sparkafag

Nah, I don’t agree with that, you don't have to be sure the truth is in the middle, it is entirely possible one side is talking nonsense and the other isn’t.....

I do feel for the likes of Barker and Worrall in that they are caught in the middle. While there are upsides to the draft system, it is basically at least 8 places taken by riders who shouldn’t actually be in the league.

Hardly….. It’s one riders interpretation of events, it isn’t reason enough for most to begin joyously slating Glasgow Speedway for the next few pages.

It won’t be the worst thing in the world if he doesn’t hit the levels of Sundstrom or THJ (would be nice though). If he performs like Lindgren (Ludvig), Aspegren (Pontus) or Mellgren he will be a perfectly acceptable signing. I appreciate Wolves initially brought Aspegren and Lindgren over but they were/are both very solid PL performers.

It's pathetic enough you come on here slating Berwick as a club, so much so you now attend Newcastle, don't come on and start insulting the people of Berwick as well or some might start wondering what your motives are. If Berwick causes you so much strife maybe best to just leave it be.

What a bizarre thing to say. Appreciating what a rider does on a speedway bike oddly enough doesn’t mean you want to sleep with them.

The art of powering into the first bend and extending a lead is something to be admired. Ward could ride around a track on his own and still look sensational such is the way he powers the bike into the bends, a case and point being that drive away from Janowski entering turn 3. As enjoyable as the encounters between Wright and Newman were the level of skill involved in what Ward was doing in comparison is quite a few levels above that.

It’s always difficult to contextually judge things, but the early to mid-2000s must be up there when it comes to high points of PL Speedway. Admittedly time is always kind to bygone eras given you can point at what riders went on to achieve with hindsight or had achieved before they arrived in the PL but the tangibles suggest it (The PL) was strong then. The majority of sides contained would be, or had been Grand Prix riders. The general trend was that riders on the way up made their way via the PL rather than going straight to EL, and such was the strength of the EL that the riders dropping down generally still had a lot to offer, eg Boyce, early PL Havelock. It is an absurdly difficult thing to gauge though.

I’m looking forward to watching him (Ward) again. I am not that bothered about what kind of person he is, it isn’t really anything to do with me, he is though, a sensational speedway rider.

Can you really use EL averages as a fair gauge now? The DU rider’s typically only race PL riders and reserves and the "EL riders" only really race EL riders. It is hardly a shock a Kennet (as an example) has a higher average than Hans Andersen. I’ve never been one who has felt watering down the product was the best way to aid development.

The first meeting at Berwick was excellent, the two since haven’t been great. Why would they go back though? I would assume because it looks good on TV, it is big and fast, there are a lot of people in attendance. If the idea is that Sky dismisses tracks on the basis of a poor meeting taking place at the track they wouldn’t have many places left to actually show meetings. Sky show games of football between sides like Chelsea and City, that are, on occasion, not very good and don’t live up to the hype, it doesn’t mean they stop showing games involving both sides. That is sport, on occasion it delivers on others it doesn’t Sky (seemingly unlike quite a few on here) evidently have the pragmatism to understand that. Ow and well done Peterborough

There isn’t the need to wriggle, I clearly state, as you have said, in black and white “I would assume” rather than “fans do like to see crashes” or even going as far as to say “Greg could not handle it”. I don’t particular need to “troll” anyone either, I didn’t choose to quote your post, you took the decision to quote mine. If you find my posts to be trolling there is an ignore button you can feel free to use and we can all move on.

Nikki at his best, yes, at his worst, no. The rider you have referenced in your post (Zagar) evidently doesn’t have a problem with Pedersen racing like that, as that race shows, the incident in Malila shows that Zagar (as others have) take issue with Pedersen when his actions endanger them. The reference to the “good old days” means little to me, I didn’t watch Speedway 50/60 years ago to know if the general narrative re riders being harder back then is true or not, there isn’t enough hours of footage to validate that claim either and fans typically get misty eyed when reminiscing. I can only comment based on incidents I have seen with Nikki at his worst.

No, not particularly by all means have your own thoughts. I just find the need to add the thoughts of fans, riders to lack any kind of credibility.

Yeah absolutely fans enjoy good, hard racing. The narrative you have written re Hancock is again your own thought rather than actuality.

A certain % possibly do, is it the basis of the sport, the life blood of the sport, the box office of the sport, no. It would be interesting to know what % of speedway attending fans actually bother to purchase Crashes and Cock Ups, if 20,000 fans attend across the year and only 500 or so copies are sold it probably confirms where fans stand with the sport. The vast majority attending probably aren’t buying Crashes and Cock Ups, the fact that the sale of a Crashes DVD is being used as validation of Pedersens “Box office” is hardly a screaming indictment of how he is perceived.

There is a slight difference between saying it how you see it and deciding others thoughts for them eg "deep down I think fans do like to see crashes". Why do I need to have seen the sport in the olden days to know what would happen based on the actions of actually watching Pedersen over the years, what does it matter what riders like Briggs done on a bike?

It’s a guess, an assumption, with very little validation , or tangible to back it up. It is comparable to say most think Brent Werner is “box office” do they, no probably not, does me saying it make it true, no, would I say something without any evidence to validate my claim, no, it’s uneducated to do so.

Why would I watch something I had already seen. If Pedersen actually raced like that more often I would buy into the “box office” line and his fellow competitors wouldn’t have the dislike for him they do.

You might, imposing opinion of others on your own point doesn’t add weight to your post as, well….it’s still your own thought rather than actuality. I don’t particularly enjoy crashes a good race will do.

Yes, it is actually possible just to appreciate them for what they are, speedway riders racing a bike. Your mistaken in that you assume others share your opinion of Hancock the speedway rider. If riders went into every meeting with the same disregard for their opposition Pedersen has often shown it would result in pileups and injuries, I am not entertained by that.

I find the definition by which Nikki is assessed by some completely odd “box office” he is “box office” because he puts other riders in dangerous positions due to moves that are harsh verging on dirty, wow, great. If other riders were “box office” you would barely see 4 laps a meeting, you would redefine the sport in order for it to be “box office” I would assume most people would quickly loose interest in this “box office” sport, whatever it is, because it wouldn’t be speedway.

What tangible evidence is there in the last 20/30 years to suggest that people spending their weekend in Berwick want to attend the Speedway?

The point is I meant to agree with you that certain riders give Hancock an easy time, I don’t. It is called racing room and racing respect. A rider like Pedersen seems to have set a precedent in your head as to what “hard racing” is and the definition is he hasn’t hurt anyone that often so it's fine, you keep on with that train of thought. It’s wrong and one that about 3% of people who have stepped on a bike would agree with, but you bash on and enjoy the few who agree with you, just take this point on though, there are more people wondering what the hell you are going on about.

If your definition of a “tough time” in a race is to knock someone of then you probably will struggle to find instances when Woffinden, Holder or Ward decide to knock Hancock of or take his front wheel away, the reason being is because they typically aren’t idiots on a bike and your definition of a “tough time” seems to be a manoeuvre that would typically see a rider excluded. In that one example, Woffinden is hard but fair on Hancock which results in him not only passing him but scrubbing of Hancock’s momentum to the point that he is pulled back into the pack, by no means giving him an easy time. Your own request was one example, that is it. Evidently though the SGP is just a Monster Conspiracy ruled by the Gestapo as Woffinden, Holder and Hancock trade World Titles each season……said someone who wears a tin foil helmet. It’s all just a conspiracy