Halifaxtiger

It wasn't, Rob. It was, as New Science has suggested, a rider drifting off the inside. If either rider had stayed on the kerb, there would have been no passing at all. Make no mistake, the shape of the track is superb - the entrance to the bends has to be seen to be believed - and there's no reason why it cannot be as good as its predecessor at Hyde Road. Jon Armstrong's brilliant ride last Friday proved that. But it needs someone - like Colin Meredith - who can prepare it properly. Otherwise it might as well be square and full of holes.

Not in the south stand it wasn't. It was near deafening. Absolutely spot on about the presenter - gave the impression that Friday was the first speedway meeting he'd ever been to, and that's inexcusable. I know my old mate Kevin Moore (King's Lynn, Peterborough, Mildenhall) one of the most professional announcers in the game used to have what he'd say planned well in advance.

Fine response Phil has said Tony Swales was doing the track and that speaks volumes. Wasn't he the bloke that got the sack the other year after completely sodding up the preparation for a meeting ? To be honest, it should be a case of purchasing a grandstand ticket and sitting where you like, thus doing away with the haggling at the ticket office. If season ticket holders have reserved seats, they can be marked. The thing is the track is such a superb shape - I can pay it no better compliment than to say that it reminds me of Hyde Road - so preparing it badly is unforgivable. In my experience, that's dead right (and not just in speedway).

Perhaps I was expecting too much after looking forward to this meeting. It was very disappointing indeed. I arrived at about 615 and found that you could purchase a specific seat in the grandstand, rather than just a seat. This meant that people were taking 5 minutes to do so which might not seem a long time but when there are a 1,000 or more doing so..........it didn't surprise me the start was delayed. I wanted to stand on the first bend and was given a ticket for the south terrace. I was then assured I could go on the first bend, only to be told by security staff that I could not. I was then told that I could gain access to the first bend from the south terrace, which you can if you are prepared to walk on the track. First night maybe, but that's a shambles. I hadn't been impressed with the presentation on Friday but last night it was worse. The announcer constantly made mistakes, while the presenter is a graduate with honours from the Mike 'I am the star of the show' Bennett academy. As I said on Friday, bring back Natalie Quirk & Ken Wrench. Of course none of that would have mattered much if the racing had been good and after Jon Armstrong's fantastic ride on Friday I was certain we would get a lot more. We didn't. It was a gaters paradise in which if you jumped from the start and sat on the kerb you would win. Any passing that there was came from riders drifting wide and it was painful to watch the likes of Zagar, Cook & Nielsen hammering round the outside only to lose yards. I don't know who prepared that track, but I'd be surprised if it was Colin Meredith and one fan on the mic even wanted to go back to Kirky Lane. I'd go as far as to say that the track played a substantial part in Belle Vue losing. The way I saw it, and for anything but the first time, British Speedway had a superb opportunity to promote itself and blew it.

That's the problem, though. They are never consistent. Craig Cook can't double up because his two teams ride on the same night. So do Dan Bewley's but he can. You can't help but think that the rulings are dependent upon precisely who is affected by them.

Considering what has happened to Peterborough over the last week or so that's a good performance because Sheffield are no mugs. All credit to the Panthers

Nice try, Alan It doesn't convince me and I doubt if it will convince anyone outside Scunthorpe. Whether he's a new rider or not, he has an assessed average. That means he should be on a 5.00 minimum.

Possibly not but every other club would do it if it suited them.

Couple of small teething problems - ticket office opens at 6 (very good) but turnstiles didn't open until 6.30 (bizarre). PA system wasn't brilliant. Bring back Natalie Quirk and Ken Wrench Other than that, stunning.

Amidst all this (largely pathetic) squawking that is an excellent point and one that I'd want answering if I was Peterborough. They'd be better hitting the BSPA hard with that rather than starting petitions, taking legal action or threatening to pull out of the league.

I saw Dan Bewley ride for the Colts at Cradley and knew he was pretty good. He really only looked like being beaten once, when Connor Mountain trapped on him in the first run of heat 12. Otherwise he was fast from the starts and very fast out in front. The rest of the Colts were a mixed bag but there was enough there to suggest that they will be entertaining enough for the rest of the season. For the Fen Tigers, Mountain and Jon Armstrong were as consistent as ever, with Armstrong (who I am reliably informed has ridden at all three Belle Vue tracks) pulling off a brilliant ride in heat 13. The star of the show, though, was the stadium because its magnificent. What's even better is the size, shape and banking of the track lead me to be believe that Armstrong's superb ride will be the first of many excellent races there and it will be a most fitting place to hold meetings of the highest calibre. Can't wait to see the Aces on it.

Is that right ? Belle Vue website says grandstand only.

That still doesn't get away from the fact that they tried to sign a rider who doubles up with a club with the same race night when there is a precedent (Lewis Kerr) that you can't do it or the fact that Rathbone was told by Godfrey that it wouldn't happen. Even with a ruling in place and advice from the VP of the BSPA (which, lets face it, is pretty good) Peterborough still went ahead. That's entirely down to them, even if the fact that it became public knowledge isn't although what's the chances that we wouldn't have had an outburst of a similar nature even if Porsing hadn't said something ? Slim, I'd say. As to your second point you might be right but its never stopped them ignoring the fans in the past. The thing is the rule was already in place - its why Lewis Kerr rides for Lakeside, not King's Lynn. This hasn't been created for this occasion. I can see your point but there have to be limits somewhere. You can make a case for a rider riding for Swindon doubling up with Peterborough but when home fixtures clash potentially every week its very hard to do so. On your second point, completely agree. The only thing is at least we have an explanation here not the usual mushroom theory and that must be a step in the right direction. I have always said that you can't have an independent body running the sport but you must for arbitration, as here. The only thing is for once I think the decision would have been the same.

