tigerowl

Jack Bibby died in 1993 and Gil Blake in 2010.

A more accurate list for the thread title (having removed the pre war years) 29 years Neil Collins, Jimmy Squibb 28 years Les Collins 27 years Ken McKinlay, Malcolm Simmons, Paul Thorp 26 years Nigel Boocock, Peter Carr, Michael Coles, Alan Grahame, Gary Havelock 25 years Martin Dixon, Paul Fry, Gordon Kennett, Alan Mogridge, Joe Screen 24 years Tony Atkin, Jack Biggs, Barry Briggs, Bruce Cribb, Colin Gooddy, George Hunter, Gordon McGregor, Scott Nicholls, Stuart Robson, Andy Smith 23 years Jon Armstrong, Mike Broadbank, James Grieves, Peter Karlsson, Leigh Lanham, David Mason, Reg Trott 22 years Leigh Adams, Mark Burrows, Sam Ermolenko, Ronnie Genz, Richard Hellsen, Roger Johns, Jason Lyons, Ivan Mauger, Les McGillivray, Ron Mountford, Shane Parker, Norman Strachan 21 years Billy Bales, Bobby Beaton, Andre Compton, John Davis, Rob Hollingworth, John Jorgensen, Mark Lemon, Mark Loram, Cyril Maidment, Jim McMillan, Ray Morton, Dave Mullett, David Norris, Alun Rossiter, Carl Stonehewer, Jim Tebby, Barry Thomas, Carl Wilkinson 20 years Martin Ashby, Dean Barker, Craig Boyce, Eric Broadbelt, Howdy Byford, Louis Carr, Brian Collins, Mark Courtney, Lee Dicken, Jimmy Gooch, Chris Harris, David Howe, Paul Hurry, Dave Jessup, Chris Louis, Kenny McKinna, Mark Simmonds, Jan Staechmann, Simon Stead, Neil Street, Kelvin Tatum, Doug Templeton, Willie Templeton, Doug Wyer

These are the riders I reckon have had 20 years or more of active league racing. Pre-war years included. Apologies if I have missed anyone and queries welcome. 29 years Neil Collins, Jimmy Squibb 28 years Les Collins 27 years Ken McKinlay, Malcolm Simmons, Paul Thorp 26 years Nigel Boocock, Peter Carr, Michael Coles, Alan Grahame, Gary Havelock 25 years Martin Dixon, Paul Fry, Gordon Kennett, Alan Mogridge, Joe Screen 24 years Tony Atkin, Jack Biggs, Barry Briggs, Bruce Cribb, Colin Gooddy, George Hunter, Gordon McGregor, Scott Nicholls, Stuart Robson, Andy Smith 23 years Jon Armstrong, Mike Broadbank, James Grieves, Peter Karlsson, Leigh Lanham, David Mason, Reg Trott 22 years Leigh Adams, Mark Burrows, Sam Ermolenko, Ronnie Genz, Richard Hellsen, Roger Johns, Jason Lyons, Ivan Mauger, Les McGillivray, Ron Mountford, Shane Parker, Geoff Pymar, Norman Strachan 21 years Billy Bales, Bobby Beaton, Andre Compton, John Davis, Rob Hollingworth, John Jorgensen, Mark Lemon, Mark Loram, Cyril Maidment, Jim McMillan, Ray Morton, Wal Morton, Dave Mullett, David Norris, Alun Rossiter, Carl Stonehewer, Jim Tebby, Barry Thomas, Carl Wilkinson 20 years Martin Ashby, Dean Barker, Craig Boyce, Eric Broadbelt, Howdy Byford, Louis Carr, Brian Collins, Mark Courtney, Lee Dicken, Jimmy Gooch, Chris Harris, David Howe, Paul Hurry, Dave Jessup, Chris Louis, Kenny McKinna, Jack Parker, Mark Simmonds, Jan Staechmann, Simon Stead, Neil Street, Kelvin Tatum, Doug Templeton, Willie Templeton, Doug Wyer

Anyone who paid to go and watch that farce needs their head testing.

WILLSTEAD, Wilfred Thomas (Wilf) Born: October 1, 1919, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England.* Died: 1992. A former side car passenger and amateur boxer, Wilf was a junior rider around the Midlands for many years and had only a handful of outings for Cradley Heath between 1947 and 1949. Consequently, it was a major surprise when he was handed a reserve berth with Birmingham in Division One in 1950 as, at the age of 30, he could hardly be classed as a hot prospect for the future. He understandably found life hard in the ‘Brummies’ side, although he showed he was capable of holding his own with five points from two rides against Bristol in May. He retuned to Dudley Wood in 1951 but, despite his First Division experience, was unable to re-establish himself in the ‘Heathens’ side. He also appeared for Birmingham in 1954 in a pre-league season tournament but was not in the side when the official fixtures got under way. 1947-48 Cradley Heath 1950 - Birmingham 1951-52 - Cradley Heath

Pray for rain then!!

I think the best the fans can do is boycott these meetings to show what a complete and utter mess of the sport the promoters are making. Just don't go. Don't watch it on TV. Ignore it and it will go away.

