HGould

I concur with those who refer to the complete inevitability of this. The minute Entain removed Speedway from Monmore to focus on Dogs and Arena / ARC (or whatever the latest Branding is) mooted building a Dog Track on the infoeld on Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton AW Venue with its massive Stand and Hotel, Perry Barr as a venue was doomed. I have massive respect for Nigel for the money he has put in, money he will never recoup. I have to question his team building and management and his sanity or insanity in terms of investment, but he cannot and must not ever be attacked for his loyalty and commitment. For his own mental health and future prosperity, this decision I suspect will in the longer term be welcome to him. With no appraent progess for Wolves, delays and no clear path yet for Brandon , there still may be a glimmer of hope for Midland Speedway at the new Knighthead / East Side development that incorporates to old Wheels Site. This now has Government / Local Government and massive American Funding behind it. The big problem is that a 65,000 state of the art stadium, a new Athletics Track , direct access to the City Centre and Airport may not be branding wise logical with a shale oval track with limited use, when you add in Casino , Cinemas, Hotels, and top class Apartments etc. If the development goes for major Athletic Events that will require a secondary Athletics Stadium with such world class facilities for Training and Competiton and a new Home for GB Athletics , then may be the current Athletics home at Perry Barr may in 5-6 years time be an option BUT it would require significant funding and Council Support and seriousy what state would British Speedway be in by then. Several other Tracks seem to be hanging on by the skin of their teeth in the face of planning , development and economic concerns, so we could in 5 years be down to a core of 10 or less. Sad times and hopefully Nigel gets enough support in the remaining months to at least break even!

If fit 2 recent Gladiators are available Nico Covatti Michael Palm-Toft or a curve curveball Ben Cook

Great Racing. The gap between Bewley and Lambert and the rest though in the UK remains a big bridge, a strangely subdued performance from Tom Brennan, who has excelled in this meeting the last few years was a major surprise. Of the younger brigade it's clear that a now fit Anders Rowe and the rapidly improving Dan Thompson deserve the Reserve slots for GP, sorry Bomber!

Shale is like gold dust these days, you could probably collect a jar full over a season and barter it back for a season ticket. The decision about a decade ago by the then Bosses of the sport NOT to fund the repairs to the Shale skaker at the old shale seam near Nuneaton was very short sighted and having a negative impact now. One of my favourite tracks to visit was Halifax, just a one off, brutal steel fence , massive banking and that grey material that you'd be washing out of orifices weeks later..

May be you should read before replying... "indeed all of them took part in the traditional Plymouth interval Running race".

I do wonder how many of the keyboard warriors attacking a 30 minute break were actually AT the Meeting on Saturday. I have to admit I wasn't, and I'm not keen on extended breaks BUT my Grandson and 3 of his mates went, 2 of the 3 mates for the first time and the newcomers , indeed all of them took part in the traditional Plymouth interval Running race. He sent me pictures, and very proud too that he has inducted 2 new fans to Speedway and plans already for my Daughter (who lives in North Devon) and the 3 other lads parents to take it in turn to attend matches in the coming months. These lads are primarily soccer and rugby playing kids with a "summer sport" needed to fill their time. It would appear from social media that pLymouth had another bumper crowd, another reward for Kids going free and another opportunity to build a fan base for the future. Another point, given the issues PLymouth have again had with break in's. Don't attack an Owner desperately seeking sponsorship for engineering an extended break when his paying and non paying customers will be encouraged to spend money in the Bar, in the Cafe and in the Track Shop, all delivering much needed funds. I do wonder if some keyboard warriors would love to see Plymouth / Birmingham and one of 2 other Clubs close, just so that they can gloat. Maybe they need to gloat on the fact that if the sport loses 2-3 more Clubs that the current crazy barmy model becomes a step closer to extinction. The dinosaurs of this forum may have been bored but a whole new generation of fan weren't and are being created.

There have always been riders that were infuriatingly inconsistent. They though tended to be "gate and go" types who could not pass, some to do with their home tracks., others because it wasn't in their DNA I'm thinking of examples like Nicky Allott / Rene Ass / Alan Molyneux from the past, no doubt others will have other examples. I can't recall though any of them being so blatantly reluctant to avoid contact. I do suspect it may be linked to his MX background, where he would sometimes make a start and just ride away from 20-30 others but if he missed th start would literally have to option to shut off, tactically avoid the melee and then pick off riders over 10-15 laps. Speedway of course is very different, it's instant and no room for giving an inch. He's clearly an outstanding motor cyclist and has blinding speed . May be there is someone in the Team GB set up who place a great emphasis on the mental side who can work with him and alieviate the problem before it's too late. I wish the lad well.

Far from a Gourmet Galloping Graham and more of a Wayne from Mr Kerr tonight. Unconvinced Poole fans will be out in force

There is a (hugely more expensive) answer but you'd need Poole level crowds to afford it. Put a foam fence to the height of the concrete fence all the way round the track, then add a higher foam fence that sat on top of the lower one and encased the poles. (Those foam fences like at KL / Glasgow dont give an inch on impact but cushion) The cost would be enormous but the height might be an issue too for 3 reasons (1) visibility for spectators (2) efectiveness of lights e.g a black spot near fence like Leicester used to have (3) on rare occasions a bike can clear a fence and at least be out of the way it would "bounce back" from a dangerous height on to the track. THere is always plan g - sneak in one night and grind the things off

Reading between the lines they just wanted the rider to be able to weigh in on some scales rather than the local weighbridge. Reference to fitness and professionalism suggest they wanted a more focused rider. Rumours he's down to Cruiserweight and heading to light heavyweight.

