STEVEHOLS54

Why so ridiculous ?? Is it because yet again Matt Ford may have stolen a march on others to get a prospective (and I say prospective) good young rider on a low average. Lets not forget that other British Clubs could have signed this guy as he had no team in UK for 2017. Maybe again Ford has the foresight to see that the BSPA will probably go for around 42 points next season and IF his thinking is Chris and Jack Holder and Brady Kurtz plus a decent heat leader then indeed a 4.65 point signing who has through his swift progress this season and progress done well looks a good signing. If this was another club it would probably not even be mentioned but seems to me when its Poole its like a manipulation. Every promoter in the Prem has an opportunity to sign him. But he has family connections with the club from the past. Expressed a wish to ride for them one day and has also been allowed to develop his skills in Poland and the Swedish second division (what little there is of it). Also if this guy is on an upwards curve then for sure I want to see him mixing it in the British League. Anyway it was only 2016 when he got this average. Its up to the clubs to try and convince riders if they are prepared to pay the cost and convince the riders. Milik is out there on a bargain 5.67 for anyone interested. Wozniak 5.91 etc. I also tire of the constant moans about British Speedway riders being suffocated in respect of progress. Lets get real. Our stadiums other than the NSS are old tired and many have poor facilities. They look no different in many cases to 40 plus years ago. The interest and the investment are not there. Poland overtook all years ago by investing in stadiums and their youth systems via the Elite/Nice & League 2 and also well developed junior leagues from most clubs. In UK we have the Prem for the best of what we can get in WW riders willing to come plus British Riders either established or have or are showing talent. The gulf in young talent in Poland compared to Uk is all about investment and facilities where we are light years behind and please let's accept that the interest will never be there as in Poland so you have to make the best of what we have. That means the Prem - Champ to bring on those young riders showing talent before moving to Prem and then the National League for the youngsters to cut their teeth. There is still a big gulf between young riders riding in the NL to even the Champ. Look at JPB and James Shanes and Jack Smith who are slowly learning their trade. As and when they hopefully will make the grade and experience initially as number 7's in the Prem. We have to accept that unless they have immense talent then they will always be behind the young Poles as the system support in UK just isn't there so they will always have to fight twice as hard. Anyway this post probably shouldn't be on this now anyway as its more relative to Poole 2018. Don't get the negativity to what you call foreigners. Poland have 2 junior poles - Sweden have 2 riders needing to be Swedish. The fact is that at least both have some riders of their own nationality good enough to fill in part of the main squads. We have 2 decent feeder leagues to bring on British talent. We don't need those to be filled by foreigners but many seem to accept its ok in the Champ looking a the amount of Aussies and Scandinavians riding in it. I don't profess to have the answers that will solve British Speedways problems but if you think chucking in lots of British riders to the Prem is the answer then think again. British Speedway will just sink faster as people just wont want to go and watch many of the Worlds inferior talent racing against each other.

Well if I am right then not a heat leader but another possible ace signing by Matt Ford. IF.... I am right. Is it Kacper Woryna ??? - Dad rode for Poole - Rode for Coventry in 2016 - Not British - Bargain average of 4.65 in 2016 as his closing av. Good thing about SPORTOWEFAKTY.PL Speedway site with google translate on is it gives you updated and detailed averages. For those not familiar this is his 2017 average for this not quite 21 year old (birthday later this month). He has really come to the fore in 2017. Av in 2017 for ROW RYBNIK despite them being near the bottom of the league. 12 matches - 63 rides - 23 wins - 15 2nds - 18 3rds - 6 4ths - 11 bonus - Average per 4 rides 8.12 points More interesting he sits 14th in Polish Extraleague averages - 1 below Tai Woffinden but get this. He is above P. Dudek - K Buzkowski - M Vaculik - M.Drabyk - Zengota - Lindbaeck -F.Lindgren - Piotr Pawlicki - Lebedev - M.Fricke - Jepsen Jensen - Milik....... - Shamek Pawliki - Kasprzack.... - Zagar - Chris Holder - Kilderman - Miedzinski - The list goes on. If someone said you can sign a young rider with a little experience riding in UK who is just turning 21 sitting 14th in Polish Premier averages above all those World Class riders and you can sign him on a 4.65 average then you would snap his hand off . If Matt has signed him then he could be a brilliant under the radar signing for 2018 and we know he visited Poole in 2015 as a guest of Matt due to family connections and hinted even then he would love to ride for Poole one day. Of course I could have the wrong rider in which case get your skates on Matt

