Merlin

I just wonder to what extent Sky are calling the shots. Already they seem to influence meetings to some extent so that things happen to suit their schedules and advertising. Fair enough, I suppose - he who pays the piper calls the tune. Why not, then, ask Sky to make up the rules for the following season at least as far as the Elite League goes? Has anyone asked them about guests, jokers and the like? Or is their input more covert (now there's a good word ). If the Sky deal runs out next year as Mylor says then it will be interesting to see their commitment to continuing with their coverage and what conditions they impose.

Thanks - you're quite correct. I've edited the post.

There are some issues with the new rules that are worthy of perhaps a little more consideration. Firstly - scrapping tactical substitutes: introduced in an attempt to keep the scores close because that is seen to be the essence of an exciting meeting (not always the case). I have seen matches during which the use of two or three TS rides has resulted in a side coming back from the dead to win a match where, without them, they had very little chance. Exciting? maybe; Fair? certainly not! Advantageous to teams with a strong top end? certainly. Acceptable? yes but more by familiarity than a sense of fair play. Necessary? not really with aggregate bonus points at stake. Secondly - double-pointing: fairer than tactical subs because only two can be used during the meeting and no longer allows teams to replace second strings and reserves. This means that the scoring of the second strings and reserves is more important than before thus surely encouraging teams to build more solidly than in the past. To some extent compensates for the scrapping of tactical substitutes. Thirdly - golden double tactical substitute: a piece of utter nonsense. There were a number of occasions last year where its complete unfairness was exposed. For example in the Isle of Wight v. Arena Essex match at the end of last season Isle of Wight had a faller in heat 14 and an engine failure in the rerun gifting an 8-0 to Arena Essex who then took the final heat 5-1 to win a match they scarcely deserved to. The earlier efforts of the lower order in the Isle of Wight team to build up a good lead counted for nothing. In the Arena Essex v. Edinburgh match, Edinburgh had built up an 8 point lead after heat 13 only to lose Heat 14 8-1. They won the match but it would only have taken an engine failure in the final heat for them to have lost. How unfair would that have been given the efforts of the whole team to build up the lead in the first place? Had Arena Essex won the match there would have been no honour in victory - or does nobody bother about that these days? (the fact that Arena Essex were involved in both these matches is purely coincidental). Scrap the tactical substitutes by all means and replace them with double-pointing (although it smacks of 'It's a Knockout') and let's see how it works out. But, please, don't add the golden double into the mix. The two combined makes the sport look utterly ridiculous.

What a shambles - golden doubles and double pointing. Why not just declare that a team can never be more than 6 or 8 points in arrears and if they fall further behind than that well just add a few points to their totals!! That will make sure matches go to at least the penultimate heat. And with all this rubbish going on why bother about the aggregate bonus?? Incidentally if you can only have a guest when your top rider is out what do you do when you have nos. 2 and 3 out with injury? I await the wording of these new regulations. The league champions will be the team who can discover the biggest hole in them to drive a coach and horses through. Cynical?? Not me!

Is this the same Stan Stevens I refer to in my post "Blast from the Past". If so, bit of a coincidence!

I do hope you have copied this from somewhere and you haven't remembered it all because I get really depressed when people can recall specific matches and races. I can remember sod all about Speedway years ago although I have been going since 1949. :-( It just so happens that I can remember a lot of that meeting particularly heat 13 which will live with me forever because it was just as good as seeing your team score the winning goal in the cup final. I was just a slip of a lad at the time (the lad being my father the slip being me! ) but I remember jumping about the terracing hugging people to share in the joy of the moment (at least that's what I told the policeman who arrested me!). I still have the programme I filled in that night which is why I could supply all the heat deatils - my memory isn't that good. In fact if you asked me what I had for my tea last night I'd be struggling to remember.

What always sticks in my mind from those days was after the match at Old Meadowbank (on Saturday nights) we used to head for the chip shop and then for home to watch Quatermass on the television. What a way to spend a Saturday night! Wouldn't appeal to many today (especially since Quatermass is no longer on TV! )

Especially Dougie - get oot ma bloody road - Templeton, but never dirty.

