bruno 1,790 Posted December 16, 2014 I remember Joe owen being a fantastic rider in the late 70s but lost touch for a while in the 80s.did he have a bad injury but make a comeback then get his injury which disabled him Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westhamboy66 599 Posted December 21, 2014 As a Rye House fan in the late seventies the one team I used to dread coming to Rye was Newcasle. Always a well supported team with great riders. As top div 2 riders go it was difficult to see past Mini Mauuger Lou Sansom when he rolled up with Workington but the very best surely has to be Joe Owen. A class act in every respect, a great loss to Speedway when Joe had his accident but he remains a rider forever etched in my memory 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruffdiamond 6,115 Posted December 21, 2014 Joe was'nt my favourite rider,,, but was no doubt the best at 2nd division I've seen :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gearhead 31 Posted December 21, 2014 Some undeniable names mentioned there,to add a few more notables? Les Collins Jan Staechmann Michael Coles Andy Galvin Robert Nagy Paul Thorp Paul Bentley Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NJC71 388 Posted December 22, 2014 Joe Owen all day. From a Newcastle perspective worth mentioning David Bargh and Mark Thorpe. Thorpey's rise from inconsistent reserve to 10pt number 1 in 1991 was amazing and such a shame his career was curt short by injury. David Bargh remains one of my favourite riders and was brilliant to watch at his best. They were an awesome double act. Can still remember that incredible 48 hours when we won the Gold Cup with a last heat Thorpe/Bargh 5-1 and then did the same at Exeter the next night when Exeter was viewed as an almost impossible place to win at. Those were the days.... Les Collins at around the same period was my personal favourite visiting number 1. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tsunami 10,219 Posted December 22, 2014 Joe Owen all day. From a Newcastle perspective worth mentioning David Bargh and Mark Thorpe. Thorpey's rise from inconsistent reserve to 10pt number 1 in 1991 was amazing and such a shame his career was curt short by injury. David Bargh remains one of my favourite riders and was brilliant to watch at his best. They were an awesome double act. Can still remember that incredible 48 hours when we won the Gold Cup with a last heat Thorpe/Bargh 5-1 and then did the same at Exeter the next night when Exeter was viewed as an almost impossible place to win at. Those were the days.... Les Collins at around the same period was my personal favourite visiting number 1. Pity I can't 'like' this twice, Neil. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
me2 80 Posted December 22, 2014 I used to think it was Jason Doyle, but now it's Grigory Laguta. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
packerman 160 Posted December 22, 2014 My top no1's would be Gordon Kennett Chris Louis Andrew Silver Paul Dugard Les Collins Jens Rasmussen Andy Galvin I would put Leigh Adams in this group but can't remember if he was our No1. I am not going to knock Kevin Smart but he was probably our worst No1 but had an awful crash in 2nd meeting & was never the same rider. I saw Stoney ride at Exeter prior to a GP weekend & was woeful looked like he wasn't trying but looked real impressive in the 2 fixtures I saw at Worky on the night Exeter won the title. I started watching 2nd Division speedway when Poole went NL in 1985 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cue Ball 416 Posted December 22, 2014 Shame half the riders mentioned never rode in the PL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Cooper 61 Posted December 22, 2014 My top no1's would be Gordon Kennett Chris Louis Andrew Silver Paul Dugard Les Collins Jens Rasmussen Andy Galvin I would put Leigh Adams in this group but can't remember if he was our No1. I am not going to knock Kevin Smart but he was probably our worst No1 but had an awful crash in 2nd meeting & was never the same rider. I saw Stoney ride at Exeter prior to a GP weekend & was woeful looked like he wasn't trying but looked real impressive in the 2 fixtures I saw at Worky on the night Exeter won the title. I started watching 2nd Division speedway when Poole went NL in 1985 .it's no secret that stoney hated the county ground with a passion, he was once asked what could Exeter do to make you like going there? To which he replied 'bomb the place' Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gearhead 31 Posted December 23, 2014 Shame half the riders mentioned never rode in the PL I thought it was for PL ,anyhow there's some great riders though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mickthemuppet 976 Posted December 23, 2014 As the Premier League never started until 1995 where do all these riders keep coming from that people are posting on here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The White Knight 9,039 Posted December 23, 2014 As the Premier League never started until 1995 where do all these riders keep coming from that people are posting on here People are just looking back to the good old days of the National League and British League Division 2 as those are the equivalents of the Premier League these days. Nothing wrong with that. Actually - it makes for interesting reading. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Whiteliner 72 Posted December 27, 2014 If we are going back in time then these are the No1's I always feared coming to Middlesbrough/Teesside: John Jackson (Crewe) almost unbeatable around Cleveland Park Arthur Price (Boston) Arthur Browning (Birmingham) Lou Sansom (Workington) Russ Dent (Sunderland) put that one in just for you Ian, I hope you and Bob are well and have a great 2015. Might even get up to Newcastle a bit more next season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cambpanther 172 Posted December 28, 2014 For me as a Panthers fan i would have to say Glenn Cunningham in 1998. Premier League Riders Champion 1998, Premier League Champions 1998 (Peterborough Panthers) Premier League Fours Champion 1998 (Peterborough Panthers) Premier League Champion 1998 with Brett Woodifield (Peterborough Panthers) Cant ask for much more than that, think he also took the track record that year Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
