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Great arcticle by Liam Waite in the News and Star this morning, even made the front page headline. https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/19724272.workington-speedway-legend-steve-lawson-plans-return-sport-town/

To me there are obvious words that are offensive and i don't use them. But i do find that these days someone will find offence in almost anything and everything to the point where i am not sure what i can and can't say anymore. I even thought twice about posting my views on here in case i offended someone with my point of view.

To be honest, I think people trying to brush the use of said P word as no different to saying "Aussie" are just being deliberately obtuse. It's pretty clear to anyone with a modicum of sense that it's not just about a shortened version of the country where someone is from. It is also about context, and I think we all know that the context in which people are called such a thing is, in general, racist. That is why the term is seen as a racist term. Does that really need explaining? I'm not so sure it does to be honest. Saying it isn't is the same as saying it's not racist for people to throw bananas at black footballers because you wouldn't be offended if someone threw an apple at you.

Seeing as I went to that meeting: 1. They already had Novak in for Bailey in that heat and considering Bailey's win wasn't til the heat after then they were both on zero at the time, so I can see why they left it til H11 at the time. 2. The gate thing was a bit random but obviously thought it was going to be close on aggregrate near the end of the meeting.

It's good to know that a Workington fan has followed the Glasgow team around the country and is therefore in a position to comment on the abilities of the team manager. Perhaps you can comment on how you reached your conclusion. Runner up in the play offs and league and semi finalists in the Cup seems no to bad to me and a lot better than other managers. Just asking.

Who

There would be absolutely zero in it for the bees as it would provide just the ammunition that the stadium owners are looking for .That being " the stadium is surplus to requirements enhancing their desire for planning to build houses."

Anders Rowe fits.

A few Panthers fans seem reluctant to include Ostergaard or Andersen in the team for 2022, not quite sure why because both contributed well to our last two Champions years of 2006 and 2021 and it’s clear they are well liked by both the fans and management. For what it’s worth I think our side will be little changed for 2022 on the basis why change a team when it’s clearly a winning side, obviously one change has to be made for the retirement of Pedersen but other than that I see little point in unsettling what was clearly a great team that rode well together and clearly gelled from day one.

More fuss about this in the media than the grooming gangs, says it all really.

Or once Poole are in the NDL?

All agreed what Glasgow has achieved is nothing short of fantastic and just what the sport needs but will they get any applause and recognition from there peers? NO they will be seen by the green eyed monsters as upstarts and a threat. Will they last or get fed up with the backstabbing and walk away, time will tell.

Great interview with Havvy in the Star today. Makes u realise wot riders put themselves through in their careers and also to entertain us fans. Let's HAVV-IT! #piratepride

I’d have TJ back at Berwick in a heart beat

Just get yer mits off Basso! Take the high road!

the dane’s have a mid season break any Wednesday meetings could be fitted on then like Glasgow did with sam jensen

To be fair his record on making tough calls is let's just say not the best so on this occasion reluctantly have to agree Get Neil McFarlane back is my option.

Home form should be good but not away. I can't see any riders with potential to put points on his average, its a big ask for Palin to keep putting points on his 5.69 average.

What I don't understand is why admission prices have to be the same or similar across each league?!? If a promoter feels he can make his business profitable at £5-£10 why not? It's just an odd rule to have in place imo. There has to be some kind of incentive to get people back in, a full stadium is so much more entertaining than 800 vastly spread out even if you'd be a few quid down, especially with clubs that have no rents to cover. I just find it odd

Yes a good guess. A shame really as it has the makings of a decent team but Aarnio is a poor choice as third heat leader.

