YeOldPitGate

Do you think Doyle will be back great rider with true grit but can't have to many seasons left in him especially with all the bad knocks he's had over the years.

Next time get Woffy along as Picko and Howarth square up I can hear it now Woffy shouting to the crowd "give me an F, give me a U" you know the rest lol.

The three youngsters are coming good for Redcar they could suprise a few when they get rid of Klindt and get Wright back, re Cluff what happened to young Max James seemed a talent all be it another one who was probably thrown in to fast is he another youngster who has been lost to the sport or could he persuaded back with some additional mentoring on track craft and set up's ?

To be fair Chris is older than the hills now and he's still batting at a pretty decent level in the second division.

Problem is after the issues all winter with trying to cobble together a top league Belle Vue have had poor early crowd numbers and that's with having two of the most exciting riders on the planet and one of the best tracks in the country. Hopefully we will have some big news from Harry soon with maybe Linda cutting the tape at the KO cup final.

Still wouldn't be surprised if half the home meetings are run somewhere else until everything is signed off.

Can't remember what the criteria is these days didn't it use to be finishing in top four of American final ?

A random thought given it seems Beau Bailey is going to skip the UK in the short term I wonder if Poole might make a move for Brady Langdon next year if he's willing to come to the UK. The US talent pool has been near bare for to many years sadly but this lad looks like he might have the making of something good he's raced against Will Cairns a few times stateside also so there's a possible in there. He looks a talent but risks would be guess he would have to come in on a 4 point average and long way from home at 16 all be it Middlo and co would probably provide the best support team any youngster could hope for coming to UK for the first time.

Its strange isn't a few years back he looked an up and coming gem at SON could be similar story to Gusts looked promising when racing abroad but comes to UK and bang average at best.

I think as riders also get older they seem to struggle on larger tracks Hans Anderson was a top table rider but his last two seasons after a lot of knocks also he really lost his edge but could still chip in with some good scores around the smaller circuits.

Spot on for me given the state of things if your never going to make it to the top table in the sport Lawson is an example of someone who has played the game like a finely tuned fiddle (this isn't a dig at him) he's got his own business which means he can fit work around matches, he can control the amount of non speedway work over spring/summer and turn it up over the winter months. He signs for two of the best teams in both leagues and probably makes I'm totally guessing here 80-150k per annum from riding before expenses. The only thing he needs to be careful with is avoiding bad injury so it doesn't impact on his self employed plastering income hence another reason he's probably not bothered about the british final from a risk/reward point of view. Be interested to hear from any ex riders on the estimate of his earnings if i'm miles off or not if anything my gut says i'm probably under estimating his earnings as would imagine the Ford's sort him out some decent sponsorship at Poole. As I say no dig at Richard but it just shows how a rider not in the top 25 globally who sticks mainly to the UK can probably make a very good living if they have their head screwed on.

Haven't got time to read through all the threads today so apologies if you have already answered this Mike but what was the crowd like in the end as remember you saying yesterday advance ticket sales weren't looking great ? If it was a dire crowd can't see it being good news for the sport generally when you consider best track in the country headed by two of the globes most exciting riders and still punters not turning up. I think this winters problems have unfortunately put a few more nails in the speedway box top sadly.

Ah I'm with you and to be fair it sounds the more likely route Lynn visiting Fricke is abroad and Rambo Lambo drafted in for the meeting carry on, teams not declared to as late as possible that used to really get me and one of the reasons I stopped going.

Is Bangs expensive have a feeling it was mentioned in the past he had learned from Picko when it came to charging just thinking Ippo coming in late but with a bit of money behind him might have been the only team to meet his demands.

Thing is Bagpuss what does help out look like ? from a rider prospective I can't see anyone willing to ride here who's better than what they already have so can only think it will be helping out more to cover the likely trading losses.

Anyone seen him ride does he look an unpolished gem possibly ?

I've also got a feeling Ippo will be there or there abouts as well as again built with strength in depth and three riders who could put a point plus on averages as you say this year isn't like the last 2-3 years where I strength in depth side needed to have the match wrapped up prior to heat 13 if facing two world class big guns. Jack Holder still world class and Chris can more than hold his own in this league but being older and having had two terrible crashes he's probably 60-70% of his previous peak self so not quite the shoe in of winning heats 13&15 that his brother, Bewley,Kurtz or Fricke would be even in current league.

Don't get me wrong Cue it doesn't bother me personally I swear lots myself but for whats portrayed as a family sport with kids under say 15 and for sponsors its not a great look, can you imagine the scenes if Ronaldo was interviewed on Sky Sports after a match and launched into a tirade. As I say his mental strength to come back from looking death in the face and pretty much learning to walk again is massively impressive and he's probably Englands greatest rider ever. This has been done through sheer hard graft as I don't have him down as having the natural talent of riders such as Loram or Screen but at his peak he had a fantastic racing brain for reading where other riders would head on the track. Just feel he could be so much more when the time comes if he decided to give something back to the sport when his riding days are over but given his temperment and the old guard its a marriage that would probably last a week.

Is the old swearer their tonight ? hope his recovery is going well got to respect his incredible mental strength but he's a terrible advert for British speedway with the constant f bombs.

Just following on from the Ipswich late declaration I do wonder what will happen if Northampton start to look like Brum 2025 Lemon mentioned other promoters will help out but I can't help but think what would that help look like given nobody else half decent wants to ride in the UK this year.

Yep I was thinking the same given he's young and a decent rider he really should be a top ten man when you look at the UK league standard, with his eyes shut and averaging eight plus a meeting.

Baring injuries Northampton should be shoe in for the spoon.

with the right handling both should be future core England team riders

Is Dillon still riding last I remember he had a hand injury and never seemed to come back from it, shame if I'm right as he was developing into a really tidy rider who could have had a decent career in UK and maybe Poland if he continued progressing at the rate he showed in his last two years in the UK. I think he also ended up on a 5.5 ish average which made it hard for him to fit in anywhere as he was still a reserve but heading towards second string status.

They would be better off taking a chance on couple of untried overseas riders like Worky have over the last couple of years might unearth a gem, just think Rob operates on an uber tight budget but this team is going to need surgery fast if he doesn't want the home crowds falling off a cliff.