This forum is chock a block full of people complaining about absences, doubling up and guests. The BSPA make a decision that will stop a rider doubling up between two tracks on the same night - a situation that will undoubtedly lead to more of the same - and people complain about that too. When I first became aware of the ruling made, I thought it was appalling especially when the only justification was 'in the interests of speedway'. Great credit to Rob Godfrey for giving us all an explanation and for treating us like people who care about the sport and not simpletons to be milked for every penny, which has happened so many times in the past. For what my opinion is worth, I agree with what the BSPA have done. Doubling up is, as Godfrey says, a necessary evil. What is not needed is a situation where guests are continually required because a rider is contracted to two clubs whose home meetings are on the same night. Its all very well to say this is only three meetings, but this decision sets a precedent. I also think that fingers are being pointed in the wrong direction. According to Godfrey, he told Ged Rathbone that signing Cook was unlikely to be permitted but Rathbone went ahead anyway. If that's true, then Rathbone is to blame for what has happened, not the BSPA.

I was wondering how to respond to that pathetic, patronising and ignorant post but you have done it for me. Absolutely spot on, couldn't agree more

Definitely old age

Crap memory I stand corrected : the programme was £2.00. 'Family of fatties' Brilliant Quite. I don't think its expensive (some would disagree), but its more expensive than everywhere else (including EL tracks). £17.00 at Berwick, £22.50 at Glasgow. That's a lot of difference.

Paulco actually told me £15 yesterday, I just should have listened a bit better That increase is too much. Berwick the night before was £17.50 (including parking & programme), and they let a child with a paying adult in for nothing. The development of Ashfield has been fantastic but the design on the back straight was poor. If you stand on the upper terracing, you can't see the track.

What you propose is a huge financial gamble (and I think you know that) at absolutely no risk to yourself. Very easy to make suggestions and come up with bright ideas when you won't be the one on the wrong end of it if it goes pear shaped. To be fair, you're anything but the first to do so. At Mildenhall, we once had someone who 'guaranteed' that gates would go up if advertising was done properly. I suggested that he pay for it - after all, he couldn't lose - and would then approach the promotion so that he could have a share in the increased revenue. Needless to say, he didn't want to know. Cutting prices has been tried many times. I think SCB quoted Belle Vue doing it a few years ago in that they cut the prices for one meeting and got a bigger crowd in. The next week they did it again and the usual number turned up, resulting in a substantial loss. I know John Anderson did it at Berwick a couple of times; the fact that he doesn't any more speaks volumes. The simple truth is there is absolutely no certainty - indeed, evidence suggests otherwise - that a substantial reduction in entry prices will result in clubs becoming more viable. One last thing : cost is anything but the only factor when considering the level of attendances. Isle of Wight charge £11, Birmingham £13. Of the meetings I saw at those two tracks, Birmingham's gate was at least 3 times that of Isle of Wight.

It has a right to charge those prices (and indeed double those prices) if people will pay them. The question is, will they ? To me, it was the price hike and the comparison with other clubs that made me raise my eyebrows at the cost of Glasgow yesterday. There is an argument about reducing costs to attract more fans and I am sure more would go with a £5 reduction. The next question is, though, would there be enough to make up for the loss of £5 per person ? 1,000 at £17.50 is £17,500 takings. At £12.50, you need 1,400 to match it. Would you get a 40% increase ? Doubtful I'd say but whichever way you look at it its a huge gamble to risk such a cut in prices. Its also been tried, many times. Incidentally, Halifax Town is £17.00 to go in and they aren't even in league football.

Its a 10% increase on last season when the inflation rate is less than half that. If all the costs in your household went up by 10% overnight I doubt that you would regard that as 'petty'. My point was its now quite possibly the most expensive speedway in the country (Lakeside is £18, but the car park is free) and I find it difficult to justify a PL track charging more to get in than most EL ones. What's worse, that extra amount might just put people off to the degree that takings will be down.

Not so much expensive as the most expensive. That £1.50 increase in entry might not dissuade the diehards but it could put some of those attracted last season off. The equivalent at Belle Vue is £22 for EL racing in a brand new purpose built speedway stadium.

Sadly, not a good meeting - I counted one pass outside the second bend all night . That wasn't helped by the one sided score line. Berwick will take some beating at home this season and will have a lot tougher tasks than Scunthorpe. They tried hard but - Wilkinson aside - they just couldn't cut it. I, too, thought that was a pretty decent gate for Berwick.

Few decent races although the track became a bit one line by the end - gate and stick your back wheel on the fence and you weren't going to get passed. A bit of a shame because Ashfield now has a superb shape - the days of the squaredome are long gone - and it could be very good indeed. Tigers were excellent - maximum from Worrall (never looked like getting beaten), Barker, Lunna (very impressive) and Lawson beaten just once. Ostergaard made a couple of gates, Jakobsen was OK and Perry tried hard but the rest were rubbish. Far too much bumping on the kerb after two or three laps, too. At £22.50 for parking, programme & entry Glasgow is now the most expensive PL track and Belle Vue tomorrow will be cheaper

'What is significant, however, is that on average 16% of the complaints received were when no races were taking place at the stadium. This raises questions about the validity of the complaints, particularly since between June and October 2015 there was no difference in the number of complaints on days with or without races'. Brilliant, and I am sure you will all agree with me in saying a big thank you to anyone who contributed to that 16%. There's no doubt that they would played a part - quite possibly a major bone - in Kent receiving planning permission.