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Congratulations to everyone who has contributed, Newcastle have hit their target.

It really does. Almost like two different sports in a way Some of my most vivid memories are the queues, the packed terraces and trying to find a place to sit at some of the big meetings like the Internationale, Division 2 Riders Championship or one England v USA test. And of course the atmosphere when the lights dropped and the track was lit up, the colour of the fans with their rosettes, hats and scarves and flags. There was a buzz about the sport that made it feel important and you was part of something special There is none of that today. For me at least.

Giving the poster, I`m afraid yes.

Is there any need for such pathetic arrogance ?

Would be nice to see Dan Bewley as a WC for one of the Wroclaw rounds!

This thread makes me feel so sad. I feel honoured to have watched the sport in the 1970s and 1980s but it's so depressing to feel that those glory days are well and truly over and it's never coming back. At least I've got all my speedway magazines right back to the 1930s and can read about it at my leisure, but it was a massive part of my childhood and teenage years and I sort of feel a sense of bereavement about speedway as it is today.

Over exaggerated cough that No.10 is prepared to ruin businesses over. UK Cases - 4.57 Million UK Deaths - 128,000 As I said earlier far far far more likely to recover than die from yet people are prepared to support businesses going under for this rubbish. Country needs to grow a set and go back to normal again rather than running scared of the sniffles.

6400 at the rangers game when they were in the 3rd division. Regardless of what percentage if you want to go get a ticket early . It’s really as simple as that. Some folk on here should thank their lucky stars they have seen and looks like continuing to see speedway when home fixtures are run. Clubs are closing and stopping racing all the time. With the amount of work put in by all associated with Berwick speedway maybe some should stop being a keyboard warrior and back them

Brilliant that mind I am well impressed... Well done and you can always keep going it will all be welcome... Regards John

I have seen on BBC or Sky that they are looking to lower the employment restrictions over time. Same with Brits going to Aus. If you get a job visa's will be granted without restriction, including minor any criminal records. Believe the government are looking to do similar with New Zealand too. The government (quite cleverly imo) are trying to reattach themselves with all the previous commonwealth states again. A great thing & could be huge for the UK

You would be surprised how many riders would compete for just £10 a point if they knew that is what is on offer across the board. Expenses would be a must though given the current distances between tracks along with some sensible fixture planning so avoid as much midweek as possible. It may mean that some opt out but for the league to sensibly survive semi-amateur is the way forward as a pathway into the sport. Very few riders enter the NL expecting to make money, most are looking at some funds to help cover the losses for a season, if the pay is lower then riders will choose where else to edge out costs. Gate money can come down and just maybe crowds will start creeping up?

Therein lies one of the main reasons why speedway has declined so badly : taking its supporters for granted (not allowing patrons to take food in, taking heavy handed action to stop them and charging ridiculous prices for appalling food and drink remains one of my few complaints about Belle Vue). I am certain that a lot of your issues (while remaining totally valid) were the fault of the stadium owners but there's doubt that similar circumstances have applied at virtually every track in the country, including those who own their own stadiums. I have certainly heard such accounts many, many times and, indeed, have experienced them myself. Worse still, when we do get a track that is remarkably customer focussed the BSPL make their position so untenable that they withdraw. That would be funny if it wasn't so serious, Humph. It was still possible only a few years ago, albeit travelling a bit further afield. I used to do Birmingham or Kings Lynn (Wednesday), Ipswich, Peterborough, Swindon or Isle of Wight (Thursday), Plymouth, Somerset, Lakeside or Weymouth (Friday), Eastbourne or Rye House (Saturday), Mildenhall (Sunday) and, on occasion (or a bank holiday) Wolverhampton, Kent or a TV match on Monday. Then there was Redcar (Thursday), Edinburgh (Friday), Berwick or Workington (Saturday) and Glasgow (Sunday). The thing that used to annoy me was that Weymouth, Plymouth and Somerset all rode on the same night

Also worth noting that the Kent promotion aren't complaining about losing money every meeting. That's because the team is built to a budget. Far better to finish bottom half of the table but still have a club the following season, then to win all the trophies and have to close. I am sure Workington fans would hand back those historic trophies to have weekly speedway again.

It's not always what you say, it's how you say it. The club management said: “There is no fallout with Craig and we sincerely wish him all the very best for the season ahead. “We want Craig to go away and become the Craig we know he can be. He’s a great rider, but sometimes you have to make decisions which you feel are right for the club and for the rider. “We will be finalising his replacement overnight and updating supporters accordingly.” This to me suggests Craig was ok with being dropped & he needed to go a find himself again. Whereas Craig says he's clueless to his sacking & was happy. King's Lynn are in a seriously bad place under the Allitt & Schroeck management. Of the original 7 I think only 4 justified a starting spot. Cook, Jorgensen, Kerr, Riss. Proctor & Bridger we all knew was wrong but was just hoping, benefit of the doubt & all that. Then Kinsley as 'Rising Star' was a madness. The club from top to bottom is embarrassingly run. Poor team building through to embarrassing in match tactics is just making King's Lynn a laughing stock. Our owner has knocked up a better side down the road, it's shocking.

