thebaron

TigerOwl your posting here is top drawer. You have hit on the exact anology I have in mind; that being Speedways comparison to Conference N/S football leagues.I watch Guiseley FC in the Conf N just been promoted to Nat League but; crowds at Guiseley 400-500 max. The players are not full time theyre estate agents; joiners; administrators; football coaches/teachers. In speedway with the same crowd level the riders in the main are full time; as far as I know. Theres no one respects a speedway rider more than I these guys deserve all they get. But I am sometimes scratching my head at the maths behind it; that would make it a viable full time occupation. Ok for Tai and the GP troupe thats full time; but if I am No6 in a PL team I need to supplement my part time speedway career. So speedway is (like football Conf N/S) semi-pro. That then begs the question from the riders; how do we fit our jobs in around riding for a PL team? We have to go up and down the country say 2-3 times a week. Well no you dont because the leagues are regionalised now (rem; my mantra N/W and S/E) matches are more local less travel. It might help riders to have one set race night in the week. Hence making possible to earn a living combining a regular job with a semi-pro speedway career. Which is what the lads at Guiseley FC do in the main. Some very readable points made within this thread in my humble opinion.

What the bloody hell ? thought I'd seen pretty much everything two weeks ago but thats upping it a few notches. Folk fighting on the track whilst we're hammering round ..worlds gone mad!

On the subject of rides. Ryan Douglas has been on twitter appealing for a ride !. Obviously as a Scunny fan I do not want him riding here there and everywhere to our eventual loss. But the lads over here from Aus to ride and earn as a full time speedway rider not sit around for weeks on end and no rides. For me one of the reasons for this is the organisation of the leagues and fixtures. I know last week v Plymouth was off and no ones blaming anyone. But in a regionalised structure we may have run with Scorps v Belle Vue but Scorps v Plymouth you have to consider it more before committing to it. Result is Ryan sits out until Ipswich and we all know riders need to ride. I am for a competition we can stage with some certainty and regularity and more locally based competition supports that more. I am not saying we never race the likes of Plymouth;we still run a National Cup competition; and we can bring the N&W and S&E Conferences together for the Grand Finale. Next season the National Stadium opens at Belle Vue. Thats a golden opportunity to relaunch British Speedway. I see every club there and represented by their riders. Sky can do the launch event; press invited and fans. The new league structure launches and we really promote each and every Speedway centre. I can go on but not right now. Speedway has to be prepared to be brave and say look what is happening now is not the best we can be; we can and will be better and be prepared to change. Might not be for all time; but right here; right now lets do the best for all our sakes. That said as I write this it all seems trivial hearing the concerning news from Peterborough. Sincerely wishing Lewis Kerr all the best get well soon.

David; thank you for sharing this with us; much respect; you have provided lots of entertainment for us all on the speedways down the years especially here at Scunthorpe. We never overlook the thin margins all riders tread in pursuit of this sport; so although injuries have brought about your decision; you have given your all; and walk away safely and surely satisfied with all that you have achieved. All the best to you and your family for the future and thanks for the memories. And I think it's gonna be a long long time Till touch down brings me round again to find I'm not the man they think I am at home Oh no no no I'm a rocket man Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

Put very well as you have; it just reads dreadfully does it not, and something really has to be done about this. I have a cunning plan if people will hear me out; and part of it; is to amalgamate the two leagues and regionalise - North/West; South/East. Guests are permitted but not from within your own section so a team in the North/West can utilise a guest rider from the South/East and vice versa. I am a long advocate of the benefits of regionalisation; at this difficult time in the sport. The promoters need to come together in the interests of the sport. This does not mean that we are regionalised for ever and a day; but when the sport and its supporter base is going through hard times; it needs to draw back to its strongest position; and for me that is represented by an amalgamated regionalised format. For instance regionalisation would help with situations like we at Scunthorpe found ourselves in last Friday v Plymouth. The meeting was called off on the back of a poor forecast at 9:00am that looked a reasonable decision given the travel involved for Plymouth. But there was not a drop of rain all day; and it made the decision look a bit hasty. My point being; that if your opposition is more locally based you can make a later call and not inconvenience people as much. As I say I have a plan and I will be trying to communicate this when and where I get the chance if someone will listen.

Yeap I'm on it sorry Bandidos everywhere Matthias is indeed a Berwick rider and looking very good too!

Actually Timo Lahti is already a Scorpion! He rides for Munkebo Scorpions in the Danish League so theres a bit of symmetary going on with Timo. Also notice that Swede Mathias Thornbloom recent Rye Rockets addition rides for Munkebo Scorps so if I was checking him out (hes made a good start at Rye) then it might bring me round to Timo Lahti. Of course hes an Eastbourne asset I think; but really got to grips with the Elite League. There ample scope to fit a rider in like Lahti and with compatriot Nike already with the Scorps I'm talking myself into this! Also like the look of Marcel Helfer the young German rider. He was trusted with a World Cup spot and was competitive enough. Maybe he would fancy a go with a view to breaking in for 2016. Then again I could be completely wrong and we've signed a Koplonka! Correction Matthias is a Berwick Bandit!

