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Unfortunately Paul it doesn't and that is why these young lads don't understand the consequences of their actions when having a laugh. The trend is to sweep it under the carpet or laugh with them. Imagine the frustration as a sponsor when your team or team members choose not to wear the corporate image or race jackets are removed before photographs are taken? I sponsored a team who won a trophy on a hot day and all but one of the riders had removed their race jacket and 2 had rolled their race suit down to their waist revealing the sleeveless under garments on a rostrum photograph that appeared in SS. My boss was was really impressed and asked me how he could put that on the boardroom wall. Glasgow are to be commended for their investment and commitment to professionalism, when the sport is full of corporate bodies we might then attract major sponsors, blue chip names and wider media coverage, until then it's the egg and spoon race run by the Village Fete Committee.

So I hope now that people are not so quick to jump to the wrong conclusions. I commented earlier on the BSF, and stated that the club was under no obligation to tell anybody what had happened, and praised them for not telling people what happened as in many cases it doesn't do any good to the rider concerned in getting another ride in the near future. But some riders try to use occasions to get their story over and get revenge, and in this case it is a great example why everyone should keep their thoughts to themselves and shut their mouths. Because of Joe trying to blacken the name and reputation of the club, due to his own immature action and telling lies, the promotion has correctly had to tell everyone what really happened, and everyone should come to the conclusion that that will not do the reputation of Joe any good in trying to get a ride in future, and may have stopped some from giving him any bookings. If it does happen, well we know it's not Glasgows fault, and Joe might have to learn how to behave in future. One thing is for sure, Kyle Bickley is not involved in this in any way, and I hope he wows the Glasgow crowd and makes some good progress with them. I remember seeing Joe at Northside probably about 7 years ago on his little Janshi 80cc blasting it out with bigger lads and better bikes, and thought he could go far. This instance will not help that progress.

End of the day. Lawlor was at his work place so to speak. Got very drunk and caused some aggro. Most if not all people would get sacked from there employers if you was to do something similar. It's very unfortunate for Joe and very lucky for Kyle. As it goes I do think Kyle would eventually have gone to Glasgow but I'm pretty sure Glasgow was going to wait till 1, see if chessell was fit enough to start season if not Kyle would be in. Or 2, they would have give both lads the first month and if 1 of them struggled then kyle would have been in. But I bet the other 8 or so clubs would have done the exact same thing to which ever reserve started poorly. So good luck Kyle and lets hope little Joe learns from this, he wont make the same mistake again

Maybe you've not fully digested Peter's statement, or understood the relevant parts. Joe's actions went beyond the realms of Glasgow Tigers speedway. Allied Vehicles are a major employer in Glasgow - they employ over 600 people. Their reputation was put at risk with the hotel chain, the Chief Fire officer and the significant number of hotel guests who had to evacuate their rooms and stand in a car park in the middle of the night. I'm confident some, if not significantly more, of those guests would have been complaining at reception the next morning. So if you were the Glasgow promotion and weighed up the full extent of Joe's actions and the potential impact on your major business - would the availability of a replacement rider be in the forefront of your mind? I very much doubt it.

Doctors specialising in pain management can sometimes achieve excellent outcomes for their patients. I endured excruciating non-stop pain from nerve damage for 4 years until I had a spinal cord stimulator implant in 2006, followed by a replacement upgrade implant in 2012, courtesy of the U.S. company St. Jude Medical/Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS). Prior to receiving the implanted device I had been prescribed numerous strong painkillers, including Gabapentin and Pregabalin, none of which were of benefit. I was fortunate as the implant immediately had a positive effect, reducing the level of pain in my legs and feet by about 50% on a bad day and much more than that on good days. Following the replacement in 2012 the level of pain is hardly noticeable most of the time and when it is present it is bearable. The implant programs can be altered remotely by the patient, in order to modify the frequency, intensity and areas requiring stimulation. ANS is now part of Abbott Laboratories, with a Swiss subsidiary, ANS Suisse AG. Tomasz will be in good hands if he is to receive treatment from this company or another with similar expertise. He has significantly more severe medical issues than me and the nature of the surgery will undoubtedly be highly complex and more advanced than for a straightforward stimulator implant, but I wish him well and hope for a rapid improvement in his condition following his forthcoming treatment.