Can someone who has possible inside info at least give us the initials of this new rider for 2018 who may be on his way to the Pirates. I cant find anything on Twitter although I'm no expert on trawling on it. I stick by the comments of an earlier post that I see BK and JH dropping their averages for the last of this years meetings to accommodate for next year plus Chris Holder on that still low looking 7.16. Get both Holders for maybe 13 points or 13.5 in my book is a bargain whatever the CH haters may think. I still think Brady K av will drop below the current 8.41 (after Rye House match). Matt Ford has kept his Council to himself flwg the RH match but he knows full well that even if they get the to the play offs they would get hammered in the semi's. Personally I would rather not qualify than have an embarrassing hammering. I would rather we have the future riders not kill themselves on their averages if they know they are guaranteed places for next year plus have the likes of Chris Holder and the whispered new number one (whoever he is) to come into an exciting looking team. I think a positive Chris Holder is worth a lot to Poole and helping the development of Jack and Brady going forward. So please someone play ball and gives us some idea who this new rider may be

Do you really think that having given Holder a 28 day ban and then on the last day of the transfer window to sack both riders was professional ?? I accept a 28 day ban and maybe fine with a word of warning that further such actions would incur the full wrath of the BSPA with far reaching ramifications would have been a more professional way of dealing with it. To me sacking both was a clear action of spite from Chapmans side and to be honest his subsequent outburst re Jack Holder only proves to me further he is not the man to lead British Speedway forward. But people like the forward thinking such as Matt Ford are trodden down by the have not's. It seems its a crime to have forward thinking and successful promoters have their clubs do well. All we get is back stabbing - snipes and rule breaking - deep joy from some about Poole not doing well. I for one hope Chris Holder does knuckle down - accepts he overstepped the mark and comes back a better rider next year. He went to Kings Lynn reluctantly because of a new points rule which forced him out of Poole as it would have put too much pressure on the teams points limit. I think next year will be a make or break year for him in British Speedway as cant see even him accepting what happened this year as an ongoing situation.

I will be amazed if Chris H isn't back at Poole next year. Not only because its his first love for a UK track but also because of personal reasons as it keeps him close to his son. I question if people really appreciate the toll that Darcy's accident and the split in his personal life may have affected him as an individual. The latter part of 2015 and through 2016 were difficult times just coming to terms with both situations let alone trying to get over them and moving on. At least he didn't put 2 fingers up to UK as most did incl our top UK rider. However from a riding perspective their seem to have been a number of established top World Class riders who have struggled this year on their equipment that seems to revolve around tuning. Guys such as Kildermand - Saifutinov - Piotr Pawliski - Kasparzack to name just a few, and many others have had crazy up and down seasons with far to many low scores by their standards. Its not only C.Holder who has struggled although he stands out riding in UK. I cannot believe that he can have as bad a season next season as this. He is not bogged down by multiple league racing now and with Torun's season almost over (2 meetings as way out of play offs) plus some more Swedish and what GP's are left he can perhaps put in more time in trying to find a solution to the lack of speed he has had this year. Unlike say a Hans Anderson who is constantly travelling in 4 leagues plus individual meetings which in my opinion is taking its toll on the guy yet gain. Even if Holder misses out on the GP then for sure as a ex World Champion who has always been in the top 8 I can't see him not being offered a Wild Card for at least next season in the very least. There are enough non World Champs who have recvd them year on year. British Speedway is in a real mess already with a lack of World Class riders and the recent actions of CH and Batch certainly didn't help, but the spiteful action of Chapman knowing how he was screwing over both for the rest of this season was unreal. Especially having already given Holder a 28 day ban as punishment. His attempt then on trying to compound it further by the his actions regarding Jack Holder and trying to punish Peterborough were made even more laughable when they won the Fours without him plus posted their best ever crowd for the event. Maybe Chapman should have zipped it until after the Peterborough announcements came out when the dust had settled as in my opinion he made himself look foolish. The Club agreed to the move - benefited from it financially and still did well out of the Fours in both winning it and with a record crowd. I still think the only way forward is for some form of combining the Prem and Champ. How it can be done I don't profess to have the answer but that's the job of the BSPA. Something has to be done as Speedway in this country at the top level is fast going down the toilet if we don't.

Don't think Matt Ford will be over concerned at the others catching Poole for 4th. Just checked their main challengers remaining fixtures and they include. Kings Lynn have B.Vue away twice - Wolves 1 H - 1 A - Swindon 1 A - R.House 1 A - Poole 1 H - 1 A - Leicester 1 A. Wouldn't surprise me if only points there are from Leicester. Somerset have Swindon 1 H - 2 A - B.Vue 1 A - R.House 1 H - 1 A - Wolves 1 H Would be very surprised if either team can secure enough points to get close enough from their remaining meetings. Also think Matt will be well pleased if he can secure both Holders for a combined 13.5 point av for 2017. If Chris can discover just a bit of his old form back on home turf for 2018 then with Jack who can only go forward that will indeed be a bargain av combined to work with. If Brady holds steady or even if he cant quite maintain the heights of earlier this season then what a trio for 2018. Hopefully still room for a top rider like a Magic or another true heat leader to come in. Still not convinced on Hans A for next year. Too many dropped points at important times with another example last night which probably cost Poole another dropped point. Same last year where he dropped away in latter parts of the season as too many meetings and injury took its toll. Its good to ride regular, but 4 Countries/teams plus other meetings such as SEC qualifiers - home championships etc eventually stack up. Cant blame him as he wants to earn as much as possible in the twilight of his career. Would not surprise me if Matt Ford already has his top 4 sorted for 2018 and has written 2017 off as a bad year. They don't have that many but for sure he will be feeling it. This team cannot win the league this year without a massive slice of luck even if they make the play offs. He knows that so I am sure he is planning away. Would love him to be able to finance Maksym Drabik for 2018 and the experience would be good on the smaller tracks for arguably the best young rider in the World under 21. Plenty to ponder on going fwd.

