World Championship Pairs

[Arson fire 4,785]

17 minutes ago, Big Al said:

The final was contested between the two best nations produced by four days competition and goodness knows how many heats.

You can therefore presume that all four riders taking part were of a sufficiently high calibre to look after themselves and not require to be nursemaided.

Woffinden was effectively giving a message, to Lambert and possibly Speedway GB also. He was saying

"you shouldn't need to be over reliant on me now - I've done more than my fair share of points scoring and nursemaiding, time for you to stand on your own feet and prove your worth."

 

Well we are into June and Big AL has just set the benchmark for the post with the biggest load of sh!te in it 2018...will it/can it be beaten i wonder?.

[BWitcher 12,453]

It's been a very, very tough week for the Tai haters. They've been waiting and waiting and waiting.. just hoping for something to take a pop at Tai about.  Two of the main culprits being Adonis and Orion.

Sadly for them no opportunity came as Tai was absolutely magnificent, putting in one of the finest performances there has EVER been seen in the history of the sport. We constantly heard how Emil was taking the harder gates and having to do the 'hard work' for the Russia pairing.. well the majority of the time Tai was too and made it look easy. From the gate, from the back, team riding, it was a clinic of speedway excellence.

Those doubters and haters about the stance he had taken to improve the fortunes of GB had been silenced. The changes he wanted were in place, the team was professional, they meant business and boy did it show.

Then came the final.. and suddenly they saw their chance, the hatred, venom and to be honest in some cases downright xenophobia resurfaced again. I'm not referring to those of us who think the tactics were wrong in the final (more on that in a moment) simply those whose ONLY comments throughout the entire event were to attack Tai.

As for the final, I am as bigger Tai fan as you will ever find and have defended him countless times. That said, the tactics were wrong in the final, whether from Tai himself or from Rossiter. There isn't an argument, not even a semblance of an argument otherwise. 

We also need to take a step back with some of the hype regarding Lambert and where he is right now. Yes, he rode his heart out in this event but the reality is Tai scored 35pts on his own.. Lambert scored 11 from 11 rides, some of those pts coming due to assistance. He still has a long way to go so those saying he is ready to mix it at the top level need to curb their enthusiasm just a little. A major step forward yes, but still a long, long way to go. I hope he can come away from this with the positives, not dwell on the final and continue to build on the impressive form he has shown this season. Another couple of years and if he continues this progress then he will really be amongst the top echelon, Tai will still be at his peak (barring injury) and GB will have an outstanding future.. especially if Bewley can continue his development. Of course, throw in the fact that behind the scenes they will have a professional set up giving them everything they need to help them succeed.

Yet despite this bright future, this future that has ONLY come about due to the stance Tai took, we still have the jealous, whinging haters moaning. To them I simply say, enjoy your whinging, there will be less and less of you over the next few years, the rest of us will be enjoying seeing the rise of a golden era for GB speedway led by the greatest rider we have ever had and a crop of youngsters who unlike some in the past will have everything in place to help them realise their true potential.. and who knows, one of them might just surpass Tai one day.

Edited June 10, 2018 by BWitcher

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

6 minutes ago, BWitcher said:

It's been a very, very tough week for the Tai haters. They've been waiting and waiting and waiting.. just hoping for something to take a pop at Tai about.  Two of the main culprits being Adonis and Orion.

Sadly for them no opportunity came as Tai was absolutely magnificent, putting in one of the finest performances there has EVER been seen in the history of the sport. We constantly heard how Emil was taking the harder gates and having to do the 'hard work' for the Russia pairing.. well the majority of the time Tai was too and made it look easy. From the gate, from the back, team riding, it was a clinic of speedway excellence.

Those doubters and haters about the stance he had taken to improve the fortunes of GB had been silenced. The changes he wanted were in place, the team was professional, they meant business and boy did it show.

Then came the final.. and suddenly they saw their chance, the hatred, venom and to be honest in some cases downright xenophobia resurfaced again. I'm not referring to those of us who think the tactics were wrong in the final (more on that in a moment) simply those whose ONLY comments throughout the entire event were to attack Tai.

As for the final, I am as bigger Tai fan as you will ever find and have defended him countless times. That said, the tactics were wrong in the final, whether from Tai himself or from Rossiter. There isn't an argument, not even a semblance of an argument otherwise. 

