Brooksy

Whatever the problems facing the sport in this country at the moment (I believe the list is quite lengthy), British Speedway has just been handed the best marketing tool imaginable - a young,personable,charismatic World Champion who will engage with the future generation of Speedway enthusiasts - tats, piercings et al. Let's hope the powers that be don't waste this fantastic opportunity to attract youngsters to this great sport of ours. It's a good job the sport isn't run by blinkered, self-serving promoters who refuse to see the bigger picture.........??

I'm sure Garry and Bish will ensure the lads do a professional job with no complacency. And they don't actually need a point - even if they lose heavily, the group will ultimately be decided by the results of the 2 Diamond fixtures.

Very quiet on this one - is it stiil happening? Any news regarding weather and line-ups? Is Dyer back? Is Lewis Rose back? Can't find any info anywhere!

I think it's safe to say that I was further from the incident than yourself - by about 120 miles i would imagine - hence the term 'apparently' in my post. I am simply going by the reports/comments I have read/heard - including your own previous posts! But carry on standing up to the idiots who cheer when a rider falls - whether it be Rye or not - we can do without them

Pray tell us what happened then Shadders - I don't believe you've mentioned it before?? And did you also 'square up' to the Rye fan who apparently abused Nick Morris when he fell on Sunday, or does it only apply to Rye riders?

You little tinker OT

Rebels should line-up as: 1. Doyle 2. Newman 3. Morris 4. Davies 5. Grajczonek 6. Wright 7. Rose/Greenwood But with 3 Rebel meetings scheduled before the Diamonds' visit plus the EL final for Jason and Josh; plenty of opportunities for injuries before then .

You're joking, yeah? Even with Mellgren at 1 and 5, that's still a side that would struggle to pick up any points away from Rye - unless the points limit is coming down to 35!

Are you a professional psychologist, or is it just a hobby?

I'm also a little concerned to see the lateness of some of the play-off dates. Comets plan to have theirs completed by the 28th (weather permitting, of course) - Rebels won't have even started by then! Why is there no Rebel home meeting on the 27th? Neither Redcar nor Newcastle have anything else on. If the weather is bad in the first week of October then we're really stuffed! If Newcastle were to move the Cup Final to Oct 13 and come to Somerset on Sep 27, we could have the play-offs completed by Oct 6 , leaving plenty of time for Somerset and Edinboro to fit in the Grand Final

When I first saw the Bandits line-up at the beginning of the season, I thought they would prove to be possibly the toughest opponents to visit Somerset this year, with Ashworth, Smith, Aspegren and Wethers all having shown a definite liking for the OTA in the past. Alas for them, much has changed since then. Without Ricky and Kozza, and with Aspegren and Wethers not really firing at the moment, this really should be a 3 point banker for the Rebels. The only foreseeable problem for them is the injury to Kyle, whose rides can only be taken by Alex and the reserves. Alex has had a couple of disappointing scores recently and obviously both reserves are pretty new to the OTA, so the bottom half of the team could be particularly vulnerable this week. But hopefully Jason, Nick and Josh should do enough to ensure we get the full 3 points that are needed, regardless.

That's nothing to do with a lack of speedway knowledge though is it, that's just down to a handicap +/- howler. Such incompetence could happen in any market.

Bitten on the backside with egg all over our faces - what an image! Being confident of beating an opponent does not equal 'win at all costs'. Just confidence in your own team - nothing wrong with that. And finally, the pouring of water over the startline was of course our 3rd rider, not our 8th, as it was a pairs event. Now let's move on.

Not sure that signing Charles Wright and Lewis Rose constitutes 'cheque book speedway' to be honest, but thanks for your support anyway. Signing Greg Hancock for a month in a desperate attempt to reach the play-offs - now that's cheque book speedway!

What's Doyley doing, earning an extra point for the Witches? Surely he could have finished second in ht15 and improved the Rebels chances of finishing top.

