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Cook was there for anyone to sign, maybe if they asked. So good on Glasgow for showing the ambition to try and win, it's better than rr and guests for half a season or more.

NOTHING NEEDS TO BE DONE just a few riders need to understand one of the fundamental.principles of the sport from down the years. Be at the tapes and be 100% ready to race when the 2 minutes expires. And you will NOT be excluded. Bugger about as it expires and you cannot have that certainty. It's your risk.

Doesn’t bother me wether we are the best or not The sport as a whole is what matters not just one club. Ive always said Matt Ford has been good for Poole as a business but he certainly isn’t good for the sport as a whole and it has to be said that some of Pooles title wins have had controversy about them. So no I would rather have my club run the way it is right now and keep the sport running

Genuine question not a criticism, why is Poole the best destination for Speedway? Competition from 2 Premiership football clubs and lots of other competition in the area for people's disposable income as befitting a holiday area but still you see comments on here like "we've got football and bangers but there's nothing else to do in Poole but go to speedway". I'm also lost by Bridport? That's 40 miles away! If it's so easy to promote in a perceived affluent seaside area then what happened to Weymouth & Eastbourne who don't have any competition from football. I haven't got my head up Matt Ford's arse and the last time I went to Wimborne Road for speedway was to watch the Buccaneers but he promotes Poole speedway tirelessly and keeps the profile of the club high and in the public eye. All over Poole and Bournemouth there are adverts for the speedway, sponsored roundabouts, sign's along the seafront etc. which can't come cheap and his professional approach has been more key to Poole's success than the location in my opinion. I'm genuinely interested to know why people think Poole is an easy place to promote Speedway.

Cookie can't win (well actually he can). on other threads he is slagged of for not being good enough for the Grand prix and he should forget having any further ambitions of being a Grand prix rider. Hes even slagged of for not being a real number one in the premiership. But now even though the rules allow it and there's little difference between the top tier and the Championship and with the vast majority of other riders doubling up/down we get a sarcastic comment worthy of an Edinburgh fan or The Scotsman

There's a bar and a coffee kiosk and some bogs. Oh and the burger places do liquid too.

This has been discussed many times, Mr Ford has been excellent for Poole but along with a weak governing body and rule book his time in speedway has been pretty disastrous for the sport in the UK as a whole and the rule bending has contributed to crowds falling along with other factors. He would not be missed by many people.

thats good news.....praying the weather forecast isn't as bad as met office looks for tomorrow we really need tomorrow nights meeting on for these boys they have worked so hard to get us where we are be an absolute sin to fall short when we are nearly there , come on lady luck get the rain moving on eastwards !!

This is a great opportunity for speedway to draw on existing fans from Lakeside AND from Rye House - PLUS we hope, new ( or returning) people interested in speedway racing per se and not only those with club loyalties. Fingers crossed.

Only one more nail to go!!

How long has he been planning his wedding for?

I heard rumours this was coming and decided to make a return to forum after confirmation came elsewhere. As an ex-Coventry fan I would like to offer my commiserations to some of the Poole supporters on here. If Ford goes it will be a big loss to Poole but you Poole fans will know that he will have the left the sport in a much better position than when he became involved in it! His service to the well being of the sport and its fair and honest running is second to none (and none is pretty bad). Oh, and if the stadium is unfortunately converted to student flats or a Wetherspoons I suggest a certain Mr Shovlar could come up with a good name for the new facility. Must go and get a tissue to wipe my tears away!

I agree about all the boring nothing going on during the evening, it's part of many issues speedway has. First and foremost what mustn't happen is current fans that go week in week put off going. I've gone nearly every week for 40 years...up until recently...the last couple of seasons has seen me go to half a dozen. They need to keep the likes of me going an find new fans.

OI - leave me out of it. Never had a bad word to say about cookie. He's an inspiration to his teams.

But it's only current fans that go and watch....no one else really cares or even knows what speedway is.

The alleged “one line” OTA produced some superb racing again tonight. At the half way point it looked like the meeting could have gone either way. Once again, Craig Cook looked very fast and blasted to a victory over Jason Doyle in heat 6. Its a very long time since Doyle has been beaten by the length of a straight. Cook looked on fire. Interestingly after passing Holder in heat 4; Cook waved sarcastically at The Aussie on the way back to the pits as Holder went to shake his hand Another spectacular first bend pile up, similar to one which occurred a few weeks back, this time involving BWD and Doyle sent Rebels fans hearts in their mouths as both riders were sent hurtling into the air fence. Incredibly, both men eventually got to their feet and walked back to the pits. Doyle looking decidedly dejected with life and BWD resembling a chimney sweep rather than a speedway rider, his face blackened with shale. The Rebels seemed to raise their game in the face of adversity and began to increase their fragile lead. Cook’s luck ran out after his first bike suffered the gremlins in the pits, so he jumped on his second bike, which then failed at the start. He was without a functionable bike for heat 15. Jack Holder, once again in irresistible form around the Somerset track, literally ‘smoked’ heat 11. His exhaust appeared to be emitting more and more smoke as the laps went on. Rebels fans were left praying that he would complete the four laps as thick smoke poured from his machine. A faulty lead which leaked oil onto his exhaust proved to be the problem and prevented the Aussie taking part in heat 15. Heat 15 proved to be another cracking race with the revitalised Jake Allen producing a scorching last to first victory. The young Aussie, using both outside and inside lines to pass, hunted down Max Fricke, before executing a perfect inside pass. His joyous punching of the air salute as he crossed the line, showed how much his victory meant to him. On this performance, the Rebels look in terrific shape for the second leg at Bellevue, but also the up coming play off 1st leg against Poole. “We will smash em” roared a pumped up Garry May in the after match interview, where he confirmed that Jason Doyle will be fit for that match.

Well, I had a great time at the IL Challenege tonight so many thanks to all those who helped make it so: LaurenceRogers for a super friendly welcome in the pits, uk_martin for a great speedway chat throughout the meeting, and to kitten2502 for coming over to say hi as well! It was lovely to meet you guys, and meeting Richard Greer was a blast. And apologies if I met anyone else but didn't connect the face to your profile here! I really enjoyed some very decent racing in the second half of the meeting, and Ben Barker was as fun to watch as you guys predicted. (I'm very pleased to have caught Ben's excellent 3rd-to-1st in heat 9 on camera.). Looking forward to my further visits at Perry Barr!

If they use 6 man format next year I wont be at all happy, we tried this idea over a whole season a few years back in the elite league . I didn't like it then and unless they use a totally different format then I wont be wasting my money on something I found pretty boring , there will be 3 riders classed as heat leaders and 3 classed as 2nd strings with no reserves . Chapman and Godfrey can think again , taking away the traditional way of 7 rider teams which has been a constitution for 50 years plus is not the answer .

The word is ‘whether’. If 10 clubs had 10 Fords I believe the sport could be in a much better place. Yes he has created controversy, who hasn’t in this game? Appears he’s had enough. Love or loathe, Poole have set the standard for several years. If they go it will be much worse than it is now. In my opinion.

Well if Peterborough can have a full facility because Lambert has a wedding I cant see what justification there could be to deny Worky if Klindt is missing even if its just to wash his beard!

I'm not so sure it is a profitable business - even for Poole. The number of tracks are ever reducing, crowds are dropping across the country and the league continues to be diluted so because it has been profitable in the past does not mean that it will be profitable in the future. As has been said many times before, it is all well and good putting your club first but if you do not look at the bigger picture you end up being the best team in a league of dwindling numbers until you are the only team left - won't be profitable then. Picking up on a previous post where many have said that Matt is a great promoter and it would be great if they were all like him - I am pretty sure the vast majority of them would be Poole supporters because I haven't heard many others saying this.

I don't know, I quite enjoyed it. In any case, I think the main problem in attracting/keeping fans is not the format of the actual heats but the experience of the evening - at most tracks nothing to keep you or your family entertained before/between or after racing, or dry and warm. There's usually plenty of space - make use of it. Format only matters to those who are already fans.

Imo...speedway is dying because 'other' sports are so much more popular....and speedway can't compete with the competition for 'new blood' through the turnstiles! Other sports such as F1/Football/Cricket/Rugby have all progressed to a totally new level and League speedway, has gone backwards. I'm only a fan/follower because I've been brought up on the sport and it's in my blood.....none of the Premiership matches (our 'so called' TOP division) that I've seen on BT this season have floated my boat !? I don''t know the answers....but the speedway product is really poor ! (p.s with the exception of Heat 13 at BV v Somerset last week? Max Fricke was brilliant!) need more races like that !

Hard to disagree with that Shov, Ford has without doubt been the best promoter of the last 20 years as trophys and crowds show. I just think he has lost a bit of interest now the top dogs arent riding here anymore , he loved having world champs and top riders at Poole and that doesnt happen anymore. The continued watering down of the league as well. if I was Ford and was able to walk away with a profit and sell the club on, I would definately do so.

I think it's a poor mentality to be honest to say that it will no longer be the same club after this season... Everything will likely remain the same. The same announcer and music style, the majority of the same people on the track staff team, same people running pits and the same promotion and (hopefully) the same Hammers name. The only thing that is different is the venue in my eyes. It's not unusual across all sports for teams to have to change venues at some point in their history and I don't recall fans of those clubs ever claiming that it isn't their team! And it is proven to have worked in speedway too, just take a look at the likes of Coventry and Cradley having to partner up with other facilities. They are both carrying on strongly as far as i'm aware. Here is a quick story about a local Ice hockey team that has just come out of the other side of what we are about to enter... In 2013 the Romford Raiders lost their long time home ice rink in the center of Romford. A new rink was promised by the council to be built as a replacement elsewhere in the town, however, there was uncertainty about this among the fans. From the next season, the Romford Raiders moved about 30 minutes away from Romford to share a rink with another team on a temporary basis, and changed the name to the London Raiders to suit the change. Although many fans did not follow the team in this change. A small hardcore group of supporters continued to travel and support the team, a team that still maintained it's identity throughout its temporary stay. It wasn't an easy road, the club almost folded and it took the best part of 5 years, but back in February the team moved back to Romford in a brand new facility in the Heart of the town. Now, heading into the new season the club are set for a fantastic future in a very supportive new home. This was not just achieved by hope and the council coming through on their promises but was achieved by the loyal fans, who despite not having a proper 'Home' nor having the same name, never gave up on the club despite many, many low points. All i'm saying is that I have witnessed first hand that these situations don't necessarily mean the end, and a bright future awaits on the other end of a rocky road. We need to all stick with the team we love and support and help them survive. Whilst proving that there is a market for the sport in a new facility somewhere in the area that we can soon call home. Keep the faith, and let's smash the rest of this season and walk away as treble champions!!! COYH