Bagpuss

It does seem bizarre to not put your best (unbeaten) rider off the worst gate when you need a heat advantage.

He should have done it this year IMO. Too good for the PL.

Indeed, we need to be careful not to go OTT with the criticism. How many fifteen year olds don't act like berks? Unfortunately in speedway we seem to knock any decent Brit who doesn't ride for our own team. He can go as far as he wants in speedway IMO and, like Darcy Ward did, he will grow up with experience. Certainly a few EL meetings next year won't be beyond his capabilities or do him any harm.

Our youth set up isn't adequate for guaranteed British spots. If and when something is ever set up to match Poland, Sweden or Denmark so that we have a group of 15 year olds coming into the NL each year who are ready a year or two later to hold their own in the PL it might be different. That is not to disregard the hard work that already goes on at U15 level but it needs to be much more. However rather than see Brits handed spots we should be making it harder for foreign riders who are clearly not up to the job like Edberg, Lykke, Nielsen, Davey, Dilger etc to stay if they don't reach a certain average. While I accept that riders such as Worrall, Branford, Perry & Bates have lost PL places this year through lack of points there are others who haven't been given the chance. Bates has shown in a couple of guest bookings for Embra that he has improved this season and nobody expected Lewi Kerr to produce what he has for Newcastle. Sometimes it pays to give an inexperienced Brit a chance rather than a more experienced foreigner who will never make the grade.

Some of Bridger's retweets on Twitter tonight are shocking whatever happened tonight. Hopefully he will be barred from the stadium from now on as he's not a great role model for young NL riders in all honesty.

Wells looks the best of those lot to me.

Fantastic away win for the Young Stars without their top two.

Not a problem with that as we knew he'd be away at weekends when he was signed but surely a top guest could have been booked in his place rather than R/R and subsequently Ritchings once Worrall had withdrawn. The Young Stars effectively went into today's meeting without their three top riders.

Indeed, was indicated he was guessing for Worrall but it appears it was actually for Lambert, am sure he tried hard but four points is nowhere near what Lambert would have scored. Winning is of secondary importance for me personally in the NL but it doesn't encourage me to go and watch if the team is way understrength.

Why no Worrall or guest at one? Doesn't really encourage fans to travel in all honesty.

Not enough opportunities pre NL, ie for under 15's. I don't expect for one minute that the BSPA are interested in creating more of these opportunities but if they are then all they have to do is find out what Denmark, Sweden, Poland & Aus are doing that we are not.

Perhaps thats how the home riders want it?

Teams from Mildy website: 1. Stefan Nielsen 8.32 2. Nathan Stoneman 4.46 3. Josh Bates 7.25 4. Jon Armstrong 8.31 5. Daniel Halsey © 7.50 6. Connor Mountain 7. Aaron Baseby 4.23 1. R/R 2. Lewis Rose 7.22 3. Ben Morley (G) 4. Darren Mallett 6.37 5. Steve Worrall 6.43 6. Shane Waldron 3.00 7. Shane Hazelden 4.40

And you'd better watch out, he's coming for you lot again this season

Whatever anyone thinks of Barker, and I don't for one minute think he is any sort of angel, I'm afraid Cook has let himself and his club/country down pretty badly over the last week or so. As one of our best prospects its very disappointing to see, hopefully he will learn from being chucked out of the meeting last night and sort himself out.

Genius.

Mr Lee to go bananas in the press tomorrow morning then

With all due respect Team GB is going downhill every year and hit a new low on Thursday. And I think as supporters we have every right to be unhappy with our team manager and those who employ him. Our problems run very deep and will only get worse until the whole approach is altered.

Speculate to accumulate......a much better youth system would eventually mean more British riders meaning less money being wasted by promoters flying foreign riders in and out of the country, can't be cheap. Also crowds may well respond to watching more British lads racing for their team, as might sponsors.

Well done once again Lewi Kerr, really excited to see how far this kid can go

The BSPA are reaping what they sowed when they didn't let Rob carry out his long term vision unfortunately. Not sure if he would come back with co promoting duties at Lynn but I'd be on the blower to him now. Next year people like Kennett, King and Barker should be nowhere near the squad.....get Cook and Worrall riding abroad every week and build the side around them with Tai and Bridger (not everyone's cup of tea I know but for me he has lots of natural ability and is still young enough). Have Lambert, Ellis, Howarth, Garrity, Birks, Kerr, Blackbird, Nielsen etc in and around the squad learning all the time......they won't all make the grade but give them the chance at least. Get Nicholls and Harris involved in some capacity, if they care about GB they'll buy into it. They have the experience and would be good coaches. Get the team practicing together regularly and riding tests home and away, get some team spirit going. And most importantly get some proper structure to under 15 racing, so that youngsters have more competitive track time. And start trying to recruit moto x riders at a younger age, this is where most of our prospects are coming from but we need to get to them earlier.

At least Middlo would be getting something right

Its disappointing when British fans support other countries but each to their own, and if its because they are cheesed off at the way the sport is run in the UK and the way team GB has gone backwards as a result you can't really blame them in all honesty. I've never really done the whole favourite rider thing since Henka moved on from Lynn twenty years ago but many do and if their favourites ride for another nation and they don't really like any of team GB then you can see why they would support the other country. Its a great pity though.

As I said I'd have stuck with him but you can see why they haven't.

With all due respect I don't see how banging in a maximum at Redcar will prove anyone wrong. Cook is too good for the PL and has wasted a year for me by not riding abroad and doing the PL again instead. I would like to have seen Middlo stick with Cook for tomorrow but in any squad sport if you perform poorly you will get dropped, simple as that. I feel the changes have given us a good chance of getting to the final, lets hope the four selected can do the business.