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Scared of another home defeat to us in a matter of weeks so they’ve got them all up for a 4 hour session. 😂

You imagine wrong Dan honed his skills at Leicester Plymouth and Ipswich all tighter smaller tracks Glasgow wanted him and I’m not saying it didn’t pay well but the chance of a bigger track appealed to him plus riding with Bomber

To be fair, The pressure on the Poole promoters is much different than the rest of the league.. Maybe even the league above also? History shows that they get some of the best crowds in the country, regardless of league they are in, (when winning), but with that volume of support comes the threat of many "going missing" when times get a bit tougher... Hence, they got ahead of the game and dropped down when financially it was starting to impact them to be "also rans" in Div 1.. (A great business plan considering they used pretty much Div 1 riders at a Div 2 level at the time).. No matter what level they race at, Poole are very much one of the leading lights of UK Speedway, and more "Matt Fords" over the past couple of decades that existed would have meant a much higher level to the sport .

Bullsh#t one ride should sort set up issues,they are not juniors.

Neither of those riders would fit under the limit. I don't think fans can criticise the Promotion unless they can name a better 2.00 rider. In Marson's defence he's not ridden against a fellow 2 pointer this season. Both Oxford & Plymouth have strong reserves. Biggest question mark for me is picking Starke ahead of Foord. Too early to say if they got it wrong, just yet.

Poole High Tide: 23/04/25: 19:47 07/05/25: 19:46 ... so not that 🌊

I wouldn’t call myself an “expert” but I think there’s a few big hurdles they’d have to overcome, maybe this is possible but maybe not, a few I can think of: 1) I’m assuming you’d want the 15 teams (Assuming Oxford would go back to one team) to all be relatively competitive with each other, you don’t want the current Ipswich team going up against the current Berwick team for instance but unfortunately I think those two teams probably operate with vastly different budgets and I can’t imagine the tv money is earth shattering as in some sports therefore what is the basis of team building? Are Ipswich still signing Emil and Doyley while Berwick are signing Cook and Kemp to spearhead? 2) As you say, riders double up so if the standard it to be some sort of Premiership/Championship level riders, where are they all coming from? It seems difficult as it is to attract riders who are committed in Poland, Sweden etc as it is, how do we overcome this? 3) Race nights, some teams are unable to race on a Monday or Thursday evening as the Premiership does now to enable them to sign riders committed abroad so how do you get round that? Berwick are only allowed by the council to do Saturdays and occasional Wednesdays, Workington have no floodlights currently so can only do weekends? Do we move off set race nights and exclude certain riders from this country or do we exclude teams who can’t conform to the schedule? I’m sure theres plenty more questions and hurdles I haven’t even considered yet but those are just a few off the top of my head. I imagine this has been discussed at length on this forum before but to say “why on earth don’t they do this” like it’s some magical easy fix for speedway in this country is quite frankly absurd. You can call me anti one league or whatever and I’m all for trying to boost the sports profile etc in Britain to restore it to its previous glory but it’s nowhere near as easy as you seem to think.

No question Oxford deserved it, hope Kerr can sort his bike issues, Tobias and Starke were poor too. Poor decision choosing Starke over Foord.

Apparently dislocated his knee and dislodged the kneecap. Don't know what ligament/muscle/nerve damage there may be?

I remember a Bank Holiday Monday morning at Cradley and Coventry were that far ahead after the opening heats an announcement was made over the pa... the tactical substitutes for the next three heats are... At least that's the way I remember it lol. They were the days where team managers could be a lot more tactical and strategic compared to modern day Speedway.

If anyone’s interested https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0iQ300000D5y5hIAB/pl202501932

I know. But the Poole supporters are struggling enough to come to terms with losing to a five-man team. Tell them that they lost to a team containing only four fit riders and it would be too much for the poor little lambs.

Much as I'm sure we would like GB to have 16 world class riders such as we did back in the day, that doesn't mean that the current British Final can't be a very good meeting. I very much enjoyed the British Finals at Coventry back in the day, when there was real jeopardy and world championship qualifying places on the line, but I expect to enjoy this year's event regardless of that.

I’d imagine that the money Glasgow were chucking at him is why he didn’t want to sign for Poole.

If that was the case surely Killeen would have had a fourth ride at Brum on Monday and not been replaced by 38 year old Craig Cook.

Unfortunately, that is the way of the world these days. If your team is not as good as another team, you have to hate them. There is no middle ground, it's either love or hate. In the UK we are even more special, we get a home grown talent (in any sport), put them on a pedestal and then spend the rest of their careers trying to knock 'em down.

Joe T seems the obvious choice, then Nathan Ablitt, Vinnie Foord, Luke Harrison? Hopefully Dan will be back on a bike soon.

Steve where did you get your info from re arm injury? You are guessing and that is a dangerous game.

