Jump to content
British Speedway Forum

AndyM

Members
  • Content count

    1,991
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by AndyM

  1. Sorry, but even more predictable than that. Gollob will never win the title. He might win the occasional GP in Poland or other eastern European locations, but will never achieve the consistency needed to win the GP circus overall.
  2. How did the world title ever get to be so closed and so dull? Well, predictable at any rate.
  3. AndyM

    Whats My Line

    Sorry, mate. Will do a song and dance act next time!
  4. AndyM

    Whats My Line

    Yes, quite a few of the regular contestants seem to have reached a sad or suicidal end to life, Gilbert Harding, Lady Isobel Barnett and Ted Moult among them. Isobel Barnett was caught shoplifting, but before the ignominy of a trial killed herself by putting an electric heater in her bath. Ted Moult shot himself with a double-barrelled shotgun when his farm ran into debts and he faced repossession. Harding was intensely lonely and homosexual at a time when it was still illegal, famously exposed by the John Freeman Face to Face interview. he actually died of an asthma attack at 53 on the steps of Broadcasting House, but had been quoted as saying he wanted to die.
  5. AndyM

    Whats My Line

    I remember revivals of the programme but never a speedway rider either. Somehow lots its shine when miming the bulk of professions could be done in front of a virtual computer screen!
  6. AndyM

    Coventry V Hull 13th October 1979

    My dad was there that night. He said the atmosphere was electric though the size of the crowd was no bigger than British Final crowds in the 70s and arguably smaller than we used to get at Hyde Road for BLRC nights - but as a league match it may well have been the biggest ever. Shame speedway attendances aren't published.
  7. AndyM

    Howard Cole?

    Salty, my memory may well be faulty. Think it was 72 though not absolutely certain which club. Would have to delve down into my programme collection to find that one out...
  8. Not having seen the incident in question I can't comment, other than to say that unless you want total anarchy all riders (and fans) must abide by the ref's decision, even when they screw it up. In cricket, football and rugby, for example, players are fined or banned for any display of petulance or dissent. In speedway you might argue riders have got away with too much for too long. Gollob must know that parking his bike on the track was an unacceptable action and that a ban will result. Ultimately, the cause was frustration - the fact that he knows in his heart of hearts he will never be world champion.
  9. AndyM

    Howard Cole?

    Very accomplished rider on his day. I remember vividly seeing Howard Cole ride from reserve at Coventry for the Heathens and score a 12-point max in 1972. My dad, who had been a Bees fan for many years, was indignant. What on earth was he doing riding at reserve?
  10. Peter Collins was 22 when he won the world title in 1976! Coming back to this topic after working in NHS circle my immediate thought was that people will always need doctors!!
  11. Generally true, but remember Ullevi 2003? Start with a pool of, say, 24 riders and select them so each rides a certain number of GPs but not all?
  12. Phil, with all due respect to those who prepare tracks for the GP circus, this is an art and/or science proven over decades. If you have the right expertise, the right tools and the right raw materials, it should be quite possible to provide a track capable of high quality racing at every venue - just as our cricket authorities insist on a minimum standard for pitches, which are uniformally inspected and punishments meted out to those who fail to provide pitches meeting the required standard. It should never be a "holy grail", it should be the very minimum we expect. Your point about what people expect to see is also erroneous. People might cheer if their own riders are in front but the expectation is clearly for close, exciting racing with multiple racing lines so the most skilled rider can always win whether or not he gates first. If you cannot provide a track with that capability, something is wrong.
  13. AndyM

    The Passing Of Eric Williams

    RIP. Does anyone know how old he was?
  14. AndyM

    Scott Nicholls

    That wasn't my question. I asked what he had contributed to speedway. By what achievements has he earned his role with Team GB?
  15. AndyM

    Scott Nicholls

    Fair question - who IS Rob Lyon? How has he ever contributed to speedway?
  16. How will that happen? Fans are simply not organised at present. High time we were!
  17. Definitely time for a fan rebellion. What's the best way to set up a poll or a petition?
  18. Totally agree. Do we know what Ole's grounds for disagreement were?
  19. So that leaves Ole believing slick is better, or the third option: it's entirely accidental because the people preparing the tracks really don't know what they're doing. Which do we believe? Coincidence or conspiracy?
  20. We should not let this rest, even if 1 were the case. Sponsors need to be educated that racing is the product. If that means finding other ways to display sponsor logos that don't prevent riders mixing it in the shale, so be it. The product has to come first, and Olsen and anyone else complicit in taking away the core component of racing needs to realise that fans come before even sponsors. Without fans, there is no sport.
  21. So why does Ole apparently disagree? Is there any direct way to contact him, because I think we should be organising a petition or bombarding him with emails - anything to improve the tracks for GPs!
  22. AndyM

    Top 8

    You think Nicki is losing interest now he's 99.9% certain to lose? Agree he won't drop out of the top 8 though. Would be nice to have someone coming up through the ranks to challenge for the last spot.
  23. AndyM

    Alcohol At Cardiff

    No, but that prevents the decent well-behaved majority enjoying a drink because of the behaviour of a minority. If it were a well-publicise condition of entry that no alcohol could be brought into the stadium and that anyone giving the appearance of being drunk and/or disorderly would be refused access, people would moderate their behaviour.
  24. AndyM

    Alcohol At Cardiff

    Yes, but I still saw no evidence to suggest the people concerned were not already well gone before they got in the stadium. Rather than banning alcohol in the stadium it would be much more effective to refuse entry to people who look drunk and potentially disruptive before they get to their seats.
  25. AndyM

    Alcohol At Cardiff

    You can buy beer at cricket matches, albeit at a price, and everyone is usually quite civilised. Does anyone really abuse the privilege at speedway GPs? And how do you know they weren't already drunk before they got in the stadium?
×

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy