RobMcCaffery

Yes, pit interviewer for the stock cars, but more recently interviewer/presenter on BT Sport's football coverage of the National League. She has extensive experience of both speedway and stock cars at Belle Vue and also reported for the BBC radio station in Manchester so she's no novice.

Tours have long been a part of the second tier of racing, going back to the days of British League Division 2. At Rye House in the 70s-90s the northern tours were highlights of the season, say Middlesbrough, Edinburgh or Glasgow, then Berwick, or shorter tours like Workington and Stoke. In turn many teams would visit Rye House having been at Canterbury the previous night. Other tour pairings were Exeter and Weymouth/Poole. It's certainly not a new idea - just that the tours aren't quite as central to the league schedule as they once were. I seem to remember the likes of Canterbury doing four matches in a row in the north and Scotland. For the fans it was a great time to have fun together (what goes on tour stays on tour) and a chance to get to meet the riders if they were in the same hotel. I'm sure supporters of a certain age at Hoddesdon will smile warmly at mentions of the Bystock Hotel in Exeter or the Golden Circle in Bathgate (what goes....etc. etc. ) By the time the Rockets used to get to Berwick it was a case of a day in the car park trying to clean and generally sort out bikes. One year a rounders match broke out involving the supporters and a couple of youngsters called Bob Garrad and Ashley Pullen. I can still remember the latter shouting at me (for good reason) "faster, faster!" Precious memories of very good times.

I do wonder if it's only supporters, the referee and the odd team manager who actually take a proper overview of matches and how the formats work. After all, the promoter's taking care of the business on the day/night, sorting the cash out, topping it up if necessary, the riders are far too involved in their racing, and the team manager's tactical requirements amount to one tactical ride and when to use a reserve so he's more likely to be dealing with the riders. He'll be keeping an eye on the score but he can't necessarily take in the full nuances. So it's left to those who have the time to follow the meeting properly - the spectators to see how formats actually play out. The referees will as well but obviously they're not going to speak out publicly. I'm obviously not saying that overall the fan knows best - there are many key aspects of meetings that we're not privy to, but there are some aspects where we are the only ones who aren't too busy to actually see the results of these rush decisions or are defending them afterwards to cover our backsides. Someone said they couldn't understand the fuss over reserves moving up - the reserves he knew weren't bothered. I wonder how they feel after a few meetings of facing up to three heat-leaders a race rather than fellow FTRs and the odd second string? It's fascinating to hear the promotion of reserves was a last-minute suggestion. I wonder who made the suggestion and was the timing quite deliberate?

You must live in an area full of very well-off pensioners. There is a wider world out there than the few people you know.

I thought I was badly off back in the 70s driving from Berwick to Rye House at the end of a tour for a rain-off then heading straight back to the West Midlands. At least I didn't have to sleep in the Rye House car park on that trip.

It may be the version that was broadcast on the official SGP You Tube channel to 'selected countries', but it's not being carried on that channel but as an illicit posting, just as with the Polish matches that appear on You Tube, and last year's GPs that were put on You Tube by Speedway Ukraine. The official SGP channel is still geo-blocked in the UK. I find that to be par for the course at BT Sport which is why I was so pleased that they had the rights. They tend to feature BBC-style informed conversation with people who know what they're talking about rather than Sky's gimmick-laden, rather stilted Aussie/American confrontational and direct to camera style. We had years of the Sky and Eurosport presenters feigning either knowledge of or genuine interest in the sport and failing to realise that it's not the same as other bike sports. At last we have someone well-qualified in the sport and on TV to handle the job. I know many are used to Sky's style and perhaps find a more substantial, detailed discussion 'dull' but BT have their own, distinct approach which won't appeal to all, as with football. I'm fortunate that I prefer the BT approach but I can understand others not following it all. Someone suggested that a third person in the studio would add to it and I agree, especially given the lengthy discussion time allowed after the racing. It would give Scott more time to consider his contributions which were nevertheless top notch. He seemed to thrive on being asked a higher standard of question. The BSI World Feed camerawork did seem slightly under-par with races for minor points often being missed though. As I know from personal experience it can be hard to convince cameramen that the race isn't just about the leader. We seemed to be seeing more of the World Feed 'extras', especially the post-race riders' press conference which was welcome. It was notable to hear Nigel Pearson commenting on the possibility of there being new viewers in Britain but making sure he didn't mention BT. I do look forward to seeing how they handle the World Cup and Cardiff. That was such a good start. It was also rather good to see speedway return to Waterden Road - well, in some form (For those not in the know the site of Hackney Speedway is mainly taken up by the buildings where the BT studios are based).

