weatherwatcher

So all of British speedway has to now sit back and wait for another 45 days to see who Poole will have in their team, holding up the selection of at least 4 other teams who need to name riders all because Poole are waiting on a verdict on one idiot who should not hrace our tracks for at least another 2 years in my eyes.

I have taken over the case and have decided to ban him for 2 years from the start of the coming season. It is worth a try but that that is what I would give him it would not have taken me any second thoughts on the matter. He did wrong he knew what he was doing, so he should face the penalty and lets get on with life. After all he is not the end of speedway if he does get a ban. Poole would be a bit narked about losing him, but he is not some super untouchable god. Even though some think so and they will let him get away with anything. Sorry but they can't just let him off with a slap to the back of his legs or it makes a laughing stock of the whole system. It is also holding up the process of other teams naming riders, because the said other riders are all hanging on waiting to see if he gets away scott free and takes his gloriuos place at Poole, Get it sorted it has taken far to long now should have been resolved that weekend, full stop with commers.

It is just ridiculas that a club can have so many riders as assets, if a club wanted to really call the shots could they actually stop a rider going to another club, I doubt it very much, Half of the names on the list have not been in a regular team place for the club they are an asset to, it is just stuppid to say that they are an asset to the club until they decide they don't want them any longer then try to make a fast buck out of them as with Jason Doyle with Leicester and Swindon. Swindon haven't wanted his services for years now all of a sudden they want a large amount of money from the Lions

Yes it is getting to be a tatal mess, not so long ago we where all part of the great Commonwealth, what would Queen Victoria think, I am sure she would not be amused

The whole Visa situation is like a wasps nest. It has now been disturbed and the wasps seem to be getting very angry. I am sure that in most cases thaings could be made so much simpler. They seem to be making problems where there are none in the first place. The guy in the Army is just a case of doing something or just forgetting to do it can case a major disrubtion to a families life, this is beurocrocy just gone to far. I can't waIit to see the outcome of the visa situation with the speedway riders and who comes out squecky clean at the end of it. Plus I hope that they show some common sense with that soldier, as it may just destry his family, but I don't think they have hearts,

I would have thought that this petion would have gone out to all forms of motor sport and not just to speedway in general. It is an issue for all motor sport venues. be it motoX, grasstrack and all forms of motorbike racing plus car racing venues, so why is it just sent out to us speedway fans and not the others If that is the case with the post that is above mine than they are all doing a pretty bad job, or are the motor sport fands of this contry so few. Or don't we just care anymore

It would be nice to see them give him the full 2 year ban, but can;t for one moment seeing that happen. He deserves to get at least a 12 month ban starting from the begining of this season, to show that they are taking maters like this seriously, not letting him get away with what he did scott free. He knew what he was doing and he went to ride in the meeting risking injury not only to himself but the other riders. He has never learnt his leason time and again. Will it bring him back to earth if he gets a ban and makes him look at his life and try to sort himself out, or will he carry on being an out and out plonker. Such a shame if he fails to get his life in order because the lad has so much going for him, if only he started to use his head a bit, I was going to say brain but I doubt that by the way he acts he has not got one.

From the article about non EU imigration, by the looks of thing we will be very shortly, in the next year or so see no non EU riders coming over here to race for British clubs. It looks like evn though they where Comenwealth countries they are no longer welcome over here. Makes me also wonder, how many will actually get a Visa to come over to race this season. It looks like we will have to start looking to the young Polish and Swedish riders and also making a bit more of our home grown young rider, if we are to keep speedway alive and kicking over here in the future. This is quite sad really as the Australians and American's have been coming and riding over here for years now with out having to face all these stupid problems.

It is well time that Darcy Ward started to grow up and get his life on track excuse the pun. But he just goes from bad to worse time and time again. He should have had more sense to have even turned up for that meeting after drinking to what ever hour he finished. If he ever wants to make it in the top buch of world speedway then his has to sit down and look hard at the life style he is leading, intead of every time just saying sorry I won't do it again and again and again. The best thing for him would be to give him a season long back and if he still has the heart to come back, then go sort out his life talk to a few good people and come back better and with a dertermination to stay on the straight and narrow in the future.

Cook will go no further than he is now, don't know what it is he lacks, maybe just his confidence. Can't see him progressing any more than he is now. If he performs again this season as he did last with Belle Vue, then it may just be the end of his Elite League days, then what is he left with other than the PL. The clubs have just got to show more confidence in our own young riders, why bring in overseas riders that have never raced in anything but their domestic levels, when they have got a hand full or more of better riders over here.

