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Thanks Josh Bates for prematurely bringing to an end my 71st year of supporting Speedway ~ Leicester ~ Coventry ~ then Leicester again. I haven't ridden a motorbike for a good number of years but even I knew there was no way you were going to get round the bend with that reckless move and taking down another rider too. Time I reckon to re think your career as you are a liability on a Speedway bike. I left after an hour of waiting for paramedics/county ambulance and a good number of others did as well. I very much doubt if some of them will be back, including me. Sad but that's it now.

I guess any 'newbies' wouldn't know about a track being deliberately flooded when their top rider was supposedly missing? An act which was caught out and officially punished by the SCB/BSPA? No? Just us 'oldies' then!!!

Had to laugh after the meeting at a conversation with those two notable worthys, Dick Barrie and Kenny McKinna . I said young Kyle was our man of the match and while Dick agreed , Kenny said " yes he can gate , but he looks slow which is a worry " . Kenny son , the lad just scored 10 paid 11 on an away track , and his crucial third place in heat 14 effectively won us the meeting . He can look as slow as he likes if he keeps doing that .

Maybe so but speedway has little enough credibility in this country without testing the punters further by lying blatantly to them. Imo what should have been announced was that Howarth had been drug tested and had failed. Any argument about why he had failed is for further investigation, at a later date, but why invent some nonsensical excuse to announce to a stadium full of folk? It simply erodes further any attempt to take this UK version of the sport seriously.

Do some BV fans honestly believe the Poole promotion waited until they were in front before calling the halt ? Its simple really, they could have called it off at heat 8 ( 24-24), but because the fans had waited patiently , They tried to cram in as many heats as possible before the 10-15 curfew . Poole had no way of knowing they'd gain heat advantages from any of the last 4 races ?

Hearing Nico might have got away without a bad injury with just bruised ribs. Out for a couple of weeks and no longer hopefully.

I think the tone of some on here is poor tbh. I was talking to some of the Bandits management and they were really disappointed to have had to call off the Edinburgh meeting and they had worked hard to reach out to the locals for that meeting with special offers. I was talking to one of them again this morning as they were deliberating what to do about tonight. Money and costs were not mentioned but the fans possibly being in the stadium when the storms arrive for the second time in 3 meetings was talked about and was not something they wished.to happen. That is the only reason they called it there and then. Give the guys a break. They have the club in their hearts and even if they were stinking rich, would have made the same call. Sure they would like to break even but they are not looking to rob the fans who support the club.

If the test shows Night Nurse and nothing illegal as Wolves'statement hopes then should last night's meeting not be rerun with original programmed teams and last night's result declared void.!!!!!

Yep, nothing new, and no financial cushion to fall back on. Oh, for the big-city sponsors and the clout of a Trust like Edinburgh's giving their promotion over £100,000 since 2015 (to quote last night's programme). At Berwick, with only 10% of the population the city clubs around them enjoy in their catchment area, the various promotions have done wonders to keeping the club alive for fifty years.

Heeps has been a revelation this year. Shows what fitness, mental attitude and determination can do. Reminds me a little of David Norris who, after many seasons of not living up to his ability, dedicated himself and had a season with a 9 point average.

I am well aware of that, but the constant silence from the club is never very reassuring... I know sometimes there's nothing to say, but the fan interaction isn't the best at Newcastle, no one can deny that... Hell the website hardly updates

Not really any excuse for professional sportsmen failing drug test. WADA publish info freely available to all sports. In the past included things to watch out for in day to day medicines.

Have to agree with that , we had all heard the rumours at the track well before the start and that nonsensical announcement was met with howls of laughter . But back to the racing , ok I know I'm a Tigger and any win at Armadale is special , but I really enjoyed last night and for the first time in a long time I could feel the tension of it all getting to me . Thought we were in control for the first part of the meeting , then thought we had blown it when the Monarchs got a 5-0 followed by a 5-1 to go 6 points ahead , but the comeback led by Mr Maximum was brilliant . I knew if we could get a heat advantage in heat 14 , and get our noses back in front , then Craig would do the rest in the deciding race . I was in hospitality and it's brilliant up there , cracking view of the track and the food is fantastic and the staff so friendly . Made it a special night for my family , so thank you very much Mike Hunter .

