westhamboy66

This team has made me think about bothering. Quite how we have allowed the best bunch of riders we have had in years disintegrate into this is beggars belief. I thought the pairs was going to be a low point but for me the only thing of real interest is how well BWD does.

Couldn't agree more. Kyle looked almost back to his best but consistency was never his strong point. Considering Dan Greenwood hasn't turned out as hoped he would surely be worth a punt

Thats true but nearly's and not quite's can't replicate what Leicester and Ipswich did. The point that i was making is how speedway has changed (not for the better) and how it is very unlikely that a club will again win a League Title without the use of guests which is pretty sad and says an awful lot about the current state of speedway

Cant remember a season like this. For me the reason its so frustrating is because in years gone by our problems occur solely due to Injuries. This year we have a contacted rider who we don't always have first claim for and riders who are required to ride in International events etc. Seems this is the way Speedway is going. Guest more common than ever, a far cry from the BL side that Leicester put out that won the League with the same seven riders riding every match in the early seventies. Seem to remember Ipswich doing the same. Will never happen again more's the pity

Funny how the PL finds riders out. They look great in the NL, perform well in the so called EL but when it comes to mixing it with decent riders the PL sorts out the wheat from the chaff. Dan Greenwood looks further away from the PL than Ben Morley and thats saying something. With someone like Paul Starke who is ten times the rider than when we had him if someone like him was partnering Kasper then i doubt we would continually get turned over. The season so far is so disjointed as far as the team is concerned. Starting with the farce that is Kennett being first choice of Lakeside when fixtures clash with ours is beyond comprehension given that we gave up ownership of Garrity to secure Kennett. The two Danish boys being absent for other commitments is beginning to show a real weakness. I'll give Robin the benefit of the doubt for the time being,he's good to watch and pretty decent around the big circuits and perhaps maybe the worry and pressure of his newborn son has taken its toll but he needs to get up towards a seven point average otherwise he is no good to us. Again last night Anders Mellgren was poor, his points came from beating far inferior riders but never really troubled the likes of Pijper which is a concern. Scunthorpe were by far the better team and had they used Wilkinson in the last race rather than Autey who looked average they might just have won given Edwards run of dodgy heat 15 results. Edward quite superb last night and we have him to thank for a point. If we have our full team out then we will cause trouble for most sides but how often is that going to happen. All in all it was a very good meeting but to drop points against a Scunthorpe team at home is very poor result. looks like another dud of a season already dropping five points at home. Perhaps the most disappointing thing of the night was the programme notes of Silver Snr. He look another chance to knife his Son in the back over the Bank Holiday Monday Fiasco adding a little told you so comment. Seems i had him wrong all the time he cares more about his dwindling reputation than he does about the club. I never thought i would say it but i hope that he wanders off to pastures new at the end of the season and leaves the club to someone who seems far more committed to the cause. Makes me laugh on here comments about how good the track was with Silver watering right up tip 630. Had there been one speck of dust then i reckon there would have been a lynching. I wonder when the penny will drop about the connection between 2PM starts and dust

Yes but doesn't explain his poor form. Only decent show he made was his first meeting at peterborough. Since then he was pretty poor and his one strength, his home form had disappeared. Nothing to do with the track as it is exactly the same as when he was banging in double figure scores. Strange one but an on form Bowen at reserve with Kasper would have made all the difference to recent results

What annoys me about Sunday is am i alone in believing that the Rye House track is simply not able to cope with anything near 30 heats of racing in an afternoon? Generally prior to heat 10 the track is down to its base, the blue or black groove appears and once that happens thats it. I have sat through five hours for a double header before now which is completely unacceptable. All the calls for water during the second meeting were daft as that simply turns the track into a skating rink. We had no speedway one saturday then a double header, it makes no sense, Bad enough being a Rye supporter to watch that debacle let alone come up from Eastbourne and not see the meeting you came for. Reading the interviews from the local paper is embarrassing with one camp blaming the other and they are Father and Son. Len's comments that he could have fixed it but no one asked him are disgraceful. So much damage has been done to Rye House speedway which also appears to be two clubs rather than one. I have supported Rye home and away since 1976 but i won't again bother to attend any further double headers. I think Tony Steele who was under a lot of pressure did a great job lets not forget how dangerous the dust became for the riders especially with so many falls and limited visibility for following riders and the ref. But before the gloating from Eastbourne starts lets never forget the Mr Dugard Snr got the track at a live sky meeting so wrong that it was a great embarrassment to him the club and Sky. So those in glass houses should have longer memories before they cast their stones

