uk_martin

Top tip if you are flying to Berlin and then going to Poland by train, the train does NOT terminate at Berlin's main railway station. Instead, you have to take the S Bahn to Lichtenberg, and get the train from there, which is a bit like taking a train to Watford if you are travelling out of London. Anyway, the next trick is NOT to buy the ticket in advance on the Bahn.de web site. Instead, buy your ticket to Kostrzyn (the border crossing point, where you have to change trains) on the train, and then buy a second ticket from Kostrzyn to Gorzow or ZG again on the train. German Railways charge about €20 for the combined ticket as a "border crossing duty" if you buy online.

Many a true word spoken in jest

Any word when the NL AGM is likely to be to put us out of our misery? 2 years ago it was the week after the EL/PL AGM, last year it was the month after...any guess on what that projection could lead to this time around?

When did Richard Hall ever have a 3.00 Championship average?

You mentioned the Falubaz atmosphere, and certainly there are few fixtures to compare with Falubaz v Stal Gorzow, either at home or in Gorzow. Be aware though that Falubaz are masters of derbgy-day shenanigans, so don't be too surprised if for some mystery reason you go to Poland and the meeting is called off due to a supposedly dodgy track, or if the meeting is delayed in order to allow a star rider to arrive by specially chartered helicopter, or whatever. ZG play more mind games than Sir Alex Ferguson ever could. My favourite airport to fly to is Poznan. It's served by so many airports in the UK, that you should be able to link in to it. The airport is a £1 bus ride from the central railway station, from where you are a £5-£15 train ride away from Gorzow, ZG, Leszno, Pila and Gniezno, amongst others. If you end up on one of these last flights of the night, and like me last time, arrive in Poznan airport at 00.50am, there's the Comm Hotel directly over the road from the airport that is very convenient to use. I use the e-podroznik site for transport info such as times and fares. This site also has a decent phone app. It's also in English and it gives you car bus and train links between anywhere you ask. The site gives tthe option to use Blablacar.pl but you may not fancy getting into a car with a stranger. But you have the option. http://www.polskibus.com/en/index.htm is a decent alternative to the train on some routes. I used a Polski Bus (a new luxury coach in reality with power for your phone / laptop and wifi for free) between Gdansk and Torun. The bus was cheaper and the journey was 2 hours instead of 3 by train. Booking.com seems to have the most comprehensive hotel listings in Poland although Airbnb.com is gaining popularity over there. I've found some decent places on Airbnb in the last couple of years. Prices to Poland depend on season. You might want to look up Polish National Holidays, and try to avoid these as seats on the planes will be in high demand by people going home to see their families. During the main season though, you can usually get flights for about £40-£50 each way if you only take hand luggage. During the play-offs though, Wizzair seem to offer some amazing bargains. The last 2 years, I've been able to fly Birmingham-Poznan and back for under £25, all-in. Beware though, Brexit has chucked a huge curve-ball into the price and cost equation. The overall cost of trips isn't as cheap as it was in past years and in the future the trend will continue upwards. The best tip is to befriend some people over in Poland, and keep in touch with them. They can help you out with stuff that can only be done locally, like purchasing tickets, which for Falubaz v Stal, regularly sell out in advance. And whichever team you get to follow, see if you can go on an away trip with them and experience life "in the cage" as an away fan. Excellent fun, although maybe not for your first visit.

Which is like saying that Lance Corporal Jones in Dad's Army was climbing up through the ranks...

Maybe he has Stoke Potters in mind? Early days yet but a good signing imho. Saw this young man in action in Güstrow earlier this year and he was as competitive as any of the local youngsters. From memory he finished a competitive second in each of his three 250cc races. If he adapts well to man-sized bikes, he'll do ok.

Sorry, have I just stumbled onto the Sparrows thread?

Birmingham have made a club record signing! - http://www.birminghambrummies.co/news.php?extend.2553

That's nuts.

