thebaron

I'd love "Matt Phillips" to be doing tons better for us !...but he doesn't ride for us !???? On Friday while I'm on; it was the biggest home defeat I have witnessed in 40+ years of watching "my team" across Bradford/Halifax and now Scunthorpe. At 13 heats there was still hope I might get away with equalling the worst ever ! As the score standing 26-51 actually matched Bradford Barons Home spanking by the all conquering Birmingham Brummies in 1974. Alas it wasn't to be and the 30-59 ensured it made "my record book". Using the old "13 Heat factor" that's near as damn it 24-54 which might have done justice to the "legendary" Scunny Saints 72 ? But I think they went down 19-59 at home to all conquering Crewe Kings at Quibell as I recall. Non the less Friday was up there with the worst of things. To be fair Ipswich had a few EWR exponents in that team plus a fantastic 16 year old in Drew Kemp who's performance had me harking back to PC and Mike Lee as teenage debutants I'm the 70s !. Boy ! coz that's what he is; boy is he a prospect. Lightening off the start; fast and controlled on the bike. Did you see him almost come to grief on turn four ! before putting the back wheel in the fence bringing it down; then getting back upright and carrying on ! That was masterful and demonstrated no little skill on a motorcycle. Then throw in Scotty Nicholls riding like a 16 year old ! Covatti and Heeps always like the EWR and it was evident from the off we were in trouble. You cannot lay the blame at our riders for me they're as brave as they come. You just cannot take all these injuries and construct anything out of a season. It's just not sustainable; Stevie and Stefan shouldn't probably be out there; Stefan the more so. Then we minus our two most consistent performers Josh and Jake. Jason manfully tried to plug the gaps but he's not always finding what he wants out there and for sure Danny has found things very tough although I can't fault him for sticking with it. Gino's promised much but again injury and personal worries have meant we haven't seen the very best of him. But cannot fault him for "hanging in" there battling the set backs. Rob apologised countless times and I accept it; he and the Management tirelessly work to put the show on and sadly they're unstinting efforts haven't paid off on the track. Mostly we see great racing at the EWR; so hey we can forgive the odd stinker ...well I can. When we started out this team should have been right up there challenging and it would have been but for the brutal way Speedway can pay you back ! If at the end of the season we are all still standing; we can reflect; regroup and take a view into 2019. Speedway's future is once again "up in the air" which raises questions about Scunthorpes future I'm sure. The sport at Prem/Champ level just doesn't know what it wants to be ? The Grand Prix and National League are doing their job and to me doing it well. It's the "bit in the middle"; arguably the "very staple" of Speedway in the UK that needs a viable plan to survive and to appeal to paying public. By all accounts Speedway officialdom is already laying out a plan for 2019. Whatever they come up has to address the chaotic nature of things across the two main domestic leagues and just make things work better for promoters; riders and fans because we all want Speedway to be the very best that it can be. It still can be "The Greatest Show On Earth"

