paulboy

That was the strangest meeting, Ipswich in control then seemed to totally forget how to gate as the track slickened off, but well done to the Pirates who suddenly remembered how to get out the traps. And he might have his critics but well done to Chris Harris for some sensational riding.

I think you could say Pearson’s rather pleased with that result!

To be fair they both do

Quoting a song title doesn’t really work if you get it wrong, unusual for the Chuckle Brothers lol

Was that the B side of Holding back the Years?

After NQ said, unless I misheard, Cardiff never fails to disappoint lol

since when did Simply Red sing Rolling back the Years? What a muppet

Just shows how much it's all about opinions. NP really spoils my enjoyment of a speedway meeting, I'm not sure I've heard a poorer sports commentator but I'm happy to accept I'm in the minority. Tatum's so so but very repetitive, I do quite like Scott Nicholls, or Scotty to give him his correct name lol, and NQ isn't bad. I also think Steve Brandon does a fair job pit side, but guess it will be mostly irrelevant next year?

That was amazing, red changed from Tungate to Wright half way through!

It will give Shouty a chance to say something cringeworthy & then they can both laugh

There's also a Plymouth v Exeter challenge meeting on Friday but I can't find any further details! I presume its just a NL select meeting?

The pair of them are quite awful, especially their cringeworthy attempts at humour. Pretty good meeting though, glad Perks has scored, he deserved that, battled hard for no reward.

Speedway does have some weird rules, surely you should have to replace an injured rider to stop the use of guests rather than sack somebody else?

Thanks, their fixture list still shows it at Stoke! Glad I didn't book accommodation.

Can anyone confirm if the NL Pairs is still being held at Stoke on 11th August, and what time tapes up? Thanks

How do they decide which crashes to replay, I thought they didn’t until injuries or not were confirmed? And all 4 back??

Comedy gold this post tonight, how people stick to the attack the post not the poster rule I really don’t know!

What on earth was Tatum talking about in heat 2?

Very difficult to know what will happen, last season proved this is just a qualifying competition for a little sprint at the end of the season when the team that gets luckiest with injuries will probably be league champions.

I hope there was an underlying reason, I certainly enjoyed the racing

As always I enjoyed the racing on my first visit to the Oak Tree this season but boy do they know how to drag out a meeting! Henry Atkins crashed in the fourth and it was announced there would be a 10 minute delay while the paramedic checked him over, fair do's. So we have the rerun after which the tractors come up for their 5 minutes of fun (for the first of 4 times). Why the hell didn't they come out before the rerun, does one race really make that much difference? Such a contrast to Scunthorpe the previous Friday where the meeting was over before 9 with no prolonged periods of grading. 2 of my favourite tracks incidentally, but I thought a very disappointing crowd at Scunny.

But the thing is does it really matter what the teams are at the start of the season. The way that speedway is now it's all about making the right changes in the middle of the year, as long as you don't lose touch before June it's the last three months that really count, all boiling down to having the right team, and no injury problems, for 4 matches!

Oh you're saying the TV pics were conclusive? I didn't see that, even the muppet commentating seemed to backtrack a bit!

Can't agree with you, he went down because he had his leg taken away as he entered the bend, think condoning such riding (by Jakobsen) would lead to all kinds of incidents.

I wasn't at the stadium so might well be missing something but the numerous TV replays last night seemed pretty inconclusive. One angle looked like both wheels might have gone over the line but not certain. Maybe it was much clearer if you were there. I have to say I think people are massively overstating the role of team manager in the current speedway world, nothing much more than a glorified programme filler in as they are so hamstrung by the rule book, although Dale Allitt might make a half decent bouncer :-)