Have you got a couple of minutes? You have! Then let me tell you about one of the most exciting finishes to a match I ever saw. Come with me back to Saturday 10 June 1961 (before you were born do you say?) to Old Meadowbank for a Provincial League Match between the Edinburgh Monarchs and the Rayleigh Rockets. I took my cousin along and we left the match limp with excitement (no clever comments please!). The sides lined up as follows: Edinburgh: 1. Douglas Templeton © 2. Willie Templeton 3. George Hunter 4. Jimmy Tannock 5. Dick Campbell 6. Alf Wells Reserve - Wayne Briggs Rayleigh: 1. Reg Reeves 2. Roy Craighead 3. Stan Stevens 4. Bob Thomas 5. Harry Edwards 6. Pete Sampson Reserve - Terry Stone In those days matches were raced over 13 heats. Each rider had 4 scheduled rides except for the reserve who was programmed to ride only in Heats 3 and 8. There was no nominated heat (apart from a choice of reserve in Heat 12) but Heat 13 always had out the big guns with the riders at 1 and 3 from each team meeting. Rayleigh Rockets were a real Southern based English powerhouse team with three superb heatleaders in Reeves, Stevens and Edwards. The previous season - 1960 - the inaugural season of the Provincial League they had inflicted the biggest home defeat of the season on the Monarchs by 27 - 45. So it was with some trepidation that we went along to this match. This is how it went. Heat 1. Reeves, D Templeton, W Templeton, Craighead 3-3 3-3 Heat 2. Stevens, Hunter, Tannock, Thomas 3-3 6-6 Heat 3. Briggs, Craighead, Stone, W Templeton 3-3 9-9 Heat 4. Edwards, Campbell, Wells, Sampson 3-3 12-12 So far the Rayleigh heatleaders had won their opening heats. Unfortunately we couldn't take advantage of the fact they weren't out in Heat 3. Then a break - Heat 5. D Templeton, Stevens, W Templeton, Thomas 4-2 16-14 Heat 6. Edwards, Tannock, Hunter, Sampson 3-3 19-17 Heat 7. Reeves, Campbell, Wells, Craighead 3-3 22-20 And now for Heat 8, the last heat where there were no Rayleigh heat leaders. Could we press home our advantage? Heat 8. Thomas, Briggs, Stone, Tannock (ef) 2-4 24-24 Disaster - Jimmy Tannock's engine failure meant we had lost a heat we really had to win. Heat 9. Edwards, D Templeton, W Templeton, Sampson 3-3 27-27 Heat 10. Campbell, Stevens, Wells, Thomas 4-2 31-29 Dick Campbell's win had put us back in the lead but with Reeves and Edwards unbeaten and out in all of the last three heats it still looked black. Heat 11. Reeves, Tannock, Hunter, Craighead 3-3 34-32 Heat 12. Edwards, Campbell, Stone, Wells (ef) 2-4 36-36 Again Alf Well's engine failure had cost us dearly. Instead of going into the last heat with an advantage it was all square. Heat 13 was a cracker. Reg Reeves (unbeaten) was off gate 1. George Hunter (3 points) was off gate 2, Stan Stevens (7 points) was off gate 3 and Doug Templeton (7 points) was off gate 4. When the tapes went up it was a fairly even break with Reeves showing slightly ahead but he drifted wide and George Hunter was through. Stan Stevens was in third place with Doug Templeton at the back. On the second lap George pinned Reeves on the curve riding the white line, he made a slight wobble which put Reeves off and gave him a bit of breathing space just when it seemed he must be passed. Doug Templeton was still stuck at the back. Third lap - no change and we began to think we might possibly get out with a draw if George could just keep it going. Then on the last lap George rode immaculately to sail home in first place. At the back Doug Templeton on the 3rd bend of the last lap rode straight up to the banking at the top of the bend then cut back hard and caught Stevens passing him just before crossing the line. What a finish - it brought the house down. Heat 13. Hunter, Reeves, D Templeton, Stevens 4-2 40-38 Great stuff. The point scorers that night were: Edinburgh: Dick Campbell 9, Doug Templeton 8, George Hunter 6, Jimmy Tannock 6, Wayne Briggs 5, Willie Templeton 3 and Alf Wells 3. Rayleigh: Harry Edwards 12, Reg Reeves 11, Stan Stevens 7, Bob Thomas 3, Terry Stone 3, Roy Craighead 2 and Pete Sampson 0. This was a match never to be forgotten. I wish they could all be like that - you'd never be able to get all the crowd in!