Halifaxtiger

No question in my view - nor, indeed, in anyone around me. The white exclusion light was greeted with disbelief by Redcar and Newcastle fans alike. The way I saw it, Barker went hard under Aarnio, lost control for a moment causing him to straighten and as a result T boned him. Boz hits it bang on for me in his description of Barker's move, although I do not accept that hitting Aarnio was deliberate. This is what Redcar have to say : 'The Bears man made a move up the inside and appeared to make contact with Aarnio'. Newcastle's George English was a little less subtle : "It looked like we were in control early on until that moment when Tero was brought down and the referee disqualified him! Unbelievable decision,' Ps Nice to see my fame has spread I probably won't be back until next season, but say Hi if/when I am.

This wasn't a bad decision. Unbelievable would be a more accurate description.

Heaven only knows. Absolutely no question that Barker lost control and T boned Aarnio into the fence. Given how obvious it was, probably one of the worst decisions I have ever seen.

To be fair, you said that the Colts could beat Wolves on Monday (only partly in joke, I suspect). You're right that they had everything to ride for, but the chances of them actually getting anything were pretty small.

Impressive from Belle Vue considering they got 1pt from Bewley's rides. Cook was brilliant - easily the best I have seen him at NSS this year - and never looked like being beaten. The track was dreadfully wet to start with but there was still some decent racing.

Hoggy has highlighted the exceptional circumstances prevailing at Workington so I'll accept there is no subterfuge here. You seem to be saying that even if there was, its OK. Its not (and yes, I am naïve). One of speedways biggest problems is the vicious self interest that prevails as teams seem to constantly trying to seek and advantage over rivals, to the latter's detriment. Its also one of the reasons why the sport is on its knees as fans get sick and tired of the culture of cheating, one upmanship and manipulation. I would have thought that any Comets fan would be totally against that, given just how much Workington have suffered at the hands of a BSPA decision made almost certainly at the behest of Scunthorpe Speedway and to suit their needs. I would accept that the difference between the two is huge, but both are an attempt to better the chance of your own success at the expense of others.

Definitely I lost count of how many times he apologised and the teams performance was probably why he wasn't his usual droll self on the mic. While I would maintain the team was rubbish on Friday, I think it is most unfair to be critical of Rob Godfrey for the way things have panned out for the Scorpions this season. A very decent side has been destroyed by injury and he can do little about that. I don't think for one single second that with performances like that he will believe that 'nothing is wrong with things'. Indeed, you'd have to be a supreme self deceiver if you did.

Let me make it clear, Steve. No-one - no-one - went back 'to have a look'. No-one, indeed, looked in the first place, to the massive credit of all at the track. If anyone stayed a little longer than they should have or returned at a later point it was solely out of concern for Dan Bewley, nothing else.

That doesn't make it right. Workington apparently knew about the guest appearance in advance but said nothing until Worrall actually arrived. BP is spot on. The way I see it, Lakeside are incompetent, Workington are underhand so this does not reflect well on either. One other thing from last night : there seemed to be a considerable degree of pleasure from the result at EWR on Friday...…..

I think you are being a little harsh here, even if that is understandable in the circumstances. Scunthorpe were awful on Friday. Rob Godfrey has taken a lot of criticism this season for some of his actions and in my opinion much of that is justified. But it is a lot harder to criticise him for what has happened at Scunthorpe. In past seasons, EWR has quite properly gained a huge reputation for excellent racing. Even though I have made many visits to the NSS this year, the best match I have seen remains Scunthorpe v Glasgow. On Friday, I think we were lucky to see a meeting at all given the weather conditions and I think Rob can be forgiven for the track not being at its best then. As to the team, on Friday both Auty and Allen were inadequately replaced. Nielsen is a pale shadow of the brilliant rider he was at the outset of the season and I suspect shouldn't be riding at all. Worrall went out after one race. Manzares was disappointing and while Phillips struggled, there aren't many on his average who would do much better. Rob can be accused of putting out mediocre teams in the past, but not in 2018. What was a good team on paper has been destroyed by injury and that just isn't his fault.

While you are absolutely right that everyone should have taken the instruction that Dave Hoggart gave out and left the stadium, I don't think in the circumstances that anyone was acting badly if they stayed on for a short while or came back later. That was simply a case of deep concern for Dan Bewley's condition and I thought the way fans behaved last night was exemplary. Not one single person was rubber necking to get a better view. As to the refund, taking Geoff's excellent advice I have torn my ticket up this morning. It beggars belief that with a young rider prostrate on the track in extreme pain anyone's thoughts would be anywhere but with him. Happened almost right in front of me and was undoubtedly one of the worst I have ever seen. Such was the nature of the crash that I really did think the worst and, indeed, I am somewhat relieved that the current diagnosis is a broken leg and arm.

