Bleeds Pirate Blue

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.

Not a fan of Kildermand. He rides as hard as Nicki to my mind, but goes down at the slightest on contact, which Pedersen doesn't do. Pedersen and Doyle's comments about riders going down too easy rings true to me, and Kildermand is one of the worst culprits. As much as Pedersen doles it out, he certainly takes it back. Have to respect him for that.

I take your point there, but that blocking of Masters comes after he has kicked out at Pedersen... Also it doesn't excuse physical violence as far as I am concerned. I'm also confused as to what Masters was upset about in the first place. Looked a tough race, but clean.

Yup. To my eye Masters confronts Pedersen after the race. Pedersen tries to calm the situation and Masters kicks him, than then grab/hugs him. Some finger pointing from Pedersen as Masters walks off... Then a Pedersen mechanic gets in Masters face, to which Masters throws the first punch in the guys face and triggers a mini brawl... I'd ban Masters for that behaviour. Totally unacceptable.

Pedersen did nothing wrong. All Masters IMO

You're post uses logic and reasoning. None of which is often present in speedway's rules. People will moan if (when) Poole sign him and he is assessed a 6.50 GSA and we run with Magic, Holder and Dudek as heatleaders.

Dudek has to be a cert based on tonight. If Dudek's average make us, we should go Dudek > Holder. Ruthless, but it's Poole....

Poole are not the only club who can sign riders without a British club on an assessed average... Seems a bit over the top to say that the Poole Promotion's ability to identify and sign improving riders on "fake low averages" is anything but great management!! I can clearly remember the 1998 Ipswich Witches team that signed Tomasz Gollob on a 7.50 assessed average! That is hands down the most ridiculous "fake low average" I can remember in the British League. That year they tracked Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Gollob, Chris Louis, Scotty Nicholls, Toni Svab and Savalas Clouting. They won the league in a canter (P36, W26, D1, L5), won the KO Cup and won the Craven Shield. Rickardsson won the World Championship (Gollob was third), and also won the ELRC. Scotty Nicholls became British U21 champ... That Ipswich side was the most dominant team I can remember in my time watching the sport. Their end of year averages were: Tony Rickardsson: 10.29 Chris Louis: 9.42 Tomasz Gollob: 9.29 Scott Nicholls: 6.74 Toni Svab: 5.02 Sal Clouting: 4.09 Signing foreigner riders on assessed averages is part and parcel of the sport. As it happens, since Ford and Golding bought the club back in the late 90s, they have capitalized on the strong supporter base at Poole, and used their financial clout to ensure that the Pirates are the club that the most talented of these unsigned riders want to ride for. A financially secure club, with plentiful sponsors, and of course the pleasant lifestyle that Poole (Dorset) offers is more a more desirable team to ride for than say a cash-strapped side that can't pay riders and has a home crowd of 500 people. Simple!

Lets see how he handles the track on Wednesday first, eh? Hahaha

I would think that Magic Janowski and Brady Kurtz would already be penciled in for next season, and wouldn't be surprised if Kacper Gomolski is also back. Not sure if Davey and Dak will return on their averages. Both were a bit inconsistent at times, and struggled as a third heat leader. It's a real tough one for Kyle, who is a fan favourite, but will have to ride in the main team next year (assuming the rules stay the same). Also, depends on what average he would be given I guess. Starkey is more than welcome to return. Gives 100% in every race, even when trailing in at the back sometimes. I'm a huge Chris Holder fan, and am not sure about his status for 2016. His average looks appealing, knowing how good he once was, but, I'm not sure he will ever get back to those heights after his injuries. Out of sheer loyalty for his service and the instramental role he has played in the Prates success in recent memories, he should really be given a place in the side to be honest, and there is room for improvement (I hope).