B.V 72

Thank you for correcting me lesson learned don't believe everything you read on the internet.

I would think that Somerset stopped using the Confederate flag because of all the controversy that went on in the USA last year and still causing controversy today. President Obama issued an executive order that came into affect on the 18th June 2016 which makes it illegal to posses any item or symbol bearing the sign of the confederacy.Obama called the confederate flag a symbol of hatred and compared its history to that of the third reich. So as you can see it is not a ploy by the club to make you buy new coats and caps etc.

This fixture might be a bit early for Belle vue two riders in the 1 to 5 that will be riding there first meetings for us and 2 very young reserves in their 1st prem league meetingsI think we will handle Poole better later on in the season when the team gels more and they have had a good few meetings under their belts more so home meetings.time will tell.

When is the Prem league review edition of the star being released or have i missed it already thanks in advance.

Lee Payne returns for the Colts and is named as team captain.

No apologies needed we usually lose play off finals.

Did not really know where to post this but as its a tv based thread. For anyone that did not know the opening meeting of the speedway best pairs cup at Torun is on Euro sports 2 at 5pm live this coming Saturday the 25th March. Plus starting tomorrow (Mon) 1 hour highlight prog's of previous pairs meetings every night next week.

The BSPA will not be able to dictate anything to Poland if they get their own way.We might produce some stars of our own in the future but there is a good chance that when they are all good enough they will sod off to Poland as well just look at Woffinden.There will not be a problem if they ride here as well the problem is that Poland want to dictate when and who they can ride for and want the right to pull a British contracted rider out of a pre arranged fixture at the drop of a hat for there rearranged fixture's and even for practice.How can a British club run a business when there top contracted riders can be pulled out of a league meeting at short notice the punters will soon get p/d off and stay away if this continues to happen.Just another nail in British speedways coffin.

He was booed at Belle vue in the play offs and there were chants of who are you down to the fact that he had turned his back on British speedway and we never see him anymore.He was only riding because his Polish and Swedish teams were out of the plays offs and it was the only way he could earn some money.What did he expect that we would be so grateful to see him ride that we would cheer the roof off. He hated it responding with hand gestures to the crowd and then called the Belle vue fans scum on twitter. I know this is water under the bridge but for turning his back on British speedway the way he has(world cup British final etc) he deserves the same response at Cardiff.

Sorry Phil but you are wrong Shuttleworths average is 6.60 Smiths average is 6.32 he was always going to be down as 3rd heatleader so Payne is still a possible 2nd heat leader.

All i can say to this is have some loyalty to the league that gave you a start because if it was not for the British league there is a good chance that Poland would not know who the hell you are.Its not like British clubs are saying that you cant ride in Poland they are just saying if you are contracted to ride in Britain then you can't ride in a re arranged meeting elsewhere. Honor you contracts in Britain seeing that you have 2 clubs and will ride in perhaps 60+ meetings here this season(60 meetings that will give you loads of track time and make you a better rider like your last 2 years here have) or p/off to Poland for good and be lucky to ride in half a dozen meetings if your lucky. I

Time to get tough with the Australians.To late for the ones that are major stars but the likes of young Holder etc should be made to choose if you want to ride in Britain then we come first and you ride in all our pre arranged fixtures.This should be in the contract they sign if they don't agree to this then they don't ride here full stop. As for any future Australians.N/Z and USA riders that want a chance here(which they won be given in Poland)they should have to sign a contract that says that for say 8 years ? you are tied to British speedway which over this period Britain come's first and that we have priority with pre arranged fixtures over any other countrys league.Its the only way that British promoters can protect themselves and justify the money they will have spent on bringing them over and nurturing them for the first year/years.As it stands now Britain is the only country that is willing to give them a start so if they are not willing to commit to Britain for a few years then they don't deserve the chance we give them and don't deserve to be here so let them try to get a start elsewhere. The Poles started it so we need some way to fight back perhaps this could be a start.We need to get tough and look after our own interests first if our leagues are to survive.

All i can go off is what i have seen.Bewley and Smith are 2 of the finest young prospects i have ever seen.Both made their Nat league debuts last year Bewley just turned 17 in his home debut scored an 18 point max and has had a full season to improve since then.Smith rode at Belle vue 5 times last year twice for Brum and 3 times as a Belle vue guest his scores were 10+2, 13, 12+1, 13 and 16+1 both ride Belle vue very well.Time will tell how quickly they will improve but i think as the season goes along they will well hold their own around Belle vue and take some big scalps along the way.How will they perform away i dont know yet. but i think they will be the key to our season. The only thing i know for sure is that it will be a great joy for me to watch them progress over next season with both the Aces and the Colts.

Well after all the woe's of this closed season i think we may have a good chance of making it 3rd time lucky.Just need Fricke now to make my day.

