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Such is the state of the sport. Too many early season meetings and it all finishes by mid August. The biggest and most unforgivable problem was Rob Godfrey pulling out fixtures that hag already been agreed, all because he wanted guests for his own club. I can’t conceal my absolute contempt for that man. Personally, I have already reached the stage of having no interest in the sport outside the league Lakeside race in, I will give Rye House a go, but the sheer incompetence of those currently in charge, especially Godfrey and Chapman, coupled with the amount of cheating certain clubs, especially Poole have been allowed to get away with, has just about ruined the sport for me. I enjoy it once I actually get to the track, but motivation gets harder and harder.

Honestly Tom Bacon and Kyle Bickley have been with their respective teams since the start of the season To be fair the changes made by Newcastle and Workington were forced upon them rather than either promotion dropping riders, Lewis Rose decided he needed some time out from the sport and went into "semi retirement" for want of a better phrase or description and Mason Campton was replaced by Bradley Wilson-Dean under a facility to temporarily replace Campton who had been injured and once fit; came back into the team. I also agree that Rob Godfrey (RG) can be fiercely loyal to his riders. Furthermore it must be said that the promotions of all three clubs mentioned Newcastle Workington and Scunthorpe do have a good reputation for supporting their riders through thick and thin; and possibly retaining them for longer than is beneficial to all parties when they invariably go through a rough patch for whatever reason; where some other promoters have been known to be a lot less patient and a bit more ruthless. I also accept and agree with the point RG made when he stated it was doing no one any good having Danny struggling in the team, the fans, the club in general, Danny's team mates and most of all the lad himself. IMHO this is probably the best for all concerned and good luck to Danny as its the knock backs in life that make you stronger and knowing Danny he is very pragmatic and will take this in his stride and keep plugging away in an effort to improve. Regardd THJ

Stirring as usual He jarred his back again in heat 13 against Nicholls, the same injury he incurred riding Pooles dangerous track the other week. Kings Lynn had already won, he didnt need to risk himself further. Somerset unlikely to top the table and wether they come first or second they would have the easier tie against Poole anyway. And no he cant win the world title but he wants to stay in the top 8 , he will undoubtedly get a wildcard but better to make sure Why would the travelling Rebels fans be fuming? You make no sense. Lets say Woryna picks up a minor injury in his first or second ride. Would you want him to carry on and risk further injury or would you rather he rested for the important play off matches?? Try looking closer to home for riders cheating their travelling support. You and other Poole fans were very vocal about Poole riders 'not needing to try' at Kings Lynn, but yet you come on here and say Doyle cheated Somerset fans...........you really are laughable

Like most on here, I too am gutted. I only discovered speedway 12 years ago and then totally by accident. I became hooked after watching my first meeting at Arena even though Hammers were on the run of about 20 straight defeats. Arena has been described by many as a 5hithole, and it is difficult to argue. However, as some of those with whom I stand have said, ‘It is our 5hithole and we love it’. Arena has provided my son (First meeting at age of 6) and I with some great nights, great racing, (Yes, really) and through standing in the same spot for the majority of those years, I have made some great friends. Sadly, many of them are from the other side of the river and a trip to Rye House is unlikely, which is a real shame. I am only 45 minutes from Rye but am undecided as to whether I will go once The Hammers are there. The reason being is that in those 13 years I have seen the sport disintegrate to what it is now. In 2007, my first full season, there was no doubling up. There were the worlds top riders coming to town, Crump, Adams, Pederson (The world Champion) et all. They were great days, in front of good crowds. Since then, the powers of be have slowly dismantled what was a great product as they have failed to view the picture in a bigger way than suits their own needs. A 25 minute trip to my local track is enough to keep me going, but to go further afield leaves me wondering if I will bother. I think it is unlikely other than for the odd meeting when I have nothing else planned. Sorry to waffle, but Arena has given me great entertainment and great friendships over the years and it saddens me. To Andrew, Shaun, Paul, Andy and Aaron, and the bloke with the huge road bike who always chats but I have never asked his name, thanks for the great evenings, and thanks to all The Hammers and opposition riders for doing what you guys do.

Pray tell in what way? No one knows what Barker would have scored or r/r will score unless you are clairvoyant But if you look at what happened on Saturday with Klindt having severe bike trouble for worrky against the moanrchs resulting in a lucky point - do you consider that convenient?

Yes as Chris Louis say's was a compliment to a great young talent the lad has it all, the tongue was firmly in there cheek with the comment.

