The White Knight

Not a great Captain but certainly a relatively successful Captain. All of your above points are valid.

............... and Strauss also took us to Number One Team in the World. Straussy did very well, in my opinion.

I met Charlie at Redcar on a very rainy evening. I was walking out of the Track soaking wet when I found myself next to Charlie - we had a brief conversation and went our seperate ways. She was dead easy to talk to and smiled all the time - she lit up the evening for me. I wish her a very speedy recovery. Are there any more updates on her condition please?

It must be pretty disheartening.

Well it is part of his job.

We actually know nothing at present. Maybe Tai or the BSPA will enlighten us - maybe not. I would prefer to hear the full facts. Whether we ever get them or not is open to conjecture.

I think that is very harsh. Tai rode his heart out for Great Britain in the SWC. He was the best Rider on display.

Glad we agree - on that at least.

That is only an opinion - it is not a fact.

I find this all very sad. The greatest Rider (possibly) that this Country has ever produced - and there are those who cannot wait to stick the boot in. Firstly - we don't know the full facts of what has happened here. All we can do is guess. Secondly - Tai rode his heart out for Great Britain in the World Cup, top scored, and paid his own expenses as has already been mentioned. To me Tai Woofinden is exactly the thing British Speedway needed - a charismatic character who could appeal to the young. It appears (as I say, I am only guessing) that once again British Speedway has shot itself in the foot. I, for one, hope that the situation is not irretrievable and that something can be done to get this situation sorted out amicably, and to the satisfaction of both sides in this dispute.

I sincerely hope you are right my friend.... :approve: I hate Tac Subs too - but I will have to live with them I suppose. It would be great to get back again.

Well it definitely would me.

I never knew that Steve. Cheers mate.

You have lost me with that one Steve.

??????? :unsure:

I reckon holding your breath just might be a very bad idea.

I strongly suspect, these days, that those corporate sponsors you talk about are far more important than the likes of you and me - even if they don't turn up. The Olympics is for the sponsors - not joe public.

The White Knight (where have I heard that before?) - Graeme Smith. Always liked his leathers.

You are not the only one....

Me too as I stated earlier. I think that some of the empty seats, at least, will be down to people with our point of view.

Indianerna - I have always liked that one.

Or the 'Ace of Diamonds' at Newcastle Steve.

Were the Messerschmitt bf109s? :unsure:

Very well put. I look forward to seeing Tai wearing Great Britain colours for many years to come.

'Have' to be promoted is not possible without a root and branch change to Speedway as we know it. Currently all Tracks are individual Businesses that come together under the BSPA. Most Premier League Tracks could not afford to go Elite League - you would be forcing certain Tracks to commit financial suicide. A more sensible way to go, would be to merge the Leagues (Premier and Elite) in to one big League and reorganise the Riders around all of the Tracks. Will it happen? I doubt it. but clearly speedway is in trouble and something drastic needs to be done to buck the trend and thereby attract new fans (and riders) to the sport. There lies the crux. Anybody have a magic wand? Speedway was not in such a perilous state then when all of those things were applicable, plus Individual Meetings. One could say that since the so called progress has taken place in Speedway that the Attendances have gone down commensurately. I don't think that anyone could argue that Speedway's situation has improved overall with this so called modernization. It patently obviously hasn't - to me, it has been spoiled by said modernization. You may scoff at us 'oldies' orion - but - has anyone considered that we might just have a point? Remember, we oldies have to watch our beloved Sport going down the pan mainly due to poor Promotion, the GPs and the abandonment of our Sport's great traditions and systems.