To me you make a great point. The Grand Prix shows you the "potential" for Speedway as a "high end" event; well publicised; well organised; well promoted. At the other "end" the National League is working at and succeeding in it's "brief" to develop the "the racers of tomorrow". It is the "bit in the middle" - Premiership & Championship that doesn't know what it should be or can be ?. I watch the Polish League (yes I know the money is in Poland) but how did they "steal" the mantle of the World's major Speedway league from the UK ?. Is it purely down to the World's best riders wanting to race there? I would contend that looking at the terraces in Poland there just is a "bigger appetite" for motorised bike sport than in the UK at this time. Although Motor GP; TT & Superbike are still hugely popular ? But; with the latter three notice these are "big individual events" where there is much interest centred around the bikes as well as the participants. Road bikers relate to the machines used in these events. Speedway does not enjoy that level of interest in the bikes as the bikes are essentially so unconvential to Motorcyclists. There maybe some Speedway riders who may never have used a road bike ? So it is hard to draw support from the "vast well" of interest there is out there for conventional motorcycling. Yet when Speedway began its origins were in "conventional motorcycling". The idea you could take your road bike "strip it back" turn up and race your mates round an oval circuit. Overtime Speedway has become "niche" and the bikes hold little interest to bikers ? Other than their lack of brakes; and the "counter intuitive" idea that you hit the gas into the corner and slide rather than knocking off the throttle and braking ! ? Then it usually gets the motorcyclists attention and respect. Essentially Speedway is akin to the "Wall of Death" at the Fairground. Which brings me right back to its inception ...the great man JH started his Dirt Track Racing essentially as a "sideshow" at the Fairground. Which ironically is where Speedway has ended up as a "sideshow" So accepting the "two ends" of Speedway (GP & NL) are working at what they do best. What do we want from the "bit in the middle"? Do we want or need a "League structure" ? Has the idea of the 7 man Speedway Team reached its end ? Is it more likely that fans will support a more "varied" type of racing programme over a season. If there are "teams" (and let's be clear it is increasingly difficult to staff these consistently) need the team comprise 7 riders ?. I saw something in the Speedway Nations Series that worked- 3 man "teams" and more "teams" in a meeting ?. Is that idea worth exploring ?. A team comprises 3 riders ? But effectively each club has "two teams.!? Let's stop calling Speedway "A Meeting" and instead call it "The Event" this has two parts to it (perhaps like Boxing) "The Main Event" and, "The Undercard" (might want to think if that's best termed ? ) But let's go with it for now. Each club has a Rider Squad from which it forms two teams. One - Premier ..One Championship. "The Main Event" is the Premier Heats. But interspersed with "The Undercard". So there are effectively two outcomes playing out during each Speedway event. So translating this to the current Scunthorpe team (illustrative only !! as riders in 2019 will revert to parent clubs in a "Leagues" merger) Teams should be formulated at the start of the season using a "Rider Control Draft" based system using "gradings" not averages directly (splitting hairs on averages is "anti-speedway; leaves riders sidelined for 0.01pt ? ) Scorpions Premier (Main Event) S Worrall J Auty; J Garrity; Scorpions Champs (Undercard) G Manzeres; S Nielsen; D Phillips I would recommend a 3 or 4 Team Speedway Event. So Scunthorpe would entertain say; the 3 man teams of Sheffield & Belle Vue in the "Event" held over say an 18 Heat Card ..following a hybrid of the Speedway Nations race formulae - teams race in pairs as normal. The heats follow Premier - Champ - Premier - Champ. Consider the potential for "promoting" the top scoring Champ rider into the Main Event ? With the lowest scoring Premier rider dropping into "The Undercard" in the later stages ?. The Event would be the basis for all "Team Speedway" events on the British Fixture List. However "Team Speedway" need not be the "only" type of Event held through the season. Each Club could hold it's own "Grand Prix style" Individual Open Event ..and there could be accumulation of points over the season culminating in a Grand GP Finale at the National Stadium ? There is much to consider but personally the more I think about the above the more I believe in it's basics ? Speedway as a 7 man team concept may well have run it's course but the idea of 2 Speedway Events on the card and 3-4 Teams has potential ? Also bringing in a crowd drawn from the support of the 3-4 Teams on the Event Card. Obviously await someone pointing out short comings; but we are really coming up short with Speedway these days and surely something needs to be done to put a "stake in the ground" defend what we have left of a great sport and try to move it forward in these very "different times" we are in today. Another idea I have is to "revist" the "value" of Cycle Speedway to Motorised Speedway. I contend that the "very idea" of skidding your back wheel on a bike comes naturally to you as kid. Racing your mates on your bicycle is something we have all done having an oval circuit to do that on is the next step. Look how popular "cycling" has become and kids still want to pull wheelie's and tricks on them in the parks. Indeed some outdoor spaces are given over to "Cycle X" at urban and country locations. Many Speedway riders grew up on Cycle Speedway's. Indeed Cycle Speedway is still happening today ! There's a brilliant track and set up in Poole as I recall. Every Speedway track might benefit from having a Cycle Speedway on a bit of spare ground where kids could have a go at emulating the Speedway Riders. It's only nature then to want to strap a motor to it .. and off you go like me Speedway for life ! Thanks for reading.

On the subject of programme contributors ?; having done this myself for a number of years; including once ending up the editor by default; it is an extremely time consuming thing to get involved in. For my part; I was effectively a member of staff; so was allocated a staff pass; I would have willingly paid to go in; but it might have been a bit mean on the management's part not to recognise my considerable efforts at the time. The reality is that it is very likely to be a supporter who will have the depth of detail and interest that it takes to put together a Speedway programme. Very often I found the people running it and taking part are consumed by their day to day involvement to be interested in how many appearances Bent Handlebar made for the club; his race statistics and CMA. But putting that aside; after yet another rider crashing out with very serious injuries (Lewis Kerr at Lynn last night ). Get well soon Lewi ! Plus the Rye House shambles coming this week. I'm calling for an INDEPENDANT ENQUIRY INTO THE SAFETY RECORD OF SPEEDWAY and while we're at it a 2nd INDEPENDANT ENQUIRY TO REVIEW THE OPERATIONS OF SPEEDWAY AND SECURING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE SPORT !