I think that made matters worse rather than being the sole cause.

That does discount just how much a rain off costs. One quote I got from an NL promoter was £4,000. With that in mind, you would have to be insane (or loaded) to keep a meeting on when there was little chance of it taking place. Scunthorpe was the same last night, albeit that rain (by some forecasters) was due to stop at 5pm. The meeting went ahead, although before hand Rob Godfrey was sweeping the water of the bends.

Nutshell

I have said before that guests are a necessary evil and I'd maintain that now. There's no question in my mind that if Somerset turned up at Belle Vue without Jason Doyle but had Niels Kristian Iverson as a replacement the attendance might not be affected much. If they turned up with Alfie Bowtell (no disrespect to the lad) it might, and we have seen comments reflecting that many times. Meetings would become less competitive and the sport held to ransom by injury far more than it is now and that's why we have had guests for over half a century. It might be an alien concept to newcomers, but then as has been said many times you simply cannot judge one sport by another. To do so is not just ridiculous, its bizarre. Problem is we don't live in an ideal world (be that yours, mine or anyone else's). Doubling up has got out of hand, but I only have an issue with that because of the loss of riders fixture clashes create and the necessity to then have facilities all the time. Fixed race nights has been a disaster for attendances, but there's no question that the farcical number of guests and rider replacement used in 2017 has changed somewhat. That's true to a point. Referring to Belle Vue in 1980, Maxfield, Carr, Richardson & Wilcock all rode in about half of Belle Vue's fixtures. I actually don't think that speedway fans at Premiership level would have a problem with their riders competing with other clubs if it where not for the fact that there were clashes. I have never heard a Belle Vue fan, for example, complain that Dan Bewley rides for Workington (or a Workington fan complain that he rides for Belle Vue). In addition, the problems with absences this season seems to me to be at least as much with them riding abroad. Not at all. I am simply saying that we have always had - more or less - the situation you described, so I do not understand why that would affect attendance now. If I am honest, I also do not understand why a doubling up (or loaned) rider could not be seen as a member of your team - I have certainly never heard anyone say that before, much less use it as a reason for giving up on speedway. The suggestion that Mildenhall fans will walk away in their hundreds because Drew Kemp is now riding for Ipswich or that Ipswich fans will object violently to his presence in their team because he rides for Mildenhall is nonsense.

Not true of Scunthorpe. They had had showers all day and the last one was about 6pm. In my experience Met Office forecasts (and the BBC get theirs from Met Office) are accurate about an hour before hand. Give it a half a day or more, and they are anything but. Last night at Scunthorpe they definitely got it wrong because in the afternoon they were predicting showers up to 8.00pm. On only rare occasions are postponements caused by malpractice, incompetence or underhand tactics. The cost of calling off a meeting with the riders at the track is huge so it will only be done early if there is a strong chance of racing not going ahead or at the time if conditions make the track unfit for speedway.

Apparently both clubs had trouble getting guests tonight. I would have accepted it if Lakeside, Peterborough and Workington (or 1 or 2 of them) were told clearly at the start of the season that they could not ride on Fridays, as I fully appreciate the difficulties that could cause. What I do not accept is that they were told to do so after fixtures had been agreed and arrangements made. That's just not on. I can even forgive the incompetence here to a degree, its the self interest I simply can't stomach. As to the match, the way I saw it was that Scunthorpe were awful rather than Ipswich being especially good and that most teams would have thumped the Scorpions. The wet track didn't help, but Ipswich had no trouble with it whether they gated or not. Kemp was hugely impressive and may even now play a part in getting Ipswich into the play offs.

It is fair point that too many teams were permitted to ride on Friday nights. That doesn't change the fact that their fixtures were published and agreed. It is appalling that three teams were told that they could not run those meetings part way through the season - And whatever you might say, I don't think there is any doubt at all at whose behest the goalposts were moved.

You do have one major advantage over those who you are debating with. You actually attend speedway meetings.