Not desperation but would be clever thinking considering KL probably won't make top 4 or if they do again will be cannon fodder like Poole will be if they make it. If a fwd thinking promoter who has had a relationship for years with CH has a chance to get a World class GP rider on 7 then quite rightly he should sign him up. He then possibly has the option to sign another World Class rider as well as accommodate Kurtz and Holder Jr again. Even with a 42 point limit if they go down that route for 2018 it may be possible. For sure M.Ford will do everything in his power to make sure the nightmare of 2017 doesn't return in a hurry. Good luck to him if he pulls it off even if it does pee of some less forward thinking people who envy success because MF is smarter than most of the others. Even the best have an off year.

My view is that I don't think whatever Matt Ford does now wont make Poole win the Prem this year. Too many riders up and down. I think Brady K will take a while to get back to normal as busted ribs take a while to heal. Yes he will ride but still not in comfort. I also think he has performed well above what any of us thought to be honest, and would not surprise me if his av drops this year as he slowly gets back to full fitness. I think its foolish and wrong to think he will return to the heights of this season too quickly. I think Jack H has performed well this year and like Brady's first season he is finding his way. My view is that Matt Ford's take on this is that we will be lucky to scrape into the playoffs and if we do I think that is where it will end i.e only 2 meetings short of the final so in effect only one lost home meeting. Clever thinking would be to quietly encourage Brady and Jack not to push too hard in raising their av this year to assist in building a better team for 2018. Wouldn't surprise me if CH is already penned in and irrespective of whether he rides for KL this season or not I am sure Matt could quietly encourage Chris not to push too hard this year if he guarantees him a place in 2018. In a poor year by his standards he is on a GSA as of 28/7 of 7.16. Only a blind man can see that is a false average for an arguably top 10 GP rider (ok this year not top 10 but we all know that is not Chris's true ability). Last weeks GP and in Sweden this week is more like the real CH. Even he admitted on SGP website he had been lacking speed and is slowly finding it again. Matt may even offer an incentive to Chris to keep his GSA low for the remainder of this season on basis of a promise and good deal for 2018. Similar with Jack and Brady. So as I see it. Have 3 good Aussies. Chris on a false low av. Jack H who can only improve but keep it low this year. Brady who may well drop as he finds his fitness again and don't raise it anyway to help for 2018. You now have your basic team building. Then get a good HL like Magic and then fill around it. Of course those promoters who seem to want a dumned down Prem League may out vote progressive promoters like MF again at the AGM. If they do then having your potential star riders dampening down their averages plays into that game for 2018. I don't see Hans Anderson back for 2018. He takes on too many leagues/Countries (4) and that's without adding open/Euro Championship meetings. Whilst he can turn in some good rides there are too many bad ones at important times and I feel its like oh well got to move on to my next Country. He is past his best but I can understand he wants to maximise his income as he ages as not too many years left to earn the money. I think Matt Ford's scathing comments the other day were also partly aimed at him as he lost at important times. It's a long time since Matt Ford had this kind of situation so I would say don't throw money away. Accept this year is a bad one. Do what you have to in order to get the riders you want at workable av for 2018 and start working on who you want as a HL for 2018 and hopefully discussions with Magic have already advanced in that respect. Roll on next season and let's see if I am wide of the mark.

