Halifaxtiger

He certainly got it badly wrong a couple of years ago when I came down for a match, and I went to the stadium and took some pictures to show it. According to xc weather, there were less than 2mm of rain due to fall this afternoon so I get the idea they just couldn't be bothered, which is what I thought last time. As long as there are no complaints about away fans not coming in future because I am sure all will take into account the record of calling matches off when there are 'two clouds in the sky'. I do have sympathy regarding weather forecasts because the met office seem incapable of predicting anything more than Ann hour in advance.

To be honest I think he is better rider (having seen them both perform at NL level. Time will tell. Usual good quality meeting at SBA couple of cracking rides from gathercole. Plymouth need a bit more consistency because if they get it they will be hard to beat. There has clearly been a lot of work done at the stadium and it has improved significantly as a result. I am told, though, that much of the work undertaken can't be seen as it is the form of electrics, wiring and safety. All credit to the promotion. One last thing- and I never thought I would say this - I missed Mike Bowden a bit. While I have no doubt that things will better under messrs Stephens and Taylor I doubt there will be as much to talk about.

Dead right,Paul. I would say that the fixing of tracks to suit riders and/or promotions instead of preparing them for racing is one reason why speedway is in the mess it is.

I'd say you have more to complain about than any Lions fan. While the poor quality of racing at Leicester is blamed on the shape of the track (and I am not sure I totally agree) there's nothing wrong with Redcar where that is concerned at all. When Glyn was on the tractor, STMP was one of my favourite tracks and definitely one of the best in the country but it went massively down hill when he left, and its now a pale shadow of its former self. The thing is it could be as good as it once was - the same cannot be entirely said of Leicester.

I don't think that's true and I think persuasion is another option, but that has its limits. If you have tried (and it could be said that some have on this particular issue) and you're being ignored then it does come down to what you have said.

I certainly don't think his comments were in bad taste and I regard him as a decent announcer - better than that bloke Sheffield have now, for a start. If memory serves me Workington is the third track I have seen him do at least some presenting this season (it might even be the fourth). I also think the last two comments you have made are spot on (and I'll accept your experience of him for the other two). My view was that anyone who makes out that something is special - or a lot better than others have suggested - only for that not to be the case will always look at least a little foolish and that's what I think happened here, and that his motivation for those comments was as much to defend his own team as to attract a crowd the following week.

The thing is I am not sure it was 'banter' (and I was there, unlike anyone who has chosen to defend those remarks). Its fair to say he was bulling Sheffield up (he certainly wasn't doing a 'pantomime villain' act, winding fans up to get a reaction) although whether that was for the benefit of the Workington promotion's gate figures or to ram home recent results to those fans who have been critical of the Tigers line up - he certainly mentioned at least once that everyone had them down for the bottom two in a mocking tone - I am not so sure, although I suspect it was a bit of both. His comments about Albin, albeit in a joking way (he referred to feeding him on 'raw meat'), were certainly not trash talk and its little wonder that some from Workington regard them as laughable given the score Albin got on the night. It did appear to me that you had the Sheffield promoter saying how good his team was - and as I say, I didn't regard that as banter, wind up, trash talk, call it what you will - only for them to be anything but on the track.

As to the first part, spectators should come first every time. Bearing in mind that spectators put safety before everything else and then want to be entertained, I fail to see the problem. As to the second, completely agree. The problem I have with what you are saying (and I apologise for repeating myself) is that the best meeting I have seen at BP was against Scunny last season. I even went back the following week and assured a mate who was going too that things had changed big time. We were then confronted (against Plymouth) with an appalling gaters paradise and hearsay was that that was down to the Leicester team.

Hoggy could have quietly chosen to say that his side is better than some have thought (which is undeniably true) and that they are looking forward to their visit. Alternatively, he didn't have to even refer to Sheffield but simply got on with presenting the meeting - which is what he was there for after all. What he did was refer to how they had been feeding Albin on 'raw meat', that they would give the Comets a real fight (which would not have happened even if Stead had not been injured) and ram home some of the predictions made by pundits and fans. To my mind (and I was there) he simply opened his mouth too wide and, after the narrow squeak at home and the hammering last night, he's looking rather foolish. I doubt if he'll make similar comments for a while.

Bearing in mind that Glyn Taylor has stated on this forum that he prepares tracks for riders not spectators, if what you say is true (and I think it is)what sort of track do you think he is going to prepare ?

So do I - one of the best I'd say, and definitely better than that clown Scunny usually have. Quite In my view its a pity that other tracks don't prepare their surfaces for spectators in the same way, and it didn't do Scunny much harm last season, did it ? Cracking meeting and one that will definitely make me come back more often (and brave the nightmare of the M62 at Friday tea time). Top quality racing, last heat decider and a bit of controversy thrown in, and its why Scunny deserve a live Sky meeting. Who knows, we might actually see something entertaining on the box for once. I think the Scorpions reserves aren't bad and deserve more time at least. What must be taken into account is that few have a reserve pairing as good as Ipswich's.

