Daytripper

Maybe more than three. Seems to be pretty much an open secret they want to reduce it to maybe a maximum of 12 PL/CL clubs so it's a manageable size for one big league. Of course idiots like Chapman and Godfrey are too thick to realise that less clubs mean les fans overall and the contraction continues.

Willie Dishington is the referee so don't expect too much one way or the other apart from some rubbish decisions if there is anyone in either team he doesn't like. Probably give you a rubbish track assessment as well. Not that your track is rubbish, but he is.

Me too. Still haven't got over it. They won't be satisfied until the whole country is one mass of shops, offices and houses, and life is totally dull with no excitement .

unfortunately, after Manchester Council got their fingers burnt over the Belle Vue project very few councils in these cash strapped times will be inclined to put much time and effort into helping a speedway club. The proposed shopping centre re development is still a few years off with planning permission etcs, so its possible the new site owners will give the club some form of accommodation. The last I heard, redevelopment of the whole area is on hold until a decision is taken about the new Thames crossing either at Purfleet or Tilbury

The ref gave James Shanes second ahead of Zak Wajjtnecht in heat 6 when even James said Zak beat him on the line. He also allowed Georgie Woods to go off 15 metres when the rules are clear that a second starting offence, after a warning in the same race should mean exclusion of the rider concerned with no option of going off 15. As it turned out it made no difference to the result or enjoyment of the meeting but it was poor referreeing. Conversely though, I was standing almost in line with the starting gate and I didn't particularly notice any rollers, apart from three or four riders who were trying it on and were given warnings to stay still.

Yes back to the subject. The BSPA have now pulled the plug on the Lakeside -v- Peterborough fixture on 27th July. This fixture has now been submitted, approved , withdrawn, re-instated and withdrawn again. This would have been a profitable fixture for Lakeside , partly because it is the start of the school holidays, and partly because Peterborough is near enough to attract more visiting fans than most other clubs. Interestingly, it so happens that Scunthorpe are racing the same day. Still no comment from the BSPA. There was a BSPA meeting due to be held today. It remains to be seen whether the fans are given more information after todays conflab, or whether we will once again be referred to the nearest brick wall for a full statement.

Its not that he has a blindspot about Lakeside - people are entitled to have their own opinions on things. The problem is his sheer arrogance in assuming his opinion is superior to everyone else's and the childish vindictiveness of trotting out the same old bile thread after thread year after year, especially since Jon Cook took over. If people are prepared to pay £17 to get into a speedway meeting and they enjoy the evening out then who is BCD to say they are wrong ? One of the good things about speedway is that most fans of most clubs are pretty decent people , and its such a pity that we have this small but vociferous minority that have to snipe at every opportunity.

They don't respond well to big wide tracks with patchy surfaces either. Big or small, riders need a smooth consistent surface in order to perform well. Unfortunately British weather is not always conducive to that. The quality of the shale at certain tracks doesn't help much either.

According to Jon Cook in S/S;- "Our entry to the Championship was submitted that we were going to run mainly as a Friday club, with us accommodating the likes of Scunthorpe and Glasgow even though they opted to choose their race night this season This was discussed at the fixture meeting earlier this year and there were no real issues as we have been a Friday racetrack since 2007. For someone like ourselves we haven't got the availability of our venue to fulfil our fixture list if we could only run on a Saturday." The point really is that the fixtures were submitted and approved then suddenly removed half way through the season without notice or explanation. Nobody forced them to accept the Friday fixture list. They could have said no before the season started but to get half way through t the season and then remove the fixtures, apparently at the whim of a BSPA MC member is despicable.

Oh they were. I still miss Shieldsy, even now. So desperately unlucky with injuries.

Thank you for that independent view. We have all got used to Bigcatdiary's chip-on-the-shoulder rantings over the years, mostly criticising Lakeside meetings he didn't attend , as was the case last night. Unfortunately BCD is the worst type of speedway follower (I won't call him a fan ) who thinks that by constantly sniping at different fans tracks, clubs, promotions and riders, he somehow makes himself look knowledgeable and a cut above the rest of us.. In fact the opposite is true and he not only makes himself look an idiot he tarnishes the reputation of the club he purports to support, although fortunately my experience is that most of the Peterborough fans I have met area pretty decent crowd. If people don't like Lakeside or any other track nobody forces them to go and watch. I just think people are a bit odd when they just sit at home moaning all the time about meetings they never saw.. Speedway needs all the support it can get at the moment, and if a track can pull in enough support to keep afloat in these difficult times for the sport, that surely is all that matters. However, I cant let the ridiculous sleight on Broc Nicol go unchallenged. His performance last night was not because he was American or because he did it all on the gate, its because he is a talented and serious rider who has clearly worked on his game, and incidently a lot of his points didn't come from the gate.. Sheffield are lucky to have a rider of that calibre, wherever he comes from, and 1'd have him in my dream team any day.