One thing Matt Ford isn't is stupid. I think he worked out a while ago that this team was not going to win the league even if they got to the play offs. Belle Vue and Wolves had the better in depth strength and now most peoples pre season view of the potential wooden spoonists i.e Swindon have built a very strong side which may surprise many and win the PL this year with their latest Pole being a real bonus signing also with Ellis at reserve. For me MF is already forward thinking for 2018. Brady and Jack building their confidence/experience and hopefully long term HL prospects. Prefer they don't go too crazy on increasing their GSA this year in order to give MF less headaches for team selection next year. If Matt guarantees both a slot next year maybe they will drop off a little in the knowledge they are in for next year and maybe in a potentially PL winning team. Same MAYBE with Klindt being as low as is IF he can find fitness in time form a horrible combined leg injury. If KK (love him or as presently many hate him) with his crazy new low average and CH is a really freak low season all over Europe both rediscovering even a semblance of their real form and add in Mr Consistent Hans Anderson. Stick with James S who can only improve still with his low average then anything is possible. Let's also not discount Magic or even Shamek for next year. Much has been said about Magic poss coming back to UK in 2018 rather than Sweden ?? For sure he would win more races than in Sweden as UK is an inferior quality league. Much to ponder for 2018. Let the others make hay while the sun shines. For sure injuries and a grossly underperforming number 1 have contributed massively to the current situation. Get it out the way now and build for the future. Of course much will depend on BSPA points limits for 2018 and whatever format they decide upon.

Remember Klindt's Twitter qte the other day about "It never rains" ?? Would not surprise me if he has been dropped by both his Swedish and Polish Clubs for better riders who are also match fit. I think those leagues are not stupid. Klindt's points in Poland had already started to suffer and he wasn't pulling up tree's in Sweden either. He made comment about the fact he only wanted to ride asap. Maybe that's the relevance to his comment which he never quantified when questioned. Before long he may have no clubs at all the way its going for him this season. For me what looked like a mega signing where Poole cld get a better quality rider if he was absent or injured has badly backfired. The idea was that he would fire in big scores with his low average riding against reserves and with extra rides at reserve and would easily be well over 7 heading for 8 when the early GSA's came out. What a joke. The guy is sitting on a 6.00 average (plus 5% at home) with bonus points also not counting in BSPA averages. To add insult Matt Ford signed his as a full asset. Would not surprise me that he fires in some more low scores to get his average down even more so he has another workable av for 2018 for team building. Also would not surprise me that Chris Holder keeps his average low in UK for this year in an attempt to get a good low av for Poole next year. After all he is a Poole asset and much as many have avoided the subject on this forum I am sure he would love to be living and working nearer to his young lad locally in the area. Its hard to maybe quantify how much the change in personal circumstances has possibly had an effect on his performances in general this year. He is still only 29 and difficult to understand how he can go from so high to the level he has been performing at this year, despite no injuries and the Darcy situation behind him. An unsettled personal situation can cause stress not seen by most of us. You only have to look at Davey Watts split from his GF to see how low it dragged him and his performances. When you think about it Poole already have the makings of a good team for 2018 if they have CH/BK/JH/HA/NK plus 2 others depending on the limit. The way the points are going would not surprise me to see this as their 5 pencilled in riders for next year. Just got to get Klindts average down a bit more to make it look more attractive ;-)

Whilst winning is important MF is also in the entertainment business. Can't believe many would disagree that the likes of KK/JH/BK and KN will supply plenty of that in 2017. I thought BK was a potential World beater 2/3 years ago as a young lad new on the scene. It was his style and never say die attitude on a bike that had all the comparisons being made to DW. You don't lose that overnight. I still think this lad will come good but maybe not quite the overnight sensation Darcy was. Give him time as he only turned 20 late this year. Similar story with Jack who many feel will be even better (we shall see). Again lots of style and aggression and will pass at every opportunity. Both exciting to watch even if they do get beaten in races. Throw in KK who will thrive (hopefully) if he bases himself in UK from his house locally in the area and Kyle who always gives his all. I am sure Shanes will struggle a bit but no pressure. he is progressing and will for sure p/up points against some of the reserves. May even surprise us against some second strings. NK will p/up plenty of points at reserve and Hans will give that much needed experience and can ride most tracks which again invaluable - PROVIDING the pressure of riding 4 leagues (UK/Poland/Sweden/DK) and the SEC doesn't take it's toll, as can't help thinking that was partly why his form tailed off a bit later in the season. I am over in Essex so won't get too see too many home meetings but for sure will see plenty of Poole riding at Rye House and Kings Lynn to make up for it. Not many other teams I would look forward to paying to see other than RH and KL besides Poole. I think Somerset may surprise a few with more middle order strength. I hope Somerset win as many as poss at home (except against Poole) and scrape odd the 1 point away to keep them away from relegation.

