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As a Wolves fan I will be as you say be '"disappointed" at no Lindgren etc. It must be similar to Belle Vue fans who will miss Zagar, Cooke, Tungate etc as they enter the sterile surroundings of the National Diversity Stadium after being ripped for £3 parking, frisked for taking food in and finding such limited VFM catering inside. Whoops looks like I've taken the bait ..... Will try better Next Year. Pip pip, Lefty

The guys a complete ‘creep’. His obsession with Stevebrum is pretty worrying

I find that those who wish to knock the sport paint a picture of those who attempt to defend it as blind optimists, utterly refusing to accept its minority status and living in cloud cuckoo land regarding the deep problems that it has. It is no coincidence that many of those no longer attend and my suspicion is that they do so in an attempt to justify their own decision not to go any more. In actual fact - and I attend meetings right across the country regularly - nothing could be further from the truth and I know of no-one like that. Every single current fan accepts that speedway is minority and they are all deeply concerned about its future prospects for survival, its declining attendances and revenue creation and the appalling self interests at the heart of the sport. The scale and range of critical comment on this forum is evidence of that. Even in its hey day, speedway never got the media attention its size and attendances deserved. It would say that that was partly but not totally the fault of those within the sport. It would also be very wrong to insist that those who advocate Woffinden's inclusion do so simply because of their own bias towards speedway, rather than on an at least a partly balanced basis given other nominees. Truth is being a competitor in a minority sport - or an 'irrelevance' - has never been a handicap where the BBC's nominations are concerned. If it were, Lizzy Yarnold would surely not be there (as you said yourself, only 2 out of more than 60 recognised her and on University Challenge recently none did). Yet as the greatest ever British Winter Olympian her nomination, to me, is absolutely correct. By virtue of his three world titles, Woffinden can reasonably be stated to be the greatest British speedway rider of all time (or the most 'decorated' one, using the BBC's own term). As such, he isn't just a World Champion. I would say that their achievements are almost identical. Clearly, they both represent minority sports. My view, therefore, is that they should be treated equally. Your view (because you have stated no criticism of or opposition to her nomination) is that they should be treated entirely differently. Which one of us is biased ?

Clearly you DON'T know how councils operate. Every council has a department which seeks to attract investment through sport and tourism. If a strong enough following can be demonstrated, councils are duty-bound to support viable initiatives. Thurrock Council says it supports Thurrock's business base, local enterprise, innovation and economic growth which raises the profile of Thurrock as an innovative and progressive place to invest. Through this petition the speedway family is attempting to show that a speedway venue in the town fulfils these aims. Fans of our great sport - wherever they happen to live - can assist in this by signing the petition and expressing their support for a new venue.

Maybe he’s the best rider at the right wage on an average achieved in the 3:00 + bracket. Maybe, although not exciting enough. This could be a move to make room for another rider who does matter more. He could be the sacrificial lamb to allow a potent top 6. Team building could come down to .01 of a point. He could be the guy there to make the rest of the numbers fit until DRew Kemp is ready or another face fits?

Could be akin to having an 8th rider if you look at it that way No one knows the in and outs of the deals (and nor should they really) but you would expect a relatively level playing field So lets wait and see before jumping to conclusions however obvious they may seem at this time

What a horrible thought! And a Happy New Year to you!

Ive given up trying to 2nd guess what the £$@€ is going on!! Im at the point of just waiting to see what happens and making little comment The next week or so could see some more info. Originally it was indicated to expect the next 2 announcements early in new year with completion not too long after Hopefully that will happen rather than having to wait til March......

I'm starting to think that Ipswich were backed into a corner and forced to move up to save the premiership. Perhaps a case of premiership or no speedway as the bspa tried to save the flagship league! The longer this all drags on the less convinced I am that this what Louis and Ipswich as a club wanted. The amount of work that has been put in recent years in terms of naming competitive teams social media updates and interaction with the supporters seems to have been wiped out and replaced with the Chapman silence blanket. The club didn't appear to be for sale and Ipswich were planning championship speedway again at the end of last season.

If it’s a tug o war between Lynn and Ipswich for the services of one Rambo Lambo this one battle I really wanna see The Witches win. Have a feeling he would be much better suited to a season around Foxhole.

Simon Lambert has got news coming out on new years day, fingers crossed it's Kings Lynn

The individual has a choice, they can take advantage of the generosity of the club, or they can take a moral stand to support the club financially by paying through the gate. Peter always offered me free entry, I always declined and paid my share at the gate.

