hatcham

There certainly will be a few riders who genuinely believe they can win, which will make a difference to the last few seasons.

If Nicholls fails at next weeks British championship he will of course then have no claims on a world cup or GP place, and he will only have himself to blame, anyone who then argues for him to be left out of the world cup squad will have a very valid case. Next wednesday will be very interesting.

Your quite right Pearcey, but you have to remember British speedway fans are disappointed and upset that we have no genuine world class performers to support, disappointment invariably turns to frustration and anger, so people demand someone to blame and that is all falling at the feet of Nicholls, of course the fault actually lies with the rest of us for not being able to 'raise his bar'

We need to balance the argument though Screm by remembering that the elite only has nine teams and there was certainly no openings for him at Poole, Swindon, Lakeside, Ipswich, Coventry, Wolverhampton or Peterborough, and we dont know if Belle Vue wanted him or what sort of offer Eastbourne made him.

The reason Scott Nicholls needs the elite, is quite simply because without it he is not winning enough races, and winning in any sport breeds confidence. In Poland and the GP's the competition is at far too high a level for his abilities, and without the confidence boost the British league gives him, his results are at an all time low, however the elite merely acts as a sort of 'sticking plaster' as regardless of how high his confidence is, he will never have the ability needed to succeed at the highest level. The top riders, Pedersen, Crump, Gollob, and Hancock dont need the elite as they are world class performers, Andersen does because he is not one of the very best. As for whether Nicholls is Britains number 1, it would have to be said, that at least until next wednesday he is. The British championship, it could be argued is more prestigious than other national champoinships because the 'elite' from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Sweden have higher goals in their sights than national honours. As for whether Nicholls and Harris are an embarrassment, its worth remembering that it was not their decision, that regardless of ability Britain would be guaranteed two places in the GP's. Are they currently Britains top two ? probably not, we'll know more next wednesday, but certainly they appeared the top two as of the end of last season. I would have thought the opportunities to train as a speedway rider in Britain are extremely limited except for a tiny few who are lucky enough to have the contacts to 'give it a shot', it follows that if the pool we draw our future riders from is small the likelihood of producing world beaters is small.

Interesting angle Steve, of course some could argue that Poole should be stripped of last years title for not having a single Briton in their line up. I also presume the Pirates contacted Nicholls during the winter to offer him Bjarne or Holders place ? and that Swindon offered to ditch Adams etc.

It would be nice to think so, but there does seem to be a trend of queuing up to stick the boot in when the opportunity arises on here.

If this a list of people who think Subedei was mistaken, Crump did nothing wrong, and Gollob deserved to be excluded, count me in. However if we are assembling a lynch mob to attack one poster, count me out. I dont do bullying.

Betting sites have removed him and replaced him with Carpanese

Anyone know why Harris is not riding ?

well be thankful we didn't have bridger in the team,as we probably wouldn't have even made the race off !

all winks aside shazz,we finished 5th in the world,and as we are currently the 5th best team in the world,it was all pretty much par for the course. as for tai we all know he is much better than premier league,as is nermark and as was chris holder last year.

well as harris was our top scorer,tai our shining light,and the other three all higher up the eastbourne pecking order,than the boy who still cant improve on second string status,that genuinely surprises me.

bridger is nowhere near as good as he was last year,so i struggle to see how he is even one for the future.

i am not looking to wind up swindon fans seb or insult young troy,i was merely responding to a post that implied englands future was tai alone and that australia's was much healthier

we did score points !!! however i do agree with your main point we are ENGLAND and should ride wearing our flag, i also agree that as your own separate country you should have your own team. why not go the whole hog and have your own league,celtic and rangers play each other about 20 times a season,so why not edinburgh and glasgow !!

what troy is going to attain the heights of crump adams sullivan wiltshire etc ? he is a decent enough rider and may achieve similar to shields,watt,schlein etc,but i dont see him ever being too much better than that.

holder apart who have the aussies got for the future?

i have to say i disagree with subedei's views on the situation,i think bjarne was disappointed to have lost the lead and reacted as he did,i am sure that on reflection he realises gollob did nothing wrong and regrets his outburst. but you know something rabbit your indignation would have a lot more crediblity if it ever concerned a non poole rider

absolutely shocking performance from australia last night,i know their chances of winning disappeared with crumpie,but holder aside they put in virtually no effort whatsoever afterwards. if scott nicholls had put the same committment and enthusiasm into a meeting as leigh adams last night he would be getting slaughtered right now.and people wonder why he has never been world champion. nicki may not be the most popular rider with many,but at least he has the stomach for the fight.

4/4 top of the class

0/4 must do more homework

after much deliberation i would like to announce that subject to bad decisions or bad luck denmark are tonights most likely winners,sweden however are certainties for LAST PLACE

i certainly would not want to back against the danes because i do expect them to win,but 2/5 is not a price to be taken by the small investor,and in a competition where there are no reserves,double points can be achieved,and an outclassed rider need only take 3 rides,there are far better opportunities to wade in for a big bet.

[quote name='BritPete' date='Jul 19 2008, 08: If Denmark fail to win tonight, it will be a major surprise. with the farcical rules in this competition,it wouldn't be a major surprise,in fact i would go as far to say that at 2/5 the danes represent poor value. i do agree however that they are clearly the best side