hatcham

yesterday was yesterday,the only issue that mattered for poland was not finishing third,you can expect an improvement from gollob and hampel,and tomorrow the only thing that will matter IS finishing third

time will tell but i cant see sweden beating poland

i dont think poland will finish last.

woffinden aside (potentially) who do you feel is worthy of praise

good job you and subedei are not refs then,there would be absolute carnage

oh and most stupid comment of the night,tatum suggesting wright was there for world cup experience. if that was true they would have been better off just taking a pregnant woman.

not even you can believe that sub,laguta is clearly a talented exciting rider who all promoters should be desperate to sign,but he is also clearly mental and knocked poor little lee off.

overall i thought an excellent night for team gb. nicholls score i expected harris score i expected richardson score i expected kennett score i expected woffinden genuinely showed the ability and promise i had heard about lynch the incompetence i expected (used the joker when even he knew it was wrong) so in summing up 2 more decent riders and a manager with a modicum of intelligence and were almost there.

absolutely shocking that this emerging russian speedway nation could not even rustle up 5 riders. has to be the most embarrassing moment in world cup sport since zaire lined up their wall against scotland in germany

cant say i share your confidence paulco,but i do think the 14 point handicap gb have over poland is crazy

without question the poles are better on a big polish track,but in denmark,gating is very often the name of the game,gollob,hampel,kasprzak,walasek,jagus and holta can all gate. remind me which of ours can ?

they might be evenly matched at pasty eating but there not evenly matched at speedway.

i agree with your sentiment,there has been a lot of old tosh about how nermark did the premier proud,but the truth is he is far more worthy of an elite berth than 20% of the current riders.

your maths are obviously not fine steve or you wouldn't have posed the question

maths obviously not your strong point mr shovlar !!

what a patronising,idealistic,presumptuous,benighted post. i am sure your a wonderful person though.

i love international speedway and would love to see the return of test matches sandie,but i cannot raise any enthusiasm for team gb,we might just as well incorporate the danes and swedes,and call ourselves western europe and scandinavia

personally sandie i consider myself english,and have little interest in being politically correct and following team gb

to be honest that is the crux of the problem,there is no point asking any manager of any team of any sport for his views or opinions because all he will give you is the spin doctor version,and that merely creates a false climate of hope and expectation. the gulf between nicki pedersen and simon stead is absolutely massive,i know it,you know it and so do middlo,lynch,pedersen,and stead but very few are prepared to admit it. if under some sort of human rights law,all sportsman were allowed to represent what ever country they so wished,and team gb were the best funded who do you think the manager (lynch,middlo,rosco or anyone else)would choose to sign up ? bet your life it wouldn't be anyone british.

middlo,i see absolutely no point in this generating into some sort of slanging match.for the record i enjoyed watching you at poole as a rider,and attributed no blame whatsover to you for the failure of team gb last season,i also have no reason whatsoever to doubt your patriotism,loyalty or integrity.but you do seem to be missing the point here. the forum seems to be split by those who are genuinely dismayed by our performance last night and those of us who expected very little else,i dont feel anyone here has taken any pleasure in our display,its just that some people want retribution,and someone to blame,and others accept that our best is currently nowhere near good enough. surely however, you cannot believe the stance of not riding or team managing has any credibility,i have never cooked an indian meal,serviced a car,or wallpapered a room,but i know a substandarded job when i see it,as do we all.

he may have created the world in 6 days,but what makes you so sure he could make richardson,stead or allen any better. also has he ever ridden a bike ?

yes but that was because we were always behind

do you still really believe 'bulldog spirit' passion and determination are enough ? do you think the reason tiger woods wins almost every tournament and justin rose doesn't is down to a lack of bulldog spirit ? do you think that was henman's problem ? personally i dont think spirit passion or determination matters a jot if you dont have the necessary ability. why do so many british people feel we have some sort of divine right to always be victorious ? what we need to do is produce better riders,and to work out why so many promising youngsters fail to improve as they get older.

cant agree iris,i find a welsh accent very sexy,so long as it is uttered by a busty,mini skirted blonde.

whilst i agree with your last point middlo,and respect your loyalty to your riders,you have to accept the paying public's right to comment,and you would be naive to assume that a lack of hands on experience precludes us from ever being in the right