Halifaxtiger

Crowd noticeably bigger at Sheffield last night. Probably due to the fact that the racing has improved.

[quote name="Star Lady" post="2967802" s What's left are now bland, featureless presenters, which I hasten to add isn't always their fault.. Anyone who has heard the likes of Kevin Long, Dave Hoggart or Rob Godfrey will tell you that's not true.

Cracking meeting and it is brilliant to see that Owlerton has got its racing track back. It looked like a pretty decent attendance to me but no wonder : good team + good racing = good crowds. All done in 90 minutes too. Grajczonek was again imperious but Tigers match winners were Bjerre and, especially, the very impressive Branford. Edinburgh were full value, Masters in particular and s word for Pickering, one definitely to hang on to. Only three downers : Unnecessary interval, rip off full price insert programme and a mite of tension on the picnic tables over young Kai's new Sheffield United football kit

I'd be surprised if anyone thought the Comets would finish bottom. It was clear they had a rider capable of beating anyone, anywhere and one of the best reserves. That's usually a pretty good combination. With Proctor getting going and Campton proving a lot of the doubters wrong, if they can get Sarjeant scoring a few points they'll certainly be a strong candidate for the play offs in what is, almost without exception, a highly competitive league. What they really need is a few more through the gate. With an attractive, entertaining team and some pretty good racing they deserve it.

Yes...................but Craig Cook, it seemed to me, was exactly the same.

Weather didn't help either. Travelling up with Hoggy, we hit a thunderstorm near Penrith, it was still raining at Cockermouth and forecasts were for heavy rain in Workington at 7pm.

Tungate his history but he rides the track very well indeed.

Based upon my experience I think his figures are just about right, if a little on the low side. I'd be the first to accept that any crowd counting I do is estimated but I was, quite literally, 1 out in a recent head count. Also based upon my experience, Rye House's gate was at least double the biggest I have ever seen there. Isle of Wight's was double the previous year and Redcar's was up too (now confirmed by the promotion). Sheffield's have increased and Belle Vue's are still way, way more than Kirky Lane attendances. Peterborough's had noticeably gone up. Scunthorpe's remain very low - about 400 maximum, Workington's simply aren't enough (which is a real shame given good racing and an attractive team) and Berwick's have crashed.

I didn't think the track was awful. Deep and grippy, yes. Clearly some (and I mean some) of the riders didn't like it, but it was not to blame for the crash involving Shuttleworth & Greaves. Greaves locked up in the corner and Shuttleworth hit him. Would have happened anywhere. Still enjoyed the meeting. Couple of cracking races between Schlein & Cook, heat 6 in particular proving that passing isn't a necessity to see a brilliant race as Cook was all over Schlein's back wheel for 3 laps. I think the Comets are a lot better than some make out and will be there or there abouts at the end. They need to sort Sarjeant out, though,. Not only is his moving at the gate annoying, he simply isn't cutting it.

Can't argue with that and I'm certainly not blaming Lakeside. The arbitrary, inconsistent, secret rulings don't just annoy the hell out of fans they can actually, in the end, drive them away.

You could say that they are trying to get a rider in on an average that is way below what it should be but essentially I agree. If anyone is unhappy with that average (and plenty are) there is only the NL & the BSPA to blame. That got blown apart with the Harland Cook decision, if it ever existed before hand. I don't have an issue with a 40 year old riding with a young team. No-one says anything critical about Armstrong (quite the opposite, in fact, and rightly so). Its about an average that makes no sense and which will not be explained or justified, so everyone has a right to believe that it is a crooked ruling covered up by secrecy. Its only legal because the NL have ruled a 7.66 average. How they have calculated that is anyone's guess, but it certainly bears no relation to his previous one and the usual method of conversion. Legal maybe, but corrupt and crooked with it.

Its not so much a matter of what his average is but how they arrived at it. Based upon his past EL plus amendment, 7.66 is a joke.

the one thing we won't find out is how they got that figure.

It was actually a highly entertaining meeting Nip and tuck all the way and some good racing thrown in. Definitely makes Sheffield worth another look.

Not in the slightest bit surprised. Better team, better racing, better promotion. Then again, its hard to imagine that Redcar could go much further down hill than having Havelock in charge. I don't think it rewards a losing performance so much as tries to make (to use your words) a 'more level playing field'. I have to say I didn't notice its demise in NL meetings last season, although I have never had an issue with it and lets not forget it has been in existence for 50 years or more. That doesn't necessarily make it right but it does mean that there is reasoning for it. My real point is that you simply can't compare sports. Suggesting that a football fan would find a double point ride ridiculous and bizarre is true but in exactly the same way a speedway fan would find the offside rule (for example) equally ridiculous and bizarre.