Great shout actually isn't it time we actually got to see what Lyager could do over a sustained period. He certainly looked the part in his very short stint here last time ?. I believe we have to restore the team to a 1-7 asap. Yes we can run r/r and book guests but personally I want to see a full team out there of Scunthorpe riders not a "pick n mix" select that really saps the interest out it ! ?

Looks like its season ended for Stefan absolutely gutted for him. We cannot replace such a pivotal rider in the team and further wrecks our season that truly promised so much. The team that wins this title will not be the best team ? It's the team "left standing" at the end of the day !. This incidence of serious injury in Speedway has reached epidemic proportions and personally I would call for an Independent Public Enquiry into the Sports safety record. Not because I'm a pedantic busy body but because I actually care about the sport and the people in it. There is a reason for the injuries suffered (some career ending) and why some riders are choosing to finish with it altogether. Ex Scorpion Matt Williamson immediately springs to mind deciding to quit Edinburgh this week. It's four things basically 1.the tracks 2.the riders 3.the bikes or 4. a mix of all 3 !?. As it is the sport is unsustainable there are simply not enough riders to man the Leagues ? In the meantime we still have a meeting today and some "patching up" to do immediately. A guest and r/r for Stefan seems likely. But with three others carrying knocks I can see Lakeside causing us a few problems ? Looking ahead my immediate thought was to send Ryan an SOS surely to God given our dire need and he being a Scunthorpe Speedway "business asset" we can get the UK Visa folk to see sense. After all they let in through customs unchecked! ?. Or failing that send an SOS to Ellis Perks who was really making strides last season at Redcar but has been left on the sidelines so far this season. We have to do something but in the long run there needs to be a full review into the Sport (I think Moto GP did a similar thing and came out better for it). If it means looking at restricting the bikes in some way to make them more manageable on unpredictable tracks then lets do it !. It certainly can't spoil the spectacle? Much rather that tan have hour long delays while riders are carted off to hospital ! (and no I don't mind standing through it) I just dont' want to have to ! which only means a rider is seriously hurt. Or to end up in the club house "presser" with our team all sat there looking like the A&E queue at Scunthorpe General !

In a meeting with so many positives A fine mild evening fit for Speedway The Scorpions living up to the billing A "good looking crowd Jason Garrity's debut 15pt maximum! A great track surface that Garrity loved ! A 26 point Home win Scorpions Heat winners 14 out 15 races All the Scorpions playing their part. A great after the meeting Q & A session for 20 mins in the Club house that all of the riders bar Stevie & Stefan attended ! Thank you guys. Just one "downer" Stevie Worralls Heat 11 crash that looked nasty chasing Jonas Anderson on the outside going into lap 4; there was just "no give" with Anderson and Stevie ended up pinned up to the air fence and no where to go but right ? ! into the air bag which "blew out alarmingly" as man & machine "went in" at high speed coming to a sudden stop!. It did not look good and there was at least an half hour hold up while they sorted him out in the ambulance on track. We don't know the outcome ? Josh Auty rightly refused to comment when asked about it during Q &As.. But it looked a sickner and may yet prove an immediate blow to both ourselves and Aces if Stevie is now sidelined for a period ? We will have to wait and see where this takes us. Get well soon Stevie who has a big break through season on the domestic; European and World circuits. So lots of positives and we'll take those and the irrepressible Jason Garrity publically promising he and the team were determined "to do the business" for the fans; bodes well indeed. What a character Garrity is. Also Gino seems a real personable club orientated guy keen to do well and get back in to his UK Speedway after two enforced years out. So yes we'll take the positives and go again at Redcar next week. But as good as we are as a 6 minus Stevie; we really must hope that his recovery is full and timely and we are a 7 again just as soon as we can be. Riding a man down already was never a part of the "grand plan" and the sense of "come down" regarding Stevie was like the air coming out of that "exploding air bag!

We've just been overhauling these fixtures; and because of the way it all falls into place (ie; where we will be geographically on certain days) baring a rain off we don't miss a single fixture Home or Away until potentially ? - 23 June Lakeside Away - and we might end up there as well ? !. Cannot remember a Speedway season where we have felt this "motivated" not to miss a single second ! "SCUNNY GRAND TOUR" - gets underway Friday "under the lights" v Redcar ! - blooming 'ummer this is exciting !

