Star Lady

Ok I'll ask a supplementary then. Were they competing, I assume from your reply they were, and was there a mic in front of them at the time?

Not being mechanically minded could some kind soul explain in simple terms the effect, if any, a couple of sponges in the fuel tank of a speedway bike might have. On Sky last night Chris Louis said none and Kelvin Tatum disagreed so I'm confused (even more so than normal )

any children present?

2 apparently . Pretty blue square ones

OK thanks for answering . See folks it is possible to have a reasonable discussion with no name calling by two people on opposite sides of a debate

He would have been stupid not to have been there, he now has an idea of the pressure of the event which will stand him in good stead for future appearances

Wasn't actually talking about his existing sponsors Looking at the bigger picture for the sport as well as himself I was thinking more along the lines of Easyjet (he must use them), banks, phone companies etc. Companies which are much bigger than Monster etc and who no doubt have a list of celebs that they pick from to give hospitality to at events (such as Cardiff) which in turn leads to publicity for the sport.

Nicely side stepped.... I hear the Labour Party have an opening for someone who can do that

As a well educated person and presumably someone with some experience of business/advertising/sponsorship etc, do you think national or international mainstream companies would be more likely to sponsor Tai Woffinden if his language and behaviour was less controversial?

You don't have to make it up, the BSPA already has

Other sports may well pay participants to have such training and to be honest it shows. Maybe the Poultec Training programme contains a small element of it so in the future lads are better prepared. There is nothing stopping Woffinden, or any other rider, from investing a few quid of their own. Let's be honest any mainstream company is hardly likely to view Woffinden as ideal "branding" for them to sponsor at present. He may be "edgy", cool or whatever the buzz word is at present but he's hardly likely to attract the likes of Santander, Vodaphone etc as he's too much of a loose cannon.

But in all walks of life there are boundaries. This forum for instance does not allow foul language, the members accept that, including you or you wouldn't be on here, because that's what the majority of decent minded people want. Yes we all swear, I do myself, but there is a time and a place. I do not swear in front of children and never when I was working and in uniform (despite extreme provocation at times). It's a matter of self control and respect. Woffinden has achieved much in his 26 years and is rightly acclaimed as world champion BUT he has to realise that with that title comes responsibility. It's all very well people complaining about the lack of media coverage of speedway but speedway and it's participants, has to learn to play the game. i.e. be presentable to the majority of readers/listeners/viewers in the first place to gain their interest. Wimbledon and F1 realise that and so does it's competitors. If Tai Woffinden really wants to do his best for British speedway he needs to learn to moderate his behaviour (in public at least) and toe the line that professional sportsmen have to. If not he can win 10 world titles but British speedway, and indeed world speedway, will see no benefit.

I missed the F1 press conference (boring sport) but even I concede it's a very high adrenaline sport, so did Lewis Hamilton utter expletives?

Sittin waiting with baited breath for Andy Murray to grab the mic from Sue Barker and tell the centre court crowd to "make some f***ing noise". That's what champions do isn't it

I tend to view people like this way. If he were my son would I be proud of him? The answer is yes very proud of his achievements but absolutely disgusted by his behaviour.

No just a total lack of respect when it's not all about him. Don't like F1 but at least they are professional

Far too inconsistent I agree wouldn't pick him

Periscope?

Stick a pic on Twitter someone will know

I believe Robert 72 is a Leicester fan so they have the EL sown up already

The easiest way is not to reply at all....he cannot reply to nothing lol

They would need to pass a rule as to eligibility in the case of injury as well, no doubt opening up avenues of skullduggery

Sorry didn't realise you just meant showing Tai's side of the encounter, which I agree is fine. Altho given the entrenched views of folk on both sides on this thread I doubt it will change anyone's mind

Not sure that's entirely legal but I'm sure other more knowledeable folks will confirm. I agree name calling on both sides gets us nowhere. Altho to be fair, I cannot recall Robert 72 using such abusive language as Gavan in the post that instigated his ban (I assume he is banned). Yes he provokes and doesn't always put his views across in a calm and non provocative manner and he can be repetitive. This thread has more than run it's course. What would be nice would be for Robert 72 to stop snapping replies to people and those same people to stop snapping replies to him. I think we all know where everyone stands on the issues. It won't happen but I can dream.

Understand where you are coming from but sometimes it could be the only way to make the offender realise their behaviour has crossed the line. In this instance there has been a long lead up to the post in question with let's be fair a fair number of people supporting Gavans views if not his method of voicing them. I'm all for free speech but with that freedom comes responsibility. Phew that's getting too profound, I'm off for a lie down