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I just want to say congratulations to Mark and his team at Plymouth in achieving something really quite special this season for speedway in the West Country. Mark has truly worked his socks off, like us he gives literally all that he has in trying to ensure that fans, riders, sponsors and officials have a brilliant night out - he has delivered. He takes pride in his events, pride in his stadium, pride in his "show". People of Plymouth, be proud because you have a good one here and you are now starting to see the acorn Mark planted grow in to an Oak. Businesses are starting hear of the Gladiators, and now have pride in aligning their brand with your club, fans are flocking back, great food, great service, good people. Long may it continue. Congratulations.

So according to a Craig Cook tweet,,,he had family issues,,, not mental health issues. Bit silly of Ipswich putting out statements that are not true. Or was that the only way of getting a facility? Very strange indeed

Whatever format the league(s) take next year, Plymouth will be competing and Richard will be riding. Surely some positivity is exactly what speedway needs at the moment. 21 league season not yet over and already we can’t wait for the next one down here.. Carry on breaking with speedway convention Mark. We love it.

Good attendance ,great racing, great track no issues at all,slick presentation, early start to team building for 2022,Good get together afterwards around the bbq polish sausage very popular with riders and fans. No begging bowl at Plymouth not bankrupt as many predicted riders wanting to ride for us as they know they will get paid bring on next season.

So 8,000 fans in a stadium open to the elements over two nights is more appealing than 40,000 on one night? I don't think so.

Bottom line is Cook withheld his services for whatever reason and clearly Ipswich reported that and rightly got a facility. The upshot of that is Riders are then given generally a 7 day suspension or longer depending on circumstances, as the Ipswich press release says his return is subject to SCB approval. A lot of the problem is clubs don’t properly explain riders absences, Pedersen and Palin are missing for the Panthers, nothings been said explaining why, either by Peterborough Plymouth or Scunthorpe. Its doesn’t help but fuel suspicion and rumour on the internet.

Pleased to see Plymouth on the upward spiral mate another forward thinking promotion with a vision can only be a good thing. Top signing in Richard Lawson also for next season things are looking good for the future down Plymouth way well done .

Thought that was the norm now in 21st UK league speedway .... that and regular delays and oh tractor racing. Usually get one good "race" and that's "worth the admission money alone" That's why I rarely go to meetings nowadays.

You'd know

Could be drone footage of Boris Johnsons head An overgrown area covering an unused facility

It took you 6 pages to tell us we only need 1 page

Yes they bloody do!

I get bored watching live speedway on TV, long breaks for adverts, plus riders taking an age to get settled into their start positions for races! Watching it after means you can fast forward lots of wasted time!

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Give it up for the 2021 Division Two Play Off Champions!".... "The Glasgow"... "Tigers/Monarchs/Bandits/Bears/Diamonds/Scorpions/Lions/Eagles/Gladiators/Kings/Brummies/Pirates" (Pause for a deep breath)... "And now let's hear it for your fantastic 2021 Division Two Runners up who pushed them all the way"... "The Poole".... (Another deep breath)... "Pirates/Monarchs/Bandits/Bears/Diamonds/Scorpions/Lions/Eagles/Gladiators/Kings/Brummies/Tigers"... You would need a couple of big old winners and runners up trophies to fit that on the roll of honour of them wouldn't you? And also need around 50 of each of the winners and losers medals.... With plenty of lads being awarded both... !!

At the end of the does it REALLY matter ,whoever wins the league,at the end of the day there won’t be enough room on the Trophy for all the guests that all the Teams have used. It’s all a bit farcical really.

I would expect the second tier to be a cross between the championship and the NDL. The poorer relations to move 'down'.

Thirty seconds of applause at the NSS on Monday in memory of Taffy.

Realistically its a big catchment area, if theyve survived crump and bjarne they should survive lawson et all

Let’s pick some of the bones out of your argument. Redcar struggled for a decent crowd because of Havelock, his demeanour towards the fans and his budget for the team reducing the product to a bottom of the league regulars. A new promoter came in, used the same budget but with a complete different mindset in producing excitement around the place and doubled the crowd and more. The new management trio have continued on with that trend and made it even more successful. Do you not think Redcar pay rent to the council for the STMP? Everything inside the stadium belongs to the club , it was just a rubbish tip when the track was constructed and, unlike Brough Park, not a structure was standing so Redcar have built from scratch. Access to revenue streams….yes they have, through their own efforts. They only took over complete catering in 2020 . Sponsors….all clubs are responsible for generating their own so that’s down to the club to source. Watered down product …promoters choice, just like the clubs management structure, Redcar have a team that works, how many staff did Grant get rid off/ bring in to help ? His choice. Redcar were in the doldrums, but turned it around with positive, enthusiastic management from 2017 onwards using exactly the same budget that Havelock had. They have shown it can be done. Newcastle , take away the non disclosed debts they inherited, which should have been identified, have no different challenges to any other club this COVID affected year but I do understand Grant walking away from the stress of running a speedway club as even the Redcar management , who are all volunteers, are finding it very stressful in these challenging times.

You need to be a headcase to ride a speedway bike don't you?

I would suggest 9 from 4 completed rides is far from” not showing up”.Every point matters for different reasons.IMO.

