Leaderboard

Just continually trying to improve things , making it in such a way to enable us to enjoy exciting and thrilling speedway . The track was too one line last season , the aim is to have a track that riders of both sides can attack and give the paying public the type of speedway to do justice to it's surroundings . No point having Chris Harris and not giving him the track to entertain us .

Darcy Ward wins at 14/1 woo-hoo.

Lol! Poole team looks far superior to Swindons in every single department. You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Roll on our trip to Blunsdon.

Your sentiment is wrong. Clubs should do everything they can to encourage and keep British riders for the long term good of the sport in this country. Jacobs and Perks have both shown they can be good enough and it’s a travesty that neither has been signed.

Welcome home Chris. The usual trolling, bitterness about Chris and Poole, in general, is hilarious so keep it up, guys

I'l give it till end of May before hes gone. Signing s rider that doesn't want to be there. Can see another KK on the card. Surprised Ford has taken the risk. Nevertheless it' a GP rider in the league so well done for that

I'm trying to plan my life around it. Bit difficult when I don't know where it is, when it is, how many riders we need, how many events and how much $$$ I will need to raise to make up the shortfall!

I understand it isn't easy for those who have difficulty grasping facts but as Jacobs has said he needs to double up to continue racing it follows that Belle Vue couldn't have had him instead of Drozdz unless he was also offered a CL team slot. My opinion is that the culprits here are the BSPA who have abandoned the two Brits per team rule. They should've instead implemented it in both the PL and CL instead of encouraging teams to sign more foreign riders. That wouldn't necessarily guarantee Jacobs a team place but certainly helps British riders to get places and to progress.

Don't agree, usually when a track closes the majority of its fans are lost, when Sheffield closed I stopped going altogether as did most of the Sheffield fans I knew at the time All less tracks with less meetings will mean is less fans

Second week in June for the announcement,is leaving it very late!!!

Both are better than they used to be anyway . At one time you feared riders would disappear through the pits gate on bend 2 , and the third bend bump wasn't too much in evidence last season , nor was the bend as square . But you cant stand still and the track has plenty of improvement needed . The football club no longer calls the tune at Ashfield , so I imagine their pitch will be quite a bit narrower after the track work is complete .

Passing because away riders gate and don't ride in the right place on the track and the Wolves riders pass them. Better racing at Somerset and BV I suspect.

Lol Gavan you talk some real tripe sometimes. You've been making these nonsense analyses for years and you're never right. I've never known somebody so bitter before... I mean it's really weird. If Swindon has the better team, then Swindon will win. But that's not enough for you. You get some sort of weird satisfaction from making sure that you've shoved your opinion down everybody's throat. It's not about the sport for you, it's just about being right.

So why do the 3 main leagues in Europe(Poland, Sweden & Denmark) have rules in place for home grown riders. We had it in place & still riders like Jacobs & Nielsen could not get starting places in 2017, & now the rule has been thrown to one side. We, also, had the EDR system even though it was biased & flawed. But, we are not the only sport that dumps Brits for foreigners!

Just Another Vodka & Not A Role Model also in the line up - seems to be Darcy Ward themed race.

Holder is a steal on that average in my opinion. Lynn fans are bitter over his actions last season, but Buster was the person that bought cheap clay rather than shale, so must take part of the blame. Always found Holder very humble when I have been in his company, & with a good start, think he will end the season as number 1.

Josh G was one place below Musielek in the final averages last season having rode at number one all season in a struggling team compared to Musielak riding half the season as a second string for the title winners so fail to see how thats a no contest. Also Woryna over Ellis , you have to be joking surely. As I have already said, IF Shanes and someone like Sundstrom is the final signing this side will take some stopping IMO. Can you imagine Holder gets back to somewhere near his best, Sundstrom signs (he will average 8 in this league no question), Kurtz carries on improving, Woryna brings even half of his Polish form to Poole and the other Pole even just holds his average... lots of ifs but they look more than likely to happen. This Poole side is head and shoulders above the rest and anyone who thinks otherwise is either anti Poole, thick or both.

The trick in beating the points limit is getting a team of riders who can improve their averages. With the possible exception of Klindt, I can see the entire Workington team doing that. Having seen him ride many times last season and knowing just how good he is I suspect the biggest improvement will come from Bickley.

The track didn't seem to give him any problems when KL won at Wimborne Road last season!! ...and if all goes to plan with the final signings then Holder will start as a 2nd string!! Can't wait......

Chris Holder is back.......shocker that!

