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Thought I would come on here after a while as it is a slow Friday. Seems the same village idiots from Cumbria had a rush of blood to criticise Glasgow (again) with unfounded sweeping statements. Lots of mud slinging, then when the truth comes out, you would expect the decency of an apology. Alas, this is not the case, the haters (generally Worky fans) decide to find another angle to slaughter. The "what if" brigade, What if you never had a successful team last year? Your wage bill would of been down and maybe ran this year? The talk of boycotting Glasgow by one member was particularly laughable. If/when Worky come back to the sport, would you like the sizeable Glasgow support to boycott your stadium. absolute bonkers. Absolute nut jobs.

We have a track we have a team that was put in place by December and touch wood the season will commence at the Abbey.At King's Lynn well what a total shambles supporters ( the paying customer) taken for granted kept in the lurch and the worrying thing is it is run by the frontman of British speedway.By the way King's Lynn are a great club with loyal supporters who will stick by the club but for me they deserve alot better.

In reality it makes little odds if Belle Vue are attracting small or large crowds, if the sport continues to decline and lubs shut then there will be no opposition left. The spiralling costs that the promotions allow to happen are bleeding it dry. Add in the diversity of entertainments available today and the switch in blind loyalty to any particular club fading in an age of greater tolerance. The sport at present is being propped up by those who are prepared to buy into clubs and the fans who pay over the odds to watch it while they can.

The stadium issue as you know is well out of Swindon speedway's management hands.We all believed the stadium would happen but i am just pleased the club is still operating.

Agree with that if, there is one team I would like to see being successful after my own it would be Berwick.

I don't feel it's a case of not caring about their fans, I think the point has been answered by the earlier part of your post. As a Club they have been given information by the owners/developers and have passed that information on. When that information proves to be incorrect then it has reflected on the Club. They find themselves in a position where any information put out is either disbelieved off the bat, or criticised further down the line for proving false. In turn, they have not given any recent updates other than they intend for the track work to be done ready for 2019. Assuming this is still needs to be agreed within the development, we'll see if that happens or not. Having seen a little movement on site (by little I do mean little) and heard a couple of whispers I am hopeful that at least the track work will commence and be ready for the opening of this season. There isn't much breathing space left for further delay and worst case, we'll turn up in April ready to watch on the existing track. I'm betting there are some Rockets, Hammers & Comets fans (along with others) who would like to be in a similar position

The SS can include amendments or news items as long as it is received on Tuesday Morning..

Interested to know how Bickley signed a Glasgow contract at 2.00am

The restaurant is there, same as it has been for years. We're just unsure whether it will have had it's long overdue refurb. But familiar dishes will still be on the menu and we'll still be able to eat and drink until our heart is content

not sure what point you're making . they knew they were sacking him but didn't tell him until after they had agreed a deal with his replacement . they were fairer than i would have been , i would have left him to read it in the speedway star.

Pretty sure he pulled out of one meeting after his first ride due to a hand injury playing him up? Im certain i read he had injured it on a mountain bike but darned if i know where i read that.

The problem with the club has been the attitude to anyone who the dare question the stadium not being built ...Most Speedway fans not just Swindon fans have given little chance of the stadium being built given that Osbourne Clark has failed to build one about five times before and thou's fans have been meet with your and no fan of Swindon or why do question it as we are better off than teams that have closed down etc etc In the end there comes a time when the club has distance itself from statements like there is a metal stadium ready being built and ready to move down to Swindon asap even if they have been told that . The club should just wait to something happens rather than keep passing on info that the public no longer believes anymore .

Did he aye.

Utter pish from THJ as per usual.

On paper it is a very poor team for me. But as we all k ow. Things ain't won on paper and this team very nearly won it all last year. So dont right them off just yet.

I seem to remember Jonn Louis having a titanic battle with Bruce Penhall at the 1979 BLRC at Hyde Road. The tiger was past his best, but a well deserved winner on the night.

