Halifaxtiger

Ass kisser You were dead right, they didn't have a good word to say (Nor did Bob C ) It also seems they are done with Plymouth Speedway

Yes, it is that lot. I'll also be speaking to Bob C, though, and given his opinion on this thread I doubt if he'll be complimentary. Anyone else whose views are invalid ? Perhaps they have nothing good to say because there is nothing good to say. I'd point out that the Dads Army mob used to be amongst the most committed and passionate fans the Devils had. They have attended since Plymouth opened in 2006, sponsored both the club and its riders, engaged in fund raising activities, worked on the stadium and track during the close season (I can even remember first bend Clive fixing the electrics during a meeting once) and travelled to places like Workington and Glasgow to watch the team. I doubt if there are many that can match that. Word is that Mark Phillips is losing a shed load at SBA . If fans like the above are unhappy, that should come as no surprise to anyone and simply denying that problems exist won't solve a thing.

I think what did them was a disastrous attendance at a PLRC at Swindon a few years ago(albeit that the crowd was affected by a major accident on the M4). Stoke is at least accessible for Belle Vue, Leicester and Cradley and the gate the other week against the heathens was the biggest I have seen there for years. As I said, neutral is best but I can appreciate why that doesn't happen. It'll be interesting to see how many Sheffield pull in.

It is the best solution but I think the BSPA have had their fingers burnt a couple of times by poor attendances. Having home support virtually guaranteed is a good start that isn't always going to be the case at a neutral venue. Its why I am slightly surprised that the Pairs are at Sheffield, especially given that at least half of the NL clubs are over 150 miles away. To be fair, it might have been a case of simply being unable to get anyone else to take it on.

Should be at your place for the Mildenhall match, top man. That's if 'keyboard warriors' are allowed

I'm just a keyboard warrior Plan was to come in about three weeks but given the number of bans being threatened maybe my presence won't be welcome. Over the last 8 seasons, I have made 25 trips to Plymouth (not bad for someone that lives 350 miles away) simply because it used to be one of my favourite tracks (I am sure that ancient mariner will verify that if necessary). My last visit was this time last year. Funnily enough, I was watching a video just now of track preparation for the Leicester meeting on 14 June. I am sure you remember that one. Fortunately, I'll be able to get first hand opinions of how things are at SBA when I see my pals from Plymouth at the NSS tomorrow or Stoke on Saturday. I'll take special care to repeat their comments on here.

The criticism is a little harsh but there's little doubt that a team manager error cost Plymouth dearly on Friday. Matt Bates has admitted that himself.

It's fair enough working on a track after a meeting- as you say, they all do it. The Facebook post, however, pointedly said that any 'track issues' would be sorted. According to the club responses to criticism on Friday, there's nothing wrong with the track. I am therefore not sure how you can sort 'track issues ' when there aren't any.

Wasn't he spared criticism? I thought it was aimed at Wood and Morley because they ride NL.

Part of the problem is that the NL was forced to accept a much lower points limit this season. Its a massive jump from the NL to the Championship and that meant that riders who would have benefitted from competing in both leagues could not. Word I got was that one NL side definitely wanted Bowtell for 2019 but he effectively ruled himself out. As such, its his own fault he doesn't have an NL place. Question is - and despite Jon Cook's ridiculous views - should he be riding Championship ? He's averaging 2.64 according to the latest green sheets and that's hardly persuasive. I don't think Bowtell is a dirty rider either but he can be reckless. Reckless isn't dirty, but it can have very much the same result.

On Monday at 11.30 the Plymouth Gladiators facebook page posted : 'Mark has been working on the track and sent over a video, we are hoping this will be the end of our track issues that we have had this season' According to the promotions angry denials on the Plymouth forum, there was nothing wrong on Friday. If that's the case, why were there still 'issues' on Monday and why was work needed then ?

I became a massive fan of the IOW promotion in 2016 - and have continued that way to this day - simply (and perhaps bizarrely) because of the way they responded to criticism.

