Leaderboard

For Kemp and Dan Thompson not to have. Championship spots mainly due to lowering of Averages tells you some thing how the sport is run in GB.Back of Fag Packet decision’s

I've always advocated that playing about with the rules doesn't actually increase potential "new fans"...it just pisses off those who already attend with silly rule changes just for the sake of shaking things up in the eyes of the promoters.

At least the Casey family have got an apology, which is something. However it does seem to be a begrudging apology forced by his book publisher, perhaps out of fear of being left with a shed full of unsold books. And as others have said, the apology does beg more questions. 1. Collins claims not to know that Steve Casey was ill, yet he has been fighting the disease for several years. Collins' wife knew he was ill. Members of Collins' inner circle of friends knew. Steve Casey was a well-known figure. It's hard to believe Collins didn't know. Maybe it just slipped his mind in that moment of incandescent rage? 2. Collins says his feud with the promotion has gone on 35 years. That takes us back to 1988 when he himself was the BV promoter. Did he have a feud with himself? It's well-documented that Collins had a falling-out with John Perrin not long after they took over BV. And Perrin was a rough type who could fall out with anyone (despite also having his good side), so I wouldn't totally blame Collins for having a feud with him. But surely that would only last until the end of the Perrin era? The BV promotion has changed hands at least three times since then, and there have also been changes of personnel within the promotion during those times. So how has the feud managed to continue against people who had no connection with the actual feud? The only common connection is Collins - and in particular his list of 100+ people who he thinks should have a free pass to every Belle Vue match. (This list contains some former Aces riders, some former Aces juniors, some former non-Aces riders, some ex-Collins sponsors and friends from 50 years back, and some people with no connection to the sport at all). This list has been presented to every new promoter since Perrin, and unsurprisingly rejected by every new promoter. I suspect that Collins knows that no one could ever accept such a nonsensical list, and he uses it on purpose to cause trouble. Of course a few of the people on the list are genuine ex-Aces, but those are admitted to BV anyway. Eric Broadbelt, Ken Eyre, Bill Powell are all regulars, as were Peter Williams and Taffy Owen until their deaths. Chris Morton pops along every so often (which must be difficult considering how his involvement ended). Joe Screen has been. Andy and Paul Smith are obviously there with their son/nephew Jack, and Carl Stonehewer came when his son was second-half riding. Geoff Pusey came along last year with an old upright and was welcomed and allowed to do a few laps in the interval. Peter Ravn came with his clutch business and was welcomed and interviewed on the centre green. Basically any ex-Aces riders are welcomed and so would Collins have been if he'd wanted to come along.... ...And that's where Steve Casey came in. An ex-rider, but even more so a passionate Belle Vue supporter, he felt it was wrong that Collins was denying himself a chance to watch the sport he had graced for over a decade. Like many, he felt that people like Collins should still be part of Belle Vue. He tried, off his own bat, to work a solution so that Collins could end his petty vendetta and come along to BV without losing face. But despite Steve Casey's best efforts, Collins proved too stubborn and threw it all back at him. What Collins did to a dying gentleman who tried to help him is unforgiveable, and the apology is still very weak.

