teddy2706

Collected mine from the newsagents on Thursday morning complete with a load of cheek and abuse from my Brummie newsagent who should never have been granted a visa to work in Derbyshire. Some things never change

Can I please have: Gary Irving Luke Crang Tim Webster James Sergeant Ryan Blacklock Tom Woolley Ryan Terry-Daley 39.7 I think? Can I please race at Owlerton or the Island or Hyde rd or Exeter it is a fantasy team after all. I don't really care if they comply to the points limit (although I really, really wanted Rambo in my team too)I would just like to watch these lads tearing round a nice big track.

Obviously you know the city better than I, but Manchester has two teams yet Belle Vue seem to get bums on seats. Surely Utd and Wednesday don't have the same supporter base anyway? Certainly most of us have less disposable income than we enjoyed a few years ago and costs keep rising, but as Scunny1 points out there are many satellite towns around Sheffield. Speedway marketing appears to be sadly lacking nationally to me, it is almost as though promoters believe it to be someone elses responsibility! I wish I had a pound for every time I have been at a meeting and promoters have shouted at us to bring people in with us to boost their gates. The number of people who say 'Oh, do they still have speedway at Stoke then'? always worries me.

Andrew Silver was a delight to watch and still, as far as I am aware, holds the track record at Stoke. Certainly frustrated plenty of us when he visited 'our' tracks and was at his best!

Looks fine to me.

Not a Sheffield supporter, but I have seen some inspiring racing there over the years. It was particularly exciting a few seasons ago when Ashley and Simon were reserves. The car parking has doubled in price, but only gone up a pound! It is a good stadium, good facilities and I will be very sad not to see Neil Machin greeting people at the gate. What utterly baffles me is why a city the size of Sheffield has so few regular supporters. I will be visiting there again this season.

Whilst not a regular spectator at Owlerton, virtually every time I have watched league matches in the last season or so, Gary is sitting by the pit gate watching the racing. Many riders go and talk to him during the meeting, I am fairly sure that they are not asking him about his roses or cactii? So the argument about Gary disturbing riders is cobblers. One thing I do notice though is that Gary always turns away from riders as they are falling. Besides, given the use of an agricultural quad with hand controls, he could be on track whilst training riders, then the wheelchair argument would cease. My mate has been in a wheelchair since a bike accident nearly thirty years ago. I always see him, not the chair and I have ridden and raced bikes without ever thinking about his accident. Wheelchair users are not boogy men to frighten people, simply someone who you need to squat or sit next to when you talk to them, MAN to MAN!

Gosh, so much spite and venom! This really is an unpleasant thread! There are too many riders listed to defend them all, but disliking someone because they have always done well at your home track is a bit serious isn't it? Ivan Mauger? Probably the best rider ever seen. Dave Jessup "mucking about with his bike too much" seems to have stood him in good stead as a tuner and machine examiner doesn't it? Gordon Kennett? Never saw him have a bad race, smooth, fast and fair. Chris Morton? Wonderful racer every time I saw him. Michael Lee, well, I did dislike Mike for the amount of meetings I paid to watch him at, only to find he was lounging about at home. However, anyone who has seen his input in Mildenhall pits with young riders, racing out on the track, checking its condition, then running back to help lads with their set up surely cannot dislike him for that, so much effort, so much commitment. Kenny Carter? Never, ever saw him try less than his best. Kelvin Mullarkey? hated at Long Eaton, but only because he raced his guts out every race, every meeting, every season 110%, brilliant value for money. Moggo? Don't ever criticise him in public in Stoke unless you fancy being horsewhipped,he is held in the highest regard there. Evitts? Another hard rider who never knew when he was beaten, who knew what was going to happen if he was riding? Simmo? Had the ability to beat almost everyone in the world on his day. Maybe you dislike the above riders, but speedway has been richer for everyone of them!

S.S. Reports Tom Woolley has put pen to paper. I am glad about that, I didn't fancy Jayne signing that Wholey bloke whose name keeps appearing on this thread, no-one seemed to have heard of him.

Surely the assumption that tracks will utilise local riders is a flawed argument? Tim Webster was travelling over 250 miles each way to ride for Stoke, Ryan Blacklock ran 170 miles each way to ride Buxton, neither got paid anything like the true cost of the travelling expenses.Liam Carr has a run of around 170 miles too. How far was Robert Lambert's commute to work last season and was he being paid the going rate? ( I think many of us know the answer to that). Simon Lambert will have to travel around 150 miles each way to Kent too. After Newport's ignominious exit, Welsh tracks may be a sad dream but nothing apart from money prevents Edinburgh, Glasgow and even Berwick, Workington and Newcastle running NL teams. Where will the money come from? Apart from sponsors obviously, it needs people to wake up to the fact that NL racing might well be the most exciting league to watch and get down there!

Why hasn't any promoter taken advantage of his experience and given him a position on their staff? Someone told me (although I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the statement) that he had indeed been offered a team manager place, but that he had turned it down. This, less than a week before the SS article. Undoubtedly, given suitable facilities, finances and assistance, Gary would be an immense asset to youth training should he choose to accept such a role? Hence the huge question mark in my mind.

It is a good article, but one that left a huge question mark in my mind.

Stoke and Buxton fans don't like Josh Bates much either, that's because he always rides his guts out and doesn't know when he is beaten. This makes for some spectacular races, if he is on the race card, expect fireworks.

