Tsunami

Well done Scotty. I think you did everything not to qualify but you still nearly made it. Fair dues to the Englishman.

Jill Said what. Can you not recognise a pleasantry when you see one.

Jill Got a problem.

themanwiththeplan I think Nicki did what he thought was right and I applaud him for it. How many in the final would have done the same. None.

SCB, Jill Both KB and PUK did brilliant.

Dirty Greg, dirty Jason. Com'mon Nicki.

SCB Yes, but if don't excited in a world championship you should not be there. I have seen worse reactions to that at PL level. I like Tony Steel and he is top referee but I think the ginger winger conned him.

Didn't take long for the anti Nicki children to get their names in print. A move that all the clean riders like Crump and Greg and of course superclean Sam do week in week out but oh no its Nicki. Some people need to get real and be fair to everyone.

SS Seen more fat on a chip.

Congratulations Bjarne for a great win. Another ex Diamond World Champion ?? Everyone from Newcastle will have been behind you.

1) Gollob 2) Crump 3) Adams 4) N. Pedersen

Its official that Speedway is Sky's second biggest sport and they have the figures to prove it. All soccer matches, compilations, and magazine programmes are tops followed by Speedway programmes. We are ahead of cricket, rugby, athletics, horse and dog racing,etc. Sky will want Speedway for some considerable time unless of course we seriously shoot ourselves in the foot over something.

Markone I think Tony Mole tried to open Brafield a few years ago and received complaints from Coventry. Too near ?

It was Ivor Brown Ivor took badly to Ivan's fame as he had been top dog. One Saturday Ivor fenced Ivan badly. In the return on Monday at Newcastle, Ivan returned the compliment but unfortunately injured Bill Andrew in the process. Mind you Ivor had a quiet night after that, being both injured and having a bent bike. Ivor must have had the cleanest bikes in the league in those days, they were a real credit to him.

mart W And what would happen if Carmarthen chose William Lawson who lives in Perth, Scotland ?

Lioness It certainly was good PR and I though it was all grant aided. Thanks for the info. I assume you were referring to the Bjarne crash beside the start gate at Jesper's testimonial. It really was horrific and I think everyone feared the worst, just a ripped off nail and small cuts to the hand if I remember right. Did you also see Stu Robson's crash with David Ruud on video on Newcastle's site. If an air fence had been in situ its possible that both bikes and riders would have stayed trackside with worse consequences. I agree, it may not be only one solution to solve the problem. Why do I want to call this smilie Kelvin ?

Much as we all can support the idea of compulsory air fences on the bends, the sport, as already stated, cannot afford them. The majority of clubs would have to close down because nobody can absorb a £20000 bill at one go and I dont suppose fans are prepared to pay extra to cover the cost. Its morally right to protect the riders but not at the cost of the sport. A few years ago Newcastle Speedway featured in the business section of our local morning paper and asked if any business's would be interested to sponsor or advertise on it and there was no replies. Perhaps some grant could be obtained from the Sports Council or a similar body. Normally these sort of bodies do not assist professional sport undertakings but if you remember after the Bradford Fire Disaster, all clubs with wooden stands were given grants to replace them. The other option is of course of pooling between clubs whereby a Sunday club shares with nearby Tuesday and Thursday clubs to share the costs. Another alternative is the idea that Geoffrey Spargo, ex Trelawny Promoter, was investigating. Because of the high initial cost and high maintenance cost of air fences, he was investigating the possibility of using a fence containing polystyrene balls which did not need inflation. A bit like a beanbag but probably not so comfortable. The fence would remain intact after the hit but would just need knocking back into shape or replaced. Its worth a thought, as I can see in the near future the sport will be compelled to protect the riders.

MYLOR Your analysis is spot on although I dont think the promoters have tried to hide their reasons. In a full market, any employee can ask for the earth and get it. In a supply exceeds the demand situation, the employee has to extract the highest pay and still get employed. In the last couple of seasons. and in one case this coming season, some big names were not hired because they ignored this. Unfortunately in speedway the Promoter gets chastised for not doing enough to retain the rider, whilst the rider does not get blamed for being greedy. Ah well, thats life. I hope the EGM does not destroy anything but has been called to rectify minor problems. With riders signed by most teams, its a bit late to change again now.

Lupus and Scunny Stag Can I just add my support to the common sense that is quoted in the two postings above. Everyone can't always have there own way but, as they have pointed out, there is the possibilies of good coming out of all of this. Time will tell. You have to remember the views that internet fans have do not represent the majority of stadium fans. On this forum there seems to be a rejection of AGM rules by about 9 to 1 but in the Speedy Star their vote was about 50/50. In the stadium who says they are not in favour with a wish to suck it and see ?

RacerX I dont think there will be any fixing of averages. There will need to be flexible grades as the number of riders in each band have got to just exceed the requirement. At the end of the season riders will not know what the band is so only the normal dropping of average will be evident !!!! The other point is that it does not necessarily mean that teams will always go with the highest average in each band to maximise their 'points total'. Up and coming riders to the bottom of the band could still be a better bet than a rider in decline who is top of the band. At the end of the day now. it is not a case of getting the highest averages but getting the best improving riders. :rolleyes:

SCB I think the averages will decide each month who is number 1 but as U say they have two weeks to change the guest.

SCB Likewise. The only problem I can see is if two riders on very close averages cross over on the introduction of averages. A guest booked for one may not be able to guest for the other but I suppose there is enough time to replace him.

Lioness Problem would that the unattached rider may not be setup with equipment to resume racing. Would he be race fit ? He certainly could call the tune in terms of points money. Foreign riders would just slot in another race day for a short period and therefore it may be the best option.

Sorry to confuse. I heard that both Golden Joker and the GDTS is applied to riders in their programmed rides. They are not replacing anybody. In the GDTS the rider starts from 15m behind. Thats the way I heard it.

Lioness I think that there will be more effort to replace the second rider who is hurt for the period of the injury. This, of course, is done every season but I think it will have to be used more. In terms of a squad sytem, all the riders riding in Europe but not in the EL are really the squad.