It needs a complete revolution, not fiddling while Rome burns. The reality is the product and package isn't good enough...and people outside of the speedway bubble couldn't give a toss over doubling up or whatever the latest rule tweak is. My vision is for the British speedway to: move to a family-friendly weekend model be part of a multi-motorsport experience including sidecars, quads, flat track etc That's the core offering from any other motor sport experience in the UK road or off road. People of all ages get a full day out and people get to see disciplines they enjoy and others that they may want to grab a burger/pint during. I know I am biased, but I still believe (possibly foolishly) that with its stadium setting, speedway can offer a much more engaging spectacle that other motorsports. So, I still have hope. Faith is another matter. British speedway doesn't have....and never really has had....the leadership or appetite to make wholesale changes to reflect public opinion. Nor, sadly are the remaining hardcore fans blameless, they too will (largely) stubbornly oppose change even whilst their fellow hardcore supporters are slowly dwindling away before their very eyes. It requires a Barry Hearn/Dana White figure...but the potential is ultimately limited, so people of that ilk are never going to come forward. And so, we will trundle on.

It seems to me that there are two, not necessarily linked, issues with regard to the Eastbourne fixtures. 1. The Eastbourne match results are logically removed from the league tables, no argument. 2. The points scored by riders in the Eastbourne fixtures should, in my opinion, stand for the purposes of calculating averages. Those rides were seriously contested at that time and represent the ability of those riders at that moment. Therefore they should contribute to averages going forward. For sure, it would make the calculation of all riders averages a damn sight simpler.

I think Broc over Tero. Defo one for the future. Seems to score well most places.

I think the key point though, is those stadiums no longer became viable for running speedway. I'd agree much of it is down to the dogs, erm... going to the dogs, but the fact that speedway is often symbiotic with another sport and can't sustain venues by itself, sums up much of the issue. In particular, the loss of Coventry which was the 'jewel' in the speedway crown, really demonstrates how far the sport has fallen, and the loss of 'urban' venues such as Swindon shows the sport is unable to resist demand for re-development. I'd suggest the loss of those long-standing circuits is far more significant than circuits that have tended to come-and-go over the years. Even though new venues have been considered because of inadequacies of their inner city sites, no-one would serious suggest closing down Goodison Park, Aston Villa, Chelsea or Fulham even if their clubs are in debt. There's still too much at stake for it to be a realistic prospect. Which is no model for any sport to follow. By comparison, I think over half the NFL teams are able to make a profit, and probably only 25% of those make ongoing losses.

If only northern Friday night track had a spot available for him with a successful record with Danes last few years..

Jye etheridge as guest against Edinburgh up there, not replacing Sam in heat 8 at Poole in final. Tbh there's been a few decisions I've found questionable at best this season. As I've said many times before, Ian Steele was sacked for much less Oh deferring gate selection at Poole as well

He certainly looked at home on a bike,just never really had pace. Who do we think will reserve with him. I think someone like Zain’s Kennedy then if we re-sign lambo they can swop n change.

It's time for a change...love to see James grieves have a shot at it

Personally think it's a decent signing and a good use of the points available as stated earlier. Team in my opinion is built to win at home which it will.

At redcar this year in ht 14 he failed to swop the reserves, one was scoring the other wasnt , defeat from the jaws of victory !

Monty Panesar was on TV talking about it recently, making sensible distinctions between banter and aggression. He he said when he was in Australia he was walking down to fine leg and someone shouted “ Where’s your elephant ? “ and he replied “It’s got stuck in Customs” . Everyone laughed, no offence intended and none taken. But all that is a long way from more aggressive use of language. When I first heard the word P.aki it was in the context of Paki-Bashing which is highly offensive.

I was listening to somebody on the radio the other day dancing around calling somebody from New Zealand a kiwi! Or soon to be K word I clearly remember the intro to Channel 9's cricket coverage, must have been a world cup and even in that intro the song referred to the the Pakistanis as Paki's and the West Indians as Windies. Offence is not always given but often taken.

The word is simply a shortened version of Pakistani, as Aussie is a shortened version of Australian, therefore, they are similar. But, society and certainly the Asian community has decided it's a derogatory term. I watched a film on Netflix the other day, it was a 15 film and the 'C' word was used. I was surprised and a bit dumb struck that the 'C' word is acceptable for 15 year olds. Obviously 15 year olds know the word and many may use it, but is it acceptable to be used in a 15 film? Words can be sensitised and desensitised.

