moxey63

You've made me go red now, Garry. Your book is on its way. Good of you, to post the feedback.

Wait until SKY are play The Last Farewell.

Wow! A quarter of a century back and it seems like yesterday. I recall Berwick's first ever trip to Belle Vue, a Gold Cup match in 1991, and we were all dragged outside for about half an hour, due to a bomb scare. Since then, the Belle Vue site has been wrecked by that said bomb hitting it!

The money they have thrown at it for one. How many tracks have been kept afloat because of it?

You try to prove people wrong without reason. Toddle off and read my post above, the second line. Here you are... I'll type it slowly: There... isn't one.... particular thing wrong... with speedway (you still with me?), just... people have different reasons... why it isn't as good as it should be. When SKY become tired of showing speedway, with all the airtime they have, we are in deep deep trouble.

I believe live speedway on television/internet has helped bring speedway's appeal to its current state. Why move your backside from your comfy couch, especially when until this year) you could see a live match on SKY, watch foreign ones online, and have GPs and whatever thrown in every other weekend. There isn't one particular thing wrong with speedway, just people have different reasons why it isn't as good as it should be. SKY's snipping back on their coverage may well help, but there is still enough speedway out there, if people are still unwilling to venture outdoors to their local track. I know the Elite League is in a sick state, with teams packed full of riders that, with respect to them, are there not through merit, but to keep the promoters' costs down. However, a diluted product (as it is now) brings about a lukewarm response from fans that used to happily pay their monies to see sides packed with stars. You can only fool some people. But where are the crowd pullers? Somebody mentioned Briggs and Mauger. Then there's Penhall and Carter. But who's there right now? Who, if there was an individual meeting at some track, would grab extra fans through the gate, from riders even not racing in Britain, in a country void of many current speedway stars plying their trade - Pedersen, Emil, Hancock? They wouldn't get my juices flowing. A weakened product void of personalities, credit and identity. I genuinely believe speedway's poor state is because fans have been given cheap speedway (through the internet), and obviously wonder why they should spend their cash attending meetings (Finnish GP, for instance). I think there has been a speedway bloat scenario - and fans can take or leave meetings. With the product the way it is now (all over the place) - and British speedway being as weak as Popeye without the spinach - I can't seen an answer. Speedway really deserved so much more.

Speedway has lost its true identity. Fans don't relate to their teams, as riders are whizzed up and away to ride for other teams on other nights, even in the same league or different countries. League and team speedway has lost any real interest, many sides now having a feel of a testimonial line-up, rushed together just to serve the latest few speedway folk that can be bothered to put in a show. Right from the first day of the season, one tends to feel most teams are waiting the earliest opportunity to throw points away, weaken, and then set off for a Play-Off slot. Until the Play-Off battles, one tends to believe not all matches are worth winning, as it's possibly best to have some riders off form, dropping averages and then they'll be rewarded by a new team mate, a rider likely to strengthen the side, before the summer sun is past. A true sport is only as worthy as its real ethics, proper racing in speedway case. But now, it seems proper racing is only served in the more important dates, as league speedway is just another mundane office shift for a zero hour intern. Riders should have affinity with the club, so fans can build up a bond with them. Otherwise it won't work, and team speedway will remain on the slide. Every winter we say the same - a rethink and restructure is required. This close season will no doubt be the same.

Just watching the GP and the sparse crowd, made me think that the competitors haven't got the pulling power of years gone. We have winner Nicki and Greg, who at 45 shouldn't be doing as he is and winning two world titles. We are at a stage where riders that are in the line-up haven't really got a chance and are now leaving their peak ,and gone is the wow factor that Crump and Gollob used to offer. I know I'll get slaugherted, but I find it hard sometimes, even thinking that Tai and Holder have won world titles.. when it took Leigh Adams years, just to win a GP Round.

Yes, Arnie, you are spot on. I knew Bobby Schwartz was involved in something but didn't want to mention until my memory really kicked in. Where have all the characters gone? I think Steve Gresham and Ian Thomas had some previous dealings at Hull in the seventies...

