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Away from the nonsense for a minute or two . Other clubs are announcing signings , but nothing other than silence from the hallowed halls of Ashfield . I must confess that the ridiculous points limit doesnt fill me with enthusiasm for the new season and i worry about what will be served up in front of us because of that . The " i know something you dont know " mob will no doubt smugly post some cryptic bollocks about who we've got , happens every winter , but team building to 38 points must be a nightmare . If we have Cook it takes over 10 out of the 38 points . 6 riders for less than 28 points - seriously . We had that in the 80's with Steve Lawson and 6 of his mates keeping him company in the pits , it didnt work then and Cook cant win meetings on his own . Rumours on here from Workington alleging underhand tactics to get one of their riders with Rasmus Jensen seemingly fitting the bill ........really ? Ok he done well during Worky's glory charge in October , but he's never impressed me round Ashfield in the past - Kid Jensen would have been more competative . I'd have the engine room of last season , namely Vissing , Starke and Kerr back again , and play the numbers game from there , such as it is .

Sad to see Buxton not riding. Jayne and family have done a marvellous job keeping Buxton going in difficult circumstances. Thanks for all your efforts

So he can put it back on

That's a new one. Wish Coventry had thought of that when he rode for them. Watch this space 'cos there will be plenty more.

I agree the Abu Dhabi trip indicates that the club finds itself in a better financial position than most in these trying times but in order to give something back to the fans that have followed the team home and away I would have thought a celebration evening could have been organised.

With Cook, I think everyone would agree, especially any of his old clubs, he is great for any team he rides for and brings a lot more than his points. But with the points limit as it is, having 1 guy take up over 25% of the limit on an average that's pretty hard to maintain, never mind improve I can't see it producing a trophy winning team unless you have an real ace(s) up your sleeve aka like when he won the double with Edinburgh in 2014/2015. In 2014, he came in on a whopping 10.5 average, but Edinburgh had Steve Worrall putting around 5 points on his average, along with Max Fricke on a low average. In 2015, Cook came in on much lower average due to team riding with Sedgman, was able to put a point on his own average and had Agent Wolbert adding 2 points, along with Masters and Sedgman both adding points to their average. IF Cook signs, I just don't see Glasgow having any of these types of riders lined up of to come in alongside Cook who can be substantial 'improvers' to produce a league winning formula.

Friends/girlfriends and alcohol etc is what keeps a rider at standstill. Robert Lambert was relying purely on ability and looked to have hit a wall in progression. Thus until his time with Woffy in 2017 and during the 2017 winter break dedicated himself to health and fitness. What a change he was in 2018, a totally different rider. Speedway today is a different animal to the beer drinking socialising mayhem it used to be. To be at the top, you have to drop ya mates and train bloody hard. There are some very very talented young rider's in British Speedway but unfortunately they get to caught up in "having fun" outside Speedway rather than the dedication needed to try and be the best they can be.

Sorry, I meant to quote this post as the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read.

Hold my hands up - you got me You are indeed the No1 master baiter

Better than Wrighty and can increase his average? Not even in the same league IMHO

I think if it applies to the other 2 and not Scott you may see the lawyers in action again

If you are looking for riders who can put a point on their average, are uk based, your own assets, ride your own track pretty well, and can ride all the away tracks well. I wouldn't be surprised if Charles Wright ended up at Poole. On a 5.1 or thereabouts I'd say he would be pretty good value.

To be fair, it makes sense to wait until moneybags Glasgow and Somerset have sorted their teams and the remaining riders will realise they have to ride for realistic money and not play teams off against the big twos deals

Edinburgh manipulating the rules again. Warms the heart.

Oh dear the magic 7 are no more hope laura has a surprise or 2 in her bag !

Isnt Scotland the official home of golf? Is haggis healthier than a pie?

I still don't think the penny has dropped with most promotions (including Somerset) the fans & sponsors you do have support the team & riders you had, they bond with the riders & that bond/ support grows. When you have wholesale changes from one season to the next that bond has been lost! If you favorite, second, third & forth favorite riders has gone from the previous season then you may seriously consider continuing your support for YOUR team.

