Parsloes 1928 nearly

Okay I accept Cookie ran less 'Hackney' meetings than Len (that was always likely) but at least when staged at Lakeside the NL matches were 'branded' fully as Hackney matches. RH didn't do so at all - playing into the hands of those (many of here who've made their position clear from the start..) who wanted this 'experiment' to fail... Tell me where would've been the harm in the simple expediency of at least having a 'Hackney' prog at the RH-staged Hawks matches...?

Hmm, and not one which makes a whole lot of sense.. Says the fixture on the 18th. shall be the "Hawks' last ever" (something I'm sure a lot of people would like to think could one day be proved wrong...) but then goes onto say that actually the team shall be called the RH Raiders for this challenge match..! Says really all that needs to be about how the so-called 'experiment' was treated by the RH half of the set-up...

Yes I can see what you mean, MM... Would be very unfortunate if this means the KLS do miss out.. But as you say, can't really see what the solution can be... Rain offs and the like are always possible and who could really punish a side for failing to complete fixtures if that was the reason..? Mind you there once was a third term team (pre-play offs) who barely bothered to stage any home fixtures until late September and then went with 12 heat double headers to get the matches in... Wonder how they'd have coped with a mid-Sept. cut off!!

Play off deadlines are just that - a a deadline after which fixtures do count in terms of league position but obviously not in terms of the P/Os which indeed may or may not have started or even finished before the outstanding fixtures are raced.. To expunge Newport's fixtures because they'll have some outstanding would mean having to do likewise with all teams who had a match or two not raced...

Yes certainly in heat one when he went from first to last - deffo something wrong with the bike in that one but he was on the pace by the end of the meeting.. First time I'd seen Tom 'Stretch' Armstrong...: he bloody WOULD be an Aussie wouldn't he!!

I'm in Brum tomorrow and taking the opportunity to catch up with the all-conquering Potters whilst there... Some indication on what kind of line up the Bulls are putting out would be kinda nice... Sawthe Bulls vs. USA earlier this year and the one to seven was: Jack Hargreaves, Tom Perry, Tim Webster, Brendan Johnson, Paul Starke,Ben Reade, Darryl Ritchings. Obviously a couple of those (Tim & Ben) are in fact in the Potters' ranks but does this give any clue as to the likely line up at the Barr tomorrow..?

Thanx for posting this - Viktor was one of my all-time favourites. I still have the USSR badges he swapped with me after the 1976 WTC Final at White City! As you say the man was a legend of Soviet Union Speedway

I'm sure I could come up with something more boring!

Why so pessimistic...? Tthe site of the former Hackney track (see above for why that's not accurately to be described as 'Hackney'..) is right in the centre of the biggest park, sports and recreation development this country has ever seen... No room for Speedway..? If we don't try and seize this opportunity then we shall never get a better chance..

What am I meant to be wrong about..? Am I wrong that Rye House fans on here slagged this off from the start..? And Rob, I never said Len was responsible, just that the 'Hackney' concept was embraced more by Cookie and at Lakeside than at RH where it's not been promoted as anything 'different' at all...

Actually you DON'T know the full story, in any way. Jon Cook and Neil Vatcher were poised to open an NL side at another location - brand-new, with planning consent (hopefully I don't need to draw you a picture!); and that, at a relatively late stage, hit the buffers. So the attention shifted instead to 'Hackney'. Yes, with Len also heavily involved. I'd hasten to suggest that Cookie's action in doing so, saved a 'club' (or at least a side comprising seven riders..) from being lost to the league. I also know that, contrary to what everyone on here says they 'know', that there are people seriously looking at the options for a Speedway site near to the old Hackney track within the wider Olympics/Eton Manor area. Some more support for the 'Hackney' project would've helped but sadly the usual suspects on here who are RH supporters (who seemingly are never happy unless they're moaning: eg "the Cobras is a terrible nickname..", er, why?) just rubbished it from the beginning. It's only now that Lakeside have pulled out that RH people are leaping to Len's defence - before he was the 'villian' for allegedly over-chgarging! Just a word about locations. The old Hackney track wasn't in what many people would call 'Hackney'. It was right on the border (and I mean right on the border - Warerden Rd's in THREE different boroughs) of Hackney borough, Newham and Tower Hamlets. The area Hackney Wick is mainly actually in Tower Hamlets (for example the Hackney Wick station is in LBTH..) and thought of (as ironically, now Europe's largest artists' enclave!) as part of Bow.. So should a new track be somehow carved out in this area, I personally can't think there's any sense in calling it 'Hackney'... East London Speedway would have far greater appeal and support area wide..

Well I've already pointed out the 'facts'.. At Lakeside, Hackney was promoted as, er, Hackney. A very good separate programme produced with an excellent retro Hackney styling. Rye - as I'm sure all you RH fans have pointed out.. - made zero effort to promote the separate Hackney Hawks identity.. I mean not even bothering to change the prog cover to show it was Hackney rather than RH is a pi$$ poor effort and says it all really...

