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Don’t agree, some people, IMO, had made their mind up long before the Cummings trouble (which was stirred by the presses hate for him). People were blatantly breaking any and all the rules set from day one.

To be fair (and trying not to come across as a Monarch) (Smug) it was pointed out to Glasgow fans 2+ years back that the club was losing cash hand over fist and that the place was being underwritten by the Facenna family business for six figure sums per annum as a corporate social responsibility on their company accounts and that this had been the case from when they first purchased to spot... yet the argument at that time was totally denounced as lies and jealousy; however "The Red" documentary has proved this to be fact... I also agree where you state that Glasgow and their fans are in a very fortunate position with such generous benefactors as the Facenna family and it also needs noting that this isn't their personal accounts or wealth that is being impacted but that of their main business and as long as they run the club as a charity on the basis of it being an aim of their main companies corporate social responsibility to support local sport and their main business remains profitable then this is fine and long may it reign... However the motor industry are having hard times at present... Crunch time will come if they ever sell their business and the new board/owners make a decision as to whether they will continue to support sports in the the local community or pay their shareholders a larger dividend... this is when it may come down to the Facenna family to underwrite the club with their own hard earned cash and at £100k plus a year losses its difficult to see this happening unless there were changes... I would suggest the club would no longer be allowed to live beyond its means if they stayed in charge under that type of scenario... I would also suggest the main reason that Glasgow have been honest and up front about saying they are not running is more down to the logistics and them having the common sense to see that it will be a logistical and financial nightmare to try and run Speedway without it costing even more money... Why run and lose say another £100k over half or quarter of a season when you can shut up shop and lose nothing (or very little) by not running at all... you have to respect what the promotion have done and I have been reliably informed that there will be no penalty imposed on Glasgow or any club for that matter should they decide not to run which is quite correct IMHO... and having 6 overseas riders in the team this year would raise problems. The Glasgow promotion I am sure would have much rather preferred to run if it wasn't for the issues raised in these strange Covid ravaged times and they have been brave enough to grasp the nettle with both hands and well done to them for doing so; they wont be the last promotion to make or take this decision I am sure of that and it will be interesting to see which way the BSPL jump (eventually) with regards to trying to run a fixture list which has so many hurdles to navigate before a wheel is turned... it just may be totally beyond them... The other thing of note on here are the vastly different opinions as to whether the sport should run at all this season and the questions that are being raise and the debate it is generating... I was in the "speedway should run camp" when this thing broke but now I am starting to think "should we? it may not be a good idea" and slowly residing myself to the fact that "maybe its not a good idea and we should write the season off totally" a fascinating debate. Interesting times and as stated well done Glasgow it may start the ball rolling on a definitive decision on whether we move forward or not and possibly give it up as a bad joke; write the season off and look to next year... But I honestly think we may still be in some form of Covid 19 impacted life style come the start of next season so we may be no further forward... I sincerely hope not but we will see... Regards THJ

Well look on the positive side as with Glasgow not running that will be at least two less defeats for The Monarch's this year.

I cant for one minute believe hed be able to read this forum and not post. He will be back somewhere under a different name, possibly an alias he had before he even went to prison.

Why does everyone assume Glasgow have got bottomless pockets? If you have watched the recent In The Red documentary you will have heard the promotion saying they loose about £100k a season. Glasgow are very lucky to have owners that not only support speedway but also invest in the area including the junior (equivalent of non-league) football team but there is a limit to how long the Facenna's can be expected to dig into their personal accounts. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Glasgow have been honest and up front about saying they are not running. Having 6 overseas riders in the team this year must also raise problems.

Excellent post THJ... For me it always comes down to finance, so if there is any racing it probably only should be done by those who can either comfortably finance any losses or feel that their buisness plan, (with all the Covid 19 restrictions), can deliver a profit.. And those who fall within that criteria may be very few in numbers I would think.. Personally, I think a season of no losses/minimal losses, for the vast majority of teams who seem to lose high five figure sums annually, might not be the worst scenario in the world. Especially if they use the money saved as a promotional budget next year, to really make an impact both locally as an independent business, and nationally as a BSPL collective..

Could be argued that Ward’s subsequent maturing was a result of his ban. Fate then stepped in with regard to his injury. Never liked the bloke personally but his talent on a bike was undeniable. We all make mistakes and do stupid things when we’re young too.

That reminds me of the joke" Man comes home and says to his wife "What would you do if I won the lottery?"" She answers "I'd take half and leave you!!" He says ""Well I just won $100-here's fifty bucks now f**k off". Sorry Steve but when I read your post I just couldn't resist it !! Keep smilin' and keep well all during this weird time.

Many top athletes are nut jobs but make world champion. Has there ever been a bigger nutter than Mike Tyson? Ward in his final season seemed to of matured and was superb , i have no doubt he would of gone on to be world champion. Its a shame his accident happened, as he was seemingly maturing .

Finnish SM-liiga will start on June 17th at Seinäjoki with all five teams taking part. With current covid-19 restrictions in place until the end of July we are allowed to have sporting events for the athletes + crowd of 500. So basically business as usual with social distancing added. We have a few meetings from May postponed without a new date, but expect them all (except LT) to find a new date later in the year. If there a second wave of covid19 things might change. But ATM is going ahead. For a second year the series has a facebook site under ”speedway sm-liiga”.