Really pleased for the Brummies fans. These are dark days for the sport in the UK and some good news is always welcome.

WOOD, Maurice (Mike) Born: December 16, 1923, London, England.* Mike was a Londoner who came into the sport through the Speedway World Training School. After trials with New Cross he had outings at Exeter and Hull before settling at Rayleigh, where he was to spend the majority of the rest of his career. Mainly confined to second half racing, he was afforded the occasional opportunity at The Weir and his most eventful season came in 1951 when he turned down the opportunity of signing for Newcastle after refusing to undertake the travelling involved, and rode for a team labelled England ‘C’ in unofficial tests in Sweden in June. 1948 Exeter 1949 Hull 1950-52 Rayleigh Hope this helps Matt

I can remember when this sport used to be brilliant. What a complete and utter shambles it is now.

This to me is the real crux of the matter. Mediocre riders wanting to be full time professionals in a sport that is only attracting crowds that justify part time status and the promoters listening to the riders rather than the fans. if the promoters continue down this route the crowds will continue to fall.

I think it is more about stopping the fans we have at the moment leaving. Once the sport is stable and has credibility and identity, then we can hope to attract and keep new fans.

Good article and much needed. However, Rob Godfrey was going on about the fact it couldn't be done because the riders wont want to ride in one league. We have got to the stage where mediocre riders who want to ride full time, touring the country in fancy vans, racing in front of ever dwindling crowds, are wanting to run the show. Its about time the sport listened to the people that matter.

I think pages 2 and 3 of this week's Star demonstrate everything that is wrong with British speedway at the moment. The head of the BSPA advocating more guests because his team had a bit of a disaster at home to Wolves is a knee jerk reaction to an issue which ignores the long terms problems of excessive doubling up and awful fixture planning. This reaction is, I suppose, understandable in light of the season the Stars have had but it only goes to show how much an independent head of the sport is needed. Someone with knowledge of speedway but with no links to a club and with the best interest of the fans and the sport in general at heart. And then we have Jason Doyle going on about quitting if the top league is not on fixed nights. This shows that there is little loyalty to a country and a league, let alone a club, from some of the top riders. Again, this is understandable in a way as it is a short and dangerous career and they need to make their money while they can. The world has changed from the 1970s and 1980s when the British League was the goal of every rider around the world. Poland and Sweden have overtaken us for a while and the Grand Prix series along with the various other FIM events have all but taken over every weekend. As fans we have to accept this and live in the real world. We cannot expect to see the world's top riders here all the time, riding in front of a few hundred fans because the crowd levels we are getting won't support this. Also, the riders have to live in the real world and accept that they can't be all full time professionals on those same crowd levels. We need to take two steps back to go forward again. Stop doubling up, have tracks operating every week on fixed nights through the year, have riders riding at the correct level and give the fans their teams back. Once the sport has credibility and integrity and the fans start identifying with their teams again, perhaps we can move forward and establish the sport on a firmer footing again.

Having ridden a few second halves in the 1980s and failing miserably to make the grade, I would love to see the rider getting paid more. However, the crowds we get in the UK do not justify the money paid out and we have to cut our cloth accordingly. If this means that some of the big earners don't ride here, then so be it. What really gets my goat is the number of mediocre riders who ride full time and think that it is their right to do so.

I'll be subscribing to the Star again without question. I'm one of the people who has stopped going because of the number of guests, doubling up, lack of team identity, double point jokers, etc. etc. but I continue to buy the Star because it keeps me in touch with the sport that I hope will one day recover. However, on the same page, the man in charge wants more and more guests, leaving the sport open to more ridicule and the loss of more fans. Thank you Speedway Star for raising these issues and for the people in charge of the sport, for God's sake, get a grip.

If Josh Bates was number one at Sheffield in the second tier, then yes I would be more inclined to go. The thread seems to be split between those who want 'quality' and those who want integrity and credibility I don't think one side will ever convince the other, but I'm on the side of integrity and credibility because without them, speedway isn't a sport, it's a circus.

There are enough riders to go round. The argument there isn't is a myth perpetuated by the promoters and the fans who are happy with the farcical situation that exists at the moment. There are 29 teams competing at the moment which would require 203 riders to staff. With two and a half months of the season left, 208 riders to my reckoning have competed in league speedway. There would no doubt be a few more that would come and ride here regularly from countries like France, Netherlands, Germany and Austria, plus the likes of Manzares and Becker who are keen to race here. Cook, King, Grajczonek, Harris etc should not be in the Champonship Clegg, Williamson, Bewley, Boxall, Roynon etc. should not be in the National League. Riders riding at the correct level means more opportunities for young riders and the 'rider shortage' solves itself.

And last night in the Kent v Lakeside National League meeting, both teams used a guest at number one. Yet still the promoters bemoan a lack of riders.

I accept what you are saying Jim, but my point is that these collections of riders are not teams in the true sense of the word and that without credibility and integrity of the competition there is no 'product'. Maybe we do have to take a step back to go forwards again but when I look at the clips of racing at Eastbourne, their crowds don't look much lower in the National League now than they did when they were an Elite League club on Sky. (I will obviously be open to correction on this point!!)

