The Voice Of Reason

Do what? Nilsson gives 100% effort, and will in all possibility, be Lakeside's rider of the year. Watty.........well, it depends what bloke turns up; and whether he likes the track after his opening ride.

1. Good job you were not in charge of The Nuremburg Trials with that stance. Everyone would have walked free. 2/3/4. More or less all the same rhetoric, so I've lumped them together. However, to summarise, and hopefully put some 'meat on the bones', could you please enlighten us by answering: - What exactly should Lakeside have led, and why? - What more could Lakeside have done, and how?

How many people can you get in a village hall!

Dear oh dear. The lengths Nigel Pearson will go to in an attempt to snog Darcy Ward.

I'm never very supportive of the Poole promotion but I can't blame Middleditch for that decision. Having had Watt in the Lakeside team for 3 seasons, he's one of the last blokes I'd ever select for Heat 15; Watty rarely delivers when the heat is truly on - particularly away from home. Holder would have undoubtedly not agreed to take the final heat ride unless he had the self-confidence to provide a return. It wasn't to be. Had he delivered, Middleditch would have been hailed a hero; and Holder's selection would have been considered a pure master stroke. That's management. You sometimes have to make a difficult decision based upon gut instinct; coupled with true faith in someone. When it comes off you are deemed a tactically-aware hero. When it goes t!ts up, be prepared to take the flack. That said, a great result for Wolverhampton Speedway Club. Well done to everyone concerned. To demonstrate such tenacity and resilience against good opposition, should hold you in good stead for the remainder of the season. Worryingly, I think the wooden spoon fight-off between Leicester and ourselves is now well and truly on.

Maybe he's now realised that listening to his 'agent'; and turning his back on his contract with Lakeside for more dosh with Belle Vue at the start of 2013, was a major cock-up? No doubt the anti-Laksiders/anti-Cook'ites will jump down my throat; and say it was Douglas's and Cook's fault, etc. However, tell me one other rider who has EVER said that Lakeside's Promotion are unscrupulous to deal with, pays wages late, etc? His replacement was a certain Richard Lawson - a true gentleman who has been loyal to us for the past three seasons. So do I feel sorry for Richie Worrall? Well, yes I do actually. He's a Brit and had bags of potential. I hope things work out well for him in whatever path he now decides to tread.

What did people honestly expect? The entire Sky product is utterly puerile; with Tatum & Pearson being the ultimate automatons who don't possess, nor convey, a single comment or br@infart of their own. Ward does absolutely nothing for me. I believe he's done his time for his crime. However, I fail to get swept along in this tide of mass euphoria about how entertaining he is. He gates. He goes. People call that entertainment? Thank God I can remember the days of truly exciting speedway; when it was the riders' natural ability to overtake that got me so readily engaged.

To answer your first two questions, no. Never read The Independent. As a member of TUSC, I don't read any newspaper, other than The Morning Star. To answer your third point, dont know - nor really care.

Considering that these posters were on a boarded background and fixed to lamp posts and traffic lights, how does anyone know whether or not agreement was sought, and subsequently given, by our local council? Given that the circus is being staged on council open-space ground, again with payment to the local council, maybe what they have done is perfectly legal? It's a pity that since the cessation of The Speedway Mail, we appear to have a few Daily Mail readers instead.

Why not do away with start marshalls all together, and just have a sniper in the refs box?

Just to add to the poster suggestion that I mentioned earlier. I've just driven back from my Mother-in-Laws this afternoon. During a drive of about 2 miles, I spotted SIX (yes, I did actually count them) posters advertising a circus locally. No doubt, there will be many more in local shops. Most circuses I have been to seem to sell out - I wonder how much they spend on social media; compared to whacking a few eye-catching posters up around the town?

Green lights only come on Grachan when all 4 riders are stationary; and in not less than 1.5 seconds thereafter, tapes are released. To this end, I can hardly imagine any rider moving backwards at this stage!

I don't have superior knowledge; suffice to say that I do know, having spoken to the two guys at Lakeside, that a starting marshall's job is potentially just a tad more difficult than you clearly perceive it to be. Moreover, how is this 'no backward movement' going to work in a practical (not a theoretic) way? At what stage of the starting process can't a rider move back? How is a rider meant to position his bike into the material on the start line, etc? As for your clutch question - I assume that you've never realised that they wear.