This may not make me particularly popular but the saying "play the ball not the man" comes to mind. Granted, no Team I have supported or particularly followed has been blighted by Clarke Osbourne. However, as a Brummies fan about to lose PB who has also over the decades watched a lot of Speedway at Monmore, Cradley, Coventry and Stoke to name but a few, I have to say that IF any of those Clubs (or others like Lakeside as an example) came up with what is actually IN those proposals, I'd be very very excited. The location ticks many boxes, the shared sporting use and business use ticks many boxes, it offers hope, which supporters of many closed Tracks don't have. The bottom line is that if CO was not linked to this then what would the reaction be. Hope springs eternal!

about 14 isn't it? and a sponsored bacofoil tracksuit??...

2 riders who would be returning fit the bill. Both if remotely back to their best would be experienced riders who on average form would be very good reserves and could hold their own in the second string department at a push Both have been mentioned at least once on here. Stefan Neilson James Sargeant Neither would require a weigh in either!

My informant suggests that if rider was a Boxer he'd be a Super Middleweight bordering on a Light Heavyweight! PS It's not Gary O'Hare (a true legend btw)

Definitely wasn't thinking of Complin at all. They are weighing up options (not including Complin and Scott Campos)

Maybe they are weighing up (or in) other options 😁

There is one aspect of Matt Marson's riding that is definitely CL quality, indeed possibly higher and it'll be interesting to see transponder data of taht. He is traditionally a very fast and consistently fast gater. Whilst his speed tails off after the first bend he is going to be far more competitive off the starts I would suggest than your average 16 year old. I'd be tempted if I was his Team Manager to engineer best option of inside gates in the earlier races for him as he can definitely beat some of the weaker league reserves on his gating ability alone and if nothing else could be a very tactically useful "mobile chicane" on occasions.

I think they tried that and it cost them signings... Offered the tune to Starke and Complin but the "fastest lawn mower....." upset them!

Couldn't agree more Saddlebow some excellent promoting by Plymouth. Each signing announced with enthusiasm and positivity and good explanation from Promoters about what their aims are with the build up of the team. Good luck to them, they are flying the flag for the South West and deserve support. As the saying goes "use it or lose it" and hopefully they will attract good Crowds and keep going.

God does that mean the UK could have been spared the moaning whining whingebag that is Jack Holder...

Somebody mentioned CW Someone else mentioned a veteran Last heard of moved to the South Coast to work Its Carl Wilkinson innit?

I generally agree with your posts and always respect them but I do think this is a bit disingenuous. The NDL has always provided opporunity for riders who enjoy riding, have neither the ability nor in some cases the aspiration to go higher but who are more than capable of competing at a decent level. To think of a few recent examples, Danno Verge a loyal servant to IOW who was never going to be any more than a 5 point NDL rider. Tom Spencer, who I watched riding and struggling on lawnmowers in his early days, who has steadily developed and hit a very decent NDL avergae last season and has got a deserved bash at CL level this year. In this Plymouth team is Kai Ward who I watched a few years ago when he could not do 4 laps without falling off. He's gone to amateur racing, learnt and steadily improved and last year proved he could be a competitive reserve in the NDL. There will always been Brennans, Kemps, Flints etc, the likes of Cairns and Boughen and some other newer riders look well capable of aspiring to a full time careeer in the Sport. However I do agree with your general train of thought. As a Brummies fan I felt the NDL of 2016-2018 was excellent, when Brummies moved up to CL in 2019 and struggled unable to compete i realised that the BSPL attitude was to neuter the NDL by making the better clubs move up. The supposition that it was to support Clubs like Buxton, Stoke, IOW etc blown away by the fact that those Clubs left for varying reasons. There are 2 ways forward really... (1) make the NDL totally amateur and assist the amateur tracks and providers to have a more sustainable footing (2) to remove a lot more of the big earners - cream off possibly the top 16-18 over 30's and to make the CL the equaivalent of what the NDL was up to circa 2019-2020. But of course we go back 20+ years to the Sky TV cash cow that was blown, spaffed up, secreted away don't we?... The legacy that 30-40 riders have to ride PL and CL to generate the 40 + meetings to make Speedway pay and stuff the rest. Too much water has gone beneath too many bridges I fear to rectify the issues now. No disrespect to them but thats why i see the likes of Bomber ; Scott ; Lawson, Masters , Worrall ; and many more riding well in to their late 40's and early 50's. A few classy kids will arrive and join them, a few might by-pass them (like Brennan) to join Lambert and Bewley but the model is utterly BUST I'm sad to say. NORA may be the way ahead for MANY of the current lower tier Championship Clubs but if they don't own their own stadiums and generate as much income from anciliaries like food and drink sales as a result, the future looks very bleak

Haven't seen any??... You would think a BIG SPLASH signing would be announced Christmas Eve??... Obviously it might be more of a small ripple and less of a splash! Wonder it it might be Worrall and Worrall ? Nothing would surprise me... R Worrall and N Morris (dear god) ??... What's Josh Auty and James Shanes availability??..

Would imagine Trigger is a definite Wonder if to boost his track time that Joe Thompson might just do another season, he doesn't need to for development but just testing and track time between CL might make sense (would make sense for Bowtell too but he's not eligible is he?) That would use up a load of points but highest rated top 2 in terms of combined average if so! Not sure who else.. Rhys Naylor? Kai Ward? (Atkins and Andrews have retired now so not available)

Hancock doesn't exactly have a great record as a mentor! He has a great record of getting significant financial benefit from those he has mentored; with very little for the recipient of his knowledge, gained from it. To coin a phrase, no doubt he has grinned all the way to the bank. The Cairns family clearly have the means to give their clearly very talented son the very best chance of success he can have. Sport shows though that in the heat of battle, in that brutal first turn, no amount of coaching, mentoring will help you, it's brutal , its survival of the fittest and hungriest. It will be interesting to see how Mr Cairns develops.