For heavens sake, pull the plug on this mess and put everyone out of their misery. It is so damned obvious that ultimately this is all about person/s/people trying to empty this stadium asap so it can be officially closed/bulldozed and redeveloped which to me is ultimately what this is all about. The amount of money to be made by housing or a retail development being put on the site makes anything revolving Speedway pale into insignificance. A few hundred maybe at top 1000 mainly middle aged die hard's plus a few youngsters are nowhere near as important at the megabucks one or some will make out of the redevelopment. Let's stop living in the dark ages. Complain all you want but running Speedway in what will effectively be a waste dump is not the future. Move on and get a deal done at Leicester and IF.... and when a new stadium is built for Stox then I am sure Speedway would be a welcome addition to the income of the overhead of such a stadium. Again IF it ever happens as I feel this is more about property speculation and redevelopment which is where the real money is in this stupid game of cat and mouse. It's sad but having personally witnessed the closure of my beloved Hackney Hawks/Kestrels as well as having seen White City for a whole 2 seasons incl winning the league and also West Ham in an ill fated half season, I know full well the sadness of seeing tracks I enjoyed going to close. Let's all move on. Get the show on the road with Leicester so we retain some credibility for the sport. Can you imagine how depressing it would look on Sky visiting Coventry Speedway. Let's be honest. Who the hell is going to pay big money to put the stadium in a condition fit to stand on let alone race on. For what 1 season at best maybe?? It's sad, its horrible but ultimately that's life. There is still Speedway in the Midlands with Wolves - Hopefully Leicester and also Birmingham so lets embrace what we do have and stop tolerating this unmitigated mess at Coventry which is now an embarrassment to the sport. I feel for you all Coventry fans but to me its time to be realistic. The clowns involved do not have Speedway's interest at heart or this circus would not have been allowed to continue. There is obviously more involved and for me its all about the money maybe both parties could be making from a redevelopment and possible sweetners being offered to stand aside if the site can be closed and redeveloped sooner rather than later. I would love to be proved wrong but it doesn't take a genius to view the video and see that it would take major investment to get it back to a sensible investment and no way can I see that happening for what - a season or so ???

Agree with you there Starman. If we think its bad on here its nothing compared to the complete cra* posted on the thread of our beloved "Chris Holder". Getting on for 300 posts as I look on there daily looking for news about Chris and comments relating to his next club. Which we all know its near enough certain it's Kings Lynn. You would never believe the subject is about Chris as most of it is idiots slagging each other off with no relation to the subject matter. Out of those near 300 posts/comments very few of them are about Chris. So damned depressing and totally out of order that its some of the usual back biters having a pop at each other with nothing about Chris to do with it.

I saw on a Polish Speedway site that Jack has signed for Torun, but a chance he won't get a regular run out in Torun as they have one too many seniors. There was talk of MAYBE loaning him out to a Nice PL 1 team for next season. If that's the case problem is the Nice teams have all their riders signed so maybe at least May before he can transfer in if anyone wants him. The article said he will be given a chance in the normal Polish pre season friendlies to see how he stands up to competing, and then they will decide if they loan him out or put him in the first team. He is restricted a bit as they can only have 5 seniors (multi national) plus 2 Polish juniors. I think his signing is one for the future for Torun due to his brother Chris's connection with the club plus the early potential he has shown. A bit like Brady Kurtz. Stahl Gorzow wanted him but can't fit him in on a guaranteed team berth this year so he has extended with Polonia Pila for next year. Depending on how he develops in 2017, if he goes forward a good chance that Gorzow will sign him. (May already be a gentleman's agreement in place). That would put him in same team as a Mr K.Kasparzak for 2018 ;-)

Lets hope all 3 do but at worse I would take 2 of them reading as it does presently. The die is set for 2017 so let's get on with it but I do hope that the BSPA and individual promoters bang heads together during the season to come up with something workable for 2018 otherwise our sport will descend into farce. For me its one big league with a KO and maybe even a league cup style comp as they had in old PL last season. just knocking thoughts around. I am also sure the powers that be could com up with a sensible idea on team strengths/points limits and let the promoters work within their budgets. No different to other sports. Money will always play its part just as we have the Man Utd/City - Honda/Suzuki - Mercedes/Red Bull/Lotus situations plus smaller teams. Ultimately in Speedway it is still only 4 riders per race and you will never have 4 World Class stars in a race with the points limits so we would still get racing we all want to see - experience - middle order - lower order - youth. Is it really so difficult if the sport wants to fight for its existence/future. Also means clubs in Scotland would see a Poole just as we would see them down in the South. Anyway I will hope we win the league and KO Cup in 2017 while seeing exciting racing and exciting young talent,and keep my fingers crossed my thoughts bear fruit for 2018.

