Bagpuss

To be fair I can sympathise with Nicholls a little, you would expect all squad members to be given a call before both meetings to be told whether they were in the team or not. However I'm quite happy that he didn't get picked for reasons explained to death over the last fortnight or so. Its still not clear to me whether he was invited to be in the pits or asked to stay away....of course it may have been neither and if so he has missed a trick by not being in the pits and part of the Team for both events. Lee Richardson and Edward Kennett were right in the middle of it all even though they weren't riding and that speaks volumes for their commitment. If Nicholls wasn't told to stay away then his absence says an awful lot about him as a team player.

Damn right

You've got an answer for everything...are you my wife?

Not the best move by Tai...get in there and help by all means but not wearing that.

Yep, respect for that one

Hurrah! The first thing you have come out with this week which makes sense.

Or on the other hand its probably made them more determined to come back stronger next year and in Kennett's case sort his big track game out. No doubt if Bridger had been given the choice this time last week to either sit it out on Thursday night or ride and not score he would choose the former every time. As for leaving Lewis and Danny out of rides, thats part and parcel of SWC speedway. Denmark and Sweden did the same thing, is that going to destroy their riders too

With respect, what a load of horse manure. Lewis was not 'off the pace', and was quite clearly demoralised by the fact that he'd suffered an EF and a tapes exclusion. The experience he has gained this week will be invaluable to him for the upcoming World U21 Final, and next year's SWC (as well as many after that).

Hopefully Russia, but I imagine Poland will win at a canter.

On that we can agree.....quite how and when Test matches can be fitted in I'm not sure but they need to be. I accept that but I'm sure that Rob's management has squeezed extra points out of them both compared to Jim Lynch's approach last year.

Bridger & King only contributed a point but no doubt they learned in one night what a season's worth of league racing would teach them. They are our future, not a GP struggler on the way down. And the fact that those two 'full strength failures' were so much better than last year must tell you something. Scott Nicholls was overlooked for what must be a very good reason....I look forward to hearing it in the coming weeks.

To be fair its only the Lynn haters and the Rosco lovers who want Rob out, and they are in the vast minority. Toogood has already come out and publicly backed him, so he is here to stay What a load of old squit. The guy has a cool and calm approach rather than bleating and blahing like Rossiter....the fact that a great team spirit has been generated from not having one at all says everything about what Rob brings to Team GB. The benefits of this week will be seen in years to come....I can't believe that a few are being so obtuse and can't see it. A young side nearly qualified for the final last night, whereas a 'full strength' one last year came nowhere near.

Nicholls quite obviously hasn't been interested this week, unlike Richardson who has been a credit to himself. Only the obtuse few can't see that. I hope that Rob and the lads read this forum as the vast majority of people are behind them and their principles....as they say 'you reap what you sow', as I'm sure we will all see in a few year's time

But its not an acceptance of being third best - its the recognition that last years effort was shambolic with our 'strongest team' and that we have a group of young riders who can be serious contenders in a few years time if they are given the experience. And if you think that Lee Richardson riding on Monday instead of Danny King would have given us a chance of winning the meeting then I can only laugh The fact that Scott Nicholls was not in the pits either on Monday or tonight speaks volumes for his commitment......surely he can't be surprised at being dropped from the team after a quite awful season so far. And someone remind me how he faired in the Lezno GP? People were crying out for his exclusion from the team after a dreadful start to the year, and when that happens people moan! Hopefully Test Matches can be arranged, but as Trees says fitting them into rider's schedules is the hard bit.

Well after the debacle of the last two SWC's this week has put some pride back into Team GB for me. Nobody gave us a prayer tonight but the lads only lost out in the last few heats when a full strength Swedish team finally showed up. I would much rather be a second rate team with promise than a second rate team with none, ie last year's side. Who would you have picked instead? Kennett was dreadful on Monday, and Nicholls obviously doesn't want to be involved after being dropped for the first meeting. Nonsense. His official FIM programme had the gates down as per the first running of the heat. And he is a bloke who keeps his cool rather than ranting and raving all over the place. Cool heads are needed in pressure situations.

I would imagine that Peterborough's shale has a little less clay in it, but thats the only difference. Its a myth that the NA track is three feet deep in dirt, and that line is usually trotted out by people who haven't even been!

I thought it looked slicker than normal last night, but at the same time it was smoother....I think the secret was the work done after heats 5, 10, 15 & 20. Went to the EL pairs in 2005 and the racing was poor, so having class riders doesn't always mean great racing....the GP's so far underline that. The track has to be right too.

Fantastic meeting, and a very gutsy display by the young Brits.....maybe the selction of Richardson and Nicholls would have gleaned a few more points than (probably) Bridger and King but there is no way on earth we would have won the meeting so selecting those two would have served no purpose whatsoever. As it stands our 'strongest' side (which would include Nicholls according to some but I wouldn't have picked him anyway) is nowhere near good enough at the moment so this is the way forward. Australia & Poland were full of experience and Grand Prix appearances last night so its no surprise that they both finished way ahead of us....if these five lads are kept together for the next few years there is no reason why we can't be World Champions in that time. In addition the next batch ie Haines, Mear, Auty, Roynon should be taken along to Lezno on Thursday for a taster so that they know what to expect when their turn in the squad comes. Of course the problem of youth development lies deeper but last night was a start.....and its refreshing to read that the vast majority (Rosco worshippers excepted) are behind Rob Lyon and his vision. He will succeed, of that I have no doubt.

It is the home for the Fours IMO.....spent many a sunny Sunday afternoon during the nineties at Finals day Yep, the SWC seems to provide the best action year on year. Apart from a few dodgy ones in the very early days of Buster's tenure at the club when the stockcars were first introduced at Lynn, the NA track has always well prepared by him (and of course Huggy). Very, very rarely is it not smooth and consistent with a nice amount of dirt. When I saw the bare patches on the inside of turns three & four after heat one last night I was fearful, but the track rode excellently and the racing was tremendous, culminating in the quite brilliant heat 20. Hats off to everyone involved in preparing the circuit

Accept your point about Lynn's PL team but this year has seen the emergence of a Lynn NL side (to replace a CL club who had resided at Lynn for several years) with two 15 year olds at reserve and two 19 year olds as second strings. And I would like to know who the 'no hopers' are as you put it.....Richardson for King is the only swap that many would make. Sounds like the guy is being panned for one debatable selection.

And ours

Had planned to go to this and would still like to, but not at that price....will cost fifty sheets for the two of us just to get in. Crazy.

Well I got four out of the five, I'm a little surprised that King is preferred to Rico but you can see why the decision has been made. Good to see the usual suspects are stamping their feet and slagging off Rob without a wheel being turned. Priceless!

First chance I have had to comment on the incident since last Saturday....from where we sat high up on the third bend it looked like Nicholls closed the door round the last bend but left Emil room to race. IMO the reaction of the Russian was way OTT, perhaps he is finding it hard to handle the pressure of expectation in the GP's now and loses his rag when things aren't going his way? Has loads of talent and at 19 one can excuse a lack of composure but he needs to develop some quickly if he is to remain at the top end of the GP rankings. Looked to me like Nicholls tried hard to ride away from Emil but as he has said in the press, when someone starts clouting you round the head you are hardly going to stand there and let them do it.

Spot on. My PE teacher at school had the saying 'look smart, play smart' and thats what he told us every time we represented the school at football / cricket / basketball etc. No one is saying that GB will sweep all before them just because they are all dressed the same but its a good basis for the team identity. Its one of the small things which has helped at Lynn since 2005.