salty

Just to point out that the quote which looks like it was attributed to me in Humph's post above is actually me quoting Dirt. Wonder if anyone has taken him up on his challenge to find a worse book than the Penhall tome.

Generally agree with you about name calling but Mr Caunt is too easy a target. The guy has been a councillor for 40 years so hopefully he may be near the end of his tenure. Whilst most councillors have been verbally positive about the Heathens over the years (whilst not actually doing much-if anything) Mr Caunt stands out as the one who has been particularly negative. Dudley used to have a County standard Cricket ground as well as a good non-league Football ground for Dudley Town, not to mention the mecca that was Dudley Wood. It's now got nothing. The Town Centre has to be one of the most depressing in the country as the Council allowed the Richardsons to make hay at Merry Hill, without a thought for the wasteland that would be left behind. I would love to see the Heathens return to the borough, but to be honest I can't see it without a major shift of will in the Council chambers.

Having listened to the cobblers he has spouted about the Heathens over the years, I can confirm that it is indeed with a silent a. He has been a councillor for centuries and has helped preside over making a Dudley a Town Centre without any shops and also the largest metropolitan area without a professional sports team.

"I challenge anyone to find a worse book than Penhalls offering! What a pathetic disgraceful attempt at producing a readable book. I now have mixed feelings but certainly a lot of hate for the man who by writing a book should have been gaining admirers, not creating enemies. you have to laugh at how anyone could publish this thing. Anyone off the street could have written a better book on any subject. I dont know how he managed to do so poorly, on a subject that I love. This book should be called Mission Impossible. 0/10, the few pictures are even poor. and who the hell would want to read about his power boat racing and how he won a world championship at that. I couldnt care any less. Thank god ive got some better offerings arriving soon to get this over rated gutless yank out of my system. cheers." A quick search finds this diatribe, which I would hesitate to call a review, that you posted last December. I'm sure the author was delighted to read such well written constructive criticism. You still didn't actually explain what you didn't enjoy about the book. I've got the book by the way, no classic granted, but tells the Penhall story well enough. Also as a Biography I reckon it's important to talk about Penhall the person, not just what he achieved on the track.

Interesting point Rob. Going into their last races the Moran brothers were on 6 and Siggy was on 5, so there was always going to be one rider left vulnerable on 7 points.

Think you'll find that Penhall didn't write that book. The clue is in the fact that it has the author's name (Steve Johnson) on the cover. You can ask Steve about the book yourself he posts on here quite regularly I think. Would be interested to know what was so wrong with the book? Not enough mentions about Darcy Ward???????

I'd agree that there needs to be a greater transparency and mors stringent checks of machinary. If only to reassure us that everything is above board. The whispering campaign against Emil last year is an example of what can happen without checking. I'd like to see Kolodziej in the GP's next year, I'm sure he would be competitive and it seems daft if he gets excluded just because of his nationality.

Given that Gollob won at Terenzano last year and that the final GP is in his own backyard then it's looking promising.

Difference is the play-offs provide live sport on a Monday night, whereas the GP's are competing against other major sports on a Saturday night.

I'm a Virgin customer but still get SSN. It was only taken off some of the cheaper packages as far as I recall.

Quote from Bob Radford's feature in the last issue of "Backtrack".... "In 1975 the Speedway Control Board and their contractors made a mockery of track preparation for the World Final on a night where fans infamously grabbed water hosepipes to try and dampen the dust. Happily, Len Silver was brought in to prepare the circuit from 1976 and he ensured that all remaining meetings held there were contested on the best possible track." So you can't blame Len for Wembley 1975, Rye House 2010 might be a different matter though.......

I'll have to check when I get home, but I'm pretty sure Len didn't do the track in 1975. He was brought in to do it for the next two World Finals as a result of the debacle in 1975.

Not a great weekend for the sport. Too many injuries (get well soon to all those concerned) and both showpiece meetings appear to be massive let downs. Even allowing for the re-runs there is no way the Rye meeting should have dragged on for so long in the early stages and the field for the Pairs meeting was a disgrace. Sad to hear the track was so dusty today, can only think they were expecting some natural watering.

Thanks for the pics. Amazing that some of the Brits didn't practice on Saturday, what would be the reasoning behind that?

Not having a go at Joe in any way, but surely he would have practiced at Rye yesterday? Surely it's time to consign the Elite Pairs to the bin, or at least don't schedule it at such a busy time of the season. I guess the fact it attracted a decent crowd means it will be persevered with.

How come Haines can ride, yet Hougaard can't? They are riding in the same event tomorrow.

JB has mentioned a couple of times that the 1977 White City team benefited from a close relationship with the Weslake organisation, which gave them a bit of an advantage over the rest. Maybe that's why he didn't give GK the credit you feel he deserves?

Agreed. Surprised we haven't had the usual calls to hold it at an "Elite" track. Good reward for the efforts at Rye over the past few years. Hope the weather is kind, the crowd is massive and the track prep allows a good 25 heats.

Top win for the Heathens, especially after a poor start and losing Richard Franklin in his first ride. Great effort.

Think you may have called this one correctly. Woffinden would be extremely fortunate to get a second pick, especially as he has struggled this year. BSI must be praying he puts up a much improved show in the remaining GP's to give them a bit more substance to support his inclusion again. Still, lots can happen in the rest of the season. Hancock and Harris showed in Croatia how one good GP can catapult you up the standings. Holta is the one rider in the current top 8 who probably wouldn't benefit from a nomination, but hopefully he will do enough to qualify comfortably.

Fair play to Harris and Hancock, both stood up today and did the business to get themselves into the top 8 with just three rounds to go. Impressed by the track and stands, but the track wasn't the best.

Ok you're right, it's very embarrassing to hear the Brits begging for a nomination.

Following on from the post from "Pandorum", it's a bit of an indictment that British riders have to beg for a nomination. Harris has also been quoted along similar lines in the past couple of weeks and it's a bit embarrassing really. I think one spot at most for the Brits and preferably none, just leaving a wild card for Cardiff.

I'm pretty sure Peter Oakes job role was never described as coach (in fact I just checked - he was Under 21 Team manager). He helped set up the under 15 competition and I seem to recall him arranging a group of riders to attend workshops concerning media training amongst other things. All worthwhile and which ideally would have been complemented by ex-riders providing on track guidance and expertise. It just seems that the structure of our sport does not allow for such positions to be renumerated or the resources to be sourced, big part of why GB continues to lag behind other countries at the top level. Didn't Erik Gundersen offer to help out with British youngsters recently?

Nice idea to talk about appointing a GB youth coach and Mike Lee would certainly have a part to play. Trouble is, who pays for such a set up? A few years ago Peter Oakes took on the role of developing young Brits (can't remember his actual job title) and seemed to be doing a good job of supporting the youngsters and helping their development. If I remember he walked away from the post muttering about lack of support from the authorities (maybe someone else can give more detail), but I got the impression that there just doesn't seem the will to provide the necessary finance.