Most of the Elite Leage riders are now getting very long in the tooth, you only have to look at at teams from the 1980's and you will find that the same riders are still making up most of the top riders places in the Elite League now. One of the main problems with this is that over the last 30 years this country has failed and failed terribly in bring on a supporting our own young riders. They are trying or trying sort of with the FTr scheme, but they will get nowhere with these riders if they are going to hold them back and keep them in the reserve berth, when around 5 of them should have been given a full team ride this year. It is the same story of all the British talent thet has come along over the years, not enough has been done for them to come to their full potential. We have only to look at Cooke, he is just going nowhere riding in the EL and PL when he should be riding abroud to get a better understanding of riding against some of the worlds top riders. Has far as I can see with him he will just end up as most of the others have the Barkers, etc who never managed to get to the tops of the sport. The SCB AND BPSA should be making sure that it is our own riders that get a better chance of getting into the top flight of the sport, we have now riders in most of the European or world meetings, what we need are to set up meetings over here against the worlds top teams to give all these guys what they need, so we can have a respectable selection of our own riders to make up miost of the places in what we call our top league. As things stand now we are the top of nothing.

Oh my looking back at the make up of the riders in this years Elite League and it makes a rather sorriful tale. I have been looking at the teams for the early 80's and it was a League to be proud of with nearly all the worlds top riders coming over here. You only have to look at Poole, Swindon and most of the teams and they are made up of anything you could call world class, they are very lucky indead if they can manage on top rider per team now. I will not even mention my team as they seem to be stck in the doldrums teying to get the last 2 team members, with no mention on the club site site of any names. Most of this years teams would struggle in the Premier League. What has happened to our speedway and where have they gone wrong. If things don't change very soon and I mean 1 or 2 years we will have no Elite League, with the teams they are fielding this season, I would think you would be far better going to see a Premier League club as the racing and the quality of the riders will be faqr better. I think we are seeing the deathe sentance of our countries top League. Or is there some way that they can get the worlds top riders back but at a price that dosen't become the ruin of the clubs. Yes they can race here but with earnings that are a lot lower than they are asking, if not close the League down and have a re-thing on the way to go forward with the sport in this country. Take a look back and see what the teams used to be and what they are now it is quite disturbing.

I would say from looking at it that it was The Isle of White, you could see the sea when they took off and when they inteviewd him when he was better and in the pits the bib behind him had got White Islaners on the front, Not sure when it was filmed though.

Unless they do something for these young riders and spend some of the money that is if anything is left now from what they got from Sky over the years. Put them in the singles and pairs at whatever level and bring teams over here for them to race against, in 3 years time we will not have a team to represent Britain, because they will still be riding as FTR or in the PL or NL, just not good enough, it is like they are tring their hardest to stop all British internatioal compertition. Won't it be just great to watch the world cup with no British team there, they should be ashamed at wr are not doing to the sport over here, and it is these people that we pay our hard earned pennies to go and watch their teams when the season strts. Time I think that the whole system had a huge shake up

Garrity Newman Howerth R Lambert. Give the lads a go may no win anything but at lest it would give them a chance to see how well they could do. Also to work at building up their ideals of what they really are aiming for in 2 or 3 years time. Don't lets stick with the old guns that have been riding for their country year in year out and just plodding along at their worst, because half of them or more have never been world class riders or are now past their sell by date.

It just needs them to come to their senses. They have left it far to late now to be able to even track a side of riders that are now world class. If they don't help the young riders now to become the future riders of a British team, they they might has well just forget even putting a team together, because without a lot of help and a lot of money spent to help them get top rate bikes and machanics as is the case we have now, they may has well cancel putting at British team out this coming year and for the unfor told future.

We don't have a team that is capable of representing the British Isles and yes as stated above it is all down to the powers that be, in failing to bring on and talent in this country for the past 15 years or more. It is now time for them to all step aside and let someone who has the interest of this counties speedway more closer to their hearts and not their pockets. Because it all boils down to the fact that no one in this country that has anything to do with running or promoting the sport has the guts to stand by their larels and give the young British riders a chance in the top flight of speedway. We had 6 or 7 FTR that proved they could hold their own in the EL, but still the promoters had not got the guts to offer these riders a full team place, yet they can bring in Young Polish, Danes and Aussies and give them a go, When all they can do for the lads that shoed they could do it this year is to give them a slap in the face and make them spend another year as FTR, it just shows yoy their mentality For to long now they have been bringing in overseas riders to fill the team slots whilst or own lads have had to struggle on the NL and Pl with no chances given them to strike out in the EL and bring their own British talent along. So now that it comes to push and shove we are left with very little in the way of any riders for the next few years to make up a team to go and ride against the best in the world. Shame on you all you should have done better. You can't blame the riders, we know there is the talent out there, so why hold them back. All they can do is forget what we have had before and put 4 new faces in the team and give them a go at world level, they may not win, but at least they will get the chance to ride at that level, Because where we are now. We can't even compete at world pairs or singles let alone find enough riders to make ateam of 4 with reserves. And it has been this way for the last 15 years or so now, using the same riders that have never been world class and still sticking with the same old names. Once we had a proud hertitage of riders who where the best in the world, they let it all slip from their grasp through sheer greed and the want of winning the EL title and paly off year in year out in front of the Sky tv and now even they have almost had enough of the sport..

