4thbender

If Sheffield was that bad a track, I'm sure we'd see lots of Sheffield riders sidelined through injury. Like, for example, the end of the '23 season, when Tigers had to field 3 guest riders for the final, with Woofinden, Gilkes, Vissing and Jack Holder on the injury list. Or the '24 season, when Woofinden (again) was an absentee for half the season. The odd thing is, despite riding the Owlerton track week in and week out, NONE of them were injured at Sheffield... they ALL succombed to injuries elsewhere! As I've pointed out before, you have to go back to 2014 to find a Sheffield rider suffering serious injury on the (allegedly) "perilous" Owlerton track. It can't be that bad!

Getting a bit fed up now with the groundless insinuations about the Owlerton track being a danger. All speedway tracks have their moments of horror, but Owlerton is no worse than any other. This myth seems to have kicked off because Ben Cook had a shocker on bend two which knocked him senseless. But, to be fair, he was racing again ten days later. The only other accident of note at Sheffield during the 2024 season was the one which finished Emil Sayfutdinov's season, which occurred NOT on the allegedly "notorious" bend two, but on bend four, and was put down to Emil's over-exuberance to catch the race-leader (i.e. his own fault, rather than any fault of the track). Every venue has its share of bangs and scrapes every season, but nine times out of ten, riders get up and walk away, albeit licking their wounds rather gingerly. But for the record, the last time the Sheffield track saw a rider incur "life-changing" injuries was 2014, when Taylor Poole fractured a femur, causing him to draw a premature veil over his racing career (and that wasn't on bend two either). Speedway can be a dangerous sport at any venue and all tracks make every effort to ensure that rider safety is the paramount consideration. The problem is not helped by alarmist voices making baseless "wall of death" insinuations.

Steady as Bob Cratchit, Kyle as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Kith Chapman as the fat turkey?

The Sheffield marketing team have taken a lead from Jaguar: promoting the brand without actually showing the goods: Jaguar's new advert features no cars | Watch

You may be right. Maybe his testimonial is awarded on the basis of his services as British speedway's ambassador to Poland!

I love Tai, but give him a Testimonial Meeting in respect of his long service to British Speedway? Are they having a laugh?

Thanks for eight great years. There'll always be a special place for you in the annals of Sheffield speedway history, and a welcome for you on every future visit. Best wishes.

The important thing about building a team for next season is that we sign riders that are happy above all else to give everything for Sheffield. It appears to me that Jack prioritizes his own agenda. Six points in the home semi-final (when we all know he's well capable of double figures, even on a bad day) causes eyebrows to be raised. There was something about certain riders' performances in that Owlerton semi-final that made me feel uncomfortable in a way I've never felt uncomfortable before. It left me feeling that changes might be called for.

Woofy said in Thursday's programme that he's hoping to stay with Sheffield next year. Following the semi-final debacle, I think Jack may be the sacrificial lamb. Woofy, Bomber and the elder Holder sounds like a good heat-leader combo to me. We must keep Picko and Kyle at all costs, with (maybe) Jye Etheridge at no. 6. How do those averages add up?

You're quite correct. Having checked my facts it was at Cradley, not Wimbledon. And it was a handgun, not a shotgun. However, a rider going about with a gun in his toolbox has the potential to create the most dangerous scenario to ever happen at a sporting venue. He should have been banned from every track.... but he wasn't!

Sheffield Council overspent by £15.6 million in 2023/4!

The advent of air fences causes dirt to pile up around the foot of the air fence. Track staff do their best to shovel it back between races, but Sheffield is a huge 400-yard track and referees are under pressure to keep the meeting moving on at pace. What can be achieved between races is therefore limited. However, no-one wants to see riders injured (and we're all delighted that Ben is none the worse for his incident) but perhaps the speedway authorities might look at technical options for re-distributing the gathered dirt.

Well I'm saying it! Both Holder brothers scored their lowest home points total of the season. Was this coincidence or was it contrived? For one of them to be a bit off-colour would be understandable (if a bit unusual). But both? I smell a rat.

Yes, I believe a proposal was put forward a few years ago to take a few feet off the inside verge but the proposal was turned down by the stadium's owners.

The Sheffield track has remained the same since 1929. Unfortunately we haven't had the same benefit as the BV fans of having a brand new stadium paid for with taxpayers money. Those on here who lionise the wonderful NSS and criticise the "lesser" stadia like Sheffield should remember that.