Choosing race nights was done on a first come first served basis at the time so clubs that had chosen their race night before others had first choice, but if nobody objected other clubs could race on the same night. I can’t remember what night Lakeside raced under Ronnie Russell who was losing money anyway. When Cook and Douglas took over the allocated race night was Wednesday and it quickly became clear that for various reasons including commuting from Kent on a week night mid week crowds were too small to sustain the sport ,whereas 8pm Friday brought substantially bigger crowds so for years in the old Elite League the Lakeside fixture list was submitted for Friday night racing and nobody objected because they all knew it was Friday nights or no Lakeside at all. Then for what turned out to be the final season they dropped down to the old Premier League, submitted their fixture list for the season, had it approved by the BSPA pre - season and booked the track for Friday meetings. Racing continued in line with the approved fixture list until about August when Scunthorpe had an injury to , I think from memory Steve Worrall but not entirely sure , but Godfrey then started moaning because he couldn’t get suitable guests because other clubs were racing the same night as Scunthorpe. Then he pulled out this rule and said Lakeside couldn’t race on the same night as Scunthorpe so he could get a wider choice of guests, even though he as BSPA member had approved the fixture list pre- season and the track had been booked. By that stage Rye House had closed or lost their licence so Lakeside tried to finish the season by racing at Lakeside when they could get Fridays and the other weeks they were going to race at Rye House on Saturdays. Then Godfrey in his BSPA position said they could not do that and had to race at one or the other, which basically meant Rye House and which in turn had a catastrophic effect on the fixture list. I think with League and cup matches I think we finished up racing Peterborough three weeks out of four or something like that to complete the by then congested fixture list which of course was disastrous for attendances seeing the same team every week. We were later told by John Cook at a fans forum that Stuart lost £24,000 on that episode with no help or assistance from Godfrey and the BSPA management committee. I might have missed a detail or two but that was basically it. The Lakeside owners sold the track at the end of the season and for some reason I can’t now recall Rye House never had its licence reinstated. So two more tracks went out of business in that season and another nail was sunk into the sports coffin and the BSPA continued to fiddle while Rome burned. To rub salt in the wound the SS carried an interview with Godfrey who was bleating about “ rules are rules,” but the principle of the “best interests of speedway “ didn’t seem to apply then . In fact if I remember correctly that was the season Peterborough almost went out of business as well.It’s the old, old story again, self interest first, self interest second, and if there’s anything left over, self interest again as far as the BSPA are concerned. No surprise the sport is in a mess.

Well that plan doesn't look as barking

The Poles want to nurture his talent by giving him an opportunity to show what he can do.. The UK on the other hand, doesn't... A strange way to develop your sport by allowing "young talent" to sit on the sidelines... And. No doubt. If he develops into a genuine top level rider in Poland, many within British Speedway will then be moaning that the Poles are out of order dictating when and where he can ride...

Still stinks for all involved at Reading though

It's interesting though, that this subject is nearly always raised and discussed with respect to the setting of rules and adherence to the spirit of the law. This is but a small part of the overall governance and promotion of the sport. We have to take a broader view of what is required if our sport is not just to survive, but to thrive and grow going forward. The quality of "promotion" at a club level is debatable , at the sport level, its not existent. An independent governing body / individual, needs to lead from the front. Not down in the weeds of guest riders or doubling up. Those are important facets of our sport and must be properly and fairly regulated. But get preoccupied with them at your peril. The nerds amongst us (and yes, I'm one) get absorbed by such topics but imagine for a moment. We double the average gate at every speedway meeting in the country. How many of those new fans are coming to see whether a tactical substitute is allowed in heat 8. They want to see exciting racing. The same reason you kept coming after that first exposure to our great sport. Top down. Not bottom up.

I would have thought keeping team's names "alive" would encourage lost fans to attend such meetings?

But they are not competing. It is just a label for a select team racing in an open meeting.

...which is why the sport needs an independant body but it will never happen.

Yes I know I replied to her letting her know exactly my thoughts on the matter. Basically came down to leave Arena Essex alone!

Strange isnt it really if given a polish licence because Motorsport UK according to their statement would not then see Emil as Russian They've stated Russians can compete in the UK on non Russian licences or Neutral licences and as long as no russian flags on equipment etc or sponsors So very strange set up if the FIM see a rider as Russian on a polish licence but another body would allow it

As I said nothing like Cradley Wolves matches.Though the atmosphere did unfortunately get toxic on a lot of occasions.Had to stop taking my mother to Dudley wood after she threatened to brain a spoon fan with her umbrella for abusing Ole Olsen.

As a Brummie watching the Wolves v Cradley in the Black Country derbies was surreal. Standing on the terraces at Monmore Green in between the two, listening to two sets of fans abuse each set of riders, each other and Brendan Kearney in some kind of foreign language was amazing.

