SCOTLAND1314

Well done to Max Fricke tonight.

Cookie is one of those riders that doesn't come along too often, and it has been a joy to watch his progress. I must admit to being a fan from the first time I saw him race when Workington arrived at The Dale. On one of those visits I recall him leading The Fish around the Dale for over 3 laps... no mean feat at the time. He's worked so hard off the track on fitness, bike set up etc. and thoroughly deserves any personal rewards he gets from that dedication. A side of his character that may not be obvious to all is the help he offers team mates with numerous Edinburgh riders benefitting from his and his crew's help throughout the seasons. Will this be his last season at the Dale, well who knows. If it is the Edinburgh promotion will have to pull another incredible signing (or two) out of the bag to replace him. That said they've done it before.. not least with Cookie himself... regarded at the time as a huge gamble by some. With the above in mind I'll be enjoying his races whilst he's still wearing the blue and gold.... 'mon the Cookie

Well I would imagine the thing on most people's lips leaving the stadium tonight would have been 'what if'... 'what if the Danish reserves had ridden for Glasgow tonight' The Tigers got off to a decent start by taking the chequered flag 4 times in the first 5 heats but still trailed 16-14, therein lay the problem for the away men.. heat advantages were thin on the ground (2 all night and one of those because of a double points score for Pijper). The Monarchs appeared less sharp from the tapes tonight than at any point this season so far, with Cookie in particular not anywhere near his devastating best from the tapes.... however he proved to be suitably devastating when passing his opponents (with the exception of heat 1). Heat 10 Cookie pass of Rusty Heat 13 Cookie with a belter of a pass on a flying Wolbert (Kevin giving Cookie room to race down the back straight). But the race of the night heat 15 was a beauty with Cookie coming from nigh on last place to get by Wolbert then his team mate Sedgy and then Pijper with some wonderful cornering. For the home men most were of the solid scoring variety with stand outs Cookie, Sedgy and for my money Aaron with a solid looking paid 7 and his first paid win, great to see. For the away team, Wolbert started like a train and looked unbeatable until meeting Cookie again. Pijper more like what he is capable of around the Dale, only beaten (3 times) by Cookie all night. Decent meeting that got better as the meeting went on watched by a healthy looking crowd. If Glasgow ride like that on Sunday I'd be surprised to see the Monarchs making it 8 out of 8 wins.

Blue skies and golden sunshine from what I can see...

Blue skies and golden sunshine.... in West Lothian That is all.

Well with the weather set fair for tomorrow here's hoping a big crowd turns up for this fixture. The Monarchs are in fine form and the Tigers have yet to find their feet this season .... but this is speedway and stranger things have happened..

To be honest I'm not sure... I think confusion reigns... there is a school of thought that says the riders that rode early season LC matches in March should have had re-calculated rolling averages.. based on however many matches they're calculated on these days (24/38/...) Speedway you've got to love it...

Like yer man said I think they were brought in this year. I think I read it in the Star somewhere....

I think League Cup meetings count this year for averages...

Incredible performance from Edinburgh last night. Very difficult to single one rider out for praise but for me Sam Masters put in a tremendous performance. Some of his first turns were devastating and his team riding was a joy to watch.

Very enjoyable meeting today. Some really good racing and some magnificent passing and first turn cutbacks. Any truth in the rumour that Glasgow are changing their name to the Glasgow Whales? Because they're often humped. :-)

Firstly hats off to both teams for a good night's entertainment especially given that they weren't paid points money. Secondly, really good to see so many Glasgow fans through making it a big crowd, probably amongst the biggest for sometime. Both teams will take positives and negatives from this fixture. Only one rider will take away 5 positives all of which are being unbeaten by an opposition rider, even when headed by a fast travelling Rusty in heat 6. The Aussie's 20/30 yard lead counted for little as Cookie seemingly effortlessly caught and passed the Tiger. As an aside it was good to see all riders getting their full allocation of rides (how it should be in my humble opinion). As for the cold, what cold it was a balmy 5 degress centigrade positively Bermudic at this time of year. Roll on Sunday.

