old bob at herne bay

Just finished reading the comedy story on the Kent Royals thread, and how they think they might complete their fixtures swapping Armadale for Leicester cubs next Tuesday. :-) :-) . After drying my eyes, I have just finished reading this comedy story about 3 gusts, R/R and the broken down ambulance. :-) :-) :-) The rearranged fixture date that means the Leicester cubs will have their top two missing at Kent. :-) :-) :-) Drying my eyes again, before awaiting the next chapter of the Kent Royals fixture planning. Must be due for another "sob story" from a promoter about how crowds have dropped unexpectedly forcing them to close.

Iwade would be a neutral track for the Armadale fixture. Surely Iwade offers scope to run a stand alone feeder NDL club on Sunday afternoons to support the CL Kings in 2022 ? The constraints around running in 2 leagues at Central Park Sittingbourne seem too onerous and unmanageable, given the poor record of running meetings in less than perfect conditions, driven I assume by the limited access to prepare the track due to greyhound meetings. Cannot imagine dogs being keen on tractor racing Kent must now be praying for 3 dry Tuesdays in the rest of October.

Sounds like the show ground track of old ……. Hug the kerb ( front wheel on the grass ) was always the quickest way round. Passing for home riders only was on second bend when you rode both wheels on the grass and hoped the ref didn’t see .

Sad but inevitable news . Even Rosco doubts whether the Robins can afford to take 3 years out.

Oh and just to balance the part 3 article citing "poor support" as the reason for closure, let's remind Mr Joordan of his contribution to that situation ......... start gate failures , poor track prep using a new track prep team with little experience and hence dusty tracks, tractors demolishing the safety fence, endless delays to meetings leading to complaints about the length of double header meetings. ALL "beyond his control" I am sure he will say, but it wasn't the fault of the paying spectators who had to endure the unfolding fiascos.

Surely all the top riders have already fled the UK and are riding in Poland in 2021? Realistically, did anyone honestly expect to ever see Woffinden Lambert etc etc ride in UK speedway again ? As soon as Bewdly gets an offer he will be offski. Brennon won't be far behind. And Chris von Strasse at Wolves still wants more team in the PLin 2022. he he he funny chap. Where's your riders coming from Chris ? - and please don't say the NDL..... last time I looked there were just 6 teams left standing there.

Frankly, I am amazed that anyone has had a refund from any speedway promoter. I have lost count of the number of worthless rain off tickets I have never used for frustrated away trips where I could not make the revised date (or the next 3 meetings at that track). NO REFUNDS was always the key clause in any ticket sold even when bought on the gate and the meeting subsequently being rained off before heat 6. This attitude to refunds appears to have been a recent development since the COVID pandemic. Any new promoter at EB will surely now go into the venture with "due diligence" already carried out by the experiences of Mr Jordan.

Interesting if not random fixture change. Armadale 3rd in the NDL, Leicester at the bottom. NDL title chasers Mildenhall also to visit Kent in the last match of the season. Maybe Len will bill the Leicester meeting as a wooden spoon decider ? Maybe my sparring partner East End Fan has a positive spin on this move?

With so much doubling up/down, between PL and CL surely there is very little room for manoeuvre? Although Chris van stratos wants more clubs in the PL ..... they need to think about how they might fit in their few fixtures next season. Far too many call offs due to clashes with football on the telly, clashes with Cardiff SGP, clashes with SON promoters thinking the weather might be dodgy, and next year we have the Commonwealth games in Birmingham. Speedway UK shuts down in the summer ( usually to coincide with kids summer holidays) Every year we end up with the p offs run on bogs of tracks in poor conditions. They either need to run EVERY week during the summer , or reduce the number of official fixtures and fill the rest of the season with challenge meetings. Poole in the PL . Think Fordie has more sense

Ref clearly disagreed with your opinion of Ellis falling on his own and then all 4 back unsatisfactory start is decision what occurs subsequent to the original incident is irrelevant.

Well well it’s pouring down hard here, and I would have no difficulty accepting a call off decision if it were made this morning….but maintain my position (applicable to ALL clubs) that there are far too many premature call offs - dependent on the mythical “100% accurate” weather forecast.

