g13webb

I believe, by continuing with our middle ground attitude, as we have done for so long, is the reason our sport is in the decline it is. We either comply with other main countries and run the Elite on specific nights, or we close the door to top riders and run our league to suit us, at a cost we can afford.... Employing top riders, is now a false economy. They don't entice new fans into the sport, they only satisfy a few existing fans to continue their involvement. .. These past few years I've been to many PL meetings and have come to the conclusion there's not much to choose between them. The attendances are similar, and so is the excitement, proving to me the big earners are a waste of time.... I love to see Niels race every week. I've referred to it as 'Poetry In Motion'. a wonderful sight to behold. But is that enough to ask fans to come and watch. Recently I went to EESG and saw a cracking meeting. The Panthers lost that night, but the excitement and buzz around the place was brilliant. Lynn are having a bad time at the moment, not all their own doing. But the system does nothing to help. I'm a speedway nut, who loves to hear and smell the atmosphere of a competitive meeting. I don't want to go and witness, Guests, R/R and Delays . I want to be entertained with competitive racing, not be bored watching procession racing from uneven teams . Concentrating on some 'Middle Order' rubbish will only kill off what support there is left.....

If you are impressed with Huckenbeck then so be it. but he doesn't rock my boat. Ask yourself what other team would want him. He has been a big disappointment after a decent start of the season. He would be hard pressed to attain a PL spot, let alone one in the top division..... Last night he had four rides, In his first he gated on Sedgman and PL rider (Lanham); Second race he fell off, (how many times does he do that), Third ride he came second beating only Nielson, on a broken bike, and his last ride he fell off again. Actually he would have been better for the team had he kept down enabling a rerun, giving Niels another chance to win against Morris.... Probably you were watching through those rose tinted glasses, but to me, I see it as it is.....

How I see it we have but two choices. To retain the services of SGP riders, we have to run the Elite league on specific days, to bring us inline with our fellow European leagues. The PL running on different nights will eliminated Meetings and Rider clashes. Failing that, then the only other option to forego the involvement of SGP riders to foreclose the Elite League and operate with only 2 leagues in this country. Div. 1 and Div. 2. (these can be called whatever) These could operate independently of the SGP and operate on Friday Saturday and Sunday nights, hoping the more convenient race night will encourage more fans to come. Anything must be better than relying on guests and R/R every meeting....

Without knowing the team format or the strength required next year it would be difficult to know what direction to go. But we have too many riders with other things on their minds... Rory and Batch are recovering from injuries, so always a question mark, Niels hasn't got the time to devote to all the matches, Huckenbeck is a waste of space.. Using Lambert and Rose as examples we want riders who are prepared to fight and be totally committed to the cause. If they can't do that then we don't want them here....

I have previously stated on here, that the speedway cannot get any worse at Lynn, but i was wrong. Last night was dreadful. So much so, one has to question your own sanity watching such a lack lustred performance. The track offered nothing, once you left the start, and most races were follow the leader. Its seems it was tailored made for anyone who could gate. and here laid the foundation why the Stars struggled. Doyle, as sharp as ever, was never in danger of being beaten. He alone achieved more race wins than the whole of the Stars team. Like I have said before, losing is not a problem, as long as we make a fight of it and the racing is competitive. Tonight the match was over by heat 6. We were 8 points behind and had nothing in the cupboard to fight back. Even Niels was founding it difficult to gate, and powerless on a track that offered nothing....There was no atmosphere, no excitement, no expectation at all......Just a cold wind blowing that made one wish they hadn't bothered to come It was noted that the 2 Stars riders missing last night, top scored in the PL match. It appeared the team, with these two riders short, seemed acceptable to defeat and offered very little fight. Such is the state of the Elite league, nobody gives a damn...... Drastic changes have to be made.... Addicted to Speedway as I am, I struggle to understand the downward spiral the sport has gone. The Rules, The BSPA, The Promotions, The guests, R/R ; even the Riders need to clarify their intentions, because it's quite obvious, appealing to the fans is not something, any of above consider. Last night we also had both Rosco and Lyon moaning about the rules. Them, even being instrumental people of the rule making procedure are still moaning about them .. imagine how we feel...... Last night could be the last match I go to this year, such is my disappointment of the way our speedway has gone .... Couldn't wait to get home.....

That being the case, why not air the new set of rules for comments before they are implemented... After all, we all want the same thing in that Speedway is exciting and run fairly with equal teams......

