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I know, the debate is an interesting one. For me, he should follow the PL route. Holder, Ward and Woffinden all did it and look at them now. Take a season in the PL and guest towards the end of the season when he has that bit more experience in the UK.

Riding in Britain. He could quite easily have continued to ride on the continent against better riders, and come into the PL when he turned 16. Instead, he has made the choice to ride in Britain as well. Thus far he has ridden in 2 home meetings, while missing the Stoke away meeting. He needs to ride at more than just KL, or he is wasting his time. Unless of course he is on a financial package that puts the NL to shame.

Fair enough, just curious as to having a track grading break, then the interval in the next heat! As for Lambert, it wouldn't hurt him to have a season or 2 in the PL. It did Tai Woffinden no harm, and not taking a season probably harmed Lewis Bridger in the long run. Either way, he needs to ride more than just KL, or this whole experiment of him coming over seems a bit pointless.

Embarassing from Stoke, but I expect nothing less away from home. I know it didn't make any difference, but anyone care to explain the comments on the updates about messing around with Reade's gate for 10 minutes before his TR ride? And Semion, for all I care Mr Tattum can take a running jump, and hopefully drag the former Mrs Tattum with him. They will be the death of Stoke speedway.

Stoke has never been comparable to the ritz, and given that our normal centre green announcer was in the box doing the results, the presentation wouldn't be the best. However, the air fence didn't just magically collapse, if you remember someone hit it (I think it was Payne in heat 12, and it was going down just before heat 13)

Interesting. Track wasn't at its best, but those who attacked it got their rewards, as proven with Kyle Hughes posting quick times. To say it was in its "Worst state ever" is a bit much. From a fans PoV, the falls mainly came about through inexperience, other than potentially the heat 12 incident where both KL riders lifted on bend 3. Unfortunately for KL, most of the time Stoke were out of the gate quicker, and they didn't seem able to pass. Lewis Kerr had a terrible meeting, with two EF's (Of which I am sure the track was to blame...) and a fall, but it was a team who just wasn't at the races. I can't comment on the pits situation, because I am not privy to what goes on there, other than to say I presume Mr Allitt has offered to pay for the telephone that he broke in the pits? My thoughts on the Stoke promotion have been made clear in other threads, so I'm not going to go back over them here. As for Saturday, given that it currently appears to be monsoon season outside, it may not be possible to judge for yourself!

Don't forget, NL promoters aren't at the PL/EL meeting (Unless they promote a PL/EL club as well)

I hope they are planning another change, because with respect, that team will get hammered, home and away.

But why would you risk it? The meetings start at 7, so are normally done by 9, which means that the MDL meeting has an hour, if needed. Normally takes around 20 minutes. Unfortunately, if the meeting ends at 9:45, by the time you have had the results of heat 15 etc, you are looking at closer to 9:50. One fall in the MDL meeting and that's that, it has to be abandoned. We seem to have a relatively good relationship with the council and local residents, why risk it?

Given that the main meeting didn't finish until 9:45, with a 10pm curfew, make your own conclusion.

As Jayne has already said, it was a baking hot day. Frankly, any track would have been dusty! The fact that they were watering every 3 or 4 heats meant that, up until heat 15, the dust wasn't that bad, and there was actually some good racing. Unfortunately, when you have a track in the middle of nowhere, with no real shade, in the middle of summer, in the afternoon, it's going to get dusty! Credit Buxton for being proactive and not letting it get to a point where the dust was unbearable.

Just got back. An entertaining meeting by all accounts. Regular watering attempted to keep the dust down, but it was always going to be fighting a losing battle. Buxton's long tail exposed in the end, as they couldn't cope with R/R for Blacklock as well as Govier off form. Branford was better than Atkin would have been, but Mildenhall always seemed to be in control. Special mention for Josh Bates, who looked very quick.

I'm not sure why I am rising to this, as I know that your answer to anything I say will be "But it was NL so wasn't worth caring about" However Watching the progress of Taylor Poole (Such a shame he doesn't have a team place this season) Winning the Pairs at Newport Seeing Stoke top the NL table. First league table I have ever seen us top. KoC final. Play offs for a couple of years. Ashley Birks form last season. Progression of Ben Reade Yes, there have been negatives around Stoke, but you will dismiss any positive because it is the NL, and in your eyes it isn't a league worth caring about. Sorry for going off topic.

Ignore Big Lad,i'm 99.9% sure he goes by POTTER on the stoke forum, and hasn't had a good word to say about Stoke in about 5 years. Stokes problem at the moment is pretty obvious, we have a 9.5 number 1 who is averaging around 5 or 6. Smarty needs to return to some form, or we will lack the top end strength that we expected with his signing.

I still fancy Dudley to win the whole thing. IoW, and now KL, will both weaken when their star reserve moves up, whereas Dudley will have 2 from Isherwood, Clegg and Greaves at reserve all season.

