Paulco

No , Workington on Saturday The Monarchs look mince and i predict they'll be using a tactical before heat 8 on Friday

first away win of the season

Are folk expecting this Brady Kurtz to be some sort of Darcy Ward ? Not many new Aussies reach much more than their 5 point average . Even the Golden Child at the dump only reached 5.82 last year

While riding for Glasgow at Workington last season , he looked as if he'd never seen the place before

Last season it did look as if his head had gone . Would do alright in some meetings , then get pitched into heat 15 and would run a bad last . Was capable of some stirring rides , beat the blessed Cookie round the dump , then would get trounced by a reserve in his next race . The British Final , where he looked desperately out of his depth , seemed to drain whatever confidence he had left and he threw in the towel not long after . To be honest , i dont see clubs queuing up to sign him if he does make a comeback .

Considering our track has become a bit of a gaters paradise in recent years , that doesn't augur well for his chances .

On our away trips the war cry had to wait till heat 8 when Super Steve was on a taccy

They've always been a pain at Owlerton .

So that's why he quit

Do you actually know what the Premier Shield is Blobby ?

I remember Backtrack magazine doing a piece on this a couple of years back , it really is incredible we're still going considering the amount of times we've had to upsticks and move house . I was 9 when my Dad first took me to the White City track in 1968 , which turned out to be the final season there as it made way for the M8 motorway . I actually thought i was going to the football first time i went as it wasn't too far from Glasgow Rangers' ground . Dont really remember too much about it , apart from finding a ten shilling note on the ground one night and my father taking care of it for me , and a spectacular crash between Glasgow's Bo Josefsson and Edinburgh's George Hunter when the two locked together coming up the home straight and demolishing the starting gate . It was Hampden Park next , a couple of thousand of us crammed into the main stand and the rest of the huge stadium empty , hardly condusive to atmospheric speedway . Charlie Monk and Jim McMillan were my heroes in those days , though again memories are sketchy . The sad death on track of SveIn Kassa , when he clipped Martin Ashby's back wheel and shot up into the air , is sadly one of the vivid ones . Old Jimmy Beaton wanting to fight anyone who remotely went near Bobby on track , opposition or team mates , didnt matter which haha . And a Nordic - British final where Ivan Mauger rode with a plaster cast on his foot being the ones that immediately spring to mind . Coatbridge next , what a dump but i loved the place . The roof on the back straight terrace had more holes than actual roof and you got soaked when it rained , the pee used to flow out of the door of the lavvys , but the track was amazing . Huge scary bankings were awesome . One night it staged a Scotland v Norway test match , the pipe band were strutting their stuff on track before the meeting , shame the referee never noticed them before sending the riders out for heat 1 and forced them to scatter ...........or maybe he did . Blantyre 1 was a culture shock after Coatbridge , after the huge bankings it was a tight wee trick track . Though i grew to love the place and watch in awe at Steve Lawson rule supreme around it . Even Bruce Penhall had to play second fiddle to God round there . Blantyre 2 was an awful place , D shaped track , crap teams apart from Super Steve , and a sad eviction which saw us trying to see the season out at Workington . Even only charging one pound on the supporters bus couldn't tempt folk to make the journey , and changing the name to Workington Tigers couldn't tempt the locals to go . So we were out of the league . But we re-emerged at Shawfield the following year , and the glory part of Glasgow's history was about to begin . The National Trophy success of 1990 was the springboard to unprecedented glory . KO Cup runners up to the mighty Arena Essex side after a replay in 1991 , the only 2nd tier side to eliminate a top flight club in 1992's inter league cup , what an atmosphere as we won a heat 15 decider against Cradley Heath . Robert Nagy winning the 1992 Div 2 Riders Championship at Coventry after a shambolic series of run offs against Mick Poole . And then League and Cup double success in 93 and 94 . 95 saw us nearly fold again as the ill conceived league amalgamation crippled us . 96 saw us without a team and Edinburgh without a track , so the Scottish Monarchs was born . Another daft idea that saw Monarchs fans refusing to watch their team at Glasgow and us turning up to cheer the opposition . Not a great success , but it did keep speedway in Scotland alive . But 97 saw us back , but only for another couple of seasons at Shawfield , before 99 saw us open at our present home of Ashfield . A couple of financial scares , a couple of attempts by residents and planners to force us out , another few pieces of silverware , and we're still going . By the skin of our teeth a few times , but we seem to be speedway's great survivors .

Can we get a proper growling Tiger back on the racejacket this season please . That Red Revolution thing we had last year , looked like it was hiding behind the couch . No wonder we were bottom of the league .

An admirable philosophy , but is finishing above the salt and sauce mob the extent of our ambitions ? This looks the worst Edinburgh side since the heydays of Carsten Schott . The blessed Cookie has peaked and will now channel his energies into Belle Vue , Masters fluked the PLRC a couple of years back , but has never scaled any great heights at PL league racing , apart from a paid maximum in Glasgow colours at Leicester in 2011 , and he's missed a year . The Golden Child might put half a point on his average , Desperate Deek is past it , never heard of Aaron Fox , might have been better going for Samantha instead . And Justin Sedgmen has been binned everywhere he's been , while the lesser Worrall proves ability doesn't run in the genes . If we canny finish above that mob we can chuck it .

Oh i dont know , Ipswich seem to upset Edinburgh on numerous occasions .....................never a bad thing

Most definitely . No trip to Berwick is complete without a beer with you in the Black and Gold club

You will

The weather we have up here this morning , take your pick there's plenty to choose from . It really has to start drying out pretty soon

So it would seem . Surely after two years of this nonsense happening at the beginning of a season , it's time speedway promoters got clued up .

And thankfully , from a PL fan's point of view , we have a wonderful addition to our list of tracks

Probably now that it has become necessary for that replacement to be included in our septet , all the finer parts of the contract have to be agreed on before the announcement is made . I would imagine the announcement will be this week sometime .

I'm always optimistic .........................................in March

That is utter rubbish . What other sport will the custodians of a club openly disscuss club matters and fans concerns in a bar or on the terraces after the event is over for the day . You obviously have a personal grudge against Dave Hoggart and are using this forum to stick the boot in . I've found him very approachable and knowledgable and he has always nodded hello in my direction whenever i have been at Sheffield supporting Glasgow or at any other meeting where we both have been at . I just hope he is not lost to our sport .

When you see the likes of Jason Doyle riding number 1 for both Birmingham and Somerset last year , it makes you wonder . There still is a bit of a gulf , but that seems to be narrowing year by year

Premier Shield - erm either Somerset or Newcastle i think Premier League play offs - Glasgow First place - Glasgow Premier League Cup - Glasgow Premier KO Cup - Glasgow PLRC - Kevin Wolbert PL Pairs - Glasgow PL Fours - Glasgow Wooden Spoon diddy team - Edinburgh

I know all that Taffy , but speedway at the second tier level in this country has been enhanced by Australians since it's inception . It's a shame barriers seem to be in place to deny the sport's paying public the enjoyment many of those riders bring to our tracks .