topsoil

So you don't want Morris, Lawson or Summers. Just out of interest, who would be your choice at No 1?

I hope he uses Berwick as a stepping stone. Everybody has to start off somewhere. Hopefully people will not put too much pressure on him, let him progress at his own pace. Look at Tai Woffinden, he started off in the National League, moved to the Premier League, the Elite League, now Poland and the world.

Speedway is a dangerous and expensive sport, I just think if you are a rider you have to have 100% commitment to want to do it. Anything less and doubts creep in. If you are not enjoying it, far better to get out with your health in tact. Remember that bad knee injury he had a couple of year ago. Always sad to lose a young local rider. If this is the end, he will still be able to look back on highlights like his form at the end of the 2016 season and maximums he has scored in the National League this year. Good luck to him.

A bit like when football has end of season promotion playoffs and points earned over 9 months are ignored and promotion is decided over a maximum three matches. Glad football doesn't have any mickey mouse ideas like that :-)

Damn, here was me hoping we could tempt you back next year. Oh well, here's to 2019 maybe?

Sounds like a fair summary of the situation. Tom Perry was at Berwick at the back end of last season. I thought he was a cracking young rider, who never gave up and I thought he would really kick on at Glasgow this season. Sounds like it didn't happen. And if you are not getting the scoring from your reserves, the last thing you need is an injury to a second string. The July signing deadline didn't really do anybody any favours. I can see why it was brought in, but it really didn't help teams with genuine, long term injuries.

No great supporter of him really, but after the injury denied him last year, Jason Doyle deserves the title this year.

As an outsider looking in, it's shocking how Glasgow's season has fallen apart. According to a lot of sources, if it does all stem back to that night at Berwick and the subsequent fallout between Lawson and Worrall, I am surprised that this wasn't nipped in the bud. Really one of them had to go, or at least a way found where they could at least work professionally together, even if they did not to speak away from the meetings. But it looks like things were allowed to fester. It's good to hear that the promotion are still looking at ways to improve the product (widen the rack in this case). I know they have money, but hopefully they can provide the lead for other promotions to follow to help the sport out of the position it is in.

Came down from Berwick to watch that meeting in 2005, never seen rain like it in such a short space of time. Came out of the stadium and got to a part of the road with a dip in it (can't remember where exactly) but at the bottom of this dip was a parked car. All you could see was the roof. Best turn back then? Can remember the bottom couple of rows of terracing being under water.

To answer some of the questions raised above:- It looks like the profits will have been earned and built up in previous years. Dividends can be taken out of the company up to the amount of the reserves (profits) brought forward and built up over a period of time. All perfectly legal. The VAT and corporation tax creditors MAY also relate to prior accounting periods, but if that was the case the creditors would include significant interest and penalties. As regards the question of turnover, it is impossible to determine the turnover of the company, as only the bottom line profit for the year is shown, the income and costs can only be guessed at. The profit for the current year £42,783 will also be AFTER tax. Many small companies are owed money by directors. Directors have up to nine months after the accounting year end to repay the loan before being liable to tax. Hope this helps.

My own cynical mind says that, like nearly everything, it is down to money. But I would be interested to hear alternative theories.

So much easier when you have local authorities willing to help / fund you. Polish clubs have their own dedicated stadiums, or at least access to them every day. Compare that to British clubs, who have a constant battle with NIMBYs and authorities. How many authorities over here would be willing to let you have land to build a dedicated speedway track? How many restrictions would be imposed to appease the neighbours? Good luck in trying to access any funds / grants to help you. Totally different attitude toward the sport in the two two countries.

Glasgow's day will come. Not much in the way of silverware so far, but the club is almost unrecognisable to what it was a few years ago. The stadium had received a huge upgrade, the social media exposure is the envy of the sport, crowds are getting bigger, I only hope the owners don't stop the progress they are making. I would like to see them trying to bring some local talent through now. Personally I think the club are great for the sport.

The past couple of seasons have seen the first riders from the great youth setup run by Neil Vatcher & Co come through the ranks and hopefully there will be many more to come. Hopefully those in power will give it even more backing now and it can go on to bigger and better things. Some riders will go far, some might not get out of the National League. The main thing is that there are a good supply of young riders coming through. But certainly encouraging signs.

I will add Berwick to that list. Rich tradition of Australian (and New Zealand) riders in our history. Our greatest rider (IMO) Wayne Brown, Mike Fullerton, Roger Wright, Bruce Cribb, all the way throuh the ages, right up to the modern day, where the likes of Kozza Smith and Kevin Doolan have been big fan favourites.

I know most fans are bored about hearing this, but it already exists at Berwick. Their covers saved around half a dozen meetings this season.

Or Benny Johanson?

D'oh!

Then they would just be unlucky. And perhaps it would spur teams into trying to protect their tracks.

Some will say that's the whole incentive to getting to the playoffs, but i actually like the idea of a consolation type final, there was an example in the then Premier League maybe four or five years ago and it kept the season running for another couple of weeks, which was fine by me, the more the merrier. But you will then get the counter argument that it just means even more of a fixture pile up at the end of the season, when there are still regular league matches and KO cup ties being run (which is the bigger problem for me).

Don't have a problem with riders doubling up personally, as long as they don't miss meetings. Which I hope will be sorted out by the Premiership moving to Monday / Thursday nights as rumoured. Hopefully the Championship will have a similar line up to this season, as this suits Berwick. Not sure there are enough riders out there willing to ride in Britain to go to one league, without weakening the league to include a lot of current National League riders.

Dougie Templeton? The current setup suits Berwick perfectly, mostly northern clubs who bring a good amount of travelling fans and no need for expensive top line riders. Joining the top league would kill off Berwick.

Well done the Swindon Bandits

Has Peter Adams ever been GB manager? Can't imagine he has never been asked.

The way the team finished the season, at home anyway, I can see the majority, if not all, the team returning next year. Perhaps not Nick Morris, depending on doubling up rules and his ambitions for Poland. Who knows about NBJ, his time at Berwick was far too short, but in his couple of races he certainly showed he wasn't scared to mix it. Like everybody else I would be happy with JPB at 7. There were noises at the back end of the season about signing him. Hopefully that goes ahead. If Morris doesn't return, the club desperately needs to sign a number 1. I don't know if he would be the answer, but i can see the likes of Jason Garrity being signed, what with the Gary Havelock connections in the past. Lewis Bridger would be a steal on is average and if he gets his fitness back, he would be great to see round Berwick again. Whether he rides again is another matter. It's all guess work at the moment anyway until averages, rules and league structures etc. are sorted out.