SCB

You say that but a blank can't do any worse than Walasek has done in a couple of meetings!

Yeah, very odd. No idea why/how. If Ford can turn Frost it does make you think he's capable of turning most to back him! But how?!

The rule states, "17.5.1 Only one EDR (the one with the highest MA) may move into a Team’s top 1-5". If it does only mean start higher average rider it's a shambles of a rule as they have put a bracket in to clarify something whne all they had to write was, "17.5.1 Tier 1 riders may move into the teams top 1-5". That rule clearly means either one can move up. I think someone has read it wrong, told the Bournemouth Echo that reading of it too. also, If tier 2's can't go into the 1-5 why "EDRs will obtain" and not, "Tier 1 ERDs will obtain"?

If Karger was to quit, Rye House have room for a 6 point rider. By my calculations Rob Mear would be 5.18.

Who keeps £10,000 in a current account?! Get it into a Panaman account now!

If I wanted to jump on a plane and watch some speedway in Poland, where the easiest to visit? Any tips on meetings I should try and get to? Any good meetings tagged onto a GP or something?

Personally, 4 riders, 4 laps is still as great as ever. The GPs and the SWC where theres almost no politics/favouritism is brilliant and I love it. But sadly, league racing the favouritsm, the bending rules, the cheating and the general "couldn't give a rubbish about the fans" feeling has ground me down. One of my favourite meetings of the last few seasons was Chris Harris' testimonial as it was just no nonsense, get on with it and race. Quite possibly my favourite meeting of the last 5 seasons was the British U15 final at Peterborough in 2014. Was just a load of kids who couldn't wait to get out and race and when they won a race or even got a "big" 3rd place celebrated, waved and generally milked it for all it was worth - all while the next 4 riders were dying to get out on track for their next heat - I loved it! So yeah, it's the the off track crap that has ruined it for me sadly If you can go along and ignore the politics the sport is amazing.

Surely the bigger picture says DONT LIE TO THE PAYING CUSTOMER.

Where have you got it from that only tier 1 riders move up? Im using the official rule book and that trumps the Bournemouth Echo!

Once the rules are decided that it. You can't change them. Even if they are stupid. The stupidest one of the lot is keeping the EL format but there no SR to change that yet!

Coventry winning the EL play-offs at Poole in 2010 is probably a good place to start. That night Poole turned the hot water off in the showers, refused to give Coventry any champagne and didn't use the fireworks. So obviously Matt was a little upset.But I doubt it was just about losing that night. It goes back a little more than that though. Coventry had sparingly used Shamek Pawlicki that season, he signed in April but only rode 11 meetings in a season 12 were needed to get an average. Yes some were because he was in U21s and GP qualis but some where very dodgy absences, certainly in August and September as it meant he'd stay in reserve. That upset a few, including Poole but also Swindon as that was one of the tracks Coventry went to without him. The thing is, that season you could use your number 8 (Aaron Summers in Coventrys case) for any rider at any time so Coventry broke no rules. It was just tactics. As a result the BSPa changed the rules so Pawlicki got an average that winter, the rule for averages changed from 12 to 8 but was also retrospective. Every other time the rules on averages change at an AGM it's never been retrospective before (or since - eg rolling averages changed form 28 to 20 meetings but not until the first set of averages). So that upset Coventry. Coventry had also signed Kenni Larsen. The conversion had always been 0.5 but they changed it to 0.6 sighting the case of Holder, Ward and Woffy who 0.6 would have been closer to reality. Which two clubs campaigned most for it? Wolves and Poole! Again, it upset Coventry and at that point dragged Peterborough into it as Sundstroms average went up too. Coventry/Poole bad feeling had been brewing for a while. It was Coventry who accused Poole of cheating in 2009 to get averages down and make changes. Everyone knows they did it, it couldn't be proven. Also throughout 2010 Allen Trump (then Cov promoter) had made many claims against Poole and slagged them off in the press. I said at the time it was a silly thing to do but antagonise Ford and he gets his mates to screw you over. Coventry eventually backed down over walking out when the BSPA agreed that they wouldn't retro-change Pawlickis average but make him a 5 (rather than his original 4 or his attained 6.5). Then in August that year Darcy Ward (Poole) and<cannot be named fore legal reasons> were arrested. At the same time Coventry re-declared their team in two stages. Ford on the BSPA MC accepted the first part (Kildemand and McGowan dropped for little Pawlicki) but didnt allow the second bit of Kildemand in for Josh Auty. That meant Coventry had Auty and Morris (who was unavailable for reasons Matt Ford knew all about) sharing a place. Ford knew Morris was not available so he couldn't possibly ride and that Auty knowing he'd been dropped would tell them to get stuffed (plus stood litle chance of getting there when Coventry only found out at 5.30) meaning Coventry had to go into a meeting with 6 riders. At the same time, Ford text Kildemand and told him Coventry had dropped him (technically true, but only for a few seconds) and asking if he wanted to sign for Poole so Kildemand agreed to sign for Poole thinking he'd been dropped. Ford rather than re-declaring the second Coventry re-declarion redeclared the Poole team with Kildemand in. I've probably missed something out, it was 5 years ago now. Draft riders on PL averages, biggest winner? Poole. The heat leader list that used "feeling" for anyone who rode last year but an exact figure form anyone the year before, magically Krys Buckowski on 6.48 is a second string, Danny King on 6.48 is a heat leader. A few other sub 6.5 riders are heat leaders too. Biggest winner? Poole and one of the Poole/Frost assets. Poole fans will claim he was available to anyone, but was he? Pooles main sponsor own him. What about the year of the two riders over 8? Or the one rider over 8? Or the season that Poole didn't have a ringer moving up from the PL so they changed the PL to EL conversion sighting WARD, HOLDER and Woffinden as reasons why. Two riders that Poole had gained from! Not so much "pro-Poole" but in the winter of 2010 why were the rules change retrospectively that anyone who had raced 8 meetings got an average? Thats never happened before, before once you had an average you kept it. It's not been done that way since. Coventyr had Pawlicki on a 4 but he had only raced 11 meetings so he should stay on 4 but they wanted him to be 6.1 based on his 11 meetings as the new rules said 8 meetings for an average. That would be fine but when rolling averages changed from 28 to 20 meetings they didn't change all riders averages in the winter, they changed them on the first set of GSAs, who gained from that? Poole because Dak North was signed on 6.3 but his 20 meeting average was about 7.8 How about Coventry asking what average Dennis Andersson would come in on and being told 5 only for Poole to sign him a few months later on 4?! TBH 5 was right, as was proven by his 5.5 average. Too many things go Pooles way. And I don't know if thats because Matt Ford has incriminating evidence of wrong doing by others or if the other are all just too thick to realise they're being conned by him.

