Bleeds Pirate Blue

I'm a human being and I support all human beings riding speedway. Nationality is irrelevant although for me in individual speedway events. I'll always be cheering Team GB in international team events though. Not sure why other commentators on here feel the need to judge people or who they want to cheer and support.

Poole by 6-8. Hope the real Noddy turns up! Poole getting "screwed" by the rules. Well, we can't be one step ahead all the time...

Poole seem to be struggling away from home quite badly so far this season. Thankfully we also look quite dominant at home, but we'll certainly need to buck our ideas up to make it four titles in a row. Holder's form away from Wimbourne Road is diabolical. The problem with replacing him is that there are not too many riders that would probably want to come to the UK and ride for basically a whole British season. I'd love to suggest Magic, but guessing his average is too high. Lindback would be a more feasible option I'd imagine. *I'm not calling for Holder to be sacked here, just discussing the difficulty of replacing an underperforming No.1. Have to say Hans Andersen has been fantastic. Am enjoying him back in Poole colours. Keep Rollin' Hansii!!

Not sure why there is such an obsession with Newman and his ambition (or lack of), let alone the instance he is compared with Garrity. Why is it so important to judge Kyle being reserve in relation to his development? Poole have had strong, league winning sides for the last three years and look to have an ultra competitive team again this season, so him being a reserve for top notch Poole side seems a strange knock against him. Doubly so when you consider his importance to the Poole team in winning those titles... I'd also add that anyone who has been watching Kyle race in recent seasons will have seen his development with their own eyes. Also, as pointed out by several others on the forums, we're not talking about a rider who has been touted as a future World Champ, or even a British Champion, so the criticism of his perceived lack of development/ambition comes across as excessive. I think the affection he gets from Poole fans is that he is a local lad, who is exciting to watch and gives his all in every race. This was typified for me last season by the fact I introduced a friend to speedway for the first time, and now he loves the sport, attends every week, and his favourite rider... Kyle Newman. I'd love to see him kick on this season once he gets in the main team, and hope he puts himself in the conversation for a spot in the National side, but that might be too big a jump this year. I don't think it's unfeasible though over the next 2-3 years if he continues to improve as I believe he has been.

Planning on attending. Will be good to see you Steve.

Starman, your opinions and posts on here do more damage to the reputation of Poole Speedway than any of the alleged "cheating" over the years from Matt Ford. You are a disgrace and embarrassment. Ridiculous ban for SCB.

So we only have two heatleaders then... Anyone still want to complain about Buzz's assessment and Poole's supposed rule manipulation?

Contradiction?? Bad bait I say.

@GRW123 thank you for your reasoned and honest response that featured no bickering. You've instantly become one of the most respected people on this forum in my eyes. Sorry if my initial lines seemed petty. Being a Poole fan in here grates after a while... While I don't disagree Newman is better than Howarth, Howarth is only 21, and the reigning BU21 champ. The British league should, in my opinion, be doing their utmost to help his development. A season at reserve to ensure his employment in the top British league is fine in my books. As a huge NFL and fantasy football fan I'm very much au fait drafts and their benefits (and pitfalls). For it to actually work anyone in the draft should not be an asset of any club, or protected. They should essentially be free agents or temps awaiting assignment. And there should be a set draft order based on league finishing position. I'm fine with using PL averages for team building, but deciding draft pick position allows for manipulation. That is something all promoters agreed to. They wanted a system they could game, not one that is actually fair... Your points on MF and his use of assets are likely valid. This situation would have been arrived at though after several years of MF out promoting the others. It didn't just fall in his lap. I have a hard time disliking MF for his success (I dislike him for my own reasons), and I have a feeling that most promoters wished they were as sharp and astute when it comes to running their clubs. Loopholes and obviously abusable rules are left in so everyone gets their shot at the cheeky fiddle. Unfortunately for them, they always come off second best to MF. As for your point on secrecy, well, its no big deal to me. It tends to be the conspiracy theorists that have the issues with all the cloak and dagger goings on at the AGM. Probably just covering their asses.

