HGould

The fact with "communications" is that (a) if your initial message is wooly and not transparent and (b) you don't try to answer any questions that may be asked with plausible answers up front, then each time you issue further communication it becomes harder and more risky. Speedway is not known for its transparency at the best of times, it's worse than the worst Masonic Lodge. Reading between the lines, and that's not always wise, but in this case there are pointers there would seem to be at leat 2 issues (a) some sort of administrative issue that is relevant to the sort of agencies (Home Office or HMRC) that fill the BSPL / SCB / ACU with dread. I mean by that something not just Workington specific but which may draw attention (I'm thinking visas especially) to other Clubs. Not pointing any fingers but punishments in these areas can be beyond punitive! (b) evidence of past and present late or non payment that causes BSPL / SCB an issue. There is also some anecdotal evidence that the Bond paid by Workington may be NDL level at entry and not ramped up due to the urgent need to get them to step up to CL, not the first Club forced to do that. Having announced the suspension, and clearly having lost a degree of "trust" that it can be sorted out, it would seem that the BSPL will require a lot of boxes to be ticked, especially for outside agancies but also to cover their backsides and the Sport in general. Having gone off "half hearted" with the initial statement of suspension, the next one will really need to be clear, very factual and very unambiguous. Don't hold your breath on that score. Geoff may be partially right "no news is good news" for now! It at least indicates a willingness to resolve rather than pull the plug from the Governing Bodies.

Dean, I massively respect your opinion. In this instance i'll have to agree to disagree given there is a big difference between a "training track" scenario and a full scale Speedway Fixture held under the governance of SCB / BSPL that requires the Promoting Company to be an Active Registered Company under valid Companies House authorisation

So lets cut to the chase. The Management of Workington Speedway raced last weekend in the full knowledge that the Oerating Company had been "dissolved". What would have happened if god forbid any of the 14 riders had been injuerd or worse. Strictly speaking at an unlicensed Track as the BSPL registration, the Insurance and so many other factors are directly linked to the Limited Company operating the venue.

It was a measure of his excellence at his trade and his wonderfully crafted image that he was as much a star and as much an attraction as the great riders of the great era (mid 70's to mid 80's when Speedway WAS one of the top 3-4 Sports in terms of attendence and Main Stream Media profile). If you went to a Meeting, often with packed terraces at the old Perry Barr, Dudley Wood , Monmore green, Brandon etc , the minute MP appeared on the Track there would be an audible buzz "Mike Patrick's here"...he was that well known and recognisable and it added a sort of weird kudos to the Meeting, especially if it was a standard League Fixture. One of if not the best at what he did. It is frankly I am disappointed to say that his passing has not been reflected and commented on by more. RIP Mike

No one has yet asked the obvious question??.. IF IT IS VISA RELATED! Surely any Meetings where a Rider without correct Registration has performed have to be either (a) have match score adjusted for illegal rider scores to be expunged or (b) rearranged and ridden again. Time constraint would surely mean te early season Regional Competition be left alone BUT surely must apply to the League. Certainly in any professionally run Sport this would be the equally relevant and important topic.

I can't think of anyone in the recent past who has been as articulate and sensible off the track and he is a steady improver on it. If he lacks anything it's just the kind of horse-power that some with less ability and dedication seem to attract. He does a lot of work to promote the Sport too and it's a shame that his spell at Birmingham will now ony be for a season. Credit to the Sport

BREAKING NEWS.... News breaking in parts of Dorset and Hampshire Shock news that Poole Pirates are NOT the only Team who use Whatsapp / Facetime / Zoom or the good old fashioned Team Meeting to discuss tactis on a regular basis! Middlo has defintely lost the Dressing Room - simply - any one can manage a Team that wins every week, far harder to manage a team delivering below expectations....time for him to earn his money!

