Leaderboard

Just read that Dennis McCleary is stepping down as Co promoter and cutting back on his work with Bandits and Football,wish him all the best,his contribution to the Speedway over the years was immense and will be greatly missed.A gentleman IMO.

Are you really a Belle Vue fan, or are you another forum member posing under another name? Why are going on about the stadium like you are? Swindon fans know there are concerns, but we don't need supporters of other tracks coming here and taking the mickey about it, just because they now have their own new track. I think there's only one person who needs to grow up.

For the work Dennis has done over the years, much of it un-noticed, Berwick Rangers and Berwick Speedway owe him a huge debt of gratitude. As you say a gentleman.

If it does end in tears so be it, no good worrying about it it is out of the supporters hands, me personally i am just grateful we still have some speedway to watch in 2019.As time goes on i am more hopeful that the club might still have a future because to be honest i thought it might be over by now all the fans can do is support the club while it is still there.

As opposed to all seven looking a complete shambles from the get go? Some people still live in the past and that’s part of the problem Speedway has these days. I suggest everyone takes a look at the link to the Look East programme posted on the Ipswich thread. Ipswich look like a professional outfit of a professional sport, exactly the way it SHOULD be, instead of people harking on about the good old days of the 70’s when riders had individual identity with race bibs and numbers made out of gaffer tape that was half falling off. As I said, people need to stop living in the past.

Blue tints worn if anyone remembers all the racing in days gone by as better and closer! The only difference between now and then is that they raced in front of much healthier crowds. The top class riders still finished way ahead of the lesser lights.

My personal take on that is that it is a bit different from actively selling season tickets and advertising "You'll be able to watch the second half of the season from the new grandstand" as you had originally said. I believe assurances were being given by Stadia UK a way into the 2016 season that work would be complete by July. This obviously proved false and we are where we are. Most Swindon fans have been following this saga since 2008 when original plans were outlined without a Speedway track included in them. We're 11 years on, 2 league titles on and still racing, with track alterations now taking place as is part of the revised plans. We're all well aware of our Landlords track record (no pun intended), but can at least see our Promotion are sticking to what they have said they would do.

A good positive piece on BBC look East last night. They certainly look the part teaching Poole a few lessons.

Someone has to be bottom Of course a team towards the top will be more attractive than one lower down due to it being natural to want to link to success and greater TV exposure etc I stand by the claim that higher profile sponsors would expect that type of professional set up rather than a rag bag of different coloured suits and bibs with different sized and style detachable numbers etc

In Poole's case that would/ could be 14 x £500-600

For anyone that missed it.. I hope the link works. From 20.00 mins https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0003hnp/look-east-evening-news-18032019

I feel that if a rider is involved in British league speedway, he should offer to ride in the Bonanza. If, heaven forbid, he is injured in Britain and he's constantly bodyswerved this meeting, how could he have the nerve to ask for their help? As for riders who have been helped financially in the past, yet pulled out on Sunday, well.....

At the end of the day, IRR was introduced so the paying public would as least be treat to the same level as they had paid for. It tries to match the teams, instead of a team using reserves and makes the races a mockery and a good meeting is spoiled. In saying that, most tactical rules should only apply to the top 2 divisions, and let the NL to use reserves.

LIke him or hate him, he did try things to spruce things up.

...........and tapping up riders via text!!

Have you read the IRR Rule? It states if a rider is injured then any rider under his average can take an additional ride. It is not the best 3 riders all take a ride each. It is much fairer if a no1 gets injured than having reserves take rides.

I wouldn't bring Poole into the conversation lol Just beat the beggars on track, all of us need to do that and get our timing right too!

Zagar back for the Peter Craven meeting then!!?

And at Coventry

By the stadium owner, not by the speedway promotion who are guilty of nothing other than, perhaps, being a big naïve in believing everything they are being told. It's good to, at least, see something happening there, but it seems it's the club that are doing it rather than the owners.

Hate to be "that person" who corrects you but Shanes did plenty of Speedway prior to signing for PL Poole. Starting out in the MDL before limited appearances at Plymouth & Coventry where he didn't pull up a lot of trees to be fair. Even when he signed for Kent he would score well but couldn't gate for toffee. His attacking style suits some CL tracks and thats where he started to gather interest before joining the Pirates. Not going to debate his ability/potential too much but fear his Grass style will continue to hold him back a bit on many more technical tracks and despite very strong sponsorship is still behind with the financial clout that Brennan & Zac Waj have.

Easy to confuse the riders, otherwise yes very professional........but the big whammy 2 guest riders in your team & the whole thing look's a shambles!!!!

Well done to the witches. Racesuits and covers look great. What ever happens this season its good to have you back in the prem.

