Hamish McRaker

I think young Mr Hemsley's best chance is to do a rapid u-turn back to the PL while theres still half a chance.

Nor does the majority of riders......which means if a rider learns it well enough, he can acquire one big home advantage. Just needs some persistence and the right attitude.

make engines illegal

Prevents a rider from getting too burned-out. Provides a way for a rider to keep involved in the UK league rather than disappearing (and once gone - chances of returning less likely). Possible replacement (ahead of schedule) in the event of injury. Will have to wait for 2017 until that happens. In the meantime...do it on an unofficial rota basis

But not impossible, providing of course that both riders (on similar averages)are agreeable to the plan. Better if this was all officially set up before start of season, which it possibly will be from 2017 after the 2016 AGM approves it. Until then it has to be fudged.

Would it work if Lynn signed Doyle to begin the season at no.1, and Iversen doesn't ride in the UK. Then after a couple of months the team is re-declared with Iversen coming in to replace Doyle. Then after a couple more months its re-declared again with Doyle returning.

Swaying like a drunk on Sauchie Hall street on a Friday night. Just before he falls over into the gutter

Comedy gold. Zagar just loves being at Beaumont Park on a Saturday!!!

You sure you don't mean 1-5? Cannae see the league functioning if it's limited to 2 in the 1-7

I suspect there have been some discussions going on recently about Leicester wanting to have some or even all of their EL home matches next season on a Friday - for reasons which are well known by now. Presumably there has been some reluctance on Coventry's part to allow that to happen, but in any discussions Leicester has been mindful of Coventry's potentially difficult situation. So the offer to provide Cov with a temporary home in 2017 could well be a part of these negotiations.

Greatly enjoying seeing the BSF performing it's own Colo-rectal Endoscopy procedure. Keep it up! Nurse!!! Nurse!!!

He says that....what he actually thinks could be a different matter! It's smooth, isn't it? That's what riders prefer?

I'm sure he has all of the costs properly documented £650,000 or something like that wasn't it? (or £800,000 "selling price"). It sounds a bit like some of those characters who go onto Dragons Den on TV claiming their company is worth Zmillion and within about 5 minutes Peter Jones has reduced the real value to about a tenth.

I'm trusting you to have reproduced Mr Hemsley's words with complete accuracy here.......that is based on your use of the quotation marks. Anyway,reading between those lines, there certainly do seem to be some large storm clouds gathering. In fact it sounds like stormy weather may well have already broken out between the Leicester promotion and the BSPA management committee. There is probably far more going-on than meets the eye. Your point re what would Mr Hemsley do, in the event of the "changes" (whatever they are) not being accepted and implemented, is a pertinent one indeed! Could the "changes" include having an independent professional management of the BSPA, where vested interests could not prevail? I think this sounds like a time-bomb ticking away.

Well the only solution to that, would seem to be for the BSPA to try and re-negotiate the current legally-binding agreement they entered into in 2009. David Cameron got any free time?

.....including by the number of exclusions incurred by their riders!

As far as i know, the agreement with GSI made back in 2009 which included the terms and conditions which are now causing the Coventry management so much angst, doesn't have a formal review date so presumably its just run since then without being amended. So anyone who has become a promoter since 2009, becomes automatically bound up to those terms and conditions. I'm not a Coventry expert, so don't know when Mick Horton became the promoter......would he have been around in 2009?

Have the promoters, by signing away such power to GSI in the first place, allowed themselves to be put over a barrel? Seriously, would a promoter decide to cancel a meeting over 48 hours beforehand unless its completely open and shut case? Either the promoters decided (and have been proved correct) that it was financially worth it, to sign away so much power to a third party back in 2009, or they were wrong/eejits/conned.....(delete as appropriate).

But helpful for deciding which match/es to spend time and money going to watch?

They have that power because the promoters gave it to them in 2009! And its legally bound

From what i've been reading, it seems as though Sky/GSI (and not the promoter) are have sole right to postpone a meeting, up until when it starts, then the responsibility transfers to the SCB official (who some would argue, is a puppet of GSI). Sky is not the bogeyman, but it just seems that the balance of the relationship between BSPA/GSI/Sky such as it has been struck in formal terms, is out of kilter, with too much tilt towards GSI and Sky when it comes to decisions on postponement prior to the scheduled start time. Does this balance need to be corrected, via some sensible discussions between the parties? -yes it appears to be so. What was witnessed last night was hugely detrimental to the reputation of speedway and probably Sky Sport too, at a time when that damage can't be afforded. The parties need to work out a better, and workable balance of power as an urgent priority.

GoSpeed sort the deal with Sky don't they. I don't think promoters are involved but could be wrong So GoSpeed are basically middlemen, are they? Acting on behalf of the promoters? And the promoters give them a completely free hand? Even more incredible!

So, what are the exact terms of the agreement between Sky Sport and the Elite League? It sounds like it gives Sky complete control over whether or not a match goes ahead or is called off (before the start time anyway), and over how the track is prepared. How incredible! Did the promoters really agree to such terms? If they did, well they have no cause to protest when this sort of thing happens. I don't know how long the current agreement has left to run, but it looks like the promoters should grow a set of balls in any future negotiations and not give so much control to Sky Sports. Its all very well for Mick Horton to bemoan his ill fortune, but surely he should know full well what could happen under the terms of the agreement, something which he surely would have been a party to?

Agree with you. Far too much post-race chumminess these days and the sponsor-based "kinship" stuff has added to this. Rivalry should be genuine and at times fierce.

The UK can no longer afford to operate the current Elite League. And it is no longer a practical proposition. There still needs to be more than one level of league, but in the present times, the UK is far more suited to the top level being approximately the level of the current PL. And if the higher-priced riders don't like that, then tough, we should have the balls to say goodbye and we will go with something that is more suitable. That should put an end to issues about race nights. If any of the current EL clubs don't like that, and think it would be a backwards step, then they should look at forming a european super league or something like that.