Yes only a short time now before we run out of things to discuss on who may/may not sign. As we draw to team conclusion at Poole and have a period of calm, the real car crash seems to be going on at Coventry who may not even race the way its going, plus the doubts as to what's going on at Leicester and how will B.Vue pan out. Now we are drawing to a team close I find the real action is going on with these forums as fans get worried/frustrated/angry at the way our sport seems to be getting dragged down the toilet. In a way I hope we go for a stronger 16/18 team league and not have a Prem/Champ. I can see it heading that way and maybe better for the sport. There will always be the have's and have not's but no different to any other major motor sport or football (Moto GP/Formula 1/European Football. That's the way life is. The main thing is to have as many as viably strong clubs as we can with exciting racing. In its current format its falling apart IMO and that can't be good for Speedway. Much as I like Poole there isn't much point if its against hardly any clubs going forward. Of course I want to win the league and cups but its the stability and strength of the clubs going forward. Plus exciting racing. We had large leagues 1 & 2 in the seventies (my first meeting at Hackney in 1970 we had 19 teams lge 1 and 17 in lge 2 plus both lges had KO Cups) and I would rather have one strong league plus a feeder/nursery league like N/L than have what is currently 9 but could be 8/7 teams come March with so many doubts of what is going on. Also have a KO cup over 2 legs . I enjoy reading and contributing to the Poole Forum since I joined this forum 3/4 or so weeks ago, but find visiting some of the others so depressing for their fans as they don't know if they will have a club or not. Anyway the forum is all about opinion and that's mine. At least trial it.

To me if Horton is serious he has to make a statement of intent and not some wishy washy comments about having to see what state the stadium is in. Bottom line is all the basic equipment is gone and not coming back (IMO). Either he agrees he will cough up to put it right. He shouldn't be surprised his other arch villain of the pce has taken his assets and in effect said go to hell. He should have the ba**s to say he has not got the money to undo what has been done (and as quickly as possible) or inform his intent that he wants/intends to try and do something with whoever over at Leicester. Either that or get out the game and stop playing with fancy words that say nothing as to racing actually taking place at Coventry in 2017 or ever again. If Horton is a businessman he must have known this was coming and to conveniently be out of the Country on the deadline date re fixtures and fittings etc kind of smells funny to me to have left himself open to such developments.

Maybe the time is fast approaching to have one big league and a nursery/junior league such as the National league. The P/L (now Champ) clubs seem to have it fairly well dialled in as have a few of the new Prem league teams such as Poole/Wolves/Somerset/hopefully Swindon with the new track etc. I am sure these statasticians could come up with an idea that gives us one good and fairly strong league. Of course there will always be the have and the have not's but is it any different in things like Football/Moto GP/Formula 1 etc. Doesn't stop teams racing and offering decent entertainment. We have to accept surely that Speedway fast approaches a crossroads and do we really want a 5/6/7 team league where the same riders compete against each other week after week. There must be a way forward or I worry Speedway will be on its way out. Some of the negativity and amateur going on's around some of the clubs and lack of positive news concerning Coventry/Leicester/B.Vue is in some ways staggering even if it is still early days with over 3 months until racing again. It's all very well some individuals saying don't panic it will all be ok. Will it ??? Have we really seen anything come out that is giving real firm indications all 3 will be running. I fear not and forsee 1 maybe 2 if we are lucky of the 3 participating in 2017. I am sure a 16/17 team Prem league could be done combining experienced riders and talent without breaking the Bank. There will always be riders looking to do 3/4 leagues around Europe and providing they can earn reasonable money many would keep coming back. If that's not your flavour then employ UK/Australian talent with team of strength in depth so you get good racing. It surely has to be better than seeing it fall apart brick by brick with some tracks. We are presently at 9 clubs but at this rate we will be lucky to have 7 in the Prem.

Let's hope his next statement is more positive. It's not quite the "There will 100% be speedway at Coventry next year. Talk of "I need to see the damage myself" and "speedway still has a lease for 2017" is not the same as saying Speedway will definitely take place in 2017 at Coventry. I got accused by one of being negative so early in the close season. I am not a Coventry supporter but believe me I want them to run be it at Coventry or Leicester for the better of speedway. I just hope for the sake of the sport at least one of these promotions get their act together and get speedway on in at least one stadium and preferable two. As for the negative comments what does one expect when neither promotions has come out with a definitive answer on running in 2017, although I know its still early. The sport really doesn't deserve such negative publicity when it needs to pull together for its very survival.

Plus he meets a lot of these guys twice in a meeting. For me the important thing is he should insure we don't get turned over 1-5 in the reserve races. Anything above a 3-3 to me is a bonus in the early months as Shanes beds in and tries to pinch points off some of the not so good reserves. I am sure Matt Ford has covered the bases as mentioned in my earlier posts. Also riding in a good side should in itself help produce bonus points. Let's be honest. Near enough every club in new Prem would have liked this guy as a reserve which in itself is good enough for me.