Also there is a 2 page spread on Bickley with his sponsors on page 32 and 33 with Bickley talking about signing for Glasgow ... After getting the Star for over 40 years even I know they don’t do articles like that in 3 days .. The Stars articles like that are planned weeks in advance not published within days

reading around, i dont think many others have been impressed by the way the team has been announced this year. Hopefully they take it on board and try something else next year.

Don't give up the day job.

I cant for the life of me think where I saw it either but thats the one!

The worst bit is that no hopers can get points off other no hopers. Of course there will be differences in level but a short time ago the league was made up of NL reserves, almost NL reserves and then riders who were working towards being almost NL reserves. Now its peppered with riders who do not compete in the top tiers of amateur meetings, riders who make 4 laps look difficult and a few who barely get a slide on. This difference in level is dangerous both to riders on track and the credibility of the leagues.

It is very strange Bagpuss, it is like opening a new restaurant but not telling anyone the menu.!!! I thought maybe they could of been frightened of announcing that Puk was not doing this season.A real shame as that top two is a very potent one and i feel Puk would of been on it this year..

http://www.ipswich-ssc.co.uk/index.php/events Supporters club holding meet the riders night, Monday 18th March in Woodbridge. Info on how to get your tickets

Telling someone to do that your lot wouldn't do themselves.

take your blinkers off Steve, just because your'e in the pits or on the centre concrete every week doesn't mean everything is rosey.

It's an interesting question, but is it really a subject for "Years Gone By"?

You look at the way your club is run by Mr Ford he is a modern promoter he does consider the fans because he knows they are his bread/ butter.. Without the fans he has nothing,what disappoint's me is that i still feel with everyone pulling together in the same direction the sport can get through this tough period.But it feels like the fan does not have a voice and are invisable gutting really because the sport we all love can still be exciting.It is a good job us Brits are not like the Germans because when they are unhappy they show it by there feet by not turning up.

Well worth the sleepless night!!!!!! Wonder who is next lol

Surprise !!! TJ announced as the sixth rider...….

Apologies if I was wrong, but that how your post came across....

Lol it's Thursday, it's raining, so it must be speedway!!! Thank goodness it was just signing on night, all those brilliant volunteers signing up ready to get the speedway on next month!!

Did Buster Chapman mention to you about the no holds barred interview with the Peterborough Evening Telegraph he would be doing after his return from New Zealand or has he conveniently put it to the back of his mind and hopes all fans will forget about it just like he has done

Glasgow still over hyped

That sarcastic comment was neither necessary or funny. Sidney is a regular poster on the Stars thread and voices many honest opinions. Pity there weren't more like him....

