Sidney the robin

You and Iris are like a couple of old washer women in your crusade against Gustix.Yes we get it he gets under your skin sometimes move on get over it.

Let me get the sick bag Steve / Chunky whoever you are ? disappointed in you thought you were better than this.

This guy was pretty special remember Collins saying how good he was and what he could achieve.

A good rider at all disiplines always felt he could of been even better at speedway if he had taken seriously as his number 1 priority.

I only see Sverre ride the once, so i never saw him in his pomp but for me Sverre/ Toby Harrysson have a similar prophile as in without horrendous injuries they both would of been battling for world honours.Eide and Lovaas to were great riders Lovaas was very good at Hackney good in the wet remember him challenging for the Golden Helmet.

Swindon do well they really try hard to encourage young kids to get interested Lee Kilby has done a great job in that respect the kids in the pits with there parents before the start great to see.

Those riders i named were revered because the simple facts were they were great riders four of them World champions.I don't remember them because they were getting a 15 point max at Exeter on Monday night and then only dropping the odd point here and there giving them inflated averages.Poland of course now is a very high level and yes it is great to see , but going back to Chapman had he took a chance on some sort of big league maybe even regional i believe the product could be good.More fixtures riders of similar ability facing each other hopefully making for closer racing that chance was lost.Was that a last chance scenario missed who knows? as we have it now we have a top league in name only giving us about 15 home meetings a year.

So Steve just a example in the BL anyway and these are just no 1s , Top boys from 1980/83 Penhall, ,Lee,Nielsen,Carter,Jessup,Sigalos, Sanders,Gundersen, S.Moran/Kelly. Now in 2019 you said the big boys i imagine would be ? Doyley,,Lambert, Fricke, Masters,Thorssell, Bjerre,Batchelor,Kurtz,Holder, Musielak.

I don't actually think you can even compare today to the days of those that we have spoken about Steve..The big boys are not there anymore in the UK Doyley,Lambert, Fricke are for me at this moment in time in the top thirty riders in the World.The other two league's in the U.K. are very close and yes it could create a good product if combined as one big league.

I actually think now apart from Doyle /Lambert if you had a bigger league and more teams the riders now are quite evenly matched.Therefore there would be different results in alot of heats that is why people now believe the one big league should be tried again now the level between the first and second tiers are closer than it has ever been. Look at it whatever way you want to but my instinct tells me that Fundin,Craven, Briggs, Mauger, Olsen,Michanek,Nielsen,Lee,Collins,Gundersen, Ricko, Jason.etc) would be top stars in any era and in whatever format.

All i really wanted waytogo28 was the three thing's i mentioned, and getting a structure in place that give us a continual string of fixtures with at least 20 home fixtures.For me one of the problems speedway has is the fixture list is sparse and when fans get used to not going and do other activities it is very hard for the sport to entice some fans back.

I agree but why is speedway so different to other industries ( ie) not listening to the paying customer.? Alot of fans want different things so i know it is not a simple thing to address.But there are a few things in recent years that could of been changed that supporters wanted and would not of cost any money yet nothing changed.( 3 examples) 1. 7.30 start means a 7.30 start meeting to go through promptly. 2.If a rider does not touch the tapes referee made to release the tapes no call backs. 3. Kids get to see the riders before the start and mingle with them hopefully persuading them to be the next generation to replace the oldies.

Most of us just feel frustrated because we know just how good the sport can be.And let's be honest Biker is there any evidence to suggest the two frontman of British speedway listened to anyone anyway.

I really believe even in the good old days Swindon could be slick and dusty especially afternoon meeting's.I can remember a England v USA test match being very slick my memory from the late 60s early 70s the track was good and renowned as one of the best tracks in the Country and had dirt on it.Riders like Briggs,Crump, Ashby, Adams over the years knew you could always pass at the Abbey but i would say since Leigh's last year the demise of the quality of racing has deteriorated badly at the Abbey.I think now possibly with the set up of the bikes now with more speed and more unpredictable ( etc) the straights are now to long for that track? Swindon now has become quite a technical track.

It was quite dusty if i remember rightly? and I can remember another year semi final at Swindon where Rosco qualified.Going back to Silver he along with Shawn McConnell were real crowd pleasers great value.

King's Lynn and Swindon were easily in the top 6/8 tracks in England for exciting and fair racing now both are living off past glories a real shame.

Swindon the second bend has ended up being a big problem and riders getting sucked into the air fence.Also Nick Morris last season had a problem with bend four also other riders had problems there.As you said are the bikes more tempermental now? are the bikes to quick are the straights to long at the abbey? Some of the GP stuff is very good but there are a few mediocre meetings thrown in as well.

Great book a great read there is a picture in the book of Kilb beating Briggo in heat 1 of the Swindon v Exeter match.I love that picture Bob had a great time at the Country ground and he was hard to beat there.

My take on it Tiger is we have lost Wimbledon, Hackney, the brilliant Hyde Rd ( luckily replaced by another great track) Exeter, Halifax, Reading, Leicester , Oxford ,Coatbridge,(ect) all good tracks in there own unique way when they were prepared.Now Swindon, Wolves,Sheffield, Kings Lynn, a few examples are nowhere near the level of yesteryear for entertainment maybe the bikes are to fast now who knows. But i dont believe the entertainment level now is better far from it not from my experience at Swindon anyway.

Sadly i think you could be right, i felt this year Chapman had a chance to revamp the sport by trying something different but he chose not to.Do any of us have the real answers? i don't think so but i do believe when the show is put on right the product is still there.Chapman odviously has kept the show going by bailing Peterborough/Ipswich out which is commendable but the concerning thing is he seems to give the impression that everything is rosy in the garden and the show just plods on.

My lasting memory of the racing is reality, yes there was some poor racing but by god there was some decent stuff as well.Now i could probably name on one hand the decent races i have seen in the last five years a real shame the sport can come again i just hope the damage done is not terminal.

The racing then was different most sides had a In/out no1 some often had three good heat leaders and then the BL was the best.Also the tracks were more varied and they were all a different kind of test. You could do Wimbledon, on a Thursday, Hackney on a Friday and then the pacy Hyde Rd Belle Vue on a Saturday all different tests for a rider.Dont get me wrong i still love my speedway but not to the degree i used to.

It was not gate and go with Briggs,Ashby,,Crump (snr) not in my experience anyway all of them could pass and had to the tracks then you could pass consistently.

Vince you are a guy who i respect big time, but you are way off the mark here speedway today generally is nowhere near yesteryear,I go some weeks and by 9 o'clock i want to go home be tucked up in bed in the last five years i have not seen a lot of great racing..

Veijo Tuoriniemi recommended by the great Bob Redford also had a torrid time for the Budgies.Going back to Raba believe his figures tell a wrong story I do believe there was a good rider in there somewhere.