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The last 100 odd pages are the same comments..... Serious case of Deja-Vu

Right,,,, TTT,,, go through it one more time what you think the team will be and why. Your version,,, Flappys version,,, Mr Ts version and Gassers version,,, and don't leave out any details

You might get quite a few if BassoRacingFan turns up with all his imaginary friends

One of the saddest days of my life when Steve passed (Betty) last Wednesday. I've know Steve since I was 9 and he was 12. I feel a sense of loss that I would usually only associate with losing a family member. He always, always took the micky out of me as I did with him but underneath there was much love and respect. I saw Steve at Thameside Hospital last Saturday and he was still talking about beating his illness. If you look in the dictionary under zest for life, the first words say, " Steve Casey". He was the most positive person I have ever met. I have so many memories of time spent with Steve, time he spent with my family. We was the most sarcastic person I have ever met, he was naturally funny even though he wasn't trying to be. He always had plans, he never stood still, there was always something to plan or look forward to and he never gave up. He used to call me and say, I've got a problem Betty with my push bike or my car or that bloody lawnmower lol, then follow that up by saying, dont bother coming round because its unfixable, there is no one alive that can fix it, knowing full well that was a red rag to a bull for me. Round Ide go and we would both get stuck in and we always, always fixed or repaired whatever it was. Steve always got the good biscuits out when I went round for a brew and a catch up, ( well that's what he told me ) He was the most gentle, entertaining, strong, determined, placid, generous man I have ever met. I count myself privileged that he considered me as a friend. My heart goes out to his beautiful daughter Mia and his girlfriend Jackie at this time. He was one in a million and I will miss him until we next meet.

Except that it wasn't.

Blanket free admission based on what? Certainly not any logic. As for PC (or non-PC may be more appropriate) really think you are clutching at straws here, he needs to do the right thing and apologise.

Are people seriously thinking of cancelling PC from their memory because this? And no, it should not have have made public as this course of action was certain to round up a lynch mob, which it has, inevitably raising the toxic level of debate. Frequently on many Facebook postings and on this forum you will you will see Kenny Carter lauded as a hero - and he was a murderer, but apparently many people are happy to overlook/forgive him for that little misdemeanour. When it comes down to it, this is a squable between just a few people and represents a miniscule, even if unsavoury, footnote to the stellar career of PC, a man who, let me remind you, played a significant role in saving Belle Vue from complete extinction. Presumably we can assume that PC will now never visit Belle Vue, so effectively, this should draw a line under the whole sorry matter and we can all move along.

Or just accept it for what it is, a heartfelt apology.

As the publisher of Peter Collins' autobiography, he asked me to post the following apology. A copy of which has also been sent directly to Mia Casey. ----------------------------------------------------- January 31, 2023 AN APOLOGY I would like to sincerely apologise to Mia Casey, daughter of the late Steve Casey, who died recently of cancer, for the extra distress I have caused her over the personal message I wrote in my autobiography to her dad at an event held in Glossop on November 3rd last year. My words were regrettably written in a moment of impulse amid a feud with the Belle Vue management that has been ongoing for the last 35 years, and I’m sorry to Mia for any upset caused. I have had no contact with Steve, or any other member of the Belle Vue management set-up, for a number of years and I was totally unaware of his cancer diagnosis before I signed his book. Sorry, Mia, for your loss and for the extra grief that this has caused you and your family at this sad time. Yours sincerely, Peter Collins

Nice cast

The “regulation “ is as vague as it useless. Of course these “regulations” have been adapted and amended for any promoter who chooses to challenge it for their own benefit. Previously over abused by Poole and Matt Ford it seems Lemon has taken on that role of fudging the regulation. It will just need yet another amendment after the farce of bringing a rider in just for part of the play offs. Yes both Sheffield and Ipswich took advantage of this vague regulation and one may well say they might have abused the terminology but when has it ever been allowed to bring a rider in AFTER the play offs start? It’s never happened before so you have to question why now? If the regulation allows interpretation on the ‘proven long term injury’ line why have no other teams in the play offs been allowed to replace a rider before 2022. The play offs are littered with teams decimated by injury over the years ruining their possible chances of a title victory. Why have those season ending injuries never allowed teams to replace that rider before? Wolves had a season with both Freddie and Jacob have season ending injuries yet permission to use Woffy was denied. Seems there was no such thing allowed in the interpretation that year. Certainly seems it depends on who asks as to whether it’s a yes or no. Let’s be clear here. It’s the regulation/rule that’s the issue as well as the interpretation of that regulation. No doubt there will be changes and amendments after the Lambert farce of 22. That said some promoters will be looking at self interest at the business end of the season when they can potentially open a loophole to gain an advantage. sorry, that’s a total farce. A hollow victory in 22.

