HGould

Craig had a series of hard falls and got pretty bashed up physically a few weeks back, several through no fault of his own. May be they don't want to risk him riding with painkillers after what happened to Barker if some rival Club wants to snitch him up? With Craigs other well documented health issues it may be the case he's just not in the right place to ride physically or mentally at the moment and if that's the case he deserves space to get 100% right.

Are you seriously suggesting SCB and BSPL would still be authorising a Guest facility on the alleged circumstance you suggest. Even they would ask for independent proof surely.

You mean false information from whingers with ginger hair. Do you really think management committee would continue to sanction without credible independent medical proof. Someone said he was riding in testimonial for ginger whinger. It turned out he was. The proof offered was for the original running in early 2020. PMSL

Where prime Real Estate is involved money talks and no doubt someone will be tapping up Harry Redknapp for some very big brown envelopes for Councillors gratuities.

Agreed Many Clubs do under 16s free some Family Tickets, some Student under 22 discounts. Strange Poole have suddenly gone Under 16s free for a Council visit. Stranger still when getting good crowds they discount adult tickets to a tenner when they don't need to. Could well alienate locals and probably Council will be very aware of usual crowd dynamic anyway. Why meddle? Maybe the rumour this is last year and not 2023 is true after all?

Kyle (Newman) struggled at Brummies in early 2019 in a struggling team when asked to be a heat leader. I always felt he was unfairly jocked out of the team when others were delivering less at the time but it was an averages game. He then seemed to find a whole new lease of life and best form in ages at Eastbourne in 2019 when he replaced Brennan and where he said he was enjoying racing again and again in 2021 before they closed. He struggled with fitness at Oxford it seems in a difficult No 2 role and seemed rusty race fitness wise when I saw him earlier in the season. If he can have a spell at reserve at Redcar and get the enjoyment back he could be a massive weapon for them. As for Bickley, flash websites and social media and stickers on your van doesn't mean anything on the Track. He's been passed and left behind now by 3-4 years worth of newcomers. Never going to be better than a good NDL Heat Leader, a big fish in a little pond.

How times change. 45 years ago Peter Collins made a valiant attempt to retain a world title with a huge hole in his shin. 38 years ago, at Cowley no less Kenny Carter won a British WC semi final with 2 broken legs No doubt both full of morphine and painkillers. You make an accusation about alcohol that is completely unfounded but again 40 years ago Kelly Moran would famously or infamously (take your pick) arrive at matches so drunk that they'd throw him in a cold shower for half an hour to sober him up. Over the decades and now speedway riders take large amounts of painkillers, some take illegal substances, depending on their popularity often a blind eye is turned. Some rude with well documented mental health issues that require medication that they have been brave and honest to open up about. Who hasn't driven with excess alcohol or painkillers in their system. Is a speedway track any more or less dangerous than the M25? Barker will be dealt with according to the severity of what he is proven to have done. Until then may be people shouldn't be holier than thou. Then go and look up "snus" widely used in British Speedway. Illegal in most EU countries.

sometimes you gotta know when not to argue with a lady...

100% agree Lack of enough top end riders so those that are about; are if rumours are correct; holding Clubs to ransom demanding 4 figure sums sometimes up front, to ride and that just makes it an ever vicious circle of increased costs for all Clubs. Don't blame the riders, its the law of supply and demand, if you're in demand you make the most of it. Needs to be a complete realignment and far more realistic pay grades in CL in my opinion.

We had Verge and Wooley both NDL (second strings at best) and Morley and Complin (NDL heat leaders) from memory plus Starkey and Sedgeman Very much an NDL look I'd say. Did rather well in the circumstances

Bit lax of Poole not to inform all their supporters of the line-up for the Match this late. They would surely have had it for about 24 hours and haven't updated their website from TBC since Sunday.

Brummies seemed to get away with it ? Plus put up a good fight. Time for all Clubs to consider costs I guess.

Surely focus on Play Offs and send an NDL team to Poole tonight for a pointless (for both Clubs) Fixture.

