Aces51

Palm - Toft was in the main body of the team the whole season at Belle Vue. EDR's or whatever they were called then, couldn't move up but he did well and was very popular because of his never say die attitude. He is a better rider now than he was then and certainly rode exceptionally well at the NSS this year.

If the current rules for EDR apply they would be able to pick him anyway because he rode for them this year. Stefan has ability to improve further, just as he did in his time at Belle Vue. He has perhaps stagnated a bit this year but riders sometimes do that before making the next step up. A surprise signing but we shall have to wait and see what the rules are next year, it may turn out to have been a smart move.

Woffinden has edited his Facebook scum comment and taken that word out. By doing so he must be accepting he shouldn't have said it in the first place so credit to him at least for that.

So far as I can see there's only one person who has reported actually hearing comments about his father and they were in the South Stand so I can't see how Woffinden could possibly have heard them. I understand your desire to defend him but I think you are now clutching at straws. Most mature sportsman are sufficiently professional not to respond in the way Woffinden did on the night. However, I can understand that keeping your cool in the heat of the meeting is difficult and can forgive the hand gestures, although that was what exacerbated the situation. However, it is totally unacceptable for someone in his position to call fans scum the following day.

They've been trying to keep the cross dressing quiet. Apparently it was part of Zagar's contract.

You are right about that. In the 60's and 70's it was common and expected that riders wouldn't leave room for anyone to pass them going down the straights. With one or two exceptions they wouldn't deliberately fence someone but knowing a gap wouldn't be left riders didn't usually put themselves in a position where they might be fenced. Soren Sjosten had the answer at Hyde Road he would just head down the middle of the back straight and then forget to turn left until the last minute leaving whoever was on his outside by the fence to either shut off or bale out.

Monday as one of the fixed nights won't work if we hope to attract the top riders. Both Wolves and Belle Vue, when they raced on a Monday, have said how difficult it is to attract those riders because most don't want to do Poland Sunday, UK Monday and Sweden Tuesday. In any event, to save on travelling and the costs any fixed nights need to be consecutive days, not Monday and Wednesday. Monday is also a bad day for attracting crowds.

Congratulations to Wolves, a deserved win. Lindgren the best rider over the two legs and great to see PK bowing out of the EL with such a good performance. Belle Vue can only blame themselves for their poor performance at Wolverhampton, it was just one of those nights and unfortunately happened in such an important meeting. However, what a night. Great racing, everyone giving total commitment, Aces clawing back enough points to keep it interesting and a massive crowd. I expected to be really disappointed if we lost but wasn't, how can you be after a night of entertainment like that, speedway as good as I've seen. It is proof of what can be done if others can have the vision and determination to do what David Gordon and Chris Morton have done. I suspect most of us would have laughed out loud and thought them stupid if they had told us what they were setting out to achieve back in 2007. Given the right stage this sport of ours can still be brilliant. There was more than enough space for Lindgren to pass without touching Cook's front wheel and I can understand Cook's reaction because it could have been disastrous for him if he had lost control. It was only handbags on the track after the race and nothing at all wrong with one rider letting another know he isn't happy with him, it adds to the entertainment. What was wrong from what I saw was a Wolves mechanic running out of the pits and attacking Cook which resulted in the melee that followed. Woffinden just showed himself up for what he is with his actions to the crowd and his comments on TV and social media. He has used British speedway to keep race fit and earn some money when meetings dried up in Poland and Sweden and is apparently then surprised when fans boo him. What a team we would have next year if we could find 7 riders with the passion and commitment shown by Craig Cook.

You don't half talk rubbish. As someone who was actually there and saw the effort being put in there was no question of anyone not trying.

Mark Lemon has been a brilliant appointment. I don't see much wrong with his decisions at Wolverhampton and he has played a major part in our getting into the last two play off finals. Zagar has had a difficult season which he has put down to mechanical problems but his form at the NSS improved at the same time as it did in the GP's. He has looked much faster.

Personally, I prefer to wait until all our matches are finished before commenting on who should go or stay next year.

Might Holder jnr follow his older brother?