Nonsense. Speedway has had guests and doubling up for decades. In 1977 White City won the British League with a rider replacement facility for a rider who did not appear in their colours once that season. In their 1979 Championship winning season, Coventry used 29 guests in 55 matches. In 1980 Belle Vue named Taffy Owen in the line up simply so that they could use the likes of Rob Maxfield, Steve Wilcock, Derek Richardson & Louis Carr (all riding for NL clubs) instead. I doubt very much if there is a single Belle Vue fan who would want to ditch Dan Bewley, Craig Cook or Steve Worrall simply because they double up and the same would apply ay every other club.

The members of this forum are often derided as keyboard commandos and the forum itself has been described as 'utterly without credence'. That's probably because certain promoters can't stomach any form of criticism whatsoever and this forum is beyond their reach It is, however, indicative that when a promoter does come on here he gets three likes for every post. That's a remarkable record and shows how much his contribution is appreciated.

In the last three seasons Isle of Wight have been kicked in the privates on several occasions and I remain convinced that that was partly motivated by sheer jealousy. Yet Barry and Martin have carried on with exactly the same attitude and methods, to their huge credit. As a much travelled fan, I am of the opinion that they set a standard for the rest of speedway to follow and I can only hope that they achieve the on and off track success that they deserve. However, I know that underpinning the exemplary style is a firm conviction that Isle of Wight speedway is not a personal hobby into which might be poured huge quantities of spare cash. Its a business, and is run as such.

I forgot one. Barry Bishop engages with us on here and treats us as potential paying customers and speedway fans. Aside from Jayne Moss, he's the only one.

Having had my preference for Isle of Wight speedway raised, I can give a few reasons why that is. The other teams named are merely examples, as others do exactly the same thing. 1 Edinburgh charge full price for a rain off programme with an insert. That's a rip off. At Isle of Wight, they are free with a request that the cost is replaced by a go on the raffle or a contribution to the tyre fund. 2 A child's entry at Poole is either £4 or £7, depending on their age. At Isle of Wight, they are free. 3 Sheffield charge £15 (I think that amount is correct) for a go on the centre green. At Isle of Wight its (you guessed it) free, and that applies to home and away supporters. On Thursday, a group of Mildenhall fans watched heat 1 from the middle. 4 I once criticised the state of Stoke's track and got 15 minutes of aggressive abuse in response. I did the same about Isle of Wight, got an apology, a reasoned explanation and a hope that I would come back. 5 Belle Vue charge £7 for a burger and chips. By all accounts, they are 'horrible' (or words to that effect, I have never had one myself). At Isle of Wight on Thursday, I had a plate of home made sausage casserole and a lump of bread for £3.50. It was that good I over-indulged in second helpings. 6 King's Lynn refuse to allow food in and indeed threaten to search people to prevent it. On Thursday, a large family brought in an equally large hamper, sat on the grass on the first bend and watched the racing having a picnic including wine. 7 I stand to be corrected here, but I have never seen Eastbourne undertake any promotional activities. Isle of Wight attend about a dozen shows a year during the season with their tent, bikes and other speedway paraphernalia. 8 At most meetings, promoter Barry Bishop works the crowd, talking, explaining but above all listening. Belle Vue's Adrian Smith does this but aside from one instance years ago by Peter Toogood I have never seen anyone else do the same. 9 At Birmingham, a lengthy interval is just that so you stand around getting cold and bored. Isle of Wight have running and bike races for the youngsters, interviews and rider autograph and picture sessions. 10 We have all stood around when a rider has been injured and there has been a delay. Isle of Wight, last season, organised activities for the youngsters until the racing recommenced. Never seen that anywhere else. 11 At the Mildenhall - Isle of Wight meeting last season, the start was delayed on a red hot day. Riders then took out bottles of cold water to those stuck outside. Fantastic idea, but it didn't come from Mildenhall. 12 Finally, there's the amazing story of Ann Barrett- the speedway fan who couldn't get to the track because of her disability but went into her garden to listen to the bikes. The promotion heard about it, and now she gets a taxi to the stadium reach week and a sponsor has supplied a season ticket. That's just fantastic. All of that added up - and I am sure I can think of more given time - is impressive and accounts for the opinions that people have of what has been achieved on the Island.

That's not the play offs so much as stupid fixture planning as people pick and choose meetings on the basis of being able to afford so many. That being the case, even with the title up for grabs its entirely possible that gates would have been down (you're absolutely right about the frequency of meetings, Workington having to cram meetings in in the next few weeks in precisely the same way). Mildenhall are in a similar situation, in that they are way clear. I doubt very much that that will affect attendances until the play offs. Indeed, I suspect that they will increase as numbers jump on the band wagon of their success.