thommo34

I can't help but think that if the points limit is to be reduced, they should also reduce teams to be 6 man teams. That would reduce costs and reduce the number of doubling up (or down) riders.

Thanks for that Hoggy it really is good to see the menagement coming onto this forum to try to explain their (and our) frustrations. If the suggestions and criticisms on this forum are regarded in a positive fashion then I'm sure everyone will realise that we are all on the same side and the reasons are BECAUSE WE CARE. Keep it up, keep us informed and you'll see far more positivity from most of the posters on here. Best of luck for tonight and Saturday.

Well we've hit a new low now! Advertise job vacancies, don't bother letting us know any team line ups. When will they learn!

What's the point in advertising in the programme, its people not attending who need to be told.

Totally agree. Why don't the promoters realise that they need to sell the sport to new (or lapsed) customers. Issuing a rallying cry (David Hoggart on Monday) merely smells of desperation, you need to generate real interest. Announcing the line up at a meeting is only going to tell existing customers. Surely the local press could be used early in the week when people have time to plan their Thursday evening. It seem to be obvious to everyone apart from the promoters. The riders themselves should realise that they also have a part to play. I find it particularly annoying, that Rick and Damien in particular, rarely acknowledge the crowd on the 3rd and 4th bend,. Unfortunately it can appear to the crowd that they don't care, although I'm sure that is not the case. We assumed that the delay was because of the sun, but why were we not told the reason? I'm not sure exactly where the problem lies, but if it is the entrance between the 3rd and 4th bend surely some temporary cover (a tarpaulin?) could be draped over the opening.Also why was the time not filled with something interesting. It would have been an ideal time to try to promote this week's meeting.

If the line up was known last week why is it not shown on the website? Typical - and they wonder why people don't turn up.

Its time we stopped knocking Ricky and started to appreciate his importance to the team, particularly in away matches. I think I've come up with the solution to the riding order. I'm convinced that our team managers do look at this forum and consistently do the opposite to anything that is suggested Perhaps if we all stated that it was a bad idea to alternate Richard and Ricky at number 5 it would happen!

Really looking forward to team and team management changes - we need both urgently.

I don't think so - I knew he wasn't riding on Wednesday.

I've got to agree that we need a team manager who knows what he's doing. The thing I find most surprising is that no one seems to have mentioned the fact that last night we were running Rider replacement for the fifth averaged rider in the Number 5 position meaning that only Joe, Damien and Jake could take the rides. In 3 of the races there is already either Damien or Jake in the race anyway so in 2 of the rides it was going to be the 2 reserves. That was the only reason why Jake had so many rides. I don't understand why its taken so long to change the riding order. It was obvious to most people at the start of the season that Joe should be riding at number 2. It is also obvious that Ricky riding with Richard is not a good combination. I have always thought that Richard should be riding at number 5 at home with Ricky riding at 5 for away meetings but that seems to be far too obvious for our team managers. We need now to hope that Saturday's meeting goes ahead so we can make some much needed changes.

As many people have said there seems to be no better way of replacing an injured number 1. My annoyance is with the rule that allows a guest for the higher averaged reserve. It seems obvious to me that a guest from a lopwer league (not an old timer though) would be a much better and fairer solution and would give opportunities for younger lower league riders to show a wider audience what they can do..

I remember Don Wilkinson (Newcastle rider in the early sixties) had a bicycle bell on his bike and he was told in no uncertain terms that it was dangerous and to take it off immediately. Makes you realise, I guess, that Health & Safety stupidity has been around for longer than we all think.

I heard that Richard Hall would only ride at number 4 last season (was it in his contract?). If that was the case it doesn't allow a team manager to think tactically. No rider should be able to dictate in that fashion - it is imperative that the team manager should have a free hand regarding positions in the team, tactical and heat 15 rides. I would also add that Hugh Skidmore was vilified for refusing to ride in Heat 15 at Somerset. He himself told me that the reason was that he did not have a bike fit to ride. This apparently was ignored by the powers that be on the night.

This was also a big problem with Ricky Wells. Most weeks we saw Richard and Ricky come a poor last in their first races and then come good later. The problem with this is that we quite often seriously behind by the end of heat 4 and playing catch up. I have also felt that a successful team will always be capable of pulling out a good lead in those early heats whilst the opponents were learning the track. I also felt that there should have been more experimentation with the team pairings last season. Hopefully serious lessons will have been learnt.

Surely Thursday it has to be, but why not try Sundays when we are riding against other Thursday tracks.

So already we're all doom and gloom - let's give the lad a chance, we've had some good Aussies over the years. I've watched speedway for 51 years and this year was the first time I've ever wanted a season to end, probably the worst Sheffield team I've watched, but already I'm looking forward to next season. Let's wait and see, be positive and give them our full support during the winter and next season.

Basically I've got to agree about the team effort, or lack of it in many cases. However the plus side is that there was some excellent racing. But is it just me or does anyone else feel cheated about the fact that we were supposed to have a full team for the first time for months - but where was Chico? Even the announcer didn't seem to know whether he was there or not. Anyone reading this forum would know that Charlie Gjedde wasn't riding but all the publicity yesterday on the website and local paper was still saying that he was in the Rye House team. This seems to be a total lack of professionalism by the promoters, they expect it from the riders but they set a pretty poor example. For the first time ever, in over 50 years, I want the season to end. Roll on next season!

I'm looking forward to this one as it seems to me quite likely to be an ideal opportunity for Grand Prix riders to test themselves and their equipment before the fist GP in NZ. Should have the best ever line up.

I started watching the Sheffield Tigers in 1961, but unfortunately I have not kept any programs from that era. I can remember most of the riders but I wondered if anyone could provide any sort of access to that seasons performances, results and scorers.

Many thanks, Andrew, for the information, funny how the mind plays tricks but at least I got the score right. Hope the performances against Plymouth this year are a bit better.

Thanks for the reply but I'd already looked there and there's very little about 1961. I would be very interested in the very first match I watched which was against Plymouth and seem to remember the score as being 43-53 to Plymouth. I also think that Ron Bagley top scored for them and very shortly after was transferred to Sheffield.