Mr Snackette

A little harsh on the Stoke riders, but on balance fair.

As Chris Louis said at Foxhall on Thursday, some Stoke riders lacked professionalism. If they display the same degree of petulance and immaturity that they did last Sunday, it might just be the Fen Tigers weekend.

Yes it's a great pity that he places his Long track / Grass track commitments as his first priority, as I too would love to see him back. However with the number of weekends he would miss as result, really would make his signing impractical. Now if only we could operate a squad system!!!!

Riders based a distance from their home track is nothing unusual. Leigh Lanham travels from Ipswich to Newport.....Lol Hare used to travel Ipswich to Edinburgh and then Exeter........and there are countless others. As CS mentioned, he could always move, which I understand is part of the reason for seeking out Ipswich, as he does have some connections in East Anglia. I think more of a concern to Ipswich is if the Deadbeets join us in the PL next season, then he could be on his way to join them. Mind you if he did, he would soon become Norfolk 'n Good!!!!!!!

Another balanced, sophisticated, and profound contribution, from the master of cognitive analysis!!!! Of course his top half finish in The PLRC was probably no more than a fluke, and should rightly be discounted More importantly, young Masters win has seriously increased his stock value, and The Promotion may have dig pretty deep into their pockets to secure his services.

Racin Jason is really only saying what most of us of have heard from other sources. Whilst some may have enjoyed the NsEL experience (it takes all sorts!!!), financially it appears to have been a bit of a disaster. Without the inducement / bribe / sweetener / bung (delete as applicable), there would be some serious problems to be addressed. One thing you can say about the Chapmans, is that they are shrewd business people, and will not risk the shop for the sake of an egotistical whim.

I can well understand why you would want to the Panthers to go PL, as without doubt it has been the best move that Ipswich have made in years. Rumours are that there are at least four NSEL clubs looking to drop down next year, but I must confess I have not heard the name of Peterborough being included amongst them. Forget the mention of assets, as there is no such thing. Young Poole may be on the Peterborough retained list, but at the end of the day he, in common with any other rider, will ride at the track that provides the best deal. This was proved by the Pole Swiderski a few years back.

This constant self deprecation is becoming rather tiresome. The expression, bête noire is a phrase used in common English, and really does (in my opinion) accurately reflect your present antipathy towards Risager. When I come across a word or expression with which I'm unfamiliar, I look it up. It helps improve my vocabulary. We all have certain riders that we tend to have a certain antithesis towards, and there will be others who see things differently. However in the case of Risager, I think you need to accept that he is here to stay (rightly in my view), and move on.

Mm very sensible. Use a rider whose focus, by his own admission, is long track racing, who will as a result miss meetings, particularly at weekends. From your comments it would appear that Risager has become your bête noire. Pity you weren't at Rough Park over the weekend, where the boring, gating white liner, made another exciting pass around the outside!!

Great post Muppet.......keep taking the tablets!!!!! For the first year in I don't know how long Ipswich Speedway have made, rather than lost money. So I really can't see the attraction of moving back to a league were you are guaranteed to lose money. Indeed what a triumph the NsEL has been this year....legal wrangles, suspended Poles, non-appearing Russians, cheating silencer con artists.....et all!!!!! I am reliably informed that more people have been through the turnstiles at Foxhall than did so for the whole of 2010. So I don't know about those that have disappeared, maybe the odd (very odd) NsEL or nothing freak, but more than made up by those who have returned. Still, if some of the rumours are to be believed you may well get your wish of a Witches / Deadbeets derby next season!!!

Just be listening to talkSport and nice interview with Jan O. Said he will be riding in a match race against Sam Ermolenko on Tuesday 26th July at Monmore Green, presumably as part of the Golden Hammer Meeting. Tempted to make the effort and go. Anyone know any more information?

With tracks struggling to get 10 home and away fixtures completed by the end of July, so that the Phase 2 fixtures can be compiled, one wonders if the fixture list can accommodate a Pairs Qualifier.

But the fact is we didn't have two riders good enough. Doolan and Risager's combined average of 15.41 placed them in 11th position just 0.18 behind 10th placed Leicester Lions. Given that the Promoter's decided that the PL Pairs would be contested by 10 teams, then sadly four were always going to miss out. The fact is we just weren't good enough. So get over it and move on. Of course instead of sucking on those sour grapes you could start campaigning for change next year. Who knows they may just listen!!!

The BSPA in their infinite wisdom decided on the format that was to be adopted. Our Promotion as members of the BSPA went along with this, so we just have to accept that we were not good enough to qualify. Anything else just sounds like sour grapes!

They did enter, but failed to qualify.

