thebaron

No kidding ?.. there you go; you learn something every day in this game. By the way; but were probably talking half a point difference on the CMA's if that. So that stops us organising our heat leaders to maximise effect !..never happened in the good old "daze" I'll give you that. A bit like Harry Kane in your 1-11 and having to stick him in nets !. More anti-speedway for you. Then that's that we're stuck with it; but welcome Lewis and still looking forward to Scunday. By the way don't worry too much about the post I'm fine honest; folks need to start worrying if I stop caring enough to post anything. Then speedways really in bother. Cheers and all the best.

Just wondering how we will line up 1-7 ?. Signing Lewis Kerr has me thinking back to Bradford 1974 !. Our No1 and Captain "armchair stylist" Alan Knapkin took over the promoting reigms at Odsal mid season. Knapkin paid a transfer fee for Bostons reserve rider Tony Featherstone and he made his Odsal debut at No1 !. We could not quite fathom out how Tony ended up switching from reserve at Boston to No1 at Bradford?. Back in 1970 at my second ever Speedway meeting Tony had been the first rider I had ever seen flung over the back straight safety fence onto the Odsal terraces and walk away ! So we were a little unconvinced about his signing?. But Knapkin knew his man and Featherstone posted a 12pt maximum home debut score !. He never looked back after that and became a big points scorer in the team until Odsal closed its doors to Speedway in 1975. My point is that I would give Lewis Kerr the No1 race jacket too ! and show the same leap of faith Knapkin showed Tony Featherstone-who ironically would later ride for Scunthorpe at Ashby Ville in the 80s. There has been talk on here that riding No1 has not always brought the best out of Josh Auty ? Debatable sure ?. So I would take a bit of pressure off and move the order around. So; 1.Lewis 2.MPT 3.Ryan 4 Alex 5.Big Josh 6.Carlos 7 Little Josh. I think that pairs the riders quite effectively and immediately shows the regard and faith we have in Lewis coming into the club. I do not want to pile the pressure on Lewis but I just think this move managed this way might be a win win for the club and a very talented and brave young English rider with a point to prove. It would be a "feather" in our cap and his if we have found our modern day Tony Featherstone. Looking forward to the weekend now.

Agree; we are not a million miles off; is there not some satisfaction from turning the situation around with most of the team we have?. If the situation is as you say with Ty Procter then that's that with it; if we add Lewis Kerr then fine. What I would campaign for in 2017 is a Transfer Window system; say two windows in a season; where you can change your team. Barring injury or unavailability you work with the 1-7 you declared at the start of the season until the first window and so on. Guest riders (a necessity maybe in moderation) and the constant swapping and changing teams ruin the sport for me. Any Scunthorpe fans remember 1972 ? battered up hill and down dale and I don't recall much in the way of change in that 1-7. Part of the excitement is seeing if we can up our game and get back in the game with the riders we have. I realise that some folks do not see it that way though.

From what I have gathered Ty Procter was making his way back to the UK; so suspect he would be here if not already. Absolutely Lewis Kerr would be a good move; and his leaving Ippo took me by surprise; apologies to all if I appear to have jumped the tapes and signed him up already when that's the managements prerogative !

I like Lewis and its brilliant to see how well he has recovered and so brave to take on the challenge of racing speedway so soon after his injuries. But; for that reason I do think we get him at a time when he is still in that recovery process; and we have to be careful not to expect him to suddenly turn our season around. Personally I would have tried for Ty Procter; because he comes back very much with a point to prove; and you get Aussie mates rates from him circa teaming with Alex and Ryan. I could be wrong. Welcome to Scunthorpe Lewis; and all the best; lets re-group and draw a line under things from here...

Phil; agree we have not fully picked the tools up with the exception of Ryan. Its not all about winning for me; but it is a results business and thats what folks want to see. For me there is interest in trying to get a tune out of the team we have. Its part and parcel of sport there were, are and always will be winners and losers.

