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Just spoken to bomber and said Someone had posted on twitter he wasnt riding and it was r/r. He said whoever said that was a w@nker.

I think a little perspective needs to be had with a few fans and about our current promotion. Last season, one of the best for many years as a Sheffield fan. The promotion put together a superb team, drafted in a superb guy in Simon Stead to be team manager, and really gave us fans a season not to forget. This season, unfortunately, has not gone to plan. They obviously had a line up in mind and thought they had Lawson, until he changed his mind and went to Lakeside. Maybe Lasse coming in wasn't the only change they had to make once Lawson decided otherwise? The issue with Josh Bates they obviously got wrong, and I'm sure will hold there hands up too. Gravesen coming in seemed a sensible decision, and he deserved another chance after his great performances last season. Again, unfortunately it didn't work out. Team changes made again and bringing in Broc and Georgie, I thought was a good move. Broc has done ok so far, but unfortunately Georgie struggled. The issue with Bjerre I think has been on the cards for a while! A great rider, but not the easiest guy to manage by the sound of things (I have never met or spoke to the guy so that's just an opinion from the outside looking in). Our performances this past month have not been good enough, and I'm sure the riders & promotion will fully understand the fans frustration. The promotion no doubt will know they have made a fair few mistakes this season, but I have enough faith in these guys that next season they will do what's needed and put together another good side. We have no chance of reaching the play offs, so making team changes is not a bad idea at all. Anderson may surprise a few, who knows, but its worth a shot to see what him and Connor can do now till the end of the season. If they can't show what the promotion are looking for, then they can access that and decide for next season. We do not have squad systems or training etc like most other sports, so the only way to see how a rider is, is the sign him and give him a go in your team! I will be at all meetings for the rest of the season, bar Edinburgh away, and I will once again be there next season no matter what riders we have. I am a Sheffield supporter, not a glory supporter. I will support my club through the good and bad times! Frustrated fans I understand, but fickle fans who cannot accept bad times within a season, are what really grind my gears!

You could ask him why he was a disgrace in the after meeting thingy maybe ?

Can only image what the Poole mafia would be saying if those 4 heats were at Swindon. No passing. Bumpy as F. Massive bias in gates 1 and 3. No one can ride it wide in turn 4. Sure its not like that every week though.

£1293.31 on website. Well done to Berwick and Edinburgh fans.

Looks like the old policy has been chucked in the bin then?

Just hope his Dad is not his mechanic this time.

Oh well a couple of Buds and watch Somerset beat Poole would be the next best thing tonight i suppose.

If this is not true the mods should ban you off here for life.

I always enjoy speedway, and a big part of it for me is having a night out with friends and family. I think the only people that have things worked out in British Speedway are the riders, they seem to be the only ones that make any money out of it: and they really do have it worked out to a fine art!!! If the sport can't survive through gate receipts alone, then I think it is perfectly sensible to put an initiative in place for "superfans" as they are called in other sectors. A lot of other entertainment businesses survive only because of this network, and as it is completely open to personal choice should never be seen in a negative light. It is certainly far from unusual, and it is great to see that Edinburgh and Glasgow are so strongly supported in this way. I think we should also realise that Berwick have an unsung support too who quietly give up a lot of their time to help the club survive. Just look at the number of bodies who put down, then lift, track covers. That is a massive job, and has provided a massive benefit to all of the paying public as well as the club; and that is only one example. I doubt British speedway will ever flourish, though, whilst groups across the country constantly engage in battles with promotions. It seems to be one of the constants in the sport that survives with clubs above and beyond multiple changes of ownership and promotion.

Which is what is killing speedway no entertainment sad but so very true.

Personally, I'd invite the rider to some sort of meeting and discuss the matter. It'd seem the most professional way and also keep options open for the future. A phone call could go down as acceptable depending on how it comes across but a simple text message or publicising it before the rider is even informed is definitely the worst way

I'm sure that was Harris riding tonight, might be mistaken

Because Berge had already replaced Riss, so he couldn't come back in. Its a risk you take making reserve switches.