The key words are "promoted properly"... Only one of the two tracks did this and I'll give you a clue, it wasn't Rye House!!

Yes, I think the Hackney idea had far more attraction and viability if just at Arena Essex.. And remember the Lakeside promotion did brand the Hawks as a separate club with an excellent programme in (retro) Hackney stylings for example. It was - strangely, considering his impeccable Hackney background - Uncle Len who let the experiment down by making literally no effort to style as a stand-alone third tier club..

There was in any case - I believe - only one more due: Scunny, who (again as I understand it...) were being difficult because they didn't want to come on a Friday.. Low crowds..? Well, there were actually only three 'stand-alone' Hawks fixtures at AE.. The first was Dudley, so - fair play as ever to the superb Heathens hordes! - that was well attended. The IoW match was blighted by one of the worst nights for traffic in East London/west Essex for years and then there was Buxton... As an experiment it does appear to have been abandoned but I'd personally NOT call it a failure... The voices of doom and gloom on here will doubtless say they were right; but frankly if you're pessimistic and down-beat about things you will often end up being right... It's those who take a leap of faith as Cookie did for a bit here, who make things actually happen so fair play to all who tried...

Er, well the greatest rider who ever lived, Peter Collins only won one world title so I can't accept your logic here...

A magnificent Speedway meeting. And let's be clear about this, this was what the sport is all about, a one-off event - hugely high pressure, superb quality, everything on the line on the night with all responding to that fact. THIS is what it would be like if we had what the sport deserves. a proper World Final for the individual title... And frankly after seeing this how can ANYONE possibly argue against that... And the other indisputable fact, Tomas Gollob is surely one of the all-time greatest riders in our sport...

Well the Poles had NOTHING to gain by doing so and I can't really think that Team GB's situation in the play-off would be significantly eased by the Czechs being there instead of an albeit strengthened Russian side... I'm delighted the Russians got through as their performance last night I thought was remarakable. Almost everyone had totally written them off and I'm sure mostthought they'd struggle to get to double figures but the four riders put in a mighty effort. Though wasn't impressed with that number five, Nyet Riderski..!

Your examples don't have any relevance as in none of the cases you refer to did it leave their teams going into a meeting a rider short. I'd have thought with your legendary mathematical brain you could've easily spotted the difference between FIVE and FOUR..! A huge well done to the Russians last night, qualifying massively against the odds. Darkin's win in heat two was one of the highlights of the night for me..

Er, well I agree that either the Federation or even possibly the organisers should pay.. BUT in the absense of that, as one of the best riders in the world and the best his country has produced for decades, to represent his country in this event..? Yes, I DO think in those circumstances and remebering the sponsorship he has, he should be prepared if necessary to stump up for travel and hotel expenses... I am a big fan of Sayfudinov but there can be absolutely nothing other said about his refusal to ride that it's a total disgrace...: and one he'll take a long time to live down,.. Clearly the young man needs far better people advising him..

Like others, hugely disappointed by the calamities that have befallen the Russuan team but one question... There's this revised line-up of four riders and a fifth place to be filled. As there seems (and I've no idea why it's an issue - seems to me Russian sportsmen travelling here should be a totally straightforward matter...) to be this visa issue, surely the ONLY person who could fill that fifth spot is Sayfutdinov... So are we definitely facing the prospect of a one man short team in this most important of meetings..? For the life of me I just can't fathom how a young rider like Sayfutdinov can opt out of this.. And certainly if he does he MUST be banned from the next meeting.

The racing was indeed good - and special mention should be made of Nick Simmons who put on a very entertaining performance. In terms of the crowd, well yes it was disappointing of course but the traffic conditions were truly awful so that needs to be taken into account...

And Lydd!

My, of my were there traffic problems! Still, was grateful that my good friend Christina was slightly behind us in the appalling traffic queues so getting there late but before the ref meant missed no action! Result and scorers (forgive mistakes but I'm no 'SCB'..!) Hackney 58 (Shane Hazelden 0; Ben Morley 10+1; David Mason 13; Marc Owen 5+3; Barrie Evans 9; Brandon Freemantle 9+1; Ben Hopwood 12+4) Isle of Wight 35 (Nick Simmons 7; Danny Warwick 1; Rob Smith 9; Paul Starke 12; Rhys Naylor 1; Luke Chessell 5) Outstanding performance (and what a HUGE improvement on previous AE showings..) was from Brandon Freemantle - holding off Nick Simmons on a T/R in heat 13 could be a real watershed in this young man's career... Great stuff!

Bloomin' 'eck, training went on all the way to gone 5.30pm..!! My 'younger brother' George is gonna be plum knackered!