Its hard to explain why the team have gone so flat. Genuinely there was a lot of excitment and plaudits generated after the British Semi Final; so we would do well to feed off that. But the two home defeats have taken the air out it really. More so as we have made changes that have not instantly had the desired effect. The last two meetings have not been near the quality we have come to expect. But the track "conditions" do play a part and we are a team set up to chase opponents down over 4 laps; not win gate go! Peterborough; Sheffield and Berwick have arrived with riders who we know can win races at the EWR. All with at least three in their team. With Scorpions being very much a non gating team and off form its easy to see where meetings can get away from us. You cannot give away much to the opposition at the EWR because theres very little home advantage. So many of the top PL boys know the track inside and out. I do not think there is no lack of effort some of the coming together down the straights as the Scorpions tried to get in the race was alarming Big Josh, MPT, Wilko, Andreas and Alex were all squeezed hard up to the fence at times trying to find a way. So I wont accept the team has downed tools far from it. Sometimes you have to give the opponent a bit of credit and all the victorious visiting teams have had riders in there that were sharper; more determined or on better equipment and you have to look at that and see what we can do to reach that standard. We are not a million miles off ! we still have riders in the team who I believe are some of the best to do the job. Its fine margins mechanical;pyschological; physical and sometimes when your lucks out its out Sat here I have written down 7 names and their current averages all within the 42.50 points limit that on paper might give us a boost into the rest of the season. It involves moving things around a bit and puts MPT at reserve. But I wont put it up on here because I respect all of our team and their effort, daring and skill on our behalf. I hate changing I have said that time and again; I want to trust in the decisions we made coming through for us. But at the same time we all understand that the team; the club; is bigger than anyone. Lets get our heads up and go forward appreciating we have a team to follow at one of the great race tracks in mordern British Speedway History. Keep the faith.

Barkers re-signed for Ippo so forget that one.

Came away feeling a bit abandoned tonight. Rob disappearing again from centre field when we need him to keep the momentum in proceedings. It felt very flat at the end and your left scratching your head. It looked a tough meeting on paper and the reality was just that. Berge; Doolan and Tommy Gun were soon posting heat wins and factor in Theo Pjiper and Matty Weathers and by Ht8 the meeting was getting beyond us. Suprisingly Theo was not fully affective which was probably just as well. We cannot make starts always last into turn one and unless your prepared to shut your eyes and wind it on on the outside your chasing shadows Scorpions did there best to try to get into races notably Ryan and Andreas; and later on Wilko thrashed it round the outside to win Ht12 and that seemed to ignite his meeting somewhat scorewise. Ryan looks the leader in this team right now and was the best of our resistance throughout. Boy is Alex having a hard time; he would have won Ht14 charging round the outside before coming to a shuddering halt on turn two !. Taken out of his third ride in favour of a reserve ride for Wilko. It was a pressure evening for him for sure. In the time I have watched Alex over the years hes a rider you rarely rule out of the race. Speedways unforgiving Alex will tell you that all racers will. Its part physical part psycological and part mechanical; if those variables are out of synch it can be tough going. Alex is still a good rider. But my biggest concern is for Josh Auty he really is out of sorts right now. He will know that better than anyone; once we lose his points at the top end we are in bother. Particularly as we do not have a second big hitter to take some of the burden Josh never gates well; its his trademark actually. Miss the start and then watch him come from the back. But this season he is finding it hard to fight his way through the field. You cannot level any critism at Little Josh paid 5 from three rides is all we can ask. But I think our lack of form might be affecting him as he sees his more experienced team mates struggling for consistency. It does put more pressure upon him for sure. Andreas and MPT have to be allowed to settle in; and show their worth; but you feel that they may not get the time as things stand. We would have preferred Rob to stay centre field and stay with it; like I said we felt a bit abandoned to it; along with the team. Maybe that was a bit of mind games ?. Either way a week can be a long time in speedway to next Sundays clash with Edinburgh Sam Masters & Ryan Fisher both EWR specialists. Sure the management will be looking at what we can do. Talk on the terrace is of Ben Barker; Ty Procter and Lewis Kerr; the latter a suprise leaver at Ipswich. We would be looking at Plan C if further adjustments are made. I think we have to be sure any available riders will improve us if that is what we decide to do. It is hard to think that Robs pre-meeting rally call to the team wont have ramifications after another home reverse. The next few days will tell. Keep backing the team and the club. We got to get it together and we will.

Some top quality work there Steve; thank you for sharing these with us.