So with last night's terrific away win in West Lothian still fresh in the memory , we take on our pals again tomorrow . We're at full strength led by Mr Maximum , while god knows who Edinburgh have at number 3 . A packet of night nurse , a reliable guest or r/r . Should be a comfortable home win , just hope the sun keeps shining

And stopped at 6:46

Why would you ‘let us back in’ when we could already be in the lead? Poole are a better team than Belle Vue. You might beat us on Monday but I would fancy us over two legs in the playoffs.

We haven’t seen much of ANYONE lately

Gdansk v Daugavpils http://www.maniak.tv/kanal-2 Wroclaw v Gorzow and Lublin v Zielona Gora http://www.maniak.tv/kanal-7 http://www.drhtv.com.pl/drhtv-1.html

Anything else to add from the Monarchs book of after match excuses ? Ref tempted by bottles of buckfast maybe , temperature of the track too high , Tigers management putting nitro.in their riders fuel , wrong time of the month to race a derby match maybe .

Ignorance as a defence? It is surely the responsibility of every professional sports person to find out what is and what isn’t permitted in their chosen sport. Speedway Regulation 8.1 and Appendix E spells it all out Edit: R&R beat me to it!

Some of them haven’t got Ceefax yet alone that fancy witchcraft called internet

'Some' Belle Vue fans ....Thank you

to be fair to Howarth,theres alot of folk that need a fix before they go to Armadale.....

The reason it’s nearly 10 years ago is because that is the last time, until Thursday of this week, that I recall Poole calling off a meeting due to a curfew.

Having had a long chat with the promoters on Thursday, I was thanked for my positive attitude, so I've had a (temporary) change of heart.

Can we apply under the freedom of information act ??

Lawson showed “little bit more fight” when? He should have cleaned up tonight against other reserves and then he wouldn’t move over for Joel in a crucial race. He has unreliable equipment and despite living in Scotland invariably turns up late and totally unprepared. No pride in either machinery or Kevlars. Riding a bike not inspected coupled with Howarth’s “family” crisis cost us the match. The two Cumbrian boys rode well and Glasgow can only beat what’s in front of them. Ricky is going through a bad spell perhaps highlighted more because of injuries to two riders who were expected to share the load. Our boys need to develop a more ruthless streak.

I went into this meeting thinking " The Bears are going to have everyone firing to win this one against a very strong Lions team. Now, I'm telling myself, " Oh Ye Of Little Faith ". Cracking result for the Bears. How good too, the meeting had to be delayed due to huge queues wanting to get on. How often have you head that said ? UTB !!!

Hope I'm proven wrong , but I would have thought persevering with Wells, would have been better option than gambling on Aarnio ? Either that or as Phil says make 2 signings

If BWD returned on Aug 1st and replaced Bates, Proctor would still not be at reserve unless his form slumped even more. Chapman is basically using Boro as a dumping ground and it sucks...

Having scrutinised the 2019 SCB Speedway Regulations, under 23 A : Penalty Guidelines for Meeting Referees, the following is stated:- "When a rider, Official or Motorcycle is unfit (including failing a drug or alcohol test), suspended, unlicensed or does not comply with the Regulations, then disqualification of the rider / Motorcycle from the Meeting may be mandatory. When a rider is disqualified from a Team Event due to failing a pre-meeting Alcohol or Drug test, or non-compliance to the Silencer, Tyre or Carburettor Regulations, then no Facility nor replacements are permitted in any Programmed rides". IMO this unambiguously means that neither r/r nor a Junior Rider replacing Howard should have been permitted for the programmed rides of the Monarchs number 3. I accept that this would have probably killed off the match as a close encounter for those, like myself, in attendance. Had Monarchs actually won, then Glasgow would have been fully justified to then appeal the result, which the SCB would have been obliged to overturn. For the record I am a Monarchs fan, without a "win at any cost" attitude.

To be honest the fans just want to see that the management are seen to be doing something. Recently loads of teams in both leagues are shuffling their packs as riders aren't performing. All we get is the same old crap. "Who can we get". I rather have a youngster in who will improve.

