stratton

Well all things have to be considered, speedway is now at a stage where the promoters have to take notice of the fan.Are you telling me if say Poole for (ex) took Ward and Holder off the wage bill they could not take a couple of quid off the admission.Your way of thinking basically the like it or lump scenario has no chance speedway without the sky money would be knackered within a few years. You are in total cookoo land if you believe that,if say a young Pole can go to his local track seven times a week to practice and also get help on the mechanical side.Has he got just a little bit of an advantage over a young English lad? who is lucky to get one day a week to practice.Grass roots we have some great people who are busting a gut to help the young ones over here but there hands are tied.And if your last sentence is correct why is that outstanding talent Lambert based in Germany.

Well you are entitled to your opinion 'orion but the word charity is a silly statement and believe it or not i see riders half a lap behind now and who knows it might be less than 17 pound.?

Thanks for that Fromafar' is that because of the expense or inconvenience? if so such a shame really!

If the Wards of this world are not in the league and say you have the top level of rider of the calibre of Watt, King,Harris,.The gap between those riders and good PL/ D/uppers and PL second strings there is not a huge gap.Now is the ideal time to do it in,the EL it is at its weakest since the 90s do you suggest no change and carry on with a broken product? and that is with SKY'S capital being pumped in.

How would it put the crowds down? i here plenty of gripes from people who believe our lads should get a helping hand now.Also with Woffy leading the way and the Lamberts,Ellis, Birks,Howarth and Kerrs of this world on the scene Brits coming through has got to be good for our sport.One thing that you seem very naive about is this country has far to long been a breeding ground for foreign riders (alot i may add who are no world beaters and expensive) to earn a living.SCB on his post puts across good suggestions and that's a start and we can go from there.

If there was a new league do people believe it should be made compulsory to have at least two Englishmen in the side.? I believe now is the time to push this through cutting down on costs and giving our lads more prolonged chances.Are we in law aloud to insist on this? i don't know the answer to that question but say if they're was a 16 or 18 team league is insisting on two Englishmen to many.?The only concern i would have is would we have a few to many out of they're depth or maybe without the GP stars the gap in class would not be that noticeable any thoughts.!

When i have seen Berwick on sky and the U21s ( ect) it looks like a terrific racetrack.The promotion there really seem to have done a brilliant job they promote very well the same with Workington and Newcastle.But i have heard on the forum that sometimes it is hard to pass why is that?i watched the Newcastle match again.Couldnt they cut off more of the football pitch on bends 3 and 4 so it is not so narrow when you come off the banking?.Saying that the races i have seen on the Internet i have enjoyed reminds me of the SHAY if they could get the track more consistent this track would have to be in contention for more big events surely.

In my experience of watching sport luck has a big part to play you need talent of course but you need a break.Also Kerr was deemed not good anough for a regular spot at Leicester Newcastle had faith and they got the rewards.Thats what i mean luck and your face fitting being in the right place at the right time your assessment does not happen in most cases .The odd one comes through but endless others for all sorts of reasons fall by the wayside when they should not of.

Absolute nonsense that last statement ask Sturridge at Liverpool always had quality never given a proper chance now he is showing his talent.Also this applies in speedway you have to be given a chance to show it sometimes if it goes to one big league alot of the mediocre foreign riders will be ousted.All those young Brits i named are worth a chance Mr English at Newcastle has shown it this year with young Kerr.With your attitude no wonder we are not much of a force in some sports even Beckham said now he would not of been given half the chances he had as a young player it is ten times harder now.

Going back to that era,Bernie Collier belle Vue ( ect ) and before that if a junior won his race he went in with the big boys.I always felt this brought some on quickly obviously some were out of there depth.But those races added something to the night especially when the junior mixed it with the big boys and give it a go.

It is not just about the cost hopefully some of those young English riders will take preference therefore getting better.The same with div 1 and 2 football two many mediocre foreign players getting chances taking a place up robbing a Brit when often they are no better.Cost cutting giving a Brit a chance its got to be good hasn't it?