For me its what he does at reserve which is the more important in the first 2 months of the season. I am sure come May he will move into the team allowing Newman/Kurtz or Holder to have a chance of some easy points. Okay maybe Klindts av will suffer when in the main body of the team but do we really care ?? If he does then he will go back to reserve and swing in and out of there in the season and for sure we all know he will score points in that slot just as Bjarne did which was why his av was also so high. Add to that that if any fixture clashes with DK I am sure Matt will be able to get a better quality guest or apply RR with a higher pool of riders available to use. I think this is a VERY clever signing by Matt Ford and you only have to look at his scores in the overseas leagues to see that Matt was no mug in his planning behind this move, not only getting him as a reserve to start but the permutations it offers going forward. Every other promoter could have signed him as it was a level playing field for all. Obviously the guy liked the idea of a fairly safe and secure pay check and place in the side without the pressure of having to prove being a heat leader. He will pick up plenty of points against inferior or more junior riders plus will ride for a team which has a proven winning mentality (hopefully). I stand by what I said in a lengthy earlier post that I think Mr Ford had this guy tied up on a deal long before the others who were probabaly still digesting the new regulations when they were voted on. Nice one Matt and further proof he is way ahead of most other promoters in forward thinking. Now we a wait all the conspiracy theorists and full time Poole haters/back biters to have their say. By the way last comments not aimed at you Gavin as you tend to have constructive comments even if you do have a pop now and then ;-)

Following my recent post just look at the below which was the year I was introduced to Speedway as a 16 year old. How our mighty sport has fallen when you look at the clubs there were in both divisions :-( 1970 BRITISH LEAGUE DIVISION 1 Team Mts Won Drn Lst For Agn Pts 1.BELLE VUE ‘Aces’ 36 27 2 7 1595½ 1205½ 56 2.Wimbledon ‘Dons’ 36 22 2 12 1506 1297 46 3.Coventry ‘Bees’ 36 22 1 13 1517½ 1287½ 45 4.Leicester ‘Lions’ 36 21 0 15 1423 1381 42 5.Poole ‘Pirates’ 36 20 0 16 1392 1409 40 6.Halifax ‘Dukes’ 36 19 1 16 1492½ 1313½ 39 7.Sheffield ‘Tigers’ 36 18 3 15 1414½ 1391½ 39 8.Glasgow ‘Tigers’ 36 18 1 17 1438 1367 37 9.Wolverhampton ‘Wolves’ 36 16 2 18 1371 1433 34 10.Exeter ‘Falcons’ 36 16 1 19 1369½ 1434½ 33 11.Hackney ‘Hawks’ 36 15 2 19 1369½ 1435½ 32 12.King’s Lynn ‘Stars’ 36 16 0 20 1359 1443 32 13.Oxford ‘Cheetahs’ 36 16 0 20 1360½ 1445½ 32 14.Wembley ‘Lions’ 36 15 2 19 1327½ 1474½ 32 15.Cradley Heath ‘Heathens’ 36 15 1 20 1351½ 1445½ 31 16.Swindon ‘Robins’ 36 14 2 20 1386 1418 30 17.Newcastle ‘Diamonds’ 36 15 0 21 1364 1444 30 18.West Ham ‘Hammers’ 36 14 2 20 1341½ 1463½ 30 19.Newport ‘Wasps’ 36 12 0 24 1258 1548 24 KNOCK-OUT CUP FINAL: Wimbledon 80 Belle Vue 75 BL DIV. 1 RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Barry Briggs (Swindon), 13 pts 1970 BRITISH LEAGUE DIVISION 2 Team Mts Won Drn Lst For Agn Pts 1.CANTERBURY ‘Crusaders’ 32 23 1 8 1384 1108 47 2.Eastbourne ‘Eagles’ 32 22 1 9 1364½ 1125½ 45 3.Rochdale ‘Hornets’ 32 21 2 9 1460 1020 44 4.Bradford ‘Northern’ 32 18 1 13 1355 1134 37 5.Teesside ‘Teessiders’ 32 18 0 14 1304 1186 36 6.Ipswich ‘Witches’ 32 17 2 13 1254 1236 36 7.Crewe ‘Kings’ 32 17 1 14 1305 1186 35 8.Romford ‘Bombers’ 32 17 1 14 1253½ 1231½ 35 9.Reading ‘Racers’ 32 17 0 15 1278½ 1211½ 34 10.Peterborough ‘Panthers’ 32 14 2 16 1191 1301 30 11.Workington ‘Comets’ 32 13 1 18 1245 1236 27 12.Rayleigh ‘Rockets’ 32 13 1 18 1155½ 1329½ 27 13.Boston ‘Barracudas’ 32 12 2 18 1144 1342 26 14.Crayford ‘Highwaymen’ 32 11 1 20 1153 1338 23 15.Doncaster ‘Dragons’ 32 11 1 20 1123½ 1361½ 23 16.Berwick ‘Bandits’ 32 10 0 22 1089 1400 20 17.Long Eaton ‘Rangers’ 32 8 3 21 1087½ 1400½ 19 Wd.King’s Lynn ‘Starlets’ 22 9 1 12 774 934 19 Wd.Nelson ‘Admirals’ 8 6 0 2 384 237 12 NOTE: Bradford took over from Nelson upon their withdrawal; Boston took over from King’s Lynn II upon their withdrawal. KNOCK-OUT CUP FINAL: Ipswich 80 Berwick 76 BL DIV. 2 RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Dave Jessup (Eastbourne), 14 pts

