Bojangles

This comment is crazy! I’m no Poole fan, and some of the Poole fans on here do leave a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, but I’ve still got respect for the club and the way it’s run. Would never want to actually see a club close, we need as many as possible these days. Plus, without rivalries, the sport would be an even duller prospect.

It's almost as if people think it's only speedway that have playoffs. It happens in pretty much EVERY team sport now. All American sports (NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB and more), football (bar the Premier League and a few other top national leagues), rugby league, rugby union and cricket (bar the County Championship, although only a matter of time). I don't think the playoffs are the reason attendances are dropping! They are arguably what stops it from dropping further - only got to look at the attendances for the Grand Final matches at Belle Vue, Sheffield and Poole for evidence of that. There's a reason so many sports want playoffs, because they work from a commercial sense and fans across most sports mentioned above love them (it's just the ones where the league table toppers don't win that hate them).

Good grief. If you misquoted him, he deserves an apology. It’s the right thing to do regardless of what you think of him. Then we can move this sorry thread on…

What a team that was. Got to be the best team in British Speedway history.

Some common sense! I'm not sure why all the Poole fans are up in arms about it...whatever the outcome, it's more likely to benefit Poole than Leicester. If it takes place at Leicester, it’s less likely to have a home bias given the state of the track. If it’s a neutral venue, then Poole definitely have an advantage as they were able to have a home leg. If it doesn’t take place at all, Poole will more than likely be given the title seeing as they are 1) not at fault for Leicester’s track, or 2) already ahead from the first leg. Chill out!

It is what it is, perhaps Leicester could have done something differently or perhaps Leicester's track doesn't dry out as quickly because of the clay content (as mentioned on here before). Nobody really knows apart from those preparing the track - which certainly isn't me, and I doubt it's you. Every track is different. Fact is, if it wasn't for the rain, this wouldn't be a problem would it? Do you think Leicester are doing this on purpose?

Basically, the way I see it, the following should be applied in order of preference... 1) Leicester host second leg at their own track 2) Second leg hosted at a neutral venue 3) Poole host second leg 4) Second leg not staged, result declared from result of first leg

I'm no Poole fan, but there's no way the result can be declared based on the league table at this stage.

Perhaps, but water WAS the initial cause. No water, no problem.

Do you seriously think it's something other than water that's causing this issue?

Yeah, I’m sure they will come up with a solution. It’s early days, so plenty of scope for further stadium enhancements. As you said, I’ve also got nothing but praise for all the promotion have done this season. The fact it’s such minor niggles that are mentioned is testament to the job they’ve done.

Apologies, I meant the second bend. No idea why I said third! It cannot be used because the air fence has to be deflated, so would take a good 10mins each time there is a track grade.

They should draw lots, that way Oxford still have a chance!

I care.

I think it's down to the air fence, something to do with it needing the be deflated to allow the tractor to leave the track at the third bend. The other track exit on the back straight (by the pits) isn't big enough.

There are only two types of fans aren't there? 'Poole fans' and 'fans of whoever Poole are riding against'. Don't think any 'neutral' fans exist.

Just let Leicester have a guest for Howarth and be done with it. It is what it is. Do Poole fans really want to win the title because Leicester had to use a NDL rider in place of him?

It's not really a big issue is it. The tractor has be parked somewhere on the centre green, so will impair viewing for somebody regardless of where they put it. It blocks out a very tiny bit of the track.

Two races and two heat leaders beaten. Hilarious!

Yeah, £1 I think.

That's why Poole's track copes well with the rain, they have manure riding on it every week (sorry, couldn't resist).

Yeah, I'm in west London, so it's the closest team to me now. Lovely to be able to see some live speedway again, so more than happy to travel down the M40 a few times a season. I'm sure there are others doing the same. Think it was originally online only ticketing so they could control the crowd numbers while improvements we're still being made to the stadium. I heard somewhere on here that the greyhounds accept cash and card payments on the gate, so expect the same will be done at Oxford once the capacity expands - which I expect is now the case if there were 3,000 for the Pairs. Agreed the novelty might wear off a little if they have another poor season, but, from what I remember Oxford was always pretty well supported. It wasn't a case of dwindling crowd numbers that caused them to close down, but the owners refusing to let them run.

That's two wrong 'thoughts' in the space of two posts.

He beat King, Lawson and Worrall when he visited with Oxford. You got other heat leaders we don't know about?

Poole fan who doesn't know his Poole history. Suppose you only started supporting them once they became successful. The original Poole Pirates closed down in the mid-80s and racing only returned when the Weymouth Wildcats were relocated to Poole.