Sings is passionate about his speedway, I don't always agree with him but he does always make his points fairly and sensibly. And tbf to him, I would of had the same opinions as him 2 seasons ago. Since a family member joined the team in 2016 I have been more active around the pits and riders etc and have more of a feel for the work behind the scenes. I think because Chris and Len are not as active on social media as say Connor Dugard, or not as active on forums as say Jane Moss it's easy to assume all things outside central park are unknowns to the kent management but they are as proactive as anyone else. And riders like Rowe,Thomas,and even Shansie don't just fall into your lap. The problem is with youngsters is, that not only does the sport have to fit around thier schooling, but also around the parents employment. So riders will usually prefer thier local track or a track that races at weekends. Anyway looking ahead with the side we have so far. Luke Bowen - At this level as good a number 1 as is possible. And the last couple of seasons he really has grown into a proper skipper. If you stand back and watch him off track he knows which riders to put an arm round, and which riders who respond to a kick up the arse. Something pointed out to me at Stoke away at the end of the season was he was talking the the two riders as a pair before more or less every Heat. Always has Immaculate equipment. And interacts with the fans as if everyone is a lifelong friend. Jack Thomas - Having progressed so far in two seasons, Jack should be looking at this season as his final National League Campaign before jumping in with the big boys. To do this he will be needing to challenge Luke for the number 1 jacket. Comes on a bargain average really too, when you consider the number of mechanical failures in points positions he suffered . level headed, polite lad. And he interacts with the kids through to the pensioners so naturally and professionally. But with a joker in him as well. Nathan Stoneman - Mr excitement, you can never relax until all 4 laps are completed with Nath. 100 percent trier with bags of potential and the ability to go all the way. Needs an injury free season and could well make it a 3 way challenge for Lukes vest. Proper genuine likable joker, and him and Jack together are quite the double act. Came in last year with a bit of a rep for poor equipment but last year I don't recall any issues at all. Anders Rowe - Anders had a great first season and will hopefully continue his progression towards the business end of the speedway pyramid, it should not be forgotten that he will still only be 15 when the season starts at easter. Very quiet and shy lad and much like Jack comes with great, clued up, and level headed parents in the bits. Another with immaculate equipment, and hopefully will come back more physically developed. Taylor Hampshire - on a 4 point average this can only be a great signing. Came to kent towards the back end of 2017 with brum in a challenge match and scored a big double figure score and rode for us at Stoke at number 5 and gave a good account of himself. Most knockers of him say he has bad equipment but I can't see uncle Len allowing his equipment to be sun standard. Jacob Clouting - Somebody I ve heard has a good solid style but may lack a bit of speed initially but apparantly has good equipment. But to be honest I ve only seen pics and vids, so can't really judge fairly. So a proper number 1 and skipper, and 5 riders with potential to up thier averages, I think we look in good shape. Personally I d like to see James Laker given his shot at 7.

You could well be right and I don't think he helped himself having a year out a few seasons back but if a club invested some time and effort in him he may well be able to achieve more. He showed in 2016 at Belle Vue that in the right environment he could score decent points. Just doesn't sit right with me that there are British lads struggling to get a ride yet we seem happy to make is easy for foreign riders to get team spots, the Brits need to be put first.

Huge changes!! 5 aside football only next year

Photos on Tigers FB page mate.

Surely if Shanes is Fords preferred option,the final riders average should fit around Shanes average not the other way around.If Shanes is preferred,you have two spaces left put him in.

PERHAPS the FIM will do something about the Poles and their self-imposed rules and continual moving of the goalposts. Incidehtally, a couple of pigs have just flown by my window.

THE late, great Charles Ochiltree told me a zillion years ago that he would put together a team in which the riders wanted to ride for Coventry and got along with each other. Then averages came along and he had to put together a set of numbers which never worked as well.

Hi Bobbath Been having an early snoop through the 'Oldest Survivors' thread - fascinating. Not sure I could top the 13. But great to see some old names and particularly reassuring to discover that I'm not the only one to think Split was so good. Really sorry he missed out in 1953 (clutch trouble I think before his last race in the days when riders only had the one bike, but perhaps my memory playing tricks!). Looking back, one of my regrets is that I no longer have my old original autograph book which I started in the late 1940s through until 1976 when I stopped collecting. Another victim of the 'moving house' cull of personal effects, later greatly regretted. It had all the world champions from Tommy Price through to Jerzy Szczakiel plus dozens of others (mostly late 40s early 50s era) including Vic Duggan, Ron Johnson and Ken le Breton. Plus loads of Poles and Russians. Only rider who ever turned down my always polite request was Jack Parker at West Ham - claiming "Can't stop, I've got a date with an angel". Never liked him after that although his refusal was very polite. My regards to Toronto - picking up a lot of the city's history over the past few years thanks to the Murdoch Mysteries tv programme.

