Opinionated

Kurtz is missing from the trip to Rye House,and next weekends KO Cup meetings v Newcastle.Steve Worrall rides at Rye,While Berwicks Nick Barrett rides in the Cup meetings. Only real point of contention for me was Schramms move on Newman.Surely you need to leave a rider room to stay upright? Newman was in straight line coming off turn 2,right out on tbe boards.Schramm quite rightly went hard up the inside.But he didnt leave any room at all.Not an inch. It was totally out of order.He would have got through anyway.Its no wonder Newman 'had a word with him' afterwards. Yet more inept performances from Proctor and Kling. All credit to Ben Reade for wonderful interview about being dropped.Full of honesty and integrity.Quite rightly he got a huge cheer for it.Good luck with Stoke this season and come back stronger in future.

Another inept display from the Devils. The track was much improved from the previous week. The dampness creating all sorts of lines. Devils: Proctor: Looked a bit livelier, but still went missing in the vital races. No answer at all to Barker.7/10 Schramm: Went completely awol. Only beating Makinen says it all. 3/10 Lemon: Looked like a complete novice. Not in it at all.3/10 Gathercole: Looked like he was riding a 600cc engine with the speed he was generating. Going round Barker twice is unheard of! If only he could do this every week..... 8/10 Kling: Poor. Don't like all this 'oh dear losing again, best look down at engine' lark. Didn't deserve his race win.3/10 Kurtz: Started slowly, but got it together at the end. Two superb wins rightly brought the house down.9/10 Reade: Never looked like scoring a point.2/10 Witches: Barker: Looked stunned as Gathercole went by him. Otherwise and effortless display.9/10 Makinen: Never even in contention for a point. Can understand others comments about him.0/10 Tungate: Disappointing. No 'get up n go'. Trailed Kling in Ht7,who was hugging white line.So where does Tungate go? Up inside! If hed gone to the middle of the track, he would have walked it.5/10 Risager: Involved in a couple of good scraps. Good solid middle order.7/10 Lanham: Mr boring! Don't get why he was in Ht15. Risager should have got it. 6/10 Ellis: Certainly learned a lesson from the U21 round a few weeks ago. He stayed on this time! Excellent. 7/10 Heeps: I like him! Sluggish 1st ride, but really got moving afterwards. Good effort. 7/10 Ipswich were not that good, just that Devils were poor.The worrying thing about Plymouth is, can we get ALL the riders on form at the same time? Questions need to asked about the near future. When, not if, Kurtz goes up into the team, our scoring power will be severely dented. I don't see that Schramm will do the same as Todd. At least not on what I've seen so far. Id say Kling,Schramm and Reade need to look over their shoulders. Unless changes are made, there will be no chance of finishing high up the table.

The other vehicle was being driven by a friend of Mark Simmonds daughter. If she hadn't recognised him, he may well have got away with it..........

Oh dear... I thought Id arrived at the SBA to watch Plymouth v Rye House. However,a quick look at the track told me it was the other way round. Just like Rye, the track was smooth,rock hard, slick and dry.No apparent moisture in the dirt to create outside lines. So it proved from Ht1,where the Rockets took control and didn't remotely look like losing it. Devils: Proctor: Until Ht13,barely got above parade speed. Then fell! Very poor.3/10 Schramm: Needs some superglue to stay upright, but competitive when he did.6/10 Lemon: Started like he never ridden a bike, but got there in the end.7/10 Gathercole: Normal inconsistent self. Extremely lucky not to be disqualified after nudging Allen off. 5/10 Kling: Started ok but then went walkabouts. Poor. 5/10 Kurtz: The only real shining light in a very poor team effort. Excellent effort.9/10 Reade: Slightly disappointing, but always thereabouts. 5/10 Rockets: Allen: Barely noticed him, as he gated and was gone, except when Gathercole bundled him off. 9/10 Mellgren: Superb meeting, apart from bringing down Lemon in Ht15.9/10 Garrity: Solid middle order rider who did an effective job.7/10 Nelson: Should have been pulled up long before he got disqualified in Ht9 for moving at the start. Good value all the same.7/10 Lykke: Every team needs a reserve like him! Excellent. How do you pronounce his surname? We had Likey, Lika, Luka last night!8/10 Morley: Tried hard and hope the shed chain didn't do too much damage.4/10 The stadium improvements are excellent, the place looks and feels like a proper sporting arena.AT LAST! Triggers pre season comments about the team 'going unbeaten at home all season' already in tatters Shame about that awful meeting presenter. He hasn't got a clue when interviewing. Too many pregnant pauses. Shouts too much too. Plenty of room for improvement, but any more performances like that will see the fans drifting away.

Comfortable away win tonight. Somerset have far too much strength in depth for the new look Devils. Kling was an exceptional guest last season,so hopefully can continue in that vein. Proctor and Schramm need time to settle.Kurtz will score a fistful of points,Reade will struggle again.Which Gathercole will turn up tonight? Red hot or so so? Newman has enjoyed good meetings down here,so will prove good back up to Doyle and Morris. Davies has hit the ground at 100 miles an hour,if his performance at Poole and Somerset are as impressive as they sound. Rebels to win by 8-10 points.