It's been really pleasing over the past week or so to see how well the Monarchs Aussie Trio performed throughout the Oz Series. With Sedgy starting the season at reserve for the Monarchs this could well be a bit of a bonus for the Blue & Gold for the first few weeks of the season. Sam and Max are looking like they could well be pretty solid scorers come the start of the season as well. I am really looking forward to seeing how these young Aussies progress throughout the season.

Yes I would have thought it sensible to have two potentially strong reserves (assuming Thomsen is the other) so that if the young French chap doesn't get off to a flying start then he could slip to reserve and there would a least be half a chance that Thomsen or Ringwood could slot into the team with some confidence under their belt. As you say it also seems sensible that Glasgow employ as many of their assets as possible. After a bit of a stuttering start last year it would be good to see Glasgow improving their asset base.

Sounds like the answer to my question was 'no'. It is a pity that PC didn't offer up alternatives to the rules he doesn't like. Interestingly he is critical of the play offs and yet indicates that they are a success. Personally I like the concept of the play offs as they help keep interest in the season for many clubs. Likewise the match result scoring is a positive for the sport imo. I don't know what the actual stats are but there can be fewer sports that an away win is harder to come by than speedway. Therefore to reward teams keeping it close is a major positive in my book. The joker/tactical rule also helps keep meetings 'alive'. Some of these rules have probably contributed to one of the most exciting finishes to any season i.e. Peterborough v Reading as well as keeping many more meetings interesting. As for the movement at the start comment I would loathe to think that speedway goes back to riders moving all over the place at the start. Some of the old footage of riders pushing the tapes is just ... amateurish imo. Speedway imo has a big task on its hands to make it more popular and personally I don't think the rules that have been mentioned have made too much difference either way. It would have been nice to hear a positive comment or two coming from the old stars. For example the Edinburgh promotion made some interesting and popular changes to the way they run their Friday night entertainment and the public voted with their feet and crowds were up on the season before (maybe even seasons before). It is the easiest thing in the world to criticise, personally I respect criticism more if it is accompanied by a credible alternative.

I haven't read the article in question. Given that PC has offered his opinion on a few aspects of the sport that he doesn't like. Did he offer any way to improve the sport for the better?

Interesting I would be tempted to have the following formations: Home 1. Cookie 2. Derek (he knows the position quite well) 3. Sam (to cover for Aaron in the first few heats) 4. Aaron (I would keep him away from 2 to give him a chance to find out the correct set up and to avoid the top 2 riders on show (in the opening heat), plus in theory he could learn the nature of the track on the night and get an easy-ish ride in heat 14) 5. Max (maybe slightly more difficult than 3 but hopefully Max should be able to handle this at home - plus allowing him to put his toe in the water of the competitive heat 13) 6. Stevie (this is a slightly more difficult position than 7 - so I think it's more a case of letting Justin really find his feet again after a year out and hopefully get a confidence boost at 7) 7. Justin Away 1. Cookie 2. Derek 3. Max 4. Aaron 5. Sam 6. Stevie 7. Justin

Really sorry to hear that. I hope he can get himself fixed up with another PL team asap. He is a real talent and is definitely going places in the sport. Good luck.

Cheers. What average did he finish on? When was this?

First impressions suggest reasonably solid team without top end strength unless someone pops out the pack to fill the heat leader positions consistently. Closer examination of the team would potentially suggest home domination is what they were after with a decent chance of keeping it tight away from home. If Steen Jensen is the same bloke that rides for Esbjerg (29 year old) he looks to have had a great season last year. What average is he coming in on .. 5? I don't understand the assessed averages rules anymore but I am aware that Brady Kurtz could potentially be saddled with a 7 point average, so why not Jensen? Really pleased to see young Carr get a reserve berth. I hope he gets a full season under his belt (all other things being equal). Solid side that could be in with a top 6 chance should one or two come out the pack and improve.

Asking a question

Very pleased to see Claus get a team place. Berwick should suit his style. Berwick putting together a solid looking team that should be difficult to beat at home.

Is last season's owner still with the club?

I like your optimism. It would be good to see that come to fruition. You just never know...

You might feel a bit of a Lemon for saying that.....