Yet it has been voted best prepared track in the top tier of British Speedway more often than any other.

My opinion is that Poole look like a top side..............is that not enough for you??? Talking about ramming opinions down peoples throats have a little look at what Shovlar posts before you criticise others. Oh and ive been right loads of times thanks..................how did KK do last season? .........did poole win the league?? just a couple of things i got spot on lol

Woryna has proven ability everywhere else and he has ridden over here before and is a lot better rider now,I don't see any reason why he should fail , I expect him to have an average of at least 7 by the end of the season. Szczpaniak may be a slight risk but he is at reserve so easy pickings for him. I disagree I don't think the rest of the team risky line up at all. Holder cannot drop his average that would be crazy, in my opinion he will end at least a point above his current average. Josh is a very consistent rider who will easily maintain his average, capable of beating most riders on his day. No idea why you think Musielak should improve. Shanes could prove to be the best number 7 in the league. All in all a great season in prospect and some really exciting racing ahead.

Well that's nice isn't it!!! Good luck Somerset Holder junior has spoken

Tbf it is a lot better than the ones Somerset put out for their signings!

Shanes is riding in the Polish Ekstraliga?

One to go? Two Poles, three Aussies signed so far. Who is the other one?

He will be welcome back by the majority of Pirate fans. He just needs his head in the game and he will be fine. As a talent only Doyle really heads him in the whole league. He should hopefully be number one in the first green sheets.

Welcome back Noddy on a super low average. He can easily stick one and a half on that. Teams looking brilliant with one to go. Love the twitter video clip.

Always an excuse. You didn't use him last year or this. He rode out of his skin for the Aces and you've effectively ended his career.

Morris ,Greaves , Ayres much better are you on something ???? that statement shows us all that you cannot watch much Speedway.

As we know through it happening several times before at a good few tracks, dropping the price significantly will deliver a crowd usually in high double digit percentage growth from the norm, (sometimes much more than that when done for free!)... The issue lies in getting them to come back and pay full price... It shows the demand can still be there though for Speedway to attract a decent crowd, just not at full price... I always am amazed that when tracks do a "special" it almost seems to be considered guaranteed that everyone in attendance will naturally come back the week after as nothing ever appears to be done 'extra' to attract them back.. You would think some kind of further discount tickets for say the next six meetings would be sold to try and at least get people who may used to go, back into the habit of attending Speedway and for complete newbies give them time to get to understand the Sport and build recognition and to become fans of certain riders... As has been mentioned many times, when you do a 'Special' get emails, get mobile numbers, names and addresses etc etc to target them to return.... It almost seems a complete waste of time and effort reducing the price at most tracks, as it often appears that this one idea to reduce the price of admission is 100% of the marketing plan rather than being just the first initial part of a much more in depth and thought out strategy to grow the fanbase...

Correct , that's the point we're trying to make, however the Dorset Mafia just pass him off as being crap At 24 yrs of age !

Only if they're good enough though. I'm all for supporting British talent but they're not due a speedway career any more than anyone else.

Skidder1 Kim Nillson has decided that he will not be riding in the UK at the start of the season as now has a regular place in Poland and wants to try progress his career on the continent. I would not be surprised to see him back in the UK later in the year though

Try telling that to Fast Freddie, Jacob and Woffy who have only ever ridden top flight for their parent club. Plenty of clubs are loyal to riders. The club's who aren't can't bleat if riders don't put them first either. Fast Freddie has spent his whole career at Wolves 12 years, with a year out of British speedway. Thorssell has ridden his whole top flight career with Wolves. And released several times as well during a season. Poole asset Perks is set to retire because he can't get a team place. Another casualty of the Poole loyalty system.

Leek is not a natural but can gate on occasion....his standard at the moment is such that he ,would probably ride for any team offering a place..I hope he can improve this season,But I personally doubt his ability to go. Far...We will see?

do me a favour buddy and read the thread and posts properly!! Mr Shovlar said that Jacobs isnt good enough to ride in the top flight. Quite obviously that is total rubbish as his average of over 5 in a harder league proves. Yes nobody has signed him as his average is probably to high to get a place in the top flight and if you read things you would realise he wants to ride in both leagues as he cant afford to just ride in one. Im fighting no losing battle ....just your inability to read and understand things

And no doubt this has contributed to Perks, Jacobs and any other British lads who miss out not getting a CL ride in 2018. Marvellous.

It's a decent team, changes mid season expected. Need the two Lewis' to step up this season and establish themselves as solid performers every week. Lambert needs to be challenging NKI for the no.1 spot , how many seasons can he be regarded as having potential. Now is the time to do it.

Tried and failed! Also failing the 12 British riders that started last years CL and have still to sign for a club!