Hackett

Think it will be a good test for the Eagles .. will need Kelsey Dugard to rack up the points at reserve. PLUS will need Bates to contribute with 7/8 points .. could be a close run thing #weatherpermitting.

Sounded like a decent meeting and IMO these two clubs will be chasing Silverware in the NL. Good to hear that BDW was tearing it up at Perry Barr he looks a decent prospect.

Kings look weak at reserve ... No point making "tyred" excuses the Eagles look far stronger throughout the septet. Morley looks like he will be carrying the Kings for a while.

James Shanes was excellent value. Great riding style and tenacious but needs to learn to gate . Eagles looked strong throughout. Decent performance.

Why run PL - the increase in costs would be significant and the crowds would not significantly increase. Good Fridays crowd was on par if not better than most Elite fixtures at Arlington recently. Was impressed by the Eagles set up both on and off the track.

So pleased there was a huge turnout for the event - I read the article in the speedway star long road ahead. Glad the riders supported it.

Speedway is a minority sport and BBC has no interest in it. Speedway could neither neither rely on the fashionable or politically correct nomination. Would imagine a still of Woffy will feature in a montage and that will be it.

So team limits 38 points if you take 3pt for each reserve. Now a scramble for the best NL riders.

Or most likely a wind up.

In sales ; you need combine looking after your existing clients, as well as targeting new clients. Speedway on the most part has failed to do both. The product is getting worse yet more expensive and people are voting with their feet - hence the declining numbers. Targeting a new audience is mostly forgotten. Speedway cant afford to neglect its current audience - as word of mouth is and always will be its most cost effective sales tool.

With TV dictating sport, it is the modern way in most sports, bar Premier League football. For the tv networks it guarantees an increased interest and audience. The clubs like them because it draws in the crowds in droves. Poole have relatively decent crowds in comparison to most if not all EL teams but I am sure the Play-offs were up in numbers to the usual Wimborne Road attendance.. Its actually good to see a crowd on televised British Speedway. In general the only team that dislikes the play-offs if unsuccessful is the winners of the league (Birmingham Brummies). Although I believe in Rugby League now they award a League Winners Shield/Trophy.

Whether Sky Sports are involved or not some significant changes to the sport need to be made. Will be interesting to see if the Promoters stick there head in the sand again (or pint) come the AGM ...

Worrall has impressed me this season on the couple of occasions that he has been to Arlington. Birks can hold his head up high following his season in the Elite League. There is certainly the talent there , it is just a case of whether they can attract enough finance and sponsors. Remember reading an interview with Lewis Bridger in SS when he was at Coventry and he said when they reached the Grand Final , Kasprzak was offering engines ,equipment etc to a number of the riders and that KKs backing was unbelievable. Sponsorship seems to be a major hurdle. Woffinden has knuckled down with fitness and nutrition and deserves the recognition this year but his kevlars still lack advertisers. He seems very professional with the way he handles his sponsors following his feature in the SS but no doubt could do with more. Whether the Young Brits can get the funding to make the step up to international level , time will tell but certainly Worrall, Ellis, Garrity , Howarth , Birks and the likes can certainly look to a future in the sport.

Last nights meeting was not too bad. I feared the worst after heats 1 and 2 but despite the scoreline a couple of Hammers rode their nuts off trying to get a point. The SEC has been slightly disappointing and the last meeting was average but then again how bad was the Italian SGP dull as dish water. Certainly the best meetings on TV this season were the Premier League meetings at somerset and Scunthorpe even berwick was better than the majority of Elite League race meets.

Kennett will ride in the GP Challenge even if he gets 0,0,0,0,0 .... The FIM have decided that a GB rider will get a wildcard for the GP Challenge at Poole.

Shambolic ... switched it off after 3 heats. Having waited from over an hour from 6pm to 7.20pm because of Polish Eurosport covering a two bob tennis match and then jumping into the speedway at heat 5/6 was a complete shambles. This was only enhanced when they broke for ads only to come back halfway through ht 9 .. From those few heats the meeting didnt look great so I switched off. Generally been fairly impressed with Eurosport coverage but last night was utter gash.

Harris must be gutted he would of had a decent chance at Poole as he can ride Wimborne road well on occasions. Great effort by Dakota North to progress to the next round.

Jeff Scott's books are an excellent read. Most of the autobiographies are a decent read. It's just good to be able to get some insight into the sport and riders : Crump, Hamill, Ermolenko, Wiggo, Simmo, and tommy Jansson all are decent reads. Normally Cardiff is the time of new launches , any planned this year ???

It makes no sense to prevent riders earning a living from the European Championship or Pairs meeting unless the BSPA is in cahoots with BSI / IMG. Simple negotiation with British riders for this season would of been as long as it doesn't coincide with your Elite League fixtures you can ride. Speedway on tv can only be good for the sport and the for riders in terms of sponsorship. The article in the speedway star from Nicholls seems as though there is a lot of bad feeling bubbling between the riders and the BSPA. Perhaps the likes of Kennett, Harris, Stead etc should of done the same as Nicholls and withheld there services too.

Really enjoyed that meeting. Both Scunthorpe and Workington served up a thriller. One meeting doesn't make a summer but wish the Scunthorpe track was my nearest track rather than Eastbourne. That meeting surpassed any of the Elite League racing I have seen this season on Sky Sports or at Arlington. Scunthorpe should take a bow for that meeting. So many race lines riders were moaning they didn't know where to ride. The banter between Rosco , Pearson and Woffinden was good value too.

Worrall and Cook ..... Need to keep tapping the MotoX route .... Worrall has one quality a lot of current Brits haven't - he can gate. Considering only his 2nd year in the sport I've been impressed when I've seen him ride.

Inside Speedway is a lovely looking magazine. Good design and use of photography. However for a quarterly magazine to survive the editorial content has to be far better than the 1st issue. Need to get some informative , controversial content to create debate.

Nobody worries too much when football clubs get foreign managers. Rosco is well respected by many of the riders and has links with plenty of the young Aussies already so makes sense. Good luck to him.

The floating camera good idea but for those watching in HD the quality is woeful then it snaps into HD as they change the camera angle. The change simply highlights how poor the floating camera is. Like helmet cam , what a waste of time to continue using every race.

Speedway Star needs to get more of this in the magazine. That and the Ashley Birks column should be increased. Give a real insight into a riders week.