If you were promoter it might be a conversation you would have ?; but as always I don't like changing; as much as we have been misfiring as a team; I believe in the riders we considered good enough; to take us deeper into the season. But if a rider like Barker; a recognised specialist around our track comes available; you would not know your speedway if it was not in your thinking. Mmmmm I'm thinking?

Thinking same; would we ? Hes 7.70 on latest Greensheets we could fit him in. Right rider at the right time ? But hes not torn up many trees at Glasgee this year. Certainly one of the best around the EWR on form and is the "big hitter" we need.

We did but for the rest of it Scorps were decidely second best off the starts. Another home reverse did not encourage belief that the changes will have the desired effect. But we must keep together and strengthen resolve to come through these difficulties. For me Andreas Lyager was deserving of more than a single point. His work made the room for Big Josh to double points on his tactical ride in Ht10. By the way what a completely ridiculous exclusion for Andreas in Ht8 !. On two minutes and cuts across the "centre green" to arrive at the tapes with secs to go. So had he gone the right way around the track under power to the tapes and failed to reach them in time presumably the Ref (Mr Clarke:same Ref for last seasons Ipswich Auty v Tungate encounter!) excludes him anyway. Another daft anti-speedway rule. Rob was protesting it anyway ! MPT also showed glimpses of why he can be a important rider for us in the weeks to come. He is a better rider than the last time he was with us. His Ht14 win; seeing off a very capable Emil Grondal evidence of more to come. So I say our signings are the right ones in the context of the clubs structure. What is concerning and I do not like saying it is the hard time Big Josh and Alex Davies are having. Josh Auty is not getting us the big scores despite 13 today. We are not set up to carry Josh if he is struggling so it exposes us even more. Alex I am sure is working hard to get back to form. Generally you would find it hard to rule Alex out of any race he is in. That goes for the whole time I have watched him on the British tracks. But this season he seems to be catching up when he would normally be up to speed so to speak. Sure he can sort this out. But we do need Big Josh back to his best and leading from the front. Ryan always gives his all and has been our best hope in most meetings. We forget he is back from a bad injury in 2015. If others are out of sorts it throws a big weight on him. To me he is our "jewell in the crown" and at times you might want to reign him back a touch; but he has to chase the cause because we're struggling that brings its own pressures and so on. For instance even after being brought off by Big Josh in Ht13 and the pair walking away. You might see the meeting out without him taking Ht15 ? I might have gone with MPT as the match was lost by then. You have to think that Wilko will be the big hitter at No6. Returning after his hand injury he would be feeling his way; while Little Josh is doing all we ask of him. It was disappointing today and I sensed that Rob felt that too handing over the mic late on. By the way I its not helpful when the No2 mic man (apologies his name slips me) announces that the Scorpions have just lost to Panthers B Team !.Just hope no one takes that literally and skips next Friday night v Berwick at the EWR. Someone have a word. No way were Panthers B rate? patched up yes but B rate No. Simon Lambert superb and guest Kevin Doolan and capt Uli Ostergaard cruising round on an essentially slick track; but invariably finding that bit of dirt on the one outside line raceable. All in all we came away a bit dejected; but still hanging on in there that we can turn this around and we will find form that will take us back up the table. Realistically its going to be one hell of a turn around to reach the play offs throwing the towel in is not an option "if your going through hell keep going"'as Winston Churchill once coined.

MPT is a first class addition to the team; once he dials in again as his regular home track; confident that Tofty will hit a few big scores. Add Lyager and Wilko on Sunday and in all fairness Scorpions take the meeting.

Certainly do not want to detract from Tigers contribution to a thrilling encounter. Agree Scorpions got a couple of timely "breaks" as you explain. But first "break" Tigers had was Burton replacing the Lyager due to illness. The momentum was with Tigers all the way to Ht12 and we could not see where the Scorpions could get back in the meeting. So 43-49 seemed like some form of "victory" with effectively no No1 and two NL riders. As NBT has said in his last post we did not have our full team but in the end the Scorpions gave it a real go in a great meeting. Well done Tigers who deserved the points non the less.