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

Direct from Peter Facenna on Facebook, no need to apologise Midget, blobby etc. I don’t usually respond to comments on social media, however on this occasion due to some of the comments that I have read above and that are being made elsewhere, I feel I must. The reason I am choosing to comment here and not release a further statement through official club channels, is that the events that unfolded in the early hours of Friday morning are not going to help us attract new fans to our sport and are likely to be of little interest to anyone who is not already a speedway fan. I had very much hoped that I wouldn’t have had to go into detail about the events that unfolded, mainly to spare Joe the indignity and give him a chance to seek out another opportunity, however as he has chosen to not tell the full story and instead go out of his way to criticize the club, Joe is no longer my concern. Below are the facts, which are not based on hearsay and have not been embellished. The reason why we choose to base ourselves at the Village Hotel in Glasgow during our pre-season training camp, is that our health and fitness expert, Ray Watts, and his business, Pegasus Training, are based there. Ray is a volunteer at the speedway as well as a personal friend. Our camp started off well on Thursday with a tough fitness test session in the gym, followed by a chat around what it meant to ride for the Tigers, what we are all about as a club, and what we expect from the boys on and off track, based on the fact that they are not only representing Glasgow Tigers, but are also representing Allied Vehicles Group, a substantial employer and well known business in Glasgow. After going out for a meal together and having some fun ten-pin bowling, I dropped the boys off at the hotel at about 21:00. Having come home and gone to bed, I was woken at 00:37 by a call from one of our riders, who proceeded to tell me that after he had returned to his room from the Bar, Joe had set the fire alarm off, that the entire hotel had been evacuated, and that the fire brigade were on site. Furthermore, because Joe had been arguing with hotel staff, including the manager, as well as arguing with the Chief Fire Officer (all whilst wearing his Glasgow Tigers/Allied Vehicles jacket), he had been barred from returning to the hotel. Joe had told the other riders that he had no money to go anywhere else, so I contacted Paul and asked if he could make sure that Joe had somewhere to stay and that whatever it cost, I would give him it back the next morning. Unfortunately, a lot of the nearby hotels were full, so James and Paul had to walk a mile and a half with Joe until they found a hotel that had a room available. The hotel was the Radisson Blu and the room cost £131, which Paul paid and which I paid Paul back on Friday morning. On the Thursday afternoon due to Ray’s relationship with the hotel, we were afforded a great welcome and were provided with a meeting room and a function room that we were able to set up a studio in, all without charge. When I arrived at the hotel early Friday morning, I met Ray and apologised profusely for the embarrassment that Joe’s actions must have caused him. Ray and I then sought out the Manager of the hotel so that I could apologise in person. During my conversation with the Manager, who was very understanding and praised the other riders for their behaviour during the incident, he informed me that Joe had shown no remorse for his actions and had created a scene with his staff and the fire fighters. He also told me that had this not been the case, Joe would have been allowed back into the hotel. I informed Joe on Friday morning that he had caused reputational damage to me, to Glasgow Tigers and Allied Vehicles, and to Ray, who had gone out of his way to ensure that we were well looked after by the hotel. I then informed Joe that on the back of this misdemeanour, he would no longer be riding for the Tigers. I suggested to Joe that he could try to change his train ticket so that he could get home, however he informed me that his dad was coming to collect him. It’s been reported that Joe was ‘left stranded’ in Glasgow on Friday, however had Joe informed me that he wasn’t able to change his train ticket and that his dad couldn’t come and collect him until much later, I would have arranged another train ticket for him, despite the hassle that he’d given me that morning. I also offered to get the items he had left in his room dropped off at his house next week. As for the comments stating that we simply dropped Joe for Kyle and that this was always planned, I can assure you that this is not the case. Kyle did get in touch when he lost his ride at Workington but was firmly told that we already had our team and that we didn’t have a space for him. If making this team change was always planned, we would have done this weeks ago, before going to the expense of bringing Joe up to the training camp, kitting him out in all our team wear, buying a set of hiking boots for him, and ordering Kevlars for him, which thankfully haven’t been produced yet. The bottom line is that if Joe hadn’t acted the way he did on Thursday night/Friday morning, he would still be a Tiger and would be joining us at the Supporters’ Group event tonight. Joe is a character and applied himself well during our initial gym sessions, however the club and its main sponsor cannot tolerate our reputation being damaged in the way it was, especially after a conversation only a few hours earlier about how professional we wish our club to be and about how our riders are representing Allied Vehicles as well as Glasgow Tigers. It’s a shame it has not worked out for Joe with us, but I wish him well for the future. Out with this incident, our training camp has been a great success, and I look forward to the Supporters’ Group event this evening, where fans will get to meet our 2019 team. This is the last statement I or the club will be making on the matter.

as others have said, well done to ben on the line up and i hope for him that he gets the turnout he deserves.cant be there personally on the day but hope the weathers kind and that everything runs smoothly for him.a very very well deserved meeting for one of the great characters of the sport.good luck ben.

