Sings4Speedway

Horrendous for the Diamonds fans and feel a bit for riders too. Grant has done nothing but harm the club since he came in, don't really see any way back now (certainly not at the current venue) but the whole reputation is in tatters.

Crikey that doesn't overly narrow it down... Complin, JPB, Hopwood

If everything Jake has stated is true. Usually there's rider side, club side and somewhere in the middle is the truth. For me its just another outburst from an ungrateful brat who thinks speedway owes him something. There is a reason why a talented brit on a low average in each of the leagues didn't have a full place in any of them.

Interesting and will see how it pans out for the remainder of the season. Just off quick scans Alfie Bowtell has already guested twice for Plymouth so can't for them anymore or any visiting side. I assume same applies for unattached riders also?

Agreed its daft. If an engine failure or crash means both riders not able to complete the meeting. Id rather see "lesser" riders given the chance if they are prepared to commit to it. Sounds much like the Millars are happy playing at speedway.

Thats a poor show at this level im dissapointed when riders show up with 1 bike so 1 shared is shocking. Is Rothery out injured or has he run out of equipment already?

Might sound a bit obvious but why does speedway have to be an outdoor sport? Obviously there is an additional cost element but with the mega warehouse structures that are built these days why could a stadia not become enclosed? Telford used to take place indoors so no apparent reasons why not and there would then be a 365 day a year facility and no issues with weather restrictions.....any thoughts?

Whilst it was far from the toughest of opposition it was probably the strongest debut performance since Waj or Palin? Obviously bigger tests and tracks to come but Killeen looks like a promising rider at many levels. As for Plymouth built with a strong numer 1 eating a big chunk of averages and Atkins on a lower average means that problems will continue. Andrews is a shadow of his former self, Extance appears to be Exit and the performances of the 1-5 have nullified any improvements from Trigger.

Will be tougher tests to come for Killeen but thats quite a debut, shame he was given ht 15 (could/should have taken the paid max). Has Extance walked away again? Really disappointing form from King at present. Injuries aside the Centurions look a shambles and can't see them tracking an NDL team next season sadly.

Interesting line ups. How will Killeens debut go?, will Naylor continue is dominant comeback? Will Ben Phiilips ever get properly named in the Plymouth 1-7? Will Meadows earn any points at home?......answers by 10pm

Suspecting Bowtell at 1 and Ben Phillips to fill the empty spots for Plymouth. Stoneman and Butcher have useful track knowledge and RR will probably strengthen Oxford. From what looked like a dominant home side i suspect it will be another away victory.

Classic mega waste of money on an untried overseas rider with limited pedigree. If that had been spent on an emerging brit you might now be getting somewhere instead it showed it was a poor signing and still leaves the team in a very shaky position. I take no joy in seeing Newcastle speedway crumbling but that is exactly what is happening.

Surprised the track man didn't know the state it would be in prior to 6pm. Then the ref forcing the match on but will never beat rider power. Feel for all those out of pocket namely paying fans and anyone who put in big miles for the 2nd half that didn't get close to happening.

Indeed and in reality with incidents like this repairs should be checked by the machine examiner before the bike is deemed usable for racing again.

Silencers off are never a laughing matter though. Brackets can break but safety cable for these eventualities failing too could have been nasty if a following rider had been hit by a sizeable chunk of debris.

According to the greensheets Henry is still declared in the Plymouth 1-7 so eligible to guest now his ban is up. Stupidly im guessing he can't be declared in the Oxford side until Plymouth officially release him.....

As it happens i do agree that the choice is an issue, personally id like to see the meetings run the other way round, start a touch earlier perhaps then charge the double header fee for the start of the NDL fixture and normal CL rate from heat 10 onwards, offers the best of both to all supporters and gives the trickier track conditions to the "better" riders.

Of course but surely thats the point. If there was 80% of riders making the transition from NDL to CL and beyond it would point to a very weak league to move into. Just using 6 years ago i can count 20 riders who appeared on the NDL greensheets who have gone on to make a notable contribution to higher leagues, thats excluding a similar number again to have made CL level appearances. Personally i abhor those who dismiss the merits of any lower league in generating riders, where did the current crop of Lions cut their teeth....

Some (one) of the teams mentioned made it a proviso that as many double headers would be staged as possible to reduce the costs of entering a NDL team. Its fairly clear that there will be a few who stay away and perhaps a few enticed in for the double headers but whats obvious is the running costs are lower for a double header vs two single meetings and simply if that is the difference between clubs break even and making losses then im all for it.

THJ is spot on about building the team with two strong reserves though. That has been the real clanger with the assembled team this year. Again a look at the riders switching to Longtrack for extra meetings offers potential KKH as mentioned, Franc? The tressarieu's still have something to offer as does Bukhave. Nobody is expecting a team to match poole but they are looking for a side that far exceeds the NDL.

Was harping on about the same fixtures last year. Wouldn't have gone to Berwick if it was a standalone fixture anyways. Just a grumbler who doesn't want to pay an extra couple of quid for the Leicester home meetings.

Any reason given for Shanes absence? New helmets not delivered on time would certainly be a new one for the book.

Ssshhhh....don't mention Flat Track. If any promotor stopped and thought about riders turning up and paying them to ride they would shut up shop in an instant. Very easy to see that pay to ride, practice days, amateur events can all generate a decent income for a venue (that has sensible out goings) clearly wouldn't work everywhere but suits some. The issue with amateur/individual based is that you just won't get the attendances of riders or spectators in sufficient numbers over a sufficient amount of weeks. Interest might peak early on but will be very quiet before the season is out (and thats based upon happening on an appealing race day like a weekend) . The IOW are making it work but they have an exceptional team and ethos and the levels they put in would simply baffle most promotions.

The problem being that the 2 reserves from NDL (20 riders total) is taking the top 3 from each current NDL team (possibly more as there are already several double uppers creeping above CL reserve level). That will mean these riders will become full time professionals and want rewarding as such, there will still be a gulf in class between teams and potentially the sides with the best reserves who record 3 x 5-1's will swing meeting results regardless of the top 6. Im definitely all for forward thinking and radical approaches could be the way forward to a pretty desperate situation but it all needs assessing for the long term and not the current quick fix approach that is currently being utilised by the powers that be.

Can try to sign any rider on the planet. Would you ride for £50 a point?....no....ok well I tried. Didn't need to build a world beating side just strong home riders. Sadly loyalty to last years signings being the core before the top end was sorted proved costly.