TheWellBehavedWorrall

Smith done well at Ashfield on Friday night, to be fair. Hodder and Perry have been fantastic this season. We literally couldn’t ask for more. Two teenagers with that little bit more pressure on their young shoulders due to our team building approach, but they’ve literally given 110% in every single race. They’ve had some tough meetings - inevitably so - but meetings like last night’s shows how resilient they both are.

Getting a guest booking in the main body of the Glasgow team after a month in professional speedway is remarkable progress. I don’t care if he scores 2 or 200 points; that’s incredible development. I think his biggest test will come when he inevitably reaches the main body of Poole’s side. We’ll hopefully see Boughen back next season two, so British speedway can have the pleasure of hosting two of its highest potential young men.

Ben Barker’s a top man. He’s the sort of character you need in the pits with a proper selfless mentality. I find his interviews on BSN so insightful. At the CLRC, he was telling the cameras how he had no track intel because he was the only Plymouth rider there, so the only rider without teammate to share track tips with. He guested for us in the home defeat to Poole earlier in the season and gave it 100%; something you seldom see in a guest.

Would Glasgow have had to ask for Poole’s permission to book Cairns last night, then ask the rider? How do guest bookings work?

Huge win for Redcar. Huge weekend, to be fair. Defeating the champions, then winning at Workington. I wonder if the difficulties - financial, operational, or whatever they were - Workington encountered recently had any impact on team morale.

I’m always surprised when I see criticism of Shielfield. It’s a track I love visiting and have done for 30+ years. I bought last night’s stream and thought it was a really good meeting; two teams battling it out and the racing amplified as the meeting went on. From a non-technical perspective, I’ve always felt like it’s a proper racers track. To navigate those long straights to your advantage and utilise that banking on the third and fourth bends takes a technically capable rider. All the best to the Bandits for the rest of the season. Once Morris arrives and Jeppesen familiarises himself with the track, I hope to see Berwick in the play-offs.

Poole, Edinburgh, Berwick and us. That’s the play-offs, in my opinion. I said it after we beat Edinburgh at Ashfield in the BSN Series; if they can get Thomson scoring and once Palovaara moves into the main body of the team, they’ll be one of the strongest teams in the league. Berwick are on the same boat, albeit slightly behind and with weaker reserves. If they can get Hagon - the British U21 champion, to emphasise my point - scoring, they’ll be a huge threat. Poole are Poole. Lawson is remarkable. For us, I think Dan Thompson’s fitness, Flint’s consistency and what version of Howarth we get in heats 13 and 15 will decide our fate. Nagel is a revelation; he’s our secret weapon. An exciting end to the season in prospect.

As long as he sticks to drinking, not snoring this, he’ll be good.

I forgot to give special mention to Hodder and Perry too. Hodder; not only for his win, but for pushing Kemp all the way in heat 7. Perry was so unlucky in heat 2, but that’s speedway. Those two young boys, as a result of our team building strategy, have found themselves with a little bit more expectation on their shoulders, but have handled it face on and given it their all.

I don’t remember the last time I went to Ashfield and wasn’t entertained. Delighted with the win, but I thought Berwick were strong. They’ll be delighted with that result. Harris and Nagel were outstanding, but will be disappointed with heat 15. Flint had a great meeting too. I’ve been critical of him when he’s been poor, so it’s only right I praise him when it’s due. If Morris hits the ground running and Hagon finds some form, Berwick will be nailed on for the play-offs. Jeppesen, once he found his rhythm, was almost untouchable.

Thanks for your input.

I think this is a bit extreme, but having just witnessed your team throw us around like a wet towel, then it’s fair enough. The top heavy team building was evidently strategic; a risk to seek the reward. Evidently, the plan was for the main body of the side to accommodate young Freddy and Max, thus affording them time to develop and fulfil their potential. What there wasn’t a contingency plan for was young Ashton - who drew the short straw with his average, becoming a victim of his own rapid progress - having a nightmare season. It’s also about small margins. Leon Flint scored 3 from 4 at Scunthorpe. Inexcusable and had he scored one more point, we would have won that meeting. Had he scored at all in his first two rides at home to Poole, we would have drawn and had Jason Edwards and Paul Starke not secured a 5-1 over him in heat 12 of the same meeting, we would have won. Had Kyle Howarth not been passed twice in his first two heats in that same Poole meeting, or scored one point from heats 13 and 15 at home, we’d have won or drawn. Our team building strategy means we can’t accommodate those shortcomings. We’ll have a good season, all in, but that title is Poole’s. 100%. That track, however, would cause a man to fall out of love with speedway.

Can anyone fathom a reason for why that track produces such poor racing? As I mentioned last night, I remember Wimborne Road producing magical racing with the SWC. Heat thirteen was good last night, but it took seven - yes, seven - heats before we saw a pass beyond the second bend. All in all, I counted four passes the entire evening after the first lap. Poole are going to win this league. They wiped the floor with us, but what they serve on that track from an entertainment perspective will play its part in killing British speedway.

I haven’t even mentioned the big, thick blue lines that have appeared on the first and second bends since heat two.

Heat thirteen and it’s the first exciting race of the night. If this meeting is was taking place in my back garden, I’d close the curtains.

Look at the state of this. It looks like someone’s let off a flare, it’s so dusty.

Blobby, you’re an Edinburgh fan and I’m a Glasgow fan, so enjoy the nick of us here. We should be pointed at and laughed at. Please, however, don’t tolerate, never mind excuse this track. Trust me; it will play its part in the death of the sport in this country. This is the third meeting BSN have covered at Wimborne Road this season and it’s been the same dull, boring, stale, lifeless, monotonous show every single time. This isn’t unique to this evening.

Heat eleven and we have the second pass of the evening. What a spectacle.

Seventh heat, first pass after lap one. Only the second pass of the night, the first of which came on the first lap of the same heat. The Thompson twins look terrified on this track.

This is absolute brain damage speedway. Let’s hope there’s no first time viewers because as a spectacle, this has been utter rubbishe. Six races and the only pass beyond the back straight of lap one was Lawson’s questionable one on Hodder. Such a poor meeting in terms of entertainment. I remember Poole used to host the SWC; it was outstanding. What happened?

This is pathetic.

Lawson versus Harris; a clash of the titans. Shame it’s at speedway’s equivalent of a sleeping tablet, Wimborne Road. Worth noting that as a Glasgow fan, that was an outrageous decision to warn Lawson as well as Harris. Another woeful refereeing decision from that young lady.

Cami’s needing to stick some sun cream on that face.

I’ll be pleasantly surprised if we’re competitive, but can’t see beyond a comfortable home win. Being reliant on two guests is far from ideal.

The cloak and dagger statements from both the BSPA and Workington leave you with more questions than answers. What I do know from working closely with Global Mobility functions regarding the sponsorship and distribution of visas (both in the UK and abroad) is these ”administrative issues” mentioned are an inexcusable oversight and to be honest, elementary. Workington‘s choice of words shows they know that. British speedway does it again. A total shambles.