Parsloes 1928 nearly

Hmm, I don't reckon I'm going out too far on a limb to suggest that one or two more people might consider England winning the World Cup in 1966 a just slightly more significant event in the history of British sport than Briggo's 4th. world title win. But please note, this is only my opinion..!

Hmm, and that's the best 'funny' comment you could muster..?! Don't give up the day job..!

Do I think that a New Zealander Speedway rider deserved the award in '64 ahead of the first ever Olympic Gold-medal winning British woman athlete and in '66 ahead of the captain of the first (only!) England team to win the Football World Cup..? Er, not a difficult question in each case - of course I do not.. That's not a slur on Briggo it's just a plain and obvious fact!

Well no, he wouldn't be a shoo-in if he hadn't won Wimbledon - but anyone who understands sport in this country will now appreciate that Murray is an abolute certainity (and 100% right too...) for the SPOTY award. It ain't even worth having the vote in truth!!

Completely wrong analogy though isn't it...? Or are you advocating Third Division (now called League One) records are wiped out from a footballers' details..? For example for current England international, Rickie Lambert? No matter how often people are going to make pointless remarks about playing or riding in a field, the National (formerly Conference) League is NOT some form of 'junior' racing - it's this country's third division and virtually ALL British riders riding at the highest level now (including the whole GB squad) started off in it. People talk about trolling but the biggest problem on the BSF is ganging up and ridiculing - when people do this can they please be consistent.. So I now expect all of those on here who wholeheartedly agree to dismiss the third tier from history and laugh at those who say it deserves recognition, to desist from now on from ever commenting on the National League and any riders who come from it. After all to give the NL the time of day must be "sad" - it's been said on this thread often enough..!

No, I still have my doubts that it was as described. To be honest if they were so intent on fiddling it then I very much doubt Briggo would've been 'allowed' to be second. Nudd wasn't put down to second; he wasn't included at all! It doesn't do a sport any favours to have an orchestrated campaign to vote for someone who doesn't really deserve it. Tai is different - he 100% deserves to be in the Top 10 but once he is (as I hope..) let's be realistic and not even think he can beat Murray, because that would be foolish...

Well the thread is not 'extraneous', it's clear what it's about and in the 'History' section of this Forum is completely on-topic. And I'm sorry - but making statements like 'third tier racing is junior racing' is completely ridiculous as anyone who knows anything about Speedway in this country would know. It is also ridiculous to deliberately leave out data on a so-called history site just because it doesn't suit one's 'view' of the world. For example, everyone in the sport knows that the current British World Champ started his career at Scunthorpe and knows how important that is to the Tai Woffinden story. Yet the people compiling this site under discussion deliberately delete that info. from his 'record'... It takes more effort, in fact, to delete info like that than to leave it in. The people causing argument (which seems oddly to be your chosen definition of 'trolling') are (1) those creating a completely misleading and inaccurate account of the racing record of the majority of British riders currently riding; and (2) those who for the sake of having a dig only, attempt to defend the indefensible.

Hmm, but there's such a thing as what's right and what's not... Mary Rand was the deserved winner

That's pure Speedway urban myth. In '64 he was second to Mary Rand who had year had become the first British woman ever to win Olympic Gold in Athletics. In '66 he was second to Bobby Moore and ahead of Geoff Hurst - yes, THAT '66!! To suggest that Briggo was robbed in such cases is frankly nonsense - to have beaten either of those two in those years would not have been right; to finish ahead of hat-trick hero Hurst is a massive achievement in itself!

It's one of the least significant top 10s since that system came in because there's only one winner: the most out-and-out certain winner ever in Andy Murray. Now I'm no Tennis fan but even if you're not you have to accept that it was a national obsession waiting for a male winner of Wimbledon and by doing so Murray has wiped away all opposition in a quiet year for British sport. As opposed to last year when there were several amazing contenders. It's hard to see - for example - a single woman really being worth a place in the top 10 but then again it is actually quite hard to name a top 10. For that reason I actually think that Tai has a pretty good chance of being in that top 10. Which will be a victory in itself.

Tbh that is a pathetic comment and I demand its withdrawal. The expression 'trolling' is over-used (as an insult) on this Forum but this takes it to another extreme. There is NOTHING in my contribution to this thread which in any way constitutes 'trolling' and you frankly are a disgrace for making such a comment. ---------- What this thread has done has shown how a data-base meant to be an account of riders' careers is deliberately tampered with to wipe out whole parts of such careers. Not because it's too difficult to find the stats - but deliberately left out because of the bias of the compiler(s). Fair enough - it's up to them but something at least we now understand WHY this is the case.

