Roger MARTIN

Tim has signed for Buxton, fridays meeting is a challenge match.

Plymouth have a NL meeting next week when Matt Bates will be riding for the Devils against a Weymouth side, in the Plymouth side will be Matt and Tom Brown, and with Weymouth will be Tim Webster and David Mason, Matt did say last night at the Plymouth Rye House PL meeting who the riders will be, but did not catch the rest, but i will be going to support Matt.

Would Lee Smart fit ?, Todd Kurtz did well there last year got 14 from 5 rides, would he fit ?

Cory got a 6 and a 8 on his two visits to the SBA last year, i feel like some once he gets dialed in to the track he will do a very good job, i think we have a very good rider now in Cory Gathercole, and i will be right behind him and the rest of the team on friday, so yes i am happier now than i was about Boxhall coming to the Devils, in May last year Cory was on a cma of 7.78, i see no reason why he can't improve his cma this year, like i say once he get's dialed into the sba he will up his CMA into the later 7's i think, it's all down to Cory.

Yep we are .

I see Cory was going to ride for Belle Vue until he got the offer from Plymouth, so he withdrew from that agreement so he could ride for the Devils, so i hope the lad does well for the team and get a few points for himself,

If watching them at the press and practice on Saturday is anything to go by we are in for a very good meeting on friday Devilforever, like you i can't wait.

Spot on mike, the deal was done on Saturday over the phone, then on paper on Sunday, it had to be done very quick before the lad signed for anyone else, but i don't think it was a good idea putting it in the Sunday paper, not until the lad had signed, then put it in the paper, forsight is a good if you get it right, and this time he has, but you would think he would have learned from past experience not to put anything in the paper until they have signed and he had the paperwork in his hands.

We won't know until friday when we go to the track for the meeting Devilforever, it makes you wonder that it was in the paper on sunday, yet it was only on saturday that Steve Boxhall did not turn up for the press and practice, it does make you wonder if Mike Bowden knew before saturday that Boxhall wasn't going to turn up, he must have, there is no way that he can phone a rider on saturday, go and sign him on sunday and it be in sundays paper, i think you have to take any comment by Mike Bowden in any paper with a pinch of salt.

Let's just hope that has been sorted montie.

The deal to sign Cory was done on sunday, Mike Bowden drove up to Swindon on sunday where Cory was appearing and did the deal there and then, his last to visit's to the SBA with Somerset Cory got an 8 and a 6, so give him a few more rides on the track we should see Cory improve on that.

It's a great pity because no matter what people think about Steve Boxhall, and there right, he is a very good rider, but with a very bad attitude, and it's a great waste of a very good talent.

Just printed what was said on the road map, your right you can add an hour to that journey but i was using it has an example, from May onwards is a nightmare on any motorway, i have been up that way a few times, it's no walk in the park that's for sure.

I get your point and you are looking at the bigger picture, Cory to Ipswich or Plymouth would make no difference to the lad, the point i was making and i did not know that Ipswich were interested in the lad, was coming to Plymouth the journey would be much better for him than Lanham's would be, so sorry if i misunderstood your post but i get what you are getting at for Cory to go to Plymouth or Ipswich would not make much difference journey wise.

Thats what i said, Swindon to Plymouth will be a lot closer than Ipswich to Plymouth, i don't know why you said Swindon to Ipswich, he wouldn't be going to Ipswich from Swindon if he signed for Plymouth, not unless he got lost, if Lanham had sign for Plymouth it would have been a long old journey for him to come down to ride for Plymouth 257 miles according to the road map, taking him 269 minutes at 70 mph, if Cory signs it would be 136 miles, taking him 142 minutes at 70 mph, big difference.

I have heard the same, maybe next year, seeing it's only eight teams in the NL how long would it have taken to change the fixtures, a pity because it could have seen the return to speedway of Tom Brown.

You could be right mike, i wasn't sure the person who told me said Exeter or Swindon, but like you say it's close enough, closer than Ipswich thats for sure, also good to see Matt bates and Tim Webster having a few laps yesterday to, but Ryan Fisher looked very tidy yesterday, had one lap and away he went, someone timed Nicki over four laps and he did a 51.4, i know he wasn't racing anyone but he looked very quick to me, along with Gino to.

Lewy to even think to sign a rider so far away when there is one just up the road is just tells you the there was no thinking behind it, it would be a good move for both rider and club, but when has Mike Bowden look at that, i would think coming down from from Ipswich everyweek the last thing you would want is to ride in a speedway meeting, coming from Exeter thats a different matter, my only concern is like mike said we wont be the only team after him, but like you say, it would be an excellent signing.

The person who told me mike said Mike Bowden had been on the phone to him but he was on the way back from the Airport at the time, so would get in contact when he got home, i think he is based in Exeter so it would be a good move for him coming to Plymouth, so we will have to wait and see.

Went to the press and practice yesterday at the SBA, all the lads looked very quick apart from Boxhall who did not turn up, but on the good side and talking to people in the know he has been bined and Mike Bowden is in contact with Cory Gathercole with a view to singning him, so we will just have to wait on that one, but it will be better to have a rider not turn up now than into the season, why he was ever considered for a team place with his past record is a mystery to me and a few other Plymouth supporters.

Spot on mike it's all irrelevant now, i just hope we get more luck than we did last year with injuries in the first few meeting, Ipswich will already be looking for a rider i think after Poole injured his arm in the the meeting with Rye House on thursday, and the meeting at Redcar ended early after Kus injured himself in heat 15, so keeping rider's safe in the first few meeting will do for me, fingers crossed.

I agree Lovey, on one of the DVD's i have he says that riding for Plymouth is great because it will be easy for his family to come and watch him, not just his mum and dad, yes his mum and dad probably go and watch him in most of his meeting's, but to say that having Plymouth being so near to where his family lives did not come into him riding for the Devil's, i can't see it, i think it's everything to do with it, and like you say i don't think he would have ridden for any other PL club.

So if Ben had been offered more money to ride for Berwick he would have gone to them, i think the location of Plymouth had everything to do with him coming to ride for the Devils, no matter what team Ben would turned out for in the PL he would be offered very good money, so saying he would get £40 a point from anyone just so his family could watch him you know would never happen, some people mite think Mike Bowden is stupid, well he aint that stupid, he knew how much Ben would cost, and if he get's £100 a point, the lads worth it.

Your right lewy, if he could he would ride in the NL, he just loves the sport, and the money comes in handy.

It's an opinion, or is it to far over you head you can't understand it. So having his family come and watch him didn't come into it mike, so why didn't Lanham not come down, that wasn't to do with the money, yes Ben earn's good money, but he has to earn it, it's not a matter of just going on the track, Mike Bowden don't give money away unless you work for it.