Chris Harris not showing up in the big meetings. How glad I am he's someone else's problem

Yep. He missed 3 (?)years when he should have been at his peak. Typically racers, as opposed to gaters, have struggled to be as successful later in their career. (Gollob is an exception).

People just love to have a moan don't they...

Take Chris Harris as an example 23rd August rides for Peterborough, 25th August rides for Birmingham & finally 26th August rides for Ipswich. Anyone who can't see the issue with that or defends it are part of the reason this sport in the UK is finished it's utterly crazy & provides no credibility end of!!

the horse has already bolted on this one, we're much too far down the line to make any changes now

To be honest I never saw any problem with that when there were simply too many clubs... Instead, at that time, this natural evolutionary process that strengthens any species or entity, was completely ignored and everything was done to keep everyone going, no matter the impact to entertainment level, and league credibility. .. Now it's very much a different time and clubs are being removed from the UK map at an alarming rate, therefore all Promoters need to work together and support their "weakest links"... As without them all inevitably will end up disappearing too..

If next season remains the same as this, more track closures will be inevitable. Maybe the survival of the fittest, is the master plan.

Perhaps it could signal the start of a more formal breakaway from the establishment

Even though I live in Yorkshire I have kind of adopted Plymouth as my Championship team and always look out for their results. They seem to have had a successful year so far so well done to everyone concerned. The other team I have a soft spot for is Berwick. Here's hoping both teams can look forward to a successful 2022!

So if its two divisions (plus the NDL) you have a Champtionship No1. If divisions are merged, so its one professional league and an NDL you have a No1. Err no brainer IMHO. He rides Plymouth well, and whatever pans out in the Winter the club have secured a Number 1 for next year. Well done to all concerned.

All I read is positivity from the club so it isn’t a surprise really. If a top rider becomes available you would like to think your club would try and sign the rider, especially if Pedersen does retire.

Deadline has been extended is my understanding. Covid has caused a lot of disruption in the speedway world.

Do you think there will be middle tier next season.Surely not.

This does ask the obvious question. Why bother with a young Danish rider whose club rides on a Wednesday causing a direct clash with our home meetings? There’s no doubt he is a talent and a top rider in the future, but if he can’t ride in the U.K. on Wednesdays during the Danish season, he’s going to be of little use to our club.

I know it mattered to Poole but realistically pressure was off Birmingham were guaranteed the 3 points

Scored well on Friday night against Poole..

Stefan at 6

Yes, think positive ......... and well done you have yayyyyyyy

Could always replace him with Richie Hawkins!!?? He knows a good team when he sees one - and he's seen quite a few at Foxhole this season, unfortunately not Ipswich though!

Correct. The old football ground was at the top of Plough Lane, at the corner of Durnsford Rd. It was sold in 1998, and it was demolished in 2002. The flats were completed in 2008. The speedway stadium was a few hundred yards down Plough Lane on the corner of Summerstown.

Cardiff has all you could want, city centre location with all the bars and restaurants, hotels if you want one, and a roof to guarantee no rain off I don't know anywhere else that has these facilities If a GP in Britain is on the schedule, then i would imagine it will go back to 1 GP per weekend and not two

I currently use Eurosport app and BT Sport app - both have an 'on demand' option to watch live matches again, after the event. And yes you can fast forward.

No quarter given between Berwick Team mates on Monday.Riding as opposition of course.

Thinking about it Poole had r/r for the first 7 days as the covid rules in Czech changed suddenly. So maybe Glasgow will be allowed that, depends on the reason why Nowak isn't able to start now.

Don't kid yourself we have league speedway nowadays - we don't. What we have is a contrived circus where the same riders swap team suits and ride at different tracks that are thrown into 2 groups to give the illusion of 2 leagues... Many talk of the current situation being necessary due to lack of riders, another way to look at it is there are too many clubs. Let the weaker clubs close and create a proper, sustainable and credible single league to build up from. Of course, the poor little pampered, over-inflated rider egos will then complain they don't earn enough - because of course they couldn't get a real job to supplement speedway earnings, could they?

Me too...I have just emailed via the SGP site to confirm our original tickets are ok to use....

Yes i remember both the Golden Helmet meeting’s in 1976 Bob, Crash beat Simmo ( RIP) 2.0 in both the home and away legs.Also in the Swindon v Sheffield fixture crash beat the great Tommy Jansson 2.0 ( RIP) to force a decider at Cradley.. Tommy ended up winning it 2.1 great days, i remember getting Tommy’s autograph and him staying and riding in the second half..Remember those days well Bob, we rode Poole in the Champagne stakes and we had a few challenge matches as well with the league fixture so we got to see quite a bit of Poole in which invited good crowds.

Poole done that for years and got slated continually. I’m going for Poole

I have bouts of mental health problems, and its only over the past few months that I've "Come Out" to coin a phrase. Some people told me to buck myself up, which is the worst thing to be told. Some people don't understand the situation, and I get that, because they won't if they've gone through it. Some people are very understanding. I'm currently having a great many demons, but have confidence, and obviously hope, that the people helping me with it, will get me out of the other end of the tunnel. I like Craig Cook. I feel for Craig Cook, and I pray he gets the help he needs from this invisible but deadly problem. Please people, whether you like the man or not, show him the respect and love that both he and his family needs at this present time. With the right guidance and love, he'll come out the other end with a smile on his face. Thank You.