Agreed. And goodriddance!!!

I too am looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with all on Compost Corner. I remember on one occasion an altercation breaking out, resulting in one Deadbeet fan being carted off to hospital with seven broken fingers. Mind you his other hand was fine!!!!!

Have any of the above signed a contract to ride for The Deadbeets in 2011? If not they are free to ride for any promotion they choose. They are not "assets", they are names on a Retained List held by the BSPA. This has no legal significance, and promoters are acutely aware of the dangers of refusing to allow a non contracted rider the opportunity of riding wherever they want. They will of course huff and puff, and in all probability a loan fee will be paid to keep the whole pretence alive. But at the end of the day, as Swiderski proved a few years back, it is the rider who will decide where they will ply their trade, which is in my view how it should be.

As I understand it Sky demand a league of at least 8 teams. On that basis you would have assumed that Ipswich would have been allowed to switch to PL without a problem. However there is at least one other club (possibly Eastbourne) who would also wish to race in the second tier. Consequently El Presidente fears that if Ipswich were allowed to move to the PL, another club would follow, reducing the NotSoElite League down to just 7 teams, thus below Sky's requirements. Where it would start to get interesting is if both teams decided to close, and then a new team would have to be found to bring the NSEL up to the minimum numbers. And that I suspect is how the politics of the AGM will revolve.

I think most of us know where Scott's transfer money went...... and it wasn't on day to day running expenses. I agree the Promotion do not have to account how they spend THEIR money. However many of the Witches fans are effective stakeholders. They helped raise over £25,000 to help save speedway in Ipswich. Through the 400 Club they have provided around another £120,000 to enable the club to run. These people do this because they love their speedway and are happy to give up their time to help preserve speedway in the town. I think that gives them the right to ask how some of the money has been spent. The trouble is with apologists like Badge, JL & Le Enfant Terrible, think they can get away with anything..... and to date they probably have. Sadly for lovers of speedway in Ipswich the faults and mismanagement of previous years are now coming home to roost.

Compared to previous GP venues in the UK, Cardiff is decent……. nothing more. Whilst the stadium facilities are fine, Cardiff is a rather depressing provincial city with little to commend it. Rugby League after two dreary events in Cardiff, had the good sense to move their Magic Weekend to Edinburgh. The move to Edinburgh has meant “that supporters can look forward to a bigger and better all round experience throughout their stay with the city offering a huge choice of accommodation, an incredibly wide selection of restaurants as well as a hugely expanded game-day entertainment programme in and around the stadium.”* Still with the meeting now starting at 5pm, at least those that want to, can be on the 8:25 pm to Paddington, and be “up West” in time for a chilled glass of Sancerre!!! Mind you the chances of a GP in London……………… virtually zero, which is a shame. In the words of Samuel Johnson: “…………when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” *taken from the Super League website

Not a bad meeting and very good value for money. Kc100 (around £3) for admision and programme. Mind you not sure how financially viable this all is, with the likes of Hancock and Ulamek programmed for 5 rides each plus a nominated ride. I wouldn't have thought there were any more than 500 there last night, and the majority of those appeared to be following Mseno. Interesting race format: 15 heats, 7 riders, 1 to 4 each have 5 programmed rides each. 5 & 6 are juniors with #5 programmed for 5 rides, and #6 just 1. #7 rider has no programmed rides but appears can substitute any of the 1 to 4 riders at any time. This was useful for Prague, as Davey Watt crashed in his first ride, took no further part, and consequently was replaced by Adrian Rymel for the rest of the meeting. What criteria is used for the #7 is unclear, I assume it is lowest average of riders 1 to 4, but perhaps someone in the know could enlighten us? As expected Hancock and Ulamek were a class apart, but young Matej Kus gave it a good go, and fully deserved his extra ride.

If one attempts to distance one’s self from the rather moronic comments as to whether one sportsman is worth any more than another, Mr Gollob's income from on track earnings in Sweden and Poland is nothing short of incredible. Let’s assume that he earned £400,000 from sundry individual and play off meetings in both Poland and Sweden, of which there were about a dozen meetings. In the two leagues he scored 251 points last season, which by my calculation equates to £2,500 per point. If these figures are right, is it any surprise that the bulk of Swedish and Polish clubs are in financial difficulties?

According to the official FIFA World Cup site the match for third place kicks off at 7:30pm UK time. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/kostage.html

Great news. Was there in 2005..... for a rain off!!! So would love to see some racing action. Mind you it's an ill wind................, as there was a bar owner in Nassjo who couldn't believe his luck when around 70 Brits descended on his establoishment for the evening!!!