That's a tasty looking team. If Becker is anywhere near as good at speedway as his dad was at tennis, it's going to be top drawer. Get him on the faggots and peas early doors.

The only fuss I can see seems to be coming from certain opposing teams fans , and your Dads Army comment I think is very disrespectful to those riders concerned considering they have been entertaining fans for a number of years with a fair amount of success to show for it. For myself I am very happy with the team assembled and take nothing for granted as long as I am entertained in the right manner and as long as it is competitive I will be more than happy .

I think people have to bear in mind thst the principle was spot on and that even though sat in Jason’s kitchen looked unprofessional, the idea was there. Other years we’ve seen a NLKOC ‘draw’ where all teams local to each other have raced each other whereas now we know it’s totally transparent. Just the presentation needs sprucing up. But even the big sports get it wrong! Look at the football Carabao/League Cup draw where teams were drawn the wrong way round and teams drawn twice!

Fingers crossed the new sponsor isn't Caburys otherwise you will be backing 7 big purple ones next season.....

No, their will be a new headline sponsor for 2019 which the club have said should be announced soon. I reckon this means that a return to blue and yellow is highly likely.

Please tell me what your beef is with all things Wolverhampton it is all getting very petty and childish now .Just stay in your own room if you not like us.

Yes you took the bait, he realises very few if any clubs in this country can afford riders like Woffinden etc. Just on his usual wind up and dislike of everything Wolves.

Fingers crossed you're right!

I prefer if my opinions of you and your posts are not printed. You come across as someone who sees the world through Stars tinted glasses. and your comments are the same . as soon as anyone voices different you jump as to say how dare you. Never have I said there shouldn't be intervals, but when they stretch to 20 mins or sometimes more then I complain. there's an old saying, don't Kill the goose who lays the golden Egg, Buster usually does everything for his own benefit , just a pity some on here cant see it.....

Yeah it was a bit amateurish and a bit cheap, BUT it was a genuine draw and we had full disclosure. A big step in the right direction. If the BSPA are going to do similar things more often, hopefully they find fit to start unblocking the many people they have blocked over the years many if not most simply for asking a question. Myself, I got blocked after they denied saying there was ever a live feed planned for the u19s. I screenshotted their tweet from 2 weeks earlier as a reply and got myself blocked lol.

Freebies should only be people who provide something or organise something for the club, or work on Raceday. At Newcastle we allow each genuine freeby a guest to also come in free.

His racing is top drawer, just needs to be more consistent out of the traps.

Okay, let's take everything literally... Thing is, I have read obituaries for bit-part actors I have never heard of, and lower-level footballers I have never heard of, and quite honestly, I don't really see their significance. However, I accept it. Recently, we have had obits for a Tibetan monk who was imprisoned by the Chinese, and a Russian dissident who fought for "freedom of thought". You get my drift? Forget the "speedway bubble"; of course it is now a minority sport, but it wasn't always like that. When Booey was at his peak, speedway was the second most popular spectator sport in Britain, and he can rightly lay claim to be England's best rider of the 1960's. You feel he should only be remembered for being on a winning WTC team? That is doing him a GREAT disservice. A 20-plus year career, most of which was at the top level. Almost a decade as England's top rider, and probably in the world's top ten for that period. Were that a footballer, a golfer, or a badminton player, that kind of CV would undoubtedly be enough to earn an obituary. In a hugely popular spectator sport of the era, it clearly meant nothing. For me, it is all about RESPECT. If you are one of the elite, you deserve the respect regardless of your field... What I am saying is that I am not complaining about who IS included, but a small handful who are NOT included. Steve

We have been purchased simply to keep the number of clubs up so the premiership didn’t collapse. If it had collapsed the financial implications from the bt deal would be severe. Its cheaperto use Ipswich as a sacrifice to keep the league running for a further year before it implodes again. Peterborough are not working to the same budget as Ipswich.

My comment was directed to 1 'fan' only and that is the inflammatory FF, so you can calm down.

Speedway fans the world over would want to support the growth of the sport wherever it occurs. As a Sheffield fan nothing would please me more than to see new tracks opening in Essex.... or Liverpool, Bournemouth and Aberdeen for that matter. I suspect many of the signatories are of the same opinion.

Haters gotta hate. And be personal.

The odious one is on quite a roll.

Indeed , Although i don't think its a question of 'knowledge' to realise that titles aren't won on paper ? Just common sense ...