I'd be surprised. My view is that Hurry should have had his average reassessed based upon his old EL one with a deduction for how long he has been out of the sport - to me, that's just reasonable. Thing is that jealousy and spite across the NL has meant that others have not had such a reduction and so he shouldn't get it either. Not that precedent ever counts for anything, that is. When you have a weak co-ordinator who is easily bullied basically its just a matter of make it up as you go along.

As you say, it does depend on whether it is sanctioned, But, if it is, (and it has been published on the BSPA website) based upon Hurry's last EL average, calculating that up to be a PL one and then doubling it he should be around the 8.7 mark. That means he can't go into the team and the only way he can is by a crooked ruling that contradicts what has happened elsewhere. As to jumping to conclusions, the biggest one will be Lakeside saying that he is in the team if they have not received agreement to it. Taking into account the BSPA website statement, I suspect they have although it maybe subject to protest by other clubs. One of the reasons why those who have an axe to grind gain credibility is the lack of explanation and openness. After all, we still haven't heard why Harland Cook was refused a 3.5 average when the likes of Luke Clifton and David Wallinger were given it.

The suggestions of average fixing in this case are, in my book, complete nonsense. You're absolutely right about the BSPA, but that doesn't change the fact that (if allowed) this is almost certainly completely crooked. Hurry's average should be around the 8.7 mark, and let's not forget there are no reductions this season (as per the Harland Cook decision). Based upon Lakeside's present averages, he doesn't fit. More nonsense. What people are concerned about actually really has nothing do with Lakeside at all. They are sick to death of bent rulings made to suit the needs of individual promoters, be that to allow a rider to fit in or to stop that being the case.

For the same reason why no-one publicly explained why Cook couldn't come in on a 3.00 (or 3.50) when a precedent had been set the previous season. Its bent.

If he's anything like he was at Plymouth, I'd avoid him at all costs. He wasn't that good on track and, by all accounts, he was bloody awful off it. He didn't want to be there and made sure everyone knew it.

I have no issue with that. I do have an issue with averages.

Looking at my updates, only three races were from the gate and I thought there was some excellent racing, with both King and Howarth going from third to first. I don't think the quality has deteriorated at all. If you found it boring, try Sheffield instead. Friday's were better but I fully understand Rob Godfrey's decision to move to Sunday. Having said that, the best meeting I saw anywhere last season was Scunthorpe v Edinburgh and that was a 3.00pm start. About 400 I thought but that's about par and reflects Scunthorpe's poor home form. I shudder to think how many would be there if the racing were rubbish. Problem is he is simply not cutting it and doesn't look like beating opposition heat leaders. That's what he's there for. In truth, I thought Scunthorpe should have won. Had they not thrown away points on tapes exclusions and engine failures they probably would have. PS Rob was good in the box yesterday but he's better on the centre green. If you need a box man, try and recruit Belle Vue's Neil Drummond because he's one of the best there is.

Enjoyed that Bit slow starting but a couple of decent races half way through, particularly Smith trying to pass Wajtknecht in heat 12. Always nip and tuck, though. Very important point from Bewley when he passed Williamson in heat 11. Morris was unlucky. Got bumped in heat 9 by Sedgmen and then went out of it and dropped a chain in heat 15. Very good to hear the enthusiasm from Robin Southwell over the mic, and looked a decent attendance to me. One downer : get rid of that clown on the centre green. Amongst some pretty stiff opposition, he's just about the worst presenter in the land. Its made all the worse by the fact that Neil Drummond is rapidly becoming one of the best box men in the game - understated, knowledgeable and hitting the comments bang on.

Too right. That pass of Halsey is the best ride I have seen at Arlington in a very long time.

I doubt if there are many making money at this level and even fewer who are making more than a little. Most (if not all) riders in the NL are either learning their trade or riding simply because they enjoy it. The latter category can be scorned by some but without them the NL wouldn't exist or would be shy of several teams. It probably also wouldn't be competitive enough to attract the gates that clubs need to survive. Buxton are suffering because Ellis Perks isn't riding for them (whatever the reason for that might be). That's more an unfortunate exception than the way the league and other teams are run.