You have gone right off topic but it does not matter the question first of all was about cost cutting.If it is one big league then you will see the point that was being made.The likes of Kerr, Greenwood,Jacobs,Bates,Starke,Lambert,Rose,Carr, and other youngsters don't have to be all Brits all getting regular chances.Therefore they will take preference over the mediocre foreign rider costing an arm and a leg that's also better for GB longterm also.

Did he ever say BRITS ?a simple answer is the double uppers the likes of Robson, Auty,Worrall,Dyer,Summers,Morris,Tungate, all are good anough to go full time but they want to stay busy and earn a living that's why they ride PL.Thats why it makes me laugh when the EL snobs criticise the PL without those d/ uppers and PL guests the EL would be a worse product than it is now.

Those tracks you rolled off there ER were all very good tracks great variation different challenges for the riders that's what I miss now.Saying that now we have Somerset,Scunny,Redcar,Workington,Berwick(massive potential) all good tracks but it is sad when you look at the great tracks we have lost Odsal is another one.

That was not the question though was it? those riders i named as examples are no better than PL riders yet what money are they on.? cost cutting is what the question is about.

RIders like Miskowiak,Nillson, Gustafsson, a few examples riders like that how many of those would be in out no 1s in the PL.?Also no doubt about it foreign riders get alot more help with finance transport (ect) which costs more.

I think thank goodness we have the double uppers, otherwise the standard would be even worse they raise the level when they are available.

Ive got the Ray WIlson DVD and he said that he didn't ever think about the lamp standards when he raced.And visiting riders they loved riding there as it was a good and fair racetrack no home advantage.Going back to the Blackbird rd days how good was Ila Teromaa? i see him in the 1977 BLRC and he was excellent he also he reached the Wembley jubilee final.I think he badly broke his leg and was never the same a shame as he could of been a force for a few years.

When i first started going there were scratch races in the second halves and the fans loved them.You often had a favourite who was maybe not the best but improved and maybe went on and have a career.Anybody who has the guts to ride has my full admiration i would love those sort of races to comeback again.

It was a great track i loved going there ,over a few years in the Rogers era Gramstad, Courtney, Cook (ect).We rode Leicester alot i think the Midland cup and maybe other cups i think we had a good record against them generally.With Blackbird RD if i remember rightly didnt the stadium have alot of pylons now maybe they're would of been a safety issue great track though.I see one of the Golden Gauntlet meetings i think Scott Autrey won it the year i went.

Was that Chris Julian? what about Jim Tebby he was short and stumpy.!!

A great meeting a great crowd obviously with Poole being the pulling club with Ward and Hancock.But lets be honest that meeting is just filling over the cracks really not the norm.I bet Swindon didn't make anything last week it probably just covered some of the losses on other meetings.If anything now is the right time to make changes they're has to be cut costing measures and quickly.Ward, Puk, and Holder, are the only ones i would miss but for me the sport surviving in this country is more important than the stars.

Maybe but if clubs have a wage cap then the likes of Ward(ect) won't be part of it surely.?

Some great points and this topic has been a real eye opener for me and some real tough decisions have to be made.The thing that i have no idea about and it will be interesting to here how others felt and how most feel? about the standard dropping and the likes of Ward(ect) missing.I know we have Mr Brum who has a strong view on this and i fully respect that and i can 100 per cent see where he is coming from.My view is i am excited that they're might be a PL like standard/product but do others feel the same? No Ward or Woffinden( ect) but swap them for the likes of Cook,Doyle.What excites me is they're could be more variety different tracks also a way of making sure all our young Brits get a chance.I have no idea how the Swindon public feel would the crowds be badly affected who knows i think they're has to be alot of research and feedback done before any knee jerk decisions are made.

I see Per ride quite alot when Malc Holloway was with the racers and what a talent he was.An awesome riding style and he went on to achieve great things just hope Per and his family are well i have alot of good memories of his career.