BobC

I think Leicester will win, but Poole will sneak a losing bonus point, perhaps 48-42.

1. Ben Morley 2.Josh Bailey 3.Kyle Bickley 4.Henry Atkins 5.Leon Flint 6.Drew Kemp 7.Jason Edwards

I understand that Poole will be using the rained off 70th Anniversary programmes for Friday, with an insert, of course!

I have seen most of the riders from both teams over the last few days. Already mentioned those at Sheffield. Went to Leicester v Somerset last night, should have been Wolves v Poole until it got put back.Difficult to judge on the notorious gate n go track. Doyle: usual self. Got done by Andersen (see footage on BSPA web page). After the race, he almost got t-boned by Newman.Slowing down on the inside, he headed for the pits without looking, rode straight across Kyle, who somehow took avoiding action. Careless move. Missed start in Ht13 and didnt chase for long. Allen, tidy start but faded. Wright solid as ever. Holder one good win, not a lot else. Lawson when he gated looked good, when he didnt, looked very poor. Jeppesen,nothing to speak of, tbh. Wilson-Dean, very aggressive couple of 1st turns, especially shoving Andersen out of the way.Not eay to do, but then faded. Dont underestimate this one! Former Pirates: Andersen was superb, looking really sharp. Newman rode steadily for his points. Unlucky to lose steel shoe as he was looking to split the Rebels pair in Ht12.

Simon Steads Last Lap at Sheffield Sunday. Brady looking really good, 2nd in Final.PK fourth.Encouraging. Very much gate n go. As track dried out, gating was essential. Vaculik showed his class when it mattered. Impressed with Brady, good use of elbows in one race! PK started slowly, but his last 3 rides he was certainly on it. Josh also did ok, with 7pts and 2 retirements.

Im at Sheffield.After 3 rides. Brady flying, 9 , Pk ok-ish 4 Josh 4 2 good one poor ride. Doyle got tangled at start, withdrew from 3rd ride, sore ankle,1pt. Looks like its between Brady, NKI, Howarth.

Still think the new club logo is awful. Its just a black blob on a white background on the race jacket. Horrible.

He has already stayed in the Poole area and knows which club he WANTS to ride for!

Looks like I spoke too soon! One day, just ONE day is all its taken.Grrr. Whatever the rights and wrongs of this, Id still rather have Holder than Kildemand any day of the week. Fed up and peed off good and proper before we even get started!!

Jury is out for me regarding Holder. Very busy start to the season with Poole Fri, Torun Sat, Sheffield Sun. Obviously it would have been Wolves Mon too! Dont think he will rock the boat too much as a testimonial is around the corner. Feel sure he would prefer it at Poole. I dont see him as being a real top line NO.1 anymore. Happy to be proved wrong though. Not overly bothered, as long as Poole do well. Happy to see all our riders chip in with some decent scores. Whatever unfolds, I hope everyone enjoys their speedway and there not any controversial moves later on!

Good luck to everyone for tonights meeting. With this weather, I have to say 'rather you than me!' I hope its a safe and steady start for both teams, although I would prefer a thumping great win for Belle Vue.

Poole: Re-Run Productions.

I managed to to get to the NSS 3 times last season. Meeting 1 was v Swindon in the KO Cup Semi Final. Fabulous meeting that had everything in atrocious conditions. Great racing.Anywhere else, I am convinced it would have been rained off. Meeting 2 was the following night, Colts v Eastbourne. After the night before I wasnt expecting anything special at all. Incredibly, it was again superb entertainment. Track was superbly prepared, passing in almost every race . Inside, outside, through the middle, the young lads could race confidently anywhere at any time,despite the changeable weather. Meeting 3 was a about a month later as the Colts won the NL title v Eastbourne. Once again tremendous racing. An absolute credit to NL racing.The NSS has a superb circuit. I managed to get to Poole 7 times last season. Well, to be honest, I think I saw more full blooded racing in any ONE of those NSS meetings than I saw in any at Poole. Riders were literally bouncing across the track and you could clearly see hestistation. Dont get me wrong, I am Poole through and through and have been since 1955.That wont change. I welcome the track being ripped up and hopefully will produce some better and safer racing. Only time will tell. Fingers crossed, eh?

In the Star article, they say 'its out of our control'. Please can someone explain what that is? Be open and simply tell us the truth.

Thats me and 3 others almost certainly not coming now. With 260 miles each way and at least 4.5 hours travelling time, an evening start isnt on for us. 6.30pm start, finish unlikely before 8.30pm will make that a very very long day. Besides, I have to be up at 4.30am for a 12 hour shift on Monday! This meeting needs a weekend daytime start.Better for everyone. Sorry, not at all happy with this decision.

Presumably the refs box will have to be moved as well then? Unless we go down the route of Wimbledon and Leicester (Blackbird Road) where the refs box wasnt in line with the tapes?

Ive heard that a one year deal is about to be signed.

Link to Speedway Portal interviews. http://www.poolepirates.co/news/2018-02-08-video-ref-social.html

Great that the track is being ripped up and relaid. Just strange that its happening now. Most tracks do it within a week or so after the final meeting of the season and let it bed in and settle over the next 6 months. I thought Linus acquitted himself very well indeed. Happy to chat, sign photos, and encouraged questions. Certainly comes across very well when interviewed. If he hits the ground running, I think Poole could be in for a very good season. Lost out in the quiz to Shovvys team when we had a dire final round. They got 24 while we only scored 9. Ended up losing by 7pts. Disaster! We had James Shanes in our team and I must admit, him and his sister are very knowledgeable. Very nice people too. Hope he has a good season. Good to see Starman make a fleeting appearance, although I didnt get to say hello. Also, very good to see and meet up with familiar faces. Havent been to a REF night for around 7 years. Excellent evening.

Extremely poor argument indeed. He was directly behind Bewley and on course for a 5-1 and a paid win anyway, before Dan fell.No difference there. Bailey was already behind him when his bike stopped.No difference there. Bickley was in his best form of the season at that meeting.He scored his first ever maximum (paid) that night and didnt rely on efs or falls to get it either! I agree with ArnieG, all 3 are talented lads. Time will tell of course, but money is on Bickley. Looking forward to watching him with his 2018 teams.

Yes and guests to start the season with too! Who has priority over Lawson, Somerset or Lakeside? Both have double headers on the same day. One way or another, guests already!

Chris Holder is back.......shocker that!

Susan, his wife contacted me earlier today with the news. In 2018, he would have been 50 years a Pirate. Still struggling to take the news in. A true Pirate legend.

To be honest, I am not happy looking at that line up. I only see improvement from Henry Atkins. To win in speedway, you need at least half of the team to put points on their starting averages. I cant see where thats coming from, sorry. Bottom end of the table for sure. That said, the team needed to be built within a strict budget.So for that, I am simply pleased that the sport continues here in Devon.

Looks like I will be a Comets fan in 2018! Big fan of Kyle. Huge step, but one he not only has to take, but will take in his stride. It will be tough, but, there is only one way to find out. Best of luck young man.