No I'm the real Rob McCaffery who was on Screen Sport then announced at Rye House and a few other tracks. He came on the scene just as I left it. I must check his c.v. sometime. By the way, my comment about the Plymouth fans' letter to Scunny summing up the PL was intended as praise for the league and for Scunthorpe. I've seen a few meetings at the EWR now and wish it was my local track - a great place to watch speedway. As I've explained elsewhere it can't be easy promoting sport in a town that's been collectively holdings its breath in fear of mass unemployment. I do hope that job security returns and people can feel able to start spending money on nights out at a great speedway that thoroughly deserves to succeed.

Well, that wouldn't have benefitted a certain team so was definitely a non-starter.

And of course Club Cradley gave birth to a regular place for the Heathens at Monmore Wood.

Especially when they don't want to be

Really looking forward to this one so I can renew my support for the world-conquering eport2000.pl team. (How do I switch this irony app off?)

Hello Alan, sadly it proves the point that the best streaming links don't last - often because they are too good and that attracts the attention of the copyright holders. There was a case of a Kodi add-on that was carrying excellent HD streams of every Premier League football match in England and Wales. It lasted a couple of months. It tends to be the streamers offering low-quality, often-interrupted streams that tend to survive because they're not perceived as a threat. One of the greatest dangers in discussing streaming, (well in fact the best way to get them shut down is to discuss them at all) is in using the term "I can cancel my subscriptions now." That would alarm any pay-TV provider and quite rightly make them act. While streaming is a minor irritation it will survive. When it becomes a threat it is naturally acted upon. Often the best way to protect a good streaming source is to be selective about advertising its existence. Anyway, hope we have an enjoyable day's racing that will make us forget the unpleasant side of forums like these. When watching the Division 1 fixtures the best link is TVP Sport's own website. https://sport.tvp.pl/25015361/zuzel-nice-polska-liga-ksm-krosno-orzel-lodz This a legal stream, provided by TVP (the Polish BBC) but can be blocked from viewing outside Poland sometimes*. The match can often be watched on demand later on the website. Unofficial versions can also be found on You Tube, like the Elkstraliga, later in the week. I hope this helps to explain. Te match itself isn't too bad but most interest is in the closeness of the scores, rather than the racing so far. I think the best is yet to come. (*It's all down to which TVP channel it's shown on. The world of TV rights online is a minefield, as anyone following discussions about putting clips of British racing online will be painfully aware).

Diaper is not an English word. You must think you are talking to Americans. Anyway, you proved my point completely in that post. You belong in the playground with the other brats.

John, it's time to switch the pc off. Permanently.

A totally unacceptable post. Did you ever like speedway John, or were you unable to get anyone to employ you on other sports than stock cars or whatever the South London Press deigned to cast its hugely significant journalistic eye over? Right now, Carmarthen will be one of TWO teams, yes, count them, TWO teams operating without a home base at a level above the second half junior leagues. I do suspect that journalists with a contempt for the sport must have had dealings with you. Back in the mid-2000s I was lucky enough to work on some meetings at Iwade (it's beyond the 96 bus terminus) which featured Scunthorpe and Weymouth. In both cases this was well before the re-opening of both tracks but served as important developments in the battle to revive both. Okay, so other projects such as Boston, Southampton and Norwich failed but not for a want of effort. Before then I was part of the team that relaunched Rye House in 1999 as a 'nomadic' team. It worked and speedway returned to Hoddesdon the following season, but onl;y after a senior official at the BSPA had dismissed us as a 'bunch of gypsies'. Someone had to do something to break the then status quo otherwise Rye House could havew still been just a stock car track today. In speedway Wolverhampton and Cradley share a stadium. In football AC Milan and Inter Milan share a stadium. Does that make football a joke in the eyes of your fellow world-class journalists? You clearly can't stand speedway anymore so it would be a great help if you reconsidered postings like this before the final fragment of your surviving reputation as founding editor of the Speedway Star also disappears down the plughole. How are the Grand Prix Midgets doing? The very best of luck with the project guys. It can be done, despite the wafflings of an ex-hack. I see that one of the people 'liking' my post is Mr.Hyam himself. Are things getting a tad confused, John?