All of these recent posts just highlight the problems British Speedway has at what will be the new Prem level. What is being posted on the Coventry/Leicester and B.Vue forums is a concern for all. At this rate UK will eb the laughing stock of the developed Speedway World. At this moment there seems little confidence if any of the 3 teams will actually run. I hope in the very least we get 2 sensible operations going . Even if it did mean Coventry have to up sticks and do some kind of deal over at Leicester. As for B.Vue we can only hope that the comments from the BSPA bear fruit or it will indeed drag us into the farcical after all the comments about them taking the reins to try and resolve it. Depending on how this all pans out I think I would rather see just an extended league combining Prem/Champ with a sensible Cup comp in 2018, as the way things are going presently the sport is going slowly to the dogs with all the negativity coming forth in these forums. It is indeed a sad situation when you hear some of the comments on what may or may not be going on with some of the bastions of speedway such as Coventry and Belle Vue. These are clubs steeped in history and have always been looked upon as the strong since my first days of watching Hackney Wick back in 1970 when I was first introduced to Speedway as a 16 year old and have been a fan ever since. Clubs come and go over the years but these 2 teams were giants in the Speedway World and it will be sad if we lose them. Also Leicester even if not maybe as big a club in name and history terms as the others. Let's hope some sense prevails.

Maybe take a look at his last seasons Nice Polish av. Think we would all agree this league is at least the equiv (if not better) than our new Prem. 13 matches - 63 rides - av 1.825 per ride incl bonus = 7.30 match av Compare to a certain Mr Scott Nichols who is rated 2 places lower at 33 in the Polish Nice riders av 13 matches - 65 rides - av 1.80 per ride incl bonus = 7.20 match av. The obvious is that one is a no brainer at reserve in the new Prem and the second is now second heat leader at Rye House. Maybe he was not so hot in P/L last season but if I didn't know better I would say maybe he was privy to some inside info on how the team building was going to pan out this year using the old P/L averages ;-) Would be one hell of a conspiracy theory huh ??

IF Klindt does sign I would not be surprised if Matt Ford had an agreement in principal with the guy even before the promoters meeting took place. How ?? I am sure that the new proposals to revolutionise British Speedway wld have been put fwd to Promoters well before the AGM as would the discussions re teams moving up. There is no way these guys would have turned up cold and unprepared for the discussions ahead. I am sure that Matt would also have been aware that most of the have not's (not so financially secure clubs) would have been pushing for the new rules to reduce costs meaning on a vote he was always going to be outvoted. So we can assume Matt would have known well in advance that the new 50 point rule with EL rides av x 1.4 and Prem averages would be used for team building. Armed with this we as Joe Public were aware from the moment it was all announced that N.Klindt with 5.42 PL av and a new 8.90 EL (now Prem) av stood out like a beacon in team building terms. A whole 3.48 point swing and a potential killer signing be it at reserve or otherwise. Would not surprise me if the astute and quick thinking Matt already had an agreement in principal to bring him to Poole on the understanding that it was subject to the new rules being voted on at the AGM. That's my initial thought but then I thought - what about his Danish Club commitments as he has signed a deal as also captain for his team. Also race Wed night. Not so stupid as Matt can easily agree to let him do plenty of Danish matches. Why ?? Danish season in 2016 only started 4th May some 5/6 weeks after UK starts. Esbjerg only started on 11th May. Bearing in mind Matt plans to start him at reserve on his crazy low 5.42 Prem av he will quickly build up his av and will no doubt be out of the reserve berth by May. Not all bad news as the chances are that Messrs Newman/J.Holder or B.Kurtz will jump in to replace him. I am sure any club in Prem would give their right arm to have any one of the 4 as a reserve in the new format. This now means that Mr Klindt will have an average (probably) nearer a heat leader than reserve (when the new GSA are done after the new riders av come out in APR). I assume on this basis Matt Ford will then be able to employ a guest with a much higher av based on Klindt's new much higher av or at worse maybe have the opportunity at worse to have RR come in based on having a bigger number of riders available to fill the hole. Would not surprise me one little bit if our brilliant promoter has pulled a rabbit out of the hat and done the deal long before others even digested what the new rules meant. For sure nearly every Prem clubs forum mentioned Klindt as the man to have as soon as the news on the new points system was announced. If we as fans saw the hole then I am sure that Matt, who was streets ahead of us fans in having advanced info on it, would have already been doing his sums and maybe already agreed the deal. Of course all of this only my opinion and IF Klindt signs. If he does then I hope Matt did do the deal early and ahead of what many other promoters would like to have done. This is what sets him out as ahead of the rest in my opinion. Again all subject to IF Klindt signs ;-)