ouch

Yep. Madness. That's the kind of fallout you get when the powers that be want to stop the Aces in their tracks. When this idea was first mooted, Garrity & Worrall were the likely Aces pair. That was never going to be allowed but as I say it's a shame for the young lads that get caught in the middle. Expensive too.

I can see a hastily written change to the rules there to scupper our team plans again. It would have been better to throw a smoke screen down and say we've signed Zorro and Dryml as things would have stayed the same. As soon as the potential team was seen, the addition of ex mascot and local boy Garrity wasn't going to happen. It's shame that by backtracking to stop us and thereby losing the local initiative we will see lads up and down the country putting in extra time and mileage for "home" meetings. Great shame.

If you look at the club most affected, then you'll work out why the location based scenario has been dropped but the protected asset idea kept. Something's never change.

Just seen this result, what a disaster for Swindon to miss out on gate receipts of £80k-£100k for a play off final is devastating for the cash strapped club. Will it finish them off? When the sponsors that bailed them out sit round the table they will need answers as it could have been avoided. The promotion might say it was a gamble but would you take kindly with people gambling with your cash and are you likely to offer financial assistance again? I enjoyed my visits over the years, even using the infamous bogs! I also follow Buxton so I'm hoping to come down when they visit next year.

Would like to see Wolves through with careful use of the joker. 46-49 to Wolves.

It would be nice if the four joker points saw Poole into the final.

I always want the fourth placed team to win the play offs so come on Poole. Bitter sweet though, if Swindon miss out on the final and £80k worth of gate money it will more than likely finish them off.

From what I'm hearing about the major restructuring coming over the winter Ford could be in trouble as the prospect of working with him is a sticking point for some PL clubs. Towing the line is not something that comes naturally to him. Apparently the EL clubs have had enough as well.

It's a smashing little track with a feel good factor every time I go. A terrific antidote to EL speedway. My local track, so I hope it's packed out for this event. Great work from Deano and all involved.

I'm coming along to this one having not visited Wolves since the late 90's. It's all for a good cause and I need some light relief after Monday. I'll probably work down there then go along early and have a meal in the restaurant. Is it any good and do you need to book?

Got to feel sorry for Cook for falling for Barkers usual verbal abuse. I must say I wouldn't put up with it and if I got fined £300 for standing up for myself I might lose it, especially if I'd just finish riding a bike with no breaks at 70 mph, adrenaline rush and all. The Aces connection wouldn't have helped as I've seen riders argue with the ref on Sky and smash up track property (usually the 'phone) but not been ejected from the meeting. Was he wearing his Aces kevlars by chance?

Was he thrown out whilst still on the floor? The ref needs to realise Craig is representing Edinburgh and not Belle Vue. Getting sick of this.

I've thought about that. Would there been any benefit in putting waste oil in there or is it daft in this day and age?

I got the impression Chris held a narrow lead over his opponents as they kept shouting "you're a foot in front".

True. If you get the data on ex supporters then ask them why they don't come anymore, analyse the feedback and make changes accordingly.

I don't know why in the age of smartphones and the World Wide Web speedway doesn't have an effective CRM. We seem to have no knowledge of who our fans are both nationally and at club level. Data can be amassed in many ways be it an online competition or even someone with a clip board going round the fans on race night asking if they could update their system to allow them to send offers and updates. I think I'm right in saying there is no benefit to signing up to any of the official club websites. With this information you could target promotions to achieve their desired effect. When clubs offer bring a friend promotions or reduced admission deals these are more often than not used by the current fan base but if you had peoples identities and required proof then your promotions can be a lot more tailored and elaborate. It is not however just a case of amassing data it's what is done with it and that's limited only by the imagination. Tracks could share information when trying to attract away support maybe by reduced admission. My take on that is 100 paying £10 is better than 12 paying &16. Home fans might take umbrage that the guy in front gets in cheaper but if he wants it sign up and visit their track at a reduced cost next time. Meet the riders. View from the centre green. Have a meal. Be given souvenirs. Watch from the box. The list goes on. We all know there is a massive amount of ex supporters out there and if we can lure them back and keep them coming five or ten times a year with effective electronic marketing then that would go a long way in getting us back up to where we should be.

What is it with track prep these days. It seems more and more that things are going wrong - badly and it needs to be addressed across the board. We had the Belle Vue call off last year then the Aces were met with similar surfaces at Wolves and Coventry later that year. Coventry are regularly getting slated along with Poole but there seems to be issues everywhere and of course we had the Cardiff fiasco the other week. It all seems a bit ad hoc when perhaps the time has come to sit down and collectively sort it out. Is it the material? Is it the bikes? Is it the riders? Is it the weather? Is it the track staff?

The announcement that they intend to discuss the matter was made purely to placate fans who commented on here that one club gets fined and docked three points whilst another gets off scot free. I can even trump Reeve on his early calls by announcing that Poole will get off scot free.

Are they the two blokes in the box on The Muppet Show. Bert is my favourite.

I'm surprised at the statement, I wouldn't have bothered. The more they know it bugs us the more they will keep bashing us. There is nothing new here just a statement that in the latter half takes issue with the SCB's handling of the whole episode. The current promotion were naive to think they could pull this off like so many before (and after) them, and receive a nod and a wink whilst its brushed under the carpet. The fact they were all nattering with glee between themselves and to the press about what they were going to do to the Aces now they finally had something after all these years just confirms that Belle Vue bashing is alive and well. Rise above it and move on, don't give them the oxygen of publicity.

Was this yet another B.S. press release by Lakeside. Thursday May 23, 2013 LAKESIDE newcomer Sebastian Ulamek’s first appearance for the club has been brought forward to the Hammers’ home clash with Coventry on Friday. And the Purfleet side have also handed a team place to 17-year-old Adam Ellis, with Kim Nilsson and Robert Mear making way – although co-promoter Jon Cook has stressed they remain in the club’s plans for the future. Cook said: “Seb is very keen to get started, as are we, and as he was travelling in this week anyway it seemed silly not to get him started straight away. “Having looked at our options we really felt that the chance for our fans to see Adam in action was too good to miss. Whether it proves a brief cameo or for the rest of the season will depend on how he handles the step up but he is mad keen to give it a go and we are more than happy to fast-track him.”

Never thought of it like that. Even a normal match can be judged the same as you can "win" nine races 4-2 and lose six 1-5 and still lose the match even with more heat wins. Then you have the GP, Loram never won a round but became World Champ. There's more to this than I first thought and its making my head hurt now so I'm just going to leave it and enjoy the Bank Holiday.

I'm not a sports fan as such so anymore information you have on this that I can throw back at the lads at work when they take the p out of my sport would help. Ta.

Not read all this so sorry if the obvious has already been stated. It's a money saving thing. Before a top liner came out giving the fans a chance to see him in action again, even if it was a mismatch of a race. The problem was he needed paying start and points money. The new rule does fudge things a bit as I think we are the only sport now where percentage wise you can amass more points than their opponents but still be on the loosing side.

Belle Vue bashing - 50 years and still going strong. Twas always thus, and always thus will be." Anybody who thinks this will send a message to other clubs is deluded. They have and will continue to do as they please, if it can be at our expense all the better. RIP 1974 - 2013 Goodbye