Quite. And would the end of meeting have been as exciting without Stead's tactical 3 pointer ? Almost certainly not.

I don't think any promotion would call a match off when the fans and riders were there unless they absolutely had to. Rain offs in such circumstances cost the home team thousands.

True. But everyone knows that weather conditions significantly affect track preparation. Cut the promotion a bit of slack, they did well to even get the meeting on.

Recommended by fans as far away as Plymouth

Absolutely right - and not just for Berwick and PL Speedway, but for British Speedway too. Also be nice to ram a few words down EL bigots throats after some of the crap we have seen so far on Sky. From what I have seen of results (and the Diamonds) I think it is more likely that you will need to do that. They were a handful for anyone without the sudden jump up of Lewis Kerr. With that, they are going to take some stopping.

Said it before and will probably say it again but in my opinion and based upon my (extensive) travels around the country watching the sport no promotion has upped their game in attempting to attract more supporters in the last couple of seasons as much as Berwick.

Track preparation was completely understandable in the circumstances. I paid for my race card (£1.50, I think) but for entry & programme its the cheapest I have been to this season.

From where I was standing (albeit not with the best of views) the referee got both of those calls wrong. I am also not sure why Robson got warned in heat 1 on the second time he jumped the start, not the first. It wasn't good but I think that was excusable as I was astonished that the match even went ahead (at certain southern tracks, it would have been cancelled about 11am). I stayed over in Kendal and it rained from 4pm onwards and all the way to the stadium, where it was still raining (admittedly, only spitting). All weather forecasts predicted rain, so preparing the track for racing would have meant that a postponement would have been more likely. As it was, I think the Workington promotion and all the riders deserve some credit for putting the paying spectator first.

Spitting with rain and the track is pretty wet but the riders are ch anged and the bikes warming up

Forecast has improved greatly (you might have been looking at Met Office, who change their minds hourly) so I very much think this will be on. Coming up for it, and predict a Comets win.

I think what you say is absolutely true and that any reasonable supporter would be prepared to accept that things can and do go wrong, no matter how well prepared a track might be. The difficulty comes when you get something one week and something the next (and Stoke are notorious for this)or, much worse, the same thing occurring again. Mildenhall had problems with their starting gate at the end of last season and at that time I said that while it was annoying it was a one off. To see it happening again, however, is much harder both to justify and to excuse.

In truth, no I can't. Belle Vue & Newcastle are certainly no better. As I said, its a matter of individual choice but I prefer Sheffield's basic but free programme and Scunthorpe's basic but cheap job to one that costs £3. I wasn't but then I didn't comment on last night's racing. All I said was that having a good stadium isn't worth much if your track is crap, and that applies across the board. It is if you park in the car park. I don't (and only very rarely have) because there are plenty of places to park for nothing. And what about how the fans want it ? Once safety issues have been satisfied, what the riders want should be absolutely irrelevant with the track being prepared for racing and entertaining the fans, and I would have thought it was pretty obvious that any commercial enterprise that puts its paid employees interests above those of its paying customers is asking for serious trouble. I only have hearsay to show it, but the difference in track preparation between the best meeting I have seen at BP against Scunthorpe last season and the appalling gaters paradise against Plymouth the following week was apparently down to the home riders. One thing : to even slightly suggest that Leicester might be a better racing track than Scunthorpe is, to use Montie's phrase, utter 'beau locks'. This is absolutely true and although there must be a question mark about Leicester and whether everything has been and will be done to provide the sort of entertainment that fans want it isnowhere near the only track where that is the case.

What do you expect for nothing ? I'd say its a matter of individual choice, but personally I'd rather get a programme like Sheffield's or Scunthorpe's than pay £3 for Leicester's, a quarter of which is adverts. While what you say is true, its all virtually for nothing if the racing is poor. Wrap a dog turd in a shiny wrapper and its still a dog turd.

You're not the only one and it seems that Sheffield's season might not be as long as some feared and others (including me) predicted. This was impressive stuff from the Tigers with all seven making a contribution. Stead, apart from a last race fall, never looked like being beaten, Wells banged in the points expected of him and Hall but for an engine failure while leading would have had a maximum. Koppe looked like he will settle down and Knight could have had more. Albin's astonishing riding style has to be seen to be believed as he goes round the corners like an ice racer and 7 paid 9 will do everyone fine. As many have said, the score line flatters Scunthorpe who, in all honesty, were disappointing. We even had picnic bench surfing from Spinny, so it must have been good !! PS Perhaps the most encouraging sign of all was the attendance, which was way up on some from last season.