g13webb

Wonderful !!!, That should have been there back in October........

Never having lost faith in KB,and have always felt, given an injury free spell, he would deliver the goods. Each time he has had an accident and getting back to something like his true form then another injury comes along. Each of these accidents has not been his fault and has come off worse than the instigator. Had three years of terrible bad luck..... Reading his article in this weeks SS, he too thinks given a injury season he'll be up there with the best and that can only be good for all concerned... NB: Another of those small riders who would suffer, if this new ruling on the gardening at the start is adopted....

Do you mean to say you haven't had time to fill that hole in. yet !!!

You can never satisfy everybody, ALL of the time. We will always get posters moaning about something. When people sit down and sort out these fixtures, there must be a minefield to manipulate dates of availability, specially with riders racing in different countries. so if that means we have 3 meeting close together, then so what....... I say bring them on, more the merrier.. Its been a long winter and can't wait for the season to start. Am disappointed though. that when away on our August holiday, I will miss 3 meetings, but that's my fault. I could have waited for the fixtures to be out , but then the holiday would be more expensive....

Why would that be a problem, The issue is not him getting off his bike, the new rule states he mustn't get off his bike to do any gardening. If he wanted to swap bikes than no worries.. Why the question ???

A real good informative post. I believe when it comes to preparing track, then Buster is as good as any.. When speaking with him he says that every day could be different.. there are no hard and fast rules, He said you can have a brilliant prepared track at 5pm than come 7 the weather has changed and it not drying out as expected. So more work it needed to get it right. He said it was a never ending challenge to get it right, and some days the weather wins...... A good track man, is worth his weight in gold.........

Interesting prediction !! my initial feelings were similar in that I thought the Elite league would fall into two groups. both groups made up with teams of similar ability. Namely, Group1= Coventry, Kings Lynn, Belle Vue, Poole and Lakeside; and Group 2= Swindon, Wolves and Leicester. I think teams in group 1, have announced a slight edge over those in group 2 at the start, but not one so insurmountable that teams could perform well and swap places or join the other group. Depending on the new racing format, this could be a close year with a surprise or two along the way. Don't know if I agree with your thinking that Coventry as favourites though ...... Cant wait.............

Exactly, and that's what the rule wants to happen. You need the tension, you need the build up, you want the introductions, What you don't want is, after all that generation of excitement, one of the riders is still off his bike doing the 'gardening'. The presentation needs to flow.

Next you'll be saying he did not gain any advantage and it was totally done for the sake of entertaining the crowd. Yeah right.... In those 'Good old days' they use to race 13 heats first half, Interval, then 8 to 10 heats second half and still be finished by 10-o-clock.

You speak for yourself. !! The time of speedway meetings vary considerably, There are many races run when the 2 mins warning is not given. The Starting Marshals appear too weak to enforce any strict time scheduling and although they stand there trying to bring riders under orders, without the authority the riders show no effort to hurry. If , when this rule is introduced, it will save a few minutes on the meeting timetable then that has to be a good thing.

I know how the rule is worded in the SS but what Woffy done, was over and above what can be deemed as fair. I think that instance had a bearing on the wording of the rule and hence, now you can only do the gardening when on the bike. As for the progress of the meeting, I thought it was always at the control of the referee. But some seem to think it's down to the meeting co-ordinator who controls the timing now, as like when SKY are in town....... Either way, I feel the meetings should flow better than they normally do, and any help to do that, has to be a good thing......

I for one think its a good step, a positive one to help the meetings flow. After Woffy put on the gardening show at the British Final, it was obvious something had to be done......

What is it with some Poole supporters that makes them spout this rubbish. Never read such crap in my life as the comment above. When the FIM suspended Darcy, they waited a week after the offence to access the evidence before implementing a verdict. Had there been any doubt, Darcy would've escaped. As it is he was found to exceed the limits allowed and was punished. All we are hearing now is posters trying to justify Darcy innocence. For the sake of the sport, Darcy has to get at least a years ban. and hope he will learn from it. Anything less will turn the Sport into a mockery. As for that crap about 'Human Rights and able to work' By taking away Darcy's licence, the FIM haven't took away his right to work, just stopped him riding a bike. I sure if Darcy wanted to work on a Building site or in a factory, the FIM wouldn't object.......

Ahh, That's the reason we have seen many exclusions when thinking it was someone else's fault. It was the timekeeper who pressed the button.........

