Halifaxtiger

Indeed he did, and many others besides. The point being made was that in a race that he was unlikely to beat Schlein or King, yet he did it. What you're looking at is last (or previous) seasons performances. To me, building a side is all about potential and that Workington team has a lot. Even Klindt, on his day, can beat anyone. Besides which, having seen him attack the NSS track I can't wait to see Bewley on those big bends.

It isn't just about Aussies, though, is it ? Its 'foreign dross' , not 'Aussie dross'. If you count up the numbers, I think there are about a dozen others who have been here for a couple of seasons at least and are still under 7 - Cameron Heeps, for example, will be starting his 8th consecutive season in British Speedway in 2018 and he's still under 7.00. Yes, that's what he has said - although whether its a reasonable expectation for a rider of Jacobs age and ability to get a doubling up role is questionable. Perhaps Perks would be a better example. He can't get a place anywhere.

I'm not a Workington supporter but I think that's good team, simply because it has a huge amount of potential. Klindt aside, the whole of that Workington team can improve their averages, with Bickley, Bewley & Proctor looking most likely. By the way, Proctor beat both King & Schlein at Derwent Park last season.

No, they haven't. Personally, I think your arguments in favour of employing British riders are more persuasive - and this isn't just about Mason Campton. To me, the problem is less about the asset system and more about doubling up. Restrict the number of riders that can do so and its likely that both Jacobs and Ellis Perks would have found at least one team place. Speaking of Campton , having watched him last season of the Workington riders that finished 2017 he was the first one I would have named in the team this year. His average increased by over a point in 2017 and he looked a far better rider both home and away.

While I very much see your point here, you have to ask why 'foreign dross' is preferred to British riders.

It isn't, but you could do it in the interval (if you have one) instead. Personally, I loathe intervals but if there is some form of attraction it makes them slightly more tolerable. Isle of Wight have a kids bike race. All lined up at the tapes with their helmets on to rocket round, and they even have handicaps for some of the older competitors. I still would prefer to get on with the meeting but I have no reason to doubt Barry Bishop when he told me that that is why some of the youngsters are actually there, the speedway coming a distant second. Better that than standing around in the freezing cold for 20 minutes as I did at Birmingham a couple of seasons back.

I did a week on the Isle of Wight last year. Seeing the youngsters at the My First Skid sessions, watching their faces as Barry Bishop & I staged a mock race on stationary machines with them on the saddle at a show and seeing them line up at the tapes with their push bikes to do a lap of the track at the interval suggests to me you might just be wrong there. Two adults and as many children as you like is £24 on the Island. Not sure you could do the cinema or the theatre for the same. Your experience as a 7 year old (and I had the same) can most definitely be repeated today. Motor bikes will always have an attraction for children, its just a question of gearing everything up to give the nippers the best night out they can have. Its worth a try, surely, for your children to have that sense of excitement that you had ? Beats swimming, doesn't it ?

I think you might be wrong about Jensen & Bach. They're better than those averages. As to the other 4, I think you are right. Cutting back on fixtures this season but have just spoken to my chauffeur about our 2018 journeys to the Wild West. Wouldn't be the same without a few trips up to Dodge City.

Things don't change. In 1948 there were 28 stand alone tracks. In 1968, 28. In 1988, 27. In 2018, 28.

He succeeded

It would be extremely surprising if Workington were paying out more money than Glasgow could afford.

I think that's a decent team, certainly one worth watching. Klindt is the only one I have real concerns about. He was awful riding for Scunthorpe in this league, averaging two points lower than his starting one here and only being interested if he gated.

Dead right and that is what sticks in my craw more than anything else. We can all debate the rules that apply to speedway but, however controversial they might be, they can at least be applied consistently by an unbiased, impartial adjudicator. Simple truth is, though, all too often they are not. They are subject to inconsistent, arbitrary, incompetent and illegal rulings by interested parties - parties whose identities are hidden and whose reasons are rarely disclosed. That is almost totally contrary to our system of law and breeds frustration and anger amongst not just fans but officials of clubs as well. Isle of Wight asked for average reduction for Harland Cook last season, a rider who had been out of the sport for years,. They were refused, despite the precedent set for David Wallinger and Luke Clifton the previous season. Later in 2017 Paul Hurry was given an average reduction of almost 3 points, two clubs having been quoted an average in excess of 10.50 during the close season. Matt Marson, who has never ridden in Britain and has a British passport, was at one point graded at a 5.00 - which doesn't even exist in the NL rulebook. You can only believe that such rulings are motivated by spite, jealousy, backscratching and one-upmanship. People can complain about the rulebook and individual rules as much as they like but until its contents are applied consistently, fairly and openly by an independent arbitrator we might as well not have one.

