Chris Brown

Probably a far more beneficial 11 points than he could have got at Peterborough

Now I genuinely know nothing but he has scored an absolutely hatful of points in the last 2 weeks so It does make you wonder if there is any chance of seeing the money Its very sad to this all going on at Peterborough which is a great club Also sad to see Ales finish, my last chance to see a Dryml ride will be in Pardubice in a few weeks which will bring to a close a brilliant 17 years of association with them

What the world's best Team Manager didn't know the rules ? I am sure that is an error and it was the rule book that was confused really

I totally disagree with this, I think had Poole sacked him it would have sent a huge message that British Speedway will not tolerate this sort of breach of the rule and I for one would have been leading the charge in praising the Poole management had they done that. Instead they have come out with firstly an angle which said he was going through a tough time, then one saying they hoped he was let off and not he is suspended they finally come out and say the right thing but then try to somehow blame the FIM for acting too slowly Poole had this issue in their control, had they acted swiftly and sacked him on Saturday night then they would have had 2 weeks to sort it As for looking silly, well if you are going to do whatever the FIM say then you would but if you grew the balls to take control of the situation yourself then you wouldn't. Had no suspension been in place then personally I believe Poole would look more stupid than even I thought them capable of by condoning a rider drinking alcohol and putting at risk not only the other 6 Poole riders but every other rider who would have been unfortunate enough to be in the same race. Whether you like it or not, he cannot be trusted and will have to earn that back A missed opportunity for Poole so change a lot of perceptions

Blimey, that is a bit different from what he said at the time. Well said anyway, just a shame the first reaction was to defend him because of having bad news the day before As I said previously, they have had 2 weeks to replace him because they should have got rid of him anyway

Bit dramatic isn't it. British Speedway is finished because the FIM took 2 weeks to ban a rider who was happy to ride with alcohol in his blood. I think British Speedway has survived bigger crises than this !!! I suspect despite all the Poole hierarchies desire for him to get off they didn't for one minute think he would and therefore would have a plan. You can blame the incompetence of the BSPA for many things in speedway but for once they are squeeky clean here. If the rider in question had been then there would not be a problem to solve. Don't let anything detract away from who is the only person at fault here Be nice to have seen Poole act decisively and drop him anyway irrespective of whether he was banned or not. That would actually have been the right to do for the sport..........................bugger all chance of that though because all they wanted was to see it swept under the carpet

Course he will, I am sure we will see a spineless fine which he will have earned in the last week anyway and told for the 17th time to clean up his act For the authorities to really deal out a meaningful punishment which sent a real message of intent this needed to be someone nearer the bottom end of the scale in terms of the riders. Had this been a lesser rider in say the World U21 or maybe one of the Latvian team at the SWC then the book would have been thrown at him. As its one of the top riders I fully expect it to be swept under the carpet Maybe his clubs should take a stand.....................................OK, now I being silly

Ford says this in the same week that he has accused other promoters of only considering their own self interests when talking about the use of squads The man is a hypocrite and I guess we should thank him for making sure we can all see it for ourselves. Even his South Coast disciples cannot defend him on this one

Can't disagree with this ion any way. I think the important word is again. He should of course be judged for this offence on its own but someone in the sport or his family needs to take control here because you cannot help to think he needs help. Clearly those close to him now should give up as they are simply not getting through, maybe the authorities can help him by taking him out of the spotlight. We should not forget that he is an overseas rider who needs a work permit to ply his trade in the UK, accepting this particular incident occurred in Latvia, should he not be a sportsman would he be continually allowed to reside in the UK with a working permit. Australia are very strict on who is allowed in and maybe we need to help him in some way, not sure if denying a work permit here would help as no doubt the rest of Europe would continue to let him ride but something needs to be done to help as well as punish him Understand the sentiment of the Best comparison but Best was not putting other peoples life at risk after having a drink Not sure of the answer but lets be honest do any of us really believe we will not see Darcy Ward involved in some sort of scrape again sooner rather than later ?

I agree that this should be judged on this incident alone To be honest you don't need any other incident to come to an obvious conclusion that he needs to be taken out of the sport. Motorcycle racing is extremely dangerous and this is the most competitive racing in speedway as this level, riders have to have complete and utter trust in each other when racing. Now I could not care two hoots how far over whatever limit there is he might be but the one thing he has shown is a total disregard for the other riders and I wonder if ever again they can trust him. Harsh maybe but as a rider I would be very concerned So this incident is enough in its own, if I was to be stopped and breathalised on the rode it would not matter how much over a limit I might be, the ban would be warranted. Having seen my sons mate killed by a driver over the drink and drugs limit I struggle to find a morsel of sympathy to be honest. I sympathise with any bad news he may have had but lets be honest it doesn't really come as a surprise does it ? And Middleditch, well what a great job he is doing to keep him on track. I really think the best thing for him to have said today was nothing because he has not come out of this covered in glory Whatever ban he gets needs to be a 'in season' ban, a 6 month ban now is in reality only 2 months as they season would be over. Personally chuck him out of the GP series for this year and stop him getting a wildcard for next. Maybe he should realise that there is a hard way to get into the GP series Somehow he has to learn and the way it is at the moment he appears to be learning little

