4thbender

Who's next out of the revolving door at Owlerton? This to-ing and fro-ing is not doing the promoters' reputation any good. The general perception has always been that Sheffield was one of the fairer clubs - always paying on time and looking after their assets. That reputation must have taken a huge battering with a growing list of riders having been shown the door since May. The rumours of riders being fired in bar-room bust-ups does not auger well for the future team-building policy. If the rumours have any substance, putting together a team for 2019 may cause some unexpected difficulties for a promotion which engages in such disreputable conduct. For the first time in 53 years I can't wait for the season to end so that a veil can be drawn over this most unedifying spectacle. The management should really consider making a statement to fans about what factors have conspired to pull the rug from under last season's league champions. This has been a season of deeply humiliating disappointment for fans and we deserve an explanation.

What's happening? The top three seem incapable of winning a race, let alone winning a match! Prior to the Lakeside and Scunthorpe debacles, the top three had not ridden at Owlerton for a month (due to injuries and the long three-week break in fixtures). I find it inconceivable that this sudden loss of form doesn't have a lot to do with the lack of home fixtures. It's beyond coincidence that the top heat-leaders - who in May and early June were all close to unbeatable at home - should suddenly suffer such a devastating loss of form at home at the end of July. The only common factor that you can put your finger on is the midsummer lay-off. Sports psychologists tell us that winning is a habit - break the momentum and you lose the thread. I can say with confidence that's exactly what's happened at Owlerton.

Absolutely appalling. Our home season finishes on 23 August (it finished on 23 OCTOBER in 2017), whereas Workington's home season only got started on 23 June and they've only had 2 home meetings so far. Perhaps the promoters are thinking that if they just phase it out slowly we'll not notice.

Appeasement... you missed out "a diversity and inclusion supporting, non-voting leftie, socialist APPEASEMENT Guardian reader."

I bet you're a remainer too.

Seems like this forum has been taken over by the establishment appeasers. Soon we radicals will have no-one to moan to.

As things stand at the moment, our home season will finish on 23 August, with two weeks of the kids' summer holidays still to go! (Just for comparison, the 2017 home season finished on 23 OCTOBER!) At the other end of the spectrum, Workington's home Championship programme didn't get underway until 23 June. The lunatics really have taken over the asylum.

Bad decision. On this occasion the speedway was rather better than the footie.

Todd Kurtz is looking like Sheffield's most improved rider of 2018. He's starting to take on that rare quality of looking very hard to beat round Owlerton. I assume he's been taking lessons from Steady because he's started doing that "slingshot" thing out of bend 2 which was a Stead hallmark but which Kyle, Lasse and Charles have all also perfected.

This is the most appalling piece of heavy-handed bullying tactics it is my misfortune to come across in British speedway. The minute we witness team promoters taking action reminiscent of 1930s Nazi Germany is the time to pack it in. I for one will not be visiting Workington Speedway again and would urge other fans to do likewise. Jenga is a prolific contributor to a popular fans' forum, has amused us on here for years and I hope will continue to do so.

Slick and Dusty sounds like a 60s pop duo.

No, I’m just a realist who supports his team and the efforts of the promotion - in what has been at times a difficult season - without expecting the speedway utopia that some fans seemingly demand.

With the number of guest riders increasing by the hour, it's turned into Scunthorpe All Stars v Sheffield All Stars. Still, it's a speedway match helping to fill up the otherwise sparse fixture list. .

There aren't any utopia-seekers on here (they'd be in the wrong place if there were). I've only seen fans who dutifully turn up at the turnstiles week after week and pay their £16 and feel (rightly) that their financial contribution to the team's continued success gives them a right to express a view on the rights and wrongs of team performance. The people on this forum may not all agree with each other - or the promoters - all of the time but they all have one thing in common: they're all die-hard fans of speedway.

Tigers website posting on Sunday said: "Tigers skipper Kyle Howarth has been taken to hospital in Newcastle with a dislocated shoulder..... Hopefully the shoulder is back in place and there is nothing longer term to worry about.” Tigers website posting today says: "...they’ve since had the huge setback of losing Kyle Howarth with a broken collarbone." Are things going from bad to worse?

Are you on the Owlerton payroll?

Can't understand why they've booked Worrall - we'd be better off doing R/R.

Are you on the Owlerton payroll?

Think we'd be better just going R/R (particularly on Friday)

Mathematics must work differently in California - presumably the sun gets to your head. Just for the record, the Speedway Control Bureau set out the rules of the Championship Shield at the start of the season. They agreed that a home win would be worth three league points, an away win by between 1 and 6 points would be worth 3 league points and an away win by 7 points or more would be worth 4 league points. We have a situation where two teams have won all their home matches and have each won one match away. One of the teams has picked up 3 away points and the other team has picked up 4. Given the importance that the Speedway Control Bureau has placed on winning by 7 points or more (to the extent of awarding it an extra league point), wouldn't common sense dictate that the team that has the bigger away win should qualify to the next stage? But no, the Speedway Control Bureau - in its wisdom - says that the team with the lesser away victory should be awarded the spoils. Comedy gold it might be, but just who are the jokers?

At home Lasse is our top scorer with an average of 10.34. Away from home he's our third top scorer, but less than 2 points a match behind Kyle Howarth. I think he'll have better days than the ones against Ipswich and Newcastle which I would write of as "blips." It would be a massive risk to even consider dispensing with his services IMO.

I only deal with hard facts - not mathematical technicalities (even fraudulent corrupt ones!)

It was noted in last night's programme that he's thought a couple of times of jacking it all in but his missus talked him out of it. He may therefore have one eye on retirement, in which case self-motivation becomes a real chore.

Not at all. The lad did well - surprisingly well for his first outing at Owlerton. Great to see a rookie who's got the bottle to open the throttle round the boards. But the real surprise package last night was Shanes. From zero last week to paid 12 this week. How's that for consistency?

Ahhhh! Marmaris - My favourite place on God's earth (outside Sheffield). Must go back there soon. Please send the Hotel Selen my best regards.... and have a boat trip from the harbour!