Conkers in Gravy

It's always nice to know you've struck a nerve when legal action is mentioned. This is clearly not a universally popular ruling and maybe we should start taking bets on when it collapses completely. It was a poor decision which fails to get to grips with the biggest financial problems facing the sport - rider expenses and low crowds. You might as well use a Bandaid to mend a broken leg.

I enjoyed the meeting and Eurosport's presentation was a refreshing, straightforward change. It was just a shame the racing was a bit average. I thought he did. A couple of times he even had to correct himself as the riders went into the second bend. Let's be fair to commentators (all of them), what sometimes looks like a great start can turn into a turkey within a couple of tenths of a second and commentators get names wrong all the time in almost every sport. . . maybe not tennis.

Excuse me for a bit of gentle p***-taking. Having returned to the subject after a few days, I was just amused at how far we'd moved on. As several people have said, it's virtually impossible to compare riders from different eras with different machinery, different tracks and different pressures, but I know one thing for certain, I'd pay good money to watch a Harris v Morton showdown on a well-prepared Hyde Road.

Let me get this straight, the answer to the question "Which is better 13 or 15 heats?" is Chris Morton. . . or maybe Chris Harris. This thread is how I imagine the BSPA winter conferences must be like.

I agree, but less than 15 minutes of league speedway leaves you wanting so much more that you feel you've been had.

As far as I can remember there was always a mass exodus at the end of heat 13 with only the diehards left to watch the second half. I liked that format of meeting, but most folk didn't, so it's a no-go. My biggest problem with speedway is there is just not enough racing. I went to a meeting last year for the first time since 2004 (I live 320 miles and two ferry journeys from my nearest track), I paid £14, stood on home-made wooden terraces, watched 15, 50-second, Premier League heats and three passing manoeuvres spread over an hour and three-quarters before being told that was that. A couple of juniors came out for some practice laps as I went to the car park feeling very short-changed. I'm not in a hurry to go back - at least not to that particular track. I don't like to criticise riders who risk their personal safety for our entertainment, but they and the promoters need to give a bit more if there is to be any upturn in the sports' fortunes. Four races per man is not good value. It's not asking too much for them to come out again for a second half as well as the 15-heat meeting, just as it should be possible to run 20 heats in a couple of hours most of the time. I've often wondered why the league match (the main event, after all) is on first with junior races (if provided) added afterwards. Could a meeting not start 15 minutes earlier with a couple of junior races with another in the interval? Maybe the best of the lads could line-up against the reserves after the league match? That way there would be more value for the diehard fan, while giving the less committed a sense that there is always something going on rather than a lot of hanging around listening to Abba's greatest hits. I'm just thinking out loud here and there are probably very good reasons why I'm wrong - I daresay I'll soon be told why.

"Hypocrites" is a bit strong, but I take your point. There is undoubtedly far too much negativity, but that's common on pretty much every sporting forum. Speedway promoters have a fine line to tread, trying to find ways of updating the sport's fairly tatty image while keeping its long-serving, traditional audience happy. Rather them than me.

It's not ageist to suggest ways to attract younger people to meetings, in fact it's exactly what speedway needs. It is, however, ageist (and fairly offensive) to slag people off because of their age, poking fun at their dress and the way they choose to enjoy the sport.

I think Matt Ford's comments on the official BSPA website yesterday (Sunday Feb 24) should put the whole issue to bed. He has been dealt with by the courts, he has obviously had a sharp warning about his behaviour from the Poole management and Neil Middleditch is keeping quiet. Overall I'd say that's about right.

I have a feeling 15 is an improvement on some recent seasons. It's a depressing situation and even more so when you think that Britain's only representative in the Grand Prix series is effectively a product of the Australian system. It's always been a problem, even in the heyday of the British League in the 70s when many teams packed their teams with foreign imports. Of course in those days the second tier was restricted to British and Commonwealth riders, opening up more opportunities for young home riders. And of course, there were far more second half chances in the days when promoters seemed to have no difficulty fitting 20 races into a couple of hours. It's hard to know what the solution is. After all, we have a whole league set up specifically to give young British riders the chance to progress - maybe some questions should be asked as to why so few make it through from NL/Conference to the Elite League. We are held back by the vested interests inside the BSPA. An independent body controlling British speedway would be far better placed to set up a serious programme of rider development. Perhaps we could also invest in a team of sports psychologists for British riders. It may be my imagination, but many British lads seem either to lack the belief to make the step up to real top level status, or seem content to settle for a lower level (where they may be able to earn a better living). Or maybe these things just go in cycles and somewhere there's a 12-year-old Peter Craven, Peter Collins, Mike Lee or Mark Loram. No harm in hoping.

I have a four-acre field that's not doing very much this year. Slight drainage problem, but nothing a day or two with a digger and some hardcore wouldn't sort out. It's on one of the outer Orkney islands, so it's we can look forward to "local" derbies with Edinburgh and Glasgow, 320 miles south. Potential promoters should form an orderly queue, but bear in mind I'll need it for tatties in 2015.

Are you suggesting that if White Knight goes on a computer course we can sit back and watch the queues form at speedway turnstiles?