E I Addio

I think that is true. Over the years Ronnie has hardly established himself as one of the worlds leading track experts. Gerald Richter, who does the track now was doing it at the back end of the Ronnie Russell era, but I think the problem was more to do with the sort or material that was used (or lack of it) , than the way Gerald did the track. According to what a long standing member of the track staff told me Ronnie had a lot of clay in the material to save money.

In one breath you say the Hammers won't compete with top clubs until they sort the track out, in the next breath you tell us they have a home advantage. Make your mind up.

If Watt is a second string it will be interesting to see who the 24 heatleaders ranked above him are. Davey has his howlers, but if he gets in as a second string he will be more of a key player in that role than Bucs ever is as heatleader Also if the remaining ones are Kurtz Watt and Holder , it makes Poole a very good side but not the virtually invincible side people are talking about.

I think HA was making a valid point. It's all very well to come out with platitudes like "re-write the rule book " which means different things to different people. In fact it's only a small section of the rule book covering racing rules and team building that needs attention. What's he going to rewrite on the technical aspects such as machine specifications, duties of officials, etc which cover quite a bit of the rule book ? And as HA says, there is no,point in rewriting any rules if they are not going to be properly enforced. It's good he has a positive attitude but let's see a bit more flesh on the bones before we carried away.

In the shipyard ?

We ? YOU are not champion of anything. Poole Speedwáy team, of which you are not a member are Elite League Champions. You are just a hanger on, even if your dream world tells you that you are part of the team.

Kerr had a slightly higher average (0.19 higher) in the PL but Newman had a much higher average in the EL. That is the root of the problem. You have to compare like with like, not what happens elsewhere. Logic says that if they are being picked for EL teams then it's EL averages that should count. If you don't take the EL averages you might as well do it on who is the best darts player or best snakes and ladders player for all the relevance it is. The PL is a different league with different tracks and different opponents with no protected heats. It's not rocket science. It makes no sense at all to take PL averages, except in th warped world of Matt and Muddlo.

For the record, the Speedwáy Star averages for last seasons EL matches are :- Newman 8.41 Garrity 8.09 Auty 7.29 Kerr 7..15 Birks 7.13 Worrall 6.98 Wright 6.63 Blackbird 6.37 Starke5.34 Sarjeant5.23 The others aren't listed It's also worth mentioning that according to the SS stats Newmans away average was better than anyone else's home average, except for Garrity's. No doubt about it that Newman was far and away the outstanding EDR rider.

Here we go again. Once more you use supposition instead of fact. You "think" Neil Vatcher did the draft this year so therefore we can't blame Poole for it. Have you got a link to say who actually did the draft ( if indeed there even was one ) or if this another one of your thoughts that turn into facts in your mind ?

Great. Let's just hope he finds an electrician that can change a fuse in less than three days so he doesn't have to cancel any more meetings in dodgy circumstances himself. Nothing like setting a good example.

You have got one thing in common with Mick Horton and vGary Havelock then.

Have they signed Newman and Ellis then ? I must have missed that one

Lakeside don't make anything from the bar, food outlets etc so they don't have an interval. Most meetings last season were signed off by the referee at around 9.35/9.40 pm from an 8pm start. The latest finish last season was, as I recall 10.10pm after Magic crashed and took 3 safety fence panels out. A few years ago we had a meeting in which Joonas Kylmakorpi needed to be away quickly to get to a long track meeting the next day and Chris Gay rushed it through in an hour and 15 minutes which seems to be about the optimum time doing it and works out at 5 minutes per heat, so realistically most meetings should be finished inside an hour 45 minutes even allowing for say 3 or 4 false starts of first bend incidents. Clubs should look at ways of cutting out long intervals which normally seem to run to about 20 minutes . Maybe one way would be to say there woukd be a five minute gap for track prep three times a meeting, then fans who want a cup of tea or whatever would know exactly how long they have got and it would stagger the ques more.

Rob Mear returns as reserve, plus Lewis Blackbird subject to him deciding to race next year. Not wildly enthustic about it but not exactly disappointed either. Could be a dream pairing could be a damp squib . More pleased than disappointed on balance I suppose. Wish them both well though.

Best post of the day. Poor old Starman walked head first into them every time

Nilsson needs to be back. He only missed about two meetings through other commitments. Despite missing several meetings through injury he still did as much as Lawson , Kennett and Bech. Kim's trump card is that he rides the inside line at Lakeside better than any rider since JD at his best which means that there is plenty of room round the outside for his team mate and he is very difficult to a pass. He will be available more than any British D/U rider whose PL club has priority. I don't necessarily agree with this idea about building teams for away performances. If a team can win all its home matches that's 42 point in the bag and within touching distance of the play-offs. You then only need to nick a few points away and you are there.. No point in getting points away and losing them at home. Focus on getting the home points in the bag and there will always be a few to collect away. Of course it does all depends on a reasonably injury free season, something that the Hammers have not experienced for a long time.