Maybe you'd care to enlighten us how a starting marshall is supposed to keep an eye on all four riders; particularly when he is looking towards his left (or right) pulling a particular rider forward? Maybe only use starting marshalls that have eyes up their @rse? And how is adopting the status quo ever get over the problems of perceived 'unsatisfactory starts/deemed flyers'? As for riders slow away under the old system. Barry Thomas springs to mind. He couldn't gate to save his life and, whilst often being the bloke at the back entering the first bend, he was rarely in that position coming out of the second.

Oh dear, 'Rogue Rossiter's' team couldn't even beat Leicester. My heart truly bleeds purple p!ss. Suffice to say, WELL DONE Leicester. Rossiter, 'Team GB Manager', do one you utter pleb.

You can say it as many times as you want mate..............but I'm not going to agree with ya!

I really can't make out why we have an interval White Knight. It's just an excuse for promoters to drag out proceedings; in the vain attempt to make the happy-clappy automatons believe that they've had their money's worth - by taking two hours to provide 15 poxy minutes worth of actual entertainment. And at an average price of around £18, we're led to believe that its good value! Speaking of which, the cost of the aforementioned meetings at Hackney cost (referring to a programme) £2.50 admission in 1982. Basing that price upon The Financial Times inflation calculator, £2.50 in 1982 is worth £8.57 today. So, in effect, we are getting fleeced MORE THAN DOUBLE what admission used to cost. Added to which in The British League, we saw the World's cream of the crop; not the (cheaper waged) Premier League fill-ins dished up today within this so called 'Elite League'. Seriously, its no wonder that this once great sport is now on the bones of its @rse, is it!

Social Media (albeit its often anything but social!) is one thing, obviously. That said, there are probably a few old f@rts like me that don't have/see the point of using Facebook; never check Twitter, etc. However, aren't these advertising mediums read, in the main, by people who already know that speedway (or particular clubs) still exist? What about the old ways of promoting - something revolutionary, called 'posters'? Hackney Speedway posters used to be everywhere in the east end of London; readily accessible to the eyes of everyone in local cafes, shops, etc. When I lived in Essex, I lost count of the amount of people in the local couple of pubs I drank that, when mentioning Lakeside, responded "oh, is speedway still going"? I lived about 5 miles from the track. The local papers hardly ever covered it, and promotion locally was non-existent. As others have eluded to, some people in this game have got a bloody cheek calling themselves 'Promoters'. They truly are anything but.

For those people on here with short memories, how did 'tape touching' delay meetings more than present-day starting procedures? Back in the day (and this isn't looking through rose-tinted spectacles, as I have programmes to prove it!) at Hackney, we'd start at 8pm. 13 heats of British League Speedway, followed by 'rider of the night' over another five heats. Sometimes, three Golden Helmet match race-offs thrown into the mix, and I'd still be in my local just after 10pm. These days, promoters seem happy to string out 15 heats of utter borefest; and if that isn't bad enough, 'an interval' after Heat 10. WHY? Why do we need to have a bloody 'interval'! It's not as if tracks these days have so much shale that the tractor needs to do 20 laps to pull the material back in from the boards! So I have to disagree with those who say rolling at the gate wasted time. In my honest opinion: - Current rules on tape touching, and the subsequent penalty, WASTES time. - Riders continually going back for 'maintenance' WASTES time. - Riders being pulled back for 'unsatisfactory'(?) starts WASTES time. - Pulling all riders back, when someone gets a flyer, WASTES time.

for all those who say that riders should 'sit perfectly still' at the start, you have clearly never handled a clutch on a motorbike; let alone one that is powered by an ultra-powerful 500cc racing engine! As you clearly haven't got a clue what you are talking about, please don't inflict your utter rhetoric on others.

I've said before on this forum that tape-touching should definitely be re-introduced. People saying it delays starts clearly were not about in 70's and 80's! Meetings were completed in a fraction of the time that it takes these days; we'd always have second halves, golden helmet races, etc. and still be finished sooner than today's utterly boring, drawn out debacles. And to counter the argument that it's unfair. What can be more unfair than a rider getting a genuine flyer from the gate, only for it to be pulled back - thus causing more delays whilst riders re-settle? As long as the tapes aren't broken (which actually happened very rarely) where's the problem? Oh, I know. It means promoters may have to look at paying out wages for second half rides. After all, 15 heats of speedway for around £18 is wondeful value. Just look at the ever-increasing queues of people at your local track.

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^ 100%!

I think any fly would like to be in attendance; particularly given the amount of utter sh!t that's undoubtedly going to be coming out.

Didn't you know that 10 is Sky's favourite number?