If Gary May wants to beat Poole may be he should pay for his select Team for the night. Nothing in it for Plymouth, been there twice, best to save man and machine for far more important matches ahead. Nice night out for the Centurions

Facts are- Brennan and Flint are official Meeting Reserves for SGP on Saturday so contractually obligated to be at Friday Practice 3 pm Impossible therefore to be at Oxford Also Brennan is wild card for SGP 2 on Sunday. Very unlucky to miss out on SGP2 Series pick in his last chance year. A good display either Event will be seen and noted in all the right places for his career. Puts the CL Pairs into perspective. Lay off both lads, key part of British Speedway future and deserve this chance at Cardiff. Both done thousands of miles in age groups round Europe for peanuts.

Spot on. I think the myth started as banter at the rumour that St Andrews as being demolished and land sold so Blues would move in to Alexander and David Sullivan was coming back to BCFC and would do what he did at WHU re Stadia. The Villa ladies sort of came out of that as a reply as Perry Barr is a Villa area All Myths.

The City Council deserve great credit as do the local Organising Committee for the way Commonwealth Games logistics have gone. Wonderful weather helps but with the return to Labour Control some years ago after a Tory take over; things have certainly improved. Some of the Cities MP's are very Sport friendly, especially Shabhna Mahmood and the clever use of inner city locations (not just NIA / NEC) has been a great success. We could and perhaps should have had a Community Stadium either at NEC or in Curzon Street Area had we been awarded Games a decade or so ago sadly the make up of the Council at the time wasn't as interested. The Commonwealth and very influential Asian Nations are now 100% sure of what Birmingham can achieve and how vibrant it can be. All that is needed now is the removal of the pointless Mayoral position that isn't needed and whose incumbent is a glory boy always seeking to piggy back on success and always blaming others for failure. Where that may leave Speedway is a moot point, I'm convinced that Speedway and an Athletics track for one weekend is a far harder sell to the Stadium hierarchy than a football stadium where just a bit of turf has to be lifted. I wonder whar dimension they could fit in the NEC Indoor Arena - now that would be exciting, possibly not SGP but for a weekend - they've had Indoor Super X and Trucks in there many times and in the bigger NEC Exhibition Halls where Speedway was staged in 1978 or 1979 on a rubber track with slick tyres...from memory a world class field won by Michael Lee..

In 2019 it was called "The Shield" regional league and then semis and final. It started the season which was probably better (a) for crowds (b) for continuity. Its disrupted the flow of a very interesting league season in my opinion. A bit like when the county championship is repeatedly interrrupted in cricket or football by international gaps. Hopefully they stick with the Final at Sheffield, 6 man teams, one big finale and not 3 home legs as that would be unfair to all not in the Final as results may have been different if some teams more focussed .

Covering their pride and joy state of the art tartan track would cost a lot more than stripping some turf up. Plus it would be an open air temporary track. Way too risky. Surely BV NSS with 15 to 20bk temp capacity sold out is better.

I agree that excess painkillers is a rule-break but certainly wouldn't warrant the same kind of ban as hard drugs as an example and if they tested and banned use of soft drugs regularly no doubt others would be caught. The issue with Speedway has always been Promoter and finacial pressure on riders to ride when in pain and probably worse now than ever with such a shortage at top end of teams.

No chance I'm afraid. Its actually the Home base of British Athletics and has been for some years and also the world famous Birchfield Harriers. It's a shame they are removing the portable seating in one respect but welcome in another as it will become a ready made excellent Stadium for Athletics and other Events. Don't see where the demand is for a second GB in UK to be honest when they can only half fill Cardiff one a year.

I agree. Alan battled non hodgkiss lymphoma I believe to be the precise condition from the mid 80s possibly earlier when at Cradley I recall he suffered from fatigue and got an early diagnosis. Whilst obviously Brummies will need to cover all their costs for staging, hopefully any ner profit could go to charities of Diane and the families choosing.

More likely they have now ridden to the 75% point by where they have to make changes and they don't know how long the wait will be. There is also the angle where a rider in an originally declared 1-7 can come back in. Who knows, if he's guilty of something illegal he deserves 2 years ban, if he's swalloed too many painkillers in an attempt to ride, then he doesn't deserve to be pilloried especially when in some sports they are happy to take tens of thousands a week to sit on their backsides for 3-4 years. Hopefully the powers that be will pull their fingers out and do something as its not fair on the rider nor his 2 clubs

At Wimbledon it was something to do with distance to first turn I think. Not sure Edinburgh only been there twice. May be to line it with refs box maybe? Pretty much every grass track has start line in a chute to protect actual track.

Worked for Wimbledon for decades. You ever been to grass track meeting?