Personally i think Brendan is an ideal replacement for Luke Priest thought he did ok against Kent. No home advantage whatsoever last night. Considering Raiders spend most of their time race time on a completely bare track as part of a double header it must have come as a bit of shock to see more dirt than their would be for a normal PL meeting. Suppose it was done because of three meetings in three days with little scope for very much track work and poor weather forecast sunday. But at NL level simply too much grip coming out of bends two and especially four. So much so it was bordering on dangerous Good meeting for Kent though, Ben Morley obviously had something to prove but the real eye catcher was how well Danny Ayres has progressed, always looked raw but talented but was top quality last night. If he continues to improve he will surely be worth looking at for a PL reserve berth by the end of the season. Unexpected points dropped but God knows how many points were lost due to Raiders falling when in the points.

Kennett choked in heat fifteen? Lets be fair he is on loan from Rye House and is doubling up. Any self respecting side built to be serious contenders shouldn't be pinning their hopes on a PL rider especially one who rarely wins heat fifteen at PL level. Just congratulate the boy, pat him on the back for another decent performance and leave it at that without any sour grapes left over from his time at Brandon. Kennett would be in my team every time especially over Garrity who will never be a team man as Coventry will inevitably find out given time.

Was a pretty misleading Statement re Luke Bowen...Taking time out of the sport, could have been month or retiring. Not helpful really but perhaps they were giving time to Luke to make up his mind properly which is only fair given his service to the club. Perhaps we'll see him again but at National League level sometime. Not sure who would have been available anyway but glad to see we have someone signed up, Edward did remark at Peterborough how it was difficult to maintain a spirit in the team continually using so many guests and i think it did begin show.

Well Hancock and Crump, both adored for some reason by british supporters kicked British speedway while it was down but both got hero welcomes when they returned but an English boy, with English parents choses to earn a living abroad and all of a sudden he is questioned about whether on not he should be picked by GB...nonsense, he is our best rider by far, why wouldn't we pick him,

Probably a big defeat may well do Raiders at Mildenhall instead, could have done both with a little imagination from Peterborough

Couple of things about Kasper, If he has snapped a Ligament then at his age he would be daft to comeback without it first being repaired, equally those who think Kasper will return straight back to the good form he was showing are equally daft. As far as Luke is concerned if he's not coming back then replace him, why wait booking guests is so hit and miss i'd rather watch a rider like chess ell develop, may pay for the future if not can't be any worse than a hopeless guest like we had at Ipswich.

Cant recall a worst guest than Edberg, First three races i think he did a total of five laps fourth ride just managed to do four laps before he was lapped. I'd rather watch Luke Chessell gaining experience. RR for Boxall was simply a disaster,some great effort from Branford but having to cover for RR and his fellow reserve was simply too much. Like it or not the reserves need to be replaced full time, we can't wait forever or we will have our worst start to the PL for a very long time. We did make Ipswich look good and after seeing them i don't think its a forgone conclusion that they will do the business at Plymouth. I hope that Boxall doesn't ride for Lakeside tonight as that would be a real kick in the teeth.

Shame about Steve Boxall, a win for the witches but maybe not by the twenty odd most are expecting. Clearly the group will be decided at Plymouth and i can't see anything but all four points going to Ipswich. Still a chance for Rye as best second place team but i would be concerned more about a very dodgy start to the League season

What happens on track is the most important thing, Rap i do not believe is the answer (Nor is it favoured by a majority of younger people) and if someone believes that it is the saviour of British Speedway well it might as well be dead. Cricket seems to have done ok without using rap i was tempted to put a c before rap as that would be more accurate. No if we need a bit of music then Heavy Metal is alive and well and much more suited to a bike sport.