I think you are spot on. Normally we know our team by now so people can purchase season tickets based on the team. I know if I owned King’s Lynn and Peterborough and Ipswich I’d have my best team for Ipswich and have great pleasure in giving Lynn a poor team. Normally I can’t wait til the new season. Not this year. It seems we have sold our soul to the devil

No it wouldn't! Hate any association with the horrible 'sport' of Fox Hunting.

So was I Steve from the same season ( 1970 ) until 1996 and I also live in Essex ( How we miss our nights of "Traxcitement" at the Wick ah ? ) and ditto on the Witches memories who more years than I care to remember did the bloody double on us and were hated as you say by the Hackney management and fans ! ! John Berry was also a complete pain in the arse to boot . Tiger Louis was invincible at home AND at Waterden Road , Shrimp Davey almost the same . Such is the state of the sport in UK they are now are my nearest club . I must however admit I went there last season and was very impressed . Almost every clubs facilities and track declined since the 1970s but not here . Vastly improved stadium , facilities , and track and racing with friendly atmosphere and the anti away fan vibe long gone . Well done to them , hope to make a few trips there next season and wish them every success in Premiership , even if they are the old 'nemy !!

If it was worth so much than I am sure Matt would have sold it by now. I saw figure of £250k plus mentioned. How true that was I don't know but for what ???. In these days where many argue the sport is on its knees and going nowhere I can't see some charitable soul paying that much money or anywhere near it. Don't get me wrong. I think Matt has done a brilliant job for Poole over the years. Many like him and some don't. He has always been one step ahead many times in team selection and we have seen some great riders at Poole over the years. But the sport is on a downward curve in most peoples eyes (except the BSPA who seem to have a rose tinted view of the sport). Ask yourself where the Prem would be for 2019 had Chapman not purchased Ips/Peter . Neither in my opinion would have come up and for sure Som/Leic would have dropped anyway due to lack of finance/losses and not having choice of race night. Would have left only 5 Prem teams with loss of the small bit of money coming into the sport from TV.

I'll take that as a given. Having said that being an Essex (Chelmsford) based Poole and now lamented Lakeside Supporter I can't say I feel overly comfortable corresponding with someone who may only be 40 miles or so up the road with your somewhat possibly strange and unusual interests By the way I was a die hard Hackney Hawks Fan from my mid teens in 1970 until demise. I only lived less than a mile from Waterden Road. For me the most competitive and hated team were in fact the Witches when we raced against them. There was always a strong will to beat them more than anybody with great racers like John Louis - Davey's electric gating. Man never saw anyone who could gate as fast as that guy could. Always brought a good core of support along and also enjoyed visiting Foxhall for away matches. Much happier days for the sport in some way.

As much as Craig Cook is excellent off the track as much as he is on it and as most have said it would leave us with too long a tail , with the low points limit we need to be a lot more creative in our team building.

Not far off but I think with the money & sponsors they have got, they are the first club to trial a squad system in 2019.

While there is no doubting Cook would be a great high profile signing,watching him cruise round for easy money while the Team struggles to win,would not be a great move.He could get a few tac sub rides when required though.

Just a bit of back -up

That's as may be but as Mac has said, hardly any 2 pointers are going to want to ride that far up the country unless very well funded from a second hand car salesman.

I'm on managers duties again this morning. This time being sensible and realistic. Our budget is unfortunately not as big as before or as others so it's safe to say that team moral should be high on the agenda. Just look at worky last year. What made them whitewash everything was there team moral. I saw it at first hand. The riders were best mates. They rode for each other. So with that. How about this Fricke Cook Bewley Worrall This leaves 13.47 Rasmus jensen 4.39 Mason Compton 4.21 (Team moral) Leaves 4.87 We can add Bach 4.79 (Team moral) Jake Allen fits Josh auty fits Aaron summer's fits So who would you finish with. We would have decent reserves all year. 1 thing we have not hard for years is riders going up and down all year from 2nd string to reserve. That's what we need.

The thing is it didn't really work in the old elite league when you had two reserve races. Again it was put there as the difference in standards was too great, but by later in the meeting on too many occasions one of the reserves had been withdrawn through injury and you ended up with 3 rider races. Those pleading for value for money are going to love that!