Belle vue have imploded since they sacked Jye they had the chance to replace Worrall and drozdz but chose to sack jye and keep drozdz, then sack drozdz for berge when they could of got rid off him earlier and kept jye , then the reserves would have been a lot stronger. The issue with Worrall he is not fit and should have been replaced early on for consistency within the team. Then comes the team manager surely his job is on the line now with his stupid decisions. Well done to nikolaj b jackobsen in his performance tonight he really flattened belle vue hopes of playoffs. Bye bye belle vue

Poole win whilst carrying 2 riders and go top of the league. Happy day's. The track was better during the last few weeks but unfortunately the amount of rain we've had looks like it has affected it somewhat.

Nah. Just covering yourself Steve

Why is the track so bumpy surely it would be better safer racing if it was smoother.

Keep Bewley. Get rid of the rest. No point building yet another team around Cook, Fricke and Worrall because it has failed for years now.

Klindt passed someone!!! Track must be ok after all.

This really makes me SO annoyed, Followed Bomber from when he was a Bee, Was seriously considering going to Poole tonight to see him, then some w!!!er posts he’s not riding, so we are on our way to Cradley, Hope the mods take action

I was there. 1980 grand prix final at Wimbledon. Those were the days!.

Thanks your are right . Apologies misread your post

The League Cup was a good competition in my opinion also...except some teams used it to manipulate their averages before the league campaign started. Oxford headed the League Cup table in 1987 but suffered once the league started...and I agree, why was final held during October? Oxford missed out on a clean sweep of trophies during 1986 because they ran out of dates and the weather closed in...although they morally won in my view having done the hard work at Cradley having drawn and won in the KO Cup and League Cup first legs!

No, there have been quite a few incidents with aggressive pit crews, eg Sayfutdinov, Holder, Masters to just three. If riders want some handbags, then let them get on with it, but third parties have no right to get involved. Do that in any other sport and you are in hot water, and rightly so. An idiot pumped up on steroids is never going to make a wise decision is he ...

Why were fixed gate positions brought in? With the TS and choice of gates if you were 6 points behind teams had better options.

The league cup was a decent season opener, and was probably brought in due to the number of clubs in the top flight reducing. I remember one year they went as far as effectively having two league campaigns - with all the clubs meeting each other in the league cup and then again in the league - and then having a final for the league cup at the end of the year. This was taking things too far really. I don't see how increasing from 13 to 15 heats is a negative, although when they first did it they added a second reserve race. The format now is better, although the protected heats format was the worst. The nominated riders heats at the end is a good addition. Bonus points in the KO Cup? I don't remember that. Terrible idea. As was the TR and the Golden Double. The TR was the most stupid introduction of all. They should never have got rid of the old tac subs really, as this was a major tactical discussion point throughout the meeting. When they did that, they effectively changed the entire sport and what it's all about. But, if they brought it back now, people would probably be outraged at how unfair it is to the winning side.

Oh Dear, I cannot believe anyone out there still takes anything that Jenga serious.

It's time these pit crew thugs started getting bans for their attacks/attempted attacks on riders...

Nice to see a fair size crowd in tonight, thought after the recent drubbings it could have been thin on the ground. Track didn’t produce in the way of passing, which after the decent Poole meeting was a shame. Nicholls in heat 13 round the outside was superb though. Anyways we won a bloomin speedway meeting for a change!! Reasons to be cheerful

Terribly bumpy track. Good job the meeting was so close plus the odd decent race. Not the best meeting but miles better than most on BT this year which isn’t really a great thing. The Rebels fully deserved that point.

Len has always done early call offs as far back as I can remember. Sometimes it's the wrong call but it's better IMO than getting everyone there and then calling it off. Only so many times you can handle the forum melting down. If it's called off and the forecast is wrong everyone moans. If it's match on and forecast correct so match gets called off everyone moans.

