TheReturn

What a fantastic meeting, with the finale ruined by that moron shouting like an imbecile. How does Pearson get the speedway commentary gig? Can't be for talent... more a case of who he knows?

King is well on the pace, seems to lack the hardness of the others, maybe that will come in time. Disagree on Harris, he's fighting hard as his last ride showed. Stead off the pace totally. We are not as good as the others, but apart from Stead, the others are not far off the pace.

You forget, the idiots on here think it is 'cool' to slag off Harris. On his day he is capable of beating anyone, and I hope tonight is that day.

Everybody suggesting we will finish 4th. I think we are capable of hitting the podium above the Aussies. No idea how some people are suggesting they will win the final, I don't see that at all. Got to be Poland, then Denmark, after that I think Team GB do have a chance.

I fully endorse this, Pearson's use of the word 'big' for everything is almost as annoying as him calling everyone a 'legend'. His new word of the week for this week though is 'skid', he's been overusing that one for sure this week.

The stadium is empty. I still think it is wrong for a sporting point of view to see the host nation to the final, I guess to ensure a crowd for the final, the lack of atmosphere for the race-off is a result of that. For the world cup final we want the best four teams there, as it happens Poland would have qualified anyway maybe, but the home nation should be seeded to the race-off, not the final if they must be seeded at all. That way all four teams in the final have raced and earned their place.

You sir (or madam) are clueless.

Watching Sky tonight? Maybe you should try and get a copy if not, it will show how idiotic your comment was.

Chip on your shoulder? Ward was an idiot on track and off track last night. Take your Aussie/Poole tinted glasses on. I was reading backtrack the other day, and I think it was Dugard or Havvy commented that go to Poland or Denmark and the home fans are passionate about their nations team, in this country (and I remember this at British finals at Cov back in the day when the yanks were good) that fans in this country seem happy to cheer their club riders over their nations riders. It was great to see Kings Lynn full of flag waving British fans last night.... but either way it does not take away the fact that Ward went back a couple of years to acting like a pathetic spoilt little brat. But then again, with so many Poole sycophants, what more can we expect?

Think your horse is higher than their horse! I used to love my speedway at Long Eaton. We never had the best riders in the world, but we had some of the best racing in the UK at times.

Perhaps those clubs may have to go Premier League then? Something needs to happen if we want the best riders riding in the UK, to call the existing Elite League 'elite' is frankly a joke.

Especially by Pearson, every other person is a legend according to him, so when a real legend deserves the status of legend it is undervalued because of the overuse of the word. Is Hancock a legend? It depends how you define a legend I guess, is it in titles or longevity at the highest standard. If the latter then maybe Hancock is worthy of the legend status.

I know Pearson likes to over exaggerate, but what was all this mass media coverage he was talking about? He was also doing his bit early on to make Niki out to be the villain, first with Tai and then with Ward. Still, we got until the very end after the final before he used the word 'legend' tonight. But back to the meeting, an interesting GP, not the best racing but the atmosphere really came across the TV, it sounded deafening. Most places do this as standard normally anyway, more expensive prices for Friday and Saturday evenings.

Yeah, we saw how 'articulate' he was on Twitter after the British Final, toys out pram.

I am not sure that really came into it to be honest, but both Derby and Forest fans that did come would often be missing if either team were playing at home so avoiding football clashes would be important, especially when Forest play due to local congestion, the same maybe during Test Match week at Trent Bridge. If local speedway existed within the East Midlands (we tend to discount Leicester) then speedway fans would likely attend, regardless of Forest/Derby/County allegiances. There was a comment on the thread about sustainable crowds at Long Eaton, under Tony Mole we had a well run team and fairly successful, so crowds were ok, although no idea if suitable but one thing needs to be remembered until Long Eaton closed a fair few 'speedway fans' came up from Leicester, who would be unlikely to come on a regular basis now they have their own team back. So wherever a track was found, good business planning would need to take into account the other big sports in the city to ensure they are not losing potential fans to other sports, i.e. football, Cricket and even Ice Hockey. Personally I would hate Long Eaton to restart with a tinpot track (as muted at the proposed but always unlikely new Station Road stadium), speedway for a Long Eaton/Nottingham team should always have a decent sized racing track IMO.

You had a choice... did not have to buy it.

I agree. Gollob used to be this way, even after he was decked at Hackney. It was actually sad to see the 'fight' come out of Gollob in recent years, mainly since he got his title. To be fair, he had little chance, Zagar was up at him very quickly. It was the boot in the balls, and ride off that I found a tad naughty.

I rarely buy a copy of the Star anymore seeing that I don't follow any specific team, but I did pick up a copy from my local Sainsbury's this week (how great it was to see it there actually, especially when Tunbridge Wells is not exactly near any track). This feedback is meant to be constructive rather than negative moaning for the sake of it, but on the pages about the SGP with the interesting interview with NP it had the race card for tonight, and the remaining SGP dates with winners, but what it did not have (unless it's hidden on another page somewhere) is the overall standings. As we now get to the business end of the season, that would be important to include during any SGP week with racecards. I know space is minimal in publications, but I thought the overall standings for the SGP is perhaps important to see from this point on in the season so when I am completing the racecard later I can see whose where in the standings (I tend to mute Pratson).

I'd be tempted to agree, provided Forest or County are not playing on Wednesday's on a regular basis (hypothetical of course at the point).

My god.... the guy brings in someone to help him in Morris, Harris is trying to improve and learn and people are still critical. Strikes me if Harris was to win a couple of GPs and finish in the top eight this season people will still slag him off.

Ditto on all of this. Middlo really did not appear suitable, perhaps having Poole superstars spoiled him and his ability to motivate a group of riders who need that to make up for lack of skill. Rosco great on TV but I am not convinced how good manager he is to be honest, I would have gone with Morris too, but will support Rosco.

£17 is fine. I don't buy into this 15 races, = 15 minutes of action which is often trotted out. It's a good 90-120 minutes evening out, a package, where people can watch the racing, have a drink and meet friends, and compared to other sports, £17 is a steal. 90 minutes of football = more than £17 at most Championship clubs these days, let alone Premiership. How much for a 20/20 cricket? How much for an evening at the darts? £17 is a good price for an evening out. However, I would add to that it would be nice for promoters to promote a little, and ensure the evening involves other entertainment in-between racing. Don't ask me what, but there must be things promoters can explore and look at to ensure that between races there is other entertainment. I would also like to see clubs ensure family tickets are available and affordable, i.e £40 for family of two adults and three kids.

Any speedway coverage is positive. However, I do hope the BSPA leave themselves some wiggle room in any agreed deal so they can look for more lucrative and better deals with other broadcasters.

Only an idiot would buy Sky just for speedway. Plus, I doubt sky are losing any sleep because a few hundred speedway fans are dropping it.

Well said... Good luck to Chris and Tai next season.