oldtimer

Who has first call on Wright's services Somerset or Swindon?

Tatum and Pearson show first add on Somerset web site said tickets on door, new add says tickets on sale now, anyone know if there is a limit to numbers or will they still be available at door on the night?

Just to repeat my posting of 26th October.

A difference of opinion in this weeks STAR. Chris Louis (Ipswich) says, "It is truly exciting times for speedway in this country" Brian Havelock (Redcar) says, "Can we increase the amount of money coming through the gate, I don't think we can. It's dog eat dog at the moment and I can see that in three years down the line there won't be many clubs left at this rate."

I took the quote from Speedway Star who still call him Director of Speedway. You are obviously a fan of Chris and agree with his statement that speedway is in safe hands. I promise I will not mention his title again. Speedway should advertise in old peoples homes as that is the cliental that make up most match attendances. Clubs could sell fold up chairs and blankets with the club logo on them.

"Fans can look forward to an exciting season, safe in the knowledge the sport is moving forward". Chris Louis Director Of speedway (whatever that might be).

I used to regularly attend my local Premier League club but one of the things that stopped me attending last season was the number of times a rider was missing either from the home or away team. Injuries I can understand, but rides were missing due to foreign commitments and doubling up in the Elite League. In this weeks Star they analyse the guest situation, last season the figures show there were only two home matches at my club where a guest or R/R was not used. The BSPA must decide are they running speedway to encourage riders to improve and earn more money by doubling up or are they running speedway for the paying public. It may be nice to hope for more British riders progressing and having a good run in the World Cup or GP's, but I think we should forget about being a World Class speedway nation. In the GP's fans support riders from their own club, and the World Cup is not a serious competition with the Joker Card. If they were serious about reducing injuries and the resulting guest problem, they would make riders ride bikes that were suitable for the tracks we have in this country, reduce the speed go back to upright engines, make the bikes easier to ride by altering the noise reducer,and bring the costs down. Of course this will never happen and attendance will continue to fall.

The BSPA statement says in the Premier League, in ALL two legs aggregate events there will be no tactical rides, does this mean NO tacticals in the Play Offs? If so this is a very good decision, also a good decision that you can have a guest for a rider missing due to a foreign commitment and a great decision to allow only one tactical. Although the stament says "We have listened to fans," sadly no mention of guests, we need a rule to say you can only have a guest to replace your number 1, otherwise it's R/R. The team average for Premier stays at 42.5 (any discount for British riders) which means clubs will be weakened yet again, with many having to lose a heat leader. Regarding doubling up being restricted to two years, what happens if a double up rider races say 6 matches for example,and is then injured and out for that season ? Does it still count that he has used a double up year?

Don't fancy the "gating tart" Klindt and Josh could have stayed with Somerset last year it was his decision to leave. Lose the top two Ollie and Nick and leave the rest of the team how it is.

I wonder if they take any notice of what their customers want in their businesses outside of speedway?

There are many good things about the Premier League, however I have only attended five matches this season (once used to be a season ticket holder) and that's because of missing riders, either doubling up or in foreign competitions, that's killed it for me.

It always amazes me some of the comments made by promoters in the Speedway Star, they don't like two fast track riders and want just one, they think the two extra matches in the Premier this season should stop as some clubs had a backlog of fixtures at the end of the season, ( why they thought this would not happen based on previous years is beyond me), riders missing from Premier fixtures (Richard Lawson missing 6) because of doubling up etc. It makes you wonder who voted for these things at last years AGM and how can we have any confidence that another mess will not be served up next season. In this weeks Star Matt Ford rightly says, that Poole and Kings Lynn relying on guests in the Play Offs wasn't good for the public or the viewers watching on Sky Sports, it was a dreadful shame." He then says he would not like to see team changes later than they are now, as it might be in a teams interest to drop a rider. Well Matt I think you have missed the obvious solution, you can sign a replacement at any time during the season but only to replace an injured rider. Promoters are saying they are losing money, it's not possible to reduce riders wages because the cost of equipment has risen to a ridiculous level and nobody is going to go back to basic equipment. The only answer is to get more people through the gates, the only way to do that is to make the entertainment, more attractive, and sensible and fair rules, it's not that difficult to find out what their customers want and don't want, just read the forums. Of course some people will want things that others don't but there are things that most people agree on like ditch the double points tactical in the Play Off final.

A fantastic service, many thanks.

Scrap the League Cup altogether.

In last weeks Star, Leicester promoter David Hemsley said supporter interaction is a key factor and he can often be found roaming the terraces on a race night. He said, sometimes people will come up to me and talk to me about things I don't really want to hear about, but everybody has paid their money to come in so everybody has a right to their opinion. That's why I do my best to make myself available. Perhaps if all promoters took David's attitude and found out what their customers wanted from their evening out some things might actually be changed at the AGM for the better.

The crowds would return if a fans could actually watch the named 1 to 7 of the home and away teams, and the presentation, music and a bit more of an effort to create an atmosphere.

Jim Lynch is correct when he says, "I think we have a very amateur set up in terms of ruling the sport." He is wrong though, when he says the double up rule completely favours the Premier League, I could give him a long list of matches where Premier riders were missing because they were riding in the Elite League. However the most stupid comments in this weeks Star come from Newcastle promoter Darryl Illingworth who suggests it's time to amalgamate the leagues and he would like to see two up and two down after a play off, with a SKY payment for clubs coming down and going up. The problems with this suggestion is so obvious I can't be bothered to list them.

Very sad news.

As was Chris Holder and Mark Lemon

Somerset current team average total is 49-17, assuming next seasons team average is 42-50 we need to lose 6-67 points so some hard decisions will have to be made. Todd Kurtz and Paul Starke often perform well above their reserve positions, Paul at Edinburgh for a start, and both are a must for next season. Charles who was reserve last year has improved a lot from the difficult number 2 berth, and he will be a heat leader next season, Pontus is value for his 7-17 average and Brady is an obvious choice, even if he doubles up we will have first call on his services. So that leaves Nick and Olly to save the 6-67, I think Nick should go, he has not fulfilled the promise shown last season and is not a number 1, Olly should also go as he has always been accident prone and this season has been no better on the accident front, he can also earn more money riding in Poland. So without Nick 8-14 and Olly 8-93 that leaves us with 10.40 points to play with possibly a 7 pointer and a 3 pointer with Todd moving up into the main body.

Well done Monarchs, only fair that League leaders win the trophy, Somerset let down by rubbish guests.

Excellent hard fought racing in front of a bumper crowd and considering the amount of rain the track was superb. Good decisions by the Ref when Fricke and Cook moved at the start in their respective races, but penalised themselves so ref let race continue. Just hope whoever wins it is clear cut and the stupid tactical does not make the difference.

Now 4-05 pm and much brighter, looks like it's clearing up.

I'm 15 miles north of track towards Bristol Airport, cleared up about 1pm but light rain again 2-30 now 3-35 and just spitting.

Local BBC weather forecast for Oak Tree Friday is rain in the morning, clearing by 1pm. Forecast is a clear night, so wrap up warm.