Hamish McRaker

Not sure if his arm injury is sorted out. Hope so, but it didn't sound good last I heard.

If GamingUK is the stadium owner, and they've not exactly best buddies with the council by the sound of things, why would they want to crack on with the stadium? The carrot seems to be building more houses, but is there already a sufficient number built to enable them and the developers to now just sit back, do nothing, and start a dirty tricks strategy aimed at getting speedway kicked out altogether? This situation could just drag on for another few years

Wasn't he bragging about that on Twitface or something? Not the wisest thing to do. But doesn't Mrs H have a decent paid job I gather? So maybe he's more the househusband during the winter. Nobody has asked or required him to risk his life riding speedway, it's his choice and so if it's not bringing in enough, then it sounds like he (and his wife) have maybe got some decisions to make. I don't really believe that he's exactly rolling in money, though.

I think that what Chris Harris maybe needs to keep in mind is that Speedway Rider isn't a proper job, so if his income needs aren't being properly met in that way, he needs to find ways to supplement that income. Saying that he wasn't any good at school and implying this prohibits him from doing anything else is utter piffle, which I'm sure he knows. What is he expecting to do, carry on riding speedway for a living until he turns 67?

They need to bring back uncovered wickets, levy hefty fines if 90 overs are not bowled in a day, and cut out those ridiculous hourly drinks breaks.

Vulnerability to shoulder and neck injuries is sadly the undoing of many of the more tall and slender riders whether earlier or later on in their riding careers. Being more box-shaped seems to be more advantageous, in the long run.

Three leagues. First level about 10% stronger than 2018 CL. Second tier about 20% weaker than 2018 CL. Ideally 10 clubs per league with 36 match programme. No break during World Cup and no "Shield" competition. Promotion and relegation but "moving up club" can decline it. Doubling up limited to 2 riders per club, but only the two with lowest averages in initial team declaration, and to be drawn from the league/s below. Third league as now a development league, strictly cost controlled and with very low initial team building points limit.

Alun Rossiter makes slightly unfortunate choice of words. Shock of shocks. Well maybe but that's down to Jason Doyle to call out isn't it?

As are those who use them, so I am informed:-)

Speedway playoffs will always be unsatisfactory in so far as a team, having been consistent and successful for most of the season, and finish at top of the league table, can have it all taken from them through injuries to riders occurring during the latter part of the season and the playoffs themselves. In other sports where playoffs are used to determine the champions, clubs can rest key players from later league matches if they have sufficient margin which allows that. With Speedway clubs having no facility for that, and additionally with riders having commitments with other teams and risk of losing their services, playoffs for Speedway leagues is a very unsatisfactory and imperfect way to decide the champions. They cause too many injustices and anomalies. But the playoff advocates will say ah yes, that may be so, but look at the attendance money they generate, look at the crowds the playoff pull in. But to that I would say that playoffs also serve to reduce attendances at regular season matches, and cause the season to be still running when really it shouldn't, when availability of replacement riders becomes almost impossible, at times rendering these matches farcical and not in the sport's best interests. The development league should absolutely not use playoffs to decide it's champions. The second tier could perhaps justify one playoff match, a grand final between the two top finishers. The first tier, purely on a financial and operational justification, could justify more extensive playoffs with the league running to strict timings due to the smaller size.

I think this is the business owned by the Fastone brothers (pronounced Fastoni, as in Swiss Tony). I hear they could be interested in getting involved in owning a Speedway club

So can the two clubs count on the BSPA to give this a big promotional push? Involving spending money? Just as a little thank you gesture for being so co-operative in cancelling fixtures during the season for the "greater good".

So you get the Worky and Lakeside teams together for a presentation of the Shield, and you get a big picture of Mr Godfrey stuck over it when it comes to the photos being taken.

Speedway really has completely lost the plot if there is to be a triple header between the same two clubs. Just ditch the Shield (call it a shared winner) and the league match (call it a draw), and leave them as monuments to the past.

So, is it to be mixed gender toilets for Beaumont Park?

I thought the commentating on BT by Pearson and Tatum was much improved this season. In particular, Pearson seemed to be much better at reading races as they developed.

I thought in the two heats won by Ellis, he was as still as could be expected and got them right. Certainly if you compare them with typical starts by, for example, Hans Andersen, he was as still as the Dalai Lama meditating.

The referee was on balance correct in his decision to exclude Palm Toft. He had given away the racing line to Jakobsen, and attempted to belatedly regain it. However Jakobsen was legitimately where he was, had already passed Palm Toft. I think there was a strong case for excluding both Ellis and Harris. The track was never going to produce sensational racing and was prepared for Klindt and this was shown by Lambert having to bust a gut to get any grip. I doubt that Palm Toft will be able to ride on Wednesday, so maybe Charles Wright can do a job if he is available and has equipment ready.

You also have people being effected by shock on these type of occasions, and they go into a kind of state where they have trouble in responding, both to the incident and to instructions being made. Everyone reacts differently and if some are seemingly slow to comply, it's often for that reason.

This is what happens when people have paid to go into the stadium, and then find out the team's No.1 is not there and r/r is being used instead

Dear Mr Stead I am a therapist, specialising in helping people overcome addictive and compulsive behaviour. My expertise covers the likes of drug and alcohol addiction, technology addiction, and compulsive shopping, to name just a few of the more common ones. You may be interested in a new area I am now specialising in, which is addiction to making changes to Speedway teams. If you, or anyone you know, is suffering from this terrible affliction, then please do contact me, to arrange a confidential discussion.

I think for next season its better if they just let Hans run things

All fine and good if a venue has the luxury of being able to set out a track without any impediments, then yes also make it as smooth as Roger Moore. But if that's not the case due to the venue having to be used for other things as well, or if the original designer of the arena and track was an idiot as with Leicester, then it needs other ways to ramp up the entertainment.

Regional papers these days are often about 2 weeks+ behind with anything that isn't mainstream, or assaults and murders. Maybe they still catching up with Leicester's team changes from last week!! You can hardly blame them for getting confused, the poor little interns.

I liked watching the riders bouncing and bucking around on the bumps and ruts. A true test of the men v the boys, with boys getting badly freaked out. They need to get practicing on ploughed up fields to stop them becoming like a bunch of mummy's boys whenever a track isn't like a billiards table. In fact what speedway in the UK needs is to have more tracks like ploughed fields. Otherwise it gets like the Andrex league in football, full of spoiled little mummy's boys. And don't get me talking about covered wickets in cricket. Incidentally I saw a programme on the gogglebox a couple of weeks ago about some race down a steep hill near Gloucester. The competitors have to chase a piece of cheese and although they start off by running, they soon just roll and bounce all the way down. If Chris Harris ever decides to give it a try, I'm sure he'd win. So why don't these new GB trainers take young riders out to steep hills and get them doing that sort of thing as well as practicing on ploughed fields? This is the entertainment business, so well done to Poole.