g13webb

In life, you usually only get out as much as you put it. and thus, I feel Lambert still has some way to go to repay the Promoter and Fans who have supported him through his development so far. We have seen him progress into a highly talented youngster, who could be destined to the very top of the tree. He is now at a stage when he will make a big impression in the league, when he can repay all the faith and belief these fans have always had in him. From his time at Lynn he should have learnt what speedway means to the fans and what winning the illusive title would mean to them, and what better way to pay those dues than help the Stars win that title. To jump ship now, and join another Elite Club, would be insulting to all concerned, and vindicate all those unsavoury comments doing the rounds. If he wants to better himself then he has to go aboard to compete with the best, but to up-sticks just to the join top club, proves to me, he is nothing more than a Trophy hunter. I hope he stays and prove all those doubter wrong......

No, not at all. But Please, you look at it any way you like. I was commenting on the BSPA, and referred to a collective brain between them, based on the decisions they made.....

I see and speak with Buster often. I have the greatest of respect for him, and marvel what he has achieved at Saddlebow Road. so no complaints there....... My comment were directed a the BSPA as a body, the organisation of our sport. It seems that when they all get together, common sense goes out the window..... The sport becomes secondary.. I'm also aware there are some good people on the committee, but just seem to be out numbered, by those who think everything is rosy.

I'm trying hard to be see the positives from the recent AGM, but failing miserably. If there be a trophy given for the most complicated set of rules where most problems were self inflicted, then the BSPA would win this award every year. without fail....... I am sure they set out with the sole intention on pissing everyone off. Sometimes I wonder if there is a brain between them, How can a sport , so straight forward, be complicated so much. When the Drafts scheme was first suggested, some of us were branded as scare mongers for pointing out the obvious shortcomings of having protected heats, resulting in varying CMA biasness. . Now two years down the line the BSPA are digging a bigger hole than before, trying to rescue a badly thought out idea. Years back we had 13 heats, everyone racing against each other. Every rider's CMA was testament to their ability in comparison to other riders. Increase the 13 format with and addition reserve race and finish with the nominated one, to achieve the full 15 races. Its so unbelievably SIMPLY.. so straight forward. We could add a simple proviso to that, and say each team has to field two British riders, one being at reserve. Our sport suffers from many problems, least of all, attracting of new supporters. We have a desperate shortage of top riders, leaving the sport over run with Guests, Double Uppers and R/R. I cant see where this AGM meeting has addressed any of the important problems and have only compounded the ones we already had.

You sure have a wicked mind

Nearly..... and I went to them all....Wonderful times never to be repeated. and there's people on there who say today is Better....

I wouldn't go to Cardiff every week, whatever the costs were.... We go because of the occasion, not because of the racing and are charged through the nose for the privilege . Being a Cardiff regular, I am often amazed at the relevance, people place in the meeting, and how it is used as a measuring stick when comparing with other events. Yes, there are 40,000 plus crowds; Yes, there are the best riders in the world, but surely that alone, is not the reason to hold it in such high esteem. Usually the amount of decent races can be counted on one hand. Undoubtedly, the track has made huge strides in recent years compared to what it once was, but it will always be a temporary surface, and as a meeting, it will never compare with the likes of Torun in Poland. but we do not have that scenario... No, the reason the event is so special is because, It's the only opportunity for most to see a SGP live, It's the weekend when speedway takes over the city... Yeah it's a good, expensive time, but please don't think the racing is anything special, I seen far better races in league matches up and down the country most weeks....

Pleased I don't live near Manchester, I couldn't afford to support your lot........

No one is forget anything , Buster will always have the final word. Smart as he may be, Buster won't want someone in the side who doesn't want to ride. But selling is not always the right thing to do. We all wait with interest........

I too was at the meeting and saw those riders plus Lewis Rose as well. I was probably a bit slow, cause I was of the impression, they were there to support the Young Stars in a big Match. No doubt talks of next year were on everyone mine but I wouldn't have thought Buster would have conducted contract talks with everyone on the same night whilst a match was taking place. After suffering big accidents last year, surely there must be big question marks about the return of Rory and Kerr. Each will have to prove they are back up to fitness before any contracts are sought...... I would love to see them both in the Lynn set up next year, but how far do we go with sentiment. Rory has been a tremendous ambassador for the sport and would make a brilliant Team Manager. Look at the difference Mark Lemon has made at Belle Vue. He could be the key to open the door, that has been closed for so long....

