Pinny 2,536 Posted March 8, 2018 Gollob was very good on big tracks however on the smaller ones he wasnt. Hence why id rate hancock, nicki, tai etc above him... they can ride any shaped tracks which makes them better riders Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g13webb 4,254 Posted March 9, 2018 8 hours ago, ray c said: i think michael lee career came to an end in after meeting crash at poole in which he was badly injured may be wrong From someone who knew Mike fairly well, it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact point when his fortunes turned sour . It was very clear he had no friends in the BSPA who wouldn't do anything to help his corner. When he won the WC , you would have thought he would have been the biggest promotion our sport could have. Had he been any other nationality he would have been hailed a hero and treated as such. But it wasn't like that. If they could create a problem for Mike. they would. It was very politically back then in that the BSPA wanted to rule the sport all over the Europe. When Ole Olsen came up with this Grand Prix idea, BSPA said no and arranged other fixtures in competition to it. Lee was being pulled from pillar to post. Mike became very disillusioned. Sure he wasn't no saint, but he suffered more than more from petty political arguments. Like when they arranged a pointless 4 team meeting on the same weekend as the World Pairs Comp. Because the WP meeting was rained off for 24 hrs, 6 riders failed to turn up for the 4TT. But it was only Michael who was fined. Fined for representing his country. The straw that broke the camel back was that '5yr ban' that the SCB/BSPA imposed for a crime he didn't commit . It was there for all to see, that they were going to get him whatever the costs..... There was no end to the deception these people would pull. An appeal hearing was planned on the Day of the British Final. With no case to answer, from these concocted lies it was advertise Lee would be riding in that final, But we all know what happened. In their determination to rid the him from the sport, they changed the offence and banned him for a year. That was the day speedway lost the plot. You never kill the goose that lays the golden egg, but they most certainly did. They lost probably the best rider some of us had ever seen, plus thousands of fans who turned up each time he rode. They turned their backs forever.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted March 9, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, Pinny said: Gollob was very good on big tracks however on the smaller ones he wasnt. Hence why id rate hancock, nicki, tai etc above him... they can ride any shaped tracks which makes them better riders He was pretty good at Ipswich !!!!! ok not great on the man made tracks grant you that but as a rider he was better than the three named in my opinion and i would still rate Craven,Lee,Collins in front of Woffinden.Again back to he won more championships argument, rating somebody on that criteria i am personally against it in my time watching speedway Gollob natural ability wise is there with Lee,Ward. Edited March 9, 2018 by Sidney the robin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted March 9, 2018 51 minutes ago, g13webb said: From someone who knew Mike fairly well, it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact point when his fortunes turned sour . It was very clear he had no friends in the BSPA who wouldn't do anything to help his corner. When he won the WC , you would have thought he would have been the biggest promotion our sport could have. Had he been any other nationality he would have been hailed a hero and treated as such. But it wasn't like that. If they could create a problem for Mike. they would. It was very politically back then in that the BSPA wanted to rule the sport all over the Europe. When Ole Olsen came up with this Grand Prix idea, BSPA said no and arranged other fixtures in competition to it. Lee was being pulled from pillar to post. Mike became very disillusioned. Sure he wasn't no saint, but he suffered more than more from petty political arguments. Like when they arranged a pointless 4 team meeting on the same weekend as the World Pairs Comp. Because the WP meeting was rained off for 24 hrs, 6 riders failed to turn up for the 4TT. But it was only Michael who was fined. Fined for representing his country. The straw that broke the camel back was that '5yr ban' that the SCB/BSPA imposed for a crime he didn't commit . It was there for all to see, that they were going to get him whatever the costs..... There was no end to the deception these people would pull. An appeal hearing was planned on the Day of the British Final. With no case to answer, from these concocted lies it was advertise Lee would be riding in that final, But we all know what happened. In their determination to rid the him from the sport, they changed the offence and banned him for a year. That was the day speedway lost the plot. You never kill the goose that lays the golden egg, but they most certainly did. They lost probably the best rider some of us had ever seen, plus thousands of fans who turned up each time he rode. They turned their backs forever.... Things have not changed to much have they Webby that decision to give him a five year ban would never of stood up in a court of law today.Such a shame also Mike did struggle to get his head around the new tape rule but he would of adjusted he just had so much frustration that he give up with the sport.That British Final day i was so angry he had his bikes loaded ready to go but they changed it to a 1 year ban the crowd there that night were bemused.I remember there had been a huge petition a real outcry from the public and i thought the ban would be overturned and maybe changed to a suspended sentence.Going back to Kings Lynn to have Bettsy then Mike for that prolonged period must of been a treat as for me personally Lee on his A game was one of the best riders i have ever seen.He used his slim frame to great affect and the partnership with his dad very influential the gates Lynn used to get then must of been right up there with the largest in the U.K .A real shame how his career ended by the way when you look back his WF record is very good indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted March 9, 2018 10 hours ago, ray c said: i think michael lee career came to an end in after meeting crash at poole in which he was badly injured may be wrong I think he broke his vertebrae in a crash after the meeting Ray , if i remember rightly i think he was going to replace Rossiter.?.? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites