ouch

Can’t risk it. The last time we were at Owlerton in the play offs we lost a rider to injury and being us you wouldn’t bet against it happening again.

The changes to both teams brings the averages a lot closer together so it should make things interesting for the neutral. Hopefully the incredibly strong Aces can keep it close at Owlerton and don’t suffer a 22 point mauling for a second time this season. Running with 3 reserves in a play off final is not ideal but those are the breaks I guess.

Er, we couldn’t keep out original date of the 12th as it was taken from us and given to Sheffield for a home meeting against….. Belle Vue. Are you John Campbell by any chance?

Once again, what a shame for the sport and again it’s Poole. While they happily clock up another trophy, it’s done with little regard to the sport as a whole and how it looks to fans and the wider world. I’ve warned about this guy many times before and the collapse of the sport during his presence has no doubt been hastened. Old time fans, which have made up the vast majority of our fan base have old school morals and values, by and large. They do not like cheating to determine a sporting outcome and more and more have turned their back on the sport over the last quarter of a century. These fans don’t get replaced or in no way near enough numbers to compensate. Scunthorpe fans will have a feeling sometime going forward where they will think (as a sporting contest), what’s the point. Add this to a bad weather day or missing team member and the seeds are planted for them not to attend. Not good. For most teams a trophy is the cherry on top of a great year, for Ford it is a must. Whether it’s what he promises sponsors or contributes to his own self worth, winning is a must and things rarely get in his way. Speedway is now so small a sport that a man of his means is more than capable of pulling the necessary strings for success. His cheating is well documented and this is just the most recent. Fans just shrug their shoulders and say, it’s just Poole.

Once again, what a shame for the sport and again it’s Poole. While they happily clock up another trophy, it’s done with little regard to the sport as a whole and how it looks to fans and the wider world. I’ve warned about this guy many times before and the collapse of the sport during his presence has no doubt been hastened. Old time fans, which have made up the vast majority of our fan base have old school morals and values, by and large. They do not like cheating to determine a sporting outcome and more and more have turned their back on the sport over the last quarter of a century. These fans don’t get replaced or in no way near enough numbers to compensate. Scunthorpe fans will have a feeling sometime going forward where they will think (as a sporting contest), what’s the point. Add this to a bad weather day or missing team member and the seeds are planted for them not to attend. Not good. For most teams a trophy is the cherry on top of a great year, for Ford it is a must. Whether it’s what he promises sponsors or contributes to his own self worth, winning is a must and things rarely get in his way. Speedway is now so small a sport that a man of his means is more than capable of pulling the necessary strings for success. His cheating is well documented and this is just the most recent. Fans just shrug their shoulders and say, it’s just Poole.

We wouldn’t want a situation where a club develops talent by running a junior team and promotes riders from the junior to senior team and then seem to gain some kind of benefit. Your idea of having teams that don’t lift a finger for youth are given the benefit of an extra point to spend on foreign journeymen elsewhere in the team is novel. You need to run this past your owner, I’m sure he will provide an interesting response.

I’m glad Robert won though it does lessen our record a bit. Now only 6 out of the last 12 British born world champions won gold whilst an Ace.

Nobody would pick a forty year old ex Ipswich rider on a 7 point something average thinking he would improve it by nearly a point and a half - would they?

Richard made a point about the tribal nature of the Polish fans and it was something to work on over here. He’s also touch on the fact social media should be improved, both frequency and content. I know how he feels when dealing with the BSPL cartel as I get the very same with the many cartelesq members on here. We will push on though.

One thing I noticed with this photo is the lack of club colours worn by the fans. Are Belle Vue out of date sporting the various merchandising options available from the club shop? Are the days of the anorak and scarf done after nearly 100 years. I’ve never attended without my club colours and tbh quite like how we all present as a solid unit behind the lads. A tip for the witches social media team going forward is to have a photo including the riders and with some fans on their feet applauding and supporting their team to create an atmosphere within the picture. I do get that you have to get the right camera angle to present a fuller stand rather than straight on with a load of empty seats in view.

The Colts will return IF we have a developmental league. I’ve seen Colts at 6 & 7 literally wobbling at the beginning of the season but by the end they are a lot more proficient. What we can’t have and was the reason for our withdrawal this year was a situation where a junior team had a high average age than The Aces. Granted we have been addressing the average age of our squad for a number of years and it looks to be another thing Richard Coleman wants to emulate. The fact the team with the higher age, prefixes its team with the word young adds insult to injury. I have though enjoyed the junior events we have put on with over 30 heats run efficiently on sunny Sundays but I do prefer the team events. Note. This is even in a season where The Aces replaced a 27 year old (due to the rules) with 37 year old.

Clubs often don’t get the support to finance top flight racing. Only one club has maintained the level required to stay in the top league. Even Ipswich have had to drop, like 1989 or more recently in 2011, when support would only cover second division meetings. Those times though pale into insignificance when compared to 1962 when support couldn’t cover any speedway and the witches shut down completely. Sad times with the only silver lining being Peter Craven’s Ace world championship win. I’m sure Ipswich wouldn’t have wanted a barrage of criticism during their too often times of struggle so be a little more mindful when having a pop at others please.

He’s had plenty of those over the last few months. Losing two big cartel pals in Louis & Bates only to be replaced by Lyons & Lemon massively diluted the cartels power and left the door open for effective change. There’s still a stifling presence which was hinted at by Richard and his capital raising comment. Mark’s involvement in getting a new track in Northampton up and running was a big plus and the ITV televised meeting from Belle Vue needs to be rolled out at other tracks. If Richard can help us shake off those shackles then there is hope.

Terrific meeting with race after race to keep you well entertained. It was one in the eye for those that (continue) to down-sell our wonderful sport. Even when the result was sorted, riders still rode to the edge and offered fabulous entertainment. Speedway is not just about ticking the heats off and gaining a result before moving onto the next. It’s that 60 second adrenaline fuelled burst of entertainment, or it should be. Another of Richard’s remarks on his recent podcast appearance that I liked was the one about improving the racing rather than prep the track for the home team. A thinly veiled dig at his own fan base following their “let’s make it knarly” comment last season. He’s not bothered about whose feathers he ruffles with his make the track for the best racing comment. It was great to see Tom shake off his witches blues with a fine display rewarded with a heat 15 nomination. The Tom of old is still in there it’s just finding the right surroundings to nurture it. I’m looking forward to coming up against a Coleman inspired team next season and hope last year wasn’t the one off most fans expected.

I hope the lads aren’t reading this. They’d be buoyed up by the 13 page Ipswich 2027 thread running from August onwards. Once a witch always a witch. 😡 Ipswich fans really are the best. Re the much debated sackings, I think Richard will follow another clubs method and ditch the hire & fire mentality of old. Feeding the declarations into AI or cherry picking a now headline making star again is such a cold way of assembling a side. Danny, Tobi & Tom are now all Ipswich legends and will be retained and Edwards will come in on a 3. Add in Jason (Ipswich legend, but don’t let him fall back again after a stellar season as an Ace) plus Kasper (7.50) and you’re hitting the rumoured 40 point mark.