Didn't mean it was so much a gaters paradise as the quality of the racing really hasn't changed much since the 1950's. Fantastic stadium and dreadful that it is about to be demolished.

Be a great choice, Phil. Local, loves the track and would be a huge and fantastic influence on Belle Vue's young riders. Not sure where he will ride but, as I say, I have been told it won't be at NSS.

It would be an exaggeration to say that every meeting at Belle Vue in 2017 had brilliant speedway. It would, however, be true say that some meetings most certainly did and that you would be more likely to see brilliant speedway there than just about anywhere else. Its a myth to suggest that the racing was better 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. It wasn't, but nor was it worse. My Dad went to Wimbledon in the fifties - Boy Wonder Ronnie Moore and all - and when I said I was going he said 'first out of the gate always wins'.

That's correct. Any rider who has a Championship average above 4.00 and a Championship place cannot ride NL at the start of the season. Bizarrely, they can be included at a later point. Armstrong must change his mind - I have had it on very good authority that he won't be riding for the Colts.

I know for a fact that Isle of Wight do not regard their entry as 'winners' as light hearted (and rightly so, if there were winners last season they are surely one of them).. To be fair, it does say in Speedy Star that some of the mentions are firmly but, to me, you can't mix serious comment with something that is anything but. Frequently, people have trouble determining which is which.

Plenty more ?

So deserving of a place in the 'losers' category is an ex-rider who got sold a 'duff ticket' Is that really the best you can come up with given all that happened last season? What next, someone who ate a dodgy burger and got a dose of the runs ?

Looks like you have narked someone with your critical and often pointed comments. My advice is to wear it as a badge of honour - I believe it was Mahatma Gandhi who said 'First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win'. Not sure you'll get the last two but it looks to me like you have hit the others. I have a lot of time for Phil Rising and his contributions on here but shame on Speedy Star for putting you in that category simply because you complained about a restricted view at a GP and this seems to be nothing more than a cheap shot at the behest of those who don't like your outspoken opinions. I doubt if there is a speedway fan who couldn't think of half a dozen more deserving nominations. We don't always agree but I have nothing but respect for your views.

Huge step up from the NL and no doubt he'll find it tough. An absolute no brainer, though. Just 16, a local lad and had a fantastic debut season riding with the Colts.

No doubt you thought that when Matt Marson was totally illegally graded on a 5.00 average. Along with the Roynon and Hurry reduction decision, I'd say by the end of the season (if not long before that) he was thoroughly discredited and the NL is well rid of him.

What I do know is that is exactly what they said at the beginning of 2017 (when they had finished slagging him off, that was). Maybe there was no-one better on an average that fitted. It is make or break. But it was at this time last year, too. He's definitely a better rider than his average suggests and he was hugely popular on the Isle of Wight due to the way he engaged with the crowd (a model example, I'd say). As to whether he will apply himself, experience says not.

To be fair, Neil, you are a regular and, in my opinion, much valued poster. Dale, Laurence and Gordon comment very rarely and Tsunami is a former promoter with no official position, although I know that he makes a huge difference to Newcastle and his perspective as a former promoter is often sobering. The point stands : there are 28 clubs in British Speedway and the overwhelming majority of clubs make absolutely no contribution here whatsoever, despite the fact that it is easily the biggest online speedway forum in this country. My view of the way the BSF is viewed also stands, and it is indicative of how the sport treats its fans that so few of those running teams seek to engage on here in the way that you do and Barry has. You often do not get the credit you deserve, but the number of likes that Barry has attracted shows just how much members appreciate someone coming on and telling us how it is. I believe there is a recognition by most members of this forum that information can be confidential and cannot be disclosed publicly. That does not prevent explanations being given on many, many other matters that concern the individual speedway fan.