Honestly The truth always comes out in the end and how embarrassing or at least it would be embarrassing for normal folk, but just reading the Speedway Star this week and the comments from "Cami (knickers) Brown" of the "Glasgow Grave Robbers" made interesting reading to say the least where it stated "Luke Chessell and Joe Lawlor have got bags of potential and we will all have to support them and I'm confident we can all do that" he went on to say "the boot camp was a huge success a year ago, it really inspires togetherness and strikes up some good banter" Honestly PMSL In the Vatican (Captain Nelson) Maryport Friday night I got the truth off "In the Know" Tony over a pint of Cumberland Classic. The credentials of Tony are impeccable as he is from a long line of sheep and cattle rustlers in the best "border reivers" tradition and Tony is currently the the West Cumberland Ferret Wrangling Champion after winning his third title in 2018. I first met Tony in a competition that is held every November at the Bridge Inn, Santon Bridge, in memory of Will Ritson (1808–1890), a pub landlord from Wasdale, Tony has all the inside gossip on everything and holds court in the Vatican most nights and he reckons "Vape Gate" was just a smoke screen for the sacking of young Joe Lawlor. Tony is that man down the pub everyone quotes, that friend of a friend who is in the know, the answer to that question who told you that, well I have outed him as it's Tony The truth was stranger than fiction as Tony explained: Part of the team building exercise was to break wind in "top note" which is a C-sharp which all of the riders easily achieved, in fact some without even lifting a leg, with the exception of two; those two were Craig Cook and Joe Lawlor. Apparently no matter how hard Joe pushed and shoved and manipulated his posterior he could only reach a B-flat; it was at this point Cami (knickers) Brown stated that this was very disappointing and a game changer as the required note was a C-sharp with no exceptions. Joe pleaded his case and pointed out that a B-flat is also an A-sharp which was only two semi tones lower than the required level and with a bit of time, patience and coaching he was sure he could squeak out the required C-sharp note. However Cami (knickers) Brown was having none of it and said he would have to let Joe go. He pointed out that he wasn't sacked and would receive a good reference if he was to find other employment. As a last throw of the dice and trying to defend his position Joe pointed out that Craig had not made a singe squeak right through the whole exercise at which Cami (knickers) Brown advised as Craig had been elevated to sainthood now being "St Craig of Glasgow" all external befouling orifices had sealed over as was the case in all Angels and as he did not now have a sphincter he was exempt from the musical note exercise. On leaving a despondent and disappointed Joe asked all the other guys especially the ex Workington ones how they managed to meet such a high note as a C-sharp they pointed out as soon as they found out what they were being paid off Glasgow it was quite easy. Joe didn't really understand this but just left a lonely and dejected figure. With this new team position open Glasgow approached Kyle Bickley and told him there was a vacancy however he had to attain the impressive C-sharp note delivering said note by natural means only; using muscle control, bodily dexterity, beans and peas as a medium as a family club like Glasgow do not condone drugs to induce a production of wind. Kyle said it was a big ask but he would try, however Cami (knickers) Brown played his ace card and said to Kyle before you start let me tell you what you will get in remuneration, three new frames and two new engines; £20,000 signing on fee with £20,000 additional sign on from a sponsor, £150 a point and another £150 a point off a sponsor and if he got a 15 point maximum he would get an additional £500 as a bonus so £5 grand for a 15 point maximum and he would be paid in full as he exited the shower after the meeting in cash. Well at this news Kyle's sphincter naturally tightened and Cami (knickers) Brown thought it was with the thought and excitement of such a fantastic deal on offer that Kyle let loose with the most perfect C-sharp note from his posterior allowing him instant access to the Glasgow inner sanctum. However the real reason that Kyle hit this note wasn't for the fact of the fantastic deal on offer as every parent will attest to; as a teenager Kyle doesn't get washed and it was his fear of not getting paid that produced the posterior gripping note not the deal. So there you have it folks the facts as explained by "In the Know" Tony and remember if your pumps have lumps invariably your cami knickers will turn brown and as ever its all done in the "Best Possible Taste" Apologies for the long winded (Giggidy) response and hopefully it doesn't go over the heads of the blind followers of Glasgow and they can smell the same wafts of bull everyone else is getting. One final prediction "The Glasgow Grave Robbers turn into the Glasgow Gloaters by the end of the season" Regards THJ

Maybe you've not fully digested Peter's statement, or understood the relevant parts. Joe's actions went beyond the realms of Glasgow Tigers speedway. Allied Vehicles are a major employer in Glasgow - they employ over 600 people. Their reputation was put at risk with the hotel chain, the Chief Fire officer and the significant number of hotel guests who had to evacuate their rooms and stand in a car park in the middle of the night. I'm confident some, if not significantly more, of those guests would have been complaining at reception the next morning. So if you were the Glasgow promotion and weighed up the full extent of Joe's actions and the potential impact on your major business - would the availability of a replacement rider be in the forefront of your mind? I very much doubt it.

A lot to like about that, I think the club were trying their best not to hurt Joe's reputation but unfortunately he failed to grasp that opportunity. Personally I don't think it would have mattered what the tone of the post was, those with their own agendas would have sought to take advantage.

