June01

Whose leathers is Andy Galvin wearing in that team photo? They weren't his, I'm almost sure.

Anders Secher wants back in his role as coach, and almost everything is rosy in the Danish speedway world once more.

That's the question on everyone's lips. I think everyone would hope so, but it will take some slices of humble pie.

So they've withdrawn the wildcard, but changed the date of the meeting. Seems fair. http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/anden_sport/motorsport/speedway/koererne-vandt-speedway-krigen/6028441 Edit: although they will still be competing for just 5 places with a wildcard being awarded after the meeting. Just seen ghostie's edit.

From what I understand Munkebo gave it up (I think it was financial reasons, but would have to double check that) so it was given to Slangerup without, as is being reported, being offered to the other clubs. Edit: The DMU have responded to that by saying Slangerup offered at short notice. I haven't seen any response to the accusations about the TV money.

Yes, that's where the conflict lies. He's one of the two chairmen of Slangerup, but also on the Sports Commission that is taking these unpopular decisions. The DMU are supporting the stance of the Commission.

Looks like there's more to it, and that other club managers are annoyed by perceived favouritism towards Slangerup. It's been reported that Slangerup have received a greater share of the TV money, and that they were given priority over other clubs when being asked to host GP qualifying rounds. I should say I made a mistake with one of my earlier comments in that Stefan Kristjansson isn't on the board of the DMU, rather he's head of the Sports Commision that works directly under the DMU, so apologies for incorrectly writing that.

Personally I think it should have been up to MJJ whether he rode in Denmark or Poland, but that he should suffer the consequences of not turning up - be that loss of income in Poland or forfeiting his place in the qualifiers. But it's gone past that, and it's not fair to take the wildcard away from him at this point..although not doing so denies a rider who does turn up the final qualifying place. So what would others see as a satisfactory outcome now?

In respect to what? Sorry, just seen the link.

Well at least Holsted seem to be seeing the funny side, judging by the competition they've just posted to win two tickets to the event in Esbjerg.

An update, or perhaps the "other side of the story". The DMU are saying that only 2 riders applied for the wildcard - MJJ and Peter Kildemand. Given that MJJ was to ride in Poland the same day, but Kildemand's meeting clash will be the following day, that's what they based their decision on. That said, the DMU look set to call the riders' bluff and won't reverse their decision. The chairman of the DMU has said "if it ends with a boycott, then we will be sorry for the riders and the sport's behalf...I do not think they will do it." The riders stand firm on saying it should have been the Danish coach's decision, as has always been the case, and that he shouldn't have been overruled. It should also be said they are in no way blaming MJJ for the decision, but giving him a wildcard cuts the 6 qualifying spots to 5, and that's not fair when other riders also have commitments to ride that day, only theirs are for the British leagues..

Been reading as much as I can find on this and my initial decision to support Anders and the riders (who I think well of) has been reenforced by what I've seen. Seems that Stefan Kristjansson is on the board of the DMU but also (a) chairman of Slangerup, where MJJ rides in the league. It's the DMU who had overturned Anders' decision, and Kristjansson is denying he knew there would be a conflict. It should be said there are a number of other riders who have a British League clash that day, but have elected to ride in the qualifiers in Denmark. They have written to the DMU to protest and say they won't be riding in the Danish meeting unless MJJ turns up and they have a full field, or he elects to ride in Poland and forfeit the qualifiers. They rightly say "We are surprised that a league fixture in Poland carries a greater weight than a league fixture in England, where a lot of us get the majority of our income, as well as denying us the chance to strengthen our English clubs' chances in the league." Riders involved in this meeting, and who have written to the DMU to say they will boycott the meeting are: Peter Kildemand, Hans Andersen, Ulrich Ostergaard, Mikkel Bech, Mikkel Michelsen, Kenneth Hansen, Kenneth Bjerre, Leon Madsen, Mads Korneliussen, Patrick Hougaard, Rene Bach, Bjarne Pedersen, Lasse Bjerre, Claus Vissing, Nicolai Klindt, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen and Anders Thomsen.

Many thanks for that. Looks like the format that year was different to the standard 20 heat format? Thanks again, you've been really helpful.