Sorry if this a long post, bear with me. My first meeting was Sheffield v Hull in 1974. The Sheffield team that night was Bob Valentine, Bob Paulson, Doug Wyer, Reg Wilson, Arnie Haley, Craig Pendlebury and Rod Haynes. Four of that team had come through the second halves at Sheffield, one had been a Belle Vue junior but had been at Sheffield for nearly 10 years, one was a young lad that Sheffield had taken a chance with after showing some promise in the Second Division and Bob Valentine was an Australian that the Tigers had brought over four or so years before. This was a true Sheffield team and there was a connection between the riders and the fans and vice-versa. The sport wasn't perfect by any means as Bob Valentine was taken away by 'Rider Control' and placed with Coventry the following season, but the sport had at least some credibility. I know that The White Knight watched Middlesbrough for many years. They also rode on a Thursday night so I only ever had one visit to Cleveland Park which was in 1986. The Middlesbrough team that night was Steve Wilcock, Mark Courtney, Gary Havelock, Martin Dixon, Jim Burdfield, Glenn Hornby and Roland Tebbs. The construction of this team is almost identical in nature to that of Sheffield in 1974 and I remember distinctly how passionate the Middlesbrough fans were that night and how the team mattered to them. Jim Burdfield scored a maximum that night and I will always remember how this was received by the supporters. I accept that there was still doubling up of sorts in those days and the likes of Joe Owen (Newcastle and Hull), Steve Weatherley (Eastbourne and White City) and Michael Lee (Boston and King's Lynn) spring to mind. However, there were often connections between the two teams and although not a perfect situation, it was more manageable and acceptable. Things now have just got stupidly out of hand and the situation now where we have Craig Cook as the captain of two teams in two leagues just makes a mockery of the sport. We have to stop running the sport for average speedway riders who want to ride full time. The numbers on the terraces do not justify this and we have to try and attract back some of the fans who are becoming lost to the sport and also some new faces. The racing is good enough to make people want to come back for more but I think the average punter wants more than that, he or she wants a team to support and have that connection I felt as a young lad in 1974 or as a one off visitor in 1986. There are enough riders to go around and we many have to look at some of the lesser known speedway countries like Germany, Netherlands, Austria and France to fill out the teams but look at the success of the Riss brothers as an example of what can be achieved. I still think speedway can be the best sport in the world but a recent Sheffield v Ipswich meeting had 13 of the 14 riders who were either doubling up or doubling down and this surely cannot be right. **And another thing that boils my blood. Kent v Lakeside last night - both teams using guests for their number one riders. Promote the number eights and give the kids a chance for god's sake!!!! **

So when my team (Sheffield) go to Edinburgh without their number one who is riding for Somerset and we borrow a rider from Glasgow, one of our main rivals for winning the league, to replace him, that's the sign of a good well run sport is it? Oh well, as long as the rider's skills are improved...

I've been once this year when I used to attend every week I could, work permitting. The sole reason for this is the doubling up farce. A sport has got to have some sort of credibility for it to be a success and speedway has none at the moment. The sport should not be run so the riders can make a decent living, it should be run for the fans, like shippy22 says, that are proud of their team and the riders who represent it, not seven journeymen who ride for your team because it fits in with their busy schedule of riding for other teams. Not all that long ago, it was only the British League top men that were full time riders. Now it seems that a five point rider in the second tier who rides for two or three different teams can be full-time when only a few hundred fans are watching the racing. That surely can't be right. Craig Cook, Danny King, Robert Lambert, Chris Harris etc. should not be riding at second division level. When speedway starts alienating long term fans and losing them from the terraces whilst at the same time failing to attract new faces, it is in big trouble.

1. Someone with a brain and without a vested interest in a club to run the sport If number 1 does not happen, forget 2,3,4 and 5 2. Two leagues. A top league with no GP riders and no riders that are going to miss meetings to ride in other leagues. A second tier of National League standard for proper juniors with one experienced rider / coach. 3. No doubling up. The sport is being run for mediocre riders who want to ride full time when they are performing in front of a few hundred fans. If riding for one team means that they have to get a job. Tough. This will return the sense of belonging to the fans and make it seem like what the sport should be - a team sport. Don't let the promoters tell you that there aren't enough riders to go round, this is a myth. There is plenty of untapped talent in countries where they do not have regular league racing - Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands etc. 4. An absolute ban on guests for anything other than when a team is missing two heat leaders. Allowing guests for reserves is a cop out for promoters who won't find their own talent. Seeing this in the National League when there are riders crying out for a team place breaks my heart. 5. Better presentation. I got some free tickets to the ice-hockey the other month and there was a delay in the start due to a partial lighting failure. The presentation and fan involvement was first class whereas the speedway presenter would have just put Now That's What I Call Music 35 on the cassette player and gone for a pint / fag.

These moves just show how ridiculous speedway has become. Replacing a loyal and popular rider and a real up and coming talent just to try and get an extra half point per match somewhere. Puts a rider out of a job while others then have two jobs?