I would back Lawson to beat Allen on any track, personally I think it's crazy to try to compare them.

Would Troy Batchelor spanner for Tungate? Or would the spanner be more likely to become embedded in someone's skull?

By his own admission in recent interviews Lawson has said 9 times out of 10 if he's on a 5-1 he will let his partner win the 3 whilst he settles for 2 plus bonus point!! Hence a slightly lower CMA for team building opportunities.

Does anyone know the details of the conversation between PC and Steve at the book signing? Did Steve appear to be the agent provocatuer at the meeting? There are, of course, two sides to a dispute and we have only heard one side at the present time. We do not know the nature of PC's brain injury - it does not seem to have affected his memory judging by his recollections in his book which is after all his version of events as are all autobiographies. Free admissions for all ex-riders should be provided without the need for any "red tape".

I wouldn't worry too much about the SRBF "rules" they are a very compassionate body and do not operate in any way like an insurance company. Their support stretches way beyond injured riders which is highly commendable but not public due to the nature of the circumstances of the beneficiary. Nora affiliated Speedway clubs could make donations to the SRBF or take an initiative that I would like to see across every Speedway track and that is a 25p optional levy on every admission and bespoke SRBF collection boxes inside every stadium. The governing bodies need to do a lot more than the one off (very welcome) track collections every season and facilitating additional donations would be a positive step in the right direction.

Loved Shawfield too. Hopefully the sport won't die out but we need to sort out our cost base. Right now we have a standard we can't afford. If/when the number of tracks falls to about ten, we could have the much hoped for "big league " but at that point the costs need to be brought down to what the lesser clubs can afford. In the heyday of the 70s most riders had a day job and were semi professionals, had one bike and no mechanic. We need to get back to this approach ... but getting there is going to be difficult. However the sports long term future depends on it.

Max Fricke was injured! Why do the whingers keep making it sound as though BV made a tactical change? They had suffered in the play-offs before when losing a rider, and this time they were able to bring in a replacement, within the Regulations. Of course, no-one would batted an eyelid if the Aces had been forced to use a guest or R/R and Sheffield had waltzed to victory ... "Unlucky Aces, play-offs injury curse strikes again", etc. As it was, the Regulations allowed the change because of the specific circumstances of Fricke's absence. In reality, Sheffield lost because of Holder's awful performance (and, to a lesser extent, Howarth's erratic riding) at Belle Vue. But that's speedway.

Don’t be daft. But you do get three snake cards which shift Edinburgh to the bottom of the league every time Blobby has a whinge about the cheque book Tigers. Did you really expect ladders cards as well?

Whilst this could be seen as a calculated, cynical PR attempt to restore his battered reputation, I think that you have to try to take his apology at face value. Hopefully PC may have learned from this sorry episode that life really is too short to carry this sort of petty baggage.

The current Belle Vue management have only been in place for 6 years and have no connection to past management teams! And there we have the truth. Collins' beef was with John Perrin, 35 years ago in 1988. Yet he has continued his petty vendetta against every new promotion that Belle Vue have had over the past 35 years. Everyone is at fault except him. And he will continue his vendetta against every future promotion. The Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury could buy Belle Vue tomorrow, but unless he is given Sainthood and 100+ pals can come along, they will be attacked. A great, great rider, but a sad, sad, little man.

And they all have a dog.

...the point I'm making is that riders gaining "freebies" has created an emotive discussion/difference of opinion whereby referees gaining same doesn't appear to have raised the same strong emotion generally. I get what you are saying and understand your personal postion on the subject some of which I endorse.

..."Is there a doctor in the house?"

Apart from masters Lawson is the best rider in the league imo.

Exactly! Prince Harry is a perfect example of true 'his version of events'!

Tonight at 7pm the rewind streams continue. Jubilee South League match this one, Gladiators vs Cheetahs from back in July. Enjoy

There's a lot of slags over there it seems

Of course it's tainted, it took a solicitor to get the Robert Lambert signing done. The rights or wrongs on either side is irrelevant, the title win is in question by many, that makes it tainted. In the same way many of Poole's title wins have question marks over them.