Blooming heck we only went and served up another stonking speedway classic yesterday. Talk about under the cosh from the off !. We look in the pits before the start and wondered who it was in the No2 jacket ?. Turns out some ludicrous anti-speedway rule means we cannot run rider replacement for Andreas. So we call in inexperienced Ryan Burton from NL Buxton to make up the numbers against of all teams Sheffield !. We were left questioning sense and reason here; and expecting a cuffing from the Tigers!. Up against it from the off ! with a 1-5; Big Josh again looking for answers behind the Tigers pair Stead/Berge. We did look a bit patched up to say the least minus Wilko as well. Thank heaven for Ryan Douglas and an inspired choice of guest in Stefan Neilsen; but even giving their all; they were not enough to resist the Tigers building up a 12pt advantage by Ht10. Still some great racing in there as the two teams slugged it out on superb track surface. Then; Boom ! Ryan D & Nielsen going hammer and tongs in Ht11 trying to split the Tigers Stead/Berge pairing arrive at the same time same spot on Turn3 Lap3; Nielsen locks up and Ryan straight OTT of Nielsen. We all held our breath as first Ryan and then Nielsen got to their feet. Alarming spill at high speed. Incredibly Stefan Nielsen recovers and is out for Ht12 - made of steel speedway riders. But who would have imagined the depleted Scorpions hauling the Tigers lead back in ?. Not us .. that's for sure. But sure enough back we come Alex Davies gets the "thunder back" to pair up with the excellent Nielsen in Ht12 5-1 for 8 down and THEN we are spoilt rotten in Ht13 as Josh Auty after a titanic four lap battle with Stead/Berge somehow finds enough off Turn4 Lap for to join Ryan D for a 5-1 and 4 down !. How the hell did that happen ? we looked dead and buried from the off but we battling like fury out there. Then MPT returning after 3 years to the team; and feeling his way back on the EWR; loses power out of Turn2 in Ht14. So when we might have taken a 5-1 and squared it 43-43 into the final race and a chance to actually win this belter of a meeting; we are 4 down. But incredibly we could still square the meeting. Alex and Ryan D get the call for Ht15 ? when we thought Nielsen would have got the nod. But was there a bit of "old manning" going on when Alex went through the start tapes for an exclusion ?. In comes Man Of The Match Stefan Nielsen for sixth outing and its proves one too many as the cool professionalism of Simon Stead triumphs at the last. Just a mention for Ryan Burton; far from let himself down; he would be the first to say he answered the call and knowing it was a tough one. But he's a tidy enough young rider and we should applaud his willingness to put himself up for it. Anyone who has ever put a leg over a speedway bike will tell you it can bit you back big style. So fair play to Ryan Burton; he actually gated quite well. But what a meeting; we do not like to lose lets be clear; but when you do; you want to see the determination and effort levels that the Scorpions put into that meeting yesterday. Salute the Tigers too for their win; without them there is no meeting. Salute Rob and the management for serving up a brilliant race track and Salute those in attendance also - the crowd appeared reasonably good last night and backed their favourites. If I might pinch a few words from Sir Alex Ferguson and use them in a speedway context . "Speedway Bloody Hell" !

You didnt make the British Semi then ?

Agreed Little Josh coping well with tracks for the first time; and yes finishing ahead of Holub there; but again Holub is still recovering from his injury. But it is all conjecture now because the changes have been made; and I am sure they are the right ones at this time.

Come on give the lad a break; at Berwick he was only just back from injury. Trust me the one place you dont want to have to go first back after injury is Shielfield Park ! Long narrow bumpy straights into tight corners with a collarbone healing ooch!. Unforgiving track.

Bit harsh Pinny; he looked the part when he arrived late last season; and what with the injury has never had the chance to show. He clearly has potential and Kings Lynn in particular recognise this. Something had to give though; and the way we were set up was to have a "big hitter" in the reserve berth; Wilko now gives us this. Zdneck probably was not as well set up as Andreas will be; just a look over Facebook shows how Team Lyager are well backed. MPT will help with Andreas settling in and I expect them both to score the points we have been missing. MPT returns a far more experienced rider for his stint with Belle Vue in the Elite League and certainly around the EWR is capable of providing the "big hitter" scores to support Josh Auty.