More important than even that, you communicate with your client base, which is what the BSPA are not doing at all. We have three clubs with the Sword of Damocles hanging over their future. The BSPA were supposed to be discussing this last Tuesday, and now nearly a week later, not a word from the Secret Society. At the moment the Lakeside website is showing the next meeting as 27th August because of this fiasco in which the BSPA have removed all their Friday fixtures which the same BSPA agreed at the start of the season . The fans have been told nothing and the promoter has apparently been threatened with fines if he says anything. Presumably Peterborough and Workington are in pretty much the same boat. Theres not even anything from the BSPA to acknowledge whats happened, let alone try to offer any kind of explanation.

Well done to Sheffield. By far the best visiting side this season. If only more teams showed that kind of spirit. Charles Wright was not quite at the races but all the rest rode really well, even if at times for little reward points wise. Its almost unfair to pick one out for special mention but Broc Nicol blew a hole in the myth that lakeside is a trick track. Seeing it for the first time he just went out an did the business as if he was a home rider. I spoke to him afterwards, he is a really nice bloke. James Shanes too, what a talent. There are some clubs around that would take him as a heat leader, I am sure. Up to heat 13 the Tigers had a fair chance of getting at least appoint but after a cracking couple of laps between Howarth and Lawson the Lakeside man sealed the deal and heat 15 was plain sailing. For Lakeside some silly mistakes in some quarters threw away points, but Lawson and Morris were outstanding with the dependable Morley and Newman winning some key races to see Lakeside safely home. Nice night out .

Another barrel of bilge from the chip on the shoulder meaner who can’t come to terms w it’s the idea of actually having to pay to go in. Are you genuinely unaware that some Polish clubs have major financial problems , almost to the point of bankruptcy in some cases ? Are you genuinely unaware that certain Swedish riders are owed a lot of money by clubs with cash flow problems ? Are you genuinely unaware that there are mere handful of British riders riding for Polish or Swedish teams on a regular basis, but the vast majority don’t ? The fact is that Polish and Swedish Speedway is being affected by pretty much the same problems that affect British Speedway . They are perhaps 15 years behind us in terms of the size of the problem but they are undoubtedly on the same slope, in the sense of income falling behind e xpediture. The is no doubt that British Speedway is facing an existential crisis with a complex variety of problems, but for you to keep pretending that there are 1980’s answers to 2018 problems is nonsense. Still if you enjoy your echo chamber, so be it.

They certainly are a different breed. I remember one former British Champion saying many years ago the he believed the he would go when his number came up whether he was racing a motor bike or sitting at home in an arm chair . He said most riders thought that way otherwise they would never go out and race. These are the sort of men who in times of war go out and win medals for acts of selfless bravery and heroism beyond the call of duty.

You may well find that is what happens after the BSPA meeting next week if nothing is resolved. I don’t know the position with Workeys fixtures but Peterborough and Lakeside both ride in stadiums that are heavily used for other things and it won’t be easy (probably nigh on impossible ) to rearrange all or perhaps any of their fixtures before the cut off date. Never mind it will be for the greater good of the sport if Godfrey gets his own way.

So, three clubs, namely Lakeside, Workington and Peterborough, have seemingly had the plug pulled on their Friday meetings for the foreseeable future, despite the fixture list being approved by the BSPA at the start of the season. If the regular race night is lost it will be a financial hit to the clubs. Even if the Friday Race night is somehow restored it will mean attndances are likely to be hit because many fans, especially season ticket holders build other arrangements around the original fixture lists an cannot easily change them, not to mention the problems of trackstaff having to change their arrangements, at a time when we have the main holiday season approaching. On top of that we have all seen how difficult it is to re-arrange rain-offs let alone a whole block of fixtures. And that is the best case scenario. The worst case scenario could be having to change race nights and going down the same plug hole as Rye House have just gone down Lets be clear. The buck stops with the BSPA who have conduct of the Day to Day running of the sport, and its chairman Keith Chapman. For years now Kings Lynn fans have been on here becoming increasingly disenchanted with Chapmans lack of information about what is going on at Kings Lynn. This now seems to be polluting the sport in general despite Chapmans rhetoric about openness when first elected. This has now plumbed to new depths with the withdrawal of Friday race nights to three clubs, as it seems even the clubs themselves, let alone the fans have been kept in the dark. This is the relevant section of Jon Cooks comment on the Lakeside website :- “This meeting however, and all our other Friday meetings, mysteriously disappeared from the official BSPA fixture list at the end of last week and although the club has yet to receive any explanation from the Association, the SCB (Speedway Control Board) has reassured us on the continuation of our season,......" It seems from this that even the clubs themselves have not been told anything by the secretive Chapman, and that follows the palpable silence from the BSPA regarding Rye House. To my mind, that tells you everything you need to know about the way the present MC regard its fan base. Needless to say the BSPA website, which should be first with the news carries on as if nothing has happened. Personally I have been going to speedway meetings since before I started school, more than half a century ago. I have never been as close to walking away as I am now. There must be loads more like me. While I am on my soap box perhaps I could add that I have in my memorabilia a copy of the old Speedway News dated April 1939 previewing the start of the season for that year. The editorial stresses the need for having balanced and competitive teams to generate interest in the league and each match. I doubt if there is a fan in the country today that would disagree with that. its what gets the crowds in. Its all the fans want: competitive racing in a competitive league with no shenanigans behind the scenes. Not a lot to ask for really.Nearly 80 years after the Speedway News hit the nail on the head Chapman and his secret society still dont get it