I was at that meeting, Remember it well, I knew there was something going on in the pit area, so thanks for the explanation. Never seen Niels look so wild. Wow...it seems everything in the garden is not as rosy as ones suspects. All we fans want is a competitive unit that ALL riders pull together and create a successful team. To help each other. Each year when the team are announced, I look at the makeup of the team and hope for this togetherness. In each of the last two years, we started off well and the team spirit was so evident. but each time it has descended into also rans. Obviously, something's a miss. To me, Niels should be the first name on the list. No, he's not a shepherd, He's too quick to have too slow down to team ride. Looking at him try is awkward. But as a No1 he is the best, late in the meeting when the big heats come Niels will be there at the front...... He leads the team from the front..... Such an important acquisition... Lambert would be my second pick. Yes, he's young, exciting and extremely talented. He still has a lot to learn for the big occasions. He's good from the front , brilliant from the back and has become an established team rider. Has the world at his feet... Should learn a lot from someone like Niels..... What we need most is someone who can harness these two into a winning formula.......

Appreciate all your fact findings. Although we don't want to use guests, it is not them that slow the meeting down like R/R do..... Again thanks for the info...

I would imagine, every person would like Robert to stay at Lynn. That goes without saying. We have seen him over the years, progress into a top young rider. He has a large fan base here, who follow his every move. Like you, winning isn't everything, but team spirit is. If riders cant give and take and put themselves out for the sake of the team, then one has to ask what's the point. Obviously the fans want to see talent and ability, but also they want to see Passion, Desire, Fun, Excitement, Team spirit. The fans want to connect with the riders, and they wont do that if rider isn't happy.. Its possible, but Poole are far too ruthless, and care about winning far more than about their riders. Matt Ford has shown many times before, that if you don't perform--your out. Lambert still has a lot to learn and has experienced many dips in form, Rightly or wrongly at Lynn he would be given more time to progress than he would at Poole..

Probably if your response was an objective opinion or a constructive criticism on the state of D/D or race nights, I would have responded differently, but to nit-pick on an example, was so trivial. The problems with the way our sport is run is a major issue. and any suggestion is worth airing. I'm sorry if I used the wrong example...... But my point was, If someone who has followed the sport for 50 yrs, get P----d Off with slow meetings, what effect does it have on attracting new fans ???

As the story goes, Lamberts thinks he should get first choice of gates sometimes when in Ht 15, and not Niels. Seems to me Niels has earnt any privileges he may get and the young man should show some respect. He has a long way to go before he can be considered in the same light as our SGP Star. Like I say, Something blown up out of nothing. Seems this young man has a lot of growing up to do.......... If , as the story goes, that he's intending to ride for Poole next year, then he would lose all the respect he has gained. .... With time and talent on his side, he could stay and become the Best Star's rider ever. He could become the icon of Kings Lynn Speedway, surpassing all the great riders of the past. The world would be his oyster. To give that up for some petty squabble is madness..............

If Frost was that influencing factor, he wouldn't have ridden at Lynn for the past 3 yrs. NKI said then it was Lynn Stars or nothing. Much to Frost annoyance. I don't think there's much love lost there. Shame about Magic though, destined for the top, I always appreciated it was an honour just to see him ride. Pure Quality...

You obviously think everything in the garden is rosy, and the sport doesn't have a problem, picking that up like you have. Wednesday has always been good night to race, with little or no other meetings. But there were many times this year we rode on other nights besides Wednesdays, like Monday, or a Tuesday, sometimes even on a Thursday. Your figure of 95% is way off the mark. Looking back through our fixture list, the actual figure of the occasions we race on a Wednesday is 63% . Only 12 of our 19 meetings have run on Wednesdays.. But all this is irrelevant, the idea of the suggestion is to organise the sport more professionally and appealing way to encourage more Punters, More Riders and More families. For someone, who has watched Speedway for 50 odds years I was mentioning problems that annoy me. Thinking along those lines, What does these drawn out meeting do to new supporters, they must get really pi---ed off........and that's what needs to be addressed

A lot of good points you make above. In my first comment I highlighted the need to race leagues on specific days, not with the sole intention of getting some top riders over here, but to bring some organisation into our sport in this country. The number of times teams come to the AFA with a rider missing is beyond a joke, Usually the result of double uppers riding for their main club. Using R/R to cover the gap means a slower meeting when a rider will need more rest between races. Nothing peeves me off more than slow, stop and start meeting. That just one instance. There are not enough riders to fulfil all our league places so doubling up is inevitable. Lets have more control of this situation by setting certain racing days for each leagues... Agree about the top riders not wanting to race here, but it would be good if they could see we are trying to help them in their quest to organise their years work ahead.. Instead of shutting the door one or two like Nicki Pedersen might say why not. The sport has to be organised better and meetings need to be run more professionally , then the crowd might start to come back...