If you keep getting passed and can't stay on ya bike, not sure they deserved anything to be honest. The amount of times we have a lead going into the last few races and then it going Pete Tong is pretty frustrating....but at least I can cheer for my second team now......come on you Comets

At least Kemp looks like a great newbie

Why would we give the lad grief? He's on a learning curve and the promotion have give him a chance to show what he can do. over last few weeks you could see his confidence growing, hence his first win in Comets colours and scoring more than his average at home.

I have to say that the price that edinburgh charge( and i am an edinburgh supporter) is too high in my opionion. £2, car park, £18.50 at gate and £3 for programme thats £23.50 before you have bought a bovril and also i dont get the supporters bus as i drive but im sure thats about £5 as well so if you add that on its pretty steep indeed. Not everybody can make it everyweek so no point with a blue or gold card, and not everybody has or uses internet to get the discounted price however i think this is only around a £1 or so. As posted before away fans will turn up at the gate and pay the full price( i know i do when in do the away meetings). if they made the gate price cheaper this would deffinetly help the “non regulars” to pop a long and they may well come back as well.

Very impressed with how Connor has improved this season riding for Coventry and lately Leicester. He has come on tremendously well and must be one of the few riders who rides the Beaumont Park track really well. Pleased he has now been signed as an asset for 2019.

Surely it`s pretty obvious who goes first. the team who finishes top at the end of the regular season, we know chooses the opposition and also decides if they want their leg 1st or 2nd. The remaining match is between the other 2 qualified teams and the team that finished higher in the regular season has the choice of their home leg 1st or 2nd.

If it had to be done it shouldve been before the cut off and a permanent replacement named

In all honesty, when you came to our place recently, you were by far the weakest team we had raced against this year. Only half the team were good enough and the rest were way off the pace.... I said at the time how surprising it was to see them that weak. Their home form has been their saviour this year, but even then, the results have been much closer than they used to be. . It didn't surprise that we won tonight, I always thought it would be close, but the way Wolves folded, must have disappointed even the most ardent supporters.....

Somerset definitely threw the meeting tonight, not putting Doyle in heat 15!!! Shovlar style of thinking

Very enjoyable meeting Ipswich starting off very well with us coming back at them as the night progressed , Ipswich were good value for at least the point they got but were let down in the big heats with some strange manoeuvres especially from Riss which ultimately cost them. Young Kemp looks the real deal and a very confident young man also, came across very well on his pit interview . Ultimately I think Edinburgh will be favourites to join P'boro , Lakeside and Worky in the play offs they for me have a more balanced feel about them than either us or Ipswich.

Just wondering... we had gold on the race suits this year given we were the champions, do you think we will have wood grain next year given we've got the wooden spoon?

I would say Phillips scoring is on a par with Bickley, but haven't seen him getting much grief from Workington fans!

Craig Cook actually qualified so he's clearly a "GP rider" Woffinden NEVER qualified, got 2 x wild cards, then has stayed in top 8 since!

We don't need a excuse!!

Yep I was working 30 years ago but not now. Its like Morecambe and Wise a few years back when asked what they would be if they weren't comedians, Eric replied 'Mike & Bernie Winters.!!

All sounds perfectly plausible until you factor in 'The Ipswich Way" which is to make hard work of even the easiest situation and generally grab defeat from the jaws of victory

The word is flawed.............lol I ask you again......if Woryna aggravated an injury, would you prefer him to keep riding, do more damage, miss the play offs, or rest for the play offs?? Simple question that for some reason you cant answer. I use Woryna as he is possibly the only Poole rider they would struggle to replace 24 hours for an aggravated back injury he can have plenty of treatment. Not one Somerset fan is annoyed he didnt ride but i guess they see they bigger picture

So maybe Somerset are in the wrong and should of told their fans not to travel as they didnt want to win the match? this forum is a much better place without you anywhere near it, everyone thinks the same. Whats happened has your webcam broken or are you skint after the mrs ran away with another bloke and you cant afford the quid a minute twit shows on twitter?

From the seemingly strong position of being 10 points up, Wolves fans would have thought they would win in a canter but with Robert Lambert and Iversen in the team anything is possible. Kings Lynn seem to be the form team right now.

Honestly You could not be more wrong Regards THJ

I think you are right about the double up/down and removal of tactical substitutes. I think those running the sport underestimated how much a part of the sport the TS was. It was a major discussion point at matches - even between strangers. They got rid of that, and, at the same time, made the gaps between races seem twice as long as they did before. Speedway was not just about motor bikes. It was about tactics and the scoring system. They got rid of that and changed what the sport is.

I reckon Speedway in GB made a major mistake many years ago in not having meetings on a Sunday. Nowadays, speedway on a Sunday afternoon would probably double crowds at some venues as this is probably an ideal time to go to a speedway meeting. Instead, the top riders began riding on the continent on Sundays, and the Polish league took Sunday as its day. If the UK had Sunday afternoons as its fixed race night/day now, I reckon we'd be doing a lot better.

