SCB

I could have sworn he averaged 5.65 for Peterborough while Glenn was about 6.2. Glenn then went to BV and dropped his average to about 4.8 and signed for Newport on 9.6. Im sure they had both done well in reserve but then had 2 or 3 meetings in the 1-5 and struggled so were dropped while still on their averages from there 6 meetings in reserve. I'll bow to your better knowledge on this one though as it was you that ended up signing him edit > I wonder if he got 5.65 in reserve. Was dropped so would have been PL 11 but those 2 or 4 bad meetings dropped his average to 4.XX and thats when you signed him.

Well it's certainly down on one I don't see how letting in the likes of Mason Campton is going to make it better though

So far Mason Campton and Matt Wethers. But there may be more, it's possible that Workington were quick to act while others are still a bit slow.

They need permit, only the top Indian players come over so they do raise the standards. If all British riders aspired to be Mason Camptons standard then British Speedway would be on it's knees.

cheekyboys2 - thats some serious list of stats you have there! You must have spent years compiling all that! Fair play to you.

I don't think they give a rubbish in Poland as "his" club Torun have been sold and basically run out fo money so he wasn't going to be back there anyway. A few Swedes have tweeted about him being treated badly but Piraterna have offered him a team place for this season despite saying last year it was his last chance - and thats the issue, Poole and Piraterna said last chance but have both given him another one before he's even allowed back on a bike again by the FIM!!

Possibly the same. The outcome of Darcys case will determine who is available for Leicester to sign. Wolves was just holding off announcing some bad news

Surely these people losing their lives on track is only further proof the sport is dangerous enough without someone riding while drunk or on drugs. I'd also add tired, concussed and generally unfit to the list too.

Hugely talented. He just seems to lose his bottle by 2001. He'd draw alongside a rider going into a bend and shut off, he just didn't have that killer instinct. I remember one meeting against Sheffield, the track was dry and had a thick blue groove, anyone who missed it went backwards and into the fence, one lap Glen was moved off it and just carried on as normal - proof his ability on a bike was up there with the best. He just seemed to not car at times though - or only want to pass around the outside when he had a clear run. Was he involved in a nasty accident in late 98/early 99 where he tried to go up the inside of someone and that played on his mind possibly?

TBF we can all look back at the luck certain rider had to win this meeting and that meeting. He ultimately put himself in a position to be able to win it. There is no doubting that in 1998 that Cunningham was a superb rider and set for big things - where did it all go so wrong? As Pinny says, in 1999 he lost a point on his average and went backwards. He tried the EL the year after and was screwed over a bit by Peterborough (same as Compton) - which saw Compton back in the PL that season (was it Newcastle who signed him on 11?) and Cunningham went to BV for the rest of the season before returning to the PL with Newport and becoming the 7 point man he remained as for the rest of his career. Peterborough that season killed off Compton and Cunningham - two riders who could and probably should have achieved a lot more

Liverpool?! I don't like calling people racist because they're discussing immigration, it all becomes a bit too PC and you end up with another Rotherham Pakistani community sex scandal. It should be discussed, civilly, and those who consider the views racists should try and convince the "racist" they are wrong. Calling someone a racists will not help any discussion/debate. I often find some of TWKs views on certain sections of society a bit, should we say outdated but I'll defend his right to hold them views - he doesn't strike me as the type to go out wandering around the street with a pickaxe attacking the people he doesn't like

I don't think anyone is against mandatory breathe testing of all riders. But what the hell does that have to do with Darcy and the situation he now find himself in? He would have still be caught.

TBF, Olly Allen rode for 2 clubs in his 10 years. Swindon and then Coventry. He even moved up into the EL with Swindon when they went EL - staying loyal to them. Swindon dropped him in late 2004 and he signed for Coventry in 2005 and stayed there until his testimonial.