The only main differences between the riders own suits and club ones will be the team colours, each rider tells the manufacture where he wants his own sponsor logos on the suit so basically no real difference , the only time I can remember a club insisting on putting a non sponsor logo was last year when Glasgow put the Greg Mackie training academy logo on all the suits which all the riders were happy about , and it also saves the rider £6/700 before the season starts Glasgow have had individual fans sponsor each suits and they got to keep them when the season is over not that there's much left of it after a season and this year it's Grant Henderson Tankers who has sponsored all the team suits

And IMO this is the major point Yes it is extra expense and yes you dont win because of a fancy suit and covers BUT any future upturn in the sport will be down to attracting quality higher profile sponsors They would only want to showcase themselves is this kind of professional manner

1968 to 1977 10 seasons 1978 to 1987 10 seasons 1988 to 1997 10 seasons 1998 to 2007 10 seasons 2008 to 2017 10 seasons 2018 1 season 2019 new season will be the 52 nd season as you state. Did it this way for Dick

I don't really have an issue with TS or IRR. I have no doubt, though, that the NDL was fine without them.

Mauger did not finish ahead of Jim Tebby in one race.!!!!

But he's BRITISH World Champion who nobody gets to see race/ride here, of course this meeting isn't done for much money and of course it's no challenge or test for him, I nev3r said it was, in fact I have said the opposite ...... anyway I won't say anything else on the matter, we'll never agree about Tai.

Same old people Same old Tai bashing from the same old people......why would Tai risk this meeting against largely inferior opposition and possibly get injured? Tai promotes British Speedway more than any other British rider. Where was Worrall, Cook, Ellis, Lambert, Howarth , Lawson and Harris........anybody want to have a moan about that......... Tai bashers on here just need to get a life

The shortening of the track alone will not allow the housing to be built. Read the planning conditions. As Sid states if we get better racing on a shorter track, that is good.

One per issue would be fine, Steve. It's good that you take an interest and actively get involved.

Great to see work on the track has at least started, hopefully helps produce better racing and crowd numbers increase.

Tell you something Steve i never ever thought that a bigger track would deteriorate as much in a short space of time as the Abbey has.I believe the straights are to big for the bikes now and if this track is shaped on the Somerset model it has to help to provide better racing.

Peterborough also had matching covers under Rick & Julie. The Ipswich kit definitely looks superb

woffy was making plenty of effort yesterday to promote, encourage British speedway just not at Leicester maybe you should be asking where lambert was and not tai because tai was doing his bit.

Just reading about our numbers 1s pathetic non existent preparation yesterday i have never known a silencer come off on the way to tapes .There would have to be 3 things over looked for this to happen i hope this is not a sign of things to come.

Poole favourites for the title with Bet 365, just ahead of BV . Guess they have learnt by now that you never write Poole off..

Because he's a Brit and maybe he could just make the effort over here for his fans, race instead of talk ...

Adams has to rate as one of the greatest team managers of all time with his success for Wolves and Cradley. Hasnt he been in the corner of 3 world champions, with Woffy being the most recent?

When team racesuits are made for each rider, all their individual sponsors go on to that individuals racesuit.

I went to a British Basketball League match today.... Plymouth Raiders v London Lions. It's not my favourite sport, but it was a good afternoon's entertainment. What's really striking about it compared to speedway is that not a single minute is wasted. Even when it is time-outs or the end of quarters, there are dancers, the mascot is up to something, kids competitions, lights, music..it is a full show. In short, it's light years ahead of speedway. And surprise, surprise, it is packed with families and the sort of demographic everyone on this forum would love to see at the speedway. I've said it before and I'll say it again...and again and again. Speedway's problem is not that it isn't what it used to be. IT'S THAT IT HASN'T CHANGED ENOUGH!

The Aces took part in the Remembering Belle Vue event at the beautiful restored Gorton Monastery today. The whole event was great with displays and talks about the “zoo” and it’s illustrious past, which of course the speedway played/plays a big part of.

Great effort by Charles at Leicester today

Workington have a great race track never seen a poor meeting there.

To be honest, no none promoting manager should be considered a legend of any club. The only job they do really is try to motivate rider's. When required to do anything tactical, I find Middlo and Rosco inept. Peter Adams is one of the best tacticians out there. The other thing on the side of Adams and Rosco over Middleditch, they put their own money into the club's as promoters and have a say who's signed and replaced. Whereas Matt Ford does all the leg work at Poole. No matter which way you look at it, Middleditch has stolen a good wage from Ford for 20yrs. He would be found out with a new promoter in charge, he knows it so is jumping ship. Middleditch brings nothing to Poole Speedway.

Agreed. Should have left the NDL rocking along without TS. They slash the points limit ridiculously low because they want to bring in the young 2.00 kids.... ...and then in the next breath they bring in TS, so one of those young kids is going to have to give up a ride to the No.1, whereas on the other side their youngsters are going to come up against the opposing No.1 who can now have a 6th ride.

I'd highly doubt it.. whats the point in paying £500+ per suit, when you can get a set of race jackets made for £350

Just a couple of paragraphs then.