What a classy statement

As a Supermarket manager I can 1000% concur....

Cardiff. End of conversation.

Berwick are planning a behind closed doors practice session for their British based riders this Saturday.

Just as an aside, the University have agreed to move my 2020 accommodation booking to the 2021 dates.

Tonight Ipswich take on Arena Essex from 2004:

I've seen some great racing at Cardiff in a great atmosphere and some awful racing I've seen some awful processional spaced out racing at NSS in cold and some great racing at NSS in the warm People can very easily grow misconceptions and see everything as black and white.

I imagine a fair few are clinging on as they are sitting on season ticket holders money and pulling the plug would mean they have to pay everyone out. Glasgow with a few quid are maybe in a better position to repay fans.

It is hard to understand how any speedway club hasn’t got the same issues clearly highlighted in the Glasgow promotion’s statement. Speedway barely attracts breakeven attendances on a warm sunny evening .... to suggest they will be able to attract breakeven attendances under current circumstances ain’t going to happen. Parents aren’t happy to let their kids go back to school, let alone go out for the evening to a speedway track. As for the more mature sections of society many of them are still reluctant to leave their homes to collect groceries, let alone go out for the evening at a speedway track. All understandable of course .... but doesn’t make Speedway in the UK likely in 2020. I don’t see any proposals from BSPA on spectator safety being promulgated to build confidence........pointless statements saying they are ready to start the season as soon as possible.....so how about each stadium to be assessed for maximum attendance to allow safe distancing. Pre booked online tickets for meetings .. no at the gate ticket sales each ticket has a bookable allotted arrival and departure time window with allocated seating/ standing area.... no wandering around the track permitted. face coverings must be worn at trackside Management of riders/ mechanics to follow polish ekstraliga rules. NO IDEA how you manage toilet facilities. Some tracks have toilets with very cramped facilities ( Eastbournebeing one I know) with no means of safe entry/exit without bumping into people. Sadly the decision making will be like that of rain offs ..... yes the season is definitely ON ON ON and then suddenly it will be OFF. ☹️☹️☹️

I think you are right cant see greyhounds until later in the year anyway . all the dogs will have to be trialled again round the stadium race track . will be to late for speedway then I think Glasgow had the right idea wait until next year just my opinion of course

Is it? Surely they should come to a decision together and come out with a statement regarding the season that applies to all clubs. What we will get, instead, is clubs dropping out one-by-one, which isn't a good way to present things.

Very smart and sensible decision by The Glasgow owner. Other clubs should be realistic and honest and write off this year. To pretend that meaningful speedway will take place this year is totally ridiculous. It is farcical to think that speedway will run, even behind closed doors, as it would be financial madness.

Yeh that was him. Got sent down for being a nonce pretty much. https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/16202734.internet-paedophile-jailed-after-also-making-621-secret-films-of-people-urinating-at-music-festivals/

Someone who is always right and obsessed with stats......hmmm, who might that be?

Rumours on the grapevine is Somerset is one to, which I hope is not true. But I do think that there will be a few more teams that will not start this short season.

Must be a record for this cheerful forum. Rubbishing 2021 before 2020 has ended. I need a stiff drink.

While there is a administrative ruling body individual teams must be able to make decisions and not be forced into competing because the majority of its members do want to run. As the Glasgow Promotion have pointed out the Scottish Government have different restrictions and rules in place to that imposed by Westminster so running North of the Border could be different. If speedway is run this year it will be on a very diluted level with the unavailability of overseas riders having a major impact. A diluted sport can only be harmful and would do nothing to attract new fans or sponsors. Plus we don't want to put further stress on the NHS by sending injuries to A&E dept in these times. I would suggest this is an ideal time for the ruling bodies to have a good think about the future of the sport and decide in which direction to move forward. Stay safe everyone and remember there is more to life than speedway

Personally this decision is the correct and sensible one. This virus will return with a vengance at some point. My youngest daughter is a nurse working on the covid ward at the Queen Elizabeth. and in her words to me is to be careful whilst out working as the things she has seen and had to do are horrific. So with a predominately ageing fan base this is the only decision to be made.

Honestly What a shame and the reasoning behind the statement makes total sense... promotion doing what they deem is the right thing for the safety of their fan base... fair play to them and I don't think they will be the last... unfortunately... Regards THJ

Very sensible and mature decision by the Glasgow Management tonight. And they are to be applauded in the honest and open explanation of how they came to make it. Very bad news nonetheless.

Have you sampled Barry Bishop’s new initiative called Virtual Skid? If not, then this Thursday at 6 pm either via the VS Facebook page or via YouTube, the Isle of Wight Warriors take on the Eagles in a 15 heat meeting where the action is taken from the many meetings between the sides at the Smallbrook Stadium. Eagles have a strong record of good results on the Island so a virtual away win looks very likely. The initiative got a good report in a recent Speedway Star, Barry explains the format at the outset so why not give it a go. The first couple of VS meetings have ended up with last heat deciders and the whole thing last just over an hour.

I have to say the Star has been very interesting during the pandemic. An exceptional effort in my view.

We are speedway fans. We want the track and not a warehouse.

Absolutely, that money should be put in a separate account. Not used to service over areas of the business.

Another trophyless season for the Possilpark Tigers.