Tigerblade

Which one? My Sheffield team would be (bear in mind, only riders I have seen) would be:- Moran brothers, Reg Wilson, Doug Wyer, Sam Ermolenko, Peter Carr, Sean Wilson.

With respect, Kym was never more than a second division reserve. I can't see past the Collins brothers as the most successful family - one World Champion, two other World Finalists, and another who rode for 20 plus years to a good standard. Plus Stephen who had a brief attempt of course.

I seem to remember a junior rider called Steve Quick in the 80s (Wolverhampton/Cradley possibly?). Someone please tell me he isn't a figment of my imagination?

I first went in September 1976 but don't really count it as I didn't like it. But I went again a year later and became hooked. So next season will be my 40th full season. Hoping for a fixture on September 15th

Combined they did pretty much as I expected, although in reverse if you see what I mean. Wells would never be my ideal choice at Owlerton (away meetings are a different matter, especially smaller tracks), but obviously permutations are a bit thin on the ground in the play offs. On last night's showing, Stuart Robson would be more than welcome!

Especially when two of them weren't even riding for us when they got injured!!!!

I noticed on Wednesday against Glasgow there were distinctly less people there. Having said all that, as a fan of 39 years, who hates the concept of play offs, I can assure you that if by some miracle we do overcome Somerset on aggregate, I will be ruddy ecstatic!!!

IMO they made us weaker in the home leg as well.

Just remembered another one ... Jeremy Doncaster ends up practically riding over Les Collins' head on the first/2nd bend in the 1984 Overseas Final at Hyde Road, and is subsequently excluded. Les finally gets up and staggers across the centre green back to the pits looking forty shades of green, few minutes later, comes out and wins the re run!

You could just as easily argue that had Berge and Garrity been available the other night at Sheffield, they would have won by far more in that meeting. I know from a fan's point of view the play offs are a joke, but folk were giving up on the sport long before the play offs were brought in.

I agree entirely that people go to be entertained first and foremost. The thing is, in this day and age, they also want to be entertained in a venue that's somewhere towards half decent.

Many years ago I used to work in the building where Morrisons now is, and there'd be Thursdays it would rain all day, get further along the road and the track would be perfect!

Currently a yucky grey sky 5 miles south of Owlerton and just began bucketing down again. But the stadium seems to have a climate of its own, it really can rain everywhere else in Sheffield apart from over the track itself.

It's OK for the likes of you and me to say about the quality of the racing etc being important, but we are the converted - we're talking about getting folk into the place in the first instance. At Sheffield we are quite lucky with facilities, but some of the terracing is 85 years old now and in some places it shows. As has been pointed out already, I know how many Clubs are at the mercy of landlords and can't really do anything, it's a bit of a vicious circle. One thing I would think of is stop marketing it as a "family sport". Many young people don't think somewhere their grandparents go is "cool".

Thank you, Andrew, like I said earlier, I couldn't remember exactly, but it did stick that something occurred each time he came out. I don't think they were on lay downs then If Shooey's bike threw a chain, he probably couldn't take evasive action quickly enough - that said, he probably couldn't have done that with a bit of warning!!! It was actually at Owlerton the following year that he (Tim Hunt) suffered what turned out to be a career ending crash.

The only meeting I can think of is the 4TT semi finals and final all on the same day in June 1979. This meeting was badly impacted by the World Pairs final in Vojens being postponed until the Saturday afternoon the day before, and at least half a dozen riders (including Michael) from that meeting were due to ride in this 4TT, but did not get back in time. So we can excuse him that one, I think. Ironically enough, the first meeting I took notice of at Owlerton was a pairs meeting where he scored an imperious 18 point maximum and his partner (Ian Turner) didn't turn up until the interval!

I'm afraid I have to dispute that one, as it was in his first race. Talking hypothetically here, had he been in front in his last race when he already had 11 points and Ole had completed his 5 rides on 13, then yes. I seem to recall a meeting in the mid 80s at Sheffield, v Reading I think, where Shawn Moran had something happen every time he was out and he scored zero. Not sure if it was EF, falls or tapes, but I seem to think it was all circumstances rather than incompetence. Not sure if this counts as sabotage was later proved, but PC in the Northern Riders' Championship the day after the sugar in the tank British Final. He actually made the gate in 4 races and then had engine failure in all of them, and the other he got excluded for exceeding 2 minutes.

British League sides raced each other home and away twice in that season. The 61 - 17 was in June I think and as Charlieboy says Michael Lee didn't turn up. We then beat them 63 - 15 in one of the last home meetings of the season where he did turn up, but only got 3 or 4 points. Slightly ironic that many years later it was the Stars who achieved the maximum score possible against us! Semion, Mike the Bike failed to appear at Sheffield for the 2nd leg of the Golden Helmet when riding for Poole the year before. He then got the 5 year ban (for that business where John Eglese banned him) which due to fans demand was later rescinded, and this June 1985 meeting was only a matter of weeks after that. There was the October 1985 meeting again as already mentioned, then in the 1986 fixture he failed to appear again!

I don't think there is a clamour as such for Steady to retire, I just think there is a general feeling that he might do. Yes, his average is still competent but compared to what it was before his injury last season, that's been a drop of a point and a half a meeting before we have started. Not knocking him at all, just saying how it is. Discounting Garrity for the moment, the only others I would have back next season are Dimitri Berge and Kyle Howarth. I think Nathan Greaves needs to be taken out of the firing line, he has been out of his depth the majority of the time.

I'm probably displaying major ignorance here, but why was Emiliano Sanchez nicknamed Poty? A bloke who sits along from me at Owlerton has nicknamed Dimitri Berge "Fab" (Fab-Berge... ). Not a nickname as such, but I always get an earworm of the song "Tom Dooley" whenever I see Dan Bewley race....

And I think I read somewhere that it was because he looked like Sprouts in his (Ivan's) early years...........

Don't start bringing sense and rationale into a good conspiracy theory, chaps! I have also heard the rumours, but if two clubs have put out that he has a hand injury, then it's not impossible that he might actually have a hand injury!

Thank you Dave, that's the 4TT tournament I was referring to - they had multiple drop outs from the original line up too because of the re-arranged World Pairs meeting the afternoon before (the Jancarz/Nielsen meeting, in my opinion THAT was Tore Kittilsen's biggest mistake, never mind LA 1982!!!) Having said that, Zenon Plech managed it! So in the end it was a success in that all teams came with replacements and the meetings went smoothly. Crikey, I'd forgotten about that British Open at Wolverhampton. I was at that, seem to remember not getting back on the coach until about 8pm, and would assume it was a 3pm start, I know it was a Sunday.

In 1979 Sheffield staged 3 full 16 heat 4TT's on the same day - 8 teams, 2 semi finals and the final. I can't remember what time it started but it was still daylight at the end. No doubt some folk on here were there!

IIRC it was a broken collarbone but I seem to think I read something later on about internal problems which didn't come to light at the time. Crumpie was adjudged to be the cause of the stoppage, but like I say the track was in a fair old state by then, as there had also been a hold up due to an earlier crash between Craig Pendlebury, Ivan Mauger and Scott Autrey, which ruled Ivan out of the rest of the meeting.