Halifaxtiger

Here, he's tried something on and been proved correct twice (I am sure that a Peterborough fan can tell me what the third one is). On the basis of what you are saying, he should simply have accepted what he was told - ie that Nicholls couldn't ride for his team - and not make any issue of it. That sounds a bit too much like a closed shop for me. Accept all our decisions - however crooked, biased, incompetent or illegal they maybe or how much they damage your business - and you're OK simply cannot be correct. There should be no reason why anyone does not co-operate with Rathbone at this point. Not to do so can only be motivated by spite or vindictiveness..........and one or two have already mentioned just how much of that there is.

I genuinely hope you are right but the fact that they tried to enforce this rule after 'Holdergate' doesn't fill me with confidence that they will now start to behave with a great deal more responsibility. Sadly, I think it will only be a temporary setback to the way they run things with Rathbone becoming even more isolated than before.

I think it will always be a problem if you sign a rider knowing his average will almost certainly drop by a point or more. The idea is to improve averages or at least maintain them. Having said that, Nicholls might not be the only problem.

I think you're right. While its a very reasonable point to suggest that Rathbone (with the backing of the SCB) has forced the BSPA to change an unfair and illegal rule, all it has gained Peterborough is a rider on a hugely inflated average.

Give them a little credit. Their press release after a total reversal of one of their policies is almost up to political party standard.

Morris on a point less than Nicholls sounds like a pretty decent Plan B to me.

If a track serves a brilliant day for the supporters, why change it ? Your concerns are entirely reasonable but I would hope that Redcar satisfied everyone that they could cope before they were allocated the meeting.

In purely geographical terms, Redcar is definitely the better choice because of its location and precisely where many of the Championship clubs are based. The thing is, though, is even if there are significant improvements I really don't see in terms of facilities how STMP will compare with Peterborough (to be fair, there are few that can). In addition, I don't think you can overlook just how brilliant the last two seasons Fours Finals at the Showground have been. Not only does that make it more likely that people will travel, it also means that supporters from places like King's Lynn, Mildenhall, Rye House & Leicester will be tempted to go. I have no difficulty with the Fours being allocated to Redcar, I just think it is a huge shame that they won't be at Peterborough again.

As an outsider, that is the way I saw it. No question that it weakened the team, but better to do that than allow a couple of prima donnas to ride rough shod over everyone at King's Lynn. For that reason - ie that 2017 was exceptional - there is a strong case for writing it off and moving on. Its not the same old, same old here.

................and the preparation. One of my favourite tracks is Plymouth (which I believe is the smallest in the country) and no-one could reasonably say that the racing is better at Berwick, for example. While over a season in my view their is no comparison between Belle Vue & Redcar, I have seen some brilliant racing at STMP. If you can do it once, you can do it again.

You have got to be having a comparing Kinsley to Dugard. Kinsley might not score well at Eastbourne, but he hasn't been sacked from his last two clubs because of poor scores and, apparently, poor attitude. Dugard has more talent than some might suggest but it is going to take a major change for him to consistently show decent form.

There was a time not too long ago when I would have disdained this view. Having been to Isle of Wight and seen the methods used by the promotion there to attract new fans, I have completely reversed that position. First of all, there is a massive effort to make sure people know they are there. Then when they get them to come, there is an equally massive effort to make sure they stay. Makes a significant and most welcome change from absolutely no effort at all in the first place and then a surly 'we are doing you a favour' attitude that is so prevalent amongst promoters across the country.

If I am truly honest, I do have trouble grasping why people stay in to watch speedway on television when they can actually go. I remain of the belief that people such as yourself who do that are the exception and that the number lost for that reason is absolutely minimal when compared with those who have stopped attending because of poor value for money, and that on balance there is no question that television coverage is beneficial for the sport. As I have said, when people are asked on here why they no longer go - and sometimes I think they outnumber us that continue to attend - its extremely rare that they will say that that is because they make use of a BT/SKY package instead. Delays, guests, gaps between meetings, cheating, crap tracks all come much higher. The other thing is it seems to me that you are a neutral and will therefore be more likely to stay in rather than attend. I am one too, but we constitute a very small proportion of the speedway paying public, with most watching their teams week in, week out. I would be very surprised if a Belle Vue fan, for example, would skip a home meeting simply to watch a Poole-Somerset match on the box. Its almost equally as unlikely that they would skip a Belle Vue meeting to stay at home for the same reason (which, currently, happens once a season). As I have made clear earlier, the biggest attendance I saw at the NSS last season was a televised match against Wolverhampton. Properly promoted and with a reduced entry fee, I suspect the gate was near double the average. The GP's are different because they represent the pinnacle of the sport with its very best riders. Most of them are beyond the pocket of the average speedway fan, so they are far more likely to use the very decent coverage that we have. There will be a loss to teams that run against them but I refuse to believe that Workington are losing 300 a week as a result - with their gates, it would be more than noticeable if 300 were there one week and not the next.

Some of you may know that Hoggy gives me a lift to home meetings and I have just been speaking to him about his involvement in 2018, because due to business commitments I know that Friday nights could be difficult. He has said that the promotion want him to continue with Saturdays and he is making every effort to come for at least some Fridays. I'll admit I am biased (and my lifts might be affected if I say otherwise ) but I think he is a top quality presenter, so this has to be good news and a reflection on the promotions efforts to retain their existing supporter base and attract new ones during 2018. A big part of Dave's motivation for trying to sort out Fridays is his genuine affection for the hospitality and kindness of the people of Workington, something he has mentioned to me many times. I did have a couple of trips to Dodge City pencilled in but it looks likely that that will be increased at least a bit

I doubt if any Mildenhall fan will be worrying about how riders ride together - something that could be questioned about almost every other pairing at every other club in the NL. What they see is a superbly talented young team with a huge amount of potential headed by two riders of proven quality at this level. The only thing I can see stopping them is injury.

