Grand Central

In a post by Tony McDonald back in 2009 in a thread announcing the news of Ole Olsen's retirement as SGP director he quoted a certain person called PHILIP RISING who made that exact claim. Could he be a relation? The link is here

And why shouldn't he ... if your opinion is correct that the attendance is so dependant on his inclusion? If the profitability of the venture is related to HIM. Why should he not be paid his worth?

My esteem for, and our goodwill toward, Ivan Mauger is immense. I understand completely that his family wish for privacy and we should respect that. But it was also quite moving to hear Barry Briggs' update (albeit in German translation), and perhaps unauthorised (?). I think the future is going to be extremely difficult for those close to Ivan. And for those of us with a much more distant 'connection' to the man we will have to accept that we will not have any priority for information. But I think this is one subject that we can all agree on wholeheartedly. No one here has any intent to pry or to upset anyone. No matter what, we all wish the great man and his family the very best of wishes. .

This is an outrage! Have Amnesty International been informed of the plight of BSI? Prisoners in a contract of such cruelty. In my own business I must pay for my staff, for my stock, the rental of my premises, my business rates and sundry other expenses. All in the hope of making a profit at year end. Oh I do wish I had someone to plead poverty on my behalf. Especially someone so impartial. .

.I tried so hard to be really reasonable. And fair. Perhaps Darcy is not nearly as bad as his advocates? .

When it comes to people I meet or know in the world. I decide if I like them or not. Sometimes that will be decided for quite irrational reasons. Other times it will be for more specific tangible reasons. But I'm not going to be persuaded to change my dislike of someone because of a post in their favour made here. That would be impossible. I do not like Darcy Ward. And riding Speedway for Poole is not the reason. Not by a long way.

Like manna from heaven! Perhaps the worst news of all to Mr Ward's 2014 hopes. An endorsement from gustix!

Yes. Tai started with 'blank piece of paper' for me. I had never felt cause to dislike, or like. Although in losing his father in the manner his did certainly meant that only the most cold hearted weirdo could do anything other that wish him well. This time last year I just did't think he stood a chance. How wrong was that? But it was the character of the man that was shown over the year that transformed by opinion. As well as his victory. I wish him well for 2014 and really hope he can get back-to-back titles. That would be some achievement, indeed. Darcy Ward .... Is quite another thing.

My answer to the original poster is yes Ward can win it. I will not be betting on him do so As I would prefer anyone but him to win. I want to look forward to an exciting year of racing. In which I can shout and scream for others. Enjoying myself thoroughly. Whilst hopefully seeing him fail.

Any commercial enterprise that wants to be the SGP organiser must pay big fees to the commercial rights holder, the FIM. Especially if that organiser can turn a profit of several million as a result. They negotiate to determine a fee that both agree to before signing the contract. Are you suggesting that the FIM should be charging BSI less than market rate for some reason? Presumably the inscription fees were laid out in detail before those poor people at BSI were forced into signing up. The Prize money is paid directly by the FIM, not BSI.

Really HA, do keep up. It was tmc who posted the snippets who was thinking they had been taken out of context. No one else. Absolutely no run ins with the guy here. It is a very interesting article. And it has stimulated debate. It is why we come here

.There is, and always has been, a section of the forum called 'The Future of Speedway' with just one subsection entitled 'The Way Ahead'. It is accessible from the main page. It is not over populated.

I think your assumption may be a little wide of the mark though. We are taking about a time when the British League was graced with the likes of Ivan Mauger, Ole Olsen, Bruce Penhall, Michael Lee, and Dave Jessup. I have no no reason to believe that Ipswich were paying Sanders more than other clubs were paying these guys. The very fact that upon hearing what Ipswich were paying could lead to others immediately offering more would tend to suggest that actually he was not getting that good a deal from JB at all. I do not think that JB was attempting to set a MAXIMUM ceiling of any type in this anecdote. He was just trying to limit Sanders options, to just his own advantage. Ivan and Ole's paymasters at the time probably silently winced knowing just how high the REAL 'ceiling' had already got at the time. Miles above Billy's head. .