phew

In 2012 there were 28 stand alone tracks. Accepting that in 2022 both Birmingham and Workington will be running and, pushing it a bit, that Eastbourne would be. Taking into account Isle of Wight (who operate outside of the BSPL) - that's 21. Of those no longer operating 5 (Lakeside, Stoke, Dudley, Swindon and Coventry) were due to the loss of the stadiums (this may also apply to Kent). Rye House, Somerset & Buxton closed for financial reasons, although in Somerset's case that was more to do with the loss of revenue from their club house. While I wouldn't suggest that speedway's finances are anything but parlous, this suggests that the reason for the loss of teams is at least as much about an inability to have somewhere to race than people not being prepared to invest (with Workington and Oxford coming back, clearly they are). According to this article, the Premier League lost £2.74bn in 10 years: Explained: The ‘terrible’ state of Premier League clubs’ finances – The Athletic According to this article, the owners of Everton, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Brighton and Fulham put well over £1bn into their clubs in a 5 year period prior to 2020: Premier League owners and how much they invested or 'earned' from their clubs | Sportslens.com Even allowing for the difference between profile, revenue, turnover, sponsorship and attendances, these are extraordinary figures that make speedway's £100k losses look like peanuts but what they clearly show is - as I suggested earlier - that sports clubs may be run like businesses but they are often little less than a personal hobby (even a cursory viewing of the internet suggest that both rugby codes are no different). To really prove my point, my suspicion is that if a Birmingham supporter came up on the national lottery this weekend the future of the club would be assured, regardless of the fact that his chances of making money would be nigh on zero. An even better example would be when Mildenhall and Isle of Wight were shareholder owned; year on year, people put money in in the almost certain knowledge that they would lose it (as a Mildenhall shareholder myself, I did so). It is difficult to argue with your point that it is 'daft...to throw money at a loss making enterprise'. Yet in the case of ownership of sports teams, that is precisely what people do.

Hats off to the man. Hope the Workington fans back him in numbers.

I doubt Troy Deeney even pays child maintenance tbh.

The wheels project closed a few weeks ago and the leaseholder has handed the keys back .

Because Aussie isn't a racist term, whilst P**i clearly is and always has been used in derogatory and insulting manner in the UK (even if it didn't have these connations in Australia historically). I'm not sure why anyone is really trying to argue otherwise, whether it's said directly or otherwise. The Rafiq case is obviously complicated because he's angry about his failed career, there are possibly lifestyle factors involved there, and sports teams are full of immature laddish behaviour. I think he's being a bit unfair to Root for example, as he's not been accused of racism but probably made the wrong choice of words when trying to smooth things over. He'd also have been a young man in that environment, so it's actually to Root's credit if he wasn't part of it all. However, no-one should have to put up with idiotic comments in the workplace, especially of the sort attributed to Ballance, whether a first, second or third rate player. It's pathetic even if was intended to be banter. Of course Rafiq is not likely to complain whilst he's playing, and especially not in team with a culture like that, because he probably feared for his job. Not hard to understand.

Welcome back Ryan, glad to have you back lad... can't imagine it would have been easy last year only doing NDL until Redcar called last month of the season.. quality around scunny, really happy with that one

Ive also just been reading it. Small wonder why i only come on here to browse from time to time.

If I've done my sums correctly, I reckon that leaves 4.37 left for the final position. That would mean that Dan would remain in the 1 to 5 and not drop back to reserve (his comfort zone). There isn't much out there for that figure. Sarjeant would fit, but no thanks!

Looks likely this will be team now.

Actually it was the No.4 that should have been replaced. After 3 rides he was on zero.

Didn't know that you were also Neila. But fair play you appear to have found one example albeit you don't know the situation in the pits at that moment.

Nope. Back down to 5. You could count me out

Yes, because it wasn't offensive in Australia in the past because it wasn't used in an offensive way. The term really isn't used though now as the media there has become more aware of the international connotations. I'm sure you know very well that the P-word is a highly derogatory term in the UK, and has been for at least 50 years. What makes any word offensive - who knows - but the fact that some are trying to argue that it's just some sort of endearment really demonstrates a lot of the issue.

Shocking if Lawson has broken his contract to join Poole, obviously has no loyalty unlike his Dad

He fits at reserve for Dad's Army