I did remember a comment like that, so I skimmed back through it and nothing like that was said in any of Zmarzliks heats. Do you mean heat 14 when Kurtz was chasing down Kvech for a lap? Kelvin said "I thought for a moment Kurtz was going to take the chance, but maybe now he's thinking why do it? 2 points will be better than none" .... Chris then said during the replay, that Kurtz probably thought, I'm not going to hurt myself here, it's not worth it. Not unreasonable in the circumstances, seeing that 2 points would keep him a point clear at the top of the leader board with a race to go, but ending up on his arse would relegate him to a LCQ position. No different from a rider in the old style world final not pushing for a win when 2 points would be enough to take the title. During the meeting, Kelvin also said "you can't throw in the towel or cruise around in this format, because every point will earn you a better gate position" Gate one was clearly dominant. Only two third places & one last, which was a retirement. 12 firsts & 8 second places, so clearly a huge advantage. Having said that, you wouldn't bet against Zmarzlik in any gate! I don't get the comments saying that it's boring because he has no challengers. If it was Lambert or Bewley dominating in the same fashion, it would be a different story.

It's hard to fathom what goes through Schorecks head. McDiarmid was on fire wheras Killeen beat Marson and Stark. He gave McDiamid only five rides,. The same as Killeen. The man has no idea. It's every meeting he has a shocker. As you said. they won, but surely it's time for Courtney and co to get rid. He even had a go back at fans for a decision he made the other week. The man is a buffoon!

Poor from Poole and well done to Oxford. Kerr continues to disappoints as does Starke. Surely there’s a better rider in the national league than Marson. He’s no where near the pace. And I don’t see him beating an opposing rider unless that rider hits the deck. Hugely disappointed that Masters was allowed to move at the start of the all important heat 15. Blatantly moved and all of us in the stand saw it, could not believe the ref didn’t put his red lights on as Masters then made the gate. Shocking from the ref but a deserved loss from the 4 man team pirates

Indeed. They already had several sponsors on board, but still recruiting more. You see, this is how you run a successful business. They deserve any success that comes their way.

And the rest… Paramedics are the biggest cost besides the riders. There are also different levels of paramedic licensed to give certain medication etc, so it’s not just a case of having an ambulance.

You should see Tolley and Rogers dancing on Tik Tok for the ultimate in cringe. Confirming they are completely out of touch.

10.15pm it says on the refs scorecard

I think you've got confused. Poole still had 7 riders at the end - it was Oxford who completed the night with only 5 riders.

Away fans down probably due to rising costs of fuel and general living costs

And you can add Fjelsted to the five Jutland teams. I reckon that starting from Vejen there would be six DSL tracks within an hour's drive. For me in outer London the equivalent figure is zero.

No. If Redcar get the bonus at Worky (quite likely), then it only requires a Worky win at Scunthorpe and Oxford would have been out had they lost

Have to say for the first time in many seasons, Matt got the team building wrong. Had serious doubts before a wheel had turned but it’s clear to see that Starke, although hitting his average, has little to no drive and aggression in his racing today, and Kerr has been completely unreliable. We need to look overseas for a young rider on the up with some real aggression and ability. They are out there.

Yes, you're right, the question of is it worth it is probably a question a rider always asks himself when in close combat... I've never actually heard it said in commentary before though related to race format, so it's now an extra factor to not take a chance. Yes, Zmarzlik could and indeed did make it off the graveyard gate 3 twice. That was my point in this really that generally the "contenders" tend to make it off any gate when it's needed, I probably didn't articulate it that well though. And I'm sorry to say that I am one of those that is finding the GP series rather boring at the moment. There's nothing more I like better than watching a sportsman at the top of his game and Zmarzlik is certainly, head and shoulders, the best rider currently riding in the SGP series... but is he the best in the world is a question that's not really being answered... for me, just like when Tai won his championships with Emil not riding SGP.

The replacement has to be a Rising Star, not a Falling Star 🫤

Troy batchelor

worse

First of all well done to Oxford. They started on fire and left us for dead out of the gate in the first half of the meeting. What looked like an innocuous fall for Dan Gilkes turned into a very long break. He sort of slid off, but went over to his right and I believe, though not confirmed, put his arm out and broke it. He was on the track for a very long time and when moved, on an ambulance stretcher, was on a drip, breathing oxygen and holding his arm close to his chest. Let’s all hope he has a speedy recovery. The delay was frankly ridiculous. No county ambulance available. So the casualty had to be taken to hospital, 5 minutes away, then it too a while for the patient to be handed over before it could return. Pirates worked their way back into the meeting but Kerr’s throttle went the wrong way when on a 5-1 in heat 13. It ended up with us needing a 5-1 in heat 15 to force a draw, but Masters got a big roller and to the dismay of the crowd the ref let it go. Lawson got by on lap 3 but it was too much for Cook. A few thoughts. Kerr is a terrible signing so far. Just not good enough. His bike packing up on the final bend cost us a draw, then he was picked of by an excellent McDiamond like he was standing still, then in heat 13 shut off when on a 5-1. The rest blew hot and cold. Believe changes will happen to this side, and I am not talking Cairns. Special mention to McDiamond. Spoke to him before the meeting and he is a level headed young man and could be a future top Aussie. Very good signing who won’t be at reserve for long.

