Gresham78

I agree with a lot of what has been said on this thread. It will be a tragedy if Brandon is redeveloped. I got round all the Elite League tracks last season (bar Peterborough)and in my opinion Brandon is head and shoulders above anywhere else. The stadium has more facilities than most others and as a Swindon fan I'm very envious as the Abbey is a dump in comparison (sorry fellow Robins fans but it is). I don't know Mr Sandhu but as others have said I very much doubt he's doing anything about locating another site and let's face it you're unlikely to get anywhere with the permissions that Brandon enjoys. I started watching speedway at Eastville in Bristol and when the Bulldogs were thrown out I remember the empty promises made by the council about doing 'everything possible to help the team find an alternative site'. I wish Colin Mills, Speedibee and all other Bees fans the very best of luck with whatever plan they may employ to save the Stadium. I don't think this is just about Coventry either; it will be a great loss to the sport in general if Brandon closes.

Whilst I applaud the attempt made to provide opportunities for young British riders to progress I'm not convinced they've gone about it in the best way, only time will tell. At the end of the day I still feel the big problem is that the sport needs to be governed by an independent body. With the current set up I can't see how promoters can make decisions for the good of the sport when at the end of the day they want to further the interests of their own team illustrated by Matt Ford's comment in the local press before the AGM; “ we'll try to help other clubs by accepting the rules they bring to the table” but insists he will “never accept anything which will truly damage Poole”. I don't know who would make up the independent body but I can't see how the sport will ever move forward with the existing set up. I don't think there's anybody currently in the BSPA with the vision to give the sport the much needed revamp it needs to secure its future in this country.

I feel sorry for Shadders and the other Rockets fans who made the trip up to the Oaktree Arena to watch this mismatch. It was my first foray into Premier League racing (I'm a Swindon fan but we only seem to average one home meeting a month these days!) and I was somewhat disappointed to say the least. Only Anders Mellgren put up any sustained resistance; Allen woke up towards the end whilst Bunyan looked good in his first 2 rides only to fade badly. The other 4 were a disgrace managing just 6 points between them. Having seen Jason Garrity's gutsy performance in the in the British final he must be a big loss especially if the inept Robert Mear is his replacement. I guess the Rebels fans won't be complaining too much but i don't think one sided matches like this are good for the sport in the long run.

I don't think the the meeting was 'shambles' or a 'laughing stock'. Granted the track was sub-standard this year and they need to find out why and make sure it doesn't happen again but I don't think it turned the event into a farce. There was some decent racing and I thought the presentation was fine. I enjoyed the day as I did last year; Cardiff's a nice city and I always like the atmosphere pre-meeting. The Millennium stadium's a great venue and although some people have complained about the cost of tickets, considering you're seeing the world's best riders in decent surroundings I think its good value.