Buster Chapman has his critics and might not have much "PR" ability but he seems to have the best interests of speedway in his DNA so will be playing his part in trying to make sure this all goes well. I remember him stepping in to buy Leicester on a short term basis which enabled the club to be taken over by the Bates family and I doubt if he made a profit on that, more likely it cost him by clearing some of the debts accrued.

It was, deep down you know it.

Come on Eileen !

The last few years are deja vu..... Ipswich Town are in the third division

The last 100 odd pages are the same comments..... Serious case of Deja-Vu

He would want to be a more accomplished rider at his age and experience , it will be a compeditive year in 23, didn’t think there was much in it but time will tell,looking foreward to poole/scunny matches, as always u guys hate to loose, up the scorpions in 23

But provides no context for "long term" An injury could occur in early August meaning a rider would be out for 4 weeks. Not really long term and certainly not season ending - only miss 30% of remainder A lesser injury in mid September resulting in 2 weeks rest being required is similarly not long term in itself but effectively season ending as potentially misses 100% of remainder

Totally agree. You can shove your facebooks where the sun don’t shine, not interested so I’m more than happy for people to post their photos etc on here.

Seeing that JL is Mr Ipswich speedway, seems an ideal place to post tbh, rather than Peterborough fans posting about Russians and Poles is all we're getting at mo.

I've only ever had good experiences with Troy, oh well everybody to there own!

This forum is also the ideal place to chat about the past in my opinion.

I can’t personally see a huge problem in that. When you’re largely attracting much of the original fan base, I personally still have great memories of times following my team. There is a large spread in the Speedway star today that has been shared on social media. Makes for pretty grim reading but is a fair reflection I think of the events that have unfolded on social media over the past couple of weeks. Brian White seems to come out of it looking much better than Greg Daniels but at the end of the day, with no speedway we are all losers aren’t we? Again, if the report is 100% factual, then anybody who knows the area will know it’s been surrounded by houses in recent years. The likelihood of getting a 20K music venue off the ground seems non existent - but a speedway venue seems much more viable… maybe wishful thinking though!

Glasgow 2011 I'd throw in as well. Sure had screeny as a no.1 but the real strength was at reserve and second string. Theo, the Raj, nick and Christian Henry (then bellego) interchanged all season and all scored heavily from all positions. Even losing josh mid season didn't derail us (although if play offs had been in place doubt we'd have beaten Newport)

I have nothing against Jake Allen but he is a journeyman third heat leader in the Championship. Not in the same class as Richard Lawson. Yes, on his home track he could pop out and beat Lawson but overall Lawson is a much more accomplished rider. I recall Allen having a couple of decent meetings at Poole when he was at reserve. But last season he was nowhere and didn’t get close to double figures if my brain remembers correctly. Can’t really compare the two riders. When Allen rode for Somerset he looked like a talent about to break through but sadly it never materialised.

I couldn’t be bothered trying to work out who he rode for in 2021 but reckoned he hadn’t been “no slouch” at Poole in 2022. Jake looked a real prospect when he rode for Somerset but hasn’t really kicked on. Maybe 2023 will be the year he puts his slouchiness behind him and shows his true talent?

Perfect. Free speech - lets shut it down immediately. I see nothing but facts here personally - and if you don't like what is being said then you should jog on. It would be a pretty pointless forum if every thread was shut down on the basis of somebody not liking what they read. As a close personal friend of Steve's over many years - I am happy that a certain ex-rider is being exposed. And I know Steve's family feel the same way. There is way more to come out about this but might have to be on alternatives platforms if people like you insist on shutting down the truth.

Lawson’s last three years’ averages (all averages taken from declarations at the beginning of next season) are something like 8.31 (2020) 8.40 (2021) and 7.97 (2022) allowing - I think - for Brits 2.5% reduction. Over the same three years, Allen has gone 7.28, 7.88, 6.14. So Allen’s best is poorer than Lawson’s worst. And Lawson had his worst of the last three in 2022 not the best years in the last two. In addition, I can’t see when Allen last rode at Poole to be “no slouch” there I’m sure he must have in 2021 and/or 2022 but I’ve not found him! Much will depend on injuries with both teams carrying riders who are injury prone but overall, I’d be stunned if Scunthorpe get as far as the play off finals though things would need to go horribly wrong for them not to make the play off mini leagues. Meanwhile, I can’t see beyond the Pirates making another finals appearance but maybe this time, Glasgow will come out on top?

