East End Fan

That is a very interesting point that had passed me by. Seems to show that they are not very interested in Speedway, or, even worse, anti speedway

I am truly gutted by the news about Kent. Is it something I've done ? Every club I have supported has closed down. There its obviously far more to this end at Kent than has been disclosed. With Roger Cearns owning the stadium and also the Speedway it was a great arrangement. That is no longer the case. I draw the conclusion that there is a problem with ownership. Why did Len suddenly retire ? My Speedway visits next year will be few and far between with Ipswich or Oxford as my choices. Long way to go. And not much to talk about on this forum.

I think he rode for Exeter in the 60's and I first saw him in action as a promoter at Hackney when West Ham used to go there. He was always near the start line and jumped up and down a lot. My next encounter has been at Sittingbourne, but he was in the background. Put on a good show though and if it is true that he has left, it will not be good for the club. I wish him all the best if he does retire.

Speedway for a tenner is a reality. Loads of comments on this subject from time to time and the final home meeting at Kent on Tuesday is up for grabs at a tenner. Announced last week at the stadium.

As I see it, the whole fixture chaos that currently exists is entirely down to the weather and no one can control that. Seems to me that our club are doing their best to solve an insoluble problem so, whatever they do is wrong. As things stand I doubt if all the fixtures will be run. As for the Leicester match, I am looking forward to seeing the Thompson twins and Vinnie Foord, for me the essence of what Speedway is all about. New kids full, of enthusiasm and learning their trade. It's what I love the most.

Where did that news come from ?

Dear Old Bob. Even when they get it right, he has to make them wrong.

The Berwick meeting started out on a perfect track after several dry days in the lead up. Totally different situation that is obvious to anyone with an eye on the weather. Constant rain every day, on and off and when the meeting was cancelled late this afternoon, I, for one, was not surprised. But dear Old Bob just HAS to have a dig at the club. Has Herne Bay been dry and sunny all week ? I don't think so..

I agree with that 100%. It was obvious to me that if the rain had arrived when it was forecast ( about 8pm), the meeting would have been run on a perfectly dry and well prepared track. But, as is often the case, the weather forecast was not accurate. An impossible situation and the referee decided to run no matter how wet it got. Many other would have called it off even before heat 10....as it should have been.

It was a credit to every rider. I have never seen the like of it. I think the ref' should have called a halt at heat 8 when Vinnie Foord had what looked like an engine failure and was ridden into by the following rider, probably because he could not see. And the stupid criticism on this column of riders who missed races when it was obvious to those of us in the grandstand that machinery was the reason. Mulford kept trying to race but his bike gave loads of trouble, probably wet through. Every rider a Hero in my book.

I actually believe that the policy of running a team in the NL in order to discover new talent for the main Kings team is exactly the right thing to do. The fact that 5 or 6 meetings earlier in the year were rained off created a situation with huge problems. Clever Dick cannot explain how HE would have solved the situation, only says it was a mistake to run two teams with the wisdom of hind sight. Astonishingly, judging from the meeting against Berwick Bullets, in spite of the difficulties, the process of discovering new talent actually worked and those of us in the stadium were blown away by Vinnie Foord's first two rides on the track, but then wrecked his bike. To suggest that he wouldn't ride for fear of serious injury insults him in the extreme and Old Bob should br ashamed of himself. Did he attend this match ? I doubt it.

What a stupid criticism. These NL matches in late season have been caused by rain offs earlier, not by choice. What would Clever Dick Bob have done ? I was at last night's meeting and when I arrived the track looked to be in excellent condition and when racing started we saw some super stuff from Gilkes and new boy Vinnie Foord. Then rain started to fall, but the meeting went on with no delays until Vinnie Foord suddenly stopped going into the corner. It looked like his bike packed up and he was hit by the rider following. All 4 went down but thankfully they all got up and the referee continued the meeting, much to my surprise. IMO it should have been cancelled at that point but Well Done to all the riders who carried on doing their best in the pouring rain and the worst conditions I have ever seen. I guess the referee was dry in his box.

