Brooksy

Weather not looking too good at the moment - a number of heavy showers already today. It may well dry up later, but the damage may already be done. It's lashing down as I write this. Not hopeful I'm afraid, though I'm sure they will give it every chance.

Edited for accuracy A dry day tomorrow with a good stiff breeze and we may get some speedway. Let's hope so.

No! And how is history on Somerset's side?? We've never been here before .

Earning money?? But seriously, injury can happen to any rider at any time - you can't wrap them in cotton wool!

Too right! Everyone knew that the team at the top of the table after the initial 24 fixtures won nothing other than the right to choose their opponents for the play-offs - and Newcastle picked Somerset over Edinburgh!! More fool them!

Smart move by the Diamonds to get both away legs done whilst Nedermark is still at reserve, whether by design or accident. I fear his contribution will give them the edge overall, but it should be close. As for the weather. . . who knows? But whether it be dry or wet, it's sure to be breezy and chilly.

So how do you lose 60% of your audience so quickly? Can't blame it on a losing team in this case. Worrying times!

Whilst there is little doubt that some factors that determine the success or failure of a club's season cannot be influenced by the promoter, such as injuries, weather, the economy, etc., there are more that can. As proven by the Newport debacle, alienating a fair proportion of your regular supporters and then building a potentially expensive team beyond your means is a sure fire route to financial disaster, unless you are prepared to lose money week after week. If you want to make money out of running a speedway club in the current climate, you must keep ALL of your loyal supporters on side and build a team that is within your budget. This is no guarantee of success, but certainly improves your chances! Take Glasgow for example, who are obviously struggling financially but you seldom, if ever, see a negative comment about their promotion from their own fans. We all hope the Comets will survive long term, whether under the current owner or another. Good luck!

No definitive news on Alex's injury as yet - Rebels will be severely weakened if he's out, given his recent form. The good news is the sun is out here, though a bit blustery just for a change! I'd bring a sweater, even you Geordies!

Does anyone still care about this early season competition? Certainly it appears the Newcastle fans are far more concerned with Friday's trip to Plymouth and the possibility of topping the final PL table - no silverware for that though! Provided both teams are focussed on this and not looking ahead to the Play-Offs, it has the makings of a good close match. The PL match was a topsy turvy affair with the Rebels coming back from 11 points down to win by 3. This time Rebels should be at full strength, but Diamonds will have a trump card with Nedermark at reserve, who has shown a real liking for the OTA in the past. The Rebels have been very impressive at home recently and hopefully their all-round strength will see them prevail by 10 or more to give them a realistic chance in the return leg.

Dream on......

Sure you are, but it's the same inane one every time! 'You must take all 3 points . . blah, blah, blah.......

Still sunny but windy at 5.15 about 2 miles from track. Come on! Am I the only one who thinks the Comets will run us close?

Where does the 7.2 come from?? I still make it 6.7. Sorry, just worked out your last line. Thought you were trying to make a serious point. Should've known better.

Agreed. 38 matches is too many - takes too long for averages to fall in line with a rider's current ability, which is surely the point of them. But you need enough meetings to avoid distortion or manipulation through a brief spell of poor scores, for whatever reason?! 24 meetings seems about right IMO. And I don't see any reason why all competitive matches shouldn't count towards them.

Nothing too serious I hope - in my fantasy league team with 5 meetings in the next 9 days! Get well soon Mickey!!

Into the play-offs with about 48 points I would imagine.

7 from 5 rides ain't so bad - 5.6 average. I fear he will come back to haunt us! Why all this negativity towards Sam now he's no longer a Rebel? Or have I just answered my own question?

Absolutely! Makes the dropping of Sam even more confusing . Bet he starts rattling up some big scores for Poole now too.

Another amazingly insightful prediction from Starman. Reserves need to score? Controversial! But is he refering to Somerset or Scunny?

I'm with you on this one OT. I don't feel there's much difference in scoring potential between Sam and Jesper for the remaining fixtures, even if Sam were to miss one or two meetings, so seems slightly shabby treatment of a loyal servant for the past 2 years. Likewise with the Pairs snub. Must be more to it?

Bold move by the promotion, dropping the current PLRC holder - hope it doesn't backfire on them. Probably makes us even stronger at home but I feel it weakens us away. Monberg has yet to reproduce his OTA form anywhere else yet, but hopefully it's just a matter of time, as he won't have even seen many of the other PL tracks before. Masters hasn't set the PL alight as expected this year, for one reason or another, so maybe a change is what's needed on both sides. Hope it turns out to be a wise move for all concerned.

Oh, the irony! Pot & kettle? And surely he's only contracted in Poland for this year at present?

And consider this: Every GP is run on a Saturday. Every other U21 round is run on a Saturday ( incl qualifiers ) So why is this one on a Friday? And no, the real speedway world may not begin and end in Somerset, but it is obviously the centre!

Jeez! Excuse me for deeming to put the interests of the team I support first! As Debbie Hancock has said, we accept that Sam has qualified for the whole series and so will miss some Rebels meetings, but, as you say, both Tom and Kyle failed to qualify from the semis. This is for them simply a one-off meeting and a chance to gain some experience, and reading Debbie's press release, it would appear the riders have no choice but to ride at Coventry, whether they want to or not. I'm sure the Rebels wouldn't have re-arranged this fixture on this date had they known Tom and Kyle would not be available. I'm as supportive of these 2 young Brits as anyone else, but not to the detriment of my team in this case. Anyway, hopefully the Rebels will still prove strong enough to take all 3 points but Robson,Alden and Aspegren will no doubt make it interesting.