Leaderboard

well a post at last that actually sees it for what it is everyone shoots the messenger, speedway was in a downward spiral before the current committee took charge.

You got the wrong tone of the post I was actually backing what Lucifer Sam was making. It seems nowadays everything that's wrong with Speedway is Scunthorpe's Speedway fault. hence the wink. There's more to the BSPA then Godfrey he can't make the decisions by himself he has to get the backing of the other members too. He just seems to get the flack because he the Spokesperson on most situation because the Chairman Mr Chapman hasn't got the balls to do most of the jobs himself.

Just seen a tweet re Bacon where he passes on thanks for the nany good wishes Whilst he has a burst fracture of v12 he has full movement of arms and legs so probably as positive news as could be in the circumstances

I was just listening to a Doctor Who podcast in which a Michael Grade interview was being discussed. As part of the discussion he was asked about how vociferous Doctor Who fans could be. He was quoted as saying that they were the most involved apart from the speedway lobby. He said that in the 80s they regularly had to fudge the vote results for SPOTY because otherwise a speedway rider would win every year. So the head of BBC 1 in the 80s has confirmed speedway was deliberately sidelined.

And you can guess what i want for my birthday , a Tigers home win and the forces of darkness sent back along the M8 to tricktrackland pointless . Yes it's the biggee , Scotlands finest against Satan's seven , or six or how many they rock up with . I believe we have Connor Mountain as guest reserve , while they have Broc Nicol as their reserve replacement . As both their Swedes got Armadaled apparently during Friday night's latest home slaughter , but Victor Palavaara is expected to ride on Tuesday . So Cookie , Bomber and the lads will have to bring their 'A' game to the track , while we bring the beer tokens and the anti-smug spray . Going to be a nervy , but entertaining evening as the play off thingy goes right to the wire . C'mon the Stripes

Let’s face it star man doesn’t have a clue and his agenda against belle vue and in particular the nss is extremely odd

Maybe you discussed the last race with mates, same with the race to come, sung along with the music, had a little banter with away fans, sipped your drink, read a bit if the programme, listening to the interview over the tannoy etc, so you didn't even notice the gap between races! Are you now standing completely on your own, without a prog, can't hear the tannoy and looking for something to moan about? haha

His 70's glory years were before my time I remember being disappointed when he joined hackney in the 80's - mainly because his huge average meant we had to lose 2 decent riders and promote a junior - the result meant hackney 1986 was perhaps the most forgettable of the hackney Kestrel Teams A beautiful stylist who dropped down a league too early (IIRC he was the only rider to beat Neil Evitts in the British Championship Final that year) but his final years seemed to be surrounded with controversy (I doubt Arena Essex fans have fond memories of him) with non arrivals, questionable injuries and other rumoured happenings that may or not be true but cannot be repeated as they could be construed as libellous

Noone on thid thread expects everything for nothing. They are just wanting what they paid for?

With the expected transition to last until Dec 2020, it wont be until the 2021 season that this need be an issue. If we (UK speedway) are short of riders we can issue visas for the required amount. I would expect us to do some sort of reciprocal deal with Australia making it easier for them to come here, or perhaps allow Australians to arrive on a 3 like they used to. Like Sweden we dont have enough home grown riders to fill all our team slots and have to have a fair number of non UK riders to make it work. I doubt it will be a problem, just like Brexit, unless you want it to be.

Absolutely right, whatever happens Somerset have done well.

not to mention the dozens of team changes during the season. No loyalty either way so its no surprise fans don't 'feel' the team or have loyalty to the track. Just because a rider slightly under performs doesn't mean he wasn't someone's favourite

I don't know if it's the case, but not visiting this forum as much as I used to, I recall some names that used to be quite prolific on here that no longer post. I wonder if it's through disillusionment. Have they just got out of the routine of not only attending matches but actually commenting on the sport?

Maybe if you met Phil Morris in your local pub he may express his thoughts to you, but in his official capacity I wouldn’t expect him to say much in front of 10’s of thousands. Tai didn’t even criticise the ref, “it is what it is” he said. I missed the top three being interviewed but did they criticise the ref.? for sure, WE are almost unanimous the ref got that wrong, just as WE think the ref at Cardiff got things wrong, but I reckon we not going to hear much from the higher ups in speedway/FIM, if anything. In time we might notice if Saturdays ref, and indeed Cardiff’s ref, officiate at a GP again. Only then will we know what the official verdict is.. hopefully some sort of official response will be made re starts in general, clarify and adhere to 1 the amount of time between races 2 the amount of time once all four at at the tapes before green lights, this is to cut down on gardening 3 that when the start marshal indicates a rider moves forward the rider does actually move forward 4 transponders 5 random computerised timing for tapes release 6 in case of false start, riders back to tapes without mechanics out on track

What has happened to the showground track. Once it was one of the best in the country, recently it's been far too slick, with very little material for the riders to work with. Today was an ok meeting, because of the score, but very little passing. The crowd was excellent though.

