George Dodds

or until the government decides to lift the limit on the size of gatherings. The "good" thing about Boris and Co is just because they say something one day it doesn't mean they won't do something entirely different the next. I assume that smaller sports such as lower and non-league football, rugby etc are lobbying to allow at least limited numbers into grounds asap. That's the group that speedway would fall into

Simply because gatherings of that size at sporting events are still illegal

Interesting opinion ... but a load of rubbish.

didn't realise he was a season ticket holder

must have missed that. Which post suggests that some season ticket holders know what's happening?

So the idea that when you want a question answered you contact those who can answer it directly rather than leaving a throwaway message on a forum doesn't make sense to you? Contacting those involved directly by email does makes sense. Perhaps the club is waiting to see what happens before making any announcement. It does seem a gamble to roll season tickets over to next year before knowing how many (if any) meetings are to be held this season and what the format of the league for next year is. Could end up being the bargain of the century with ten Championship matches in 2020 and another 20 in one big 2021 league all for a heavily discounted 2020 price. Then again maybe Covid won't have disappeared and we might still be in lockdown this time next year. I suppose how many season tickets were sold by individual clubs might have a bearing on things. Perhaps you could trot around the other club forums and demand to know how many each of the clubs have sold.

While I agree with the Premiership and its reliance on fly-in/fly-out "names" I'm not sure that the Championship clubs would be offering much different to what was planned in March - except the actual number of fixtures of course. How the Prem makes itself look different from the Champs could be a tricky one

Just wondered if he had been in touch to ask them. Really an issue involving the club and those who bought season tickets.

But it's not 25% of crowds but 25% of stadium capacity. If - and who knows what the British government will decide - England and Wales had the same restrictions then the likes of Berwick, Poole, Leicester, Kent and Somerset would all be able to allow around 1,300 spectators (capacities of late 4,000 plus). Peterborough's main stand seats over 2,000 on its own so I suspect they would be around the same capacity, Belle Vue and Sheffield would be allowed around 1,000 but that would surely depend on what parts of the stadium other than the home straight they could open at Owlerton. Glasgow's low capacity and high overheads would have left them trying to balance the books on crowds of under 1,000 - others already do that with differing degrees of success. It's not a given that it could or would work - or even get the go-ahead - but it's not impossible either.

Have you contacted the club and asked them?

According to Digital Spy forums Premier has been unable to reach an agreement with the owners of Freesat over how much they pay to appear on the platform. https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/comment/96833798#Comment_96833798

and what a great society she left us with. Not as if the rich got richer and found it easier to avoid paying tax is it? Actually she did roll over after the Poll Tax riots and switched it from a tax on every adult to one on households. Who do you think benefited most from that? Oh yes those who owned more than one house. Funny that.

Yeah because there was no riots or strikes in the years that Maggie was in control was there?

but how can they have anything but hope? At the moment it would be illegal to stage a speedway meeting in front of a paying public. For that to be possible it needs a number of decisions to be made by politicians at a high level. Once those decisions are made stadium owners and promoters will know what has to be in place before the public can be admitted to the stadiums. Then they can tell those planning to turn up at the meetings what they have to do to make that happen.

and at most stadiums the normal crowd is a relatively small proportion of the potential capacity. One thing that has to be accepted is that there may have to be different mindsets from promoters and spectators to make things happen. And there may be some who cannot attend or a fearful of finding themselves among crowds. That's a real shame ... but not necessarily a reason not to try.

a frightening scenario

Again it has some relevance but a pub is an indoor facility with a single point of reference (the bar) and limited circulation space. Speedway stadia are outdoor spaces - potentially the bars and any behind glass hospitality could be a problem area. Berwick's Shielfield Park could be limited to 25 per cent of its capacity but that would still allow 1,200 or so into the stadium with 400 plus seats. Problem areas are likely to be the entrances, loos and food outlets. Potential solutions are one-way systems and effective stewarding. It would be nice to see people's commonsense come into the equation but better to plan for a lack of it. It would not be what people were used to pre-covid but - and supermarkets are an example - hundreds of people can gather in safety within an current environment that can be adapted with relative ease, albeit at some expense and requiring hard work and a will to make it happen.

A perfectly valid guess ... but no more than that. Probably wouldn't have thought people would be queuing off the charts for Primark or Macc-Ds either but it happened.

Action and interviews from Saturday night's practise session at https://www.facebook.com/BanditsSpeedway/

Mason Watson

Summers, Etheridge, Flint, Bickley, not sure whether Garcia had already arrived in Britain befroe the lockdown but, whatever, obviously maths is not your strongpoint

Sure it's easy but unless a British speaking TV station wants to pay for it there is no benefit to doing it

I'm with you on what the punishment should be ... just think the reality will be disappointing.

that's the sort of term that rapists and people guilty of manslaughter are given. Would anticipate a maximum of three years is more likely.

Just off the top of my head ... that once someone is charged then the case becomes sub judice. Anything discussed that may affect the outcome of the trial or interferes with the selection of unbiased jury members - depending where any trial is heard. Also the possibility of slander/libel if he was not charged/found not guilty.