Things that occur to me are ? With just over a week to the start of what promises to be an incredibly exciting season for Scunthorpe Scorpions; just wonder if we are going to polish up the presentation during meetings ? Have we some "catchy Twitter strap lines" we can throw out there to "catch the eye" Are we hitting all the local pages of the "Scunthorpe dedicated" Facebook + Twitter groups to advertise the Speedway is on and Scunthorpe & surroundings cannot afford to miss this ! Could we do a "loss leader" for the first meeting; say kids in free ? or a family of 4 in for a reduced price; or a little give away for the kids on the gate; free Easter egg ? Meeting "build up" as spectators arrive - choosing the right "backing tracks" for example: I have "Welcome to the Pleasure Dome" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood whirring around my head as great build up tune. There are others too of course. Close the meeting with a regular "Scunthorpe Theme Tune" can I suggest "Lets Go Round Again" by the Average White Band - great tune yes but also its kinda of what we want people to have in their heads as they walk away ...because we want them to come back again and again. How about photo opportunities pre-meeting ? in front of the pits - say the pits was roped across and fans had the chance to file past and a photo ? How about being able to have your photo with the whole team ? again at an appropriate time ? Pre-meeting presentation; would it be best to revert to the "old school" march on of both teams and officials (weather permitting) and introductions. Get "Barry in the Box" to sort his Ipod out and get some proper tunes on between heats; basically if he plays the 80's its sorted ! Are we having "theme tunes" for each rider this season ? Can we make sure the "Start Marshall" hands the chequered flag to the winning Scorpions rider after every heat - because I reckon we will be winning our fair share of heats ! How about getting some Scorpions flags made up for fans to wave especially on the home straight; that adds to the atmosphere. Rob; will be host with the most no doubt; but to keep things "moving and informative" can we have a roving mike in the pits to get some rider reaction for the crowd where time and events permit - so a "co host" to work with Rob ? Make sure the tannoy system is at the right level so the scores and times are clear between heats !; obviously backed up with our electronic scoreboard. Steve Worrall mentioned a post match 15-20min "presser" by one of the team to answer any questions fans have - understand this happens at Belle Vue. This list has taken me 5 minutes to knock up; and is by no means exhaustive, and I am certain the management will have a lot of this covered. But we really have got a fantastic product this season and its is simply not to be missed. Interested to hear what others think ?; might return to add more when I have minute.

Reading between the lines I can see Danny Phillips getting the No7 spot. He was unlucky last year with injury; Newcastles track review in the Star reports how they expected good things of him but for this. Last week he was back on the bike for the first time at the Isle of Wight and Steve Worrall overlooked him whilst there. I know Robs indicated a sort of "X Factor" "roll up and show us what you can do" competition for the No7. But finding someone who can be pitched straight in at Championship level from a training school is asking a lot. Thats why a rider of Danny Phillips 'experience' and on just over 2.00CMA to me has to be a bit of a "give me". So long as we dont go in expecting loads from him at the start. The way we are set up (Gino Manzeres starts at reserve) should give the 2.00 pointer a bit of breathing space to get on the pace for his programmed heats ?. Agree Danny Phillips is probably the stand out choice.

Just like to say how enjoyable the "Evening with Nigel Pearson & Kelvin Tatum" was last night. Saw them last year in Halifax; but did not disappoint second time around either. Some amusing anecdotes and stories from both of our genial speedway broadcasters. Also Steve Worrall gave us an real insight into his racing and motivation to be the best he can be at his sport. On the evidence we have a real No1 and leader in the Scorpions ranks this season that's a fact !. Lots of enthusiasm from Nigel & Kelvin towards Scunthorpe Speedway; the track and the exciting team that has been assembled for 2018. Well attended and great to be back at the EWR for this sneak "behind the curtain" before its raised properly for the season in 8 weeks time. On this evidence we can't blooming wait !

Not too soon is it to wish all fellow Scorpions; the Management; and Riders across the world a Merry Christmas & A Happy & Prosperous 2018 ! Santa already delivered the presents early ! . Boy have we got a lot to look forward to in 2018; literally as excited about it as I was as kid on Christmas Eve ! Have a good one all ! Wont be long now; less than 100 sleeps ?

DE DE DE DE DE DE DER DE DE.DE DE DE DER ..OH GINO ! Wow we only gone and blown the bloody doors off the thing ! This is off the Richter Scale exciting !

Bradley-Wilson Dean + ANO ?

I think we've just decided to adopt a "Shock & Awe" policy on this League in 2018 !.. leaving nothing but "Scorped Earth" behind wherever we ride. Dead right NBT Manzares would have us in a situation where anyone in the 1-6 could end up being No1 or No6 !

