SPD444

Even his fellow competitors, while not condoning his behaviour, don't want to see him banished forever and many think that compulsory alcohol tests for all riders before every SGP would be a better consequence of what happened in Daugavpils. I would go one step further, I think alcohol/drug testing should be done both on the practise day and the day of the meeting for all riders. In other sports random testing is done during the season at any time, this would be a great deterrent as well. If people like Ward want to ruin their careers then that is up to them but safety must be the priority regardless of what some promoters might say.

There is an interesting comparison here with a certain footballer who went round biting opponents. On the first occasion his club made the similar sort of "excuses" we heard regarding Darcy. However, on the second occasion, they got rid. This guy was a big,big star apparently but not bigger than the reputation of the club, Liverpool, or the league. Pity Mr Ford did not emulate said football team and let everyone know that the club and the sport is bigger than any one rider, not matter how good he thinks he is.

You are right about guests, yerropes. I am watching Swindon v Hammers on Bet365 and the Hammers have four guests. Watt fell on the first bend of the first race and he is out for the night. After heat 7 the "Hammers" have scored 16 points but only 3 by their riders. Speedway is a complete joke anyway and then we have riders who seem to think they can have a few beers as well.

Mr. Middleditch says :- "Hes a grown man and should know what he cant do. He knows the rules and now hes being punished for it. I dont know how far over (the alcohol limit) he was but he was. Thats the bottom line." You and Mr. Ford also know the rules and have known this for nearly two weeks now. As you say, it doesn't matter how far over the limit he was, the fact is he was, end of. He is a disgrace to Poole and Speedway and the management (You) should have sacked him and then you would have had two weeks to find a replacement for him. Sorry, Mr Middleditch, you have gone down in my eyes.

In my case it was Sky that rekindled my interest in Speedway. As a youngster I went every Saturday night to watch the likes of Craven, Mauger, Briggs etc. at Belle Vue for many years. But growing up my interest waned and I lost touch with it. It was through TV that my interest returned and now enjoy most of it. Looking to the future Sky will be interested as long as advertisers want to show their products during the relay. But the fact is that with each match being 15 races and each race lasting approx 1 minute - thats only 15 minutes of actual racing which takes roughly two hours to complete - in my opinion you need more racing and less faffing around waiting for the riders. So improve the product to keep the viewers interest and wanting to watch which keeps the advertisers on board

Isn't this a thread about Sky Sports New Deal??? - Whats all this soccer rubbish!!

I recall a year or so ago when the Sky deal to show the NFL was up for renewal, and the NFL forum was in complete meltdown, it was only announced days before the first game that a new deal had been done. Don't panic there is still a couple of months to go.

Apparently, according to speedwaygb, Mr Middletwit has been assured by Bridger that his ( Bridgers) bikes in Prague are fast. No worries then.

I think we saw tonight the confirmation that over the last few GP's the rising of the new generation. Gone are the days of Hancock, Gollob, Pederson etc. dominating the Grand Prix and the arrival of the next generation. The hunger of the new generation is plain to see. Emil, Woofy, Chris, Matej really attacking the track and each other is the future not only of the GP but our own U.K Speedway. Great meeting tonight, well done Eurosport ( except for the clown who follows the adverts).