Without the input from the SCB/BSPA with the lack of doing anything to further our young riders in all the major world and European meetings, then the future of Great Britain having a team to go to the senior World cup in 3 to 4 years, will no longer be a option, because we will have no riders that have even competed at this level, all they are hoping on are the lads that are riding at FTR. They will not stand a cat in hells chance of getting into anything, other than a World championship for the worlds worst speedway team, which we are not so far from being now.

I agree they should set up some meeting for the under 21 riders against the other counties who are top of the pile. Without them riding against the worlds up and coming talent, they are never going to progress above what they are doing now. That is FTR, PL and NL leagues. With the promoters not offering the chance to make a full team place and with them just staying as things are now they are never going to progess any further. Give the at least 4 or 5 test matches every year to bring them on. Other wise you can write British speedway from ever competing at a top level in 3 or 4 years time.

As riders go at this moment in time we just have not got a team of riders for our national squad that are capable of going and beating any of the worlds top teams. All we have done over the years is pussy foot around and we have never bothered to help our young riders progess. The majority of our yound lads have been stuck in either, the PL or NL and never given a chance to better themselves. We have serveral young riders now that have done well this year as FTR and some of them should have been given a full team place. It seems that the promoters have not got the guts to let these youngsters move up and prove themselves. No they want to keep them in the FTR for another year, and let overseas riders who some of our young lads where beating this year. What has British speedway got against young British riders. So the anwer is we have let it all slide and we are now dragging the bottom of the barrel because we have neglegted over the past 15 years or so to look after our own riders interests.

I put the video on but it was to upsetting to watch after the first few moments. It just shows though how much we take for granted in life. I know how hard things can be when in 2001 my vertibrae collapsed in my neck and trapped my spinal chord it changed my life drematically. To the what has happened to a young fit and healthy young man of 31, and what it has done to him it was heartbreaking to watch. I only hope that he continues to get better as time goes by, it will be a very hard road I am sure. He is very lucky in that he has parents who are there for him and look after his care. Some people are not so lucky. I hope the meeting for him raises the money they need and more to make his life much easier. All the best lad and keep fighting.

As it goes with the silage pit near to where I live is a farm they have over the years built house in the valley and the farm is now surrounded by over 300 houses, the last few to be built there where right by the farms back yard and next toa holding pit full of green stagnent water and also run off from the farms milking parlor. In summer it stinks to high heven and the nearest house is just 5 feet away from this. How could anyone even contenplate buying a house built so close to this. Not the farmers fault as it is not his land they built on. Just the same with anyone who buys a house close to a stadium the should expect to hear noise. If they know it is there they should go and take a look on a race day so they know what to expect when they move in. Not start a hue and cry after the event.

I agree with you ouch. He would make a good indepent to go and sort things out and not just the way that the promoters want things done.

This whole issue of people buying houses and then making complaints after they move in have been a constant problem over the last 20 or so years Not just with sports stadiums, but general run of the mill things in life. I remember quite well a case near to me where they built a new estate, behind some existing houses. One old man who lived in those houses had kept and shown poltry all his life, living in his house for over 50 years. A few of the residents of the new houses, who where white colour workers who brought property around here and commuted to work in Birmingham, because property prices around here where so much cheaper. Complained about his cockerals crowing and waking them up early in the morning. They took it to court and the poor old sod lost his case and had to get rid of his life's hobby. I knew him quite well and it broke him, he died that same year, all because of a few heartless sads that had moved in. They should look before they buy, it is very sad that we now live in a society, of winging winers, that have nothing better to do, than try their best to stop people enjoying the things that they have been doing, at that very place that is offensive to them. If they don't like what is around them then they should, pack up their belonings and go and live in a house miles away from anything. But with a bit of luck, they would them build a moterway at the bottom of their garden.

Great news and finally he has good a role that will get him recognised for what he does. Instead of being a scapegoat for one and all. Best Wishes Phil. Hope it goes well for you.