Pinny

How many foreigners do you see retained for a second season after failing to average 3.00 in their first seasons though? A foreigner is usually given the boot if his average dips below 3.00... I remember mark jones at newport was struggling yet still averaging over 3 and people were calling for a young brit from the nl to take his place yet there were none out there that could of provided the scores he was posting even from reserve The el and pl clubs are essentially businesses you cant expect them to employ sub standard brits . If you take out every foreigner who has failed to hit 5.00/7.00 assessed figures and replace them with the list of riders tnt posted plus other young brits you will end up with a piss poor standard premier league and crowds will drop even further The majority of these foreign boys who come have been riding at least a decade on all sorts of bikes not just speedway bikes, they are competiting against eachother week in week out from the age of about ten maybe even younger i recall kim nilsson was racing a speedway bike in sweden at the age of about 5. Thats just one example i know as a fact, its all well and good these club mascots at the age of 6 or 7 doing a few laps on their own before a meeting on a mini bike but what they should be doing is racing other kids there age on smaller tracks regular which leads to the point that a few mini circuits should be set up for these kids, until there is a production line of young kids ready for pl racing from the uk then the calls for the pl to be flooded with sub standard nl riders should stop

How many if those riders have tried and failed pl on more than one occasion?! Your telling me the likes of brendan johnson are pl standard?! Lol! The el and pl are fine as i said its far lower fown the production line where the issues are

I dont know the ins and outs with sam and billy but do know that too many young brits get put into the pl too early and this has disastrous effects on their career. I think sam and billy were signed because of some decent scores in the nl... However i believe another year or two, maybe three before stepping up would of seen them make decent careers. But they were 6 pt cl riders with far higher scoring riders in the league at the time. You need to dominate the nl before making the move up imo. I think the 80cc league is very relevent... Its funny how all these other top countries have them (sweden poland denmark aussie) yet the countrys that dont have them (russia czech slovakia slovenia croatia etc) only produce a star rider once in a blue moon, those countries are a lot worse off speedway wise than gb. More needs to be looked into getting kids from a young age into speedway on smaller machines, it happens abroad as said and look at some of the talents we see on these shores from abroad. It may not be the sole reason but its one of the biggest.

Better attitudes towards progressing riders from a very young age in their own countrys, its as simple as that really. Until the bspa or scb or whatever put an 80cc junior structure together or something similar then always expect us to be trailing behind the foreign riders. As good as cook and worrall are, compare them with riders of similar or younger age i.e janowski, jepsen jensen, bech jensen, ward, etc. I also find it no coincidence that our brightest star at the mo, tai woffiden, spent the bulk of his life living in aussie and riding with all the young aussie boys. The lack of young brits in the pl and el is nothing to do with it, you know yourself vince what putting the likes of Sam and Billy legg into the pl done to their careers. They should of been ready in the nl before making the step up.. And they werent. The nl nowadays virtually contains all brits , we shall see how well the likes of jacobs and nielsen get on this season, but if they struggle and get booted out and are replaced by a foreigner who can consistently score 3/4/5 points a meeting who can blame the pl promoter? The foreigners taking up places excuse is wearing thin now the lack of young british talent goes a lot further down the line than too many foreigners taking up places

Brum piping up after one round. Hardly surprising.

Also all three poles wearing their swc kevs

What a rider Sullivan was in his prime... Still a class act on the continent now although finds the small tracks a bit tricky. One of my favorite riders. Good luck in your retirement Ryan

How about, as i stated, letting off fireworks in hotel rooms which could set a full hotel on fire and have potentially devastating results... Their in the public eye, passing it off as being a rockstar doesnt wash... Their breaking the law and setting a bad example just as ward done but their doing it on a larger scale. How many times have you seen a "rockstar" done for drink driving? In normal hours as well! I am not condoning what ward done it was very silly but far more famous people have done a lot worse than what he done http://www.popcrunch.com/busted-100-celebrities-arrested-for-drug-possession/ Read some of them stories. Far worse.