If you look at Sedgmen as the teams 5th rated rider he held his own apart from one small stay at reserve in Swindons 1 to 5 all season. Looking at the other teams 5th rated riders Auty,Wright,Newman and Howarth all ended their season in the reserve position.Rose spent a big part of the season at reserve.Robson has had a few seasons away from a full season in the top league and its B W Dean 1st season in the top league.So on paper Belle vue have made a good signing and if his 7.60 average allows us to (if true) fit Bjerre into the team it makes him a even better signing.

124 pages of comments re what happened who is to blame etc most from people with a far better education than me.But your last sentence sums it all up and is what i thought all along we will never know. The past is the past and the only thing that really matters to most fans is what happens now, a new promotion is willing to try and keep Belle vue speedway running.To keep the club running they have to make it pay and to do that they need every Belle vue fan to turn up for as many meetings as they can.So they are doing their part but the future of the club is really down to the fans if we turn up in numbers every week the club should survive if not its bye bye.The bottom line is we need to show them we want speedway in Manchester and turn up in numbers for every meeting but do enougth people want it ? ask me again in October.

From my point of view i take every season as it comes these days and what is on tv is a bonus. So my season this year is as follows. PCM, BFand BLRC (live) At least 15 Prem league class meetings.(live) At least 12 Nat league meetings. (live) 18 Prem league meetings,12 GPs.4 world team cup meets on BT all for £5 a month. European championship,pairs and Swedish league On Euro sports. Also what i am saving on not paying Sky will fund a good few Aces and Colts away meetings. I will get to watch over 80 speedway meetings this season so whats not to like.

Very true and thats why we should all worry when clubs fold. Re Matt Ford you could be right their a clever business man could get out while he still has something to sell.

Lets all hope you are wrong there for the sake of all the Swindon fans and for the health of British speedway.We just cannot loose another long standing club everything crossed that they start to build soon.

I know it would be a massive outlay and probably not possible for most clubs these days.but if any club/clubs could afford to buy a large screen like sky have used for play off meetings and film every race and re run the races between each heat and interviews with riders/managers etc it would take the sport into the 21st century and keep people entertained inbetween heats.Big outlay i know but i would think fans would feel they are getting more value for money and will not get bored inbetween races i think its the main reason why people are put off speedway take out the boreing waits inbetween races and they will be more likely to come back for more.

How does the Championship league survive they don't get any sky money(maybe 1 meeting or so a season).The way it is now there are maybe half a dozen riders classed as top riders the rest ride in the championship league or are of that class.I heard that most of the sky money in the past was paid to the top riders to get them to ride over here,these days there are not that many top riders to pay top wages to.I am not saying that if they loose the sky money it won't be a big blow but the way things are now i don't think it would cripple the sport like it would have done a few years ago.I would think that the weakening of the league(and in my opinion the aim is to have one big championship level league and loose all the top riders)is an attempt to keep speedway running in this country at a cost British promotions can afford without folding and the possibilty of eventually loosing the sky money could be part of their reasoning.So the plan to keep the sport running at a lower cost and maybe without sky money is already in motion.For all our sakes lets hope it works.

Seating is hardly a new thing is it three quarters of the the old Hyde road stadium was seated.I never stood up to watch speedway until we moved to Kirky lane.Guess what stadium i prefered even as a teenager/young man.

Joe Jacobs 8.63

Sad sad day the league will just not be the same without the Coventry bees one of the sports greatest and longest running clubs.My heart goes out to all Coventry fans totaly gutted for you all.The way this has all happened must be heart breaking a club as big as Coventry if it had to close should have had at least one more season for the fans to have said goodbye in a fitting manor not like this total crime to the club and to the sport. Shame on everyone involved in ending a great clubs history in this manor.

The way i see it i have had the worst closed season i have ever had. But now as a club at last we have a future again and that as just a fan is all that matters to me.Who or whatever was to blame for last years disaster i do not know but i do feel gutted for David and Chris and all involved after all their hard work in delivering a great stadium for us all to enjoy and whoever or what ever was to blame i will always thank them for that but as with all disasters in life(easier for me than them) we have to put it all behind us and move on. I will be interested in what really happend last year(if we ever do) but as a fan that is all in the past and all i care about now is the future. As things are now we have new promoters who have saved the club and who seem to have the ability to take the club forward and give us all the future we all want. The speculated team while not perhaps a title winning team should ride the NSS well and provide some great entertainment. The speculated Colts team will be a joy to watch full of young riders that i think have a great future in the sport and i.m.o could be challenging for the league title. So after months of doubt i am full of joy my club has a future and cannot wait to buy my season ticket and take my seat to watch speedway in the countrys best speedway stadium.