PC, Morty, Kelly and Shawn, Kenny Carter, Donkey, Gordon Kennett, DJ, Ivan Mauger, Alan and Andy Grahame, Preben Erikssen, Erik Gundersen, Jan O, Simmo, Phil Collins, Joe and Tom and for tantrums and hard riding Nigel Crabtree at his best (should that be worst?) Wiggy, Kelvin Mullarkey unless he was riding against Long Eaton! Dennis Sigalos.

A memory I have of Alf that makes me smile; We were on an organised trip to a World Final (cannot remember which, but it wasn't either of the ones that James Easter managed to lose me on) and on the return trip Alf appeared with a massive bag of cigar boxes. He went round us all with a very sad expression and wheedling voice persuading many of us to take a box each through Customs as our duty free entitlement. He was such a good actor, so sad, so humble, a victim of his cigar habit, could we please help? When we cleared Customs in the UK Alf stood anxiously awaiting making sure none of us cleared off home with his prized cigars. At least I hope the boxes contained cigars, how dim I was in those days, they could have contained anything!

It makes old geezers like me very happy, that's why! Plenty of my geezer friends like them too.

Bah! I liked the 4pm start time But I only go a couple of times a year to West Row, so the majority wishes should prevail so long as the chip shop opens earlier too It is excellent to hear of a promotional team who listen to their customers and react positively. Very well done.

To get bums on seats, promoters must provide a spectacle. However, last season, almost every Buxton home meeting was a spectacle, yet unless visiting supporters arrived in force, the crowd was low. This is a very sad state of affairs, yet the crowd for Deano's airfence meeting was very good. Steeplejack's point about half lap leads is by no means confined to NL racing, we have all seen this happen at every level and will no doubt see it again.` Regarding payment for riders, minimum pay and minimum travel allowances are insufficient for riders to break even if they are travelling any distances. Sponsorship, not only from large concerns, but from the grass roots supporters will undoubtedly assist riders to invest in top quality machinery. Whilst bracing myself for an onslaught from fans who believe paying to get in is more than sufficient, riders at NL level struggle with costs and in my experience, help, no matter how small, is usually gratefully received. If it isn't, don't help that particular rider again! Joe Hughes International will mail a tyre to any supporter anywhere, as I am sure all of the other speedway specialists will too. Make an NL rider smile, give him a tyre! It costs about the same as admission to three meetings (ish). This will not alleviate a rider shortage, but it will assist in making sure those available can continue to ride.

Vog and H.T. hit the nail on the head about Stoke, it was one of the most exciting places to watch because WHEN it was prepared nicely, visiting riders would often run amok. It may be the case that Stoke suffered from a lack of silverware because they had such a fair, neutral and fast track? However, it has deteriorated in recent years to an embarrassment and we have witnessed some very scary incidents involving very competent riders. Vog and I enjoyed a visit to Lakeside in 2011 on a hot dusty day. Four riders entered a huge dust cloud, three emerged, no-one had a clue where the fourth had gone, yet we saw some good racing that day. One of the most spectacular meeting I saw was at Brandon in the eighties, normally it was appallingly boring, but heavy rain had turned the track into an absolute quagmire. Peter Ravn revelled in it and set up a new track record that day. My definition of a crap track would be one where a rider is hurt because of poor preparation or poor infrastructure like broken kerbs or faulty drain covers, this is unforgiveable. Regarding potholes, riders cannot always choose exactly where they want to be on a track, manouevres by other riders may force them into places they would not normally be riding. Gary Irving suffered a really frightening off at Stoke when he picked up. Instead of running to his assistance, a well known Stoke personality jumped over the fence and started berating him for knocking someone else down as though Gary had actually chosen to crash. All part of the rich tapestry of life at Stoke Speedway! Maybe there are no crap tracks, only crap promotions?

Excellent news!

It isn't fair to bad mouth a rider for doing what is best for his career advancement, accusations about a lack of loyalty might be ok during the season, but not in the close season. After all, most promoters have no compunction whatsoever in dropping riders who are going through a sticky patch, loyalty works both ways in theory! I hope Matt does really well and goes from strength to strength and in truth that goes for every British rider in every league. It will be smashing to see Liam tearing around Buxton this year too, a real treat to watch he is, he has no respect for reputation, every opponent is there to be beaten. It is worth the admission simply to watch Liam Carr in action, add other, ambitious riders trying hard and it is money well spent to visit Buxton Speedway. I haven't always held that opinion, but I was wrong, the only other place I like to spend sunday afternoons is Mildenhall, another value for money venue.

Latest signing must surely make everyone happy unless they support other teams? Brilliant news!

"Odd sunday"?

My friend Vog, who works for MI5, has come up with a really cunning plan to slash costs in National League speedway: To replace the top riders who have been seconded to race each other in the Elite League, Vog thinks they should be replaced by older men who were once well admired by spectators for their style, competitive spirit, panache and gritty determination. As they would be eligible for bus passes, the travel costs to prospective promoters would be non-existant. So if you are returning from a holiday in Cornwall on the bus, please bear with John Louis, Dave Jessup, Bruce Cribb, Colin Pratt, Len Silver, Glyn Taylor and Arthur Browning as they drag filthy old 2 valve Jawas and 5 stud Japs into the bus along with their tools, leathers and open face helmets. Be careful that the open primary drive doesn't rip open or smear oil onto your bags or cases and you will have to simply put up with the pools of Castrol 'R' leaking from total loss lubrication systems. Be very careful that you don't upset them either, because Arthur and Bruce in particular can be quite liverish if they don't win. They will have been riding at Plymouth and returning home at little or no cost to the promotion. This plan, worthy of a civil servant for its parsimonious meanness, will certainly appeal to the promotion at Loomer rd. and may catch on everywhere.

Not even close to covering the costs and the travel allowance is derisory.