Halifaxtiger

Another very entertaining meeting, highlight heat 14 for me but there were several other cracking races. Bjerre imperious. Never looked like getting beaten. Fricke just behind him. Tungate superb after a blob first time. Bewley gets better and better - a third or last is now disappointing. Poole tried hard - especially Andersen - but they were up against a very good team. Surprised at the criticism of Starke - did anyone really expect him to beat one of the Aces top 4 ? Star of the show ? Chase the Ace. The presentation at Belle Vue is better than anywhere else .

I thought McGregor had a mixed meeting rather than a bad one and it was Glasgow that were on the end of the poor decisions. Harris and Jorgensen deserved to be put off 15 metres as both were warned. Heat 3 should have been re run - you don't have to have a faller for thete to be first bend bunching. In heat 9, Perry hit the tapes first, not Summers. Having said that, this was a cracker of a meeting that had the lot and really proved you don't necessarily need passing to see brilliant races. One final point : I am no fan of stewards but the chap on the back straight by the bar did a superb job when things got a little heated. Straight in and calmed things down immediately

Sat outside the track and its bright sunshine.

All weather updates much appreciated. Group of lads coming up from Plymouth.

Very much a case of each to his own, but I think he is one of the best in the game.

Stupid rules kicked in ? Speedway has had a points limit for nearly 40 years, closer to 50 if you count rider control. Many other sports now have a salary cap which, in effect, does exactly the same thing. No doubt your friends would be happy if we did away with it and one team signed a side far stronger than all the others.

​​I'd be very surprised if the Colts don't at least break even and Cradley don't do badly, either. Doesn't bother me, Ian. Been around for 50 years or more in one form or another. Have to say, though, ​I don't miss them at NL meetings. People complain about unnecessary delay yet most tracks have a 15 minute one half way through the meeting. Never met someone who likes intervals but have met an awful lot that don't. Why annoy fans unnecessarily ? Cheating (and this is average fixing, bent decisions etc at the heart of the sport) simply brings speedway into disrepute, destroys its credibility and makes people walk away. We need independent adjudication to stop interested parties making crooked rulings, not independent control. Crap tracks are a blight on the sport. Some can produce speedway that is rarely poor, usually decent and often pretty good. Why can't they all ? I still remain unconvinced that every effort is put into ensuring that fans get their money's worth of entertainment. There was nothing wrong with one or two riders doubling up - indeed, its been around for decades. Its all got completely out of hand, to the extent that a 7 rider full complement is a rarity and that's just not on. My good friend Tigerite - certainly one of the most passionate speedway fans I know - highlights this as a reason for his enthusiasm draining away, and he's anything but alone. Insert programmes are a rip off. Some (Scunthorpe, Plymouth, Somerset) charge half price for an inferior product and that is fair enough. Others (Redcar recently) charge you full price for a programme that isn't even the team that is riding that night and then say it is a way to make up revenue. That's taking the proverbial Michael out of each and every one that attends a meeting and buys one. I could add poor presentation. On Monday at Belle Vue, Neil Drummond, Hayley Bromley & Chase the Ace did a fantastic job. Some are simply dreadful.

I think it is indiscreet rather than unprofessional and it is not likely to make the situation any better. You simply can't have a situation where meetings are called off because the track isn't perfect because you will be postponing probably about half your fixtures. Weather conditions are such that you just can't do that every week. While I would maintain that some riders should think about whether they should be riding at all if they are reluctant to do so on anything that is even remotely second grade, promoters bear a responsibility to ensure that they track is as good as it can be - and that responsibility is to riders and fans alike. The shambles of the other week is at least down in part to an awful track surface that required a significant amount of remedial work during the meeting. Chapman might be going on about the potential repercussions of sponsorship if riders refuse to ride but even if they did if the track was terrible the damage would be almost as great.

Bewley was fantastic but for me Tungate was the star of the show. Until heat 15 he never put a foot wrong and it didn't seem to matter whether he gated or not. I think Bewley would have won their races together without Tungate's help but I am pretty sure the youngster would have appreciated it.

Has to be Belle Vue. Northern based and able to take a big crowd better than any of the others.

Not a big fan of your posts but I owe you a pint. I nearly didn't go until I read this. About 50 empty seats I think. Easily the biggest since the play off, with only the third bend having noticeable gaps. Dead right, it isn't. Its about whether a rider could pass. Heat 7 was fantastic even though there were no passes as Lindgren was all over Tungates back wheel for 3 laps. It might be because I was there, but this was the best meeting I have seen this season. Huge crowd, real atmosphere stoked up by the presenters and the mascot, some cracking racing and a nip and tuck score line with Wolves only really out of it after heat 13. Great stuff. They have even got rid of that knob on the centre green !! They said it was an ef and I think it might have been. Had that not been the case, he'd have been out in heat 12. Does Beaumont Park, Leicester, ring a bell ?

That's probably the best solution of all. Sign who like but if there is a fixture clash you get an NL guest and no more.

Can't have that, because he couldn't do the centre green mic. Very subdued if Scunny are losing, he's one of the best in the game when they are not.