I am pretty sure the Aces biggest crowd of the league season last year was against Wolverhampton, and that was televised. When Berwick had a couple of TV meetings a few seasons ago they attracted big attendances. Do it cheap and promote it well and it can be the case that live coverage won't make any difference - indeed, it can actually make a meeting more viable. I find that difficult to believe or quantify. Its hard to accept that a Comets fan would walk away from watching their team simply because they can watch Rye House or Somerset on the TV and do so about 8 times a year. It must be a matter of GP speedway and running directly against it. I stand to be corrected but having attended almost half of Workington's home meetings last season I didn't see any noticeable difference when there was a clash with a GP broadcast. You might be right - although as I say I didn't notice that at Workington, and it will be interesting to see if their gates increase this year when most of their mid summer meetings are on a Friday. Definitely. I was told that when Leicester got that deal with a solicitors a few years ago they did so simply because of the television coverage. No TV, no sponsorship. The only thing is that will apply only to Premiership clubs - no Championship team will be getting anything extra (or losing something) because of BT broadcasting. I think speedway may have lost fans because of SKY/BT coverage but they will be minimal and the factors Phil has stated are far more relevant. Rarely does a fan say that they have finished going to meetings because they can watch the (pretty minimal) coverage of league speedway that is available - its usually far more about poor value. Quite simply, most recognise that being there is and always will be better.

With the named team, I can't see past Mildenhall to win. Every single rider can improve his average and one or two will do so big time. Eastbourne, Kent & Coventry to make the play offs.

Questioning the suitability of Redcar to hold a shared event is not unreasonable. Calling it a 'dump' (in my view at least) is.

I think you are dead right here. It might be suggested that Leicester Stadium is better located for speedway use but it is most certainly not better located for Coventry Speedway because it is 27 miles away. To me, to use the argument that Brandon can be demolished because the speedway team have found a new home can be easily rebutted : that home has not be tried or tested, it involves supporters travelling for a considerable distance - way, way more than most - and they have a one year term only. That's hardly convincing as an argument that a new and entirely satisfactory location has been found. However, I'd accept that it is a difficult situation for Coventry fans because if the new venture is a success it does add weight to the case for Brandon not being needed for speedway at least.

I'm not sure that's true. The account I got of the visa/immigration issue was that the BSPA had been breaking the rules over the eligibility of foreign riders for years and without any regard for the actual legal position. Make no mistake, this was probably the most serious threat to speedway in this country for years and why it is treated with such care now. Fortunately, the UKVI took a very (more than very) tolerant and reasonable attitude, stating what the rules were and drawing a line in the sand over past misdemeanours. They made it clear in no uncertain terms what would happen if those rules were broken again (one promoter tried to do so a matter of weeks later and then attempted to offload the blame on to the UKVI - the incident you have mentioned). Scotchopper doesn't post very often but when he does he is usually spot on. Now that this issue has been clarified, it seems to me that both he and Cyclone are absolutely correct : this is a matter of a failure to delete a rule from the rulebook and a failure to make the actual position absolutely clear at the outset (or at least at a much earlier point). Its the second time - Lakeside are the others - that poor administration from the BSPA has led to difficulties for a team and a rider.

I think I can be blamed for 'inviting' you Absolutely correct, though Its why my first two matches pencilled in this season were Redcar v Newcastle. Although I have made clear that I think Peterborough - after the huge success of the past two seasons - would be a better option, some of the comments about Redcar are simply not fair. Its way better than a 'dump' and although there were few visible signs it was clearly a different place last season after the departure of Havelock. I don't doubt it will step up again this season and, with a bit of luck, the track will get back to something near what it was like at the outset. It was one of the best then.

Not even arguably. Problem is neutral venues - as good as they sound - rarely attract the attendances that these sort of meetings need, nor do they match those drawn at a Championship clubs home track. I reiterate my point : why move a shared event if a track does a good job year in, year out ?

There's only one biased opinion here and it isn't mine

These are some of the comments made about the 2017 Fours at Peterborough : One of, if not the best 4TT's I've seen. Well organised, minimal delays and lovely weather. IMHO the presentation was good, the organisation was good and some of the racing was bloody brilliant. There was some awesome racing in the final so anyone who decided to stay away missed a great meeting. The last 9 heats in the final was some of the best/tightest racing you will see for a while Probably because some of the racing - particularly in the final - was just superb. That final was some of the best Ravi g I have ever seen. Just bloody brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed another entertaining fours featuring some brilliant races, especially in the final, and must congratulate the majority of riders for putting on such a show When's the last time you read similar comments about a meeting at Redcar ? The really interesting bit is that 2016 was even better.

Each to his own, I think. I have usually considered Superbikes (along with other motor cycle and motor car racing) to be tedious. Cardiff costs twice as much as any other meeting and the quality of the speedway is no better than one of our average circuits. The racing at Belle Vue is twice as good for half the price. Do it. Make it a day on the Island if you can and go to the racing in the evening. You won't regret it. Most promoters regard the BSF as a haven for stupid, ignorant, abusive trolls and treat it with contempt and derision . This one spends 5 minutes engaging with us (costing him absolutely nothing) treats us as paying fans and could get £1,300 as a result.