Ivanobe

Phil - give it a few months, and he will be forgotten about. Trust me.

According to the FIM rulebook, Ward is out for at least two years, even though it's a first violation (actually, the first time he's been caught). Great news, at least the FIM will deal with this appropriately. Shame on you, Ward. Worldwide ban as well, in any form of motorcycle sport. He's finished, and only himself to blame. See Article 10, page 31. It seems clear cut to me. http://www.fim-live.com/fileadmin/alfresco/6572010_ang_ANTI-DOPING.pdf

Neil Middleditch........

Fantastic for Smolinski, superb determination throughout by him. Chris Harris looks so lacking in confidence do you think?

Very funny!!! But honestly, read the thread on the NL forum page; I'm not sure my sarcasm concerning 'the fans are to blame' post has hit home yet to the original contributor......

Yes. I think you may be best to read though the posts prior to your post. And ifyou could then add furthr insight, I am quite sure it will be read with compelling consideration to your views. Once again, thanks.

I would thoroughly recommend that anyone should read and contribute to the thread on the National League forum; of particular interest, I would recommend and urge you to contribute to the theme the debacle is (at least) partly due to the fans. Great stuff. Totally rational I am sure you will agree.

Thank you iainb. Your post is quite brilliant, and you are absolutely correct, the fans are to be blamed, you are spot on, even by not attending you have hit the nail on the head there. I am sure modesty prevails, but you should be applauded for what you have just contributed to the discussion. Let me be the first of many fans to congratulate you on your insight, I am sure many others who have read your post will agree with your sentiments, and feel somewhat dismayed that they missed that angle. I dare expect that any sensible promoter will take on board your perceptive viewpoint, and this should be the blueprint for all future outcomes concerning any rain affected meeting, presentation, and communications, and customer services related issues. If only you were there, it has become a missed opportunity for the fans, the riders (I think you should extend your viewpoint to them as well, for even turning up), as I am sure you could have contributed some further valuable advice. Once again, thanks. Please promoters, at least take on board ianp's view - it is a very valid point that is made. I feel quite embarassed of my previous contributions on this matter in light of your post. Best regards.

Your post is very accurate, and I think would generally represent the common perception of any reasonable fan (or customer, because that what a fan is from the business aspect of the Storm promotion). It is made worse by the trust we place when we go through the turn style; the presentation is key to the enjoyment of the customer experience. The sport itself, the riders efforts, and the excitement of a new season were, whilst completely unintentional, regretfully eradicated by a very amateur and shambolic level of communication during the unfortunate delay whilst track grading. When that happened the promotion lost their customers goodwill and trust. It really is that simple. But what really put the tin hat on it for me, was Peter York (a much experienced and passionate speedway aficionado, with a proven track record in understanding what speedway promotion is about from both sides of the fence), was clearly unable to get the promotion to give a simple chat/apology/explaination at the end of the meeting. I felt very sorry for Peter, he is employed as the roving interviewer, and I really do hope no one puts him at fault for his employers total lack of empathy for the fans on the night; I am sure the promotion do not intend to come across that way, but that perception is very real and will stick in the minds for all of those in attendance - and I am quite sure that the staff employed by the promotion must have felt that way as well by their employers wilful neglect of walking the walk, and talking the talk. From my view, when Peter was announcing the abandonment at the end of the meeting, the fans had become clearly frustrated, and I felt it very obvious that Mick Horton looked annoyed, he appeared to gesticulate with staff members and a group of them hurriedly followed Mick into the offices. He did this whilst the interview was being made, and appeared to completely ignore the customer experience. Mick / Neil - I respectfully ask you to take the opportunity before the start of the next Storm home meeting to have a free and frank explaination of what went wrong. If not, place a podcast or youtube interview on your website. And please, when you may have the opportunity to organise it, please go on to the terraces at 7pm and watch the meeting, take notes, observe what goes on within the pits area with the staff, how your customers may perceive the presentation, take on board what you do very well (there are many of these by the way) and what you do not so well (not so many of these, but when they appear they rapidly accelerate and blitz the good points). Effectively I am asking you to give careful consideration to your business. There were far too many fans tonight who left the stadium bewildered by the delay and the non-communication at the end, and will have felt that to be very unprofessional. I simply cannot understand why a simple interview could not have been made explaining the promotion dissapointment and regret for what may have gone wrong, etc, explained the refund policy, etc, and then move on. What makes it worse is there were a tremendous number of fans for an opening night of the season, many I am sure who will be put off for the rest of the season (including the core business of the Elite team). Regarding the programme, the expectation of two pieces of A4 for a National League match was quite acceptable. However, there is a price point of acceptability - and I am not sure that I felt that £2 was a well thought out price. But we have the choice to buy or not buy. Me? With hindsight of what happened in the meeting and the lack of respect afforded to the fans, many who had travelled some distance in support of Cradley, I would have preferred to pass my £2 to any of the riders directly. I think I'll actually do that via a donation that perhaps the NSSC can pass on in the future - I just hope the Storm meetings can continue to get the support the riders, home and away, deserve. Unfortunately, the promotion managed to shoot themselves in the foot, if not both feet. I would have thought that the Cradley fans (in effect also Wolverhampton fans) will have gone away last night feeling cheated. No one leaving that stadium had any communication concerning a refund, a restaging, etc. To expect that a fan must go onto the official Bees website is a bit unreasonable. I wonder how many fans may have thrown their ticket away?