Come on Buster, get rid of Bates. Wish him well but as Gavan said, blokes a liability

.....and the Pirates are just 3 points behind......but have 3 matches in hand

What on earth are you going on about? No one said anything about Beta Blockers. Howarth has said he took Night Nurse. Before doing a drugs screening test at the track the rider is asked if they have taken any medication. Since he's said he took NIght Nurse, (and we have no evidence of anything else) we can only assume that NIght Nurse is the reason the screening test threw up what they call a "non-negative", which needs to be tested. With a "non-negative" in the screening test, the rider is disqualified from the meeting, and the sample has to undergo a drugs test at a laboratory. Of course if any rider's drugs test comes back positive for a banned substance they deserve to be banned for a long time. But if what Howarth says is true, then the drugs test will identify Night Nurse, and he'll be free to continue riding because Night Nurse doesn't contain anything on the WADA banned list. (There are many websites you can google yourself where you can easily see the IOC's list of what medications are on the WADA banned list).

Exactly, so you can't say Poole would have won and you can't say BV would have won.

How about "medication grounds"?

It's getting that right rider though. That rider has to be available and on the right average. Also the rider has to be sensible and not demand stupid money. This isn't Fantasy League speedway, where every rider is available and will sign, it is a lot more complicated than that.

Got to agree with this . I would imagine it will take some considerable time to come up with an alternative. Even the Town traders submitted a petition in favour of the stadium based on expected increase footfall from the Sellafield and NHS workers that would be using the facility. If your going to do something do it properly is my view re this. Can't wait for the Council Executive reasons for rejection and their intended contingency.

Lambert for one home match wouldn’t be an issue, as long as Nicol is in for the next away meeting. Want to see him on Monday night though!

Agree with you, and its not the first time. Sometimes the press releases, match reviews and previews and especially attributed quotes are a bit embarrassing to be honest.

Plan b will probably be Simon Lambert to continue in the short term.....it's what we always do!

too much night nurse apparently triggers a drugs test fail.

He claims he struggles to make living out the sport most years pull the other one Chris.

Let down by our 1 and 6 as has been said. Wells had the effort but looked very slow. Lawson showed a little bit more fight but still very poor turning up at 7 didn't help either. No idea what was going on with howarth, bikes ready in the pits when I went in. Then started to hear rumours Glasgow complained about our use of him (again only rumours) so wasn't much of a surprise when announced he wasn't racing with an excuse of family emergency. If it was failed drugs test no sympathy and harsher punishment needed. Few dodgy calls and starts but that's a Derby isn't it. Racing was OK the tightscore line keeping it interesting. Deserved win to Glasgow with cook superb backed up by Bickley with the others chipping in good points. Hugely impressed with Conor Coles who rode his heart out for only one point (would have been more if he didn't miscount). On that showing I would have him and Ruddick when he returns. Going to be a long season. Everyone I speak to seems to know of change in line up and they are all different.

My reverse psychology worked ;) Well done Bears!

had a jig saw like that once , 530 pieces in a 500 jig saw and some of the pieces actually fitted into place , even tho it was from another jig saw ..now thats pressure for ya !

I agree with you that team speedway at top level in its current format isn't working but a 16 man GP series wouldn't produce enough meetings for either riders or clubs. I would retain the team speedway in the top flight but in a 4 team tournament format with 4 man teams and a reserve like the old world cup format run alongside the GP series you suggest. Maybe less fixtures would attract some of the big names back and increase quality? I know people will bemoan the loss of team riding (which is virtually extinct anyway) but what we have now isn't working so change is needed in my opinion. If teams still lack fixtures they can enter National league sides to bring on the next generation as I think this still works in its current format.

Polish Zlotys more like

Just enjoying the atmosphere and racing might suit YOU, but judging by the numbers that use the bars and restaurant, there are lots of people that expect a more rounded evening of entertainment, with food, drink and excitement thrown in. Corporate entertainment is what pays the bills for other sports such as football, rugby, cricket, greyhounds, tennis and ice-hockey, etc., and I've thought for years that speedway is missing a trick by not exploiting the full potential of the "prawn sandwich brigade." With the facilities that Owlerton offers, there's no reason why there shouldn't be a "Tigers Enterprise Club" meeting two hours before the start of every home match. Small businesses like nothing better than the chance to meet, greet and network with other business people like themselves. It gives them the chance to build trading relationships and explore marketing collaborations; and if it involves a couple of hours of exciting sport afterwards, so much the better. From the management's perspective, it gives them the chance to widen their business base and attract more sponsorship. Before I retired I used to run a business club that met (of all places!) in a wholesale supermarket and we used to get over 60 business people attending regularly and inviting their mates along. The only thing we offered was a cup o' tea and a sandwich. The supermarket loved us. Having said all that, it wouldn't work on a Sunday - business entrepreneurs like their day of rest!