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Garry1603

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Posts posted by Garry1603

  2. Posted

    2 hours ago, nw42 said:

    I've always thought it was a broadside   

    "with the side turned in a particular direction.
    "the yacht was drifting broadside to the wind"
     
    They also showed the score at one point as something like 62-32, this was about half way through the meeting directly after a heat, or were they giving heat times?  I only noticed it once.
     
     
     

    It's definitely broadside

    • Like 2

  3. Posted

    I thought that it was a great advert for (current) British speedway. Unpredictable, exciting and the result in doubt until the end. Sort of "happiness is 40-38" for the younger generation.

    Both teams looked rusty at times and you could tell that Holder and Bewley are already getting up to speed, but give the others a break, they've had nearly 18 months off their bikes, give them a chance.

    I'd also like to say Eurosport did well, for a first meeting they did well and Abi Stephens was excellent as an anchor.

     

     

    • Like 1

  7. Posted · Edited by Garry1603

    Just read Brian Burford's excellent biography of one of the most naturally talented riders I've ever seen, Kelly Moran.

    His character shines through the book, both the happy go lucky friendly guy and the demons that were released by his addictions.

    He led his relatively short life the way he wanted to, and I'm sure that he could have been world champion based on ability, but he just couldn't commit to it sufficiently, compared to Erik Gundersen or Hans Nielsen for example.

    It's terribly sad to hear that the speedway world virtually shunned him after his retirement and the final chapters were very hard to read.

    Highly recommended speedway book however, even with it's terribly poignant ending

  10. Posted

    Just a thought, has the Speedway Star ever considered going on 'Readily'? 

    I don't know of how it works in regards revenue for the magazine and if it might actually tempt subscribers to look at the 'free' content instead (there's a monthly subscription to pay, but it's for pretty much unlimited magazines). I get monthly issues of magazines on there that I wouldn't ever think of buying a hard copy, but it keeps my interest going (eg gardening, photography etc). There's some really obscure sports have their mags on there which I am sure wouldn't be viable through hard copy sales, so maybe it keeps them afloat?

    It might just attract former fans back into the fold again and of course it keeps the sport slightly more in the public eye.

  11. Posted · Edited by Garry1603

    Such sad news, a classy rider and a classy guy by all accounts.

    A rider from Poland riding in the UK (along with Edward Jancarz) was real box office news in those days, but they both lived up to the hype and were real crowd pleasers.

    RIP Zenon

  12. Posted

    19 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

           

    That was 1979.

    But, remember, Arnie arrived at Hyde Road with a back catalogue of recent injuries, his demise hastened by the fact he had completed just one full season - 1977 - of the last three. In 1976 he missed the entire season barring one league match with a broken arm. In 1978 a broken thigh, again after one league match, restricted him to the sidelines. He was an eight-point rider in 1975 before the setbacks.

    Arriving at Belle Vue in 1979, aged 36, considered old for a rider back then, it was a period of change in Belle Vue’s make-up. With Alan Wilkinson injured the year before, fans tried adjusting as riders arrived from rival clubs as the conveyor belt of training school talent was ending.

    Pekka Hautamaki came from Cradley and an unknown, Emil Sova, from Czechoslovakia. The side was terrible early on, especially to fans brought up on a diet of 1970s success, and for much of the season tried desperately to get out of the bottom three. Changes had to come. Haley lost his place when the club brought in Dave Allen in August.

    Manager Eric Boocock liked Haley and thrilled when he got him from Owlerton, revealing he looked fitter than he had ever done. But in hindsight, the signing didn’t prove good, and Haley struggled to cope, especially away. He totalled a meagre paid six in 12 league matches on the road - three of which came at old track Sheffield. He failed to open his account in nine of a dozen matches on his travels.

    Perhaps his saviour was his Hyde Road form, which may have bought him more time in the side. He scored a reserve league maximum in his penultimate match for Aces in August 1979, before adapting better to the National League when loaned to struggling Workington, where he completed the year.

    Four points (two at Belle Vue) from nine early 1981 matches in Cradley colours signalled the end of Arnie’s racing days. It was clear his dabbling with top league competition was behind him and he joined Oxford, then in the National League, in May, but rode only one match for them before calling time on his career.

    Yes, all good points.

    1979 and 1980 were pretty unsettled years for the Aces

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    I remember when he joined Belle Vue at the very end of his career when he came in as a reserve. I thought that he could be a really potent weapon there but sadly time had caught up with him and he was a shadow of his former self. A great rider at Sheffield though.

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    Some riders never quite achieved what they could have done. The bar was so high with Michael though.

    The fact that Michael Lee became world champion and, in most people's opinion, was an amazing talent, but still we think of "what might have been" shows to me that he could have been one of the greatest riders ever instead of a one off world speedway champion. I'm sure that he's thought that himself many times.

    I support Belle Vue and can't pretend that I liked the guy for his off the track troubles and the bad publicity it brought he sport, but I was never in doubt when I saw him ride that I was watching a unique talent.

     

    • Like 3

  15. Posted

    On 10/21/2020 at 11:12 AM, frigbo said:

    Absolute scumbag...

    Speedway riders are generally not renowned for their intellect, but Garrity is as thick as mince.

    You don't have to be thick to commit his crimes though - just a despicable scumbag with no thought for others.

    • Like 1

  19. Posted

    Very concerning that another of our sports 'grandee clubs' are in danger. 

    We've lost Wimbledon & Coventry in recent years, we can't afford to lose another of the few names that a non speedway fan might recognise.

    I'm a Belle Vue fan, but my thoughts are with Poole supporters.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    A remarkable man who led a life that couldn't have been foreseen.

    He was a true leader of men and undoubtably the best team captain that the Aces ever had. At the time of his accident he had gone up another gear and may have reached an even higher level, sadly we'll never know.

    RIP Alan and you were so lucky to have someone like Jean to look after you.

    • Like 3

  22. Posted · Edited by Garry1603

    As usual this is compulsive reading!  I locked myself away for a few hours on Friday when it arrived and still keep dipping back into it.

    Although I've always been a Belle Vue supporter, I've always regarded Terry Betts  as a real gentleman and a true club legend. I don't see any riders having such an affinity to their clubs for so long ever again - the season at the end of his career at Reading almost felt 'wrong' to me, a bit like Steven Gerrard having a year in Los Angeles at the end of his career.

    The Steve McDermott interview was also eye opening, Jack Millen must have been a real headache to work with, but what a character!

    • Like 1
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