scoring at least half if not more of our final points tally. We were always going to struggle without him when faced with top class opposition. By the sounds of things Bomber gave his all and delivered as much as you could have expected of him. Also Steve Worral showed signs of his continuing promise after sorting himself out after a difficult start. Lambert is only 19 and come a long way in a short space of time - this was a big learning opportunity for him and given the progress he's made so far he could well be at Tai's level in the years to come. The biggest question mark for me is Cook. He came into the sport late and has had to make up a lot of ground. His progress has been steady but nothing more. Going by the averages in the Speedway Star he's not in the top 6 of a weakened Premiership. True, he's through to the SGP challenge Final but unless he finishes in the top 3 in Togliatti and gets to a SF at Cardiff I don't think he can say that he's ready to take his place as a top class rider. Personally I feel Worrall and Lambert have a better chance of going further. Credit to what the team has achieved though - I'm sure Demark and Australia would have preffered to have finished where we did.

Just announced on Wiltshire Radio that restaging next Thursday was considered but Grajczonek and Wright both riding for their Championship sides that night. Robins now considering a double header on August bank holiday..

Weather update: steady rain in Chippenham, 25 miles from the Abbey

Given Wolves form at home this was a really good point for the Robins, largely due to the excellent showing from Jason and Nick. Heat 13 was really outstanding and a joy to watch as Nick took on Lindgren finally gaining 2nd place from him on the final bend. The Robins have now taken points from all the top teams whilst away from home which proves Rosco's not far away from delivering another team capable of a top 4 place.

Robins will be relying on Doyle Morris & Bellego again but it's difficult to see the others chipping in with much & that's no disrespect to our reserves. Zack is still learning his trade at this level & Dany G may well never have seen the track before let alone ride it. That leaves a lot of pressure on Ellis & I suspect he has enough of that already given his disappointing form so far. Really hope he can turn it around. Good luck Budgies, safe meeting for all.

Fine effort by the Budgies tonight especially David Bellego who is really riding his socks off at the moment and is great to watch. Top performance from Jason again and solid stuff from Nick in a supporting roll he just ran out of luck in ht 15. Sadly not much joy for Adam Ellis again - nothing's going for him at the moment. Well done Robins, a well deserved point!

Congratulations to Kings Lynn they rode to their potential last night especially Holder Batch & Lambert who are a genuine heat leader 1-3. Throw in an impressive performance at reserve from Huckenbeck meant they ran out worthy winners. For the Robins it was tough with BWD suffering the hand injury in Ht 1 but great credit to him he stuck at it. I feel it's unfair to judge Gapmiar after one meeting; how much practice had he round the Abbey? I agree with the cooment about retaining Adam Ellis - true he's struggling at the moment but this lad showed great promise last year and is worth persevering with, a spell at reserve could be just what he needs to gain confidence. Jason showed he's well on his way back to the fantastic level he achieved last season and regardless of his crazy average I'm really glad he's riding for us again this season. Good luck to the boys tonight at Belle Vue tonight...

Cheers Mark 👍

Thinking of going to this but weather forecast does not look good- what's it's like up in Manchester at the moment?

What I find worrying here is that there are clearly some very disgruntled fans at Sadllebow Road yet the club's promoter is chairman of the BSPA. How does he expect to take the sport forward when he can't get his own house in order? I've been to the Adrian Flux Arena a couple of times and the set up seems to have a lot of potential, but it does seem the running of the club leaves a lot to be desired judging by the comments of some people on this thread , I attended the farcical abandoned Swindon meeting last year and it took me 2 months to get a refund out of the club which left me less than impressed. I had to write numerous emails and make several phone calls before I received a refund. This is all about looking after your customers and if you can't do that then its little wonder people don't come back.

Outstanding effort from the Robins tonight. Can't believe how much Poole struggled with the track conditions early on. Thought Hans would have adapted earlier and you'd expect KK to have done better but he clearly has motivational/confidence issues. I'm sure Matt Ford will be looking at a replacement for him soon. Don't know if others agree but it seemed quite a poor attendance for this fixture

Inside the stadium now, looking very wet. If we get anymore of the wet stuff it'll be off. Inside the stadium now, looking very wet but the sun is out 👍Any more rain though and I think it'll be off. Sorry for the double post, crappy phone connection 🙁

Thanks for the update Lisa 👍

So Poole fans, what do you think the chances are of getting a meeting this evening? I use the BBC and Accuweather sites, one's talking about heavy downpours at 3 & 6pm and the other's saying thundershowers at similar times - what's the feeling locally? I have a 65 mile journey to Wimborne Rd & at the moment it looks too much of a gamble to go...

Cracking meeting last night and it was great to see the riders having confidence in the track to go out and really go for it, well done to all at the OTA. Swindon got lucky last night; had it not been for Josh and Starkey having engine failures the Rebels would have won it and they would have deserved it. However credit to the Budgies for staying in touch and being in a position to take advantage of the Rebels misfortune. For Rebels fans I'm sure Rohan will come good and Starkey too. It was a victory for British speedway last night; shows when things are right the sport can deliver top quality entertainment.

Personally I think the long term future for the sport in Swindon is not good. As has been well documented on this forum GI has a poor record in keeping promises when it comes to building new facilities. I don't know much about Greyhound racing but it seems to be going backwards in terms of popularity (much like speedway). How much of a return are they going to get on their investment? I can't imagine they make much money out of the Robins. As has been mentioned already GI has absolutely no obligation to the Speedway club, I would imagine in truth Terry Russell and Rosco know little more than the rest of us about the progress of the facility. The other thing is the location of the stadium; Blunsdon is now becoming a very built up residential area - give it a few years and there will be a residents committee lobbying the council about noise, parking and other issues linked to the stadium. I know this is pessimistic but building a new venue for speedway in this day and age is very challenging to say the least.

oops!

Wolves have got a major Job on tonight and if they wish to progress to the final they will need Messrs Lindgren and Woffinden to turn up and put in a performance. Both scored poorly in the first leg at Poole especially Tai considering he was in a second string position in the team. Paid 8 from 5 rides is a poor return from the World Champion and you have to question his commitment to the team. You can't help but suspect his involvement in Wolves final fixtures is competitive practice for the SGP in lieu of the lack of any remaining league matches with his continental teams. Anyway let's hope that those attending tonight are treated to some cracking racing free from any injuries.

To support Doyley I'd like to see Bomber, Killer Zengi and Charlie Wright. Bomber and PK are great to watch, Zengi is always enthusiastic and seems to really enjoy riding for the Robins and Charlie is gritty and ballsy. I'd like Hansi back too even though he's a bit of a diva at times and can be a bit precious, however he's a good skipper and Rosco seems to get the best out of him. Don't know how that lot could be accommodated though, probably not possible. Much as I like Nick, as Orlov says, I think he needs some time away from Swindon to develop his career....

Normally with a fine evening's weather you'd expect a decent attendance but the poor crowd bears out my point that it was a meanlingless event and if it was intended as a warm up for the Lakeside meeting then it was a dismal failure given Friday's poor result.

Congratulations to Lakeside, they deserve their place in the play offs. To win the league you need to be consistent and the only consistent thing about this Robins team was their inconsistency! Nick has really struggled this year simply through lack of rides. I wouldn't criticise him for leaving the PL; he was right to try Poland to further his career as was Craig Cook - if you want to improve you have to ride against the best and Poland is the place to be. Having said that I believe Nick would benefit from a change of track to revitalise his career. New stadium next year and a new team with Jason leading us into a new era - roll on 2017...