OldRacer

I think Button would be a mistake. Fine on a sunny day in Monaco, but can he get it done on a wet Wednesday night in Wolverhampton?

There are times when you can be upset about being replaced, but when the manager replaces you with the world champion, that's just good tactics.

That's been a while! Could you remind us what happened?

To be clear, Poole screwed up their own track in an incompetent manner, but they are no generally better or worse than the rest of British speedway in this area. The wider point wasn't a dig specifically at Poole.

Perhaps no one knew what to look for, but someone with knowledge of geotechnical materials could have seen it easily. Which was my original point about the state of British track preparation. It's done the way it has always been done (at best) and has not moved on in line with current expert knowledge in the field. Edit. Not a dig at Poole and their track but a comment on the whole sport.

So the material that was obviously garbage and that one could easily see wouldn't bind was laid anyway by knowledgable track men? Nobody at fault? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

We are not the only track, so please dont just take a swipe at us.. ok. According to Ford, Poole, Somerset and IOW spread a load of shale onto their tracks that would have failed such a test. Remarkable. Happy now?

According to Ford, they spread a load of shale onto the track that would have failed such a test. Remarkable. And there are slightly more sophisticated tests that professionals use to determine composition. Grabbing a handful should be the first and simplest test, not the be all and end all. It is dangerously sensitive to moisture content rather than composition.

There are simple tests to determine whether 'material will bind' without laying it on a track and racing speedway bikes on it. Having to replace cheap junk material isn't cheaper then getting the right material first time. You don't need a full time engineer on staff. Just get some basic advice from experts. There are probably fans out there in the industry who would be willing to chip in if asked.

This just shows how amateur track preparation still is. Any semi-competent geotechnical engineer could specify appropriate material and immediately tell if they were supplied with a duff batch. Just putting it on the track and hoping for the best is pathetic. It is not a coincidence that the GP temporary tracks got a lot better when BSI engaged professionals in the field for their tracks instead of the old boys network.

It wasn't the format, it was the timing. They couldn't sell sponsorship effectively when the format was announced so late. With a full cycle they will have a much better shot at getting sponsorship as they can actually sell a known product.

Gino Manzares could take on some extra meetings!

That is an absolutely shocking comment. There's no place for that.

If that were true, Rosco is utterly inept as team manager and doesn't understand the rules of the tournament.

So you can explain it, you just dislike it. A rather different criticism.

It's very easy to explain to someone in the pub. Qualify for the final and then win the final to win the meeting. Same as dozens of sports around the world. Not liking the format isn't the same as it being incomprehensible. Do they find the superbowl winner being champions instead of the team that won the most games through the season equally baffling?

Would anyone suggest he did a good job based on the outcome?

It's a zero sum game with money going from some clubs to other clubs. No new money comes into British speedway. Just those who have been around for a while and know the game preying on others. If your club relies on illegal contracts to operate, you don't have a sustainable business. Finally, any new club looking to open like Leicester are put at a further disadvantage by being forced to give money to established tracks. Do we really need more barriers to entry in British speedway?

In your opinion, where does the problem lie?

But prior to 1995 it was legal and common across many sports. Following the Bosman ruling, it has been made clear that such restrictions are illegal. Clubs would still be able to retain assets year to year by offering them multi year contacts or a series of single year contacts. But shouldn't be able to retain their rights while not using them.

The sooner the asset system is challenged and scrapped, the better. You can't restrict the employment opportunities of someone with whom you don't have a current contract. They wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

You can take all of the seasons ticket holders attending from the 1000 if you are looking for the gate money. But the maths still seem pretty suspect.

If he's just dropped to reserve in the UK top flight, I don't think there's much danger of him being in the GPs!

Actually, yes some do. From memory, James Tredwell was playing one day cricket for Kent and was allowed to play championship cricket for Sussex at the same time. The ECB are about to launch a new competition that will take place during the county season and will include the top 25% of county pros playing for another arbitrary team in addition to their counties.

They don't have anywhere close to the money needed even if he wanted to ride in the UK again.