Me too...………...although I suspect it was a different one. Their track is no more as well.

I think there are degrees of denial. Some promoters will be faced with criticism about something they can do little about or by fans wanting the earth. In those circumstances, denial is totally acceptable. I have known Bob C for many years. He's a much travelled fan who has spent decades watching the sport and only ever tells it the way he sees it without any side whatsoever. If he says the track was dangerous, it was dangerous - a view that has been confirmed by others on the forum pages and by a text from a friend of mine who goes every week. So we have a promoter who simply won't admit that there are problems when it seems that the majority say there are. He needs to get real. In addition, given the absolute shambles they made of the track only a couple of weeks ago, why should anyone believe that overnight they have turned into experts ?

My advice is to give it a try. I stopped going a few years ago because virtually everything about Stoke was an example as to how not to do it. I have been back a couple of times this season and the track is massively - and I mean massively - improved. They deserve this one and I only hope that no-one is put off by a past reputation.

That's correct. Mildenhall certainly have one and I believe Isle of Wight do too.

If it was agreed by all parties during the delay (and I have no reason to doubt your word) that there would be a cut off at 10.15 then that is entirely different and, indeed, very good practice. The difficulty is we have seen many times in the past that a curfew exists (or doesn't exist) to suit the needs of the home team so its little wonder that there have been allegations of improper behaviour (for want of a better term) here.

The problem is that a curfew being enforced is at least occasionally seemingly dependent on the score at the time. If the home side is losing by a couple of points, then the rigid application of a curfew doesn't seem to be so important. if they are winning by the same margin, it is essential. Consequently - and I don't know whether this was the case on Thursday - a home side insisting that a result is called when they are just in front can be seen by sceptical and cynical speedway fans as cheating and, lets face it, in speedway that's entirely possible.

Has anyone mentioned Isle of Wight ? That's round a football pitch. The racing I have seen there is usually pretty decent.

Yes, I think so. It had clearly been heavily watered to keep the dust down (and they succeeded in that, there was none at any time on a hot, breezy day) but probably used too much as no further watering was necessary at any time. It left the surface very greasy indeed and meant that some riders had difficulty staying on and all were a bit tentative, leading to many races being from the gate (Coles brilliant win in heat 11 being a notable exception). At NL level in particular, there is a balance between ensuring riders can ride and spectators don't get covered in dust and that's not easy to achieve when it is both windy and sunny as it was last night. It was most encouraging to see a very decent attendance.

All sorted.

If they did delay the start to allow Widman to get ready they didn't make a very good job of it given that Wirtzfeld replaced him first time out. That suggests that the delay was for other reasons and there was indeed an accident causing a problem - my brother was on the 6pm ferry and he got caught in it.

It says an awful lot about the Isle of Wight promotion that they have landed this meeting and not one of the bigger clubs. What is more remarkable is that they were approached by Polish Speedway, not the other way around.

I certainly wouldn't argue with the time taken to run meetings - that's as good as anywhere. That wasn't my point, though. It's the presentation that is the problem- again, Sheffield are light years away from Belle Vue. Belle Vue do have pretty much unlimited access, but what else happens at Owlerton on a Sunday ? Certainly on Thursday's track preparation time was extremely limited as there was a dog meeting in the afternoon. Word I got was they started on the track Wednesday night. The loss of one of our most experienced and capable track curators (along with all his equipment) won't have helped, and I stand to be corrected but that was apparently down to the promotion, not him. What is undoubtedly true is that there has been a huge amount of criticism of the quality of the racing this season, and I don't accept that that is down to afternoon (late afternoon) running times.

I think Sheffield have a perfect storm situation. The team was built for a title challenge and probably isn't cheap but it has underperformed, particularly at home. The presentation is poor and, in my experience, the complaints about the track are fully justified (and I don't accept that afternoon racing is to blame- Belle Vue is just as good with 12pm start times). Throw in a change of race day and its little wonder attendances have been bad.