Top 3 in averages or top 3 scorers.

And everyone said it was bad. And they were punished. That was not "using rules to your advantage", it was blatant cheating. As was Poole cancelling a meeting vs Lakeside because they didn't have enough riders. Funny how BV do it and they get a huge fine and are prevented from calling off meetings. Poole do it and nothing happens. Why was that?

Davey Watt is just not a heat leader any more, he struggled as a heat leader in 2015 too. This is hardly a shock. He'll be fine once he drops to second string.

I know it's frowned upon to quote a whole post to say I agree but it's worth it here. This post is spot on. I've said a few times now Matt Ford is 95% spot on but sadly that 5% where he cheats, bends and manipulates ruins what should be a great legacy in the sport and it' stupid as he doesn't need to do it!

I guess you're right if he quits. The rules state no dropping a rider on an assessed average but also that any rider who drops below his assessed average remains on his assessed average. So if you don't want to be sacked, average 4.99 all season They've been pretty good in most meetings so far, Somerset away aside but if they had someone at 6 who could have score 7 or 8 then that would have been an away point.

So someone has had the sack then according to Norrie. Doesn't take a genius to work out who. But who will be replacing him? Aaron Summers?

I dont think most of them are capable of knowingly breaking rules. That would mean them knowing the rules and not being useless.

Just think how good this Rye House team would have been if they'd not saddled themselves with Peter Karger who they're stuck with all season unless he can improve on his 5 point average!

<cough>Goggles<cough>

Like when? No other team has got a list of cheating as long as Poole, in fact every other team combined is not as long as Poole. Also, when other teams do break the rules it tends to be forgotten about quicker because the vast majority of fans accept it happened and it was wrong. Yet Poole cheat and the Poole fans come out with crap like "jealous" and "hater" and "wouldn't care if it was another team". Poole are TERRIBLE for breaking rules. Always have been. I tell you what, you name a time any EL team other than Poole broke the rules and I'll give you a time Poole did.

But people don't moan about it at the right times. Poole break rules and nobody seems to care, thats why people should be moaning and getting something done. But Poole build a good team because other promoters are thick, stupid, slow (or whatever) and people get up in arms about it. The issue there is not with Ford but with the other 7 EL promoters who allowed it to happen.

I'd love to see that one stand up in court. "Your honour, Steve Shovlar broke the rules printed in the programme that you have to pay £3.50 extra for if you want it" "So if he didn't buy a programme he didnt know the rules?" "Correct" "HaHaHaHaHAHAHaHaHaHaHaHa" The rules have to be published at the turnstiles or on the ticket. Or at least a notice that the rules of entry are available on demand.

I come back to my usual rant. One of speedway biggest issues is fixtures. Theres no pattern to them and they're called off and re-arranged all the time on a whim. No wonder nobody goes, nobody knows WHEN to go!

You can all bitch and moan but he's right this time.