As usual the speedway press defend the backside off BSI These people have been destroying the sport for years in my opinion, they could not give two hoots about the supporters yet those who pay naff all to go continually defend them. And they wonder by the sport is dying on its arse

I will probably be at odds with my Oxford colleagues on this one and probably going to be controversial and ungrateful. While I understand the idea of it being decent publicity for the clubs who are sadly no longer operating I cannot help but feel that this and indeed the meetings held a few years ago by Swindon were really nothing other than filler meetings for continuity and had little to do with any real care for the defunct clubs At Swindon the relevant supporters groups were asked whether they were prepared to partly sponsor the meeting/race jackets, that money didn't go to those clubs but to the club putting on the meeting and out of the funds of the club who probably need it more for the fight ahead. This time the jackets were paid for and donated so clearly its better that way I am not a fan of this idea at all given that in the main the riders have no connection with Oxford (that is going to get harder as time passes) and some of them probably didn't know Oxford ever had a track. Not their fault. Also I say the press release (not knocking you Rob) declaring 'Cheetahs make their first track appearance in 3 years'. Its a group of unconnected riders stuffed into a race jacket that means nothing to them...................for me that is NOT the Oxford Cheetahs So while its great that there are people that welcome this sort of meeting , its not for me to be honest. As I say probably a bit ungrateful but just an opinion but glad that there are people who supported it

I would prefer the letter to Eurosport to be praising the fact that they are showing the GP and SWC given that SKY got shot of it and without Eurosport I suspect it would have mattered whether you like the commentator or not because you would have only seen results on the internet Some people just have nothing better to moan about

What a prick, understand frustration but you have to control yourself Maybe the next time he wants to be interviewed the cameraman should shove him

Where are all the riders coming from to fill these squads ? Please don't tell me all the missing GP riders will suddenly want to ride in Britain...........................unless they can all earn an absolute fortune for doing part of the season I wonder who will be expected to pay for that.........................oh that will be the fans again

Nobody is saying there will be no riders unless the EL goes to one day per week. There will be dozens of riders and I am really not sure there will be less fans. There could be more because without the so called top riders the costs would be reduced and maybe a greater audience could be attracted Anyone would think that a few riders skipping the UK would mean every club is going to close the way you are putting it EVERY single business in the world will fail unless its puts its customer first, doesn't matter if its Sainsburys, Tesco's, the local newsagent or British Speedway. The promoters need to learn that, its scary that as a customer you seem to think the riders should be put first. No wonder the sport is in a mess if people think we need to put the riders first

Best point made so far tonight but sadly I suspect not one that too many in the sport will take any notice of

While theoretically this would be great it's totally pie in the sky. Stadium owners would lease the stadiums to suit speedway because they would on TV a few times...................really ? Are you going to pay for the strength of the teams you are suggesting, the costs would be astronomical. Birmingham did only race on one night and not enough people turned up and this was a team that was generally successful. It would IMO be financial suicide. We need to recognise that we cannot afford all the top riders, no chance. As for your last point, sorry but the top riders are a lot of the problem with the financial demands they make on the sport Just my view

Fair enough but if he or any rider does like the way the sport is here then they should not expect it to change just because they say so That is also the way of the world. It will be shame to see top riders decide not to ride here but if that sustains speedway here by becoming more profitable then so be it

But can we afford the 'best' riders ? Do the 'best' riders provide the best racing and entertainment. Not sure they always do to be honest

On one hand Philip I hear what you are saying and I am not having a go at Tai personally here but while he was an up and coming rider he was very happy with the set up in the UK which allowed him to ride in more than one league and develop his talent in a way that maybe 10 years ago he would not have been able to do. None of these other countries offer and British or Aussie rider the ability to ride the sheer amount of speedway that Britain does, which is why there are so many riders riding here from countries other than Britain Its just fascinating that now he is at the top of his game he feels that if he is to continue to ride here then British Speedway needs to dance to his tune and change. I suspect we would all agree that British Speedway is sadly dying on its feet, lets be honest it has been for years but this is not the reason he wants to change everything, he wants change because it suits him. No criticism for asking but why didn't he think this a few years ago when he was benefiting from the system. Lets be honest its the British league system (however screwed up it might be) that has allowed Tai to develop to the point that he was able to become a worthy World Champion, the leagues that he now seems to prioritise done pretty much nothing to aid his development in his early career For me it would be shocking for a British World Champion who has IMO benefited from the platform British speedway has given him to make him what he is to turn his back on it because it won't dance to his tune Having said that he must make a choice and its up to him, all I ask is that British Speedway does the right thing for British Speedway rather than the right thing for riders who just want everything to change to fit their own personal agenda As ever, just my opinion which I am sure people will disagree with but British Speedway will hopefully be around a lot longer than the riders who want everything changed to suit them. I suspect Tai should be credited in some way for being the one to at least say what he thinks but I just do noit share his view

And he loved it so much he stayed there for.................. Every rider comes out with this sort of crap when they sign, its what the fans want to hear and what I am sure they are all told to say

No chance of that, he is definitely retired, van has been sold and I think much of his equipment as well

Not sure you can point that accusation at Ales. It was aimed at Lukas 10 years ago but not sure that is particular relevant now anyway. I am sure there is a very good reason why Ales was not riding tonight

If you really believe he is taking the p#ss then that is your view. Personally I don't but lets agree to disagree with that one then eh ?