Aces51

Despite his relatively low score Bjerre was certainly trying on Monday. A fall when second and coming up against some determined performances from the Aces made him look worse than he was. There wasn't a race when he was just tootling round. Tonight will tell but there are no easy races for heat leaders these days.

Not this year we have picked up 12 points away from home, a lot more than anyone other than Coventry and Poole. Having said that I think King's Lynn are very strong at home, unbeaten so far and should win tonight. Hopefully, we'll get at least a point.

The current league position is that unless Belle Vue drop points at home Swindon have to pick up 13 points away from home to get 4th place and that assumes we don't pick up anymore points away and Swindon don't drop any at home. Not impossible but a tall order. I can understand Poole not wanting to face the Aces following our aggregate win over them earlier this year.

I'm fairly sure that Belle Vue offered him a team place this year but he wanted to go to King's Lynn. By the time they decided they didn't want him the Aces had completed their team. As for guest rides surely he has to show he is the best available at the time. Richie did have a poorer year lat year but it was nothing to do with signing for Belle Vue, he had a poor year at Ipswich as well. I have sympathy with his lack of track time point which is one of the issues the new stadium should help with next year.

But were they so rigorous? Wasn't this hearing a result of Coventry raising the issue with the SCB. Isn't it only Belle Vue they pursue of their own initiative?

I suspect the Swindon stadium is going to be a much bigger project than Newport was. Also, isn't this a greyhound stadium where speedway are going to be tenants, therefore there may not be the same influence or pressure to get it built in time. Hopefully, all will go well and next year we shall see two new EL stadiums.

An important match for both teams in deciding who potentially finishes 3rd in the league. The Stars have not yet lost at home and gained 8 points away so are currently +8. The Aces have dropped 5 points at home but picked up 12 away so are +7. A win for the Aces effectively puts them in a better position than the Stars. I think the Stars will do enough to win if Bjerre is back to form but the Aces should pick up a point and I wouldn't be totally surprised if they did manage a win.

Just added it to my Android tablet. Very impressed, much easier than searching YouTube I like the way the videos are categorised and I'm sure this will become a brilliant source as more material is added. Many thanks to those who had the idea and did the hard work to make this available.

I think you're talking crap.

According to another rumour Belle Vue asked the GRA if they could race on Wednesday but they refused. No idea if there is any truth in the rumour but seems doubtful to me as the GRA have never refused before. Problem with Wednesdays is that we can't get onto the track until after the greyhounds finish at about 6pm. It doesn't leave much time if there are problems with the track.

The Aces learned their lesson that action against Poole is pointless with the watering incident. Poole were the opposing team and it was Poole riders who brought the matter to the attention of the SCB. Effectively it was no different than Poole's actions in the Lakeside match, you could even argue Poole's actions were worse because they were premeditated whereas Belle Vue acted on the spur of the moment faced with having to race with a much weakened side. With Belle Vue, the SCB,quite rightly, acted immediately. Belle Vue were fined and lost league points. With Poole, the SCB did nothing until the outcry on here and social media forced their hand, they then promised action but did nothing.

Belle Vue have long said that Mondays are difficult both in terms of getting riders and because many fans go out at the weekend and traditionally Monday is a quiet day for the entertainment industry. The preferred race night will be Friday in the hope of attracting more children and also because it is regarded as the start of the weekend when people are more inclined to spend. Wednesday will be used for GP weekends and other FIM clashes.

I agree with EIAddio to a point. Even in the late sixties and seventies, when speedway was reportedly pulling in more than 300,000 people a week, the newspaper coverage didn't reflect it's popularity. However, the coverage was much greater than it is now. In those days national newspapers used to sponsor the world championship final and many of the big individual meetings. I can recall buying a number of popular national papers on the Sunday after the world final in 1962 and many had full page reports and in at least one paper it was the full back page spread. It depends how you define the modern era but certainly Belle Vue have had little recent success. In the last 25 years, one league title, one play off final and a KO Cup win. However, it is sad that some are ignorant of the importance of history. Just one example of many of the significance of history; I very much doubt we would be building the new stadium now if it wasn't for the place Belle Vue holds in the history of Manchester and the sport, they were major factors in persuading the Council to support the project. No club has a right to success but the Aces will now have the opportunity to replicate their previous triumphs with the programmes already planned to help British talent and the increased income from the new stadium.

Only if you don't understand it. .

Should be an Aces win. Kyle Howarth usually scores well at Kirkmanshulme Lane and Josh Auty should do well at reserve if he is fully recovered from his injuries. I'm just hoping that the weather isn't again the winner. The forecast isn't looking good but Belle Vue could certainly do without another rained off meeting.

I'm sure Cook will do his best. In his last match there for the Aces he scored 3 from 4 rides.

EL ADDIO - I think you will find I was just as critical last time despite the win and if memory serves we certainly did ask for that fixture to be rearranged.

EI ADDIO - Grajczonek was not in the team when the fixtures were published and who knows whether representations were made by the Aces to change the fixture. Over the years we have had problems with a number of clubs refusing to change dates. So far as not knowing that Fricke and Nielsen would be in the WU21 you miss the point. What is known is that those meetings are going to be held, that teams with U 21 riders may be affected and so to arrange fixtures for the 2 Friday night clubs so that either they race clubs who will not be affected, avoid those dates or, rearrange the date if a club has signed say more than one rider, since the original fixtures were published, who has qualified for an FIM event. As I said it may not always be possible to avoid every conflict but at the moment there are far too many farcical matches such as last night's. It is undoubtedly one of the main reasons why so many fans are becoming disenchanted.

Farcical. The fixture planner(s) must have known about the WU21 meeting. Those responsible should hang their head(s) in shame. It's not as if this is an isolated incident and such matches are a major reason why the sport and it's competitions are losing credibility. It's not as if it's a difficult problem to overcome. It may not be possible to avoid every fixture clash but they could certainly be vastly reduced.

I don't rule Kings Lynn out of the equation either. They are only +8 against Belle Vue's +7 and Swindon are currently -5.

Perhaps I should have said he is an unknown quantity so far as riding in the EL. Under the present format he will be very poor if he can only add 3-4 points a meeting. I am expecting him to achieve an average of at least 5 but but I think some expectations of Ward are unrealistic, after all his current average is 8.7,which is about 11 a meeting if he has 5 rides. Overall, that gives them about 16 points and their guests and Howarth have not been far short of that. I am not saying it is impossible for Swindon to make the play offs but it won't be easy for them to make up 12 points on Belle Vue and I think the Aces can still pick up more points away.

I think we'll still make 4th or even 3rd. Swindon have got to pick up at least 12 points on the road to equal us and that assumes they don't drop anymore at home and we don't gain anymore away. Otherwise Swindon have to rely on us dropping a lot of points at home. Their Czech signing is an unknown and to make them stronger he is going to have to pick decent up points away.

I'm sure there was something reported earlier this year about his problems with the Coventry management, maybe in the Star but I can't now remember when or where. In reality any such issues can be quickly resolved when either a club needs a rider or, a rider needs a club.

Phil Morris was the man. Got the best interests of young GB riders at heart, did well for Birmingham without the need to manipulate the rules and seems far more intelligent than the most recent occupants. However, the opportunity was lost when he moved on to bigger and better things.

If I recall correctly, no second string averaged less than 5 last year under the new format, so not difficult to achieve. Palm-Toft, who had a PL average of less than 5 in 2013 achieved 5.2 for Belle Vue last year. If the conversion rate is still 60% how about Richie Worrall. I haven't looked at the fixtures but wouldn't Swindon get priority as he is an asset of an EL club.