Paulco

First time ever no thread started for this , I'm on the train back from Berwick and trying to do this on my phone , so I hope it works

That was the pivotable race , but ultimately after watching how average out of the gate we were on Friday , my fears about Saturday came to fruition . Berwick are a solid side and there won't be many leave Sheilfield with the points .Gappmaier is a completely different rider round his home shale and the engine room of him and Doolan need to keep their form while covering for Etheridge . After our performance on Friday , last night brought us back down to earth , and one or two stepping things up to support Cook away from home is necessary if we're to do anything this season .

Can't see any other outcome the way he came down after the race in heat 14 last night . Different ball game tonight with our gating having to be much better than it was last night . But if tonight's meeting is even half as good as last night's , then it will be a cracker .

As many have said , that was as entertaining and exciting a meeting as you'll see anywhere this season . The racing was terrific with passing , repassing and close racing in almost every heat . Craig Cook looks , and played the part of the best rider in the league to perfection . I wonder if they pay him to miss the gate . But that was the theme throughout the meeting , the Bandits gating and the Tigers coming from the back . Nobody filled that role better than both Jensen and Starke , with Starke's gating pretty awful , and while they can get away with that at Glasgow , they won't at Shielfield Park . Jensen's race with Jackobsen in heat 9 being the pick of a long list of breathtaking heats , that was no quarter asked or given . Young Bickley was also a stand out on his debut , looked a much faster and solid rider than he did last year . Berwick played their part though and were much better than the scoreline suggests . If the track is like that every week , with so many lines , what a season we are in for .

Out of character I know, but I'll drag my average intellect into the Black and Gold before tomorrow's hostilities begin , see you there

Cracking day for it

Oh we all are

Ayres is a character and the sport needs more of those , we loved him at Glasgow a couple of seasons ago . Bit harsh on the young Aussie , but the reduced points limit makes it hard to carry someone in the hope he clicks at some point .

Surprised we never had a blow the cobwebs off meeting before the competative stuff starts , and this could be a toughy to start with . Most of the Berwick side have blown hot and cold at Ashfield in the past , but home and away wins over Newcastle will see them arrive in confident mood . We should have enough about us to start with a win , even if Berwick look a good bit stronger at reserve . Hope the weather heats up a bit as the Charlie Monk stand can get a bit chilly at times , hope the standard of racing heats us up if that is the case .

A breach of club discipline would in most cases result in this happening with any promotion regardless of who was or wasn't available

Maybe along the lines of due to a breach of club discipline it is regrettable we have had to dispense with the services of Joe Lawler. The club have moved swiftly to gain the signing of Kyle Bickley as his replacement . I understand the club not wishing to air it's dirty washing in public , but likewise being vague with it's statement fuelled the ability to jump to the wrong conclusions

Now that the full story has come out , i must apologize for my initial reaction which was arrived at due to my cynical attitude I have about speedway these says . The whole thing is unfortunate , Joe is a teenager and teenagers are not the most predictable of individuals and i hope he learns from this big mistake he has made . But i feel the news could have been announced better by my club . The unforseen circumstances bollocks that was trotted out only served to fuel the belief that Kyle Bickley was always going to replace one of the reserves once Workington shut . Hope this is the last unsavoury incident we have to deal with and we can now settle down to enjoy the coming season .

I'm disappointed and dismayed that my club would do this to young Joe . I don't blame Kyle Bickley , he has to look out for his own interests , but to treat a young rider trying to make his way in the sport , the way it's been done to Joe Lawler , like that is disgusting . At least give the reserves at least a month to prove that they are worth perservering with , then if a change needs to be made then fine, but to take away Joe's team place before a wheel has been turned in anger is just wrong .

We were on our knees not so long ago and probably wouldn't be here now without the Facennas buying the club . But you're right , losing that kind of money isn't sustainable and if our owners decided to cut their losses , that would be it because nobody could afford to buy them out given the money they've spent on the stadium

That's where compliments gets you now haha

Only thing about them is that their reserves look as weak as ours , but i agree their top 5 , assuming Harris doesnt ride their track the way he did at the Pairs , look impressive

Comical thing is , Craig Cook apart , our side doesn't exactly appear to be the Harlem Globetrotters of the Championship. There are stronger looking teams out there than what we appear to be . Sheffield and Edinburgh certainly do . Have they threatened speedway Armageddon assembling their septets ?

Here we go again

Time to put this nonsense to bed . Does it really matter what other fans think of our club or it's custodians . We're the ones turning up for home meetings and the occasional away ones , not them . If we're hated , so be it , i wont lose any sleep over it .

Think in all probability Cook was signed before we got hit with this ridiculous points limit . No chance of winning anything with two 2 pointers at reserve . Echos of Blackman and Campbell at the start of 2004 . I hope i'm wrong , but it looks a bit of a botched team building job . Yes it's nice to have Cook , but he cant win meetings on his own

Going to be two , two pointers at reserve in all likelihood . So unless we stumble onto a gem it's unlikely Sarjeant will be back at reserve , even with no increase in his average . Personally i would have went for Greaves , we never seen what he could bring to the team before injury struck , but he had impressed round Ashfield previously , riding against us .

Exactly . Starting at reserve last year should have enabled him to up his average quite a bit , that never happened and even less chance of it happening starting in the main body of the team , even in a watered down league .

Speedway and double standards , well who'd have thought it haha

Dont think there is , and you cant justify dropping the points limit to 38 and then increase the admission price

Is there a need for the den to be open on non speedway days anyway ?