stratton

Nielsen i think would of won six or eight world titles if it had of been a GP system earlier.Also Erik might have won more as well and often he did have Hans number!To be honest up until 83 Nielsen/ Gundersen never looked like they were ever going to dominate as you then had Penhall,Lee,Sigalos,Carter all big players.All those named and Sanders i believe would of been good in the GPS.Up to the 90s Jonsson,Moran were class and Ermolenko/Knudsen to be fair were there.After 83 Nielsen had a great chance of winning loads of titles he won four so not so bad but it should of been more.

Loram i loved as a rider but when he won it,it was a flawed system he was no way the best rider in the world.He did what he had to and grabbed his chance but he was never ever considered the best.Also you are under selling who are around now, if Emil comes back and hopefully Pawlicki gets there and there are a few sniffing around not far off making the breakthrough the future looks quite bright.

Great post and i agree with everything,GP riders we all love watching them ride but they are not viable anymore.WHEN sky pull out and they will at some stage we now need to be prudent and have a long term plan in place for that eventuality.

Do you know Ward ? Mark you are right what a great rider great bloke and i followed him from when he was the Hackney team mascot.As a example how can you compare different eras a different time.

I like Lambert pray that he pushes through some of his riding at the Abbey Thursday was brilliant.One race i think involving Rose and Morris he made one brilliant cut back hugged the line brilliant throttle control.At 16 nobody compares to Michael Lee a no 1 at 16 in a ultra tough NL,and scored 10 points in the NLRC.At 18/19 he was beating the likes of legends Mauger and Olsen (ect)will that ever happen again i believe not.

Yes my take on it he has made a grave mistake, but it should not be terminal for his career.Also i believe most of us on here enjoy his ability and in a way it would be robbing us the paying punter the pleasure of seeing him ride.I would say the same if it was a NL rider everyone deserve chances i would much prefer try to help whoever the person was.To be honest nobody on this forum can take seriously what you say with anything involving POOLE speedway you have a problem on that front.Take a deep breath and forget the past and just concentrate on the future if you look back at the amount of your posts slating Poole it is embarrassing.

Its funny over the years how people take preferences over riders, i preferred Briggs/Olsen over Mauger Ivan was a legend and often the benchmark from 69 onwards.Also i took Crump/Gollob/ Adams all day long over Rickardsson i was not a fan admired what he achieved though.Back to Ward he in my opinion is the most naturally talented rider i have seen after Lee/Gollob can he win it? of course i hope so.I hope he buckles down and gets it together be mad if he never won a WC but there have been alot of great riders who have never won it so it could slip through his hands.

Really sad WK but i can understand why, i hope come next March you would of changed your mind.If not so what! you will always be clued on and keep in touch with the sport. Just promise me one thing,if you change your mind don't worry about showing it as a weakness if you have a change of heart as it would be far from it.

I agree WK totally and i even enjoyed the odd few 51-27 and i don't know about you but I am nearly past caring now we can all beat ourselves up but nothing will change.If i go now and see the odd decent race i am more than happy sad but true.

For me WK if the rules are bent like MARADONA did in the world cup they only cheat themselves they look themselves in the mirror and see a cheat.!

I went there years ago when on holiday,and this club always held there own, paid the bills who wouldn't in that area and destination?Has it changed much? for me has not changed that much and i went alot in Malc Holloway BL career then the crowds were ok and then was a great day out.Whats changed not alot, have to say Ford has done a great job rules and winners i am not interested in really.

Do PL clubs get a dime from sky? do they have a safety net? Do PL clubs get a dime from sky? do they have a safety net? Orion this post exposes you to be honest,Poole as a example get real a beautiful place an awesome destination and they have always been well supported why would you include them in your arguement.

Any publicity is good publicity and think what you want about Ward but speedway can ill afford to lose one of its stars at this present time.

Growing up in the 70s i enjoyed it very much,things were tough but things then were simpler and by god we really appreciated what we had it is not always the case now as most things are the norm.Holidays were better,Christmas was better the speedway and football for me certainly was better, now it is all about money that rules the roost and i can't say i like it very much.