I'd like to think that any club would've acted in similar fashion.

Lets face it, you certainly wouldn't be the only one to be cynical given the information that you had. I like to think I am fair minded, but that my first reaction was that this was an excuse to get rid of a rider and replace him with a far better one. If we are cynical, I'd say that's what actions within speedway have made us. Even now, and even taking into account the circumstances (and its difficult to suggest Glasgow's actions aren't reasonable) there's still a suspicion that had the riders been different so the reaction might have been.

A lot to like about that, I think the club were trying their best not to hurt Joe's reputation but unfortunately he failed to grasp that opportunity. Personally I don't think it would have mattered what the tone of the post was, those with their own agendas would have sought to take advantage.

Yep but it will still go right over the heads of the haters on here, infact i would hazard a guess that they won't believe a word of the actual truth and continue to peddle there shi*e. If it wasn't so pathetic you would struggle to get why they dislike the club so much.

Ah. That explains a lot. That's why nothing he posts actually agrees with the facts. A bitter and twisted ex-fan Quite the opposite. He walks the terraces talking to and listening to fans. And not just at BV. I saw him at Wolves last year in discussion with fans He admits he'd never seen the sport until he joined BV, and I've never seen him tell a fan he knows more about the history of the sport than them. Although in actual fact he's learnt a lot in a few years and is now quite knowledgeable. Probably far less clueless than you. Ooops got it wrong again. He's got a strong business background, and had worked for Belle Vue's multi-millionaire owners for a long time before. (They are major players in telecomms and aerospace. Both been directors of British Aerospace, and one the current CEO of Airbus!). Here's your chance to give us your business credentials Speedytiger. (Make something up, we can't check up on you. Something glamorous... Lorry driver? Roadsweeper? Go for it!) Maybe check you're doing it right. I've never had a problem emailing him or finding him at the track to talk to, or even leaving a message with someone else for him. Keeping the volunteers out? More unfathomable nonsense. Can you list all the BV matches that were cancelled because the start marshal, clerk of the course, machine examiner, announcer, first aiders, programme sellers, etc etc were locked outside by Adrian Smith? He's also doing a very poor job of keeping ex-riders out, as there are always plenty of them at matches... Unless you're talking about one particluar bitter stubborn ex-rider who doesn't come to BV since falling out with John Perrin? A silly stubborn man who refused the invites of the Mole/Thomas promotion to come back, then refused the invites of the Gordon/Morton promotion to come back...and guess what? Adrian Smith tried to get him to come back, but he remains bitter and twisted. (You might get on with him).

.......Yes !

Would Joe Lawlor have been sacked if there was not a rider of Bickley’s potential available?

Paulco interested in how you would have pitched the initial Facebook post in order to avoid accusations of A. Saying to much? Or B. Not saying enough?

Cant you keep your crap to the Berwick threads, the good people of BSF deserve better and should be spared your nonsense.

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 .

Surely not on this forum? Don't you just hate it when the truth comes out? Rumours, half-truths, fake news and Chinese whispers are far more fun.

Would you like some assistance taking your foot out of your mouth , maybe you should wait until you are in full possession of the facts before commenting

You may have hit the de nail on the head......

Glasgow was a better club before the current owners got involved. Used to love a trip up there, unfortunately it's the last place in British speedway I would now visit. British speedway was also better without the current Glasgow promotion being involved. What a disgusting way to treat a young British rider, who has spent money on equipment, hours training an preparing for the season, an what for? To be kicked in the teeth. No wonder British speedway is on its arse. HANG YOUR HEADS IN SHAME GLASGOW SPEEDWAY

SPECIAL feature on the 'Tiger' in Speedway Star next week...

One would think so. It seems voting will be open from the interval (after heat 10) via twitter. You don't have to be at the meeting to vote (so everyone in the country can nominate Poole's 2 lowest scorers for heat 14), then the team manager nominates for heat 15, choosing from everyone except those who were in heat 14.

This made for a really hard read. For any of us that had the pleasure of watching Tomasz at the peak of his career, it must come as a huge shock to find he is still suffering so badly. I can't imagine the pain and frustration he must be feeling, and the possible prospect that things may never improve much, must be awful for him. It is so sad that several of the sports greatest riders have paid such a terrible price to entertain us, although I believe the injuries to Tomasz and Leigh Adams were not actually on a speedway track, but it matters little in the grand scheme of things. I must also mention Darcy Ward, probably one of the most naturally talented young riders we have seen for many years, he too had his career cut tragically short in a split second. I must admit I was truly shocked to read about Tomasz's condition, I pray that things will improve for him and all those other riders who have suffered such appalling injuries whilst entertaining us all.