MajorMauger

I don't particularly care about the website but I think the new nickname and racejacket logo are dreadful! The Islanders was a great nickname and logo cause it was totally original and synonomous with IOW speedway! The original Wizards nickname was nicked from the old Weymouth team of the 1970's and was quickly ditched after a couple of years. The Warriors has been used a few times in the past so isn't appealing whatsoever! As for the logo - well that's painful, very unwarrior like and very uninspiring! That said I hope speedway returns to one of its more unlikely locations and that its a success but I can't help but think the new nickname and logo design are not a step in the right direction!

And 1974! Congratulations Birmingham Brummies! Lets hope Birmingham speedway is functional for many years to come! Oh actually wasn't 1974 the last year the old 2nd tier was called the 2nd Division?

No need whatsoever! That said I'll share my memories of John Louis one of Englands finest and Ipswich speedways greatest rider! I think Ipswich speedways rise from oblivion in the late 60's to one of Britains boom centres had a lot to do with the amazing impact of John Louis. His brilliance in 1971 meant the Witches had to move up into the 1st Division or go very stale in the 2nd Division without him! I've seen no rider move up the ranks as quickly as John did. It seemed he went from unknown 2nd halfer to star rider in a matter of weeks! I remember going to the 1972 World Final were only 3 years after his 1st 2nd halfs rides, John Louis came 4th and half the crowd seemed from Ipswich. Indeed at quite a few away meetings at near rivals King's Lynn and Hackney there seemed to be more Ipswich fans than away fans! I remember going to pub in Suffolk just of the A140 {Norwich/Ipswich road) where they had a local singer who was singing a song about John Louis! That shows how popular John was in Suffolk in the heady years of the 1970's! I became a regular at King's Lynn on Saturdays in the summers of 1983/84 when the by now 40 plus John Louis was King's Lynns best rider when the top flight of British speedway had virtually all of the Worlds top riders in it! One memory which stands out for me regarding John Louis was from his final 1984 season when in the Ipswich 16 lapper he gated in front of the other 7 riders and a couple of laps later dropped it on the 1st bend causing major carnage!

£100,000 will pay for a track in a field with no facilities! Considering an air fence is now compulsory and they cost £20,000+ and you begin to get some idea of the costs! Good luck to those trying to resurrect Exeter speedway cause I'm pretty sure that a properly run track in the City would be well supported especially after 10 years without a track!

John Louis and Chris Louis were both terrific riders and great servants of Ipswich speedway, definitely in my all time greatest Witches team ever! I'd say that in the history of speedway no father and son racers were ever so evenly matched in terms of ability and success!

Putting the moral conscious thing on by heavily criticising fans for not attending won't bring the fans back to the next meeting in their droves The reality is that most fans, especially those with dependant children struggle to afford one home meeting a week, let alone 2 and fans will normally always pick the meeting that has the clubs 1st team involved. Another factor with King's Lynn speedway is that many of their fans come from over 20 miles away from the track. If running NL at King's Lynn was that successful Boston would still be going there and them and King's Lynn speedway would be making a profit out of it! In the history of speedway the examples of two teams at one track both being well supported are extremely rare indeed. I suppose Cradley running at Wolves and Birmingham are probably two of the only examples in recent years. This is why there isn't more 2nd teams of higher League tracks in the NL. I applaud King's Lynn speedway for biting the bullet and running a NL team cause it can't be a profit making exercise! Yes 13 years since the World lost David Nix. Thankfully that was the last fatality on a British speedway track and lets hope its the last!

A great entertainer on track and hopefully his record of winning the last ever official speedway meeting at Norwich will be broken one day!

I've been to quite a few stock car events over the last 50+ years going back to the Firs, and to be honest I've never found it that interesting, only going once in a blue moon out of curiosity and its certainly poor in comparison to speedway although obviously other people think differently! The reality of modern times is that stock cars and bangers are more popular than speedway. Without stock car racing, I suspect my 3 local speedway teams, King's Lynn, Mildenhall and Ipswich wouldn't be running, so while stock cars can have a negative effect on speedway (U21 qualifier at Mildenhall yesterday being a prime example!) they are a necessity. Multi use is the way forward, most professional football stadiums in this Country are multi use being used for many things as well as football! With the news in the last year that Mr Sandhu is looking to sell Brandon Stadium for housing development, (something I suspect the planning process will contest!) let hope this Stock cars V speedway at Coventry discussion will still be going on for many years to come!

I bet the fast food outlets on the one stop shopping centre do well on speedway nights!

I pressed a wrong button somewhere along the way! Like a few other defunct speedway hotbed areas its criminal that Cornwall hasn't got a speedway track and team as it would attract viable crowds!

I believe persons including current Plymouth Co- promoter Ashley Taylor are keeping an eye on any potential new site for a track in Cornwall!

Nelson Admirals speedway moved to Bradford because the crowds at Nelson wern't very good, not helped by a ropey rough track which was shared with stock cars!