We also need to take a step back with some of the hype regarding Lambert and where he is right now. Yes, he rode his heart out in this event but the reality is Tai scored 35pts on his own.. Lambert scored 11 from 11 rides, some of those pts coming due to assistance. He still has a long way to go so those saying he is ready to mix it at the top level need to curb their enthusiasm just a little. A major step forward yes, but still a long, long way to go. I hope he can come away from this with the positives, not dwell on the final and continue to build on the impressive form he has shown this season. Another couple of years and if he continues this progress then he will really be amongst the top echelon, Tai will still be at his peak (barring injury) and GB will have an outstanding future.. especially if Bewley can continue his development. Of course, throw in the fact that behind the scenes they will have a professional set up giving them everything they need to help them succeed.

Yet despite this bright future, this future that has ONLY come about due to the stance Tai took, we still have the jealous, whinging haters moaning. To them I simply say, enjoy your whinging, there will be less and less of you over the next few years, the rest of us will be enjoying seeing the rise of a golden era for GB speedway led by the greatest rider we have ever had and a crop of youngsters who unlike some in the past will have everything in place to help them succeed... and who knows, one of them might just surpass Tai one day.

A great post  spot on about Tai/England but the greatest rider we have ever had?  i personally would not agree with that but he does have a great case.

[iainb 4,962]

5 minutes ago, BWitcher said:

It's been a very, very tough week for the Tai haters. They've been waiting and waiting and waiting.. just hoping for something to take a pop at Tai about.  Two of the main culprits being Adonis and Orion.

Sadly for them no opportunity came as Tai was absolutely magnificent, putting in one of the finest performances there has EVER been seen in the history of the sport. We constantly heard how Emil was taking the harder gates and having to do the 'hard work' for the Russia pairing.. well the majority of the time Tai was too and made it look easy. From the gate, from the back, team riding, it was a clinic of speedway excellence.

Those doubters and haters about the stance he had taken to improve the fortunes of GB had been silenced. The changes he wanted were in place, the team was professional, they meant business and boy did it show.

Then came the final.. and suddenly they saw their chance, the hatred, venom and to be honest in some cases downright xenophobia resurfaced again. I'm not referring to those of us who think the tactics were wrong in the final (more on that in a moment) simply those whose ONLY comments throughout the entire event were to attack Tai.

As for the final, I am as bigger Tai fan as you will ever find and have defended him countless times. That said, the tactics were wrong in the final, whether from Tai himself or from Rossiter. There isn't an argument, not even a semblance of an argument otherwise. 

We also need to take a step back with some of the hype regarding Lambert and where he is right now. Yes, he rode his heart out in this event but the reality is Tai scored 35pts on his own.. Lambert scored 11 from 11 rides, some of those pts coming due to assistance. He still has a long way to go so those saying he is ready to mix it at the top level need to curb their enthusiasm just a little. A major step forward yes, but still a long, long way to go. I hope he can come away from this with the positives, not dwell on the final and continue to build on the impressive form he has shown this season. Another couple of years and if he continues this progress then he will really be amongst the top echelon, Tai will still be at his peak (barring injury) and GB will have an outstanding future.. especially if Bewley can continue his development. Of course, throw in the fact that behind the scenes they will have a professional set up giving them everything they need to help them succeed.

Yet despite this bright future, this future that has ONLY come about due to the stance Tai took, we still have the jealous, whinging haters moaning. To them I simply say, enjoy your whinging, there will be less and less of you over the next few years, the rest of us will be enjoying seeing the rise of a golden era for GB speedway led by the greatest rider we have ever had and a crop of youngsters who unlike some in the past will have everything in place to help them succeed... and who knows, one of them might just surpass Tai one day.

Also... it can only do good for Lambert & Cook to have worked at such close quarters to Woffinden to see how he operates. Just his massive confidence (bordering on arrogance) is to be applauded, you could see in an interview before the meeting Tai was saying we're here to win, where as Robert was playing it down a bit

[nw42 2,048]

4 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

A great post  spot on about Tai/England but the greatest rider we have ever had?  i personally would not agree with that but he does have a great case.

Agreed it was a good post but I think he's referring to the future when Tai becomes Britain's greatest ever,  given his previous successes and time on his side he probably will achieve the status, here's hoping because it will only benefit British speedway.

