Noelinho

Pickering won’t be there - he said he was two weeks away when interviewed at Armadale last week.

I think it's more that it's just hard to look great when your opposition are bad. Simple as that.

I’d agree that similar to Birmingham at home the previous week, the Tigers weren’t great, the opposition were just poor. We beat what was in front of us - that’s all you can do. I hope Craig is fit on Friday, because some of us would like to see some good racing, not a wipeout. And maybe Craig and Ben can dress up as the mascots and have a fight during the interval!

17 passes! Turns out the track can produce some good quality racing after all. It was generally quite entertaining. Slight lull in the middle, but good value. Best I’ve seen at Armadale. Good win for the Tigers, but to be honest, a win was really the minimum tonight. Not a lot on offer past Richie Worrall, although still more than was on offer last week. Sounds like Josh will still be out next week, but maybe Craig can be back for a taste of concrete. Two, maybe even three races against Basso, who was great with the visiting fans after the meeting.

With all the changes, I decided to make the trip. Might regret it later. Hopefully we see more passes than crashes, but I wouldn't put money on it. Poor home home doesn't seem to have put the crowd off tonight. Which reminds me, all's gone quiet on the track front. I wonder what next year is looking like at the moment for the Monarchs?

Even without the distance, why would we want to face Peterborough, King’s Lynn and Ipswich over Redcar and Poole?

I feel like they’ll probably end up swapping scores, but I guess we’ll see on Friday. I’m trying to work out if I really want to go across to Armadale to potentially see one pass all evening.

Tom did get beaten in heats 13 and 15 in April, but I’m not sure this changes much to be honest. He’s been on great form at home this season, definitely seeing the improvement he needed to show.

A great piece published this week: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23565066.glasgow-tigers-putting-heart-back-hardscrabble-glasgow-district/ A shame Kevin turned up to see Glasgow lose on Tuesday! Although for racing, it was definitely better than Friday overall.

He definitely had them tonight.

Not sure I've ever seen someone ride in heat 15 having a scored 1 point before today.

Put it this way: I wouldn't turn up to watch another match against them.

I'm trying to work out if the lack of passing tonight is because the track is so slick, or because it's the Brummies. They're honestly awful. Reminds me of Newcastle last year. I think the Diamonds were worse, but not much worse.

Ben passed me just outside the stadium. Seems in good spirits. Won't find any stones on this track!

This. I think they're fine as they are. Our 3/4 pairing is a big advantage against most teams. We only drop points when Claus misses the gate and trips over riders as he blazes past them. Nowak at 2 cleans up in heat 8. And Tom has really grown in to the 5 slot. He's very reliable and that can be very important at 5 - you don't want riders who blow hot and cold there. It's a good team, they need to stay healthy and make sure they're ready to peak in September. No need to be perfect in June.

It's a nice team but I wouldn't go for it, primarily because Connor really needed to go and get experience somewhere else, for his own progression. Also, don't see Charles Wright signing for Glasgow, despite being mega around the track.

No thanks. I'm quite happy with what we have. Only interested in an upgrade at 6 if available, without any other changes.

Chris Harris has 80+5 from 7 completed meetings home and away. Last year, Craig had 85+3, but he also had next to no help from anyone riding at 2, so it probably balances out. Hopefully he'll also be more consistent than Craig was as the season goes on.

They also beat Scunthorpe, who won their group. So if you mean we've not met Poole yet, you're right! That's the final!

Yeah, great track tonight. There was racing in it for those who were up for it. 16 passes I think.

To be honest, not the worst match to lose give to he state of the tie, but all the boys got beaten in races they shouldn’t tonight. Some credit to Redcar, especially Charles, but the Tigers looked like they didn’t have the starts, the setups or the stomach tonight. 6 point loss flattered them - Redcar were better than that.

He said the weight wouldn't be there...

Yeah, I'm with you on that one this week. He's a weak link. Marcin not good tonight but has been in other home matches. Ace was always going to find it harder tonight as he learns to ride the track in different conditions but he made a pass before his crash in his first heat and made two cracking passes in his last. Lee's just been off the pace. He looks entertaining but half the time it's because he's struggling to stay on the bike.

I've seen plenty Redcar folk tonight even with the off night - decent following.

Very true, but Justin has done a decent job in his place in the two rides he brought a decent bike to. Ben missing doesn't help the tie but it doesn't look to me like it's the reason we're losing on the night. In fairness to Redcar, they've been good. Charles Wright has made some good passes, including on Bomber. Danyon Hume excellent at 2.