What if I threw a couple of names in ? German World Cup youngster Marcel Helfer ? or Nikes compatriot Finn .. Timo Lahti ?

Rob agreed absolutely never heard Rob G say that; indeed sure Nicolai knows we all have a great deal of high regard for him. He has done his bit for the Scorpions in recent seasons. Thats what I like to here a bit of passion and cares about it. Lets have a safe competitive meet; we aint chucking the towel in !

Got to say its a bit disappointing as a Scunthorpe supporter to learn Nicolai (our go too rider the past two seasons) has linked up with the Pussy Cats. Rob has said in the Star that he tried Nicolai last week; in an attempt to shore up the Scorpions and got nowhere. Nicolai was not the only call that led nowhere it seems. None the less; all the best to Nicolai; but what is the betting we are on the wrong end of his scoring next Thursday. Another reverse at Ipswich tonight; so desperately need the points next week to stand some chance of avoiding the wooden spoon. We keep going come you Scorps.

Rob dropped a hint that the injuries to Josh and Ben might precipitate team changes. That is not just replacing Ben but maybe also bringing in a new face instead of running guest/rider rep for Josh. I think it would be fair to bring back Ellis Perks for Ben. Ellis looks in great form for National League Cradley and was unlucky to lose his reserve place at Scunny earlier in the season. Personally I am happy for Tommy the Gun to come in where he can for Josh. But if we decided on permanent fix till the end of season for Josh; I am scratching my head a bit. Any thoughts ?

Answer to your first question Funny man. YES! as far as we are concerned theres no agenda against Rohan Tungate we rate and respect him as a rider. So it was sad to see things turn out as they did. Equally with the situation reversed we would not have backed our rider injurying Rohan in a deliberate action. Whether he intended it to result in injury or not. Indeed Rob has put on record he would have sacked any Scunthorpe rider doing such a thing. A precedent existed with Ben Powell as has been discussed in this thread

Whats the weather been like in Scunny tonight? Sure the early call is made in good faith. But it might further make a case for the Leagues to be merged and regionalised. I think the fact that it was Plymouth; a poor weather forecast in the South and the travelling distance involved and the likely effect on the gate attendence necessitates such an early call off. That said it could be hammering it down in Scunny ?

The are in's and out's with regard to this video evidence; and whether it was admissible?; clearly the rules appear to say only professional footage is admissible; that's a technicality. It was taken on small camera and it was made available IF it was of any help. There we're plenty of calls on here from folks who wanted to view the ScunGate incident. Look how its been thrashed out on here and twitter so it has created plenty of interest. It was made available and the SCB; and the two promotions make of it what they will. Whether it is legal or illegal is not an issue; Fact is it existed; and in a way that's a good thing. It is up to the powers that be to decided what value they place upon it in a disciplinary hearing. With all the;" did he or didn't he" after the incident; I would contend it has some value; the powers can ignore it if they wish. I agree it is hard to be categorically certain from the footage; only Rohan Tungate really knows what was in his head; but thanks to the film of it; it sets the whole thing in context for those sat at the SCB deliberating over an incident none of them saw. Without it; there's only the counter arguments presented by Josh/Rohan; Referee Peter Clarke and the officials of the two clubs and it was clear on Friday there was never going to be any agreement. By the way we're off tonight; shame I was looking forward to it; clearly with Plymouth making the long trip it is a sensible call with a poor forecast in the South/East. Although it is fine here in Bradford. Still a week on from ScunGate and I think we are all still getting over all the action and controversy of last week.

Think this is impossible to police in any arena given we all have phones Same rules apply at FA and Football League games; Rock and Pop Concerts but folks use cameras and phones unabaited. In essence without the phone footage on Friday everyone would be still scratching their head on ScunGate; and indeed the promotion appealed for anyone who may have filmed it. I do agree there should be official cameras at all Speedway Meetings with a feed to the Refs box.I went to a Greyhound meeting recently and they manage to film every race and playback to officials and punters. Speedway needs to adopt this as part of the meeting process to help the Referee run the meeting properly. They are only human and can miss things like we all can. Seems it is being reported that Rohan Tungate has recieved a 21 day ban. If correct then have his points been expunged because for me that would seem to follow?.

Give over in the absence of an official film; the SCB will discount any other footage that exists of one of the most controversial incidents this year?. Why would they ignore it did we make it up or something or did we film what actually happened.As it seems to be the only record of events I contend its admissible m'lord justice.

that's a good point NBT; why the fine unless there was an indiscretion?. I cannot blame Peter Clarke in one sense; because if you don't see it (and he may well have had his eyes moving off the race to his programme) then you call what you see. Or at least what you think you see; which was basically Josh upended and RT off down the back straight. So having heard claim and counter claim; he airs on the side of a fine and puts the incident in his report to the SCB. Perhaps he might not have expected to find that the incident was actually filmed; so now with the benefit of replay; the matter can be reviewed and either the referees decision is upheld or further action is taken. The fact that the referee took punitive action against RT right there and then means that the referee acknowledged that he (RT) had committed some form of indiscretion.

