Grachan

And Swindon.

Newcastle come out well not only with GP riders but with Individual World Finalists too. Mauger, Olsen, Michanek, Lovaas all cut their teeth with the Diamonds.

Not really. It will be pretty much the same riders anyway.

He actually replaced Gappmaier, but the same point applies.

Actually there were several comments about Musielak when he signed last year, with people saying he should be reassessed. I guess Swindon fans saw the logic in it and didn't argue the toss that he shouldn't have been so nothing kicked-off. For something to kick-off, you need someone (for example, a pretend fan of the club) to blindly argue that what people saying is wrong when it isn't.

Slight problem with that. On one of the occasions they let a rider miss a meeting they still won it. So you would have lost a fortune.

That's as may be, but it's probably best to stick to direct quotes as being what comes from Matt Ford.

If you mean this article, he doesn't confirm it. http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/speedway/piratesnews/15695435.Ford_bewildered_by_rumours_of_Woryna_signing/ The part about Woryna being on 4.65 is not a direct quote from Matt Ford but a paragraph written by the writer of the article. When Woryna was originally signed, Ford said he would be in the team barring any "curveballs" from the agm. He's not in the team yet, so maybe he is still waiting for confirmation on his average before naming him.

Last year. Zagar, Harris, Iversen, Jonsson, Holder, Lindback (sort of), Doyle, Lindgren, Woffinden.

This is a good point actually. Nothing was mentioned about this until Zagar said that he wanted to ride here.

I thought he'd negotiated a deal but some members of the BSPA weren't keen to agree to it.

If Holder is being reassessed, then so should Doyle and Lindgren. Holder has an average. There is no reason to reassess him. His average is not from the old format.

I agree. Holder has a legitimate average and doesn't need assesing. Riders on averages from previous seasons are the ones who should be reassessed, but they never reassessed Musielak last year so I wouldn't hold your breath that it will happen.

BWD and Zack both have lower averages than Adam, so would be at reserve. Don't know what Palm-Toft would be on, but would have to be less than 5.45, which is also lower than Adam.

Nick Morris confirmed as number one. Not exactly a big surprise. Rosco also making it clear it was a team-building decision because of the lower average. No mention of finances. It also looks like the original plan was to go with both. http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/15691725.Robins_confirm_Morris_as_new_number_one/?ref=fbshr

If it's alternated, as you say here, then that's ok with me. Having a World Cup every two years would still keep that event going, which is what, I think, is most people's worry. Having it every other year might, actually, increase its appeal.

A stupid idea in my opinion, but a typical speedway one. Why do Poland win the World Cup so often? Because they have the best team. Even in the primes 70s and 80s era, the pairs always seemed a less important meeting than the WTC. At least it's not just British speedway that makes dumb decisions. The World Cup always provided the best racing of the year. So they scrap it! Presumably we are just seeing teams of 2 now. Means nothing. Not an individual champ. Not a team champ. Just a best pair. Meh.

They would both have been assessed at 8 before. Nobody thought it ridiculousthen that all GP riders were assessed the same, so why is it ridiculous now. What was ridiculous was that Doyle would be on 9.69 because he rode in the UK last year, and Woffinden was just over 7 because he never. What would be ridicuous would be the have Pawlicki on 8 while Nick Morris and Jaob Thorsell are both above that. An average of 9 is a fair figure. It's below Doyle but above Morris and Thorsell. I think most people would agree is that that is their level. The problem is, of course, that the point limit and the one-over- 8 rule prevent them coming into the UK. That's a different issue though. The average itself is perfectly reasonable.

When I was 15 I kept an exercise book with all of Swindon's scores and my own calulated averages. I still have it. Somewhere. I think.

Nck Morris signed for Lakeside. Part of the Zach/Adam deal perhaps?

A returning Robin could be Hans Andersen, as hinted at elsewhere.

Sometimes it's good to just get things out of your system. I'm not wrong about anything though, because I was asking questions not stating facts. Come on then. Spill the beans.

I don't. Maybe it was Wolves, Belle Vue and Swindon. Doesn't matter to me any more anyway. I've moved on.

Screensport was good for its time, but that way is too out of date now I think. People want live sport. It was Sky that got me back. I remember watching and seeing riders with these weird long names that I'd never heard of. Magnus Zetterstrom. Emmerson Fairweather. Adam Skornicki. I couldn't believe how speedway riders' names had changed so much!!

A lot of people know what speedway is and have got out of the habit of attending. If they see it on tv and it gets them back into it, there is a large captive audience there. I don't see how it will have pushed people away by having it on tv, although, it's clear that people pick and choose meetings, and it seems that if a match is on tv then people will choose to miis it - or choose to go if the price is reduced. Over all, I believe it has a positive effect on attendance. They need to see the bigger picture rather than just the televised meetings themselves.