I shudder to think what Barry & martin would do to get that nomination for next year......

Sorry that you bring these things up all of which are true but came to light long after his heyday. I prefer to remember those times when Split Waterman and his contemporaries brought some enjoyment to otherwise drab lives. However I agree with you re Brexit

Panthers found that out in the championship in 2018 . Finished top of the league but won nothing apart from the fours so I really don't think your superior knowledge of how the season will pan out means anything as we are all well aware of the pitfalls along the way , you are happy with you're side and Panthers fans are happy with ours end of , so enjoy the season ahead and forget about the bragging rites as they mean nothing.

Well I tend to differ,I think that witches will have a top level number1 signed and by news years day everyone will be full of confedence for the 2019 season ,first 2 signings look great so get behind ya team as positives are always better than negetives ,happy team and fans is a fast one that holds the cup at season end!

The reduction in the points limit seems to be freezing more than a few of the top riders out of the National League (which was probably at least partly the objective!) But this will mean that many riders who were perhaps 6/7 point men last season, will become 8/9 point men after the first month of the new season, due to having had comparatively easier rides. If this happens, clubs will then be able to drop one of these riders and replace him with a 2018 8/9 pointer who will then in reality be a 10/11 point man. Difficult to put into words, but this could create problems and ill-feeling from clubs who aren't in a position to make such a change, so I hope that the BSPA have taken this possibility into account!

From the man who made stupid comments to someone months ago and when an insult was "thrown back" at him, got the bloke banned and whined for days about it. Maybe when someone asks a civil question, give your honest answer and just leave it as that. No need to insult someone for asking a question.

It was a question. I did not say that you accepted it, just asking. Not sure why the insult was needed though - just shows you up as a complete and utter bellend.

Just as you could easily identify Tai Woffinden. 2 minority sports completed totally differently by SPOTY mainly because BBC cover netball and it promotes women's sport which fits BBC's agenda . You only have to listen to Eleonor Oldroyd's show on Radio 5 on Fridays. 3 guests normally 2 women, women netballers, rugby players, footballers, cricketers aplenty.

Updated for correctness!!

Ah! Spain. A real speedway hotbed - really surprising that no senors recognised Woffinden

My understanding is that the idea of a live draw was put forward at the NL AGM by Barry Bishop following the success of similar live draws for his club events. Unfortunately the actual draw came across as rather hap-hazard, however a step forward with plenty of learnings for next time.

Well I've been thinking long and hard about the move up and I'm still not convinced it's the right thing to do for the Witches and I'm certainly not alone in that opinion. The whole concept of 1 owner controlling 3 top flight teams doesn't sit right with me at all at the end of the day . I'm sure Mr Chapman has his own agenda and that is predominantly to keep the Premiership in existence, not to necessarily do what's right for Ipswich Speedway ? Just seems strange that the only 2 teams left to be completed happen to be 2 of his 3 ??? Hopefully he doesn't ruin us and thank heavens Chris has the buy back clause if things don't go according to plan ! (and it's not too late of course) I also know previously die hard season ticket holders who would normally have paid their money by now that are holding back till the team is announced purely because they don't want to waste money if we end up doing the same as we did towards the end of our last top flight campaign ! If we've signed 4 riders announce them for petes sake, then we at least have some room for speculation on the remaining slots with how many points left to play with. Come on, give us something to go with as I for one am not in the least bit enthusiastic at this point, I think a few more out there are seriously interested in seeing what's going to happen to justify the increase in admission costs.

As I didn't include any pictures of netball players in the Quiz, I can't say for sure! But given the two of "my regulars" are members of the local netball team, and joined Tracey Neville's squad when they were in Spain for warm weather training....I'm guessing the answer would be "YES"!!!!!

No staying to Wednesday I believe, much better for anyone travelling than Friday, the M5 is horrendous

Young Max is the next big thing from OZ, just a matter of time imo...

I can accept looking stupid, it's not uncommon. But no rose tinted specs, as it affects me not in the slightest what the riders are earning.

Don’t know Tom spencer so can’t comment,whitmore ...useless,terrible signing.having Will Pottinger as rider/manager would have been a better option.says it all really.its going to be a baptism of fire for young Harry as he will be in the main body after the first averages come out .

And none of those would cost the promotor a penny, so the question has to be asked why don't they happen?

Swap Connor for Nathan Greaves and that would be challenging for honours in the CL in 2019....