It was always going to be an uphill battle against the Heathens big hitters and so it proved. The young Stars, although ravished through injuries but still battled to the end. The three final heats really gives a unfair scoreline, as the teams were a lot closer than that...... Ryan Kingsley was a revelation scoring 17 from his extra rides. The RR and falls really took its toll on proceedings. The Ref tried to keep the meeting flowing with quick 2min warnings, but with so many missing the meeting was always going to be drawn out. Didn't realise how cold it was until back in to the car. Just pleased I wasn't one of the few Cradley supporters facing that long journey home. Decent crowd, but how many of them were there purposely to collect their Niels tickets. Priced as they were, they were always going to go quickly. Pleased we acquired ours, but feel for those who missed out. All tickets were gone in half an hour. Good to see Rory, Lewis Kerr and Lewis Rose in attendance to cheer the Young Stars on....

No, Not at all .. Your point about costs, are because you're assuming that every club would HAVE pay out more to attract top riders. My point is to organise the sport to comply with other countries and other leagues. and that isn't going to cost ANYMORE than it does now. . All we need is to organise the sport as a body, not a tin-pot organisation governed by specific people and certain clubs with their short-sighted demands. We could have the EL on say Wed and Thurs, We could have PL on Fri ,Sat and Sun, leaving NL for Mon and Tuesdays. That way we could fit in with other countries running their top leagues on specific days, we would also free up clashes when EL riders double up with their PL clubs, we would free up opportunity when the NL clash with PL. A bit of organisation that hasn't cost a penny, but it would be so much better for all concerned. The riders, the fans , the clubs, everyone would benefit . They're going to be people saying, yeah but we can only race on certain days, but that's no problem, cause all days are accounted for. If Wolves say we can on only race on Mondays, then they complete in the NL. Sheffield might say we always race on Thursdays, that's also good, cause they could compete in the EL. There is no reason why this cant be done, all it needs it someone to stand up for the sport and not for themselves...... Surely the sport is more important than any club.....

You seem to have all the answers and your mind made up. By complying with the other countries in Europe it will be easier for the riders to travel from venue to venue, they won't be as many clashes as there is at present. Whether we can appeal to new riders we don't know, but if we complied to a program as other countries do, as least that way it would ensure our riders are happy and not so knackered trying to fit meetings in to our unfriendly calendar..... If we try, we might get some success, but burying our heads in the sand we won't get anywhere.....

Really pleased to see that. Having seen some wonderful riders here at Lynn in my time, top names, that just roll off the tongue, like Betts, Lee, Simmo, Jessup, Sanders, Louis, Crump, Richardson, Pedersen, Henka, Loram, Adams (forgive me if I missed someone's favourite) and when I say I would definitely rate Niels up there with the very best, you'll appreciate how important he has been to the Stars over the past 5 years. When the management start thinking of plans for next year, Niels has to be the first name on the sheet....

As per normal the cart coming before the horse. There far more issues to worry about than 6 man teams. Surely the first problem to sort out is the workability of three leagues Then next, sort out two specific race days for the Elite league hoping to interest more top riders to compete. Designate the PL to run on different nights. There's way too many meetings when riders are missing, riding for their parent club instead.... Lets have a laid down program of 'Rules and Guidelines' that all Clubs and Riders are happy to work too. Lets have a progression status so the riders can improve and not have too perform out of their depth like at present. If it is deemed best to operate 6 man teams then so be it. But lets get the priorities right first.....

Like other, I'm very disappointed with Porsing's progress, and now feel he won't make the big time. He came with many claiming his pedigree was first class, all he needed was time. Well, he's had 2 and half years now and is little different from the rider we first saw. Sure, some days he's inspired and rides like a top man, but others he give the impression of little interest. He's fortunate to have a good sponsor and to lives locally. But if he wants to go far in this sport then he needs to make bigger strides and put in more consistent performances. What he has done so far is not good enough. I am in no doubt he is capable of reaching the heights of national status, but to do that his application has to go up a big step....

Not the comment I wanted to hear, it doesn't surprised me though. Just hope it can be sorted. To me Niels is box office, Mr Reliable, a true No1, He alone, has carried the Stars single handily these past few years.To have a team without him would be unthinkable. I cant for the life of me imagine Niels would have given this ultimatum, he's too mature for that. So it comes down to WHO and WHY ??? Ridiculous situation........