Stokielee

As a Stoke supporter for over 30 years it kills me to say it but Workington and Stoke are not comparable. Go to Workington! Possibly 10 years ago you could've compared the two but not these days. The track, stadium, team and promotion are all superior at Workington.

Fine and dry all day and quite windy to give decent drying conditions. The Stoke Joke rolls on.

I think the point is that what is served up at most tracks these days is not Speedway in many people's book. It is boring and processional rubbish on poorly prepared tracks. Sadly the racing at Loomer Rd. is nothing like as good as it used to be.

The eras of John Dews, Ray Sant and Eric Stead were the best days at Stoke.

No rider will ever get anywhere near it. Silver was a class act and he knew the fastest way to ride Loomer Rd.

I think you would find that DT isn't the only one people have issues with. However, from what I've seen, Vasey although possibly not to blame for much of the bad stuff at Stoke, always seems to take the "Customer is always wrong" approach to any criticism. He never seems to help the situation or have any interest in improving the lot of disenchanted Stoke fans. You have to question why that is? For what it's worth I'd see it this way: Tattum in NL = least fans New owner in NL = more fans Tattum PL = more fans still New owner in PL = most fans Although a good few people would probably say the middle two should be swapped.

You stated you were the team manager. In fact you are also co-promoter; whether you have a financial interest in it is largely irrelevant to the point. As co-promoter you must take some responsibility for what happens at Stoke. The fact of the matter is speedway fans around Stoke are far from happy with the goings-on in recent years. Perhaps you should put some effort into improving those relations. If it wasn't for the Stock Cars, Stoke Speedway would've disappeared by now! A very sad story.

Malcolm, you were listed as Co-Promoter in last season's programme, so are you a member of the promoting team or not? Despite your comments regarding Iannewsman, it would be completely true to say that most GENUINE Stoke fans would like to see 2 things: 1) New owners 2) A return to the PL The fans would flock back if those 2 things happened. A good number would return if just the first happened!

It would seem from the opinions on here that Mr Easter and his ilk are viewed to be rather more to do with the disease than the cure...

Mr Easter would actually get more respect if he named those promoters who pulled the rug on John Berry being independent commissioner. "I know their names" he says. Well tell us who these individuals were then. The boast about being one of the last people to make money out of speedway... Is that really a positive thing? How come he knew Hawkins was losing his licence before the man himself did? That doesn't say anything good either... Don't criticise those people who have lost a fortune? The fact of the matter is this: Speedway is a sport run by (relatively) rich men who are not actually rich enough to run it properly. i.e. poor tracks, facilities, stadia.

...And a little more than a teaspoonful of shale!

It's a Stoke team built by Tattum, Vasey, Crabtree & Co. History tells us that it will be a poor side. Surely everyone now knows this!

Are there any promotors/saviours out there for the Potters???

Why didn't they buy covers made from a breathable material in the first place?

Why would Sky negotiate on anything until they know the following: a) Level of EL, i.e. GP riders involved? Number of teams in the EL c) Who those teams are Why isn't it obvious why Sky won't talk? The structure of the EL for the following season should be decided in July!

The Brum meeting was mediocre and the Poole meeting OK. I'd describe neither as good or anything approaching excellent. The slo-mo's showed the Poole track to be shockingly rough, I remember seeing Greg Hancock bouncing around on the entrance to the corners.

Is this not an excellent opportunity for some investigative journalism by the Speedway Star?

Track prep is particularly bad throughout the country. I've been watching speedway over 30 years and I don't think there's a man in the country who knows how to prepare a track 100% properly for a variety of conditions. An example being on a hot day they go round spraying the top surface with water and then the bikes go round digging in the dirt and spraying dry dust in the air! Track preparation is a subject that should be investigated by Mr Rising and in an ideal world the BSPA should have a track prep school (will never happen) where people are taught how to prepare a track.

First off, get some shale that is suitable for speedway, instead of any old rubbish that you can get from the quarry down the road!