Hmm, says the man advertising, "Excel Speedway Racecards & Sundry Speedway Related Items Old Pics, Results Sheets 1928-2007, Racecards, all sorts of stuff"..?!

I worked on the Stoke prog from 2003 to 2012 so I have a lot of affection for the club so I'm not built to criticise them but, as Ben says, to fail to stage two out of a paltry seven home NL matches is shockingly poor.. And though rain did wipe out the two attempts to stage what was by then a double header they COULD if they had the will have still staged that meeting on one of the remaining days of the season. If they'd been - as I say - the real will to have done so...

But frankly your bigotted opinion on this is just plain wrong. Not just the World Champ but ALL members of the last GB World Cup squad rode earlier in the career in the third tier. By leaving out that fact the site organisers completely devalue the allegedly 'hard work' they've done putting together what is, as a result, a completely flawed data-base. And no point others, who for some reason want be apologists for such a shoddy piece of work, saying, 'well you do the hard work and add the third tier data then', because the site organisers are making it 100% clear on here they don't want it. And we thought 'Revisionists' only existed in the old Soviet Union, eh..!

Had two seasons. I went to many Buccs meetings at Poole - always tremendous enthusiasm and good turn out. Won the League & Cup double in the first season. Are they still going now? No. So did Matt Ford decide to pull the plug on the experiment? Yes. Does that make the Bournemouth Buccs a failure?: not in any way. No-one suggests a top club (and let's be honest they don't come any bigger than Poole!) running an NL club should have to do it for ever but there's no doubt it's a good idea; and I'm sure people actually involved with a club like the Buccs (as I was) will tell you it was a 100% fulfilling and worthwhile experience.

A few words from the promotion since they failed to complete their home fixtures - maybe an apology to the other sides they let down.. - would be a start perhaps..?!

Hmm, not sure that's right. The year Oxford won the CL title they had barely any home fixtures from May 'til late September - when they completed the season via a series of double headers, at least two of which the FIRST match in the set of two was halted after heat 12 because of fears of breaking the curfew later. It was the low point in the history of the third tier - that a club holding the CL in such utter contempt were allowed to do this and end up as champs..

My point is, NOT to call them Newcastle anything but give the third tier team a different main name. Sunderland sadly wouldn't work (sorry TWK!) but the Byker Racers would be a cracking name!! I wasn't saying that the Newport CL sides were 'good'; I was saying it was good that the very progressive management at Newport always (well virtually always..) entered a side in the third tier.

Will be great if a number of clubs take up this offer - remember back in 2002 that Peterborough, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Oxford, Newcastle, Stoke, Swindon & Rye House all did this... Can't recall if Newport did or if they were stand-alone CL back then; but over the years KL, Newport & Rye have always been good at running or hosting a third tier side alongside their 'main' side. Personally if they do (EL & PL clubs entering a 'second side' that is..) I hope they consider using a different main team-name.. To me it's better all round to have that entirely separate identity - better to provoke interest locally and certainly better for those of us at other NL clubs (particularly the stand-alones) to 'spin' the League. They'll always be people who'll accuse the NL of being a 'reserve' division otherwise, when with some imagination it can have the look & feel of a fully-fledged third division. The example, I'm thinking needs to be followed is when Poole ran a successful NL club under te name & branding of Bournemouth Buccaneers.

I heard maybe a combined Plymouth/Somerset side in the '14 NL... But I tend to agree, more than 8 next season seems highly unlikely...

Simon won the Laurels in fact

And we are still seeing that same attitude today, as proven here, by some who think certain matches/even whole leagues aren't worthy of recording.. Thank the lord for Mr. Vasey (hmm, not something I thought I'd ever say with such enthusiasm!!) and his several volumes (filling a whole cupboard in the very room I'm currently sitting!)of facts and figures about the third tier. When will the 2012 & '13 volume(s) be coming out Mr. V.?

Hmm, yes but the point is that there is this website purporting to be a definitive record of Speedway riders' records in the British leagues but actually deliberately supresses info. on whole sections of riders' careers... And the reason? The completely ridiculous, bigotted views of one individual who , completely laughably, believes the third division to be 'junior racing'... Stll at least it's been admitted now...

So then the riding record of the World Champion, Tai Woffinden is not included in his first season then. 'Junior racing'...?! Pathetic...

But for many riders the info. is totally flawed as it misses out their third tier appearances. Malcolm Vasey has detailed all such records in painstaking detail so via his books a simple process to update. I still believe the omission must be deliberate rather than simply saying it's too difficult to get hold of..