tone deaf

We would all have liked to see a glittering line-up of superstars for the John Berry tribute but lets face it, we never got that when we were in the Elite League. Personally I don't see a problem with riding against Len Silver's team, it makes perfect sense to me. The 13 heat line-up & champion of the evening is also fitting for the occasion. Aljack, I really don't understand why you bother to go to Foxhall. If its so bad, stop going & stop spewing your cretinous nonsense all over the forum. You cannot call yourself a Witches fan. I don't think you've ever made a sensible constructive comment on here & even managed to get a dig at the current promotion into a post about John Berry's passing.

Do we really have to wait until 6th September for a home meeting? Absolutely crazy. A summer sport with no fixtures in the month most likely to get decent crowds? Nothing surprises me when it comes to speedway!

Keep on living in the dream world. 1998 was a one off & it won't happen again. Unless a new Tim Woodward appears who is happy to invest heavily in the Witches, I can't see us ever having a team remotely near that standard again. I don't know enough about the finances involved in running a speedway team to make the sort of comments you have but I'd imagine the transfer money plays a major part in keeping the club afloat. Also they may be underperforming but that doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of people were happy with the team when it was announced originally & also with Lanham coming in after the injuries. Criticism of Louis for making the wrong signings is easy now but you don't seem to make any constructive or positive suggestions.

BORING!

This is getting boring. We have a team capable of much better than they are doing but like last year, there is no consistency. Most people were happy with the team when it was announced & no one could have predicted what happened in the first meeting. Many thought Lanham was a good signing based on his early season form. Tres was voted most entertaining rider last season. Everyone likes a good debate but as far as I can see Aljack has not made one constructive suggestion in the last 2 seasons, just seems to have some personal vendetta firstly with Jerran Hart & then the Louis'. Maybe if you can't make a sensible contribution its time to shut up or put your money where your mouth is if you think you can do a better job.

Happy with the team. Hopefully the Aussies will spur each other on. A lot of expectations on 2 inexperienced reserves so responsibility with the skipper & experienced team members to help them especially on tracks they've never seen. Roll on March!

Yeah I always thought that. I'm sure I'll miss a couple of meetings due to holidays or whatever & it would be good if someone else could make use of it.

I find it amusing that already the negative vibes are creeping in, 3 months ahead of the season & with only 3 confirmed riders. Ok we all think we know pretty much who 3 of the final 4 riders will be, but nothing definite yet. I know all anyone cares about is winning, but I personally think it'll be a shame if the Witches start the season without a single British rider. Has it happened before? Is there one out there who could fit in & do a decent job?

When did we see 'top riders' at Foxhall? Most of the GP riders don't bother with the EL.

Good post Kev. I wasn't intending to write off the Brits, its just hard to see a Holder or Ward coming through here. I hope to be proved wrong! I would still like to see at least one Brit in the Witches team. Jerran had the fastest time around Foxhall this year but is not consistent & his attitude has not always impressed everyone. As for Mildenhall, the promotion have done a great job there & hope it continues. Lewis Blackbird has certainly come on well & it would be great if he can carry on from there & make the step up.

I am all for us signing up exciting young riders & you normally can't go wrong with the Aussies, but isn't it a shame theres no Brits coming through? Maybe Mildenhall will unearth one or two but at present there is a clear gap between Heeps & others like Jacobs or Blackbird. I liked the fact that we started last season with 3 Brits, even though admittedly they were probably the weakest 3 riders in the team (no disrespect to any of them). I thought Josh Auty might be worth a look but then I saw him ride Foxhall... Having said that, would be happy with Masters, Morris, Doolan, Poole, Heeps & Tungate too if he's as good as people say so that doesn't leave much room for any Brits, especially if you add Risager into the equation. Does anyone think there is any possibility of Bjerre being back? I don't believe all this stuff about Ipswich throwing money at riders, we're not the Poole of the PL!

Cardiff anyday. Although I live in Ipswich I found the Millennium easier to get to than Wembley the one time I attempted it. Also nothing to do around Wembley whereas you can make a day of it in Cardiff.

Congratulations to Tomasz Gollob who proved he can still do it at the highest level. Just a shame some people can't give him the credit for being a great rider instead of saying it was all down to gate positions. I was also impressed by Dryml, not just his riding but his attitude.

No I didn't have an Ippo jacket or probably anything else to mark me out as a speedway fan. The Gollob cap disappeared once he had been scuppered by that excuse for a track!

We were on the left if you were looking out from the counter, fairly close so we didn't have to carry the food far! There was myself, partner & 9 year old daughter. Did see a few bees fans in so I guess you were one of them?

Rubbish track, no atmosphere, getting into the stadium was a shambles, nothing outside the stadium for the thousands who arrived early (& the beer stall ran out of beer!). Apart from that I had a great weekend in Dusseldorf & Essen, German hospitality was good, public transport could teach Britain loads & the local beer was lovely (apart from when I spilled it in my lap & looked like I'd peed myself!). I thought it was quite funny to see AJ turn up in McDonalds Essen after the meeting. Maybe he'd promised his team that he'd treat them to a meal if he won the $100k!

Thanks Sandie. Knew I'd seen it somewhere. Assume you just show your event ticket & away you go. I take it the ticket only applies to travel to & from the stadium on the day of the event or we could have a field day!

Tickets arrived today, although it appears we've been charged £30 for a £20 child ticket. We'll be in Block D2 - backstraight. I read somewhere that entrance tickets to the Veltins Arena included passes for public transport. The back of the ticket mentions "VRR Kombiticket" which I think could be it but can anyone translate?

Not the most inspiring 3 riders to qualify. Bjarne will be anonymous & unexciting as ever & the other 2 aren't good enough. Would have liked to see some new faces. Agree if Nicholls fails to make the top 8 he's now had enough chances but if the powers that be insist on 2 Brits the current 2 are head & shoulders above the rest.

Had a great weekend. I didn't think the racing was as bad as some made out, although not the best seen in Bydgoscz. However it was worth it to see the genius that is Gollob do it again & enjoy the hospitality of the Poles.

Subedei, you have made your point about Nicholls ad nauseum. I agree he's not the best in the world & not a patch on Gollob but he's at least as good as half of the GP field & not the talentless beggar you make him out to be. Maybe he has had enough chances now but if politics/TV dictate that there will be 2 Brits in the GP, who would you replace him with? Find a Pole to do a Holta & become British overnight?

Yeah thats the flight we're on. Hopefully not feeling too hungover from the Saturday night. Going to be a long weekend, our flight to Gdansk on Friday is at 6.10am & hope to be in the bar at Brda drinking until late so hopefully will manage to keep going!

I was looking at the timetable yesterday & thats the one I thought we'd need to get. I'm assuming we can just get tickets at Bydgoszcz station Sunday morning? My last experience of Polish trains (Warsaw to Bydgoscz 2005) was very overcrowded & smokey but they were on time & we got seats, unlike many British trains I've been on the last few years. Hopefully see you there then.

Can't wait to get there. Not taking the easy route direct to Bydgoszcz airport, flying into Gdansk Friday & out of Poznan Sunday. Staying at the Brda, same as 2 years ago, when we had a fantastic time. The Polish fans are out of this world & to see Gollob win was just perfect. Hopefully he can do it again this year, assuming the Brits won't manage it. Hopefully catch a few people in the Brda bar on Friday.

What a load of s#1t! At least everyone can get another beer or 2 before the meeting now.