As a "statto" it's got to be Joe Owen as the best NL rider. Records prove from the breakthough 1975 season Joe was dominant rider in the seasons he rode in the NL. No sooner Joe took the step into the BL in 1977, Tom Owen then took over the role as the best rider in NL until his broken leg ended his dominance - this does raise the question how long would have Tom dominated barring his injury ? Joe's 1976 season performances remains certainly the best from an individual rider at NL level. The facts speaks for itself - just 1 point dropped at home in league, 14 points dropped in 31 league matches, winner in 8 (out of 8) NL individual (including the NLRC) and 1 pairs meeting winner. Holder of the Silver Helmet all season - run on a monthly challenger basis at the time. These facts are taken from a statistical point of point of view as I wasn't a regular fan until 1978. However, upon Joe's "forced" return to the NL in 1982, his dominance continued although his average dropped by half a point from 1976 to just over 11 (!). It should be remembered the strength of NL was a lot higher from 1976. As an Ellesmere Port fan I saw Joe a number of times as a Diamond in 1982, I remember the excitement at Thornton Road when Joe raced as EVERY Gunner wanted to beat him. When Joe "burger" joined Ellesmere Port in 1985 after a season with Newcastle in BL, it was a big money signing that helped the Gunners win the NL. By the end of the season Joe's average had "dropped" to 10.5, but again the standard of the NL was higher than the previous season in the NL in 1983. BL standard riders such as Mike Ferriera, Stan Bear, Kevin Smith, Kevin Hawkins, Gordon Kennett, Roger Johns and Neil Middleditch were now riding in the NL. As a regular visitor to the away tracks, Joe was still the rider to beat and every opposing rider wanted to beat him, as a result this put "bums" on the seats when Ellesmere Port came visiting (Alas not at Thornton Road). Tragically his career ended at Birmingham at the end of the 1985 season, but I am certain he would be remained in the NL for the remainder of his career. it should be remembered that riders such as John Louis (1971), Phil Crump (1972), Mike Ferriera (1981), Andrew Silver (1987) and Jason Crump (1993) all attained over (or near) an 11 point average in their final Division 2/NL seasons, all of the above took the "leap" into British League (with varying degrees of success) after reaching the above average so the opportunity to dominate at Division 2/NL level was "lost". A final thought, what would Joe have achieved if he hadn't had the serious injury when he was with Hull in 1978 ?

What a line-up!

It is unfortunate that thousands of people have died,many of these have died with covid though instead of from covid.The stats worry so many people but it is very misleading as usual from the Government.There are many,many more people dying from other illnesses now as a result of all of this.Plus the more people that are suffering from mental illnesses as a result of these lockdowns.My heart op was delayed by 7 months,how many more people have had ops delayed and may have died as a result of this.

It's Eurosport. It was always going to be an inferior production to Sky or BT. To be fair, considering it IS Eurosport, they're not doing too bad - although they do need to ensure they get the score right as it is a pretty key part of the meeting.

Despite Shielfield Park being in the fortunate position of being able to accommodate larger attendances than many speedway venues during the current Covid19 restrictions, the club has warned that a sell-out attendance must be expected for the visit of title favourites Glasgow next week. Tickets are now on sale at the usual site: https://www.berwickspeedway.com/tickets/ The Bandits' promotion strongly recommend early booking (especially if a seat in the main stand is the aim) to avoid disappointment, highlighting that Bandits/Tigers matches are traditionally very well attended and with the regulations still requiring e-ticketing, they do anticipate selling out. There are no plans at the moment for any streaming of this meeting -- if you don't get a ticket, you don't get to see it!

Not until after monday night ok, when Panthers go top of league , then if no more meetings are run in 2021 champions declared

I knew I'd heard it somewhere ;-)

Scores now changed on updates

Thanks goodness I have a supply of tea bags...

Only previous season riders - I can’t see a problem with what’s being suggested.

Ipswich should put in a protest against the BSPL for allowing them to select an ineligible team... 3 point deduction for the other 5 clubs in the Premiership..

Sunny in Gislaved, track being watered.

Danny Smith or Archie Freeman would he excellent replacements for the injured Sam McGurk!

Barrie can come on here and tell everybody it might be a sellout,yet won’t divulge the crowd limit.Typical of the way they operate IMO.The loyal supporters deserve better.They certainly don’t like criticism even if it is meant to be constructive in some instances.