There is no question that we supporters will continue to back whoever is riding for us, and that we all want to see the Rebels being successful. The introduction of Charles Wright may even give us more scoring potential away from home in the short term, but it's a huge risk that may easily backfire in many ways, with little to be gained in my opinion. We have taken maximum points at home, bar one, and have yet to lose by more than eight away, so the current side is doing just fine - if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Also, what damage could this ruthlessness have on our reputation? Which young prospect is going to want to ride for a team who dumps a 3-pointer averaging 4.7?

Go away for a couple of days and all hell breaks loose! Can't really comment on the match as I wasn't there, other than to say it sounded like a great match according to the updates, and an eight point lead to take to Armadale is about par and should ensure a close return leg. As for the team changes though, I'm baffled. Rose for Lambert is fair enough and Lewis should probably have got the nod over Simon in the first place. But replacing Stefan just stinks!! As the management said, 'Stefan hasn't done a lot wrong....' Dead right he hasn't. The lad has worked his socks off to improve his average and fully deserves to be part of a potentially silverware-winning Rebels team. The management decided to build a top-heavy team that was always likely to be comparatively weak at reserve, especially away from home, so, of course there has been extra pressure on the top 3 in particular to score heavily, but what did they expect? It has worked and they are yet to lose by more than 8 points all season. Stefan is still averaging over 3.7 away from home - more than acceptable for a 3 pointer. Whatever the real reason for replacing Stefan, whether scoring-related or not, I cannot see how they can justify treating such a trier in such a callous manner - he deserves better. Would love to hear the opinions of those 'in the know' such as Womble, Najjer and ,of course, Starman.

I regularly used to help 'Big Arthur' push his bike from the pits at Perry Barr in the early 70's - he once ran it over my foot - and I can confirm that he was a f**kin' giant! But I was only about 10.

Well if you just want to see the best riders Najjer, give your £17 to Mr.Ford and go and join Starman I agree that the best scenario would be 2 full strength sides if another date were possible, but my question was whether fans would rather see just Rebels v Witches without the influence of guests, as would be the case if it were Poole rather than Birmingham riding, as Grajczonek and Tungate would both be unavailable, and r/r would then be the only option for both teams......So I'll put you down as a 'no' then? I'm also pretty sure that the remaining 12 riders would still be able to provide 'good entertainment', and as I said, maybe at a slightly reduced cost at the turnstile, or with a free program perhaps.

Much as I'd love to agree with you, I fear you're being way too pessimistic. The Monarch's record at the OTA is actually quite good, and although r/r for Vissing may weaken them slightly, if Fricke and Tabaka ride as they did in the League encounter, Claus's absence may not be too damaging. And with Sneddon likely to dominate at reserve, I can only see another very close encounter. Any lead over 6 will be a bonus for the Rebels.

So which is the better of two evils - guests or r/r? Much as I would like to see the likes of Hougaard at the OTA again, would it not be fairer and more economical for both sides to agree to run r/r at no.1 in order to provide a match between Somerset and Ipswich riders, rather than a match that could be decided by who can book the best/most motivated available guest? I realise this may be short-changing the punters a little, but maybe there could be a small concession on the admission price to compensate, and as I say, surely 6 Rebels versus 6 Witches is a more representative contest? Any thoughts?

'the choice of legs'....or what? Bikes? Make that four.

I, for one, am certainly not worried about Alex's form - I'd be far more worried about RebelRebel's and oldtimer's perspective - or lack of it! But as for the weakness at reserve away from the OTA - that is a problem that may cost us come the playoffs. The power of our top 3 meant Stefan and Simon didn't need to score many to secure 4 points at Berwick, and hopefully that will also be the case at Glasgow today, but more will be needed to secure points at places like Ipswich and Newcastle.

Just the one fan Rob - and he's old enough to know better! They can be as unprofessional and complacent as they like tonight..... the meeting should be over by 5pm.

Cook passes Doyle in ht.15 to give the Monarchs all the points - deja vu! Not an unexpected result - the weakness at reserve was always going to be a problem - but if only Alex had shown his recent form, we could have taken all the points instead of none. Let's hope it's just a blip and normal service is resumed tomorrow. ( I think that's basically what Oldtimer's just said too. Great minds.......) Bit harsh! He's been a star for us all season - both home and away.