Hits the nail on the head. Riders like Cook / Brennan / Kerr upgrade to either new specialist tuned or ex GP tuned engines and hey presto, they struggle as haven't a clue where the sweet spot in the highly tuned engine is. Whereas solid pro's like Lawson probably invest in one new (but used) engine a season, use 1-2-3 year old engines, standard Tuners not costly uber light expensive stuff and their engines hit the sweet spot 8 / 10 not like rocket ships occasionally but unrideable just as often. Familiarity and sticking to what you know more often than not the best course!

I concur with those who refer to the complete inevitability of this. The minute Entain removed Speedway from Monmore to focus on Dogs and Arena / ARC (or whatever the latest Branding is) mooted building a Dog Track on the infoeld on Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton AW Venue with its massive Stand and Hotel, Perry Barr as a venue was doomed. I have massive respect for Nigel for the money he has put in, money he will never recoup. I have to question his team building and management and his sanity or insanity in terms of investment, but he cannot and must not ever be attacked for his loyalty and commitment. For his own mental health and future prosperity, this decision I suspect will in the longer term be welcome to him. With no appraent progess for Wolves, delays and no clear path yet for Brandon , there still may be a glimmer of hope for Midland Speedway at the new Knighthead / East Side development that incorporates to old Wheels Site. This now has Government / Local Government and massive American Funding behind it. The big problem is that a 65,000 state of the art stadium, a new Athletics Track , direct access to the City Centre and Airport may not be branding wise logical with a shale oval track with limited use, when you add in Casino , Cinemas, Hotels, and top class Apartments etc. If the development goes for major Athletic Events that will require a secondary Athletics Stadium with such world class facilities for Training and Competiton and a new Home for GB Athletics , then may be the current Athletics home at Perry Barr may in 5-6 years time be an option BUT it would require significant funding and Council Support and seriousy what state would British Speedway be in by then. Several other Tracks seem to be hanging on by the skin of their teeth in the face of planning , development and economic concerns, so we could in 5 years be down to a core of 10 or less. Sad times and hopefully Nigel gets enough support in the remaining months to at least break even!

If fit 2 recent Gladiators are available Nico Covatti Michael Palm-Toft or a curve curveball Ben Cook

Great Racing. The gap between Bewley and Lambert and the rest though in the UK remains a big bridge, a strangely subdued performance from Tom Brennan, who has excelled in this meeting the last few years was a major surprise. Of the younger brigade it's clear that a now fit Anders Rowe and the rapidly improving Dan Thompson deserve the Reserve slots for GP, sorry Bomber!

Shale is like gold dust these days, you could probably collect a jar full over a season and barter it back for a season ticket. The decision about a decade ago by the then Bosses of the sport NOT to fund the repairs to the Shale skaker at the old shale seam near Nuneaton was very short sighted and having a negative impact now. One of my favourite tracks to visit was Halifax, just a one off, brutal steel fence , massive banking and that grey material that you'd be washing out of orifices weeks later..

May be you should read before replying... "indeed all of them took part in the traditional Plymouth interval Running race".

I do wonder how many of the keyboard warriors attacking a 30 minute break were actually AT the Meeting on Saturday. I have to admit I wasn't, and I'm not keen on extended breaks BUT my Grandson and 3 of his mates went, 2 of the 3 mates for the first time and the newcomers , indeed all of them took part in the traditional Plymouth interval Running race. He sent me pictures, and very proud too that he has inducted 2 new fans to Speedway and plans already for my Daughter (who lives in North Devon) and the 3 other lads parents to take it in turn to attend matches in the coming months. These lads are primarily soccer and rugby playing kids with a "summer sport" needed to fill their time. It would appear from social media that pLymouth had another bumper crowd, another reward for Kids going free and another opportunity to build a fan base for the future. Another point, given the issues PLymouth have again had with break in's. Don't attack an Owner desperately seeking sponsorship for engineering an extended break when his paying and non paying customers will be encouraged to spend money in the Bar, in the Cafe and in the Track Shop, all delivering much needed funds. I do wonder if some keyboard warriors would love to see Plymouth / Birmingham and one of 2 other Clubs close, just so that they can gloat. Maybe they need to gloat on the fact that if the sport loses 2-3 more Clubs that the current crazy barmy model becomes a step closer to extinction. The dinosaurs of this forum may have been bored but a whole new generation of fan weren't and are being created.