I'll make this simple for you so can understand it. If you behave like a child then I will treat you like one. Each block of the grandstand holds 300. Across the whole stand 3 were full. That equals 900. 300 x 3. The back straight holds around 1000, it was pretty much full. I know this because I was stood in it. Let's say 600 just to be really safe. The pc suite, which you can't see on the TV, had about 200 in. I know this because I know someone who was dining in it. He told me all about it. To summise. 900+600+200 equals 1700. Basic arithmetic. I know your a troll, so does the whole forum, but you still need calling out for it regardless. Cheers.

Happy with the result and pleased Berwick got a point as they deserved one. Both guests from Redcar did well for us....so thanks.

Different league over there. It's like comparing Rita ora to Rita sullivan

There is unfortunately and Gerrard Butler , Gerry Rafferty and of course James Grieves.

Like most sane people I found the atrocious refereeing decision to exclude Woffinden made a mockery of the meeting. How one person can be allowed to spoil a race in the way this Polish referee did, in 2018, with all the available means of video replay and the extra transparency that would normally achieve, is beyond me. I know poor referee decision making is outside the remit of Phil Morris and Graham Brodie on race nights, but the fact such respected men are being forced to witness such appallingly bad refereeing without being in a position to influence such behaviour is a sad indictment of where the sport is currently at, therefore some form of enhanced accountability for these referees needs to exist and exist fast! The whole issue of whether Tai Woffinden was ready to race boils down to semantics and personal interpretation. Put simply, the rulebook needs amending to remove the possibility for a referee to piddle their own interpretation all over the rulebook without cause for reproach or a second set of eyes. Graham Brodie shares the same box as the referee on race nights and would be an ideal candidate to stand as a form of Match Umpire, a man to whom the race night referee can confer or more importantly the man who could perhaps prompt a rethink? Just a thought. I don't like to poke fault with a system without offering a pinch of a suggestion as to how things could be improved and to be honest it's only the odd rogue ref who needs this form of babysitting thankfully. Obviously a flaw in the vetting process is responsible for the fact he was allowed to influence the evenings entertainment in the way he did. And don't get me started on that Start Marshall. Unbelievable pedanticism. Sadly, the starts are killing this years GP. Simple as that. This ridiculous new rule of no moving at the start has stifled natural gating talent and more importantly the momentum of the evening. A once much loved element has been zapped from the sport but more sickeningly has now turned most GP's into a bore. The time wasted everytime a race is pulled back because a rider dained to fart at the tapes makes each GP a marathon affair for everyone watching. They will drive potential new supporters of the game away in droves by persisting with this diabolical new rule. Ironically, matches were smoother affairs in the days of tape touching which was understandably eradicated due to the delays it caused. But now they have taken a retrograde step in allowing no movement whatsoever! I mean, who on earth approved this utter nonesense?! Bring back tape touching and the meetings will be more entertaining and smoother than is currently the case. Yes, that's how absurd it has become! Lastly, back to last nights referee Mr.Artur Kusmierz. A Polish referee excluding the British leader of the World Championship in a race where two rivals to the Championship also race and they happen to be Polish too? Hmmm. He would arguably be on a sticky wicket should Maciej and Tai have tussled in a racing incident where one rider fell but to exclude Tai in the circumstances he did is downright criminal in my book and a sad reminder of how farcical speedway can be when in the hands of an immature referee. When moments like this occur I find myself head in hands, saddened to admit that speedway still stands just one small step up from acts like wrestling in terms of acceptability as a serious sport. Sort it out now, FIM! You are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in a tragic biblical manner.

Let’s have a second British GP at the NSS early in the season .....

Tracks are always faster when they are prepared grippily. That's basic science my friend. But they have to be rideable by all. I guess we all have our own opinions on this, but we are all speedway fans who want our own team to win. The question we all have to answer though is this: Do we want to see our team win on 1) a track that is fair to all, that produces entertaining and close racing or 2) a track that allows only the home riders to know how to race on it, producing processional, strung out races and no entertainment ?? If you answer anything other than the first answer, then I think you are part and parcel of the problem of the way speedway is going down the tubes. Please, think about it...

Thought frank ebdon was the ref that day.

Bewley is a huge loss to BV. I'm just glad the club got an extra meeting which will be packed to the rafters. That's what counts.

I will offer a different option. Why is there pressure on Somerset? There’s no pressure on them. They are in their second season in the top flight. Remember last season when most people said they had assembled a championship side? The Rebels narrowly missed out on the playoffs. This year, apparently they assembled a top heavy team due to Jason Doyle’s presence in the side. As with every team at the start of the season, the play offs were the aim. However, this team of racers built by Garry May, now have an excellent chance to get to the final. There is no pressure on Somerset at all. Everybody at the OTA is already celebrating a superb season, a season which in all honesty has proved way above expectations in reality. Lose to Poole, then fine. The coffers have been boosted, appetites wetted for next year. Beat the Pirates, then the whole speedway world will be willing them on in the final. Lose the final, then they will be congratulated for a team that in 2002, were racing on a virtually ploughed field, to a team that contested the final of the very top tier.