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I agree, not an outstanding meeting by the standards of the NSS but still some decent racing. The crowd was better than I feared considering the United match and the very cold weather. It's one of those meetings that we never looked like losing. To me the highlight was to watch Dan Bewley showing that he is well on the way to being able to carry on where he left off after his serious injuries last season. He had three wins, good race times and didn't back out of a tight first bend. Lidsey showed enough in his first meeting at the NSS for us to see what a talent he is and Bradley Wilson Dean was impressive for Peterborough.

Harris was probably shipped out by bluster to strengthen one of his other clubs ipswich. No conflict of intrests though.

All going well in Buster's Pantherland then? As Blackadder said " Well it started badly, it tailed off a little in the middle & the less said about the end the better ... "

He might even have had a pay rise !

Same thoughts struck me... I have a fairly decent salary but not sure I could afford (or justify) £100+ per month for four Speedway meetings out of my disposable income, with the inevitable teenage requests for food and drink on top! There are so many other costs these days that have to come first.. Kids aged 13 - 16 are conspicuous by their absence at a great many tracks, maybe charging for them to get in also dissuades parents to attend who otherwise might go if their teenagers got in for free? Use free admission for their teenage kids as a 'loss leader', as let's be honest you don't see many teenagers now at many tracks so hardly a huge income loss... Do those who let teenagers in for free now I wonder see a reasonable amount of them there? Someone needs to replace the ageing demographic over the next ten years or so..

Who next Ben Hopwood? Don't get me wrong Phillips has had far more time at this level than many riders ever get and still shows no signs of making the step up but if a change is going to be made i would at least suggest a rider who could become a real asset but the ship has sailed on the majority like Jason Edwards etc. Luke Harris is a fair shout although also still a little too early. Would think the best opportunity is Jordan Jenkins as suggested and as a wild card i would say Danyon Hume would be a better option than Simon Lambert. However at present the diamonds issues are far bigger than who fills the number 7 jacket.

20 years ago there were many more clubs, league fixtures and at least 50% more regular paying supporters on the UK terraces, so I am not quite sure what the better shape is. Thinner? It isn't better quality racing, not from where I have been standing anyway. As for a Barry Hearne type figure, I can't think anyone would appear as there is no way to make promoting UK speedway profitable again. Is it Buster Chapman, when he increases his ownership to 8 - 10 clubs? Do you know, although I do not like his operating methods, he could be the saviour by cutting down costs and increasing the likelihood of semi-pro racing here if he did increase his holdings? No-one else is likely to do anything like that unless some 70 year old diehard fan wins £100 million on the Euro lottery and wants to blow it on wine, women ( or men ), song and speedway. Instead of doing something useful with it!

When the fixture mattered, in what was the biggest match of the Stars long history, we still succumbed to 4 consecutive 5-1 's and later trailed by 18 points . Now, in a match of little importance , and already 10 points adrift, this has to be the most uninspiring match possible... If you could think of reasons why this sport is in such low interest , this match highlights them all. I will be most surprised it the Pirates don't rattle up 60 points, at least....

I'd assume the licence that Horton held is no more which means one less hurdle to cross if we ever get a track to ride on.

After reading season preview in speedway star, Mr cammy knickers wants Tigger's to have more luck this year !! Think last year you were beat by a better team !! Now thinking Berwick side this year resembles that better team from last year, good luck bandits in Tigger land. By the way just over 1 week to cookies testimonial any riders known yet ? Got my h18tory tee shirt to wear next week !!

Andersen is done at the top level. He won’t win the big races when you need him. Solid 3rd heatleader these days. Tungate performed better than he will elsewhere as a number 1 given the track he was on tonight. I’d keep summers, let Barker go and get a proper number 1. Then becomes a much better team.

I think this is the best race I've seen for a while (I know it's off topic for this thread) Partly because it's a hell of a race, partly because it's a match winning race and mostly because Chris Holder finished at the back ...Oh, how I would love to live in Poland...

Weather is set fair for tomorrow. Both teams full strengths. Kings Lynn need to make up a ten point deficit from the first leg. Can they do it? Poole have their first meeting of the season and Holder, Busk-Jackobsen and Covatti need time to settle into their new track. Pirates could be vulnerable if Lynn fire on all cylinders. Will it happen? Will it hell. Poole easy winners.

First visit to Somerset since 2008 with Reading. Forgot how cold it can get there and a 30 minute delay to start proceedings after a lady needed medical help didn't help, but these things can't be helped. and to be fair, that kept the meeting going well once started. Some good racing without it ever being really great though Chris Harris heat 15 was sublime. Apart from Harris who will be a real force round the OTA, I was very impressed by Henry Atkins for the home side, very good potential that lad. Kurtz and Covatti also did well whilst the new German lad will definitely be an asset. Rory S was good, but expected that from him on a well prepared track in clear weather (rain and bumops who knows)! As I mentioned earlier Rowe was on the pace and with Atkins looking good, hopefully he'll be given a long run to prove himself without too much pressure. For the Brummies, Ashley Morris and Zach W both performed well and good to see they are continuing to develop. Ulrich showed some glimpses that he can still mix it with the top guys, Paco produced 2 good heat wins, so certainly doing his job at reserve. Shanes was competitive and brave. Kyle Newman flattered to deceive in the tough number 5 jacket whilst Tobias Thomsen was off the pace apart from heat 8. Crowd wasn't great, about 500 at a guess. Thought it might have been higher with nice day and kids off school. Not over impressed with the presentation, all a bit bland - don't do much to get crowd going or get kids involved. Reasonably priced Chicken Nuggets though :-) Enjoy evening overall.

I'm sure Poole will keep it close for the entertainment factor. Nobody really wants to see a one-sided meeting with little racing and loads of Poole 5-1's do they?

Money wasn't the issue with Chris Harris, that was the smokescreen for Ipswichs problems

When the individual qualifying times are known it might take forever for some riders to decide which riding number they prefer. They have trouble picking gates for heat one in a league match and very often have to consult with others before they can decide.

Everyone is welcome to their opinion. That is yours. You won't be missed on Saturday, that is mine.

Would you see Wright shepherd round Atkins for his first win and talking to youngsters in the pits. Doubt it tbh.

Likewise, especially at reserve. Cant think who would have tapes problems!!

Lasse seems to be having more mechanical gremlins tonight. R, R, 2, 0. Hope he gets them bottomed out sooner rather than later.

That's a very childish remark

Not me I'm afraid. Some might but I'm one of those strange fans who prefer to see some good racing rather than winning by 20 or 30 plus points. As a Coventry fan I got used to close results, last heat deciders or, heaven forbid, actually losing.

Over the last decade the Elite League/Premiership has significantly weakened the product on offer and as a consequence crowds have dwindled. Therefore, the evidence suggests that a "watered down" league will only hasten the demise. Three clubs have gone from last year. Of those three, Lakeside rode on Fridays and Workington rode on Saturdays. Therefore I am not sure weekend meetings are the panacea you think they are.

One question I have to ask after reading Dave Peet's comments on the Scorpions site “Leicester haven’t been in our league for a while, so some of the lads had not ridden it before, and we spent most of the meeting trying to get dialled in, while the track was a bit grippy early on. “In the end, it became a stepping stone for our league meeting here later in the season. Next year we come back, we’ll be dialled in.” Which guys haven't seen the track before? Auty and Garrity rode for them. Allen rode in top flight last year so will have been to Leicester. Coventry rode their NL fixtures there so Bailey and Kinsley will have rode for Mildenhall and List rode in the ben fund a couple of weeks back. Got to wonder if he does actually have a clue