There have always been riders that were infuriatingly inconsistent. They though tended to be "gate and go" types who could not pass, some to do with their home tracks., others because it wasn't in their DNA I'm thinking of examples like Nicky Allott / Rene Ass / Alan Molyneux from the past, no doubt others will have other examples. I can't recall though any of them being so blatantly reluctant to avoid contact. I do suspect it may be linked to his MX background, where he would sometimes make a start and just ride away from 20-30 others but if he missed th start would literally have to option to shut off, tactically avoid the melee and then pick off riders over 10-15 laps. Speedway of course is very different, it's instant and no room for giving an inch. He's clearly an outstanding motor cyclist and has blinding speed . May be there is someone in the Team GB set up who place a great emphasis on the mental side who can work with him and alieviate the problem before it's too late. I wish the lad well.

Far from a Gourmet Galloping Graham and more of a Wayne from Mr Kerr tonight. Unconvinced Poole fans will be out in force

There is a (hugely more expensive) answer but you'd need Poole level crowds to afford it. Put a foam fence to the height of the concrete fence all the way round the track, then add a higher foam fence that sat on top of the lower one and encased the poles. (Those foam fences like at KL / Glasgow dont give an inch on impact but cushion) The cost would be enormous but the height might be an issue too for 3 reasons (1) visibility for spectators (2) efectiveness of lights e.g a black spot near fence like Leicester used to have (3) on rare occasions a bike can clear a fence and at least be out of the way it would "bounce back" from a dangerous height on to the track. THere is always plan g - sneak in one night and grind the things off

Reading between the lines they just wanted the rider to be able to weigh in on some scales rather than the local weighbridge. Reference to fitness and professionalism suggest they wanted a more focused rider. Rumours he's down to Cruiserweight and heading to light heavyweight.

This may not make me particularly popular but the saying "play the ball not the man" comes to mind. Granted, no Team I have supported or particularly followed has been blighted by Clarke Osbourne. However, as a Brummies fan about to lose PB who has also over the decades watched a lot of Speedway at Monmore, Cradley, Coventry and Stoke to name but a few, I have to say that IF any of those Clubs (or others like Lakeside as an example) came up with what is actually IN those proposals, I'd be very very excited. The location ticks many boxes, the shared sporting use and business use ticks many boxes, it offers hope, which supporters of many closed Tracks don't have. The bottom line is that if CO was not linked to this then what would the reaction be. Hope springs eternal!

about 14 isn't it? and a sponsored bacofoil tracksuit??...

2 riders who would be returning fit the bill. Both if remotely back to their best would be experienced riders who on average form would be very good reserves and could hold their own in the second string department at a push Both have been mentioned at least once on here. Stefan Neilson James Sargeant Neither would require a weigh in either!

My informant suggests that if rider was a Boxer he'd be a Super Middleweight bordering on a Light Heavyweight! PS It's not Gary O'Hare (a true legend btw)

Definitely wasn't thinking of Complin at all. They are weighing up options (not including Complin and Scott Campos)

Maybe they are weighing up (or in) other options 😁

There is one aspect of Matt Marson's riding that is definitely CL quality, indeed possibly higher and it'll be interesting to see transponder data of taht. He is traditionally a very fast and consistently fast gater. Whilst his speed tails off after the first bend he is going to be far more competitive off the starts I would suggest than your average 16 year old. I'd be tempted if I was his Team Manager to engineer best option of inside gates in the earlier races for him as he can definitely beat some of the weaker league reserves on his gating ability alone and if nothing else could be a very tactically useful "mobile chicane" on occasions.