Agreed. No weak link at all today and indeed when I have seen the Tigers in the past. I was surprised. At best it was a huge gamble. Good meeting, with several cracking races - the best probably Summers brilliant last to first win in heat 13. Glasgow were never really in trouble, but the score line flatters a bit. A big word of credit for Rob Godfrey. It would have been very easy to postpone this meeting in the face of weather reports but he held his nerve and it went ahead. Thanks to a large collection of Glasgow supporters, the attendance seemed to me to be actually slightly up on normal.

Intervals. Cheating. Crap tracks. Doubling up. Insert Programmes.

I am pretty sure neutrals do that every week. Still the best racing track in the country. I fear the wet stuff might win this time.

It seems to me that where the NL is concerned the rulebook can be roundly ignored or bent beyond reason on occasion to the benefit or detriment of one club and the benefit or detriment of all the others. I can only put that down to a culture of jealousy, spite and one-upmanship with a weak decision maker being bullied or influenced by interested promotions. I can believe that the Roynon decision was a mistake, but to my knowledge it was pointed out by others who were, basically, told to mind their own business. The recent history of the NL is littered with examples of bent, crooked and, within the terms of the SCB rulebook, illegal decisions. What's more any discretion that is allowed is applied wildly, inconsistently and without precedent or reason. Even when rules are correctly used they can be subject to criticism by promotions. Birmingham's attempted signing of Hall was legal, but it was blocked. Cameron Heeps did not fit the qualifying criteria for riding in the NL but was given permission to do so. I can remember a certain promoter expressing extreme displeasure about Eastbourne's signing of Daniel Spiller, but it was entirely within the relevant criteria. This season, we have had the Roynon decision and the recent one to grade Matt Marson as a 5.00 when that figure doesn't even exist in regulations. Pure speculation on my part, but I believe that was overturned only when legal action was threatened (given the guarantees given to the Marson family and the specific rule, there was only one way a court decision would go) . The one that tops the cake, though, is Paul Hurry's average reduction. I have been told that one club asked after Hurry last season and two more did so during the winter. All were told an average of excess of 10.50 (they were all told different figures). Somehow, Lakeside got him on about 3 points less than that, a truly extraordinary reduction that simply cannot be justified in anyway whatsoever. What's even worse, though, is the random and utterly inconsistent way that decisions are made. Some get advantages, some don't. The real point is a ruling can make or break a club as it can significantly affect on track success and financial security off it. It simply has to be the case that this cycle of corruption is broken, the completely discredited current system abandoned and its co-ordinator replaced and teams are dealt with on the basis of legality, fairness and precedent.

They did. Deaf ears I am reliably informed, although 'Shut Up' would probably be more accurate. Now, it is indeed. But that is irrelevant. What is relevant is the correct average as per the SCB rulebook when he was brought in. Had that been applied, Plymouth would have been about 1.4 over the limit.

Harsh to suggest Campton's score was flattering, because that's the best I have ever seen him ride anywhere and he deserved every point. No mean feat to beat Grajczonek at Sheffield. Campton aside, Workington were once again both inconsistent and disappointing. Good performances from Bjerre and Graversen, with Wood showing some potential. Big step up from the NL without riding a track like Sheffield.

Final word from me on Roynon's average : heard it from two sources that Peter Morrish has admitted he made a 'mistake'.

Rye House had a good crowd but it was about half what I saw there at the start of the season. Lakeside would have been affected by the traffic and the opposition.

Where all the riders refuse to ride because a track is dangerous defending them is pretty straight forward simply because it almost certainly is dangerous. Defending one rider when all the others carry on riding is far more difficult because the implication is that it isn't dangerous at all and that rider simply doesn't like it. That was the case last week. We all accept the risks the riders take, but as I have said before if they are continually pointing out the injuries they have suffered as a reason for not riding surfaces that are less than perfect there is a strong argument that they shouldn't be riding at all.

Adz is right. For a start, only one rider (Bacon) was missing due to riding for another club. Secondly, there simply aren't enough junior riders - especially competitive junior riders - out there to fill all the gaps. Not how it should be, but how it is. Watching the meeting yesterday - and no disrespect to the lad - Kean Dicken was only just about of a sufficient standard. The number of guest bookings that the likes of Alex Spooner has had this season simply emphasises that point. It shouldn't be the case that NL meetings are packed with guests, but I really don't see any other option. The meeting itself was decent enough and I am not sure whether Mildenhall were good or Birmingham poor - a little of each, I suspect. Parkinson-Blackburn and Carr were particularly disappointing and the Brummies were saved from a real thumping by the performance of Taylor Hampshire. Impressive enough even if he looked like a novice when he missed the gate.

Rob has lost his temper here but he has a point. I'd say referring to Dale's weight at a time when he has been taken ill is not only absolutely unnecessary its also pretty repugnant. Surely its just a matter at this time of wishing him well and hoping for a speedy recovery ?

The meeting turned in heat 12 with a totally unexpected 5-1 from Barker & Morley over Schlein & Perks. Up to then, it had really been nip and tuck. I can't help but think that the track should be better and if it was it would help Rye House. Most of the passing was off the second bend after the start where as Harris & Barker in particular would benefit from more racing lines.