philcrumpisgod

Mark, I am a child of the '60's and '70's and saw Mauger many times at his imperious best. I do not claim that Rickardsson is the best, I said that he is arguably the best because many people argue for and against either of the two being better than the other. I have not given my opinion as to which of them is the greatest because they are of a different era and rode/ride under different conditions and rules. For instance, just two quick points, Ivan was a fantastic starter and Tony is (was!) a brilliant racer. It's all just a matter of opinion.

Spot on Rob, I was going to post the same but you beat me to it. Congratulations to Hans, well done to Jason on extending his lead and also a commendable effort by Tony to get his bike off the track quickly after his fall. Speaking of Tony, it is sad to see a great champion like him seemingly going through the motions. Before the season started it was understandable that he would want to try and beat Mauger's 6 titles and set himself apart with 7, but it all seems to have gone to pot for him. Bottom line, he is a great champion, arguably the greatest ever, but I can't understand why he is continuing to go down without a fight. Some might say he is getting his comuppence (?) for treating the Elite League as an early season sharpener, maybe so, but I think it is a shame to see him ride like an also ran. If his heart really isn't in it perhaps it would be better if he called it a day now so that he can be best remembered as a truly great champion rather than as having had a stinker of a last season. Just my thoughts, others might disagree.

Subedei, I got into the stadium part way through Bonny Tyler's set and stayed until the end of the pyrotechnics. There was no minute's silence for the lad.

Cue "The Laughing Policeman".................................

Just got home, what can I say but absolutely bl**d* fantastic.

Jim, I appreciate your thoughts. I too love our wonderful sport which I have followed for over 40 years. I also have a great deal of respect for anybody who swings their leg over a bike in anger and just cannot understand why anybody should constantly chip away, sometimes in a vicious manner, at any rider let alone somebody who most everybody else agrees gives fantastic service and value wherever he rides and whoever he rides for. Just read some of the comments by people regarding Crump's efforts at Reading on Monday during a period when a lot of riders reportedly get GPitis. Get this as well, Jason rode for Poole as a kid straight out of the 2nd division, became Poole's number 1 that year (1994), reached the world final and beat the eventual world champion during the meeting and he still can't bring himself to give the lad any real credit. Maybe it's because the meeting winner he beat was of course Tony Rickardsson. As an aside, I apologised to him earlier in this thread if he took offence at what I had written. I would have thought any reasonable person would have at least acknowledged that, but of course he has posted elsewhere since then and completely ignored it. Speaks volumes for the sort of person he is. I know, after all these years, that genuine speedway folk are better than that. By the way, if anybody thinks they are going to edit my posts (unless they are deemed unacceptable by the moderators which I would never knowingly do), I would quit posting on the spot. I never saw Peter Craven ride but that picture of him that gets shown regularly shows indeed that he was a fantastic rider. Thanks again.

Jim, interesting to see your take on the thread. As an open forum, we are allowed, within reason, to post what we want. That of course includes anything you might want to post as well. My first post on this thread was meant as a jocular invitation for SS to comment on the relative GP standings of Crump and Rickardsson. He gives out enough stick and banter (sometimes vitriolic) and I wondered if he would respond with good grace and sportsmanship when the boot was on the other foot. As time has shown, not a chance, only to belittle Crump yet again with his comments about Greg "letting" him through for the win. I happen to think that Tony is one of the all time greats of our sport and give him credit for all his fantastic achievements and I certainly haven't slagged him off. I didn't check SS's whereabouts, he posted his movements as a reason for his not posting during the interim. And finally, in my teens Phil came and rode for Newport for 3 years. In that time he was awesome and I did think he was a god, it also fits nicely with my signature. Yes we all have our own individual heroes but there are a very few who seem to regularly delight in their pathological hatred of others

pirate paul, I'm sure you realise that I can spell "prat", a momentary lapse that's all as I always re-read my posts both before and after posting to make sure (as best as I can) that everything is correct. Reading some of the posts on here, I don't think I do too bad. Rob, as we all know, everyone has their own take on things and I would always defend someone's right to express their views regardless of whether I agree with them. However, I would be interested to know which of my posts "don't make a great deal of sense". If you can point them out to me, I would happily retract them. Steve Shovlar, first things first. If you found my post condescending then I apologise to you. No offence was intended, I was merely trying to get your take on the GP standings after Eskilstuna. I have re-read my initial post and I still believe that it was made in a jocular fashion. In retrospect, I should not have called you an "im******* p***" either but that comment was made immediately after your post inviting me to go forth and multiply which I was none too happy about. As you will no doubt deduce, my favourite rider is Jason for fairly obvious reasons. But, in common with a lot of speedway fans, I do not have a dislike or dare I even say, hatred, of any other riders. After reading some of your previous scathing comments about Jason, I was pretty annoyed as i) he is my favourite rider and ii) I don't think any rider deserves such comment. You will know that in a previous post on another subject, I asked you to explain (out of interest) how your hatred of Jason came about, you declined. I believe that showed a lack of class and you went down in my estimation. In this thread, I asked you what planet you were on in response to your reply that "you had already posted", when in fact your post only contained reference to your week away and nothing about the thread content. I have only been a viewer and poster on this forum for less than a year yet it is blatantly obvious that you are the one poster who gets up most people's noses. I would have read them and chuckled mostly if it had not been for your insistence on demeaning Jason at virtually every opportunity. As it is, you have continued that theme by your comments about Greg gifting Jason his win in Eskilstuna rather than giving Jason credit for stalking Greg and overtaking him in classic fashion. Greg is a gentleman, a fact acknowledged by Jason, giving his foe room to race unlike some others. I find it disappointing that you can't find it within yourself to give credit to the man on top, the guy who has been busting his gut wherever he races and acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, your man has lost the stomach for a fight to retain his crown in true champion's fashion.

