E I Addio

Of course Swindon will win quite apart from how the top 5's do the EDR farce ensures that for the majority of meetings the home reserves will overwhelm their visiting counterparts. Swindon and Lakeside are both caught in that trap and there is nothing they can do about it. The position will probably be reversed when Swindon visit Lakeside. Both Rosco and Mick Horton have admitted in SS in the last couple of weeks that the BSPA have made a dogs breakfast of the EDR scheme this season. Can only see a substantial home win.

Rosco says in this weeks SS they didn't spend enough time on it at the AGM and got it all wrong.

Richard Weston is right. Modern bikes have a very narrow power band and therein lies the problem. Modern bikes are revving to something aproaching twice as much as th old two valve JAPs and Jawas. The more you increase power at the top end the more you compromise at the bottom end. Not the riders lack of ability it's the way modern engines develop their power.

There is nothing in that post that you haven't repeated several times already. Some, including myself , have a different opinion. However many times you repeat yourself it won't change the minds of those who disagree with you. As to throttle control all I can say is that I have been going to Speedwáy meetings most of my life and I have rarely seen the masterclass of throttle control and cut backs that Peter Karlsson used to demonstrate week in week out in his days at Lakeside, and no doubt Bwitcher will say he was the same at Wolves. That is my considered opinion from being there, not from DVD's. There are and always have been good and bad riders and good and bad meetings. For goodness sake leave it at that.

I'll give Matt Ford his due credit. Most ventriloquists have to have the dummy on their knee, Matt Ford can sit in the Speedwáy Office and still work the dummy when it isn't even in the stadium.

Unlike certain posters I don't claim to have the ability to accurately judge the size of the crowd by simply looking at them, especially when it is dark. However based on the fact that the Bank Holiday derbies with Eastbourne used to bring in upwards of 2500 when the weather was nice the Poole and KL meetings appeared to be slightly smaller that that so I would guesstimate around 2000 or perhaps a little more. Not exactly 1946 levels but better than most of the crowds last year when the club were having a tough time with home losses. I agree. There are clips on you tube of England v Australia test matches in the 1930's before massive crowds but the races seem pretty well strung out. There are also clips of World Finals in the 1950's where there is not a lot of overtaking going on but they are still in front of huge Wembly crowds. Presumably these would clips of some of the best races.

Lakeside had a big crowd v Kings Lynn on Good Friday. Not as big as the heyday off the local derbies with Eastbourne but pretty decent. It dropped for the unattractive fixture with Leicester on a freezing cold night but still seemed comparable to a lot we saw last year, then it was well up for Poole. Difficult to assess the Poole meeting because an accident in Dartford Tunnel meant a lot of fans arrived late, but as far as I could judge in the dark it seemed a pretty decent crowd by about heat 3 or 4.

It probably about does it for a lot of people I would think. The EDR scheme could be such a good idea if it was done properly, but it's almost if they sit there trying to think up ways of making the sport less and less credible.

Suppose it doesn't work and they ask for their money back . Then what ?

It is not a reasoned to debate to falsely claim that some people are adamant that Speedwáy doesn't have a problem when nobody has said any such thing.

Good to see up and coming youngster Stuart Robson getting a chance under the EDR scheme. This is definitely the way to bring the young ones on. What a fantastic scheme it is. Must be the end of Dave Watts career though. Can't see anyone taking a chance on him on his average at the moment. Leicester might have him instead of Ulamek though I suppose.

No he didn't say Speedwáy hasn't got a problem, nor did anybody else say such a thing. That is you misquoting him. Nobody in their right mind would say Speedwáy hasn't got a problem, but a number disagree with your over analysis of where the problem lies. The fact is that you are not interested in anyone else's opinion except your own so you resort to things like telling people they have their heads in the sand or misquoting them as you did with sparkafag. Speedwáy has a multitude of problems, the majority of which don't have a simple or quick fix solution.

Can you point out the specific posts on this thread from people who are adamant that Speedwáy hasn't got a problem ? I must have missed those.

I have read that before but thanks Crump 99 for posting it again to refresh our memory. I have long held Mick Bratley in high regard for a variety of reasons, and nobody could have worked harder or put more effort in than he did. It absolutely galls me when idiots post on here with their quick fix solutions because there aren't any. The core product is good for those who like this sort of entertainment, but in the geeky Internet age it seems less and less people are interested in mechanical thingsf or motor sport, and that is the first problem thst has to be faced up to. Apart from that the broad feedback that we see on here is for slick presentation. To improve the presentation would cost very little and would go a long way towards keeping fans once they are through the turnstiles but the big problem is getting them to come in the first place and on Mick Bratleys experience that is the major problem. No easy answers. Long term planning is needed for a sport that is basically run on a year to year basis.

