The Cheese

With Kennett's scores at Swindon this year I don't think he'll need a word! Disappointing for Somerset that Lawson's had a couple of low scores recently and his average has dropped which rules out a better guest. Not much chance of picking up anything from this meeting.

Just highlights that in any future case like this you can say your wrist hurts, get a medical certificate and you get away with it. The fact that Holder didn't turn up or at least give his version of events suggests he's not too bothered though, or he thought no further action would be taken.

Bewley guests for Allen on Monday - http://somersetrebels.co/news.php?extend.2059.1 And on the subject of Perks, he guested for Wolves at the OTA earlier in the season and did a good job then with 7 from 5 rides.

Has it been said why Jonasson was missing?

Surely the riders averaging those figures are going to be the ones that will be riding in Poland? Not that any of them are likely to get that in a first season so basically it's a complete ban on all new Aussies Don't see the point in just pointing the finger at Australians. At least they hang around for a few years and generally do the whole season unlike Danes like Jepsen Jensen, Bech etc who sign up occasionally, look like they're not interested and clear off again after a few meetings. I'm sure there's plenty examples of Swedes too and how many Poles have come here to regain form/learn new tracks and been recalled again within a few months. Obviously the future is uncertain but if people want to cut down on doubling-up and there's the possibility of EU riders not getting work permits then we're going to see more Australians not less.

I'm sure he'd have something to say if Somerset weren't interested in his 'very special meeting' because they have a very important meeting at home on Wednesday.

If there was any doubt then I think events this week have proved the answer is a no. Can't argue with the decision to sack Holder and Batchelor and I'll give him credit for standing up to them but the timing of it? To have the head of the BSPA acting in such a spiteful way is concerning, and the way Gomolski seems to have been treated is shocking and suggests he's completely untrustworthy also.

Just over a mile away and hardly saw any rain all day, shows how different it can be in such a short distance. Remember 4 or 5 years ago a meeting that was abandoned when heavy rain came and flooded the track, 5 minutes down the road the sun was out and completely dry!

Completely agree, seems to have the perfect attitude. Doesn't look like he's going to start thinking he's a superstar before he's anywhere near that level or get involved in nonsense on social media, just quietly gets on with the job and does it very well.

10pm curfew

For someone who seemed to be hailed as the saviour of the sport when he got the job I think it's fair to say he hasn't exactly lived up to it. Nothing has changed, the sport is still in decline with no obvious plan to help and the same dodgy decisions are made especially in the NL where it seems there's a different rule for every day of the week. The farce at Kings Lynn this week should be properly investigated but how can it be when the head of the BSPA also owns that club? It always ends in that same old answer of needing someone independent to come in and run it. Ideally they would observe everything for a year and work on a plan to take things forward before taking over at the BSPA (if they haven't been frightened off in that time!) but there is clearly no chance of promoters happy to be told what to do by an outsider so everything will stay as it is. If it is true that certain riders refused to ride in that meeting then it is very poor that they seemingly have escaped without bans. It just sums everything up, you have a 16 year old kid in Jack Parkinson-Blackburn who was struggling in the Championship and quit Sheffield, probably in the heat of the moment, and he's given a ban for withholding his services meaning he also loses out on riding for Birmingham for a month. But here with senior riders deciding they've had enough halfway through a meeting creating another mess which will lose fans it gets pushed under the carpet and nothing will be said.

I see that Sky are changing their sports channels from next week. Premier League, other football, F1, Golf and Cricket will all have their own dedicated channel, with main event, arena and action channels as well. You can subscribe to 1 only for £18, 2 for £22, 3 for £26 or all of them for £27.50 per month

Yesterday morning: Putin: So what do you think the result of the Speedway World Cup Race-off will be? Trump: AMERICA FIRST! But it'll be proper speedway Vladimir Putin: No doubt about that Trump: Did you know Kelvin Tatum has an MBE? Putin: And he's a former World Cup winner with England too! Not forgetting a World Long Track champion Later, after heat 20; Trump: AMERICA FIRST! Putin: That's just one race Donald. We won the meeting 3 races ago Trump: FAKE NEWS

Howarth and Barker as well although a long time ago in Ben's case. Proctor probably just qualifies as an ex-Rebel also

Superb meeting yesterday, if only we could have a few more tracks like that over here.

There is no reason why GB can't reach the final by winning on Saturday, with home advantage it's certainly possible although it depends on how fit Lambert is. Australia look strong obviously but there are question marks over many of them, will Doyle be affected by injury (probably not but we can hope!), how fit is Morris after his concussion, Holder hasn't been in great form, Fricke is unpredictable. Look at the USA side, they have Ricky Wells who on his day can have a good meeting, Manzares who hasn't ridden regularly here for a few years and was no more than ok at Championship level and 3 young lads who have virtually no experience. How can anyone suggest we are competing with them? Even the Czech's only have Milik and possibly Kus could have a few good rides, Franc might make a good start in one.

Belle Vue, Swindon, Somerset, Workington, Birmingham and Kent all kept the same declared side last year.

It's pretty obvious when a sporting event is going to finish past the time it's scheduled to, so I don't see why they can't extend it before that time and save people from missing the end. In this case the time got changed to 10.30 after 10 but it was obviously too late by then.

Cricket's scheduling is very much like speedway's rules in that they change from one year to the next! This year the county schedule is more in blocks in terms of format but last year you could have some teams playing championship games whilst others had T20 etc. And then you have the England contracted players where the ECB decide when they can play for their counties. So basically it's like the BSPA owning Craig Cook's contract and saying 'sorry we don't want you riding for Belle Vue for the next 2 weeks' And that is a little worrying if it takes that long to get through to the head of the BSPA. No wonder we struggle to attract a sponsor for the league

Rugby Union and League have players who are dual-registered and can play for both sides, in Cricket you occasionally have players on loan at a club in one format and playing for their parent club in another. May not be as common as in speedway but it happens in other sports.

And how would clubs already in the NL such as Buxton, IOW, Mildenhall be able to compete financially with them? I'm certainly not suggesting all is rosy and nothing needs to change, but I just don't see doubling up as the issue when there is an obvious solution to it with fixed race nights. It's still not ideal obviously but at least it solves the problem of riders missing because they're racing for their other club and it should be limited to British riders only.

Doubling up/down is fine as long as you avoid the fixture clashes and I can't see why anyone would have an issue if you could solve that with fixed race nights. Who cares if it wouldn't happen in football because it's a completely different sport. You wouldn't see a top footballer miss important games because he got injured playing rugby last week but we have speedway riders also riding in grasstrack, motocross etc so lets ban them all from that as well. Suggesting we just have 8 professional teams in the country is easily the best idea of killing the sport completely that I've heard. You have a dwindling support now so lets alienate more than half of those left by getting rid of their teams?!

Great win for Cook, hope he can finish the job in Russia.

Kerr's scores so far have been a little disappointing considering his form in the Championship and for Poole earlier in the season.

That is completely ridiculous but sadly it is probably true. It's a real shame that other promotions at all levels appear to have taken no notice of the IOW's success and tried to implement some of their ideas. This forum obviously only represents a small minority of fans but it's clear that virtually everyone here is full of praise for the work they are doing, if I was in charge at another club I would certainly be making contact with the IOW promotion for some tips and advice. Unfortunately I doubt that many in that role think like that, preferring to carry on their way because they know best, oblivious to the crowds falling before them.