Interesting article in the Birmingham Mail (printed edition only) that the Brummies are only likely to announce one more signing before the NL AGM and that the date of the NL AGM has yet to be set... ...like how long does it take to set a date for an AGM? They've had a year to think about it since the last one. Organised or what?

An interesting challenge for the new promotion to react to.

http://www.speedwaygb.co/premiershipstatistics17 Then add those who weren't on this years team rostas who are on the 2016 & 2015 averages that would be carried forwards...

Speedway promoters in the top league have never cared about away fans so they won't worry about that at all. Yes the days of a "Southern Tour" are over for the top league but thankfully the Championship will still cater for teams going on "Northern Tours"...hopefully...

Absolutely...So out of the following list of riders, only 8 can have a job...based on their official averages. That's how you improve your product... Kenneth Bjerre Craig Cook Max Fricke Brady Kurtz Krzysztof Kasprzak Jason Doyle Nick Morris Fredrik Lindgren Jacob Thorsell Rory Schlein Sam Masters Chris Holder Andreas Johnsson Neils Kristian Iversen Maciej Janowski Which leaves anyone with bags of money and the gift of the gab to go headlong towards signing that budding British talent - Tai Woffinden - who is only on a 7.04 CMA and therefore the hottest property on the scene, Kind of says it all about the state of the nation that in that list of over-8-pointers, only two are British, whereas 7 are Australian. Yeah, let's hammer the Aussies. That's how we'll regain control of our borders and keep those damned foreigners out.

David Davies and Donald Tusk will be brokering the best possible deal to allow British Speedway to exit it's troubled past and regain control of the country's sport...not to mention pumping £3.56 per week into the NHS just as was promised on the side of the Kings Lynn caravan (that Darcy Ward used to live in)

So...Sunday afternoons then? A 70-80 mile round to a crap track, and going head to head with taking the dog for a walk in the park. Well, best of luck with that then. We all know how it works...Planning meetings are open to the public. Brandon Estates just need to trawl the streets and recruit a load of homeless people to fill the public galleries and the chances of gaining planning permission for a housing project are boosted enormously.

Just a press release? Why no press conference, so that any questions that Speedway Star, Sportowefakty or any other journalist may have could have been answered?

Well last year, the Coventry NL team were supposed to have merged with Belle Vue, and that didn't work out well...so who knows what will happen this time around.

Ultimately, he who pays the piper calls the tune. What would you think should be the salary to match the responsibility of this role? Presumably that salary would be shared out equally around all the clubs? So Stoke Potters will pay the same as Poole Pirates for this guys services? And if he's no good, who sacks him? Remember that if he's sackable, he's not really independent is he?

Wow. Not even an "independent body" any more, just a Don King type of character who can make all the decisions whilst the local promoters pay the price. Yeah, that'll work. Does anyone here advocating such an approach like the idea of working 60 hours a week, and then handing your salary and the running of your household over to an independent person/body (no jokes about the wife please) who has the power to spend your money the way they feel fit, whilst under the guise of looking after YOUR best interests? You do all the work whilst someone else runs your life for you? Because that's exactly what you seem to think is the model of the relationship you want speedway promoters to have with such a "CEO" figure.

Who decides these choices? IMG or "Monster Joe"? Monster sponsored Chris Holder and Old Man Hancock are chosen but Red Bull sponsored Jarek Hampel is not...so there's a surprise eh?

If he was accepted as injured, then presumably Cradley would have been in receipt of a doctors note? If there was a doctors note, then just like with Craig Cook, shouldn't there have been a 7-day mandatory period of inactivity (to allow for recovery / recouperation / convalescence) ? Alternatively, maybe there was no doctors note...maybe this is a smokescreen to hide a more embarassing truth?

There's no point though...look at Sheffield. No NL team there but they can sign JPB from under Birmingham's noses, just as Lakeside, in their "EL" days signed Zach W. in similar circumstances. Running your own NL team is just extra cost and faff when you can just go round picking up riders from elsewhere.