.. That is fair comment, but the thread is about attendances across the sport. As I said before ,if a promotion don't put the effort in then obviously that will affect attendances at that psrtcular track but it's not going to affect attendances where tracks are well prepared. The problem is that attendances across the sort and across Euriope are falling so the problems are obviously far more complex than mere local issues. The recent record of the BSPA is not helping the situation but there are other factors outside their control. Many other forms of motor sport seem to be similarly affected..

You would have laughed even more if you read his programme notes, unless you were a Lakeside fan in which case you would probably have cried.

That is one of the weaknesses in your argument. It is all about perception, unless you produce stats. Of course some tracks in some meetings improve as the meeting progresses and it has already been explained to you that in some instances it can be attributed to poor track prep but other times due to weather and a whole range of other factors . Sometimes the racing is good early on and the track goes slick later.sometime it holds up all the way through. In a sense it's no different to the wicket in a cricket match . Some start off as good batting strips and cut up later giving help to the bowlers, others become more and more lifeless as the match progresses. The thread is about attendances. You have no stats to back up your assertion (it may well be right at some tracks. but not others). But there is no evidence that across the sport as a whole every track is poorly prepared so as to make head 1 processional. Attendances are falling , not just in the UK but across Swedeb and Poland as well, so for your argument to be right all of them must have poorly prepared tracks. It is obviously more complex than that. Similarly , what constitutes a good spectacle is a subjective opinion, not an absolute fact. If you are unequivocally right about that how come tracks like Peterborough , the OTA and Sheffield aren't packing the crowds in anymore than Wolves. Why has the sport dropped to such a precarious level in Australiawith some of the big tracks that have had. There are many reasons for falling attendances, some within the sports control, others outside the sports control such as the economy

The only trouble we ever had with Davey arriving late was when his flight from Polznd was delayed ! I like Davey. He was a good servant to Lakeside (most of the time) and a good captain (most of the time ) in a very difficult period for the club, but he is not getting any younger and times move on so I think some completely fresh blood is needed at second heat leader

Exactly. It's also the case that what seems like a great idea to the person that first thinks of it, often doesn't so good when the details are held up for scrutiny in committee

You have to factor in the cost of making the advert. The cost of showing it would depend on the channel, viewing time and the size of audience reached. Making a professional advert and showing it once at peak times would probably set you into six figures but TV. Adverts are generally uneconomical for sport which is why very few sports clubs advertise that way. In fact all advertising is horrendously expensive. It has been discussed at Lakeside fans forums in the past and I forget the actual figures but just to have a stall in the car park of the shopping centre for a day was I think the best part of a thousand pounds, and to put a small add in the toilets would have cost around. £600 a year..

f Who else says it apart from TV commentators who don't want their audiences turning off before the adverts come on? The best, if not one of the best races I saw last season was between Doyle AJ and Bech , Lakeside v Leicester on 25th June. Doyle gated then passed by first AJand Bech, lap 2 Dolye passed them both to retake the lead, lap 3 AJ and Bech re-pass Doyle and hold on for the win., As good a race as you'll see anywhere with six passes in three laps, all in Heat 1 on a small track. Off course not every hear 1 is like that. But nor are all other heats. Maybe you don't visit many tracks but your argumement that all heat 1'sare processional and it's all down to small tracks or track prep simply doesn't stand up. Weather conditions and the experience of the various track curators play a part but the reasons for falling attendances are complex and varied but like most people you look for quick fixes and easy answers but there are none,.There are a whole range of issues that need to be addressed, both on track and off, but lack of money is one of the major obstacles.

It still gets a far bigger crowd than any other track that only has one meeting a year. Whether the racing is good of bad is a subjective opinion. The thread is about attendances and the fact remains that for whatever reason it is a small track with a big crowd. I don't see people talking about massive crowds at Swindon, Kings Lynn, or Pete rborough,at least not parvticularly bigger than Wolves or other small tracks.

I would say Nilsson is probably nailed on.not a genuine hear 15 rider yet and still needs consistency away but he has increased his average year on year and as he is not a double upper should be available for most matches except GP qualifiers. Was riding well until he dot injured in Sweden last season and his a. Club asset so looks very likely. I would say that whether Ed and Rich come back depends on there availability as d/u riders. Mikkel Bech is potentially a great talent but whether he now has the mental focus to realise that talent is now open to question. He has come in for some criticism about his attitude. The big question is who will the second heatleader be ? Batchelor Bjerre or Watt ? I can't think of any other British based riders who are likely to be available (unless it's Nicki P).