This defines what is wrong with our sport. A promoter sets up a double header meeting and charges the extra costs that MUST be involved and he is accused of being a "Robber". in daylight too. Wake up fans at Leicester. If you do not allow your promoter to earn a profit. you WILL lose your Speedway. Any business which continually loses money will always close down. We are extremely lucky in Speedway that quite a few of our promoters regularly prop up their clubs with personal money only to find severe criticism from the local fans if the team loses a match. This forum is full of such people.

Sings is quite right when he says that it is the families of riders who are to be congratulated. However I have only ever seen Kent mention how grateful they are to have such a crop of potentially good young riders, never claiming, so far as I have seen, that they are responsible for their development. Personally I think that the policies followed by Kent seem to uncover fresh talent. Gilkes and Mulford are excellent examples. Even Kings critic Sings must agree with that.

Would love to hear how you would have planned the fixtures for the Kent Royals ? Or would you not have had the Royals in your plans at all ? Sensible, but the club would not have produced Jake Mulford, and now, Vinnie Foord. But I suppose both of these kids would have waited for 2022 ? Oh, yes, and Spooner has suddenly taken a turn for the better too. Or maybe you hadn't noticed. Oh, I forgot Danny Gilkes. Where did he spring from ?

Dear Old Bob, critical to the extreme. It is not the club's fault that there were 5 rained off fixtures that pushed all the NL matches into September and October. The line up of riders is terrific and will IMO take the title if no meetings are rained off. The 1 point gained at Armadale last night could prove decisive. I am looking forward to seeing Vinnie Foord at Central Park. Good score on his debut in Scotland on a track he had never seen before.

You must remember that Od Bob of Herne Bay is one of the wisest heads on this forum, sometimes referred to as a "know-All" LOL

With the Championship season almost over for Kent, we will now get back into National League racing again until the end of October. Hope the weather stays kind. The Royals have a good side and will take some beating. Daniel Gilkes and Jake Mulford are mustard at this level and Ryan Kinsley is a Top guy too. All worth watching and I am looking forward to it. But I will miss Scott & Co with the big sweeps next to the air fence that take my breath away..

I don't remember seeing any dust and the track is very rarely touched until after heat 10 that I can recall. I presume that is because a result can be called after 10 races and with the curfew in mind they get on with things to make sure of a result. Fully agree. A great meeting with super racing. The result was immaterial for me, but pleased most of the people in the grandstand, that is for sure.

This column is full of complaints about the Scorpions team and the manager. In fact, the only reason that there was a last heat decider was that the guest for the night, Broc Nicol, scored an outstanding number of points, some think with dubious starting technique that caught him out in the last race. The Scorpions have actually done very well this year on the whole and you would have thought that their fans would appreciate that. I feel sorry for Rob Godfrey.. Kent are not in the Play-Offs, but I do not hear big moans from those alongside me in the grandstand. Quite the opposite.

Nicol had been jumping the starts all night long and was on a warning. So when he did it so blatantly in heat 15, it was a no brainer that the would be out. No one to blame but himself. Still a great last race to secure the win, but unbelievable racing all evening. Getting to be the norm at Central Park this year.

Well, if you are so confident, why don't you go and see the `Dugard family and take over Eastbourne. They need an inspired businessman like you. Oh yes, and while you are at it, educate all the promoters now in the BSPA as to how to do it. The sport will boom. All down to you.

So you enjoyed it then Waco ? I did too. Great racing all afternoon. I didn't catch the result of the collection for the `ben Fund. They usually announce it during the last part of the meeting, but I didn't hear it. Anyone know ?

Nobody has explained why the track was not watered last Tuesday. It was extraordinary and unlike any other meeting I have seen at Central Park.

Of course there are loads of old Fogies like me, but when I go to Central Park I see any number of children and although I don't take much notice of it, there is a club for them called the Munchkins.