I didn't have any luck posting this in the years gone by section so thought I'd try here. I'm looking for the following if anyone can help from a filled in programme or news report please? 1952 Swedish Final - Stig Pramberg and Einar Lindqvist's final scores. 1956 Swedish Final - Reserves Arne Carlsson and Olle Andersson (I) replaced who, and in which heats (3 rides between them)? 1959 Swedish Final - who did reserve Joel Jansson replace and in which heats (3 rides)? 1960 Swedish Final - who did reserve Leif Larsson replace and in which heat (1 ride)? 2003 Swedish Final riding order.

No, what I'm saying is it's too soon to tell and I wouldn't write anyone off at this point.

Of course it was weaker. They had to drop almost 7 points.

To be fair, after their all conquering season in 2014, the 2015 team looked poor on paper. Granted there are a couple of enigmas this year, but there were last year too...and they still won the league again. That said I don't think this season will be as good for them, but I wouldn't write anyone off just yet.

Yes, only a couple of meetings into the season and I really feel for Leicester. Comments after their home defeat about supporters leaving early, riders not making an effort, and the general despondency surrounding the season already, makes me fear for their survival. It must be great for Poole fans, winning the league each year, but in order to survive themselves they need to have the other teams to ride against. Clubs need to realise the bigger picture, that they're all on the same side, instead of the win at all costs, every man for themselves attitude.

I've never really been given a definitive answer on who pays the costs of travel, largely because, for some reason, any discussion about finances seems to be frowned upon, but I think it would be good for fan to know what expenses are involved for both clubs and riders, even if it's only to justify the price of a ticket. For instance, who pays for a rider to travel between British clubs? Is it the rider themselves? Do they get paid proportionally to the distance they travel, or is it a flat rate? Is it the same across all the leagues? And who pays for a British rider to travel to, say, Sweden, for a league meeting? And vice versa? What about individual meetings? For instance, Nicki riding in Bomber's testimonial? Would Nicki have had to pay for that flight out of his own pocket?

Thank you.

Was Knuckey excluded after his fall in heat 2, or did he retire please?

Never heard of him.

This is what I thought, but if you take those scores and work out the heat details it doesn't work. Heat 18 would have no rider in 1st place, and both E Lindqvist and Olsson in 2nd place, and heat 20 would have both Nygren and Pramberg sharing 1st place, which can't be right. It doesn't work out mathematically. Given that Olsson won the meeting and only dropped one point, which came in that heat 18, I'm assuming E Lindqvist won that heat, but that would make him finish on 8 points, not 7. Similarly I think Nygren won heat 20, which would mean Pramberg only scored 2 in that heat, giving him a total of 10, not 11. This is what I have for the last 3 heats. Everything else works out correctly apart from heats 18 and 20. Ht 18..E Lindqvist, Olsson, G Andersson, Zanderholm Ht 19..Lindarw, Jansson, Carlsson, Br Nilsson Ht 20..Nygren, Pramberg, Bn Nilsson, Fundin Thank you for the other results - that is really helpful.

A few observations so far: To those who say the British Final means nothing these days, it could be argued that it's because of riders who decide they don't want to ride in it. If they don't want to turn up, why should the BSPA or the fans bother with the event? Or even the rest of the riders? Won't folks be saying "X is British Champion, but we all know Woffy would have beaten him had he ridden"? It devalues the prestige of the title, and it devalues the event for the paying fans. As for nationality, you can argue he was born here, he was brought up there, but it's clear where his heart is. That's entirely fair enough, but I can see why some people are seeing it as a snub. And to make matters worse, he seems to be rubbing people up the wrong way with what could easily be seen as arrogance on Twitter. Why not just say "I've made my decision" and leave it at that - it would be the more mature and professional thing to do. FInal point is that when a Pole, Dane or Swede is picking and choosing his meetings, or prioritising one country over another, the majority say we don't need them, but if they take that stance over Tai they're "Woffy haters" and unpatriotic? Is it not just consistency of argument?

The national champion should be the best fit rider in the country, just as the world champion should be the best rider in the world.