Steve Shovlar

Closer to the date, more accurate the forecast. Fingers crossed the showers dodge the stadium.

Latest forecast is now worse for Friday with heavy showers and the Der storms for 7pm. Think Saturday should go ahead at Leicester with the following Wednesday at Poole. Makes sense and geb]berates the most in one for both clubs.

Today is not a race night and would affect crowd far worse than going up against the Cherries. Friday obvious choice. Depends whether the showers hit or miss. Sundays forecast identical to Fridays.

True they would be guaranteed a big crowd for the first leg. Hundreds of Poole fans making the very long trip. We will certainly be making some noise!

Friday is forecast heavy showers. Saturday a dry day in Leicester. Hmm. Could Pirates get the second leg after all, or will Leicester cancel Saturday if we are rained off on Friday?

The Poole v Leicester meeting on the 26th should guarantee a very big crowd if Pirates win the Playoff Final.

I think Ben Cook will be our third heat leader.

I always used to chat to Phil when he was around the leagues and found him to be a thoroughly likeable bloke and very approachable. He is what you see on the GP circuit and when he tells a rider they are out for an infringement he does it in a way he is on their side. Losing his wife at such a young age must be devastating but I am sure Phil will stay strong for his daughters and support them through this dreadful time.

Baring any injuries we will be there or thereabouts again. The club is run with our fans expecting success and that will never change. Regardless of what the points limit is, we can almost guarantee that opposition clubs will have to raise their bar to compete with the Pirates. Matt and Danny know the fans won’t accept mediocrity and only once or perhaps twice in Matts tenure did the team completely fail to deliver. The club is not run on good enough. It is run on expecting and demanding 110% and the riders thrive on it. Not meant to sound as blowing our own trumpet but other clubs need to rise to the challenge. And the more that do so, the better the league and meetings.

Terribly sad. Wishing Phil and his girls very best wishes at this terrible time.

Basso staying at Glasgow.

And Howarth maintains his finals form.

Charles “John Terry” Wright. Lol.

So in the end Sheffield miss out because of a disgraceful ref decision on Ellis.

You know what was missing? The Pirate roar and atmosphere. No atmosphere came over tonight on tv. Did you here the Sheffield roar as the number 8? Nope. As a final second leg it was quite flat, though pleased for the BV fans at the end. 29 years? Jesus! If I recall Poole whopped BV at Wimborne Road then BV went to Monmore and Wolves choked. Bobby Ott the hero.

I hope Howarth rides the same next week!

Well done to Belle Vue

That’s it job done. Kurtz rode Holder out.

With Lambert in two of the last three, this is now Belle Vue’s to lose.

More I watch that, more I see Sheffield being hard done by.

Ref certainly seems on Belle Vue’s side. And I am a neutral.

Big call. Tobias should go. Very tough though as Tobias had got under Brady.

Trophy looks like it was purchased from the middle isle at Lidl.

Holder needs to beat Lambert. And Kerr messes up.

Utterly disgraceful call to exclude Ellis. He did nothing wrong but Brennan was on his way down. Brennan exc was the call but all 4 back at a squeeze. No way Ellis should be exc.