I suppose Cardiff is the closest we get to that in this country now, but even that's not the same. I remember being at a BLRC at Hyde Road in the early 1980s stood on the back straight and it was so packed I couldn't get my arms up to fill in my programme, they were just pinned to my sides. I feel like the fabric of the sport in the UK is under threat now with tracks like Poole and Wolverhampton struggling in the post pandemic world. I don't think it will disappear completely here but might end up like it is in Germany with a bit of a league and some open meetings. I am sure we will never see the packed houses like the BLRC and British Final night at Coventry again.

Well, a think you just failed on the first part.

The annoying thing is that they’d got Lawson, Wells and Mountain I’m in the first place instead of Proctor, Bridger and Kinsley it would have been a half decent team. And the Wolves result wouldn’t have happened and Cook wouldn’t have been released. Opportunity missed.

Well he's obviously got enough in his pot to take out a 10-year lease on the whole stadium!

There's a massive difference imo. Peterborough have 4 rider's that have experienced the top of the game, King's Lynn have none. Regardless of age at Peterborough, there is an absolute chasm of difference in quality at both clubs. King's Lynn's team buiding has been an absolute embarrassment.

team news around 5.30pm UK time and live updates from 6pm tonight https://ta.svemo.se/Public/Pages/Competition/DrivingSchedule/CompetitionLiveResult.aspx?Branch=Speedway&Columns=CompetitionInfo,Branch,Name,Arena,FromDateShort&Datefilter=Today&pagesize=6&CompetitionId=12465

As much chance as seeing that flying pig I would imagine.

Dale Allit is useless, more interested in keeping the happy clappers on board (of which there are plenty) and offering jobs to his mates.

This is for indoors. Also the guidance for sports grounds is different to that of the general covid guidelines.

The gardeners and farmers need it!

Gonna be a nightmare finding dates when Jack isn't in Poland/washing his hair/walking the dog/at an anniversary meal * * delete as appropriate or add you own lame excuse to suit

Well done Dan,

Well just made my donation to help boost the fund and I would love to see us get over that 8k mark Good luck in all your endeavours Regards THJ

I've been telling them that ever since Edinburgh tickets went on sale 5 weeks ago, but nobody takes any notice. Now they are in a mess because they aren't selling enough tickets. It can't be that difficult. If it is then they need to get a new web host/ manager. (there is a link on the ticket office page now, but it's very faint and mostly obliterated by the page header). IT SHOULD BE IN BIG BOLD LETTERS. It's their source of financial income, though wouldn't think it.

As most have said, probably going to Speedway five or even six times a week and it wasn't expensive. Our usual was New Cross (just the early '60's), West Ham Hackney, Wimbledon, Wherever West Ham was racing on the Week-end plus Romford, Crayford, Canterbury, Eastbourne, Rye House all within easy reach. Not to mention where Internationals were, that was big time back then. Best memory for me was the GB v USSR @ Wembley in 1964. World Finals @ Wembley....ahh yes quite the event. Watching my childhood hero in the early '60s, Peter Craven. I could go on forever!!!!!

Void then - re run......

It is the 1st round of British Superbike Racing on the 27th, though.

That was an extraordinary meeting, agree with your assessment.

Of course it’s pathetic. The criteria they used before to justify was an increase in infections x increase in hospital admissions x increase in deaths. What we currently have is less than half a person with Covid per hospital, yesterday we had 5 deaths, just a few weeks ago we had days with no deaths. Therefore there is not even a hint of a 3rd wave. The vaccine is protecting those who are vulnerable, Covid is currently the 9th biggest killer in the UK, yes 9th. There is no science that backs up the need to extend these ridiculous restrictions. There should never be a need for another lockdown ever again, however I’m sure the government will justify it somehow. Winter will always see an increase in deaths from viruses. The flu kills thousands every year. Do we lockdown or wear masks for those? People going abroad will bring new variants back to the UK. So yet again more threats of a new outbreak. It will never end. Even Boris said ‘at some stage we will have to learn to live with it’. That time is now. Or when do we wait till? infections will stay higher the more people socialise, that is completely NORMAL. So long as hospital don’t see an increase and deaths increase again then this is all perfectly normal. So yes, this extension is totally pathetic, backed up by no science whatsoever.

Because the alternative is a five team league! Try thinking about the whole sport instead of following the BSPL normal policy of only thinking about the track they run / you support.

Place will shut down anyway if they continue to abide by silly rules. Most of the people that enter Speedway / Dog track stadium are mostly older members of the public who've been vaccinated twice.

It was changed to Wolves so didn’t have to show Peterborough 2 weeks on trot. Eurosport seem to be useless at keeping their teams who look after TV guides and adverts etc updated.