PHILIPRISING

ALWAYS a risk ... Sayfutdinov, Gollob, etc

I KNOW Go Speed are going down the same route as BSI/IMG last winter ... knocking on the Sky door but getting no answers. Usually that means the people behind the door simply hope you give up and go away. BT? Doubt it right now because they and others simply don't rate the product very highly. Sad but true.

YOU wrote "concurring with my opinion" not me. Anyway, we are going round in circles.

DON'T think it will be the points limit that will determine teams rather than a cap on rider payments. If what I am hearing is correct then cannot see many of the riders who don't actually live in the UK bothering to commute here. The big question will be whether the likes of Woffinden, Holder, Ward, etc will accept the vastly reduced pay rates or simply up and go.

MANY people now convinced that lack of communication from Sky is their answer. One Sky insider said "we tend to run down contracts we are not renewing and simply walk away." They never actually told BSI/IMG that they were not renewing in as many words. Their actions spoke volumes and appear to be doing the same right now.

EXACTLY ... your opinion. At last we agree.

TWO Danish channels show the SGP, one live with Tommy Knudsen part of the commentary team, and another with highlights later. Poles have their own commentators and interviewers at each SGP. Same with Swedes.

OKAY, what is the evidence is staring me in the face? And if I were you I would be very careful in the words you use. I very much doubt that you have any 'evidence' that would stand up in any court of law or arbitration panel. You are just voicing your opinion not facts. You have your theories but not facts. I am the last person to deny that the way British speedway is being governed is not detrimental to the sport and affects me personally in my capacity as Managing Editor of Speedway Star. Your last paragraph is spot on. You generalise when you say I am taking a swipe at the fans. The vast majority of speedway fans have nothing to do with the bsf, let alone contribute to it. It is only your opinion that I am falsely saying that some are guilty of conspiracy theories and, yes, I am aware when some comments made here are factually incorrect because I am privvy to information that others are not.

NOT for the first time it is the FIM not BSI who pay and determine the SGP prize money ... IT is for all but four clubs in the Elite League ... and anyway why does that matter? One big difference in Sweden, of course, is that once a rider's contract with a club is concluded he can move elsewhere. Hence Ward from Dackarna to Piraterna with no fee involved.

NOT at all. There is no real EVIDENCE of a conspiracy re BV versus Poole but said (or at least meant to) that the way things paned out helped give credence to those who believe there was. What I actually wrote was: It was all too much for the conspiracy theorists who believe that Poole boss Matt Ford has the ability to manipulate any situation to his own advantage. Of course, most of the comments (regarding BV v Poole) on the various social media outlets, including the BSF, are utter nonsense. That was hardly a futile attack on the sports fans. However, I do think that there are posters on here who have their own agendas rather than just opinions and sometimes pre-judge many things that go on according to their own prejudices without any evidence to support their theories. I stand by that. Matt Ford is a classic example. By many he is the Darth Vader of speedway and no matter what he does their judgement of him is coloured by that assessment. And of course this is why the bsf (wrongly in my view) is so reviled by so many. I would never write anything on here that I wouldn't do so in Speedway Star or any publication for that matter. But I do read posts that if they appeared in print would probably be the subject of legal action. I prefer to view the bsf as, on balance, a force for good but I don't kid myself that that is always the case. When posts become more than personal opinions and contain statements that are factually incorrect the bsf like Twitter, Facebook and so can do more harm than good. But that's just my opinion...

I APPLAUD your optimism but no one from Sky has even been prepared to talk about it... shades of how they dealt with the SGP contract last winter.

SEE that Swedish clubs are already formulating their 2014 teams with Darcy Ward to champions Piraterna just one example. Why oh why can't we get things sorted that quickly here?

NOT wise at all in my opinion. Could throw away the World title and never get that close again. I appreciate that right now his injury probably isn't much worse than it has been since Cardiff but to take such a risk seems foolhardy at best.

GOOD points Rob although we need to recognise that the production costs for a full season's coverage of the Elite League would appear to be prohibitive. One TV exec in Stockholm said bluntly: "Why would you pay all that money to cover events at sparsely populated stadiums, on poorly prepared tracks, at the whim of the weather and between teams that never seem to be at full strength?" Tough to argue with that which is why, personally, I can see merit in the idea of one channel going in hard at the end of the season and covering the play-offs in Britain, Poland and Sweden. They might even be persuaded to do an odd meeting (British Final perhaps) along the way especially if BSI were to throw in the Cardiff wild card for the highest placed rider other than Tai.

IT is the question no one (as yet) appears willing or able to answer...

FARCE is about right. But I wasn't there. Had a chat with Kelvin Tatum about it and his view was that the meeting should never have started. Putting down sawdust and more material on an already saturated track only made matters worse in his opinion. I have no concrete evidence there was any conspiracy but the fact that the meeting was conveniently called off when Poole were the requisite seven points ahead could only had fuel to the argument that there was. Afraid that the governance of speedway in general (look at Poland last weekend) these days is pretty poor and undoubtedly one reason why TV companies aren't falling over themselves to cover a full season of domestic speedway in the UK.

THANKS

DON'T know what the delay is ... was told Miedzinski would be the wild card some time ago

SPOOK ... views about Harris are my own but I can add that in conversations I have heard or been part of his name hasn't been mentioned. Things can always change but think IMG are more confident of Cardiff attendances now than before and having a British rider as the defending World champion should be sufficient. They also have less wiggle room with Holder and Gollob (assuming both make full recoveries) taking two of the four. One, if not two, will definitely be a Swede and frankly there isn't a really outstanding candidate like, for example, Ward this year. Every year there seems to be at least one rider or riders who fails to live up to expectations. This time it is Lindback and, to a lesser extent, Vaculik. Martin is a nice guy but a one dimensional rider who might actually benefit from a spell in the UK although he is set against it. Next year the concern will be Smolinski. Another nice guy, very enthusiastic and professional but the strong possibility is that he will be out of his depth.

ALL being well there will be a British World Champion in the series next year. Why do BSI need another Brit? And, let's not forget, judging by this year Harris likely to get a few appearances anyway...

HAD a long chat with Tomasz Gazinski, Gollob's manager, in Stockholm prior to the start. Gollob definitely wants to continue and believes he can win again. Vaculik actually talking about a four or five year break from the SGP before tackling it again. Once Holder is out of wheelchair he will be undertaking a fitness and recovery regime devised by Paul Ankers (recommended to him by Kelvin Tatum) who is a specialist in sports rehabilitation. Lots of hydro-therapy. There will be at least one Swede. Harris not even in the frame. Laguta's cause not helped by his snub to the SWC and problems with Russian federation. Three Danes already in will work against MJJ. Unlikely that two Poles will get wild cards.

DON'T think you will see a GP in Germany (Berlin) next year ... more likely 2015. Same with Melbourne.

BSI need somewhere to stage a qualifying round. Eskilstuna could fit the bill with King's Lynn, as usual, taking the other. Final seems set for Poland. No problem with seeding the hosts (and defending champions) there! My money would be on Malilla for a GP.

BT Sport hire in their own production facilities for the sport they cover... there are different strands of Eurosport but the UK version certainly wouldn't get involved with covering speedway on a weekly basis. Terry Russell still handling the negotiations for British speedway.

SPOT on ... have heard that one suggestion being muted is that only the play-offs are shown on TV.