Bit frustrating when the Ipswich boss Phil Hilton tried to speak to the crowd at the end; that he was drowned out by all the commotion from the crowd. I think he was decent for doing that; and personally I would have liked to have heard him out. I am with you Rob; I have never been to a speedway meeting like Friday night. In amongst all the shenanigans there was a darn good speedway meeting; building to another cracking finale. It could have been Scunthorpe v Peterborough all over again in the space of a week!; yet we all left reflecting on the madness of it all; when we should have been extoling over another super scintillating night of speedway at the EWR Scunthorpe. Still the everyone's talking about Scunthorpe Speedway; and that's a good thing. I have seen comments about folk not returning after the Friday Fracas; but why would you take your bat home after that. For me it only gives you more damn good reasons NOT TO MISS Scunthorpe v Plymouth this Friday. You just don't know what your going to be missing if you miss Scunny Speedway !.

Anyone know why Nike was absent tonight. Presumably riding abroad. Another roughing over at Rough Park; Theo looks to have put in a shift.

Blooming heck! anyone think this has any chance of being added to the Carry On series; working title "Carry On Up The EWR"

Bash; which is a position many would have accepted rightly or wrongly. From where we filmed it looked like Josh could be excluded. But seeing it back Tungate has switched to the outside and Josh really has to switch back inside for a clear run out of turn two. Trouble is Tungate is squeezed into a narrow line right up to the fence and nigh on impossible to stay on. I wont blame Tungate for trying to shut off the charge from Josh. Equally Rohan cannot have it both ways Josh has the right to switch back for safety and any advantage. Other than that Josh wipes him out from behind. So first run is purely a racing incident. Ref calls what he sees and I think on the balance he got it right. Trouble was Tungate did not see it that way and in the heat of it took his frustration into the re-run and was determined to let Josh know how he felt. He did not intend to injure Josh; but his actions were careless and unprofessional; and bring the sport into disrepute. The Ref for his own reasons fails to appreciate his jurisdiction over the meeting;and then from there everything else unfolds. I want to be fair to Rohan (let me stop calling him Tungate). Hes a great rider; I hate riders to be pilliored like he was by the crowd. He gets my full respect as a rider as they all do. But if he looks at it he might have to put his hand up and say. You know what I'm better than that and I let myself; Ipswich and the sport in general down there.

Great point in all this can we know how Josh is. Rob did say his arm was broken again that was just a right sickner. Update anyone or Josh ?

Footnote: Mr Clarke in his defence did not have the benefit of the video though and was probably looking down to his programme as it happened. If he missed it he is like anyone one of us questioning what happened. Without the benefit of the replay he only calls what "he sees" and despite claims and counter claims uses the fine and report fallback option. Should all meetings be on a tv monitor for the Referees benefit? Would make sense for everyone!

All very interesting: my view of the first Ht10 run is that Tungate moves across from gate1 to the outside where Josh was. To avoid piling into Tungate; Josh has to cut back inside;Tungate has nowhere to go on turn2 but down. At that we expected Josh to be excluded you here this on the vid. Ref looked to have red light on. We did not necessarily agree; but we thought that would be the outcome from where we were. But all4back! Ok we'll take that. In the re-run the Scorps take charge Josh finishes with plenty to spare on Tungate. Alex is the one under more pressure in the race but covers it. Thing is Tungate is irked by what happened earlier. Over the line and instead of coming to a gradual halt; Tungate; carelessley allows his bike to carry on that bit. Intention is to cock a snoot at Josh and run close to him. But its running on and as he passes so close his rear wheel flicks at Josh and it wipes him out. To be fair to Tungate; I do not think he set out to injure Josh. But there was an element of malice simmering. I say this because: he does not go back to check on Josh's well being after the collision he rides back to the pits as if uncaring. Thats what marks it down as an unprofessional and unsporting action by Tungate on the "field of play" and why he should have been excluded from the meeting. Section3 of the Regs allows the Ref to take that action. Mr Clarke for reasons only he knows gets himself in knots and shys away from exercising control of the meeting. From there chaos reigns; so for me Tungate has to be excluded from the meeting from that point. Then the proceedings are "under control" and Mr Clarke would have avoided the disappointing aftermath for everyone. You know there was so much great racing out there to enthuse over. This following on from the fantastic finale the week before. Then all this just leaves you scratching your head and dumb founded as you make your way home. We'll be back next Friday though and I suggest you are too. Keep backing the team. Come on you Scorps. Hope your ok Josh all the best.

The footage will be made available on this forum and youtube into this evening. Realise everyone is anxious to review this following the events of last night.