Pleased to see Connor put in a strong performance. Was very disappointed when Ipswich released Connor but it seems to have been a blessing in disguise for him, securing team places at Sheffield and Leicester. It's clear he never enjoyed riding the Ipswich track and being released enabled a fresh start. Should the league set ups stay the same, Connor should have Championship and Premiership speedway next year and make the move up from the National League, hopefully as a National League Riders Champion.

Racing was just as predictable in the past as were the matches. The top riders used to be miles clear of other riders in the old daysand have cma of 11 plus where now you get nothing like that now .As for the racing just like today 90 % of it was from the gate and most meetings were crap but made to feel and look better because the crowds were bigger .

ALL those words are true .a good post .

Its only convenient when it's not going for his team of trick track experts , when it is they are superb and there track is magnificent. He spins more sh*te on here than Jenga which shows how much he spins.

I live in Surrey, but work in London. I always go by train to Arena straight from work. It's no hardship, much better than tackling the tunnel and the M25. Although it wasn't very pleasant walking back to the station after the Newcastle rain off. Having just one meeting to say goodbye is my biggest gripe. We should be seeing the season out at our home track, not squatting somewhere else. More effort should have been made to rearrange meetings earlier in the season. The whole episode has left a lot of us Arena regulars felling very bitter about the way it's ending.

If you had won tonight it would still be impossible for you to make the play offs.

It's better to save one venue, than lose two.

As many have said , probably the most entertaining 15 heats of speedway at Ashfield this season . Wasnt looking good from our perspective for much of the meeting , but we got our act together and also had a bit of a helping hand from the Witches too . Watching Craig Cook is a joy to behold , the speed he generates is breathtaking as he passes riders like they were stood still , you cant see him losing a race just at the moment . And what a prospect young Kemp looks . To ride like that having just turned 16 is quite something .

I didn’t realise Swindon were out of the running for 4th.

Sweden is Tuesday. Premiership Monday and Wednesday a for a some swindon meetings Thursday.. And a re arranged Poole match Thursday.

Swindon were predicted to finish bottom last season and look what happened there!

Just the typical farcical end to the cut off as happens every year............... Quite incredible ............. the warmest driest summer in history ............. and everyone only had to arrange 10 home meetings to arrange ........... frankly there are no excuses for anyone not completing by the 16th And actually I think it would be the best thing for the sport if a team doesn't get into the playoffs due to its inability to complete them in time...... The cut off date should be clearly stated at the beginning of the season and stuck too only exception if its a wet summer and there are many rain offs ...... geez the league cup semi's haven't been done ......... and the 1st round of the knock out cup still not completed why promoters want to race in freezing October with lights on ..... as opposed to the summer in the daylight is beyond me ...... well done Berwick for completing their league during August

This Lakeside situation is just a shambles,they would be as closing the doors after the cut -off date if they don't make it through.They will still be racing in Dec the way things have gone.

There are many reasons why he wouldn’t. The natural one appears to be aggravated back injury which has been reported and we know he has had crashes in recent weeks. Perfectly understandable.

Who knows,the sport is just a joke .

http://www.lakesidehammers.co/fixture-confirmation/ Not sure if I am reading this correct but I think this article means that the Lakeside vs Peterborough match won't be held before the cut off date. I also cannot see how Workington vs Lakeside will be held before the cut off date. This means Lakeside will only manage 3 more meetings, away to Edinburgh and then home to Glasgow and Newcastle. If they fail to get any points at Edinburgh on Friday that would mean they are vulnerable when they should be stick on for the play offs. Weather permitting they look like the only 2 meetings featuring the top 7 that won't fit in before the cut off assuming it is 16th September?

'I don't care, I don't care, I'll just buy another pair!...' Just in case FF doesn't carry it on, if it's just left, it will just annoy me!

A great gesture,hats off to him.

Forgot to say, hat off to Cookie for donating his winnings to Ricky Ashworth - there aren’t many riders / people generally around who would do that.

As a complete neutral, I couldn't give a monkey's that Cook is riding in this league and was allowed in the meeting, just want to see the strongest lineups possible in the meetings I choose to attend up and down the country. That's why I have a dilemma about my first planned visit to Somerset this week being against an Iversenless King's Lynn!! The likes of Cook and Riss ultimately persuaded me to make my first visit from Coventry to Owlerton...and I'm glad I did. Good racing, well presented stadium and a decent atmosphere with the big crowd. Hope to visit again and great to see all the club colours on show with no disappointing no shows on the day for once!

Are you sure it's not Granville you've signed.