HGould

Don't understand the panic and pessimism on here. Leave it to the EXPERTS who seem to believe that large or small outdoor crowds are not an issue and that for the time being events can go ahead. IF a Speedway rider gets the virus, no doubt his Club(s) should have a different view as Arsenal have had with their manager. Its up to the individual to decide, I'm going to Birmingham if it's on and will take the risk. What's the point of closing schools??. Keep the little blighters together in groups of their own age range and self isolate if any get symptoms. Why, because if schools are closed the little blighters are far more likely to be running about surrounded by older folk like me who they are far more likely to infect in Sainsburys between 9 and 5 if they are unleashed. Once you impose a ban on sport, how long does it last, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks..I think if you ban speedway until July/August, then you will kill half the clubs as people will find something else to do and won't return for a meaningless 1/2 season. If it has to close, it has to close, but panic never won any argument.

So who from a very small available list would you have signed???

Agree about NZ Have not been to UAE not really interested in sand and camels

Not politically motivated at all. I think Boris has got it spot on and Trump dead wrong. Nothing to do with politics

Typical over-reaction from Trump, turns it in to a racist motivated rant aimed at Europe / China etc. If the virus is in US it's in US and it will spread. Customs Officials there are the most pig ignorant anywhere in the world, they cant get any worse. Stuff them!

Agree. Swedish Fixtures moved, that's his homeland and main income stream, no brainer. Unfortunate for us and happened at a time with very little options available, especially when we don't have access to a work permit. I remember seeing Grobhauer at Somerset, he looked OK and he seems to have become homesick and left at a time when he was starting to show some form. Lets get behind the lad, it is still a very solid 1-7.

I'm no fan of Boris but think he got this perfectly right so far. Many are banning "mass gatherings" as political decisions made by Government because they think they know best! In UK we seem to be basing on decisions of Health professionals. Their current opinion is that the virus passes and transfers less well in fresh air and that there is less risk in a big crowd (up to 70,000 has been quoted) than in a small confined indoor place with 10 people. Who is right and who is wrong, a Health professional or a professional politician. (time will tell). i think Boris's judgement is that while less than a 100 people a day are being confirmed to have it and deaths are exclusively so far with elderly people with a pre-condition that public mood is to carry on. The outcry from soccer fans in particular with the statistical numbers as they are and the infection / death rate would be a huge groundswell of anger. Who is right and who is wrong we wont know for months, may be years. I think there are more specific issues for Speedway to consider rather than a blanket ban, such as rider travel and age dynamic of supporter base. Ultimately if Birmingham are allowed to race I will make the judgement on a week to week basis, risk of going v reward of entertainment. At the moment I see no reason not to go and hopefully for as long as possible every individual will be able to make that judgement for themselves. IF we got to Italian situation may be different. Seems China and Korea have managed to reduce spread markedly. I do wonder if we'd have been as bad as we are if hadn't been half term and a lot of tourism to Italy as most of the confirmed UK cases seem linked to trips there and contact with visitors there.

Brummies website is one of those awful dated off the shelf AP ones. Desperately needs a refresh as does the social media. A lot/most Clubs far better than us at it.

might not be the smartest move in hindsight! looks like they might have to self incubate for 14 days when they get back?

According to some Facebook posts it would seem that Paco is in the UK preparing for the season and has been here for a few days at least. Who knows what is going to happen by the start of the season, whenever that may be regarding rider movements .

That would explain why he couldn't sign for Brummies then as I believe Brummies current Promoters don't have a Work Permit in place to offer

Won't know until he rides if he is on a par with BW-D better or worse. Most tracks will be new to him and may take him time to bed in. He'll likely have all US linked Competitions to deal with plus Poland so key for Somerset will be how many Friday / Saturday / Sunday matches he will miss on FIM or Polish commitments. He will do well to average 8.5+. It's a more than adequate replacement for BW-D in my eyes but the weakness or strength in Somerset team will be Barker / Bates who if they stay fit and focused could make Somerset a top 4 team, but if they don't stay fit or focused could make Somerset a bottom 4 team. If Barker or Bates bomb out, and both have a tendency to self-destruct it looks like a long tail to me.

