SLIGHTLY ROUND THE BEND

Rob Lyon had a plan which would have put in place the tools for the job of nurturing british speedway talent but was lied to by the powers that be about their commitment to support for the plan.We have riders with the ability already in some cases but you need so much more now to reach the top.There is a gulf between us and the other top nations in preparation of body,mind and machinery and until we get that bit right we stand no chance on a team basis.Apart from people who are already speedway fans with big companies and Sky who sponsor in return for coverage rights I can think of no other main tier sponsors in british speedway and this illustrates the BSPA management committees apathy regards getting sponsors on board.Surely a large company somewhere could be found to sponsor team GB and youth developement?it seems to me that as long as Gospeed is getting a wedge there is no urgency to attract other companies and its time somebody else like Stuart Douglas at Lakeside was given the opportunity to sell speedway to sponsors.

Perenial sows ear from a silk purse man is Middlo.Best asset base and team at his disposal every year and yet more often than not his teams choke and ###### defeat from the jaws of victory.Only in the job because his mate Matt fell out with Rob Lyon because he could not see the benefits of supporting a plan for a bright future and reverted back to the dark past....

It is comforting to know that someone,somewhere values my offerings.I'm aware that they may at times be considered to be off the wall but I like to feel I provide a contrast to the more factual,serious and thought provoking posts from KKS,Stevebrum and Shovvie etc

Gave up on any form of competent management of speedway years ago.Internationally the majority of FIM delegates give the impression of being clueless about the sport and just taking advantage of being able to enjoy subsidised breaks at whichever event takes their fancy.As for domestically a minority seem to feel they can manipulate anything to their benefit and sod the rest of you.Speedway has everything going for it in that it is an exciting,family friendly sport just made for media coverage due to the fact that riders are approachable and the action is contained in a stadium which focuses attention and fosters atmosphere.Grand Prix and World Cup events are proffesionally run and attract good crowds proving that if you have your house in order you can sell your product but from there it all falls away steeply.Improve tracks,appoint an independent manage(r/ment)to ensure rules are fair and adhered to in the intended spirit and get somebody in who will at least try and find sponsors for the leagues and finally,and maybe most crucially,give support to anyone who comes up with a valid blueprint for the training of younger riders for the future in british speedway.

Re the"packed stadium".It was,I will concede,not Black Hole of Calcuttaesque but I'm sure you will agree that a stray fart would not have remained undetected for long and any rotating feline would have had a headache before the first twirl was complete Ps Last year it was reported that the crowd was near 6000 yet despite considerably higher advanced ticket sales and what looked a bigger crowd to me and numerous others it was announced as being less than 5000 this year?

If we are relying on the governing bodies of speedway to not"make the sport a laughing stock"then it's almost a cast iron certainty that he'll be in on thursday

Make sure you do not blow a head on your laydown

Should that not read in his bedroom with his sauce?

I would never deny Buster has pulled some strokes in his time but one thing I can say with 100% certainty is he does not give money away to nobody due to being tighter than a condom on a call box

Agree with your sentiments re Steady but it should be said there were 3 teams there last year and only 2 this so easier pickings in theory?

Agreed he cannot make them gate but he can pick riders who know how to.I think Ben Barker is an odious little g!t personally but respect him greatly for his pride in riding for his country.The thing is he is not exactly famous for his gating skills and last night the only way the poles were going to be beaten was from the gate or by Bomber who is the only brit capable of overtaking them.On the odd occasion we did hit the front we generally stayed there and the poles seemed ruffled when behind.We could hardly rely on the czechs or the rusky B team to take many points off them so we had to do it ourselves so why he did not pick Olly Allen beggars belief.On virtually every other track in the world I would have agreed with picking B.B. but around Lynn only a fool would leave out Olly and he did!????

Could I ask if you would hold the same attitude if Emil had signed for Poole as opposed to Coventry?Every person has a right to withold their labour if they deem they are being unfairly treated.All speedway riders risk their lives every time they race and therefore who in their right mind would do so if not being paid or criticise those that do not?

4pm from what I remember.

It's a word that was used to describe particularly ugly midgets employed in the mining industry in South Wales who were sent down the pits when only small picks were required.

I'm sure that somebody else who was present at this display of whirling dervish style"manageing"will furnish us with the correct version of events at some point in time.Unless the man in question was having some form of breakdown and has subsequently been taken to a secure place for his and our safety I would suggest that your grasp of the truth is similar to that of your grasp of the Queens english

Anybody have any idea re the Lynn team after last weeks injuries?

With a name like Barnfield he's made for the Norfolk Arena?!

Would not disagree with your logic re Adam and Robert but the others hardly shone anywhere else.We could take it a step further and pose the question of how many riders in recent times have gone on to international titles having ridden for Rye in their early years?I do not like being critical of someone who obviously cares but the size and shape of Rye is different enough without the added handicap of it being bereft of shale so as to make it virtually impossible to adapt bikes,styles etc for other tracks especially with the restrictions of N.L. riders budgets.

Let me put it another way.If Luke Bowen did not get a team spot at Rye for some reason can you see any other team offering him a place given his inflated average from home meetings?Moral appears to be ok in small doses at Rye as long as you learn to ride elsewhere beforehand.......

Both of whom had only just over a year at Rye and neither started riding for Rye so therefore had experience of other types of track

Whilst I respect Len Silver for his attempts to support young british riders in some respects he does them a disservice in that as soon as they encounter a track with any amount of grip they are somewhat lost.They are mostly very good riders but unless their stay at Rye is only a short one they never seem to step on to the next level.Eddie Kennett is the most obvious example,on small slick tracks he can beat anybody on his day but anywhere else and he flounders.

6 past or present "Stars" plus 2 whose fathers are ex stars also so how many more do you want?

Best meeting I've seen in years and a fitting tribute to a wonderful fella.Thanks go to all the riders who rode as if every inch of every race was a world final for them,just the way the man would have done himself.Micman,I bet you wish you had filmed that gem as it would be worth a fortune .I took SRTB jnr and 2 of his friends last night,one of whom was on his first ever speedway meeting and I think Kozzamania could well be sweeping through their school next week as all 3 formed an impromptu Kozza fan club in the royal box much to the amusement of some If Carlsberg did speedway.............

Anybody have any idea if Tommy Tops is going to front for this one after his bang on the bonce at Dry House on monday?Have a friend who's a big fan of his and he's spent most of his dosh celebrating the Posh promotion so will be even more tight with his money than normal

I was aware of that but was trying to illustrate my point with like for like races ie both at a similar point in the meetings and therefore similar track conditions.I think he may encounter more difficult opponents this wednesday as I was somewhat surprised at how badly some of the hyped up young Hawks performed.Wether it was the presence of shale on the track which threw them who knows but I think one or two of the Tigers may give Jake a better run for his money.I'm sure he's up to the task though based on last weeks performance he just needs to remember there is four laps in a race when behind instead of trying to overtake in a desperate way