You quite correctly state what has happened.Just as others have done. And no, none of us like it, do we? Well, we can hope.But I wouldn't say 'surely' . .

Great post by Mr Easter, I do not argue with any part. Thanks

.Absolutely right, That's why it's not easy running any business, I can tell you. As these are the decisions we face each year, each week and each day.. Get it right and you prosper; wrong and you fail. Stock decisions, whether to pay for 'talent' or take on new sales people. Businesses constantly have to take decisions without KNOWING that they will bear fruit. It's what we do!

So we completely agree. The Promoters are totally mental not to keep their payments to riders within the limitations of their own business. And year after year they continue the insanity. And we also agree that a maximum wage scale would never work as they would always break it. But isn't it good that two people who have never been promoters can still criticise them. And don't feel inhibited by Mr Easters rather different view.

But if your annoyance at how much your employer was paying you got too great I presume you may think about looking to pastures new. I just don't think you would find it acceptable if all the employers had met up beforehand and set the pay for you in your job. Leaving you with no options at all. You may even get a little litigious. Mind you if you were any good at your job I bet one of the other employers would find a way of paying you that little bit extra 'under the table' . So why kid our selves that it would ever be different just because it's Speedway. Keeping wages down by good negotiation is one thing. The wild imagining of being able to maintain a 'maximum' pay scale is just fantasy.

Clearly, we disagree on far, far more than just a pay policy..

Professional Sport is a 'normal business'. People can close their eyes, very tightly and make the biggest, bestest 'wish" they can, as they blow out the candles on their Birthday Cake. But it won't turn back time to the days when a Pay policy would hold. If it ever did.

Actually I think both Tony and James Easter are missing several points here. First of all, the goings on over Billy Sanders were an attempt to operate a cartel. To create a system where there is no free collective or individual bargaining; that the wages for all would be set at the dictat of the 'employer'. There were times in the, now distant, past when this was acceptable. Those times were on their way out in the early eighties. It is frankly bizarre to lament their passing in the way you both seem to be doing. Wages for Journalists and Travel Agents are not set in such a fashion, so why Speedway Riders? Speedway Promotions should have only paid riders what their own business could afford and have negoitiated with the riders accordingly. The fact that the promoters have found that they have not been up to this is a seperate issue. And one for which those poor, poor men deserve every criticism going. Secondly, if the man's words have been taken out of context in any way, then who is to blame? Possibly the man giving us the carefully selected segments of quotes? It seems fairly clear from the snippets that you have given that Mr Easter definitely does think he has more entitlement to offfer criticism specifically because he briefly was a Promoter himself. And that others who have just paid at the turnstiles throughout the whole of their Speedway-attending life do not deserve to be heard with the same respect. Frankly he made it personal right there.

He had a free choice to do. And he took it. But in doing so he did not 'buy' himself the entitlement to an opnion that he would deny lesser mortals. The fact that he seems to think it did could say more about the man than we need to know.

A thread that got just 14 replies, 422 views and the last contribution was made over a fortnight ago. So I hardly think it would have been a critical factor. The current thread where a chap is complaining that his Speedway Star was a bit late arriving has an almost identical level of interest. For Goodness Sake. No this is a really welcome surprise. One Hundred Per Cent Earned by the young man himself. And yet another opportunity for us all say 'Well Done, Tai'.

Clearly, help is now needed quite urgently. I will leave it to others much better qualified in this area to come forward.

I think people are being very unkind. Poor Colin asks a perfectly civil question and had to do so whilst overcoming his own limitations. It would be cruel to send him in the direction of Amazon, Ebay or even Google to search for his Book. The search facility would clearly be beyond him. An audio book, a picture book or an easy-to-read large print edition may be the way to go. Perhaps he could speak to his key-worker, or his educational access point will have a designated SENCO who could assist him.