jgl07

Signed him at 15 did you?

To be honest, Big Lee has not looked up for it since the match at Armadale on June 4th. I don't know if the drop to reserve will do his confidence any good. He doesn't seem able to beat opposition reserves at the moment.

Very mysterious. Conspiracy theories could run riot with this one!

Glasgow have previous for this. Didn't their former promoter (Dougie Hope?) do a runner with the original Scottish Cup after Glasgow won it in 1995?

A good job you have those floodlights then.

Ben you should realize how protective Tsunami gets if anyone slags off Tomicek.

Not even he would post something as dumb as that.

The obvious answer is to have them made by Chimps.

Shades of 1984 and Animal Farm. John Campbell is trying to rewrite history. I can't say it surprises me much. The background on the Official Edinburgh Website is as follows: I was recruited by David Murray in 1997, who ran the first Monarchs' Official website, to write match reports. Along with Mike Hunter, Geoff Chandler and Davis Murray |i helped with the site until David Murray took ill and updates stopped in mid season. We decided to produce an unofficial Website for the 1998 season but were approached by Alex Harkess and Mike Hunter to run an official site. We inherited most of the content from the David Murray site including Geoff Chandler's Round the Bend archives and Mike Hunter's collection of images of programme front pages. Geoff continued to contribute to the site for another two or three years before his interest in speedway waned. Over the six seasons from 1998 to 2003 the term Official Edinburgh Website was used and was never challenged by anyone. From time to time I was asked to 'pull' or rewite articles that other promotions did not like. Mr Campbell has a very selective memory. Pehaps he can't remember how he voted at the conference?

Well he is being more forthcoming than the Edinburgh Promoter who is hiding behind the "such things are confidential" excuse when asked about how he voted on this issue Well Edinburgh's own Monty Burns defended the stupid rules so vehamently I would be very surprised if he didn't vote for for them. The same promoter has been quick enough in the past to blame the Southern promotors for unpopular rules.

I am not against change. We have demanded change for many years. The problem is the incoherent way in which changes are made lurching in one direction and then another. Take the doubling up/doubling down fiasco. You could argue that these are steps on the way towards a Swedish style squad system. After a tentative start the doubling up doubling down policy was embrassed big time in 2003. As it happened they also chose to launch a major inter-League competition in the same year. That was a reciepe for disaster. Now the BLC has been scrapped the BSPA are clamping down on doubling up and knocked doubling down on the head completely. Another lurch was observed with averages. The so called rolling averages were introduced and then scrapped after a decent interval. Now they intend to change this again. What price they will move in a completely different direction next year? Guests seem to go into and out of fashion. Last year they were being allowed for practically every position including senior reserve and even PL second strings in the BLC. Now there is a clamp down. The BSPA continues to behave collectively like a headless chicken going off at various tangents without any apparent overall direction. It all appears to be the product of a beleaguered group with a siege mentality who are increasingly out of touch. Add in promoters pushing their own ill thought-out hobby horses while others will back any idea if they see their their track gaining a short-term advantage. I wonder if we know the half of it yet? Usually unpleasant decisions do not become appartent for weeks or even months after the Conference.

There is only one way to stop this nonesense. That is a boycott. No season tickets to be purchased at this stage to give the buffoons time to reflect.

I have gained the impression that the Pl promotions are lining up on this issue something like this. In favour of 45 points: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Workington, Sheffield, Arena Essex(?), Reading, Swindon(?). In favour of a reduction: Exeter, Newport, Somerset. Have I got anyone wrong? Can anyone fill in the gaps?

How is that a problem for the BPL? It is a well run and competitive league which tracks have been queuing up to join in recent years. It is a problem for the BEL which has been mismanaged since its inception and tracks have been more noted for trying to escape than get in. The BPL is the future of British Speedway and should not be sacrificed to try and prop up the unsustainable monster that the BEL has become.