Pedersen is a three time world champion who is no where near my all time top 20 because of the way he goes about things.Zagar showed him for what he really is a bully who when taken on backs off a on top bully.Crump was tough Ricko was tough Tai can be tough but they were FAIR a massive difference.I have most of the GPS footage and if you look back over the years how many incidents has he been involved in endless times to be honest he has got away with murder.In there day he would not of lasted two minutes with the likes of Crump senior,Wilkinson,Jack Millen,Sanders,Browning they would of all out bullied him.

That is a point that Orion can't grasp or does not want to,the PL clubs don't get the sky money the EL does.As i have pointed alot of these clubs without the sky money would be knackered ok sky have signed a new deal but i believe they do not pay so much now?My stance would be to be prudent really cut some of the big hitters out and plan to be around for the next 20 years what's wrong with saving the sky money for a rainy day.?Other guys have pointed out that Ward/Tai do not put thousands on the gates great riders and they deserve everything they get but without the sky money clubs could not afford to pay those sorts of salaries on a 1000plus gate(if you are lucky)!

A very sad day why should he get involved? this is a bloke who has got away with murder on a bike over the years with his thuggish antics on a bike.

Has speedway a choice? i think not, lets see what the level of what he has done wrong first then go from there.The punishment at the worst scenario seems really harsh and it will not happen speedway is dying, now is the wrong time to make an example of somebody.

No but look into things maybe he has a problem,can they help who knows?yes and you are right if he is banned like Lee he will put bums on seats.I don't know if he will become more popular because whenever I've seen him ride the crowd has been healthy anyway i wonder why?Common sense should prevail,it is not like speedway have anough great thing's going for it to be in a position to dictate.

Are you sure? the sport has no real credibility anyway i go to watch the stars and Ward is one of them in yesteryear in other sports TYSON , MCENROE, being the baddie made them even more popular.!!

Love your sport Ove by all accounts, but this sport in this present CLIMATE can not afford to play god ok Ward has made a massive mistake but he did not HURT anyone.Ok he could of but he was not totally Pissed was he? Just over the limit how many people do that day to day it is not right of course.It was just a stupid error no more than that, Over the years with examples of TYSON,McEnroe,Lee, (ect) the personalties are big business always will be if Ward is harshly treated the sport will only suffer BIGTIME. Ban him do you know the full facts? apart from reading the sun? but if you want to self destruct the sport even more ban him then are you happy?.Common sense tells you the sport can ill afford to lose a superstar, i am not saying let him off Scott free but maybe at least listen to the reasons and even at there worst they are not worthy of the stupid ban mentioned.

Common sense Rob, will it happen i doubt it ? again all these numpties on here who get off on crucifying Ward yet they do not realise they f..k the sport even more.

I hope WK you have a change of heart,otherwise it would be a crying shame we can all tell you are passionate about your speedway.And like myself frustration has set in as we all know how better the sport could be but i am afraid it will not happen in our lifetime.Saying that i am not far behind you on your thoughts i go every week still but i am going on sufferance and habit more than anything else.I am not really enjoying it i do get the odd spark that rekindles my enthusiasm ( ie like Greaves at Swindon)but overall it is not the same as in the past.After the fiasco of last night i am not far off of doing the same as yourself have i the guts to make that stance? i don't know we shall see. Moxey yourself, WK,Oldace,Mr Mills we are so similar in a way,we all watched our speedway in a different era and still go or keep regular tabs on what is happening in the sport.It shows you do not have to go every week to know your stuff and to have a worthwhile opinion on the woes of the sport.Like yourself i have a decent memorabilia collection have built it up over a number of years and that interests me more than the present day.When i see the likes of Ward or Puk ride i still get the excitement element but in our day we had that every week.With the likes of Briggs,Mauger,Olsen,Moore,Collins,Lee,Wilson,Boocock x2 Louis,Simmons,Betts, Jansson x2)Michanek,Jessup,Crump,Sjosten,Autrey visiting our tracks.

I would not disagree about PC riding in dreadfull conditions at Cradley in October that cost him at least three top class years.How would you go about improving the EL? i have no idea i personally would cut costs but i believe there is a very tough spell ahead for british speedway.

Have to disagree bigtime Vince, you are way out i believe in the the good ol days i have seen riders risk there neck bigtime to entertain us the fan.Nowadays any rain they are looking to call it off in those days god they rode in atrocious conditsions at times i certainly was more entertained you would be most teams had three heat leaders usually with an outstanding no 1.I can see where you are coming from i did see some crap racing but even you have to say the BL was the best and a bloody good league.