Reading the Star Rob says that the remaining two places won't be filled by any one from last seasons line up. So no Bailey or Aarnio. Think we have to be ruthless it's a great top 5 and we should maximise our option for the 6th rider with 5.65 to play with if we went for a 2ptr at 7.? US World Cup rider Gino Manzeres on 5.43 would really top things off. He's a rider who could step up and challenge the top five. Difficult to see any other team coming up with a stronger 1-6 than that?. I don't think it matters then who takes the 2ptr rides Jordan Jenkins Mildenhall might be worth a punt? Happy Days.

Auty and Allen are a decent start; but we definitely need to bring in a bone-fide No1 rider. Steve Worrall is a contender at both levels of British racing; and the fact has a Polish track Sundays fits in with Scunny on a Friday. But how about a return for Nick Morris ? he wont be back at Berwick and will still want a Championship track (think he's got a Polish team spot Sundays too) Tommy Jorgensen would a fantastic No2; and with him at Kings Lynn in the Prem; and also out in Poland on Sundays; again a Scunny return might be on the cards. If we lined up Worrall 9.02; Jorgensen 7.10; Auty 6.90; Allen 6.08; Nielsen 5.53; Bailey 2.70 and 5.17 to play with; that's a serious speedway team in my book. Arnio might be as good as anyone on 4.97 to fill the reserve slot again; Wilko's on 4.97 too but maybe that ships sailed after his departure last season ?.

Reading this through 4 years on and the piece in Speedway Star Xtra by the Glasgow announcer Mr Coyle ahead of this weekend's AGM has striking similarity about it. Have to say there is much to commend in Mr Coyles article and worth a read.

Scunny !

Yer barred !

I would swap Auty for Tommy Jorgensen and then thats a decent 1-5. I agree we need a broom through last season and to start anew. Broc Nichol would be a gamble but certainly one worth taking if he was on a 5.00 ? Then a NL rider at the base of it. We know Rob is very loyal to his riders but that in many respects has been our undoing. We do need an out and out No1 Worrall would give us that. Both TJ and Jake Allen can both step up and have great seasons in 2018. Nielsen is a good rider at this level proven round the EWR. Lyager is one of the up coming Danish talents and has shown snippets when he was over here two years ago that he can be a talent in this league for us. If we do manage to take our place in the Championship next season we have got to be competitive home and away and I am pretty sure with that line up we can be.

That sounds like a night out in the House of Commons bar !

If we do run we'll go for riders who can ride the EWR. Jorgensen; Allen; Neilsen would be a good base. You have to think Auty will be back not least because it's his testimonial season. Although personally that should not detract us from wholesale change. Lyager would be a good call as he has shown on numerous occasions he is on pace in the European U21 meetings and maybe one of the next breakthrough Danes ?. Aarnio no because he didn't seem happy with the Scunny track from what I heard last season. Bickley no chance hes off to Workington.Berge ? not sure he's on a near 7pt average and he bombed at Berwick last season very early on. I would go for Davide Bellego from Swindon in preference. All depends on points limit ? Will there even be one of sorts ?. Jack Parkinson Blackburn might be worth a punt at the bottom end on a 2+ average if we are scratching around. Should know more by the end of the month but one things for sure Speedway has got to start and get its act in orde If not its hard to see how Scunthorpe can sustain against the falling interest and attendances and the shutters could very likely come down for next season at least. Hope not.

Well done to Rob & the management for securing the services of Jake Allen. He's a racer no doubt and is one of the current wave of Aussies doing well in British Speedway. If we are talking to the Rebels about our riders - Lewis and MPT then I would have definitely had a reciprocal conversation about Jake Allen. Will be a added spur for Ryan racing with his compatriot too. We need to move forward from here; get behind the team and enjoy the remainder of what has been up to this juncture a testing season. Welcome Jake and all the best for your time with the Scorpions.

I wouldn't give a monkey's if we get Rohan Tungate happy days if we do. I would not put this past Rob by no means; he does say that's the rider is one the fans may not have thought of. Well I bet most of the Scunny faith full wouldn't have come up with this !. Tungate may well fancy it having missed a chunk of his season having been dropped at Somerset. Again there have been discussions with the Rebels promotion over the use of our riders so it's a conversation to have for me ?. Tungate would give us a proper No1 rider on a low average. Look guys speedways bonkers so Auty and Tungate team mates not the daftest idea I've heard in this game by a long chalk It gets my backing if it happens for sure !

You know what Dande you could be on to something; his average in the Prem for Somerset is 5.07 and supposedly we 6.13 to play with. How much do we have to factor in to convert a Prem to Champ average ? Might fit ? and given the that Lewis & MPT have gone the other way to Somerset; it is a conversation you might have with the Rebels promotion if you were needing a rider at Scunthorpe.