4thbender

10.45am Thursday and the sun is peeking through the clouds over Sheffield. Who'd have thought it!

Facu can entertain and was beginning to get the measure of British racing in the latter part of last season. So far, none of the three mentioned have exactly inspired the Owlerton crowd with their derring-do in Sheffield colours. If the losing streak continues I would feel less humiliated if I'd at least been entertained. Leaving Facu out of the team was a mistake IMO.

On current form it could be any one of three, but favourite for the chop has to be the Dane. Mind you, the younger aussie and the Suffolk chip-shop owner are also in the frame and could be next in line for a little team re-structuring. For my money, Facu at his best could knock any one of them into a cocked hat.

The sun always shines on the righteous.

Anyone care to engage in a friendly wager on when (not if) Facundo Albin will make his next appearance in Sheffield colours? Maybe my present judgement owes much to this glass of delightful red wine beside my computer, but I'm betting my 50p that we see him again by the middle of July. Anyone care to offer an alternative view?

I do hope Adam can stay clear of injury and fulfill all the promise he showed at Sheffield. Plymouth fans can rest assured they've got a good 'un.

An appalling performance from a Sheffield team that seems to have become intoxicated by its own (so far unproven) potential. Sheffield seemed so convinced that victory was assured that they didn't bother turning up until heat 9. Quite clearly certain riders had not prepared their machines to a competitive standard, their gating was atrocious and, with Sheffield riders finishing last in eleven of the fifteen heats, they've forgotten the speedway axim that victories are built on NOT finishing fourth. By the halfway stage I was beginning to wonder if we'd EVER see a Sheffield heat winner because they simply didn't look to be up for it. As I've stated in other topics in this forum, the much-heralded appointment of Joe Screen as manager may not be the master stroke that some have claimed. On last night's showing, the learning-curve needs to be a very steep one if he's to produce team results in the near future: as I've said before, the jury is very much still out on the wisdom of his appointment. A thirty-minute hold-up after heat two to prepare a competitive surface is unforgiveable. I've said it before: the paying punters don't fork out their hard-earned cash to watch the tractor go round. There can be no excuse for a track that is a danger to race on: they've had all week to prepare it and the weather has not been an issue. Someone needs to get their finger out. The patience of supporters is not inexhaustible. It's the racing hold-ups that ultimately will drive away the paying public; if it's not rain it's the sun dazzling the riders, and if it's not the sun it's interminable delays for repairs to the fence. Now we have the new impediment of under-prepared racing surface! Is there no end to the excuses for race officials to repair to the pits for a cosy cuppa while the customers twiddle their thumbs on the terraces? The new promotion clearly has a lot to learn and, unless they present us with a team that is able and willing to compete and an organization that is able to deliver, time will run out and so will the crowd.

Idea: Why not stage the Development League races in the "interval" after heat 12, ensuring more people get to see the the youngsters having a go?

Further note to the new promotion... please memo the following: In the event of the sun, fallen riders, unshaded goggles or broken fences holding up proceedings to the extent that paying customers are tearing out their hair on the terraces, DAVEK agrees to pay a full refund of entrance fees at the turnstiles. The sun only shines on the righteous.

On the subject of delays, I find it objectionable that racing should be held up to accommodate the setting sun. This is a recent phenomenon creeping into meetings in June and July at Owlerton. Two seasons ago more 'racing hours' were lost at Owlerton due to the sun than were lost due to rain! Doug Wyer wryly observed that in his day the problem was resolved by using shaded goggles - it's that simple! The new promotion should take notice of the fact that the one factor that is likely to drive away hardened fans like me is the interminable, frustrating exasperation of delays whilst fences are mended, riders are carted off or the sun sinks below the horizon. We paying customers don't part with our hard-earned cash to watch the tractor go round!

If all posters on this site would like to make a small contribution to the air fence fund, they can do so online at: http://www.gofundme.com/71cs70 .... and if the contributions amount to a tiny fraction of the amount of hot air expelled on this thread, we'll reach the target by the end of the week!

Yeah, can't see a thing without my reading specs.

As a supporter who turns 64 next month, I am delighted to see that the new promoter is only half my age. Let's hope that a young, fresh approach will be successful in transforming speedway in Sheffield from the "sport of granddads" into something that will once again captivate and inspire the young.

I'll be on the fourth bend as always, hoping that the team steers clear of A & E. The Tigers' team performance in 2013 has been roundly criticised, but what seems to have been overlooked is the injury curse which followed the team around wherever it went. It must be remembered that - with injuries, sackings and retirements - we finished the season with only two riders who started it. Even the riders signed as replacements finished up in casualty; we were doomed from the outset and there was little the promoters could have done once the season was underway to make things any better. We deserve a bit of luck in 2014 and, if it arrives, I reckon we'll be in the top 3.

Doesn't work - I tried it. It just crumbles to dust. The pizza tasted better though.

I'm confused. He claims to represent the OLD administration but is back-peddling on Hoggy's offer on behalf of the NEW administration. Who's running the show?

<abuse removed> If this is NOT a hoax and he really is an officer of the new administration I hope he learns to show greater respect for the paying public than he does for his fellow-directors.

Got an air fence yet Hoggy?

In 86 years of British speedway you can name nine ex-riders who made a reasonable fist of the vital role of team management? That's barely one per decade! (Which one of those would you nominate as the Matt Busby, Alex Ferguson or Bill Shankly of speedway?) My point is this: Joe Screen (bless his heart) has been master of the shale sport for twenty-five years; he's thrilled us all, climbed to the highest heights and seen off many pretenders to his throne. But when it comes to management, he's an APPRENTICE! I hope with all my heart that he wins the league in his first season and stays with Sheffield long enought to turn it into the legendary team of the twenty-first century...... but the jury's out.

Where's the evidence for this? I hate to pour cold water on the celebrations but regardless of your sport, the greatest performers make notoriously poor managers. I'd say the jury is out on Screeny as a manager. Come back at the end of his first season and then make a judgement about whether this was a good move or not. My guess is that Joe will still be too in touch with his instincts as a rider to fully assimilate the finer intricacies of man-management, team dynamics, off-track politics and polishing the egos of pit-stop prima donnas which his new role will demand. I wish Joe every success in his managerial career, but perhaps this is one chicken we shouldn't be counting until it's fully hatched. Nevertheless, it represents a bold move by the new promotion and demonstrates they're thinking big and are ready to take a punt on untried potential.

Given the assumption that team building is being held up pending a decision on Nick Morris by the BSPA General Council, can anyone provide a clue as to when the General Council meets? (It could be July for all I know!)

I'm with Elephantman on this.

Then it is the Polish authorities who are in breach of EU law. Good job the Polish Plumbers' Federation didn't take the same view, otherwise it would be impossible to get a washer replaced on the UK's taps!

Poles not accepted in PL racing? Doesn't that fly in the face of EU Freedom of Movement regulations? Free movement of workers is a fundamental principle of the Treaty enshrined in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and developed by EU secondary legislation and the Case law of the Court of Justice. EU citizens are entitled to: look for a job in another EU country work there without needing a work permit reside there for that purpose stay there even after employment has finished enjoy equal treatment with nationals in access to employment, working conditions and all other social and tax advantages. Last time I checked Poland was still a member of the EU. If the PL has placed some sort of prohibition on Polish riders it will be thrown out of court at the first challenge.

Much as I've been entertained greatly at Owlerton by Richard, his away form has never met expectations, he misses meetings to make excursions on the continent to race in long track meetings and his fallout with the promotion last year virtually guaranteed that his goose is cooked as far as Sheffield is concerned. Pity really, I rather liked him.