E I Addio

From Piotr Swiderski's website;- "Hello everyone welcome, for me this season has ended speedway. Therefore, I would like to thank all the people who have influenced my career this year. Starting from coaches, mechanics by activists, sponsors, and ending with the fans who have supported me with their doping this season" Really ? I didn't Know Big Fat Dave was a fan of his ! :party:

Kim Nillson is good young and foreign so he ticks all your boxes. According to the published GSA's he seems to have put more on his starting average than anyone else in the Lakeside team last year so he seems a good prospect unless you have a crystal ball that says otherwise.. His only problem seems to be that his form is erratic at times but he is not unique among EL riders in that respect . At 22 years old he still has time on his side. At his best he was one of the few second strings beat Chris Holder last year. Doyle and Barker could both do a decent job (assuming their averages fit) but Lakeside are already likely to have Ritchie Worrall doubling up and personally I don't think its a good idea to risk more than one d/u rider going missing at crucial times if you can avoid it. Kennett? Far too high on his average. The big gamble is with Swiderski IMO and whether he can regain his old form and his fitness after what was a really bad leg injury in 2011. If he can start going as he did in the last couple of months before he was injured he will be a steal but its a long road back from a bad injury so time will tell.

That is the nub of the argument. What incentive is there for a club to invest in a young rider only for him to go off to another (probably richer club) when he is established if his original club can't make a return on their investments. For one thing it is an important source of income for PL clubs to get something back when a rider moves up to the EL.I am not trying to out forward the case either for or against the asset principle but it is not as stupid or irrelevant as some on here are saying. Whether the asset system is better than a straight year to year contract is a matter of opinion but both systems have their merits and their shortcomings.

Swiderski back at Lakeside

You might think its ridiculous but that's the law, not just in speedway but all sport . If NKI is not on the payroll he can peddle his wares wherever he wants to. Rightly or wrongly Rick can't dictate where his assets ride if they don't ride for him.

Its not simply a question of doubling down. The lower leagues in Sweden and Poland pay significantly better than £60 per point. Not easy to maintain a bike to EL standards on the sort of money PL clubs pay. A rider can cut his costs of course but then he finishes up with a bike not quite up to what others in the EL have. Doubling up is fine for riders still learning their trade like Ritchie Worrall and Ashley Birks but how many established riders can you name that dropped to PL and improved significantly ? Plenty drop to PL and drop their standards. Without wishing to be critical of the Brits I have often wondered why riders like Kauko Nieminen can get jobs in Sweden and occasionally Poland but not Brits. This is no criticism of Kauko who I like a lo,t but we do have Brits of similar or higher standard who don't get jobs abroad for one reason or another. I suspect that one reason might be the poor level of sponsorship for Speedway in GB compared to what continental riders can achieve.

That is the point. The club he claims to support is, according to its promoters the one closest to closure of all the EL clubs. Julie Mahoney said in SS they can't afford to lose a single supporter. In critical times for the sport like these one idiot can do more damage to a club and its reputation than all of its genuine supporters put together. Peterboro and its genuine fans need encouragement to keep going. I wish people would have the sense to ignore this trouble-maker. It will be of no concern to him if the club goes down the tubes.

Who said the gaps were meant to be filled with British riders only? Poles can still come, its just that now they have to be 4-point riders on a 4-point average or 7-point riders on a 7-point average. It just means that we won't have 5,6.or 7 point riders coming in on a 4-point average.

Couldn't agree more. The likes of Pawlicki are not the future of British speedway, they are here for a season to gain experience then off they go back to the continent, maybe popping back for a fat fee when Matt Ford wants to strengthen up for the play-offs after the Polish season winds down. If it doesn't work out they can re-adjust the way it is calculated but far better that than having riders coming in on an average too low in the first place.

Yes, I agree, although I would guess he maybe did not have many big-track options on the table after not really doing much at Peterboro and Cov. , In the short term it seems to be a good move to be somewhere where he can score some points, make some money and start to clear his debts so Lakeside seems to be a decent move. The problem will be if he does well and Lakeside want to buy him or do a straight contract swap with Eastie for Adam Shiellds, then what ? Big decision for Lewis if that happens. The thing is that PK and Davey won't be around for ever and all Lakeside's assets are second strings and reserves so they need to be looking for young riders like Lewis as assets who can step up to a decent heat-leader role.

It looks to me very much like a former Eastbourne junior who branched into team management then became a promoter and MC member and who was reported to be having secret practice sessions on the track at the end of the season.

The sport now has a properly organised and financed training academy with a purpose built training track, and, crucially with ex-riders on hand to help the novices, something that many posters on here have been wanting for a long time. and yet the knockers still can't find anything positive to say about it. Jon Cook gets his fair share of criticism on here some of it justified, but you can't knock the bloke for his commitment to developing British talent. Its a pity certain other promoters take the short term view that bringing over endless foreigners on false averages is a quick fix way of winning the league, rather that looking at the long term future of British speedway.