I think I got it on cd,I'll pass it dan ford when I see him next. Lol

I was almost about to compliment Schroeck till I saw he replaced McDiarmid with Killeen in heat 12. McDiarmid had just got a 5-1 in heat 11 & scored 9+1 from 4 rides, beating Starke, Marson (2), Lawson, Cook & Kerr. While Killeen had scored 3+1 from 3 rides beating Starke & Marson (2). Was Schroeck trying to throw it away? Luckily for him Oxford still won.

The Manchester United of Speedway skimping on money again! Was the supermarket trolley out of action? 🛒 I hope Gilkes is back on a bike soon, he's been really impressive on his few outings in a Lions race suit

If it gets awarded both Poole and Oxford will most likely be in the Semi Finals so it won’t.. Some clubs have fans, even promoters who are paramedics, this helps. But you can’t mess about with this stuff, if something bad happens you have to show you have the right facilities, if not frankly people will end up in jail, and if the right treatment isn’t available well you can think what the outcome can be. What other clubs do is their situation. Considering the proximity of Poole stadium to the hospital, would you spend 2.5 or 3 grand a night for an ambulance just in case?

Oh dear, prepare for a forum meltdown 😄

Every team has the opportunity to build a competitive band of riders like Ipswich but it takes effort to attract the sponsors and the backing to build the best with a reputation for fairness and paying wages on time. How many clubs have mismanaged the financial side by under estimating the income, the numbers of supporters, the attractiveness of the product and then give some thought to trying to compete at a level which in reality they can ill afford. The UK could put together at best three or four teams that could hold their own in the top tier of Polish speedway, the rest are fodder making up the numbers to satisfy a piss poor T V contract and the egos of a few promoters who have never promoted anything in their lives. if you want to know what promoting is all about then go back to the successful days of Wally Mawdsley, Len Silver, Dave Lanning, Johnnie Hoskins, Ian Thomas, Graham Drury and a good few more whereas today look what you have got, fools and the money which is soon parted and no cohesive response to what is wrong with the sport in this country. Most of those running clubs have heads up their own arses. You have no real strategy for new talent which is ignored by the majority of hard core supporters who believe the only real fix is league racing whereas many individual meetings at so many levels can offer excellent competitive racing but this is discounted by many and they wonder why you have few prospects making it through the league. Until you have a change in the attitude of promoters, the set up and the supporters change of attitude to watching racing that involves all levels the sport in this country is only going one way. Thankfully not all of the European speedway nations are following the UK business model.

It seems to keep them going... And provides "subs on the bench" when injuries/clashes abroad occur... Survival for many teams globally is the objective rather than gaining any "tangible success"... With, for most leagues, that "tangible success", not resulting in any major financial returns, nor any major national publicity, (or even local publicity sometimes), to speak of...

The product has been ‘inferior’ for years and will continue to head that way in this country, it has nothing to do with the strength of the Ipswich side this year.

Speedway supporters in a nutshell. Only in this sport will a team get criticised for building the best team that they possibly can, and a team every supporter of a club up and down the country would absolutely love their club to do likewise. Just look at the comments of supporters of Oxford and Birmingham, they’d give their right arm to have this Ipswich side to watch on a regular basis. Absolutely nuts. There has ALWAYS been dominant teams in this sport over the years. Ipswich themselves cleaned house in 98 with arguably the greatest club side ever, Cradley dominated back in the day, Swindon had a dominant side in recent years, and Poole had dominant sides for the majority of their top flight stay. This isn’t anything new so why is this coming out now? It just feels like another unnecessary pop at a club this year that was started off by one poster, and has suddenly become the trendy thing to do.

So why are the big boys been returning then?

Personally I think its mainly down to rider skill or lack of. The best meeting I ever seen at Shielfield was the round of the U21 World Final a few years back. I think as Fromafar eludes to alot of the modern day riders are as quick as each other when in front but couldnt pass wind behind.

The usual rhetoric, I see. No doubt if a Poole rider was missing, it would make you much weaker. Will miss my usual chat with the late Steve Pijper prior to the meeting tomorrow (Steve will be much missed) but still looking forward to hopefully a strong performance from Cheetahs tomorrow.

Just caught up with it. Awful GP, lacking any excitement. Zmarzlik untroubled. Totally boring and ended up watching on fast forward. Oh for the days when there were at least ten riders putting up a real fight. Too many no discrips in it today making up the numbers. Few personalities and characters to root for. Perhaps I have fallen out of love with the GPs when I loved to travel Europe watching them.

Looking at things as they stand at the moment. Ipswich are the standout team, that seem to be most likely to finish top of the league. The other 3 Play Off places will come from 4 teams. Sheffield Belle Vue Leicester Kings Lynn At the bottom 2 places for me will be. Oxford Birmingham

Not sure...