Sad that a club director has to go to this length to dispel all the crap posted about Glashow Tigers. Time to move on nothing more to be seen here

Direct from Peter Facenna on Facebook, no need to apologise Midget, blobby etc. I don’t usually respond to comments on social media, however on this occasion due to some of the comments that I have read above and that are being made elsewhere, I feel I must. The reason I am choosing to comment here and not release a further statement through official club channels, is that the events that unfolded in the early hours of Friday morning are not going to help us attract new fans to our sport and are likely to be of little interest to anyone who is not already a speedway fan. I had very much hoped that I wouldn’t have had to go into detail about the events that unfolded, mainly to spare Joe the indignity and give him a chance to seek out another opportunity, however as he has chosen to not tell the full story and instead go out of his way to criticize the club, Joe is no longer my concern. Below are the facts, which are not based on hearsay and have not been embellished. The reason why we choose to base ourselves at the Village Hotel in Glasgow during our pre-season training camp, is that our health and fitness expert, Ray Watts, and his business, Pegasus Training, are based there. Ray is a volunteer at the speedway as well as a personal friend. Our camp started off well on Thursday with a tough fitness test session in the gym, followed by a chat around what it meant to ride for the Tigers, what we are all about as a club, and what we expect from the boys on and off track, based on the fact that they are not only representing Glasgow Tigers, but are also representing Allied Vehicles Group, a substantial employer and well known business in Glasgow. After going out for a meal together and having some fun ten-pin bowling, I dropped the boys off at the hotel at about 21:00. Having come home and gone to bed, I was woken at 00:37 by a call from one of our riders, who proceeded to tell me that after he had returned to his room from the Bar, Joe had set the fire alarm off, that the entire hotel had been evacuated, and that the fire brigade were on site. Furthermore, because Joe had been arguing with hotel staff, including the manager, as well as arguing with the Chief Fire Officer (all whilst wearing his Glasgow Tigers/Allied Vehicles jacket), he had been barred from returning to the hotel. Joe had told the other riders that he had no money to go anywhere else, so I contacted Paul and asked if he could make sure that Joe had somewhere to stay and that whatever it cost, I would give him it back the next morning. Unfortunately, a lot of the nearby hotels were full, so James and Paul had to walk a mile and a half with Joe until they found a hotel that had a room available. The hotel was the Radisson Blu and the room cost £131, which Paul paid and which I paid Paul back on Friday morning. On the Thursday afternoon due to Ray’s relationship with the hotel, we were afforded a great welcome and were provided with a meeting room and a function room that we were able to set up a studio in, all without charge. When I arrived at the hotel early Friday morning, I met Ray and apologised profusely for the embarrassment that Joe’s actions must have caused him. Ray and I then sought out the Manager of the hotel so that I could apologise in person. During my conversation with the Manager, who was very understanding and praised the other riders for their behaviour during the incident, he informed me that Joe had shown no remorse for his actions and had created a scene with his staff and the fire fighters. He also told me that had this not been the case, Joe would have been allowed back into the hotel. I informed Joe on Friday morning that he had caused reputational damage to me, to Glasgow Tigers and Allied Vehicles, and to Ray, who had gone out of his way to ensure that we were well looked after by the hotel. I then informed Joe that on the back of this misdemeanour, he would no longer be riding for the Tigers. I suggested to Joe that he could try to change his train ticket so that he could get home, however he informed me that his dad was coming to collect him. It’s been reported that Joe was ‘left stranded’ in Glasgow on Friday, however had Joe informed me that he wasn’t able to change his train ticket and that his dad couldn’t come and collect him until much later, I would have arranged another train ticket for him, despite the hassle that he’d given me that morning. I also offered to get the items he had left in his room dropped off at his house next week. As for the comments stating that we simply dropped Joe for Kyle and that this was always planned, I can assure you that this is not the case. Kyle did get in touch when he lost his ride at Workington but was firmly told that we already had our team and that we didn’t have a space for him. If making this team change was always planned, we would have done this weeks ago, before going to the expense of bringing Joe up to the training camp, kitting him out in all our team wear, buying a set of hiking boots for him, and ordering Kevlars for him, which thankfully haven’t been produced yet. The bottom line is that if Joe hadn’t acted the way he did on Thursday night/Friday morning, he would still be a Tiger and would be joining us at the Supporters’ Group event tonight. Joe is a character and applied himself well during our initial gym sessions, however the club and its main sponsor cannot tolerate our reputation being damaged in the way it was, especially after a conversation only a few hours earlier about how professional we wish our club to be and about how our riders are representing Allied Vehicles as well as Glasgow Tigers. It’s a shame it has not worked out for Joe with us, but I wish him well for the future. Out with this incident, our training camp has been a great success, and I look forward to the Supporters’ Group event this evening, where fans will get to meet our 2019 team. This is the last statement I or the club will be making on the matter.