Just for clarification, my intention was not to reduce sales of the book. One of the reasons for delaying commenting was to ensure that the period when the greatest number of sales took place would not be negatively impacted. Secondly, this was not a “personal note” that PC wrote. It was an inscription made on a book by the author directed at someone who had paid him £20. Also, someone asked whether Steve Casey’s cancer was well known - Steve neither hid it nor made a fuss over it so I’m not sure about “well known”. And finally, there was a comment about a donation being made to a cancer charity. My view is that a financial penalty or penance is not sought or required. Steve’s cancer is not really relevant to the matter - in my view, it’s the shocking treatment of someone who had worked so hard to effect a reconciliation. Taking twenty quid off him was just the icing on a nasty tasting cake.

Steve Casey was a very close friend of mine for many years and the most genuine guy you could ever wish to meet. We spoke every single day and I know every step of what happened here. In addition, I was named in PC's book along with Steve as we both tried to work at a solution to get PC back to the NSS and spent hours trying to find a bridge but it was very apparent that the man was not interested in a solution, perhaps because he would no longer have a cause to keep him in the limelight. Which I think is what this is all about. I couldn't care less about the opinions of those who don't know the story or those that think this is dirty laundry or those that still think Peter Collins is 'Mr Nice Guy'. He certainly is not and I was a PC fan for many, many years. What he did to a dying man is unforgiveable and doubly so given that the self same person was the only person still batting for him and trying to work with two different promotions to get him to come to the NSS. Both promotions by the way offered multiple olive branches and letters asking him to go to the stadium for a coffee to find a way and a resolution. Such letters went unanswered and ignored. You need to ask yourself why that is. The intransient and pig headed stance of the man was that he was insistent that EVERY rider who ever rode for Belle Vue should be allowed free admission along with a plus one. When I look up Belle Vue Club legends, I dont see riders with an average of 0.92 in there. But such a rider was indeed on the ''List''. In addition, there was a whole host of other unconnected people that were on ''the list''. Mainly Peter's friends. I know because I have that list and it adds up to hundreds. By this way, this wasn't an ''ask'' but a ''demand'' otherwise he was not going to appear at Belle Vue. Imagine owning a restaurant and being told by a long retired ex-waiter who should and should not be eating there for free?. Its preposterous. He was never ''banned'' or unwelcome as his propaganda would have you believe. Propaganda that is still being perpetuated by his circle of sycophants as he doesn't himself do social media. I know though that he is aware what is said as he is fed on a constant basis. I was disappointed to read Tony Mac's comments that appeared like the situation was resolved after communication with Steve. Not true. Retro Speedway apologised for the incident but they didn't need to as neither Susi nor Tony did anything wrong. The man who should be apologising so far has not. I would be shocked if he ever does. Steve's daughter told me that she had never seen her dad so upset and humiliated to the degree he was over this incident and as I say, to a man that was still batting for him when all others have given up. PC also has a daughter - I wonder how she would feel in the same circumstances? Steve battled hard over the last two years and went through a lot - 3 rounds of chemo and whole bunch of other treatments. He was suffering and in pain but chose to battle on, paint a smile on and go on supporting his beloved Belle Vue Aces in every way possible. Unlike some ex-riders - Steve 'put in' and did not 'take out'. Many people were surprised to learn of his illness and they thought he looked so well. He hid it well and carried on until he couldn't do any more. In my eyes, Peter Collins is an utter disgrace. Not just for the book signing incident but for other reasons which I am sure will come out in the fullness of time. Many people are already aware. Dont meet your heroes. As mentioned, for anyone who is going to pile in with the dirty laundry comments or two sides to the story or Steve wouldn't have wanted this please do yourself a favour. You have absolutely no idea. I am tired of hearing the BS and its about time people were put right and understand that things (and people) in Speedway are not what they appear to be. RIP Steve - you are 1000x the man.

I think the moral of the story is "If you don't want the public to think of you as a dick who would viciously scrawl an obnoxious message on a book that a dying man had paid £20 for, then don't be a dick viciously scrawling an obnoxious message on a book that a dying man paid £20 for".

The only information to date is that Charlie Monk won Heat 1 of the scratch races, Ken Sharples won Heat 2 and Sharples beat Monk on the line in a close-fought final.