Robs said that the changes will leave us with a team; they believe will at least win home matches. We seem to have definitely made a commitment to Andreas Lyagers inclusion; so I cannot square winning home matches by including Lyager; Holub and Bailey. All three are learning the ropes at Premier League level. So we keep Josh Auty; Ryan Douglas; Alex Davies; and Carl Wilkinson. Josh Baileys position is protected so he is safe. Ashley Morris is replaced by Lyager and alas it will be Zdneck Holub who steps down (albeit he has had precious little chance to show his undoubted potential). Replacing Holub with most likely MPT,or say Ty Procter definitely strengthens the team without giving us the second "big hitter" but MPT or Procter do have the experience. It should then see Wilko revert to reserve and a riding order say; 1.Auty 2.Lyager,3.Douglas; 4.Davies; 5. Procter/MPT; 6.Wilko 7.Bailey. Its solid enough; if MPT comes in he can link up with Lyager and pass on his knowhow and help him settle. I do think it is quite tough on Holub; who clearly has potential; Rob says no one's place in the team is safe; but in the end it will come down to how many "new to PL" riders we can afford to carry along in the hope of realising their potential now. Three is a bit of a leap of faith if we are to realistically win home matches and keep and build the crowd levels at the EWR. So reluctantly; we will put Zdnecks British career on hold for now and hope that these two changes will give us the shot in the arm we are looking for the rest of the season. After last nights British Semi-Final; the entertainment bar has been lifted once again; and with the line up above there is sure to be more interesting times and thrilling Speedway at the EWR as the re-energised Scorpions pick up for the rest of the season starting next week against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Tigers. With a quick return for last nights winner Simon Stead; and team mates Kyle Howarth(3rd) Jason Garrith (Qualifier) and Josh Bates its one not to be missed that's for sure.

Anyone who was lucky enough to witness last nights British Semi Final @ Scunthorpe will tell you on the evidence of that meeting it has not stopped being as good as it used to be. Its better ! and first watached speedway in the 70s so have experienced some of the sports hey days.

Oh my oh my what a meeting the British Semi Final was last night. Truly out of superlatives for the outstanding racing but then again I knew that you could not put out that quality of field on the EWR and not have one hell of a humdinger. Had Sky covered it Kelvin and Nigel would have been going nuts !!. Shame the cameras were not there. Richard Hall arch villan at Scunny and out of a job at Sheffield had superb night and was even a hero when Kyle Howarth went full pelt under Josh Auty felling him to the track. So full marks to Hall for dumping his bike quick fire! to avoid hitting the Scorpions No1. Up gets Richard Hall to immediately check that Josh was ok reversing an unsavoury incident that went off between them at the EWR in the past. Hats off to Richard Hall ! The action on track was neck and neck no quarter given all night. Witness Josh Bates v Jason Garrity (as Rob says; "the let him out for the night) team mates but at it hammer n tongs. But the stand out performer ?.. young Robert Lambert you will not see better execution of speedway round the EWR than his sweeping round the outside of eventual winner Simon Stead to win by nigh on half a lap. Chris Harris Grand Prix star put his reputation out there with a predominantley Premier League field and needed all of his track craft to stay with the front runners. The meeting cracked along at an incredible pace.1hr 30mins for 21 races with riders put on two mins consistently up to the tapes to keep things moving. No delays. Just a massive thank you to all the riders; officials and Scunthorpe Speedway for reminding all of us lucky enough to be there why when Speedway is done proper its still is the Greatest Show on Earth !

Not always the done thing to answer your own post; but maybe exiled is too strong; we now regard Scunthorpe as our "home track". When there were rumours of an Odsal revival a 2-3 years ago; we debated if that would mean we suddenly reverted to being Bradford supporters all of a sudden. You know the answer we came up with ...err NO ! we would still be Scunthorpe fans and firmly in the Scorpions camp when the two teams faced off !

As Bradford/Halifax speedway supporters; and now exiled in Scunthorpe for our speedway fix. I will just say this; get behind the Scorpions; we have an absolutely brilliant race track go and support it because I can assure you of this your a long long time DEFUNCT !. Its not all about the winning its about being able to be in the race to even think of winning. You got to be existence to win and not sat at home watching ITV's The Durell's wishing the speedway was still open.