I don't believe in all this defeatist talk. It's going to be difficult, Lindgren and Woffinden do well at the NSS and Howarth seems at last to have found some form but it is not impossible. We have more experience of the new track than we did when Wolves last visited, still not the sort of home advantage we faced at Monmore but every single Ace is more than capable of scoring significantly more than they did last night. Fricke and Jacobs alone could add a combined extra 15/16 points to their total and I can't see any rider scoring less than they did at Wolves. We have nothing to lose, everybody will be fired up, there will be a massive crowd urging them on and it can be done.

Congratulations to Wolves on an emphatic win and to Craig Cook on showing the spirit and determination we need from everyone on Wednesday. I'm certainly not accepting it's all over. We can do the same to them on Wednesday. I'm not saying we will, it's a tall order but it's not impossible. Those saying Jacobs should have been replaced need to remember there was nobody below him on the EDR list who was likely to do as well, never mind better. He has shown on numerous occasions at the NSS that he has skill and track craft, just can't do it away. As for Fricke he has had plenty of experience of small tracks at Edinburgh and the dog track. As for zPoole having more fight look no further back than last week.

The original business case for the NSS was based on crowds of 2,000, the stadium being only a third full. Obviously hoping for an Aces win tonight. I think that will be a tall order with Wolves home advantages but I will be happy losing by 8 or less. Any more than that and we shall have a struggle but this Belle Vue team has the spirit and tenacity to to fight back when necessary. The first reference I heard came from Dorset.

How can anyone be sure about anything. All of this speculation is based on rumours and I have seen nothing factual at all to substantiate any of them. The rumours seem to originate from the south coast. What I have seen is a team giving 100%, getting us to the top of the league and taking obvious delight in what they have achieved. That doesn't seem to fit in with riders concerned about being paid. A Poole supporter claiming we couldn't afford the team signed this year seems ridiculous considering it is virtually the same team as last year when we were at the dog track.

They can't really complain if they choose to ride for teams that seem to have a history of preferring foreigners. Perhaps those young riders need to vote with their feet and try to get places at teams that support British riders not only by having a majority of Brits in their EL teams but by running NL teams as well. Perhaps then the others might be encouraged to change their policy.

Lindgren certainly seems to be trying to emulate Nicki Pedersen this year. It's good that he is showing more aggression but you can do that and still leave room for riders to race. Even so I suspect that Tai and Freddie will have kissed and made up before Monday.

Andersen had not been riding well before his injury so no guarantee he would have scored many points. Ford had the option of using guests for Andersen but obviously thought Lindback was a better option. That was his mistake. Pedersen was terrible in the home leg and would have done no better as a heat leader at Wolverhampton. Tungate is a much better rider who has been in good form but had one of those nights, even so, I doubt Pedersen would have scored as many. Poole could also have brought in a guest for Lindback, admittedly not a lot of choice because of his assessed average but maybe using Grajczonek, a Poole asset or Klindt, would have been better than r/r.

I doubt any season ticket holders think it's free, they know it is because of the shortfall in meetings. However, it is a gesture that is appreciated because it means not having to bother going through the booking process for the final and that we get our regular seat.

Another excellent meeting at the NSS. There Aces were determined and never eased off but the scoreline doesn't reflect the efforts of the Lakeside riders. Robert Bransford deserves particular mention. He was on the pace, had a well deserved race win and his points tally doesn't reflect his performance. All of the Aces were on form and we shall be hard to beat if we can replicate this form next week. I don't know about favorites, Wolves kept it close on their last visit and have since strengthened with the addition of Woffinden. I suspect it's going to be a close contest and more difficult than if Poole had qualified.

Lambert is certainly a better choice at the NSS than Bomber. He's ridden well on previous visits and I'm sure will get a decent score tonight. It's a shame AJ is riding in Sweden, a popular visitor to Belle Vue.

I thought it was... You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time. Now that is a truism.

Sorry to hear that Lewis Kerr is unwell. That definitely weakens Lakeside but we still need to ensure we don't slip up. Kings Lynn taught us that we can't take anything for granted but we should get through to the final without too much difficulty.

Ford says they are using r/r because King is riding for Belle Vue and Harris for Wolves. King isn't riding for Belle Vue. However, his average is too high because unfortunately Lindback was assessed at 7. Perhaps Matt was getting confused and thinking Lindback was on a realistic average. Of course there are riders available but Matt obviously thinks r/r is their best option.