Yes £250 a point 3 points guaranteed new van and some sponsors chucked together to buy them each a PJR engine life’s great for riders up in the cashfield

Private helicopter swung the deal

Nobody's forcing you to pay it. Take your wife out for a drink on saturday night instead. You might just get two pints and two small glasses of wine for £16 if you're lucky, then you can be back home for about 8 o'clock.

The blinkers never cease to amaze me

Fortunately then it was Harris who made a massive contrabution in us winning the League. That said, it wasnt just a one man team. You need 6 other riders. Personally, i feel Chris's average should be re-assessed. to take into consideration his age and the fact that he would freely admit he is not a No 1. But sadly this is Poole we are talking about..

Tomorrow Martin and I head off for the AGM in Rugby where I hope we will have a constructive and positive meeting about the NL and how we take it forward. I have been reading on Social Media and I do understand the concerns being voiced about what our league will look like - how many teams, points limit, number of riders per team, competitions and so on... but we will strive to do the best we can for the league and present our ideas for the benefit of all. We will update you as soon as we are permitted. All the best

Just thought it might be of interest to some of you. Notice the G force as the rider turns the bike. Makes you realise how hard it must be to hold on. Just click the link https://www.instagram.com/p/BSeOfPkARsn

Newman reached his level and of anything gone backwards and injuries haven’t helped There can’t be a speedway fan out there who would rather have Newman than Charles Wright

Good signing, Edinburgh going with a top number 1 and a solid team to back him up, clever way to go

Hans 7.56 MPT 5.36 Holder 7.39 Bjerre 7.02 Niels 7.38 Bacon 3.00 Lasse 4.72 42.38, would be a very good team round the show ground and solid away aswell IMO and also realistic

Seemingly Panthers have now adopted the Mafia default position. Ignore them they are only fans so don't really matter as long as they turn up and pay to get in

PL and CL both had Monday and Thursday priority on the 2018 ISLB calendar.

Fair play Buttons - I made the mistake of a quick glance at the team rollers rather than the official final download

Ashley Morris for me, Nathan to Ipswich?

I can understand the Birmingham promotion keeping all options open after expressing a keen interest in moving up but then being told that they couldn't attend the AGM by the BSPA. Your not going to move up when you don't know how the points limit will impact their business. So they have to wait until after the NL AGM before making a decision. I have every faith in the Masons doing what's right for the club, in the same way that Somerset have. If it's not viable, they wont move.

Sorry Starry, but no one with an attained average should ever have it re-assessed. You don't want to open that can of worms imo ....

This is a Glasgow thread, go pollute the threads that you want to discuss their team with. Just being totally honest.

In all fairness the reserves aren't poor although some are probably getting moved up a season early. The problem is that the top end is too strong. Changing the averages would have resolved this IF the promotions had taken it in the spirit it was intended and built strength in depth rather than create vast gulfs in their own teams. Its available in the rules so they have done it but its short sighted as the product as a whole will suffer.

So they have a new cook at the supermarket and tea is served with a doyley Every Little counts

The wrong G. It is Gail that does the takings. Rob, or God to others, does the track & presenting & other tasks that crop up.

It is thought - by some - that an extremely low average will force some of those in the NL who are content to stay there and score big points on reasonable pay up. My own view is that there are very few like that, any rider with ambitions will want to go up anyway and that the higher leagues have a disastrous record of dumping a young rider within a short period of time if he doesn't score well. The latter will mean at least potentially that they can't ride anywhere. From what I have heard, almost all NL promotions are against it and that suggests a very low team building average won't happen. It would be utterly ludicrous to force most of the league to do something that they don't want and I can see a number of tracks closing if they do. The NL can see that people won't be shelling out for something little more than a training session and while wages will reduce, the cost of stadiums, insurance, medical cover. shale etc will remain exactly the same. Frankly - and even allowing for the point about disparity of strengths - I believe that the NL just about hits the balance between developing riders and being a business spot on. It should therefore be left very much alone and allowed to go its own way without interference by outsiders who, lets face it, aren't exactly in a position to tell others how to run their league.