mikebv

Nice to see Eleven Sports mentioning Nigel Pearson's passing...

Would imagine he would still be getting paid a fair amount given he will lose an incredible amount if not... Keeps him within the group should circumstances change too.. Proper team ethic in Poland isn't it? Tribal. Them and us...

Dan needs to stop getting beat up in tight first bends... Too many times he takes himself out of the race before it's almost started... Needs to stop running lasts from a decent start in the better company... Lock down Doyle there and it would have stopped Doyle's race, or, learn to take a dive when you get touched, a la Nicki P.. The GP's are very unforgiving so he needs to get his elbows out if he wants to compete...

Like the look of this Lublin team.. A maturing Kubera and Drabik could be very much keys to any success this season. Hampel may actually prove to be their weakest link, which is ironic given how many great years he has had in the top league in Poland.. Juniors look very solid for heat 2 too.. And the Lublin track is just "different enough" to offer a bit of home advantage when compared to the other very similar bowls of the sides who will be their play off rivals.. Fantastic fan base support too...

Is that October 2022?

But that would mean working as a collective for the greater good of the sport... That would never work...

And given how many football matches seem to get stopped these days for crowd illnesses, which result in hospital visits, surely two ambulances are a necessity and not a "nice to have"?.. Just another in a long list of "own goals" that this sport (in the UK), like to score...

The Aces showing real consistency in the League Cup.. And Mark Lemon as equally as consistent with his usual tactical capability too reading the threads of the two meetings.. Let's be kind and say he is giving his lads plenty of track time before the real stuff starts..

There will be 14 riders who go around the country seven nights a week representing every one of the teams... Saturday and Sundays will have a "matinee match" at 12pm so the 14 lads can get to their evening meetings.... Nine matches per week, 18 teams, nine of equal capability, nine others of equal capability.... Plenty of riders to replace poor performers and injuries.. Bomber can ride for both teams...

And also Glasgow give up (a minimum), two local derbies against Edinburgh... And instead have their nearest track Belle Vue, rather than having the likes of Berwick, Newcastle and Redcar within "reasonable" proximity.. Riding on a Monday or a Thursday too, rather than at the weekend... Bet they couldnt wait to sign up to that...

Dont you have to have so many meetings to become an "asset"..? Maybe that is what Newcastle are doing if they see potential in the young man..? Then replace him with one of the standard of riders mentioned....

Running Sunday reduces their capabilty to attract Div 2 HL level riders massively, as that level of rider is in demand in Poland's Div 2 and 3. Or, already all snapped up by the other clubs in their league.... HL level riders won't want to sign for a Sunday track when they can still get "big money" meetings in Poland as the season over there progresses and spaces come avaialble, and they know Poland won't touch them if they had to miss meetings due to prior engagements.. (Unless of course your UK club takes a few quid to let you miss an official UK meeting to ride over there) Cough! Cough! They should have gone NDL if Sunday was their only raceday option...

He obviously didn't want to get accused of helping Newcastle to win the cup...

Could be a cracker this one... Another great atmosphere at Lublin too..

His reputation will do him no favours... As did Doyle's earlier...

What a race.... Bikes being thrown at each other all over the place... You have to love Polish Speedway.. Great match...

And Zagar might get 4 points by beating his team mate to third, meaning 20 - 4 in his races.. Or 8 points in four 3-3's so no "swing" to the Aces... They will undoubtedly be better with Zagar and I do have a sneaking feeling for them to reach the Final..

Starts today in Poland..

The issue is they have to "get in early", as many riders get fixed up well before the season ends.. So, any teams being "not sure if they will run" wont be attracting any riders of a bona fide HL level.. And the UK only DU's of a certain level will always want to keep their options open towards Poland, as the inevitable injuries or poor performances will impact the Polish Div Two and Three teams, meaning potential jobs for them as the season progresses.. Basically. Sign for Newcastle and you cant then ride in Poland.. They have a rich history of spotting talent and bringing it over. Talent which then moves on to bigger things.. However. That was in the days when Poland on a Sunday didnt dominate the Speedway landscape.. If you are a talented young Scandiniavian, European, or Aussie now, you can go straight to Poland and earn a fair few quid more than the UK can shell out... And as the GP shows, no longer do you need to race over here regularly to become World Class...

Well done young man.... They would have taken that before tapes up... Great atmosphere being generated....

Majic.... If only his GP season didn't always end in July...

Looking forward to this one..... Wroclaw away is (famous last words), usually well worth a watch... Track seems to be a bit of an issue though, work being done on it... Ostrow seem to have decided to "take the money and run" looking at their team assembled....

Maybe the answer is that Bomber goes around and rides for every club in the first couple of weeks? He will probably achieve this feat as the season goes by anyway, so, instead, make it part of the "launch plan" in those important few meetings for each team...

But Brum dont ride on Sunday's... A massive disadvantage when trying to negotiate with "decent riders" I would suggest... If the "UK only" DU's are already signed up, (and they will be in great demand), you have to go down the foreign rider front who invariably will have a place in Polands Div 2 and 3.. Maybe they should have just signed a rider who couldn't turn up most weeks and ran with Guests..? Seem to remember Robert Lambert filling that particular role a few years ago... A very small pool of riders of sufficient standard to pick from when you race on Sundays, regardless of what budget you have.... As, invariably, even the biggest budgets wont out do what Poland would pay..

Let's be fair... Newcastle were set up to fail just by being in the 2nd Div... They came to the party far too late and ended up getting what they could, which included those surplus to requirements elsewhere, or on assessed averages, or a rider that hadnt ridden for ten years.. All in all, what they have is all what they could have expected when riders are not capable of riding to the level of their specific position in the team.. Second Strings as Heat Leaders simply doesn't work, but given the lack of riders available, I am not sure Newcastle could have done more... Saying "We need a No1 rider to take pressure off the rest of the team", is frankly, stating the "bleedin' obvious"... The more difficult issue is who that No1 rider is and how he can be convinced to drop other countries and come and ride in the UK..