torpointfanatic22

Much more encouraging, Redcar are one of the strongest in the league this year, but need to kick on and get some wins.

Agreed, there a few better out there than May, Plymouth are very lucky to have him.

When your dad is the reason you have equipment and calls the shots as a result, you don't really have a choice!

It's the easiest excuse to say riders aren't bonding when a team is failing, it detracts from the promotion and management. I'm not saying they are btw but if they were looking out for themselves maybe they'd at least win some races. The reality is we're approaching July, 6 matches in to a 16 match league season. We've lost 3 out of 4 at home in the league and if you count the cups, we've lost 5 out of 7, last season we lost 1 all season in the league and 2 in the cups. Riding as a team or not, the riders aren't delivering what they should be. The Turner gamble hasn't paid off, he can clearly gate but it's not that he is finishing last, he's just not finishing, you can't fault the effort but he looks like an inexperienced NL rider when turning the bike, Trigger, while improving (which is great to see btw) is a season away from being competitive at reserve, Howarth looks a different rider from what he has been the last couple of years and Barker and Worrall have really inconsistent. Gilkes is the one shining light and he's finding his feet again after his injury which is fantastic. Morley was obvious and easy replacement for Starke who struggled, but isn't going to score serious points in the main body at this level. The team is sitting bottom of the league for a reason and it's because it was built with an incredibly weak bottom end and the 3 heat leaders haven't produced what they were brought in to do and most on here thought they would do. When you build the team top heavy, you put a lot of pressure on those guys because they know the points aren't coming elsewhere in the main. I get the management could not have anticipated such a downturn in form from the heat leaders but they are responsible for how the team is structured and the weak bottom end. They are also responsible for how the track is set up, is Mark listening to the riders when he preps the track? Or is he doing it his way? It's easy to point the finger at 'team unity' but they'd get a lot more credibility if they also took on the chin that they made errors too! The only way Plymouth will improve with any significance is to make at least 3 changes imo, but who can you get at this point in the season? Truth be told Plymouth's season is done as far as playoffs go so the promotion might as well try something new.

Completely agree re the fixture list, it's a farce. Simply not enough meetings, I don't see how any team can make any real money from such few home fixtures and they wonder why clubs are going to the wall.

It's not up to Garry and never has been, only one person calls all the shots at Plymouth, the promoter. But I agree, it's a rip up and start again job if Plymouth want to get anywhere near the playoffs this season. I'd say favourites for wooden spoon on current form.

Bad to worse! Like Ben a lot, but not an improvement. Going to be a tough season for Plymouth unless we end up rebuilding with 3 or 4 changes.

Don't think Roynon would be the answer even if he were dropped by Poole. I believe Batch was asking silly money in the offseason, whether that has changed now I don't know. The way the team has been built leaves very little room for tweaking. Three changes probably needed to see serious improvement unless we unearth a 2 pointer out of nowhere or a random 4 pointer that could do better than Turner.

The worst thing about tracking a team that doesn't win at home is the crowd will walk away. Crowd numbers don't look as good as last season although that's looking on the stream so I may be wrong on that. Starke and Trigger need to be replaced, as much as I see young Ben having a good future in the sport, he's just not there and needs a season or two in the NL to be top rider there first. Starke has disappointed, I had higher hopes but so far just nowhere near it. Unless the promotion do something significant Plymouth will be more wooden spoon contenders not playoff ones.

Have only managed to catch the one meeting so far this season which was Poole away and that combined with the results so far unsurprisingly show the reserves are the weak link. Problem is who else is there that could fit and by all accounts Turner gates really well and just needs to settle down on track. Think it's probably a bit early to look at changes but the way the team has been built to make any significant improvement I think you'd be looking at two or maybe three changes.

I didn't catch the meeting last night but fair to say it feels an ominous start (purely based on results) for Plymouth. The team is built on the top 5 all needing to perform and if they don't this is the likely outcome at most away tracks. Howarth is normally dynamite at Poole but doesn't seem quite dialled in this season and I know Barker blew an engine at the Starke testimonial so fingers crossed he can get going. You'd hope the others will improve with more laps but lots of improvement needed across the board if the Glads are compete for a playoff spot when the league gets underway.

Cheers very much

Does anyone know if Plymouth will be streaming home meetings this season?

Correct!

Looking at what results I can find on him it looks like a poor signing and probably makes Plymouth the weakest at reserve in the division. Hope I'm wrong and this lad hits the ground running but given the track record of others who have come over with better form than him I'd say Plymouth will need 45 points from their top 5 to win matches this season.

In a nutshell, yes. Those meetings were never as well supported and everyone knows they are a filler to give an additional handful of meetings. In my view if they want to give promoters an additional three meetings, just extend the league programme to give each team three extra fixtures on a rotational basis. One year you get Plymouth, Redcar and Edinburgh the next Poole, Oxford and Glasgow etc. The idea of keeping things local to minimise travel is pretty flawed given a lot of riders aren't based near their Championship track anyway. These 'trophy' meetings never get the crowds like league meetings do.

No doubt Plymouth had Roynon lined up as their final rider, whether 'paperwork didn't arrive' or Roynon choose Poole at the 11th hour I'm not sure but it's clearly left Plymouth in a hole. On the positive whoever we sign, at least we've got the Mickey Mouse cup at the start of the season to give the riders some track time before the meaningful meetings start.

On a completely different level it reminds me of the early 90's in the darts world where the old fashioned BDO saw a breakaway of the PDC. All it took was a handful of the top players to agree to move and the rest is history. I've followed speedway for around 20 years now and each year the incompetence shown by the SCB / BSPL is shameful. Year after year the establishment of promoters that hold the cards look after themselves without a care for the wider sport. Now despite NORA actually displaying a will to move the sport forwards, which is what is needed for it to survive, the SCB would rather sabotage all of their attempts than perhaps sit around the table and look to collaborate. That tells you they are only interested in their own gains. I for one really hope that NORA continues to develop their product and attract bigger names to their product and maybe just maybe British Speedway will do a darts and transform the sport to something that can't not just survive but thrive.

He's never been on there from what I've seen.

Rye House for me every day of the week from the tracks I've visited that is.

Generally following Plymouth but a few other meetings such as pairs, fours etc... Plymouth, Somerset, Newport, Swindon, Leicester, Buxton (what a place), Rye House, Lakeside, Ipswich, Peterborough, Sheffield, Weymouth, IOW, Poole, Birmingham (for a rain off), Cardiff, Warsaw. Hoping to add a few more northern tracks soon.

I know the feeling mate, certain people on here would have you believe that if you don't live within a stones throw of your home team, you can't be a supporter!

Yeah the Scunny one is a strange one. MPT is definitely a bargain on that average and will score well at most tracks, Allen also surely can't be worse than last season. The remaining 4 for me leave a lot to be desired. Mountain and Thompson (especially the latter) haven't got much form away from Leicester and I think may struggle early on, Lambert is massively overpriced on his starting average and Kennedy hasn't really kicked on in 3/4 years. It could all come together for them of course but I can't put the top 4 on that basis.

1. Redcar 2. Glasgow 3. Poole 4. Plymouth 5. Edinburgh 6. Scunthorpe 7. Berwick 8. Oxford 9. Birmingham

Can't say anything about his roots but heat leader, no chance.