Shadders

Still in two minds whether to go or not. Removal men take our furniture and possessions from Hoddesdon Monday morning, before we tidy up, hand the keys over and take the long trip up to the North East corner of England. We could take a detour to Wolverhampton, but that would mean getting back at around 2.30-3am. Heart vs head That's what I'm thinking

8-10 points, are you serious? Will be close to 20

Always enjoy my visits to the EWR. The only criticism would be the low viewing positions

Updates estimated a crowd of about 300. If anywhere near accurate that's shocking. Can't see them surviving on those sorts of figures. Shame

He wasn't on Sunday

Shouldn't you be directing that question to Gary Flint?

Proper fan. I salute you sir (or madam)

I know what you're getting at! I'll be popping along to a few Bandits home meetings (better than nothing... just!), proudly wearing my Rye House colours. Shame they couldn't produce a decent cap though. The only one available has BMR on it, no mention of Rye House, or Rockets. I understand the promotion are keen to promote their brand, but that's not for me. For now I'll be wearing my battered old faded blue & yellow Rye House Rockets cap. Come on BMR, give us a proper cap to complete my BMR Rye House Rockets wardrobe. Oh, by the way it's not black & yellow, it's black and gold 😉

Wasn't keen on the new colours, but they've grown on me over the last year. Black & silver/grey are my favourite colours which helps. Apart from injuries and riders deciding to pack up, team changes under the previous regime were as rare as a Kasper Lykke gate. Supporters taken for granted and who can forget the previous promoter basically telling anyone who didn't like the way he did things to p*ss off!

No doubt Ellis Perks was unfortunate to lose his place, Edward Kennett was a shock as he's been a fixture in the Rockets side for many years. I think many were surprised that the promotion/team manager made these changes. I certainly didn't see it coming. Speedway is probably unique in having a regular team & individual element. Supporters get attached to certain riders and there's always the family element amongst them. Can't think of another sport where the participants are so nomadic and ply their trade amongst multiple teams. I recall Somerset replacing a rider before the season had officially started a couple of years ago. Pretty sure Perks will find a new top flight club very quickly, replacing someone else who'll be looking for a new side. Not sure about Kennett though. Isn't he in full time work? Maybe a drop down to the Championship would suit him better.

Come on a bit since I last saw him, but Lawson apart, Berwick were dreadful.

Bloody hell, that was awful. What a waste of my time & money

Peter Karger (absolutely hopeless on a sub 1 point average) rounding Sam Masters on bend 2 and hanging on for the win was probably the highlight of last season for me

Way before my time Rob 😂

As from this weekend I'll be living 320 miles away from the only team I've supported since 1985. Unfortunately the closest away track will be Belle Vue, 200 miles away. Doesn't make me any less of a fan.

Can't argue with any of that.

Ahhh bugger. That's the day we move house

So after all the build up and hype they produced what sounds like a poor advert for top flight speedway. Pretty pleased I'm sunning myself on holiday and missed it. So, who's next on BT Sport and when?

Our last scheduled home meeting is on 28th August, so there will be minimal overlap between football & speedway.

I think they're still learning. I didn't share the pre season over optimism of some and the relative ease of the first meeting win against Wolves probably didn't help. I'm a little disappointed that we haven't been able to pick up more away points, but this is a tough league and we've had teams strengthen just before we've visited. Crowds look to have held up pretty well. The promotion seem receptive to any problems that have cropped up and have looked to rectify them. We've seen some seemingly odd team decisions during meetings, but unless you know the thinking behind them it's easy to team manage from the terraces. Still a lot that needs to be done. The stadium renovations need to be completed and I'm not sure what happened to the training track idea.

I only go to Cardiff for the social. Great chance to catch up with speedway buddies from all over the country. As for the event itself I can take it or leave it. I'd say ok is a measure of where we are so far. Of course an end of season push for the play offs is always a possibility, but with the team as it is I can't see us gaining enough away points to propel us up into the top four. Another one or two home defeats isn't out of the equation either. We've certainly not been disgraced so far.

I reckon Alan Rossiter has a rather smug grin on his boat tonight

I can't watch any sport as a neutral and enjoy it. As I tell everyone, I'm not a speedway fan, I'm a Rye House fan.

I don't share your sense of enjoyment seeing my team lose. I'd rather it was a poor meeting and come away with the points

Groundhog Day. Another point lost over the closing heats. From reports we got away lightly due to some BV machinery issues. Not sure what we're supposed to do now. A top four place looks unlikely. Do we just consolidate, or make a change or two for a late play off push? Gut instinct tells me the former. I'm not gonna knock individual riders as I wasn't there. Every other side has made changes, some even dropped riders that seemed to be doing ok. Professional speedway is a tough sport. Difficult decisions need to be made.