Wimbledon Dons 1983 Dave Jessup Malcolm Simmons Kelvin Tatum Kai Niemi Roger Johns Mike Ferriera

Ipswich Witches 1983 Dennis Sigalos Billy Sanders Jeremy Doncaster Preben Eriksen Andy Hines Andy Hibbs Carl Baldwin Kevin Teager Andy Nightingale King's Lynn Stars 1983 John Louis Richard Hellsen Kevin Jolly Gordon Kennett Keith Bloxome Mel Taylor Colin Richardson

Good, sensible move which will hopefully result in the somewhat flagging club of recent years getting a fresh more modern outlook, thus strengthening the clubs long term future! While Len Silver was at the centre of the recent decline of the club his experience is invaluable and his continued involvement will help the transition through!

Bit harsh with your words Clouting although the points you make are spot on! Yes Johnson is a NL journeyman whose not going to progress beyond the 3rd tier, but hes still rode speedway at a level that most keyboard warriors haven't got anywhere near too and he nearly lost his life racing speedway a few years ago! Eastbourne have been very harsh with the boy and like others have said Warwick would have probably been a better bet to drop. But I'm not surprised cause the Dugards aren't renowned for their subtlety much like yourself on this forum! I suspect the ultra keen Johnson will fill one of the spots in Rye Houses NL team. I will chuckle if he scores well against the Eagles!

Is James Shanes going to practise at the training track at Iwade? Hes riding for Kent Kings who ride their home meetings at the Central Park Greyhound stadium in Sittingbourne! James Shanes is one ell of a talent, very quick on the grass!

I think there will be parties interested in getting the Oxford Cheetahs speedway team going again cause the BSPA have been keeping a close eye on developments hence the reason why this latest news was on their website! I'd say that if Oxford speedway reopens next year then after 9 years of no League action, interest will be high for a while which will mean decent crowds and decent returns for the promotion who take the plunge, so their will be interest! The 1984-92 top flight glory years with messrs Payne, Crapper, Nielsen, Wigg and CO when Oxford were one of the better supported tracks shows that getting 1000-1500 average crowds in 2016 (which in modern times are decent crowds for British speedway) are obtainable if things are done correctly! As for Sunderland speedway at Boldon, it has been investigated more than once since the 1974 closure but the two biggest obstacles there are the extortionate rent the owners want and Newcastle speedway being against it cause they think it will impact on their crowd levels, something I'd dispute! I think theres scope there for a viable NL operation cause I'm sure there'd be enough people who don't currently go to speedway in the hugely populated Sunderland area interested and Newcastle and Redcar hardcore speedway fans looking for an alternative speedway day out would be interested - Mildenhall have always got a fair old scattering of nearby Ipswich, King's Lynn and Peterborough fans in the crowd enjoying some NL scrapes! Now an Oxford V Sunderland speedway League fixture in the future would be nice!

Very harsh on the ultra keen and well turned out Brendan Johnson but the facts are hes a NL journeyman whos not going to ever get good enough to go any higher and a potentially exciting, new rider from New Zealand will be more of a draw with more potential to get better! That said like others have said, Danny Warwick would have been a better suited rider to drop cause hes a lot older than Johnson, been riding for years longer never going beyond 3rd tier level, will likely struggle to adapt to the tight confines of Arlington and probably won't be as committed!

Fingers crossed hey! Oxford Cheetahs in the Premier League with an Academy side in the National League would be good and viable!

Georgie Wood is a great signing cause as anyone whose watched him race grasstrack will testify, hes a wonderfully talented quick rider with a lot of natural ability! Georgie Wood is a great signing cause as anyone whose watched him race grasstrack will testify, hes a wonderfully talented quick rider with a lot of natural ability!

I feel if they could get away with it, Rye House would run there NL team along similar lines to what Scunthorpe did last season? They need to get a move on thats for sure!

Never read anything truer in my life! To be a successful speedway promoter you won't be able to be friends with everyone all of the time and and decisions will be made that won't please everyone! Graham Drury is the ultimate example - Not a particularly nice person at times, a bit abrupt but very good at speedway management! I seem to remember one of the all time great promoters of the 70's and 80's being a bloke most people found socially awkward and not at all pleasant - the late great John Berry who took Ipswich Witches from the speedway graveyard in the late 60's to become one of the most successful speedway centres in the Country, a legacy that continues to the present!

Graham Drury is well known for being, shall we say, at times not the easiest person to get on with but what can't be denied is his extensive speedway experience on both sides of the fence and his administrative skills are 2nd to none! The Brummies had the ultimate in inept, inexperienced management last season which caused the closure, so its a good move by Tony Mole to employ someone who has a proven record of success in speedway management, whether you like him or not! The Louis' who run my local track Ipswich are far from being universally popular amongst the regulars but you can't deny Ipswich is one of the more stable better run clubs in the Country and they always pay their bills on time. They are in my opinion the best equipped persons to run Ipswich speedway so be careful what you wish for!

Interesting you state you haven't been to a live speedway meeting since 1985, almost 30 years ago which I feel hits the nail on the head! Theres thousands of lapsed supporters like yourself who still retain an interest in the sport but never go, or like more than a few thousand only go to Cardiff once a year! I reckon if only 25% of these lapsed supporters returned to watching live speedway again and we got more kids going to meetings then speedway would be doing great!