The whole point of Lakeside going in the Cl rather than the PL was to retain their Friday race night, so they didn’t go down the same drain as Rye House were clearly going down from the day they agreed to fixed race nights instead of sticking with their tried and tested weekend race night , even if it meant dropping to the CL.

There is an old saying that you should treat others as you would like them to treat you. Maybe that is a lesson that Workington promotion could benefit by taking to heart. It is definitely something that Jenga should think about.

Spot on. The paying public are entitled to voice an opinion,, and promoters should ignore t hose opinions at their peril, if they want to stay in business. However there is an obligation on the public to be fair and constructive when posting opinions on a public forum. However, when the critic thinks he is funny when he isn't, constantly posts things that go beyond fair and constructive criticism in a manner that is snidey childish and boorish, not only about his own club but knocks others clubs and their supporters, and just goes on and on without knowing when to stop, then the promotion are entitled to consider whether that sniping is damaging their business and take action as they think fit. The sport can't afford to lose a single supporter or even less so a single club. For the sake of the sport let's all try to be constructive, fair , articulate and balanced when we criticise. Workington didn't chose to be in they situation they are in. I wish them and their supporters well and hope they come through these difficulties.

Panthers now a strong looking side, Hammers weakened by the absence of Kyle. I would be surprised if Lakeside get anything out of this one, having to use r/r for Kyle. Hope everyone stays safe on both teams.

Funny how we all see things differently. I thought the crowd wasn't bad, although not what it was a few years ago , but then nowhere is. I also thought the scoreline didn't tell the whole story and Scunny were better than the scorsheet showed. There was a fair bit of team ridingp by both sides at and some decent passes by the home team. Richard Lawson made some good first bend cut backs to go from third or last to first. I think there were only about two races that were well strung out. Its a pity Jason Garrity threw a wobbler and wouldn't come out in heat 13.Jason is a character and you can't help but like him but if something upsets him he totally loses it. Ncolaj Busk Jacobsen was a great choice of guest and brilliantly team rode Alfie Bowtellhome for his first win at this level. Two good wins as well for Ben aMorely who continues to make steady progress . Personally I wouldn't say no to NBJ on the team sheet next year, depending on how things pan out. Nick Morris was, as ever, style personified. This years Lakeside team are very , harmonious. They all seem to get on well , and this seems to add a bit of impetus to their performance on the track. A very nice team to watch .

I doubt if Scunny will be a pushover. They have some riders who can go well at Lakeside. Lakeside should cruise home but one or two e.f’s or tapes exclusions and they could struggle a bit.

I don’t think there was much going backwards to score 14 points ! He came round the outside to take the lead on bends 3&4 in heat 13, and if you notice he almost always takes the outer gate in heat 15 to give that run round the out side run in bends 1&2 which is weher a lot of his points come from. i am very impressed with Nick. Very professional and very focussed. They all seem to be improving though, especially Adam who was in line for a full max last night if his bike hadn’t died on the line in hear 15.

The news last night was a suspected broken collar bone but he was taken for X-rays . From what I heard it sounds like it’s broken though.Tyrpical type of injury when a rider gets high sided in that way. He was desperately unlucky for this to come at a time he was really coming into form . He ride from last to second to join Adam for a 5-1 in his previous ride was superb. I didn’t think Berwick were a bad side, they just couldn’t find consistency in their gating. NBJ impressed me. This is the best Lakeside team for years, not just on the track, but off track they seem to all get on well, and this translates to the way they ride together. A lot of team riding and looking out for each other last night.