szkocjasid

100% agree, having Dan back back for the play-offs has to be priority. No point coming back 50% fit and aggravating his injury.

Looks like his average will drop for August though.

That Poland feel they can do what they want & no one has been able to challenge them!

Probably because all of the Leicester team are doing well. I've gotta give credit to Leicester here for not dropping anyone.

An away defeat won't hurt Poole in the slightest so why not use r/r and give your own riders extra races!

I don't think a Polish club has ever had to sack a rider, because no-one ever stands up to them to find out. If a 3 x world Champion (Woffinden) can't / won't tell his Polish club he can't race when injured, what chance has anyone else got!

Firstly & most importantly, get well soon Connor. Now for the rest, if he was signed off by a Doctor I'm sure Redcar would get a facility till he was fit to return. But as he's decided to sit out the rest of the season, I think that counts as "witholding his services" so Redcar would get a 28 day facility followed by a 75% guest. This is the downside of having a transfer window, through no fault of their own Redcar could have a rider leave them, not be allowed to sign a replacement but also not be allowed a facility to replace him.

Could not agree with @Bojangles any more. I'm sure Starke & Roynon enjoy riding Speedway and as long as someone is willing to pay them to ride, why should they retire?

I would suggest that's more to do woth teams getting weakened, while the prices go up. Otherwise every sport that has an "off season" would lose some of their crowd because they found other things to do. Doesn't seem to happen to Premiership football. Now I think of it, Polish Extraliga clubs only have 7 home league meetings each year. Topped up with U24 racing etc. British fans probably get more league racing than any other country to watch.

Totally agree, for example what to Edinburgh & Glasgow fans do to occupy their Friday nights between October / November & March / April, they obviously have to find something else to do. Yet they don't stop coming the following season because they've found a new past time.

I don't really understand that, surely fans go to watch speedway because they enjoy it / love the sport. Why would you stop going just because they don't race as often as you want them too? Are people really saying "I want to watch 20/25 matches a year, it's not worth going if there's only 10/15"?

There's no major reason for Cairns to stick to 3 matches to keep a 3.00 average for next season imo. Even if he signs for a club & gains a new average doesn't mean it'll hurt him the following season, both Jody Scott & Ashton Boughen got new averages but still found clubs wanting to sign them in their first full season. Probably will have the pick of any club if he's a 3.00 rider next year, but I'm sure some clubs would still take him on as a heat leader too.

Why does the SWC & SON have to be staged over one week at one track? For a few years now the crowds before the final have been poor, surely partly because the hosts get seeded to the final, which can't help the crowds for at least one of the semi finals. So either host it at more tracks, home fans may swell the crowd at their "big match" or do what they did 30 years ago. Hold qualifiers earlier in the season and the final as a one-off event?

Not if you count the Best Pairs, which is what this really is. Denmark must have the most wins.

I'm actually glad there was a poor crowd or at least loads of spaces available in the stands. Speedway fans have let the promoters know what they are prepared to pay, had the stadium been full, then it could have been made more expensive next time. If Belle Vue hold the SON, SWC or a GP in the future, they'll have to make tickets cheaper, find a sponsor, get discovery to ask for less money or let Poland host everything.

No harm in trying, losing a 7-2 is no worse than losing a 6-3. Had to try something. It's pretty much the only times riders looked to slow the opposition, in the last 2 races.

So GB were moral winners last year then?

Lambert was beaten when it didn't matter (5-4 over Sweden) but was definitely the rider of the night.

Last time GB top scored & Australia were Champions! Were Australia embarrassed with their win? When GB won they weren't top scorers. Before that GB top scored & Russia won. I'm sure Poland top scored when Russia won too!

Been impressed with Thorsell. Birmingham should try & sign him up.

At times it almost felt like the races were too quick, no time to grab a snack / toilet break etc. Probably be worse for fans attending live. But when the weather's bad, gotta do what they gotta do. Actually could've been quicker of the avoided the needless two-on-the-trots.

I understand Belle Vue's point that they have to charge a lot to pay for the event, but if they only get 4,000 when they would have got 7,000 if it was £10 cheaper a head, then it hasn't worked out. If they can guarantee a sell out, by all means make it expensive, but surely they considered the high ticket prices would put many people off? Ultimately we'll never know which is the best way to go, as every fan will have a different idea on what constitutes "value for money"

Terrible decision imo. Reminds me of a footballer going down in the box after the softest touch possible

If Australia are desperate for 7 points, why isn't Pearson on the best gate (4)? Guaranteeing Rew wins the heat isn't what they need. Same scenario with Sweden putting their top rider on 4, when they really need them both out front.

No one is denying that, that's the reason he could sign for Oxford at reserve. If he had got back to his best - then he wouldn't be an option. Don't think they can fit in any new foreigners (minimum 4.00 average). So it's a choice of Roynon, Starke & Pijper. As Starke has scored more than Pijper on a tougher position, he'd be my choice.