If i was defending him id of said what he done was acceptable. It wasnt but some of the reactions are unbelievable.

Look what bands like the who used to get up to, letting off fireworks in hotel rooms which could burn down a hotel full if familys... Its just the same, breaking the law Look at tevez this week, caught driving whilst banned... Mike tyson going down for rape yet ive seen the same people calling him a boxing legend that called ward a disgrace. What about andy powell driving a golf buggy the wrong way down a motorway pissed up... Plenty of quality sportsmen amongst other famous people break laws . Many multi platinum songs mention drug use and booze. Im not saying its right but what darcy has done, albeit wrong, doesnt compare to what other famous people have done in their time

Be interesting to hear what music and artists the darcy ward knockers listen to. How often do you see bands and artists performing on stage pissed or drugged up? From rap to heavy metal to rock to indie to dance... So many artists are on drugs its unreal yet i bet you still buy or listen to their music? And these artists fan bases are a lot, lot bigger than Wards. Their also supposed to be setting an example to their younger fans. People will argue it is irrelevent but it simply isnt at all ...

Was never going to happen. Ive never heard of a more farcial idea, it sounded like TNT or stevebrum had made it up!!

Well said. Just highlights how thick Sidney seems to be.

Yet again sidney getting things wrong so bringing irrelevent things into the topic. Just read that thread in the gp section to see what an arse he made of himself.

So what? If i post something wrong ill be quick to have people on my back saying its wrong so im quite entitled to do so to others in return The thing is ill admit i got something wrong . Not attempt a pathetic reason for that particular post. You do seem to speak some sense sometimes which is more than can be said for stevebrum

Because people are quick to pick up on others mistakes but ohhhh when its the other way round... They dont like it!

Your the only one proving to be a fool here Sidney... You make steve brum look intelligent!! Your point was you thought no rider had retained a world title since penhall which in fact proved to be wrong as a least two riders have done it. Why would i want to research riders from the 80s? I wasnt even born until 89 so have little interest in riders from a past era that i wasnt around to watch. Know they were good riders and good on them but it really is irrelevent. Quite what Holder possibly retaining a title has to do with bruce penhall and erik gundersen who raced in a different era under a different format, i do not know

I have no intention of looking Penhall up. I know exactly how good a rider he was. You said itd be tough for Holder to win back to back world titles and that you thought Penhall was the last to do so " recently" despite being in the early 80s, over 30 years ago! Just admit you got it wrong instead of digging a hole and making yourself look a fool.

Why would Penhalls defence of a one off world final have anything to do with holder defending a title in a gp series, if you meant they were totally different?! So yes you were wrong and your knowledge of yhe sgp series must be poor if you cant remember pedersens back to back world titles or rickardssons Your making yourself look more of a fool by trying to talk yourself out of that post

No i didnt see him so what that just proves even more that it wasny recent and one off final or not Pedersen has retained his world title and so did rickardsson i think in 2001 and 2002 No chill pill needed for me just pointing out that you were wrong

Penhall retain it recently? That was 30 years ago for god sake! Pedersen done it in 07/08 and pretty sure Rickardsson has done it , maybe twice

The only people Ward would bump into in a park at 4 in the morning would be a couple of doggers who, as it happens, would be breaking the law themselves. Unprofessional and wrong yes but what an over the top reaction from some on here I was wondering, did Ward admit to taking drugs before a test? I thought drug tests were completely different from booze ones... Its very rare you get tested for drugs by a copper in this country.

Really like Boxall and hope one day he returns to the PL and becomes a heatleader once again. Spoke with him a few times at Newport and Somerset in the past, a top guy

Wasnt speaking of expierience Jacques although have had a few nervy trips through customs due to a long term unpaid fine issued by the courts followed by a warrant for my arrest. Finally paid it up in the winter! Despite people hoping it doesnt happen, Darcy will be fine unless as said theres something else we dont know of

There is just no way he will be stopped coming in. He may be detained and searched but unless they find something else on him, he will be fine