Absolutely spot on. The points system in county cricket is far, far more complicated than Speedwáy but it doesn't put people off. The scoring system in boxing is a closed book to most fans but it doesn't stop new ones from going. Thousands watch football without really understanding the offside rule and thousands enjoy cricket without knowing the detail of the LBW rule. It frustrates me that the things that are speedways real problems are things that most fans barely comment on. Instead their complaints revolve round what are more frequently their own misunderstandings. Surely we keep coming back to the point that to many EDR riders are too good for the scheme. Not only Garrity but riders like Newman, S. Worrall, Howarth etc are too good for the scheme. They are good enough to take the Richie Worrall type route via the PL , rather than just being handed th place.

Back to winter jobs. In Alf Hagons case it wasn't so much a winter job as a separate full time job. A brilliant self taught engineer he had a shop in Leytonstone for years, always impressive because in the window were the envelopes of letters people had sent from all over the world. Never more than a Speedwáy second string but a class grass tracker and former British Champion who designed and built his own frames that revolutionised grass track. He also designed and built the machine on which he set what was at the time a world record flying mile at 209 mph (from memory ). I think Ivor Brown had a variety of jobs. He was a postman or ran a post office and had something to do with a butchers shop I think I read . Brian Maxted was a part time fireman. Stretching my memory a bit now but didn't the Boocock family have a flour mill?

That's it, Tony Lomas. Thanks.

Zu Maury Mattingley made Speedwáy frames and forks, but in addition to that he made towel rails (not sure which was the main business and which was the sideline). Norman Hunter was an electrician. Len Silver had his car showrooms in Manor Park. There was a Conventry rider whose surname escapes me Tony something, was a test rider for Triumph motorcycles. Eric Boothroyd was a grengocer. Ron mMountford had a garage or workshop of some kind. Super Simmo was an apprentice in Chatham dockyard when he started but soon turned full pro. Ove Fundin was some kind of paraffin supplier. Stan Stevens ran a brake and clutch service (in East Ham I think). Tommy Sweetman I believe had an opticians shop in Cheshunt, and I believe Howard Cole was an estate agent. Mike Broadbanks was a lorry driver. Norman Strachan worked in a sawmill (where he lost two fingers in an accident ).

I suppose you could also say that in most forms of motorcycle and motor racing the general pattern is that someone establishes an early lead and it frequently doesn't change much after that, but it is still a great spectacle in the eyes of its fans. Speedwáy has some unfortunate baggage that puts people off but generally speaking it's still a great spectacle in its basic form.

I think you need to read the comment to take a balanced view on that. Personally I didn't see it as moaning as such. I read it as him expressing himself in a fairly upfront way and more's the pity more promoters don't communicate in quite the same way. He's got his faults like everyone else but at least we know where he is coming from, unlike the rest of them that just keep quiet.

They go off 15 metres when they touch the tapes so I don't know why a T/r should be any different.

You sure do Siddo, and you are famous for it and for getting suspended. A legend in your own lunchtime. But if we can drag this thread kicking and screaming back to topic, I see Mick Horton made some interesting comments in this week and last weeks Speedwáy Star about Poole. It's all very well for Ford to be disparaging about other clubs but when people like Mick Horton and Neil Watson feel they have had enough and are disheartened by it all the alarm bells much the same way as the fans feel should be ringing . It doesn't seem that all is well at BSPA towers.

It sure is. In fact it's even colder than the Poole showers after the 2010 play off Final !

I don't know about that . Dave Watt captained Lakeside for three years hitting around. 7-point average, but still got blown away 2 weeks ago, Hans nearly always does well at Arena, only Holder is not keen on the place but he is not really his full self anyway so far this year. I can't remember Dave Watt having many good meetings at Brandon, especially acts it's a bit wet. From this distance it seems to me that the Bees team spirit is not all it could be, but if they all pull together it should be a decent match. Go for it .

I don't see why it should. Coventry at home are not significantly weaker than Lakeside at home. KK should be roughly the same as AJ is at Lakeside and Bomber at Brandon is as good if not better than any equivalent Hammers heatleaders. Lakeside beat Poole with a six man team because they got stuck in and had the crowd behind them to come from 6 points down to take the win. Coventry have the potential to win this, but it means digging deep, functioning as a team and the fans getting behind them. Giant killing is what Speedwáy is all about. If the Bees pull this off you will all be walking on air for I week as I was when Lakeside beat Poole. Get in and support your team. It's a big ask but it's doable.