Stop re-writing history. Theo rode for Edinburgh for 6 seasons. He then made the choice to go EL with Swindon (so much for loyalty to Edinburgh - you admit yourself "he decided" to leave). He then started a season at Swindon and was dropped, moving to Mildenhall on exactly the same average he had achieved in 2007 at Edinburgh. He then didn't ride in the UK in 2009 or 2010 but signed for Glasgow in 2011 when the rules changed meaning rather than having to sign on his 2007 PL average (of about 7.5 from memory) he could sign on his 4.5 average from his short stint at Mildenhall. He did then retirn for 2 more season at Edinburgh before having last season at Glasgow. There was no awkward average due to riding EL, he moved back to the PL on his PL average. So the reasons I don't think he should have a testimonial? He chose to league Edinburgh in 2008 and then chose not to ride here in 2009 and 2010. How the hell is that 10 consecutive season at a club? I get it's hard to have 10 consecutive season at a club (in the last 10 years the only riders having testimonials who managed that would be Lindgren and Dave Norris form memory) and I think we can all accept a year or two forced out on loan but choosing to take 2 years out and choosing to go EL, he made the choice to league Edinburgh. This is not a dig at Theo, I've complained about many testimonials, they're handed out far too freely. We have about half a dozen each season when in reality, 1 or two should be awarded. Last season Mads K, Joonas Kylmakorpi and Morten Risager all had testimonials. Ketween them they had ridden for 14 teams!

Stuart Robson is still Lakesides. And Olly Allen is still Coventrys. Other wise I think most of TNTs changes are correct

And Poland & the Czech Republic only join in 2004. So up to then only the decent Poles and Czechs could ride PL. In fact, Prior to 2004 did a Pole ride PL? Was David Kujawa the first one to ride PL when he signed for Newport?

Did you read my last post? "so what"? So what Tony Atkin didn't get one in the same circumstances. Testimonials are meant for 10 years at one clubs. Not 5 seasons at a club, a few season long strints at a few other clubs, 2 years out, a year at another club, 2 year back at the original club, 2 at one of your previous clubs. Thats hardly loyalty is it?

When has he done 10 consecutive seasons? Tony Atkin was turned down in 2004 because he didn't ride in 1997 because nobody offered him a team place so he had not done 10 consecutive seasons. But Tony had only ever put British Speedway first and was British. Far better to give a testimonial to a Dutchman who put longtrack first and made the choice to miss 2 seasons!

Let's be honest, you don't fund too many people in their 60s on internet forums so it's not totally fair. Just look around you at a speedway meeting.

Another joke testimonial. 10 years? He missed 2 seasons! They give our testimonials like they're going out of fashion these days! Adrian Miedzinski will have one next season as its 10 years since he first signed for Swindon!!!

Probably because there is no fan out there with the millions it would take to sponsor the league for a few years. Some fans paying a few £1000 to sponsor the NL is a bit different. It's not like someone from the establishment has gone out and sought this sponsorship. This is just Coventrys commercial guy offering the sport a few ££.

So rather than us not letting the rubbish ply their trade here, the Aussies, Americans and other nationalities should either complain at the nations that don't have a league for them to ride in or even start up their own league before complaining we only allow there average and above riders over.

I'd love to see the British final at Peterborough

And any canny rider will have been doing this anyway! People used to suggest Billy Janniro was a bit thick but he worked out scoring bonus point was a great idea. Coventry used to get a 7 point man on a 5 point average. At one point in 2007 we used to place bets on who would score more bonus points, Billy or the entire opposition team - he's often score 4 or 5. One meeting he was leading heat 2 by a country mile, shut off on the last bend to allow team mate Johno though who had obviously realised what was going on, so he shut off too - cue much laughter. Apparently after that Billy was told not to make it so obvious A team that signs riders who scored lots of bonus points last year will be in a better position.

I hate myself for this but, it's the thin end of the wedge. You start letting in rubbish speedway riders, you have to let in rubbish footballers, cricketers, netball players and before you know it, if you can let in a sportsman earning 15k a year then why not a shop assistant or call centre worker too? Personally, if I was in charge, I'd kick all permit/visa riders out of the PL and make it so that NO rider could drop more than a point bellow the assessed figure they joined the league on. It'll force more young Brits up and frankly, 90% of people would know they were watching Matt Wethers, Kozza Smith and Taylor Poole or Adam Ellis, Nathan Greaves and Chris Widman. It would just be different riders. Clubs would soon sign up more young Brits to take up the slack and with their being more team place the numbers game says you have more chance of finding the next Team GB star.