And that pic of Dave Perks on the cover of the Speedway Star... having written "snow" on the windsreen of a car. Forty years on and I still see it. Today's Star, I have to recheck the date before seeing it isn't last week's or a week before that! They do look the same... that boy band sort of way.

In my time attending speedway, the only match which ended in mayhem was the 1982 Belle Vue v Reading KO Cup clash. The track was in a rare old state due to the infamous Manchester wet-stuff, and the Berkshire boys were less than enamored to continue their night's work. All sorts of fun and games in the pits, as Aces' boss Ian Thomas was allegedly struck in the tender parts by Reading's American Steve Gresham. Reading eventually pulled out and set off for home , and the Aces rode unopposed for the latter part, but needing the addition of the now defunct boiler suit to help protect their leathers from the wet. Ian Thomas, the stories go, spent part of the evening... head buried between his legs! We lads know that feeling...

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Yes, contact me (I have sent you a PM though!)

For any serious fan who loves retracing the sport's history and having a reference guide to call upon, then this book is a must. The last edition was produced five years ago, so it is perfect timing and a much-needed update. Loose-leaf, 172 A4 pages, the book lists every team averages during the past quarter of a century and is meant to be a continuation of Peter Oakes' 1965-1990 edition. Alan Robertson has tried to fill up every page with details that speedway fans need to hand - league tables and results, Cup journeys, Pairs and Fours, as well as the stand-out stories. If you need details of any major domestic event, don't look any further. Price £14 and £2 postage. And while you're there... why not give the new book covering 1984 a try? In the style of the old Daily Mirror yearbooks, the 1984 book includes all British domestic details and tours the world stage to give a comprehensive rundown of what happened in speedway all of 30 years ago. Containing 130 A4 pages, a lot of work has gone into this, hence the £12 price (£2 postage). There's bound to be a space on your bookshelf for either one of these. PM me if you need further details.

Talk about drawn-out meetings. Eurosport have picked up on this speedway virus. They've afforded tonight's Pairs meeting a spot longer than the last general election campaign lasted.

One of the good things (and I loved the format altogether) about 13 heats was the separation between the match and second half. One format I thought used to kill a match was the 1993 18 heat one - when the last three heats were dependent on the riders' scores that nights and usually followed a lengthy interval after heat 15. I thought it often killed a match that could have been in full swing. Too many long gaps between races makes me wanna yawn and start having a fascination with what time it is.

It never used to bother me, drawn out meetings. But then you add up how long you are stood at the speedway, when racing isn't taking place, and it suddenly hits home. Matches are probably drawn out, it gives the false feeling of a decent night. Speedway - a £20 sport for 2 and half hours entertainment. As I think back, to all the years I stood there, I shudder to think how many hours were wasted... how many programmes I re-read. I didn't mind it... but any newcomers may be put off by the hold ups. I know I wouldn't do it any more... the interest isn't there, through age or the sport being less attractive.

I did, but you weren't there (or invited).

Seriously, though, I have seen my share of drawn out matches. My love of standing there, or even watching at home, for hour upon hour have long since gone. Times change, and no longer do I sit in my living room, watching a live GP for three hours or more, just cos it's live. If I wish to watch, I'll record and then just watch the main feature. I think TV speedway should do away with the live stuff and just show the highlights in an edited programme. Much better that way.

Talk to me about drawn-out meetings. I went to one in 1975... and I'm still there!

Thanks for the reply... I will have a wander over to that site with a great deal of pace. Really appreciate that advice. Cheers!

Alan Robertson in line to produce an updated version in the coming few weeks.

Is there anybody out there that can put me right. I need the correct tallies for Swindon pair Phil Crump and Bo Petersen. The heat details in the SS magazine gives Crump on 8 and Petersen on zero; but the scores have Crump on 6 and Petersen on 2. Does anybody have a filled in programme, please?

SKY has put up the subs again as from June, another three quid on my package. Was increased only last year, so has gone up something like seven pounds within six months. As speedway appears to be on SKY less, I am now deciding whether to cancel my subs and do what many are doing nowadays... watching for free on the internet. Is it worth the money anymore, to watch the same old teams... but perhaps not as much as in the past, as they have cut back on a match a week and now appear to have selected Mondays to show the shalegame.