Fourentee

Unfortunately in new money Belle Vue are a couple of points better off than Wolves (a 4pt away win and a 3pt away win, plus a point picked up for a close loss).

That was partly because you are wrong, ie Wolverhampton won the meeting, but mostly because it was an easy gag! I do take the point; no-one wants teams full of guests and I rather suspect Wolves would have been more than happy to take that match on with their declared seven. But these are the times. With your proposed two guest rule, which of the three Wolves riders wouldn't qualify for cover? Lindgren (Polish league match), Masters (other club's asset) or Riss (SGP qualifier)? Edit: Your hypothetical scenario makes it sound as if the Wolves riders' absence had come out of the blue which is, of course, not the case. It would hardly have come as a surprise to Somerset.

Thanks for that, appreciated. On Wright, Updates suggested he'd clipped the kickboard. You're wrong.

And if my auntie... Seriously, could have been all manner of reasons. I guess it's a judgement call in the end and Graversen had run a fourth last time out. Would be interested in the views of any Somerset fans who were there. From a Wolves perspective, good to get on the board away from home. Thanks to the assorted guests and well done to Ellis Perks; seven from five may not catch the eye particularly but a reserve beating a home rider in each of five rides is the sort of score that can turn a match.

Very easy for the joint SGP leader to slip under the radar! :-)

Given the forthright nature of Middlo's quotes I wouldn't be surprised. It's a rare season that Poole track a poor team (and I'm not saying the current line-up is poor) and an extraordinary one when they don't move decisively to solve a problem.

He does personal appearances...

8.61 (it was in 2011). Edit: http://www.speedwaygb.co/issues11/el11_issue_24.pdf

You should have seen him at last year's Elite League Riders. I thought he'd be going out as the milkman came in.

Harsh. Plenty of riders have tracks where they can't reproduce their normal form and, yes, Holder's is probably Monmore. But he does have the occasional good performance; had a net 11 from five (stripping out a TR double-point win) as recently as 2015 when, curiously, riding at No.2.

Shame. No-one should have their entertainment spoiled, least of all in a niche sport that needs all the support it can get. I've had the odd unpleasant experience at other circuits, but I'm aware those 'supporters' are not remotely representative of their clubs' backing as a whole. Personally I enjoy mixing with fans of other sides, you get fresh faces to talk to between the races plus a different perspective on the match.

Woffinden tweet: 8 points not bad! 24h NO rain and they prepare a track like that for the best riders in the world to wobble around!

Me neither (my elder son gets them occasionally). It was the new injury aspect, as you mentioned, that made me think no facility would be granted. Rye's press release clearly states that the migraine was present before the match began.

I'm no rules expert, but in that case I rather think it would have been reserve cover only.

Apparently he arrived with the migraine; it may have come on quite late. Don't know if RR would have been permissible by then or whether he just decided to give it a go and hope for the best.

Having checked last season's scores (5pts on each visit by Lakeside), you may be right! Back in the day Kennett was the default Monmore guest (home and away sides) but perhaps at my advancing age his performances are taking on something of a roseate hue.

Wolverhampton Speedway acknowledge receipt of Mark Riss. Unpacked and found to be bright, shiny and in excellent working order. Many thanks!

Rye's press release after the match said that Kennett (and he's normally very good at Monmore) had been suffering from a migraine.

Tremendous night's racing; Rye contributed far more to the action than the scoreline might suggest and I hope their travelling fans enjoyed the evening despite the result. Branford, from memory, is decent at Monmore and might have chipped in with a few while Harris appeared mechanically stricken and didn't hit his stride until later on. Robson always a pleasure to watch at the Green. Wolves very impressive with Lindgren different gravy, opening a gap for Howarth in one race and closing the door on a rival to protect him in another. Schlein impressive on debut and Mark Riss (not a rider I had seen before) very neat and tidy, can turn it on a sixpence (Edinburgh upbringing, doubtless). Daft as it may sound it was his last place that made me sit up; he was on the pace in what was a hot heat. Good stuff!

That's an interesting observation and would seem to echo Peter Karlsson's comment last year about the importance of a quick first lap to generate momentum throughout the race.

Thanks for the info. A terrace discussion on Monday with a friend touched on the difficulties of trialling something different; when things go wrong, the problem -- and, more pertinently, the solution -- is perhaps not as obvious compared with, say, a GM which will be more familiar mechanically to everyone concerned. FWIW I thought Adam more than did his job on the Monday (not a league match, of course) -- two wins, including negating a tactical ride, and two thirds in home 4-2s.

Point one, "the bigger picture", is precisely why I drew the comparison with Rye House and Wolves. Point two, your congratulations to Somerset, carried the immediate caveat pointed out earlier. Point three, thank you for accepting that what you put forward as fact was actually opinion (and I'll willingly admit that your anticipated outcome was highly probable). Point four, I have at no point accused Poole fans of being unfair, as detailed in my earlier post.

Missing the point, as usual. I wouldn't necessarily expect supporters of a defeated team to congratulate the victorious opposition and nor did I accuse them of failing to do so. My remarks concerned seeing the wider picture rather than the narrow focus on a win or a loss. Amusing, however, to see your praise of Somerset: "Everyone has said they deserved the win" immediately tempered with the sneering caveat "by beating the team put in front of them" followed with the assertion as fact "a full strength team would have picked up the win". Probability is not certainty.

Neither for nor against, to be honest. I've always felt he's a confidence rider (even more than most of them) -- as goes heat one, so goes the rest of the meeting. Certainly plenty of talent and speed.

Stepping aside from the whole Kasprzak/Garrity/dustbowl/we-would-have-won-at-full-strength-yah-boo-sucks exchanges, perhaps we could collectively take a little pleasure from Somerset's victory. Not because Poole were the opposition, but because the Rebels are new to the top flight and victory in front of what was apparently a big crowd should help them make a success of the transition. The same applies to Rye House beating Wolves first up, although from a black and gold perspective obviously I would have preferred a different result. Sometimes we need to take a wider view, IMHO. As an aside, that was a very honest post from BobC. Not easy to criticise the club you support, and whether you agree with his reasoning or not the point of view was put with clarity and conviction.