Shame that ....he's a huge talent ...

Yes Danny was trying to make it same as 2022 when I last spoke with him about my requirements for this season.

Hans on his way over today according to his comment on facebook.

It will and the meeting will be well attended. Thanks to the Redcar promotion for a good business decision all round..

Surely it's better to take those 6 weeks to ensure MT is in charge instead of announcing a team he will end up not wanting

Goodness me - theres 6 weeks or so before P&P day!!!!!

Did they block you from using the term ‘Bulldogs’ aswell?

Emil was only a rumour, thought evryone knew that.

Hopefully the appropriate lessons have been learnt.

Completely agree. Nothing more than damage limitation.

What a strange comment. I agree that it is probably best to take the apology at face value, even if it appears carefully crafted following criticism. The second part, however, implies that he is above reproach because he was a fine rider. If people are, however, disappointed with his behaviour surely this is a mature enough environment to at least discuss it - whether that is palatable to you as a fan or not.

Heartfelt apology or cynical PR damage limitation exercise? mmm Of course there will be opinions as to both. I know what mine is. It resembles the statements you see when MPs or other such celebrities get their fingers caught in the till or other such indiscretions where they are bang to rights. Here's where I have a problem with it : 1. Why did it take from the 2nd November until now to get the apology? 2. Would the apology have been forthcoming if the incident had not been published on social media? 3. If the apology was based on the fact that he didn't know of Steve's illness - is he saying he would be justified if Steve had had a clean bill of health? 4. He didn't know Steve was ill. Very, very difficult to believe. Steve was in communication with his wife (again to try and resolve the 'issues') and she was well aware. Plus I know many of his inner circle who also knew. And apparently Peter didn't? 5. A 35 year long feud that exploded on that particular night? really? 6. A 35 year long feud that spanned 4 different promotions? That takes you back to the time when he was part of one such promotion! The situation commenced in 2016 at the start of the NSS opening. That I do know. Interestingly, some 20+ ex-riders have been in touch to commiserate and ask about arrangements, I asked them the same question. - ''Did you get a free pass when PC was Promoter?'' the answer was unanimous and I will let you guess the answer. It may surprise you. The good news is that I am reliably informed that book sales have not been affected. At least that is one consolation to this whole affair The truth sets you free

For Mia's sake, I am pleased that he has apologised and hopefully a line can be drawn under this sad affair. Whether it changes people's opinion of him I'm not sure, I think that the damage has been done. However, I think that bringing up a 35 year feud was a rather petty way to somehow justify his actions, and whether he knew about Steve's cancer or not, the comments were disgraceful. Thank you to Tony Mac for being an intermediary in this, it can't have been an easy conversation.

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.

I'm not convinced there's any truth in this rumour about all ex-referees being allowed free admission into any meeting they want, but I'd be pretty sure that an ex-referee is not allowed to bring along 100+ of his mates, most of whom have never refereed a meeting in their lives. That would put them on a par with Collins. And I'm pretty sure no ex-referee has ever scrawled a vindictive message defacing the property of a dying man who had only tried to encourage him along to meetings.

Have they built anything yet on the old Arena Essex site? I bet the demise of the stadium, caused Chick Woodroffe to turn in his grave! It was his creation and baby when bangers and stocks were lost, when Rayleigh Stadium was lost!

If Ipswich get Emil will make a big difference to there team ....heats 13 and 15 ....match winner's..

Very well put Sir if I may say so.

Hopefully Mr Cook can move on from the last season issues and ride a speedway bike the best he can https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/23205865.cleator-moor-man-accused-strangling-partner-case-dismissed/

No mention of Drew in either this section or the Championship. With few riders to be declared has he missed out on a team spot for either League?

Surely Ipswich have a good batch up plan and the Witches will cook up a spell......

I’m led to believe that changes are seriously being considered with the last three, all options are on the table. Buster wants to have the final say though as he is still the owner