MD

This isn't the fault of Glasgow Speedway though they will pay the price with a very low crowd. We have imported riders since time began and unfortunately if we were to avoid riders who have team places in the EL, Poland, Sweden, Long Track etc it would be NL speedway at Glasgow. Even mediocre PL riders can seem to pick up a place in Poland these days. Australian riders were once coveted as they didn't need to disappear off to their home championships mid season, though for many of them now they are racing in multiple leagues just like the rest. British speedway for a while now has been lowest in the pecking order of European leagues, we no longer get the crowds or sponsorship we used to and this is the situation we find ourselves in. The BSPA have no bargaining power to change that, in demanding riders prioritise Britain though some of their decisions over the years would seem to have contributed to the decline. As it is IMO the lower half of the EL could easily join the Premier and not look out of place. As for Sunday, its pretty unappealing, fans will vote with their feet and its Glasgow speedway that will suffer when they can least afford it.

A new low crowd for a PL match! For once the rain could save us from this rubbish on Sunday.

By heat 12! TR Pijper ht5, TR Rusty ht6 then its shooty in. With nothing expected from Palovaara or Aarnio I'd expect Monarchs to need an overdraft to cover the wage bill this Friday.

An entertaining meeting despite the long delays for Rose and Neilsen. We definitely profitted from Mills inability to complete 4 laps though he made up for it in ht14 with an excellent win. Wonder what the issue was with Rusty's bike in ht13, never seen 2 riders go off 15m in the same race. Lykke had an excellent afternoon, one of the most productive inside line riders we've had at Glasgow and smartly moves off it in later heats to follow the dirt line. Aarnio pretty much got what Anders would have. Think we are in for a pumping at Newcastle tomorrow.

Stewart Dickson pulled no punches about Anders in Speedway Star, frustrating lack of consistency and saying blowing 2 engines wasn't his problem. Also questioning if he is doing too much. Perhaps it wasn't just us getting frustrated.

Ya beauty! An inspired guest in Bunyan, r/r and Rusty. All the more astonishing as Aarnio never showed until half way through the meeting.

Just get the riders to pay their own airfares! Oh, and make sure no one is getting in the back gate for free. If only we could have Shawfield like facilities again.

Fans were disappearing long before we left Shawfield hence the move to Ashfield for cheaper rent. Some people never migrated up to Ashfield due the areas' notorious reputation. Whilst Ashfield is a depressing ramshackle, Shawfield or the main stand has been renovated. It became very run down during the 2000's, like the area round about it whilst the new route for the M74 extension was chosen. However the area to the north and west of Shawfield are being regenerated with new roads and housing, and it is now right next to the motorway. I'm sure we could generate better crowds if we moved back there. From marketing during Alun Biggarts season they found very few fans came from Glasgow, Lanarkshire was the main base. However there was animosity when Glasgow left Shawfield and if we couldn't afford the rent then could we now? During the housing boom in the mid 2000's Glasgow were given notice to leave Ashfield and got a flat no about returning to Shawfield. However that was then, Shawfield must only be running Greyhound racing 2 or 3 nights a week, possibly there could be mutual benefit for both parties in Glasgow returning assuming a deal could be struck on the rent. Or maybe I'm getting carried away with thinking about going to a home match with even basic facilities!

Home and abroad. We don't differentiate on dross.

We had him last year and didn't invite him back for 2014, substandard. #backthebritseveniftheyarepish

Reading this I am wondering if I have been harsh on Anders. Knowing that he pays his own airfares its no wonder he has found it hard to make progress he must just have been keeping his head above water financially never mind investing in better equipment to kick on!

I must be in the half that don't know along with my usual crew. So just in case the club or Directors don't know either, it would make sense to communicate it to them rather than assume they are aware of it.

Fair enough but there seems little point in telling people on here. Make it known officially to the club and they can do something about it should that be the case.

You seem to have had this gripe for some time, perhaps it refers to a particular individual or individuals. Bring it to Glasgows' attention via the email address on the website and content yourself. Flights from Scandinavia aint cheap even with a budget airline I could quite believe that a return flight including taxes would be the best part of 500 notes.

I enjoyed today, the racing was good though if Somerset are the league's top team we weren't far away. A couple more points from Thomsen and our usual reserve rather than Edberg and we were taking them to the wire. The crowd was poor today though, I would put it down to a wet forecast, high winds outside that weren't forecast but were fierce for several hours prior to racing, the GP was on TV at 1pm and was entertaining, and Glasgow having Pijper away and Berge injured.

Anders hasn't made the progress you would have expected from last year. There have been 2 or 3 flashes of what he can really do but that has not been often enough and he has this frustrating knack of racing his team mates, whether they are faster or not, or have the better line, he's not giving way. If it weren't for the fact that we now need a replacement for Berge, I wouldn't be too disappointed with his decision. Reading on here that he blew 2 engines guesting for another team just adds to the frustration. Hopefully he can finish his season off in Denmark, rebuild his confidence and come back to us at some point in the future a more mature and assured rider. As it is for 2015 I don't think we will be lacking in choice for second strings! For the remainder of this year, looks like it could be r/r for 28 days as he is with holding his services then we would need to find somebody. As for Berge, on an average of 4.90, I'm not sure who is available or who would ride for us. Its been another challenging season for us!

Its starting to sound like its up to Rusty to take it to them. What happens in the other 10 heats may be difficult.

Isn't his registration held by Redcar?

A bit of a pumping on the cards for Glasgow, r/r for Pijper, a 3 pointer at No1 and Edberg for Berge. With Dimitri reportedly having a broken wrist/arm I would doubt we will see him again this season, no that we saw him much anyway. The forecast doesn't look good and all in all puts a bit of a downer on what I was looking forward to on Sunday. Unless of course Somerset get stuck right in at Armadale tonight and do the unthinkable !

Best of luck trying to change your race night to a Friday. Glasgow applied to do this for the 2013 season but another Friday club objected and that was that.

Unfortunately that is likely to be the case particularly as it seems Glasgow potentially fly in 4 riders. However both promotions could have agreed yesterday to postpone on the basis of a shockingly wet forecast and a weather warning. It was the correct call for the Glasgow leg as the rain has been constant all day.

The backlog of fixtures are stacking up. Don't fancy a double header with Newcastle twice on the same day. Could be some Monday night racing to come. I always think we get caught out by running such few matches during the summer holidays. We lose a weekend to the Pairs/GP but after that....

Glasgow might just get away with running at 1.30 if the 2 mins is on rapid. If its the Dishcloth refereeing forget it, there'll be more reruns than the British final.

Its another poor forecast for Sunday with 12 hours of rain predicted from 7am. Hopefully that changes when Sunday comes.

Anders has performed on 3 occasions at home this season which is hardly reaping the rewards. The spotlight is on the middle order due to the lack of a top end and Anders is frustratingly inconsistent. There is no hostility directed at Palovaara himself but the situation. Since we won the league in 2011 times have been difficult. We have gone down the assessed rider route with mainly Australians and Danes with very limited success. Bellego should have been one of the successes. We, the paying fans have watched tortuously as one after another weren't up to PL standard but we persevered with them regardless. Now having signed what looks like another 'perseverance' signing, the fans are venting. We know there is a lack of funds but also feel on occasions we deserve better, this being one of them. A decent No1 could have transformed our season coupled with the return of Berge at reserve. As it is Palovaara looks like a 3.00 rider with 1 point from 8 rides which if it transpires would give us a team CMA around the 36 point mark. We have every right to vent as is our perseverance being tested.