This is contrary to comments made by the Chief medical expert when interviewed on all major News yesterday who said that large gatherings of up to 70,000 in a stadium was lesser risk than 20 people in a Church Hall or School or Doctors Surgery, due to the spread in only very close personal contact and in an indoor environment and that there would be no benefit to cancelling big event outdoor gatherings. The Daily Tripe (Mail) say that sporting event crowds will be limited to 500 - that should suit Mr Godfrey perfectly to keep Scunthorpe running but not many other Tracks. The crunch point may be Easter and if any closedown comes it won't be a perfect April Fool and no joke for riders (who wont earn any money), Promoters (who will have to sit and wait with very little income coming in) and supporters with nothing to watch. Can't see how speedway can work "behind closed doors" can anyone??

They seem to think it could peak in May / June time and seem to be pushing towards delaying until then for the reasons that warmer weather reduces the spread and impact and that the NHS will be more able to cope. I guess it also builds in time for contagian to lessen possibly and for some kind of vaccine to be found. It would seem sports events in late may / June / July are currently more at risk so if Speedway fans decide it's safe to do so on a person by person basis at least the season should start and get to some point in late May on the current model. I would think what happens in Poland and Scandinavia will dictate a lot of travel plans for our sport in particular. Can see some bumper early crowds if people think Sport could be affected in mid summer!

I'm with Rob with this. It is a virus and so far has affected China (whether you believe the conspiracy theories about lab creation or from animals is irrelevant) Iran and Italy and in vast majority of cases has been passed and be traced to hot spots. Only a few cases in UK out of about 50 can't be linked to mainly Italy or China/Iran. No need for over-reaction, no need for panic and no need for abuse. Attendence at any sporting event in voluntary, let the individual decide.

That's why PL Promoters suddenly interested in Junior PL League - hoover up any 16 year old who looks half decent as an asset to hedge against any sudden Pritti induced culls on permits!

I think the more they build there for everyday use the better the opportunity that Speedway CAN not only go back there but survive. No stadium can lie empty and unused for 300+ days a year. That's how Speedway thrived and did best when sharing stadia with Dogs (especially as could be 4-5 meetings a week) Stocks and Football. Every day a Stadium is unused is like throwing money away.

logically TH-J then? You always wonder with Garrity but the Berwick thing doesn't tie up with that unless they are trying to sign Doolan on some sort of short term deal? Very few proper 2nd string / potential 3rd Heat Leaders about? Be a shame as we deserve some luck under Masons who work at it and deserve an injury free season and a fair crack of good luck.

Fair point Give Us a B The point I was trying to make though was that if the "unattached talent" is in certain areas it may be less likely to be picked up than others. I agree that I think that Brummies are looking to develop 3 and I widely applaud that and certainly get more of a buzz of of us developing shall we say Shanesy, Jack or Ashley rather than a Dane or even Paco, who I love as a rider and a real team man.

My interest has been piqued enough to look at the make up of PL + CL Teams. It can be complicated by doubling up so some riders double count once in each League and also the confused nationality of "Roo Boy Schlein" who I have counted as Australian and Connor Bailey who I have counted as GB. British Riders PL Belle Vue = 3 Ipswich = 2 Kings Lynn = 3 Peterborough = 1 Sheffield = 3 Swindon = 3 Wolves = 0 CL Berwick = 2 Birmingham = 5 Eastbourne = 7 Edinburgh = 4 Glasgow = 2 Kent = 5 Leicester = 4 Newcastle = 3 Poole = 4 Redcar = 3 Scunthorpe = 3 Somerset = 4 I've no point to make in terms of what's best. Results and winners/losers at end of season will dictate that. My own preference would probably be to have 2-3 foreign riders and 4-5 Brits but that's not something that would stop or make me attend or not. The one really interesting dynamic seems to be geography and the only team with 4 or more Brits north of the Midlands is Edinburgh - the 6 teams with most Brits are south of that line. So how big a factor is who is available rather than where from?

Credit to the oft and unfairly maligned Laurence for that. Just hope there are a few other non Premier Teams who will host a meaningful MSDL. IOW and Plymouth will hopefully continue in some form with MSDL but hard to see where other Teams may come from. It seems as if the Northern Clubs are unaffected and running their own version similar to last year.

Any rider coming in who didn't ride in CL last year would have a 1.6 x wouldn't they? based on PL average. Tungate would be on 10.54!!

What NDL needs is a pairing like Bishop and Dugard who would not only move it forward but breakaway and form a proper Development League for 15-21 year olds.

Not who I thought it was (Carl Wilkinson was my thought).

No more than creaming 16 year olds as assets to build asset banks for PL Teams so that when the cream rises to the top it will become an income stream for the length of the rider career. Some PL Team will do it properly because they care about young riders, Belle Vue certainly do.