Bagpuss

I'm sure I read on this thread somewhere that Frederick Jakobsen has become a Poole asset.....not according to the Belle Vue programme last night which says the Aces invited him over to have a look at him.

But if you go to a challenge match or individual meeting in March you have to expect some riders to be easing into their season, it's impossible for man and machine to hit the ground running straight away. You will get some good races like we saw at Belle Vue last night and some not so good.....Jason Doyle admitted he was a bag of nerves before his first race at Belle Vue and felt like he'd forgotten how to ride a motorbike, but visibly improved with every ride. For me it's quite simple, if you don't want to pay full prices to watch riders getting into full swing then don't go and instead wait for the proper stuff to start.

Maybe folk are waiting longer than one challenge match to pass opinion? People would look a bit silly if he bangs in a good score in his next meeting having ripped into him after Friday night

Appreciate that mate but it's a challenge match, surely better for him in the long run to have his fourth ride and get as much experience as possible on the track.

Weeks ago somebody suggested that any rider who misses at least a season over here should be reassessed, their new figure calculated from their averages in other leagues using a pre determined formula. Seems the most sensible and fairest option to me.

Fantastic race suits, the best I've seen so far. Puts Poole's collection of waifs and strays to shame.

None so blind as those who do not wish to see unfortunately. 'Nothing to see here' because eyes are closed and fingers are in ears while singing 'la la la la la'.

Why not give Andersson his fourth ride?

I think the vast majority of us are relieved that we aren't anything like him

Was going to post something similar......very early days of course and little should be read into these two legs but he can feel very satisfied with his week's work.

It's quite a clever ploy really, keep on rule bending and breaking until people either walk away and find something else to do or give up caring and therefore there are no dissenting voices left genius to be honest.

It's like we've been transported back to the nineties. Says it all that even some NL teams will be racing in team suits. I assume my own club are going with racesuits, if not I'll be laying into them too.

If we lived in a perfect world and riders were robots I'd agree but like every other professional sport which has rule changes there will be teething problems like it or not. As for why we don't have centre green clocks as people have suggested I think we all know it's to try and achieve the same result on the cheap.

You can be prepared as you like and just have absolutely no luck on any given night, it happens although fortunately not very often. Panning the poor chap is pretty harsh but not unexpected on this platform.....Belle Vue fans know what Tungate can do and won't be too concerned.

I expect a lot of the trouble tonight was habit, one would like to think that after a few meetings and exclusions riders will learn to poverty the new rule.

I'm sure everyone was trying but it's the first meeting, bodies and bikes probably need 4-6 meetings to get into full swing. And probably less intensity as no league points at stake. People on here do it every year though, getting stuck into certain riders after one match and then looking silly later in the season.

You can't draw any conclusions from what is effectively a challenge match and not sure why anyone would attempt to to be honest. Other than to try and wind people up of course (yawn). Must have been bloody cold spectating! Coming up for the 90th anniversary meeting on Saturday, looking forward to it.

Other teams 'get away with it' because they aren't daft enough to get caught red handed.

Helmet colours? Anyway they aren't almost identical at all. How long do we have put up with this childish nonsense just because your club have downgraded to race jackets?

Jesus Christ, all he is saying is that Somerset was Holder's first choice and Poole his second. All the other guff you are coming out with is totally and utterly irrelevant.

Race bibs are even more out of date than our club anthem

Agree about Worrall, will be good for his development to get him away from number two.

The worrying thing is this appears to be the idea of the new co promoter who has been brought in to help improve things

A Pole? That's a wind up surely?