I agree with your comments, and I do feel that the riders themselves could have been more expressive about what may have been required for the meeting to continue. The principle of the league is excellent. It is a great and well thought out product, with lots of potential. Regretfully, the riders have been shown tonight what their future careers may have to endure and encounter. They themselves will have felt very dissapointed with how the attempt to grade the track was; I spoke to a Cradley rider during the track grading, and interestingly, they had not even been consulted at all. That's not very professional is it? Why does the Clerk of the Course not consult, and get their opinions? I think they may be the best people in the stadium tonight to get a fair and considered opinion? Or am I just naive?

Yes I concur with that. It felt as if some random person had stumbled into the announcement box, and was handed a microphone and told "Here you go, do us a favour and make the announcements tonight." I mean, it really came across as "village summer fete" style approach. A very strange and surreal experience, which did give me some amusement as well.

No. I have been told that there is a new curactor; the previous one has left two weeks ago. The new curator is Polish, and that he does not speak, or speaks very little English, and that communicating to him tonight was a very significant concern in achieving an efficient and effective grading of the track. Is was cringeworthy wasn't it?

It is very obvious tonight's meeting went very,very wrong. The riders tonight are not to blame - the meeting being called off, is no issue to me in the slightest, and was a correct decision ultimately. What is extremely dissapointing - and I am afraid not for the 1st time - is the complete lack of basic decency and courtesy to the paying public. The track inevitably was going to have required some blading or work performed on it, following the potential dangerous crash in Heat 4 and similar concerns in the previous races. It had rained significantly in the hours just before the meeting, and of course the track may have required some attention, even before the 1st race occurred. What beggars belief is the total lack of obvious foresight - namely the lack of preparation in getting the tractors and/or auxiliary equipment in place for such a event that was reasonably likely to occur. I cannot understand that given the track required attending to, why was the basic preparation of the tractor and blades/wonder wheel not in place in advance. It seemed to be very obvious, no special skills or intelligence was required for this. This lack of obvious and advance preparation meant that the fans had to wait exactly 25 minutes for that tractor to actually get on the track. I actually cannot undertstand, at all, why the tractor was not fitted with the wonder wheel and available on the centre green, or even within close proximity of the actual entrance ramp to the track before 7.30pm. It seems to me as I write, that the only reason was no one had thought of it? I don't believe I have any special skills or knowledge in this matter, but isn't it just obvious and forseeable given that the rain had already happened and had affected the track at least a few hours before 7.30pm? Concerning the actual track grading tonight, my understanding is that the usual track curator (and I am not sure of his name) is not employed in that capacity any more - he stopped performing that role and duties over two weeks ago - for whatever reason, I don't know or care to be honest. It is my understanding that the new track curator is a non-English speaker, and that tonight there were significant communication concerns tonight with the new employee. I do not know what previous experience the new employee has had in this capacity, but clearly the lack of advanced preparation - locating the tractor, fitting it with the wheel, getting on the track - took far, far too long. That aside. what is completely unacceptable is for the promotion, management and staff to let this happen tonight. It was completely avoidable. Things go wrong, and they went very wrong tonight. Why would Mick Horton or Neil Watson not consider it to be a sensible move to get on to the microphone after the meeting had been called off for an interview with Peter York, and just make an apology. Or better still acknowledge to everyone in the stadium that clearly it was total shambles, and that would have gone a long way to take some bitterness out of tonight's experience for fan's - paying adults or non-paying children. It is very simple to make an apology, and would have gone a long way. I really would not want to be in Mick or Neils position now - I hope that they can somehow get the fans back on their side after tonight - but I feel that a line has been very much crossed tonight. The Coventry and Cradley fans in the stadium - old people, young people, families with very young children - they all deserved so much more, some common decency and respect. They got nothing in return. I hope that Neil and Mick read this post and take on board what I have written. I believe it to be constructive. I look forward to their views on tonight, and would welcome a face to face meeting - I have left requests for either to call me at their convenience.

An absolute legend. Alf was a flower in a garden of weeds. My last memory of Alf was in 2000 when visiting Wembley Stadium. I had just visited the Stadium for a tour, among many ex-riders, and was actually walking back to the hotel with Ove Fundin and Michael Lee, when a Rolls Royce went thundering by....with Alf leaning out of the passenger door shouting profanities at us. He was in paradise, and I have never seen him happier. What a great photographer.