Sounds like your opinion is that any Poole fan who doesn't think their side cheats and manipulates the rules every year is 'clueless in the extreme'. Some general points on this topic... Howarth at reserve is a bit of a p***take. But who cares? It's helping a young British rider make sure he gets an Elite League place. The goal of the system is to make sure young British talent is included in the Elite League, which in this case it is doing as its unlikely Howarth (and Newman) would have NOT got a spot in a 1-5 this year. Considering the draft hasn't really been published, there are a lot of assumptions being made in here by some very assertive people. Does anyone on here definitively know the order riders were taken?? Did Poole defo get Ellis as the 2nd pick in the 2nd tier? It's interesting the some people seem to think riders are opinionless robots who will ride anywhere, for anyone. Not human beings with preferences and other commitments. Is it not within reason that Adam Ellis made himself unavailable to some teams because of travel and PL duties etc? Let alone personal preference! Also, it is all very tiring reading the same old opinion that Poole and/or Matt Ford are secretly running the sport behind the scenes by setting up the rules to suit themselves every year. Or coercing the other promoters to consent to his Poole-favouring rules. It's madness. It seems much more plausible that Ford is an astute Promoter with a commitment and work ethic that makes the difference. I'm not saying he doesn't push his luck and test the rules to breaking point, even stepping over the line on a few occasions. However, the idea that he is actively pulling all the strings behind the scenes is just fantasy. There is no point pretending speedway isn't a mickey mouse sport, and the British league is on its knees. Poole are the most successful club in the last decade. They are the best supported, its a nice area to live and there is a decent amount of local sponsors keen to get involved. Riders actually get paid. On top of this, success breeds success. Is it really that surprising that the wealthiest and best run club is continually successful?

Hehehe. Touché. Note to self, reread messages typed on a phone!

Sigh. I made a spelling mistake. My bad. Where has my f'n editor gone!

Always nice when someone starts a debate with you with a nice aggressive opening. Nice to meet you too! I was talking with the colloquialism "first bend bunching" which is a common speedway parlance used by fans, commentators and riders alike. Essentially we were discussing whether Hancock was at fault and should have been allowed in the re-run. I'm of the opinion he should have. If you want to disagree with my assessment feel free, but I'd appreciate it if you were less confrontational. We are all speedway fans here now!

I understand your POV, although don't agree. We'll have to agree to disagree rather than have a debate.

First bend bunching doesn't have to include all riders as far as I know. I saw two riders going for the same piece of track on the inside of the first corner in a GP Final. They collided and caused a three rider pile up. If you start excluding the rider in red (Hancock) it acts as a precedent and discourages ultra-competitive racing. This is supposed to be the pinnacle of our sport. We want the best guys to push themselves... Also, Doyley has shown all year that he is a hard rider, willing to mix it up with others. That doesn't effect how I see the incident being all four back, but I do want to highlight Doyle has not been afraid to put himself about this season. By the same token, few riders are considered as fair as Hancock... Added: For clarity's sake I'm a fan of both riders, and they would be two of my three ideal picks to replace Magic as Poole #1 in 2016.

Fair enough to those who disagree with me. I see it as first bend bunching personally. No use in arguing back and forth.

It was first bend bunching. Chill!

Fingers crossed for Doyley. Nasty incident. Magic was lucky too. Ride through/into the bike, taking a hit to the head.

I'm sorry, but no. A wee punch every now and then is good for no-one. What if Arson Fire decided you needed a "wee punch" eh? Violence is never the correct response.

Bet365 were still offering NKI at 8s before the semi. Crazy! He would have been 2nd top scorer if not for his exclusion. Glad I double dipped! Come on Niels!!

Holder looks underpowered. Badly. It's looked that way for most the second half of the season (league racing too) to my eyes. Just doesn't seem to look quick...

I've thought Masters has ridden superbly all things considered. Shame he acted like a pillock with Pedersen.

Can't have one rule for one rider, and different one for everyone else. Clearly I'm a Magic fan too, but Harris shouldn't have been excluded. And neither should Pedersen if it was him. Your comments (no offense) are symptomatic of fans unfair judgements of Nicki. Phew! Backed NKI at 9/1 after two rides!

KK motivated by a return to UK racing next year? Magic unable to commit to Poole because of riding in Sweden... They sign KK? Harris was a bit unfortunate there.

Great to see you back Steve. Hope all is well, and would be great to see you in the stands at Wimbourne Road once again next season.