Nice to see there was so much interest in this Not a bad meeting. Riders looked to struggle for the first couple of heats but it dried out quickly. For Stoke, Smart looked down on power, and Chessell didn't really impress, Reade couldn't gate for toffee, but Priest was fantastic. Stokes reserves were quicker than Mildenhalls (And special mention for Lee Payne on his debut. Looked raw, but talented. Could prove to be a fantastic signing) but special mention on the night has to go to Kyle Hughes. Feeling ill, he romped to an untroubled 12 point maximum, and was easily the best rider on show. For Mildenhall, Nielsen never really got going, Baseby had one good ride in heat 8. Bates got quicker as the night went on, Armstrong was struggling with his knee all night, Halsey was unspectacular after his fall, and the reserves were poor. Overall, not a bad nights racing. On a different note, it was interesting to watch the MDL meeting afterwards, as the final heat pitted Dudleys reserve pairing against Stokes. Would have been a 3-3 barring a Tedham fall, but the Stoke reserves were on the pace, which gives me hope going forward.

A combination of things really. I like the IoW team as it stands, but you have the number 1 doubling up, and the number 7 now tripling up. If the IoW don't take priority, they could be in a deep hole if either rider is missing. Stoneman is now injured, and you have already lost Bekker for the season. Hopwood is showing a bit of form, but how long will it continue? And if you don't find a replacement for Stoneman, depending on how long he is injured, what happens when Ellis moves up into the main body? The IoW are helped at the moment by having a fantastic reserve, who will average well over 8, probably over 9. Once he moves up, that strength at the bottom end will virtually be lost. Compare that to a team like Dudley, who when Clegg or Stoneman move up, will have Isherwood potentially dropping down and you have my reasoning. Personally, I think you will end up with IoW topping the league, and they will face one of Dudley, Mildenhall or Stoke in the semi. The play-offs aren't about being the best team over the course of the league, they are about getting hot at the right time.

I'm going to put my neck out now, and give you the following prediction. The Isle of Wight won't even make the play-off final. That's right, you heard me. Feel free to quote me come September.

Sorry the thread is late, updates can be found here http://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Glasgow&thread=12243&page=1

It's a shame, as he was looking better in the Buxton meeting. Still, it's not a massive surprise. If he was unsure about starting the season, then a couple of meetings in gets wiped out and injured, it's tough to continue. We move on, it's all that Stoke, as a club, can do!

Fair enough. As a fan, it was a bit of a kick in the teeth that we couldn't see Atkin/Wright v Branford/Starke, as they were clearly the best riders on the day.

He did, so allow me to rephrase. He looked the rawest, and least experienced on a bike. Woolley has a lot of experience from short track, and Williamson looked better than the last time I saw him. You could tell it was Tyler's home debut, as he never really looked comfortable on the track. It will be interesting to see him up against regular NL riders.

Hi Mike Not sure I can help you fully, but going off the more in depth report on the Stoke website, it looks like the following Heat 1: Tedham, Payne, Mogridge 5-1 Heat 2: Mogridge, Holt, Ward, Wallace 1-5 6-6 Heat 3: Payne, Holt, Tedham 4-2 10-8 Heat 4: Ward, Mogridge, Wallace 4-2 14-10 Heat 5: Payne, Mogridge, Holt, Ward 3-3 17-13 Heat 6: Tedham, Holt, Wallace 4-2 21-15 No idea on times though, sorry! EDIT: Report is at the following link if you want to check my workings http://stokepotters.co/news.php?extend.540

Not the best meeting, not helped by a patchy track and riders who had never graced the...unique...Buxton track. For Buxton, Williamson was the stand out. Atkin and Wright went unbeaten, but you wouldn't have expected it from Williamson. Govier looked the worst of Buxton's three pointers, and Blacklock had machinery problems. For the Yanks and guests, most of them looked off the pace unfortunately. Hayden Sims was the best of the bunch who finished the meeting, although I am sure that Scopellite would have scored well had he not had his crash. As for the honorary yanks, Branford looked quick but couldn't gate, Starke looked pretty good, and Hazelden was consistent. I suppose the only thing to say about the meeting is that I hope that Rocco gets well soon. Was a horrible looking crash. Also, have the rules been changed, or were we just ignoring them for this meeting? I always thought that heat 15 had to be 2 from your top 3 scorers, or top 3 averages. Blacklock was neither, so I can only assume we were ignoring the rules.

Widman isn't riding for you, you have your own team Line Up's are as follows (According to the stoke site) Stoke Smart, Reade, Widman, Priest, Hughes, Tedham, Jones Buxton Wright, Govier, Blacklock, Mckinna, Atkin, Woolley, Williamson I expect Stoke to win by about 10.