An that shows what you actually know about Craig Cook, cookies past is anything but quite let me tell you. They had Bickley lined up all along, wake up an smell the coffee

Cookie would not have be that stupid and bet the 400 customers that were evacuated at 2 in the morning and had to wait for 2 hours outside we’re not happy about it either more to it than meets the eye

probably another brown envelope for mr Lawlor !

The cars Hans Kirimar designed are called "Rebels" and they race on both shale and tarmac tracks around the country. Their 2019 fixture list has 23 dates including dates at Stoke and Mildenhall. The Rebels would never have been run on a track bigger than a quarter of a mile as with 750cc Reliant engines they would run out of revs long before the end of the straights. They are a contact class which are probably more fun to drive than watch although I have seen some very good races from them.

The reason for the decline for me is the sport no longer has anything left for the supporters to get ramped up about. The whole working man's aspect has disappeared. Rider punch ups, deliberate fencing, aggressive racing, argumentative managers with referee's etc. It's all gone. The sport is to clean cut, rider's all mate's. No passing is attempted much unless an easy opportunity presents itself. For the supporters, more often than not you part with your hard earned, listen to abysmal centre green presentation, abysmal music, abysmal processional racing, abysmal atmosphere but people claim £17-£18 is cheap for a "professional" sport?!?!? The sport currently, is so abysmal, many wouldn't part with a £1 on a weekly basis with the extra costs of meeting day fuel, food and drink etc. British Speedway is in an absolute quagmire and there's absolutely no chance of a fix. British Speedway is 'bleeding out' and waiting for it's last breath to be taken. I firmly now believe that the promoters know then end is coming and are intentionally winding down the sport until it's completely unviable. Clubs are now closing as buyers are impossible to come by. I think we just have to get into the mind set for the inevitable. Those that still get enjoyment will continue, those that don't will never return, that's where we are, the point of no return folks.

Why are they calling it the supporters cup when so many supporters seem against it and most certainly have not voted for it , maybe when it fails miserably then they can blame the fans for it . It should be renamed BSPA bright idea cup and see if they can get BIC pens to sponsor it

It''s a pathetic idea, it might work for strictly come dancing where viewers have the comfort of a warm environment and a cosy armchair but sitting on a hard seat in a cold outdoor situation is a bit different who wants to be kept waiting an extra length of time just because someone has come up with a brain dead idea

It should have been Stars/Panthers/Witches in one group then Buster could have started penning his press release about how proud he was having a team qualify for the final.

Can only be thankful the Championship teams stayed well clear of this, I know it’s something different but don’t see it being the answer.

Card payments at the gate for the speedway were in operation last season Baldy, and are again this coming season. Used it myself and it was so handy not having to stop off at a cash machine on the way. About time too!

There was a big launch for the Titanic and look what a disaster that was.