Such a shame about Simon Stead, Great on the eye and by a long way the best rider on show. Like everyone else i wish him well and hope to see him at Rye in the not too distant future. I know nothing about track prep but there clearly was a problem on all the bends. More of a concern for me is that Rye House have gone from having the safest fence in British Speedway when the catch fencing was in place to a downright dangerous air fence. It is completely unsupported and held in place by a series of what look like canvas belts. Don't care what anyone says the Rye House track has been made less safe by the introduction of the air fence,

Can't see anything but a pointless night for Sheffield, always pleased to see Simon Stead at Rye and after his awful crash crash last year i am very surprised that Andre has come back. Always does his best and certainly knows the fastest way around Rye and ever a threat from the back. Hope for some decent racing and a 20 point win.

Really feel for Luke and i'm sure when fit he will be straight back in. As far as Brendan is concerned he is welcomed with open arms as he is a very useful rider at this levee

No points for Plymouth tonight i think. Graverson and Sarjeant are two decent guests. Despite last weeks blip against a very good team we can still top the group if we can take a few points on our travels to Plymouth and Ipswich. Kasper is being missed big time, may well be wait and see but surely we must try and replace luke asap although it might not be that easy.

Same old thing, rode better for lakeside on friday than us on monday so probably saving his dog for Rye House. decided pretty early on to go to Somerset but Three guests...is it really worth it

Misleading angle from the photo the entrance to the pits is offset, that said the the new airfence isn't supported and is probably less effective than the previous catch fence especially when a rider goes under it...but thats progress i suppose

Mixed feelings after this On the Speedway front yes it was disappointing that the first two heats took an hour to complete but after that i felt it ran pretty smoothly. Eastbourne did well with their Harley's for the parade on Friday but to be fair to Craig Saul he his head and shoulders above the Eastbourne bloke whoever he is (Not Kevin Coombes). The Rye track looked pretty tricky for the first few races but the top five of Rye looked exceptional. The reserves will be better at the end of the season than they are now which surely is the whole point of the Raiders and the NL. For me they boys at the bottom end of the team are beyond any criticism. £10 to get in two quid cheaper for the opener than Eastbourne so fair play with an expensive Monday meeting coming up but that race card for £1 was a disgrace. The Eastbourne programme is better than many from the PL and EL and actually worth a read. The bit of cardboard should have been given away with admission at Rye. The downside for me was the car park and the state of the stadium after the rain. The potholes are beyond a joke especially when they are full of rain but the stadium at the moment doesn't encourage anyone to come back. The club say it will be mid summer before its finished but with the view of racing being severely restricted and wellies being a must to try and get on the back straight makes me wonder why they weren't less ambitious and did it bit by bit. Anyone coming to look at Speedway for the first time on Monday won't be impressed to be paying £20 to be watching from a refuse tip

Couldn't agree more. ten minutes between races is edging towards becoming the norm, the races called back for unsatisfactory starts without an immediate two minute warning is a constant wind up. I have been fortunate enough to watch speedway at Costa Mesa and San Bernadino and those meetings were run so professionally it was a joy to be there. Riders leaving the track were immediately followed onto the track by the next four. With kids races and some demo races too 30 heats finished quicker than it takes us to do 15. Yes i know our team racing can require riders to have two or three rides on the trot but there never seems any urgency in keeping the entertainment coming thick and fast. That's the best thing about the GP's that they have an allotted TV slot and they do their very best to keep to it. As for presentation. lets have a prompt start but it takes ten minutes prior to the start to bring riders out for an introductory lap in pairs. Always the most professional way for a meeting to start if done properly.

The two matches against Peterborough and Somerset were the best all round performances from a Rye House team for a good few years. With some real talent on display it all looks toward a decent season. Glad to see Luke walk away from his crash. Respect to Leigh Lanham who once again showed his love of our track. Josh was disappointing but this is once again a very good Somerset side and the real test for the Rockets will be at Somerset in a couple of weeks and i hope we don't have our usual embarrassment around their place.