spin king

i would try looking at the updates. Nick Morris wins heat 1 with a new track record. Nick Morris crashes in heat 6 and withdraws from the meeting.

Its not just the Guest rider situation that is becoming a problem there is also the doubling up that causes problems as well. Add to that the strict points limit, the sport is run on the obsession of trying to level teams which can make the sport either attractive or not depending on how you feel about the situation. Allow more Elite League riders into the Premier League is not answer in my opinion because you are going to get more and more fixture clashes for doubling up riders, unless the Elite was going to run one night only. As for Sheffield I think if Ty Proctor had not received his marching orders I think you would have seen a full Sheffield 1 to 7 when David Bellego returned.

Unfair advantage when that rider is the top rider in that league? Fail to see what your number dropping to reserve has to do with it.

In a perfect world you would, but with Stead been the top rider in the Premier League for about the last 15 months replacing a rider of that class is difficult. Also a shortage of class riders wanting to ride over here does not help.

First off lets hope that Rob Godfrey continues to run Scunthorpe, I do have a lot of time for the man and he deserves some success for the work and efforts that puts into his speedway team. Tsunami, Oily Rag is from Sheffield and has been a Sheffield fan for years, but does have strong connections to Ben Wilson so I suspect he is following Scunthorpe at the moment. On the subject of charging track staff and other volunteers although a decent cost cutting exercise, but some might say how far do you go. Do factor in mechanics/ pit crew and riders families. Maybe Newcastle are having problems due to past presentation problems cause by the fact that Brough Park is a technical/ trick track. This season there does seem to have been a marked improvement, but last season many meetings were having races with multiple re runs and track gradings which is going to extend the duration of meetings, and decreases the family friendly factor of the sport. But whatever lets hope that both tracks if they are having problems get them sorted out.

I think it runs a little bit deeper than that.

Never met the lady, but I certainly remember her from her posts when I first joined the forum. Always got the feeling that she was a bit of a character, reading and listening to those who had the pleasure it appears that she was and will be deeply missed by so many. RIP Shazzy.

Well did not see that one coming. Well Done the Devils.

Depends whether or not he rides for them on a regular basis. You can be contracted to a Polish team, does not necessarily means you are going to be riding week in week out.

I would. Guest up to 7.33 for David Howe. Rider Replacement for James Sarjeant The two reserves back. By my reckoning I that makes Glasgow stronger.

I would say that he stands a very good chance, especially with Steady been out of the mix. Interesting fact is that Steady and young Brady have not raced each other at Sheffield yet, which is disappointing as they would produce one hell of a race in my opinion.

I suppose it is what you term as as main opposition. Both Sheffield and Peterborough have put themselves in prime position for a Play off place.

Top Tigers performance and as time passes on a place in the Play Offs is starting to look a distinct possibility. The threat of the Comets reverses which included until recently the rider the Comets had as their number was gone quicker than Simon Stead doing 4 laps around Owlerton, and it became abundantly clear that there was only going to be one winner. For Sheffield; Brady Kurtz proved to be about the best viable replacement for Steady. Ash Birks was solid in his scoring. David Bellego did well and entertained. Jason Garrity did what we expect of him these days and put in another double figures score yet again. Andre Compton was unlucky and deserved more points. Arthur Sissis did well and like Andre had bike problems. Josh Bates for me the Man of the Match looks to have matured overnight and put in a match winning performance that most Sheffield fans know that he capable of. For Workington Kyle Howarth could fault the effort, but you have to question a rider who was only one place away from the full Team GB starting 4. Rusty Harrison lived up to his Christian name. Rene Bach was good in parts. Matt Wethers was poor. Ricky Wells was the pick of the Comets. Nicki Barratt poor Kenneth Hansen okay but could and should have done better. Not quite sure what happens at Workington year on in they put together some very attractive sides that should do well and be competitive, but for some unknown reason it never seems to happen, and this season appears to be the norm.

And the Texter is a Workington fan.

Not the best televised meeting at Peterborough, but it did have its moments and looking at both teams I think you will see both sides in the mix when the play offs starts. Also agree with Tsunami that the Brady/Berge incident could have gone either way dependanton what camera angle you looked at.

Hard looking fixture on paper and Workington always usually give us problems. But looking at recent results the Comets have looked pretty inconsistent. Add to the fact that Brady Kurtz is an excellent Guest replacement for Simon Stead, Newcastle had Richard Hall at reserve last week and did not cause us any problems. I going for a Sheffield win by at least a 10 point margin.

Exactly, the sport is has its complications and contradictions, riders classed as assets but also classed as basically self employed. Like I say the sport can be both unique and frustrating at times.

Point taken, but you could also say the same thing about a rider who is doubling up or riding for clubs in other countries. An interesting fact is that in the recent article for the next match at Sheffield, Sheffield thanked Somerset for their co-operation in letting Sheffield borrow Brady Kurtz. I wonder what would happen if a club at the start of the season told rider that they would not allow them to take Guest bookings what would happen.

Would tend agree with teams not replacing riders and using Guest riders. The problem we face at Sheffield is that Simon Stead virtually impossible to replace especially at home. But Guest riders are part of the culture in the sport in this country and with the obsession of points limits and trying to level teams up. In some ways it make the sport attractive and some ways it puts some fans off.

Obviously you don't rate Sheffield then.

Maybe it time to start asking teams to have a compulsory number 8, that way teams in the situation that the likes of Plymouth found themselves in today would stand a chance of putting out a full 1 to 7 side out.

Who me never.

Well sat here in my armchair and it is nice to see Newcastle have a full team.

Bit difficult to drag my armchair down to Owlerton on Thursday as I was at the meeting. Fact is Newcastle turned with three Guest riders and a Rider Replacement, okay if you had a few injury problems I could accept it, but to have all those four riders fit and ready to ride elsewhere. Also annoying when you think that the general census was that the changes actually made Newcastle stronger, in fact more than one Newcastle fan was looking to take a point of us. And lets not forget last season after signing two Kings Lynn assets who were riding Kings Lynn George English tried to sign a third, which if there was a Newcastle / Kings Lynn would have meant two Guests and a Rider Replacement. To me that is plain stupidity I like to see my own riders and would guess most other fans would want to see there own riders. But Dave if you like what you see fair enough, sit there in your rocking chair and enjoy the meeting. .

Good win for Sheffield last night against what was a Newcastle select team. Last night showed what is good and what is bad with the sport in this country today. The track last night was superb and produced excellent racing. That is the good. The bad. Newcastle turn up for a meeting with three Guest riders and Rider Replacement. And of all of the missing riders none were injured. If there are problems at Newcastle then they really need to address the type of teams that they put together, we are never going totally eradicate the need for Guest riders but turning up for a fixture with three plus rider replacement for riders who are injured is absolutely farcical. Its even more farcical when you see that Newcastle Promoter and Team Manager is a member of the Management Committee of the BSPA, which to me speaks volumes. George English needs to take a long hard look at his team building skills, because the one thing that speedway fans want to see is their own riders riding for their team not a bunch of Guests while their own riders are off riding for other teams.