BWitcher

I'm sorry Bryn, but this is precisely the sort of attitude that has led speedway in the UK to be where it is.. the promoters and their associates line of "why don't you"..... It's the promoters who should be following the "why don't you" if anyone, they're providing a service, thousands are clearly unhappy with it.. telling those unhappy customers "why don't you" will only lead to them being more unhappy, perhaps walking away for good. "Why don't you" promoters do something pro-active and engage with your fanbase, they don't bite either, but they do pay you the money to keep your businesses alive. Edited to add, that's not an attack on you Bryn, just a general observation of promoters around the country.

Not this old **** again. Are Holder and Ward entertaining anyone when they're off out on their motocross bike or their jetskis? They do it because they enjoy it. Getting paid is a bonus that allows them to do it as a career. Does this forum contribute towards his wages? No it doesn't. However speedway fans are contributing towards riders wages. As he said, its fully transparent in the US, its hardly a major issue is it!

I do agree, however, that's the same for all sports and indeed for all aspects of life. Nothing has changed, just that your average terrace/pub conversation now plays out on forums etc. It's how you adapt and change that is the key. The absolute WORST thing you can do is go on the attack, thus tarring all supporters with one brush. That will simply alienate your customers.

The governing body hates Social Media/forums as it exposes the way the sport is run.. or not run.

I quite agree.

An example of the out of touch way the sport is run and governed.

You misunderstand.. the point is, as I think SCB made earlier.. riders from yesteryear involved in incidents/punchups/scandals are described as 'characters' and we hear how great they were.. Riders now, as soon as they're involved in anything are castigated and branded a scourge of the sport.. That's fine if folks opinions are the same for both, but you see some alarming inconsistencies at times.

So Craig Cook, Darcy Ward etc are just characters then yes?

Surely you mean he was a thug?

Funny that, I didn't realise there were age limitations on those two events..

You're a bit clueless aren't you

Of course there were some incidents that were that way, but many others (indeed most) will have been promoted up to seem more than they were. Folk were a lot more gullible back then

It's ironic WK that you get very worked up when you feel artificial means are used to enhance the sport, yet back in the day when the sport was often promoted more along the lines of WWE you loved it.

Likely the same issue there seems to be between Barker and quite a number of other riders...

Anyone care to translate?

Always innocent is Barker isn't he.

That makes the incident a lot better.

Hmm.. The support for the British riders is first rate compared to the support the US team gets from their ruling body.

Still including Auty in the conversation? He's nowhere near the same level as Bridger/Cook, nor have anywhere near the same potential as Worrall.

There is absolutely no comparison between speedway and rugby/cricket in terms of press coverage and media exposure. Rugby Union and Cricket are both 'elite' sports and have always enjoyed heavy exposure especially from the BBC. It would have taken a major cock-up to mess up with the so-called 'plan'. They were starting from an entirely different position. It's made little difference to the national team anyway, they are no stronger than they were before. Throughout the history of the sport there have been good England teams and poor ones. What's new is the World Cup which has only been around for so long. More excuses.. that's the British problem I'm afraid. Woffinden wasn't cruising through was he? Up until this year he has struggled outside the UK, been exposed in the GP. This season he is entirely dedicated in all areas including attitude, fitness etc. You're getting confused also Sidney. Cook/Worrall are quite ok to double up at this point, they are just moving into the EL. However, that should be used for their first season until they establish themselves in the EL. If they are going to progress they then have to drop the PL and get out and secure spots abroad. The whole point is to get them OUT of their comfort zone. You say they need to earn money, of course they do. That should drive them on to succeed abroad in order to do that. Sadly many aren't up for that challenge, take the easy route and bleat about it. You seem obsessed with Auty.. he is going nowhere. He's reached his level, that's it. Barker got so high, took the easy option of dropping down a level and he will not progress any further as a result.

Strange for Poole to sell their tickets via the Peterboro site.

You never fail Sidney, just when I think you can't make yourself look any more ridiculous, you come up with another classic. Woffinden is where he is because he has dedicated himself to the sport and worked hard to pursue his goals. He hasn't sat around on his butt and expected everything to be given him on a plate. When he moved up to the EL he had no thoughts of looking to 'double-up' but immediately looked abroad to obtain team places and broaden his experience. He struggled aborad initially, but he learned and that experience has helped him become the rider he is now. How do you think the Danes reach the top level? Sure they have the starting blocks of their 80cc system, but that only takes you so far. Their league system is nothing to write home about. They progress because again, they get out and secure places abroad, be it in the UK, or moreso now in Sweden and Poland. They don't live the comfy life of staying at home riding in their own country. So they had a decent crop of players come along in a sport they should really be dominating given the size of the UK's population, number of rugby clubs etc and of course the fact that very few countries take the sport seriously anyway. Odds are you're going to stand a decent chance of winning the World Cup at some point. Besides, although they won the World Cup, they were hardly dominant either side of that.

England are the best in the world at Rugby right now? When did this happen?

Whilst agreeing that the lack of opportunites has an impact, I'm still of the belief that attitude is a far bigger reason. There are many many foreign speedway riders and football players who have lack of 'opportunities' but knuckle down, train hard and make the best of their ability. The problem with too many Brits in both sports is they get to a certain level, usually a very average one and think they've made it. Craig Cook's comments show him to be the latest example of this. It's worse in football's case as young players quite a long way down the scale are earning far more money than their peers, meaning they are the centre of attention and it all goes to their heads. Speedway, on a lesser scale (without the money so much) is similar, we've all seen the entourages around the most average of British riders. Tai Woffinden has shown with the right attitude you can make it to the top echelon. He may have been raised in Australia BUT he has worked through the British system and steadily improved to become the rider he is now. Messrs Holder and Ward have also come through the same system. The difference is they don't sit on their butts and look towards doubling up in the PL to earn a bit more money, they got out and sorted spots out in foreign leagues and continued to progress as a result.

No EL snobbery at all. Once again a PL fan invents 'the snobbery' line when the only snobbery is coming from them. As you quite correctly point out, Barker and Bridger have 'attitudes' and not necessarily good ones. No Elite League fan has ever denied that. It was hoped that Cook wouldn't go down that route, but his comments appear to now put him in a similar bracket. All 3 of them should take a look at what Tai has done. This season he has displayed a much more mature attitude, concentrated on his racing and done everything possible to ensure he is at the top of his game. The results speak for themselves. I am impressed with Bridger in that he has gone out and secured team places abroad. This is the ONLY way they are going to improve and take that next step.