At times, the BSPA is beyond belief. Surely, it should be irrelevant who fixture was arranged first, Lambert and Rose are Lynn riders, riding on their proper race night and the Elite league club cant use their own riders. 2 questions come into play here; 1, Why has the PL club got first call on a double up riders on our race day, 2,If that be the case why re-arranged a fixture knowing these riders will be missing... Not only are Lambert and Rose two big crowd draws at the AFA, but also their points scoring is imperative for success.. It will be impossible to replace them like for like plus any home advantage we may have, will be nullified by the inclusion of replacement guests... With attendances down and people losing interest, can you blame them when this sort of decisions are made.... People, with any thoughts that this league is run on a professional basic are simply deluded.......Would this sort of thing happen in Poland ?? or maybe Sweden? I doubt it.

If there is another set of rules being considered , wouldn't it been a better idea to involve the fans and take on board some of their feelings and ideas. When you look at some of the more recent inventions I would have thought a little help would have been greatly appreciated.... Who ever you are, regardless of ability, it always best to have an open mind when thinking of being positive.... The last thing you want is THEM and US....

I'm having great difficulty understanding what has happened. Any normal rider would jump at the chance to represent their country at any level. More so, if you are the King-Pin and adored buy all the fans. Tai is the same to GB,as Hancock is to the USA. and the country desperately needs you onboard. Now we get a statement saying he's leaving and not riding next year, but also not burning bridges for the future, by saying he hasn't made his mind up whether to ride or not.... This is not the attitude of an World Champion, or an ambassador of our sport, or that of a respectable countryman, more of a selfish individual throwing his toys out of the pram... Either you act like the GB captain we all thought you were.............. or clear off for good..... you can't have it both way.....

Don't go down that road pal... The only reason Woffy is coming back is because it suits him.. If he had any loyalty for Wolves he would be here from the start of the season and not use them as a fill in as his other teams have finished. Obviously Please to see him back in the Elite league, But please don't go overboard.......... He'll be gone again when the other leagues come calling......

Once, speaking with a respectable referee, on this subject of issuing a warning, and asking him of the penalty of that warning, he said that the warning related to the start of that race only. Two warning in a single heat then you're disqualified.... So with that I asked, could a rider be warned every heat, and the Ref replied technically yes........but that would be up to the Ref to caution him...... of his conduct and warn of further punishment.

Not bad for a boring rider who cant pass....... Well Done that man...... Now to watch Rossi, Followed by Liverpool- Arsenal, then the Velladrome . What a wonderful Sunday.......

Lambert, Garrity, Bates and Ellis are all British riders who have a big future in our sport, all young but very different. Each has something to offer. Who is best is down to personal opinions. Am very impressed with the improvement of Ellis this year. Saying that though, it must be easier and more rewarding riding with top men in a good team. Lambert to me is Amazing, Frustrating, Exciting, Unbelievable and bloody annoying. I often wonder why his gating is so suspect when we all know how important it is. So often when the chips are down, he'll miss the start, ride his heart out, but still lose. Time and again he with Niels have pulled off amazing feats to rescue the team from a dire situation. But the nearer he get to the top the rides become harder. If he can't get his gating sorted, he'll never reached them heights his ability deserves. Bates struggles to deceive. At times he's brilliant, and at others disappointing. His gating is the same, when on the case he can be brilliant. I feel he's a year behind the other riders mentioned. Garrity, to me, stands out for all the wrong reasons. His style is so flamboyant , reckless to a point, that you question his control of the bike. Sometimes he come across as dirty and deliberate. Sometimes I get the impression his own team mates give him a wide berth, such is their feelings. I'm in no doubt he has the ability to become a very good rider, but he needs to calm down and have more control of the bike and less accidents. To me he wants to get himself a new role model, one that will to show him the way. Moving to Lakeside under Tatum guidance, he would reap the rewards, 10 fold... For me, I would put them in order of Lambert; Ellis, Bates, then Garrity, but the gaps are small and they are all capable of winning races......

You keep on about Lynn using RR in place of Niels, but his absence was covered by Morley, a PL with less than 6pts. . The only issue is relating to the inclusion of the No8. and whether that can be covered by a RR. In the reality of it all, the No 8 CMA is so low his rides can only be covered by the reserves anyway... Its either using a RR or riding a man short. Either way its not very adventitious......

The answer is YES, they can pick and choose their meetings. The reason for all the absenteeism is there for all to see. Because we are obstinately sticking to variable race days and not wanting to comply with all the other major Leagues in Europe, we will always have these availability issue associated with top names. Personally I would rather see Niels at 75% of the meetings than no Niels at all. But until we can sort out these basic problems the we will always run the risk of these star names missing. Its about time the BSPA woke up and see the sport for what it is and not keep living in the past......