 

Meanwhile I think Peter Collins stands out as the greatest British rider.

[Bagpuss 10,762]

I think Robert and his family would be (and have been) the first to admit that he isn't ready for GP speedway yet. There is no doubt he will be in the near future but he has more experience to gain before then and riding in meetings like this can only benefit him.

He 'only' contributed eleven points across the final but looking at the field before the first meeting in Wroclaw it was difficult to see where he was going to pick up many points considering the quality and experience of the other competitors. I think when we look at who he beat during the competition rather than who he didn't it makes us realise how well he performed and how far he has come since the end of last season. And he has only been in his twenties for a few weeks.

The British Championship and World U21 both have to be his aims this year, he is capable of winning both with a bit of luck. Certainly using Tai as his role model can only benefit him, I'm sure he has learned a hell of a lot from him this week.

[keepturningleft 588]

Regardless of the entertainment on offer and, as other posters have said, the most telling conclusion of this event has been that - no one was in Germany, no one was in Manchester and no one was in Poland.

I can't remember any recent World Cups, including race offs, in recent times having such poor attendances which can only bring us to the conclusion that this event failed to capture the imagination of the speedway public.

Worryingly, the much heralded return of TW to the British fold, did not result in Belle Vue being being packed out as might have been expected.

It seems that even an English double world champion has little or no box office clout in his own country.

Worrying times for speedway.

 

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

3 minutes ago, keepturningleft said:

Regardless of the entertainment on offer and, as other posters have said, the most telling conclusion of this event has been that - no one was in Germany, no one was in Manchester and no one was in Poland.

I can't remember any recent World Cups, including race offs, in recent times having such poor attendances which can only bring us to the conclusion that this event failed to capture the imagination of the speedway public.

Worryingly, the much heralded return of TW to the British fold, did not result in Belle Vue being being packed out as might have been expected.

It seems that even an English double world champion has little or no box office clout in his own country.

Worrying times for speedway.

 

HAD Belle Vue been the Saturday event I think you would have seen a bigger attendance. A Tuesday night at Manchester doesn't work.

[Pinny 2,536]

Woffy and to a lesser extent Lambert superb over the course of the week, but make no mistake, in the final Woffy should of been trying everything to get Lambert into third. Not slagging the guy off, but this is a pairs event.

was quite a let down to be honest, considering how well he had team rode up to that point. 

[iris123 20,938]

7 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

HAD Belle Vue been the Saturday event I think you would have seen a bigger attendance. A Tuesday night at Manchester doesn't work.

And what with the two nights in Poland?Ok the first night there was a football game.....Will there be a problem in speedway crazy Poland seeing this event created specifically to stop them winning? That is what happened and maybe BSI have alienated the Polish fans more than most with this new event

[BWitcher 12,453]

2 minutes ago, adonis said:

Arrogance disguised as confidence 

 

Still trying to get your petty xenophobic digs in?

You're a laughing stock I'm afraid now.

[BWitcher 12,453]

With regards to the attendances... there is little doubt with regards to the negativity regarding this event prior to the tournament.

However... after the final that has changed a hell of a lot. People now know they would see some fantastic racing.

I have 100% confidence if this event was held at Belle Vue next year, or in 2020 as is more likely, the final would sell out.

[iainb 4,962]

4 minutes ago, adonis said:

Arrogance disguised as confidence 

 

call it what you will... I thought it was still good to see in a team event

[iainb 4,962]

Just now, BWitcher said:

I have 100% confidence if this event was held at Belle Vue next year, or in 2020 as is more likely, the final would sell out.

even for the 2 qualifiers? I'm not so sure

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

29 minutes ago, nw42 said:

Agreed it was a good post but I think he's referring to the future when Tai becomes Britain's greatest ever,  given his previous successes and time on his side he probably will achieve the status, here's hoping because it will only benefit British speedway.

 

Meanwhile I think Peter Collins stands out as the greatest British rider.

Yes  you are right we can judge Tai after his career has finished    Collins is certainly the best International team rider i  have ever seen ride Craven, P.C, Lee, Tai, for me are all special in there own way. I suppose it is best to judge them on your own personal experience of seeing them ride  ( unfortunately i never got to see Craven)