boz

I'm normally one to be positive but struggling tonight. Stewart, MBA and Barker aside I dont think anyone could complain if they lost their job. A meeting of two halves - Bears still very much up to heat eight but a pretty pathetic end to the meeting. I don't want to take too much credit away from Lakeside - Morris and Lawson were as expected but both Ellis and Zak were excellent. Far too easy for them though. Plenty of rumours about changes floating round the track - although I'm not sure who is around to come in. Would love a Jorgensen type to come in. Lastly, best wishes to Ben. Was a very nasty looking fall, and if he has got away with just a wrist injury as has been reported then very lucky indeed.

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Both teams at full strength as far as I'm aware - Mikkel drops to reserve so should be strong there with him and Jordan.

Some excellent racing tonight - what can you say about Jordan Stewart? Quick and smooth tonight, best single performance I have seen for a while. The Andersens were both excellent too, particularly MBA. I actually feel a bit for Barker - was involved in some great battles but just not quite there. Struggling out the gate big time. Glasgow more than played their part though - thought Vissing and Kerr were excellent and both Harris and Worrall had good races. Ultimately let down at reserve, and missing Starke. Sarjeant should really be doing better than that.

Matej's meeting in Czech has been postponed due to rain - he will now take his place in the Bears side. Will have to ride at number two, but now gives us a better chance!

I think with Kus or a guest this would have been an interesting tie against an out of sorts Glasgow. Now makes the task look very hard. Can't really afford anyone to have an off night now. Starke missing probably weakens Glasgow as well as he flies round here normally, but hard to look past a Glasgow win.

To be honest, Konopka probably looked the best of the unattached guys. Great to see Stewart have a good meeting though, passed both Barker and Jorgensen with great moves and just looked much smoother. Barker was again quick but having to do it all from behind, cant gate for love nor money at the moment.

It's hard to know what the answer is. MBA and Stewart came in as rookies in this league and are definitely worth sticking with. Barker has not really fired yet, he is giving it absolutely everything but just not really making starts. Kus is the enigma really and must be one of the most in danger. And Theo is riding pretty much to his average, but we signed him to be a trump card and very much improve upon that average. Would be interesting to see the scope of who we could bring in. Could we tempt a Jorgenson to drop down?

Fair play to Scunthorpe, but a pretty pathetic showing from the Bears. 4 heat wins at home is not acceptable. Thank god Tobias turned up, otherwise it could have been a whitewash. Going to be a long hard season I'm afraid. Whilst Garrity was absolutely out of order (and how on earth was Jonas excluded in heat 9?!?!), it at least livened up one of the dullest meetings I have seen at the STMP.

It does weaken us slightly, we will miss Busch points from reserve at home especially. I do think he will have no trouble scoring decent points at number two though. Stewart has had an OK start, at a tricky number two position. Seems to have the speed but locks the bike up a bit too much and scrubs his speed off. A spell at reserve will do him the world of good and hopefully boost his confidence. We will really need Pijper to come to the party though.

Put simply, the better team won. Sheffield gated superbly for most of the night, and once out in front were simply too quick. Special mention for James Shanes, who rode some superb lines on the 3rd and 4th bend to make some great passes. For the Bears, Proctor was excellent and just showed why many wanted him back here this year. Barker was quick but just could not get out the starts. And I feel terrible for saying this, but Greaves for Pijper does not sound like the worst idea ever..

Forecast on Met Office does not look too promising, looks like rain from late afternoon till about Seven on latest forecast. Another tough one for us if it goes ahead. Ty is a good choice of guest and has started season well, should score roughly what Kus scored but Busch will be a big miss I think. Would expect Wright to fly round here - will be delighted with any kind of win for the Bears

You can only beat whats in front of you, but it was encouraging for the Bears tonight. Good to see Barker on decent form, and good to see Kus have a good night. Busch was a different class tonight, very, very fast indeed and very smooth on the bike. Was impressed with MBA, looked good and took no prisoners in a couple of rides as well. Thought Stewart deserved more points than he got, was always in the mix, but seemed to overlock on the bends and lost a bit of speed. Sure that will come with experience. Newcastle were disappointing, although impressed with Ashley Morris. Wethers had a couple of decent rides and Doolan was a decent guest but can see them struggling on the road.

Will be no JBA for the Bears as racing in Denmark - I believe Doolan will guest in his place.

To cheer RR up, Newcastle will now also be using a guest instead of rider replacement for Lewis Rose. Kevin Doolan will come in for them.

I'm guessing they are worried about Stewarts fitness - may well end up running r/r anyway and better to have a better guest?

Would be very surprised if he was not at Redcar still.

As has been said numerous times on this thread, the facilities will be improved and not just for the Fours. Hosting the event is not something the club took lightly and they did not accept at first, instead going away and making sure they would be able to get everything in place they would need. Parking, catering, viewing are all things that have been thought about.

Whilst I 100% agree, in the interests of fairness it appears to have been the same in the past when Redcar have visited Newcastle.

Kev mentioned on Thursday that viewing facilities would be improved, not just for the Fours but for every week.

I don't think HT has anything against Redcar, he is always very fair I find. I think it's fair to say a number of people really enjoyed the last couple of Fours meetings at Peterborough and would have liked to see it back there. I'm confident we can also put on a very good meeting, and very much looking forward to it.

Redcar did not ask for the Fours, they were offered them..

I'm not sure it was a desire for new assets as much as we were told to acquire some new assets. Cautiously optimistic, and we should have enough to win most home meetings. Will always be strong at reserve, although perhaps missing that top end strength. Will be a lot resting on Barkers shoulders. It's clear Matej splits opinion, I like Matej but think second heat leader is a big ask. That being said, a happy and fully fit Kus could score very well at home at least. Be good to see how MBA and Stewart go. Just hope fans give this side a chance.

Car parking will not be an issue going off what Kev said tonight - alongside improved viewing areas and improved catering. Should hopefully be a fantastic event.

Kus seemed delighted to be back, and was a strong hint he was certainly not enjoying things under the old promotion.. Dont know a lot about Stewart, but from what Jitendra said he comes very highly recommended from Mark Lemon and Hugh Skidmore, indeed Lemon was close to naming him in the Belle Vue team this year. Jitendra seemed very excited indeed by him in particular. We all know what Busch can do around the MPA - we need an injury free year from him if possible. Will be strong at reserve all season, and in Barker we have a good number one. Relying a bit on Kus or JBA to really step up this year, but fairly pleased with the side.