Well, well, tomorrow's scheduled meeting versus Leicester Lion Cubs has already been called off (on the Kent Speedway website) over 24 hours before the scheduled start time. Met office forecast tomorrow is for rain first thing then clearing to sunny intervals. Seemed the Berwick meeting had to be run "at all costs"., and once was enough for the young lads in the team. Will the Royals step leave their Palace to race again this season ?

Are there any alternative dates left without disrupting TV coverage of the "showpiece" p.off final ? Seems to me its a must run meeting whatever the weather and however poor the entertainment is for the hardy spectators. At least they have some covered accommodation at Owlerton.

Smacks of a cost saving line up from P Borough . Either a half fit MPT or another Buster rider from KL as a gust. All with the challenge of covering r/r in a 6 man team. Could all go horribly wrong for P Borough. Guess the ‘Panthers’ team of experienced riders doesn’t fit with the BSPL vision of promoting the youth in the televised p off finals which MUST be completed at The National Speedway Stadium.

Sincere Congratulations to Poole in adding another league title to their bulging trophy cabinet. With the league season completed and just a few end of season promoters’ benefit meetings left to contest in wet October, will be interesting to see what will happen in the winter, and what format UK speedway will go for in 2022. well done the Pirates!

Made me laugh when called Swindon and Poole “the big two” Although both now defunct Premiership clubs, Poole have in recent years been good enough to warrant a “big “ rating. Swindon ? 2019 p/off champions I think ? Hardly a “big” club. Never been the same without the big 2 Wimbledon and Wembley.

There’s been more meetings called off very early this season due to a “poor weather forecast” than I can remember this summer. All comes home to roost come October when riders coast round in mud ( eg Kent on Tuesday )

Apologies to Ford. Not especially picking on him . No bike . I knew that but what about the other Royals who didn’t make the 2 minute warning ? Leaving 3 riders in each race. And you say the track was fit for racing ? ? Pleased that no one suffered serious injury. Maybe if there was the same enthusiasm to run in wet conditions earlier in the season, there wouldn’t have been such a fixture backlog ? At the very least , Tuesday’s meeting should have been called off by ref after 10 heats. Lets hope that next season brings a full season of action with some slack in the very limited track time allowed at Kent. I say again Running in 2 leagues is not IMO a sensible option with no options of catching up using off nights or double headers.

that would need 2 cameras.

The meeting is ON shout Sheffield Speedway. Mmmmmmm …….don’t ring the speedway office …. Oh it’s OFF !!

The meeting is ON shout Sheffield Speedway. Mmmmmmm …….

What ! Do they search everybody entering the stadium ! Or have sniffer dogs at the gates. Never known such nonsense and I have been to many Speedway and Cricket stadia in my time.

Shame that his meeting is being spoilt by injuries. Irony is that its the younger members of the team who have suffered injuries ... the old fellas have kept on going and delivering the points throughout the season even when down to a 6 man side with R/R. Going into such a meeting with a gust is always a risky business. More so with Craig who surely will not want to upset the chances of his Glasgow Tigers progress in the CL p/offs? No doubt Pearson and Tatum will be delighted that Wolves now have been handed a massive advantage going into the 2nd leg, and they can shout from the roof tops how wonderful the Wolves TM is for managing to overcome a home defeat.

East End Fan, respect that you seem to be seeing your speedway through 3 pairs of rose tinted spectacles, and point out that “Clever Dick” Bob isn’t that clever for stating the b*****y obvious after seeing half the Kent Royals team pulling out of their rides for fear of serious injury on a track rendered unfit for racing. So much for the referee deciding on track conditions. I have previously stated that IMO it was a gross error planning to run an NDL team with their opening home fixture ( or was it their second) in late September . Suggests to me that the NDL team was very much an afterthought … but at near CL prices in Kent. The remaining fixtures across the NDL are now squeezed into October…. as has been said by others , probably the last we will see of the Royals in this poorly planned 2021 NDL .

Scotty or Starkey ?