Thanks,but that makes it even more stupid. So the averages (with bonus) will show the true value of a rider,but his paypacket wont? Totally absurd. I can see why it was laughed out of sight at EL level. I CAN see and understand that promotions will offer to pay their riders,unofficially of course. I just want to clarfiy the OFFICIAL positon in order to complete my programmes correctly.

Im rather confused regarding bonus points in the Premier League. As I understand it,the riders do NOT get a bonus point or pay for finishing 3rd behind their partner. They only get paid for a bonus point for finishing 2nd behind their partner when on a 5-1. On the BSPA results page,they show bonus points for finishing 3rd. So do the live updates. Easy mistake to make after all these years. Going to be fun if watching meetings from both Leagues.Do they/dont they? Very confusing. Can someone please clarify this postion.?

Probably because all the official paperwork hasnt been ratified yet. No one foresees a problem though.

I have never said you have. Its just a general comment about anything on this forum. Some comments we all agree on. Others we dont. Thats all. As for Paul Starke, Id have no problems with him doubling up with Ben Reade. Good honest lad who needs a break.

Im Devon born n bred! Plymstock,fyi. The Poole avatar shows that even one of the Countries top clubs can get it wrong.This photo is of a banner outside the Stadium advertising the next meeting in 2011. Note the spelling of 'Belle Vue'! It was removed as soon as it was pointed out to the Management.Oh,and I know BobC from Poole,a good friend. This forum is for expressing honest opinions. Some you like,some you dont. Thats life,Im afraid. I am all for the club to be successful. Including the Supporters club. I simply think everyone could and should have gone about things in better manner,rather than the disjointed efforts so far. Just my opinion of course. If thats all right with you?

He did NOT introduce himself at the start of the meeting. When it came to voting,someone from the floor asked for his name. I didnt hear as he didnt have the mic to his mouth,and others around me were talking. I didnt raise any issues on the night simply because the whole thing was poorly presented and found it rather embarassing. Ive since found out that the new Charman is the very same person who laid into the previous committee for wanting to disband the supporters club,because of Bowdens interference.Long before he tried to find out the facts behind the decision.Left with lots of egg on his face to boot! I would have thought the best way forward would have been for one of the new consortium to be present. For him/her to explain what was happening and why.After introducing Bernard,he/she would then take a back seat and allow everyone else to then make any decisions. Not an encouraging start as far as Im concerned.The sooner the club appoint someone to handle these things professionally,the better.

Total condradiction to what Trigger said at the new Supporters club neeting last night! He said he was concentrating the getting the number 2 race jacket sorted first before seeing what points were left for the reserve! Last night was,imo,a shambles. Before the new committee were formally installed,the guy who is now the Chairman addressed the gathering without introducing himself.Others may know who he is,but quite a few didnt.I still dont. The way the whole evening was handled left me with no doubt at all. I wont be joining the Supporters club. Blind leading the blind springs to mind. Lastly,I sincerely hope that the 50/50 draw is exactly that.Unlike under Bowdens tenure,where he wanted his cut,which is one of the reasons the Supporters club folded.

At long last,Tims ' unofficial ' website has become official. Far superior to the last one,and gives any of the established speedway websites a run for its money. Well done to the new promotion for recognising how important an asset a superb website will be to them. Well done Tim.

Yep,I agree,thats a superb website. Good bloke that runs it too.

Totally pointless thread.:-( Not all teams confirmed and some will change before season starts.

New owners. New team. Can we PLEASE have a decent website? The current one is without any doubt the worst in all 3 Leagues.

I drove by the track earlier today. 1st and 2nd bends look ok, but the 3rd and 4th bends are well under water! Almost up as far as startline on home straight.

My only criticism is the lack of Brits. When talking with Seemond in his riding days,he was adamant that Brits should be given chances over foreigners. If he 'owned' a track,he would ensure his team would be mainly Brits. Same goes for Ashley,who was uber critical of Bowdens use of non Brits. I appreciate how late they took over,but sincerely hope that we see a 'Brit' influence in future teams.

Not sure about Manzares,tbh. He went on the Aussie tour a few years.Homesick after a few weeks.Also got a bit aggressive threatening one and all with his martial arts skills. Hope Im wrong,but have my doubts.Will be at rsserve once the first set of new averages come into play.

Does it really metter who rides for the Devils? I think most people are simply grateful that we have any speedway at all down here. Good luck to the new promotion. I sincerely hope they get to do everything they are setting out to do. Im not bothered about winning the League.I just want some hard fast and exciting racing each week. Just like we used to. ps: Just when you thought you got rid of the Bowdens,up they popped on local tv last night! Adam and his mother were interviewed about the closing down of Comet.(BBC spotlight programme 6.30-7pm)

Poor pr in my opinion. The local press need stories all the time and feeding information out little by little keeps them happy. It also keeps the Devils 'in the news' and fresh in peoples minds.