Double header confirmed on twitter and BT sport. So nothing learned from last season when Busta said 'never again'. Disappointing.

Jack is a speedway rider not so good at motorcross.

Coincidence that all those teams dropped out of the big league the same year as the People investigation? To be fair the decline may have been more marked between 85-95.

Awful spectacle so far, awful track to be honest.

Bjeere does look hard work to manage as we have seen first hand as we stand near pits at sheffield but the bates dont like people with opinions they seem power happy you say anything they just seem to shout at people and get the face on

COOK will be riding for Glasgow as Swindon match is a re arranged fixture

That's very decent of you. I will be affixing the plaque to the wall this Wednesday.It is just a small plate of about 9" x 2" so what we would really like is a photograph to go with it. If you can trace a relative who can supply one, that would be very useful. We know that he was born in West Ham in 1920, that he lived in Essex at the time of his death, that he is buried in Newham Cemetery and that the grave also contains the remains of his parents. The plaque is a small brass plate and is inscribed: "In memory of Hugh Watkinson of Essex, sadly killed training at Birmingham Speedway 16th November 1946" You can contact me at 07526 213031 if need be. Very many thanks.

I don't think the Sunday People had any bearing at all on the problems of speedway today. If any fans were lost because of it, that would have been in 1984, and crowds then were very healthy compared to now. The idea of Bruce Penhall winning the 1981 World Final because Jiri Stancl let him beat him was, as you say, pretty laughable anyway, and any speedway fan would have known that. The sport was still doing fine after that.

The rest I agree but no way is Jorgensen better than Masters head to head.

A contract which deprives one party of his rights is illegal and would be voided if challenged in court. If one could sign a contract giving up you fundamental rights, slavery would be legal. In answer to the original question, for me it has to be Lambert with honorable mentions for Jack Holder and Bewley.

Who's next out of the revolving door at Owlerton? This to-ing and fro-ing is not doing the promoters' reputation any good. The general perception has always been that Sheffield was one of the fairer clubs - always paying on time and looking after their assets. That reputation must have taken a huge battering with a growing list of riders having been shown the door since May. The rumours of riders being fired in bar-room bust-ups does not auger well for the future team-building policy. If the rumours have any substance, putting together a team for 2019 may cause some unexpected difficulties for a promotion which engages in such disreputable conduct. For the first time in 53 years I can't wait for the season to end so that a veil can be drawn over this most unedifying spectacle. The management should really consider making a statement to fans about what factors have conspired to pull the rug from under last season's league champions. This has been a season of deeply humiliating disappointment for fans and we deserve an explanation.

...Personally I always felt that it was a bit of a Red Herring. In reality most fans realised that race 'manipulation' was always present going right back to probably when speedway first became known. 'The Sunday People' always used to thrive on gutter/smutty journalism and/or articles and then by writing an article supposing to be investigatory journalism they then assumed that we should all sit up and take notice and take the paper seriously. Ivan Mauger once said when asked what he thought about the stories (and some were quite laughable) by one of their journalists he replied "Who f**king cares...nobody reads your paper!" I guess those not familiar with speedway having read the stories saw the sport as being flawed but then many sports before and since have had uncomplimentary articles published regarding many issues (drugs in particular) and don't appear to have been damaged to any great degree within the public eye.

Dennis Andersson retired from professional speedway about a year after he broke his femur in three places at a polish meeting in 2012. He now teaches youngsters in Sweden.

You need to build up a love for your team and a hatred of others. How can you do either of these when the club remains the same but the faces always change?

Not a NP fan, but showed what it meant to him . Well done. No fault in the Woofy clash.

Pro dive by Bartosz

I remember it well, I still haven't forgiven Bomber for his dreadful performance

Fans said they wanted less guests etc so chapman brought in fixed race nights to help ...the result was fans moaning about the race night . ...You can't replace main riders with juniors as it effects the crowd levels . I hate to say it but there are no easy answers ..even when you give the fans what they want they still moan