We've learned elsewhere to ignore the childish Polish troll. Nothing British is any good to the sad little racist. Re the coverage, Natalie Quiirk can be proud of that superb work tonight. I certainly can't remember a top score of only 10 over the basic 20 heat individual format. The replay is indeed currently blocked in the UK.

He/she/it is really clutching at straws Trees, it's pathetic. I wonder if characters like tr3..... realise the love and respect that British crowds had for Polish riders - and not just the points that they scored. Clearly he/she/it can only think in such terms, which is profoundly sad but seems to sum up the desperate Polish Speedway mentality. I remember friends with 'Solidarity' stickers on their programme boards back in the 80s. Of course, it was just because Zenon was scoring..... As I said earlier it's pathetic and it's an attitude that I have never met in Britain outside football, thank God, not even in Poole. I do hope that he/she/it is not typical of the Polish supporters but seeing the behaviour I do on TV I do wonder. I also wonder what he/she/it is trying to achieve? Are we supposed to worship Polish Speedway and treat him/her/it as some kind of superior being? Are we supposed to apologise for loving our sport and give up going? Is this how Zielona Gora fans behave with fellow Poles? If so, God help the country. British Speedway may be badly troubled but it's not mentally ill. Perhaps it's time for this thread to be restarted and return to just talking about the matches. I have tr3..... on ignore and only see their postings when people quote them in responses. Might it be an idea if everyone else treated him/her/it with equal disrespect and left them to mouth their childish taunts into thin air? It's my final comment, I promise. Like many I appreciate this part of the forum for the help in enjoying Polish matches. It's appalling that tr3.... should abuse it in this way and I apologise again for trying to deal with them. Clearly only a psychiatrist can. Now, what's happening again on Sunday?

Thank you. Glad somebody gets the point.

I've just taken a look at the SGP website and see that the link to streaming of the meetings has now been amended to a link to the You Tube channel. It clearly states '"Selected Countries" so it's clear that it will be selectively blocked if a country has a TV deal, like Britain, Sweden or Poland. It's easy for any website to spot your ip address and block your access if you are in one of those countries but there are ways to fake that address. So, I doubt very much if access is going to be as easy from the UK as some think.

Thanks for highlighting this - sums up the Premier League.

British Summer Time, like Greenwich Mean Time is a system for telling the time. Summertime is a day in August.........

Much has been made of the punishing schedule required to trace in Britain so I just took a look at Wolverhampton's fixture list. In most months it's five meetings per month, in one case it's six. In Poland or Sweden it's four or five meetings a month. Okay, the British fixtures are on varying days but it's hardly an overwhelming difference - unless you want it to be.

The problem is not riders moving up and down through the team - that went on for decades, highly successfully. The objection is that the the 'protected heat' formula has been kept. This formula distorts averages hugely and has already led to reserves starting the season protected completely from racing heat leaders finding themselves racing against them all the time. The format and allowing movement through the team are completely in conflict! Why 'protect' FTRs from heat leaders one moment then make them ride against them all the time just because they've been consistently beating fellow FTRs? I'm baffled that so many can't see this! Do they actually understand what's going on or does it not suit their agenda to understand?

It's a matter of principle, an alien concept these days to many. He's a British World Champion and could do so much for British Speedway by showing his true loyalty to it. I cannot see the Poles or Swedes tolerating a Swedish or Polish World Champion failing to ride in their leagues or national championships. The Aussies seem to tolerate it though. Could that be where Tai's 'inspiration' has come from? Tai's in an unusual situation where he had a choice of nation to represent internationally, British by birth, Australian by long-term residence. Choosing Britain gave him certain advantages - but it comes with a price. Loyalty, it's a two-way street.

That is enormously concerning. The sport has an opportunity to build a strong relationship with what is now a significant broadcaster in BT and can well do without it being soured before it's even begun. I do suspect that a reported change of advisor might be spoiling someone's judgement. Cutting the EL from his schedule could be argued for, although not his effective diktat to British Speedway to go to single night racing but the British Final withdrawal was unnecessary and inflammatory. Last time I looked Scunthorpe was still in Britain so Tai's British - but he's burning too many bridges to assume that the loyal support he's had so far in most quarters will continue. Personally, he can say he's professionally British as well as by birth - well, now prove it....