I for one, don't want to knock Buster, as he appears to be one of the few promoters running a club in a viable manner. But saying that, I too would have thought a scheme of 'Block bookings', say 10/12 meetings would be a brilliant idea. Also agree that Season ticket holders should have more benefits than that on offer. Someone who's prepared to fork out £200 odd quid should be given the run of the place that would include all Meetings, Press day, Practises, NL and all the programmes. Make them feel important....

Surely the FIM would've ensured that was the case, before they ruled on Darcy's suspension back in August. They may be SLOW at times, but they're not STUPID........

I'm sure, that when all the arguments have been heard, and all the justifications been aired, The FIM will make a ruling, and Darcy will get what he deserves.............

Please to see someone else has positive views on the subject. Having been shot down by certain posters, I question the point of, 'why bother'. The problems with the format last year were inescapable, because of the lateness of the initial announcement of that format. Had the declaration been known earlier, amendments could have be initiated. Everyone were aware of certain issues in the format within the first months of the season. So I ask the question, why has it taken so long to address the problems??? We talk about sports being run as a business, but no business would wait this long before doing something about it. TNT. I thought your suggestion, you made back in October, was interesting. It showed Enterprise, Enthusiasm, and above all Positivity. I don't go along with all you suggest, ( The Away No 6 having to race against 3 home heat leaders is asking abit much !!) but at least the idea is down on paper, so opinions can be aired and with time available, amendments' made if decided. But like I said, there are people who think it is unimportant to have the format published prior to the start of the season. So, we have no option but to wait and except it in its entirety.. Be it good or bad, it will be too late to change it.......... until next year......... .

Don't like to hear of anybody getting injured, least of all one of the top riders. Holder must've had his share of bad luck by now, so full sympathy goes to Chris and hoping he gets well soon. We don't get many of the top riders, who want to grace our league...therefore can't afford to lose one of the best......

OF cause the sport HAS to change, But you cant score a goal if you don't know where the goalposts are !!!! Any additional information, would not be irrelevant, completely or otherwise..........

That was another one of the ideas put forward, hoping to be included in the new race format. It was thought this would be far more beneficial to the FTR than racing against similar quality to themselves. The suggestion was for the top Tier rider to have a race against HL. But this would also mean that the FTR would be allocated a permanent position No6 and be unable to switch with the 2nd Tier FTR. Obviously there would be fore's and against such an idea, but as had already been pointed out, we will have to wait and see.

I have felt many times that the fans are not that important and treated with such contempt . It would be interesting to have a census of the remaining fans and see what category they fall into. eg. Supporter for upto 50yrs; Supporter for upto 30yrs; Supporter for upto 10yrs or supporter for less than 5yrs. This would highlight to the BSPA where their main source of support comes from... My personal feelings is that, when the OLD ones call it a day, there are not enough of the younger generation to make up the dwindling numbers........ but the results would be interesting reading........

Thanks for the info, if not the sarcasm. I am well aware of the many problems the sport is facing. Probably if all issues were in the open than more people would be able to see the issues and procedure of these problems and understand the delays... I've never been described as a moaner, more of a realist. I primarily support the Stars, but my main love is for the Sport..... My complaint is that the fans are the last to know, and to me that unacceptable....... whatever the reasons............

You took the same approach last year, and shun every other people views. You look at the world through those blue tints and seem blind to anything to the contrary. The problem with you, and likewise the BSPA, they put little interest into the feelings of the fans. They need to realise that no fans, then no sponsorships. No fans then no sport. I have read many opinions about the quality of the Elite league, and feel the introduction of NL races into the EL program is of prime importance and the fans should know of this beforehand. Obviously from your comment above, its not that important. I suggest you take your head out of the sand and see the real world, ask yourself, why are Fans turning away ?, Why are clubs folding ? ; why are top riders turning their backs? . and the answer to all those questions is down to the way our sport in run. But don't worry..... Like you say END OF !!!!!!! Ps. As for your last sentence liking football to speedway says it all. There is no similarity between the two. But to put what you say into perspective, would you go along to Old Trafford to watch the Man Utd if they had to use Oldham defence or a Coventry midfield...... that's nearer to the point..... Who takes the free kicks is irrelevant...

If Darcy escapes a ban we COULD have a Poole Australian line-up as Holder; Ward; Watts; North and Kozza Smith. Not certain, but I believe the scores would add up Sure would be interesting. We could even see Kings Lynn supporters cheering on Kozza............ Imagine Stars fans cheering on a Poole rider......