And there we have it, I'll waste no more words, imbecilic pratt.

What am I on about? What are you on more like it, or, which planet are you on? Your post yesterday was more about your domestic arrangements than anything else, certainly nothing about the thread within which you posted. If you are going to post within a thread, surely to make your post relevant you should read the subject matter and the content. If you can be bothered, perhaps you might like to take a few moments to read through the thread (it's not overly long) and comment accordingly. It seems that there are a few on here who might like to see what you have got to say for yourself.

Come on Mr S., you've been back a little while now and you have posted a couple of times including this morning. Show people on here that you are a decent person and not just someone who can dish it out but can't take it in return.

Although I would like to see Jason carry on his current GP form and win in Cardiff, I don't particularly want to see Tony embarrass himself again. I don't believe a great champion like him should end his career on a such a low note if things continue like they have been for him. So the question is, do you think Tony will stir himself out of his lethargy and go down (or come out) fighting? Can (will) we see a champion's performance from him and the beginning of a fight to retain his crown. I believe he is certainly capable and wouldn't be surprised if he won. What do others think?

To be honest, this thread is not about whether Tony will or can come good again this year. We all know that he could easily up his game and win in Cardiff. No, it's more about what sort of person this "entity" Steve Shovlar is. I gave him the opportunity a few weeks back to explain how his intense dislike of Jason came about-basically out of interest-but he failed to do so. OK, it's his prerogative not to post if he chooses, but I thought not to do so showed a lack of class. Now we know that Jason has had 2 storming wins and Tony has been but a shadow of his former self and all he can say (if it was him) is "has Tony had one year too many?" I believe this shows a complete lack of respect for riders other than his chosen one and for posters on this forum. Had he been gracious and acknowledged the situation, I believe he would have gone up in many people's estimation but yet again he fails to do so. Most of his postings are one eyed and some downright spiteful. If he does this to get a reaction, he needs to grow up. If he really is saying what he feels, speedway, in my view, doesn't need "fans" like him. Congratulations to Jason and best wishes to Tony.

You've got to try though haven't you?

Mr. S., Tony is already a whopping 44 points behind Jason. You have been conspicuous by your absence on the last 2 GP threads. You like to dish it out but do you know what humble pie tastes like? Come on, go up in our estimations, come on here like a man and give us your thoughts. Everybody likes a penitent, get yourself liked.

Really fantastic again by Jason, congratulations to him and here's to many more.

Mr S., eat dirt!

Bristol Racers!

Got mine today too. Hoping for better luck for Jason than last year, a win would be great but to remain in the lead or even to stretch it would be excellent! Come on you Aussie/Brit.

10 years ago in early 1996, as a Newport fan we had been without speedway for 18 and a half years. Cardiff, Neath and Newport were long gone and it looked as if we fans "over the bridge" would have to continue getting our fix elsewhere. Here we are in 2006 and Newport is entering its 10th season in the new era and Cardiff is established as THE event in the whole of the speedway calendar. How surreal is that? Thank you Tim Stone and thank you BSI!

Thanks bulldog 77/78. When Phil came to Somerton Park in 1974 he was like a whirlwind, after missing the '73 season with a broken wrist, and I along with many others was totally hooked on his fantastic racing skills. Mauger once commented in a paper that he was going around the boards at Newport when he was overtaken by Phil on the outside! There was tremendous anticipation before all of Phil's races, he piled up league points in the hundreds and won individual meetings all over the country (back when each track had their own yearly individual blockbuster filled with loads of the top riders of the day). To say that it was a bitter disappointment when the team moved to Bristol in 1977 would be a huge understatement but at least you had two great years and Little Boy Blue to entertain you as well.

In '74, '75 and '76, Phil was immense for Newport and carried that on whilst with the Bulldogs in '77 and '78 (even after breaking his thigh in a world championship qualifier) and then continued for a few years after that with Swindon. Poor though the surface was at Eastville, Gordon Kennett got 15 there for White City when they won the league in 1978. I remember that Tormod Langli had a great following at Eastville with a huge Norwegian flag being draped along the front of one of the stands and Egon Muller (world champion in 1983) was reportedly tempted with a contract to perform in the nightclub at the stadium after each home meeting, although that came to nothing. The opening meeting really was incredible, terrible track leading to numerous withdrawls and John Davis being badly injured but a huge crowd and the motorway slip road on bends 1 and 2 chocablock with traffic and people stopped, out of their cars and watching the racing over the armco-never seen anything like it before or since!

The son of god to start clawing back TRick's "unassailable" lead!