Its all very well you saying the rules have been broken, but the rules are so complicated and badly written they lend themselves to been interpretated several ways. If we were riding high by this so called cheating, I could understand your views. If there is any cheating going on it is done through necessity.in trying to field a team. The big problem here regards to teams working to different rules. Some teams have No 8's and some don't . surely it should be all or none. We have too match meetings and not enough riders, we have racing on too many days where the clashes are inevitable.. Until the basic are sorted and there are more riders, we will always have a different interpretation of these complicated rules.

Although, the outcome was as predicted, at least some of the riders showed some fight. Batch, Lambert and Rose came to the party and showed what can be achieved. Rory and NBJ were below par and Morley was just out of his depth. Even with Niels riding I still don't think we would have beaten the reigning Champs. We are all aware the importance of EDR's but when the rules allow teams to use a ex SGP rider as one, it makes everything look stupid. These protected heats idea has been ridiculous and cause more problems than anyone has seen before. Wouldn't it be beneficial for all and sundry to have the minutes of the BSPA meeting made public so everyone can see who is responsible for these pathetic ideas that are ruining our sport.....If these members made decision based on the sport instead of their pockets, they would be better set to work. Protected heat was doomed from the start..... Rant over, Disappointed we lost, but still enjoyed the meeting as usual,,,,, Pleased though, I hadn't got 200mls to travel home.....

That in itself speaks volumes....... Talk about finger on the pulse !!!!! ​

I am no doubt of Huckenbeck ability and am aware of his form abroad, but please don't imagine that is the same rider we have had to endure these past months. His form in Elite is nothing more than scandalous. After an impressive first month this season he has done nothing to warrant any selection. We went weeks without scoring a point. Its because of his form abroad and his obvious ability, it really annoys the fans, the way he performs here. If he not prepared to perform than its better he stays away.....

Yeah your probably right. 'Most' was probably the wrong word. I should have said 'some. I'm not a Matt Ford lover, but I take my hat off to him for what he has achieved. Just wished our promoter was as driven by success as much as he is....... I always thought, becoming Chairman of the BSPA would be a detrimental step for Kings Lynn Stars, and so is it proving to be....

When you come out with crap like that, its no wonder people have this bad impression of you......Let me inform you the Stars fans are the salt of the earth. Tell me another group would support their team for 50 years through thick and thin, without winning that elusive title. All we need is a little bit of hope and we're always be there. What we don't want is to be treated like mushrooms. The only reason Poole have the support it does, is because most are glory hunters, turning a blind eye when the rules can been bent to suit. I wonder if you would still be so optimistic after years with no trophies... But there's no need to worry. If you were to open your eyes you would see your 4 pts is guaranteed tonight , even if Batch, Lambert and Rory score well, that would only be 30 points, where's the other 15 coming from. I can see Poole scoring 55+ with ease..... Open your eyes man.........

You must be mad.. Travelling all that way to see a one sided meeting. I'd give you four points now to save you the trouble.......

Kings Lynn Stars !! What a shambles. What was once a highly respectable Speedway Team has turned into a complete disaster. We are simply going through the motions to be whipped to all and sundry. Last night was a disgrace. Losing is one thing, but not bothering is totally unacceptable. Every Poole rider scored more than each member of our team. We won just 3 heats, and came last 13 times.. The team we put out was not acceptable, Some of the riders attitude was not acceptable, but probably there as pissed off, as much as the fans are, and cant be arse also. Whatever the problem, this club is going downhill fast. The lack of announcement about tonight meeting is alarming. No doubt Niels is not riding, and a replacement is proving difficult. But whatever the circumstances the Fans/ Supporters should be kept in the picture. Not knowing any news is the worse scenario possible. Why should the fans bother when they are treated with such contempt Personally I will be there tonight whatever. Not to see the Stars win, but just to feed my personal addiction. Poole have always been in the prime seat for success ever since they managed to secure the 2 top EDR riders from the crocked lists, coupled with 4 heat leaders and a brilliant young Aussie they were always been favourites in my book. Then to be able to strengthen with Pedersen has made the Elite league a laughing stock... I am not jealous of Poole's success, I just wish that our promotions put as much emphasis on team building as Poole do. We would lost tonight with or without Niels. He has been a shinning light and an example to every rider. With him in the team we have hope, without him we have nothing........

Lets do a swap,......... We're not that fussy.

If the Chairman of the league doesn't know the rules, what chance has the other mere mortals.. The rules are so complex, nobody cares anymore.... Looking on the bright side, R/R must be more positive than using Huckenbeck, cant remember the last time he beat somebody. With any other team he'd been dropped weeks ago.....