MajorMauger

Its not a personal attack nor is it outragous Malcolm! You know exactly what I mean beings you've been involved in speedway promotions and fair enough because you give your name out and your still involved, don't want to be associated with some painful home truths Malcolm! End of the day this is a public forum in a democratic state with freedom of speech where all subjects linked to speedway can be discussed and even the man in question uses this outlet to tell those who wish to look about his problems with the sport. The beauty of internet forums is if you don't like what your seeing, don't look at it! Again while I only say the truth and stay sensible abeit a bit to close to the sharp truth admittedly, my anonymous name on here is not an issue and until this forum makes giving out your real identity compulsory I can't see any problem! Although Malcolm, Your right in that I've said more than enough about that man on here, I know that many people will off the record agree with me and I won't be saying owt more on the subject! Main thing is we've got Hackey Hawks and Mildenhall Fen Tigers back in speedway!

Tiresome - yes very true! Not psychic - but having a good judgement helps. Ribbons' judgement is very questionable I suspect rather blinkered by his eutopia like enthusiasm. You said very much the same thing when talking about Ribbons' pie in the sky plans to relaunch Norwich speedway at Swaffham! What I class being a winner as a promotor is doing it properly over a length of time. Steve Ribbons has not done this, that you cannot argue! Yes I'm sure theres loathsome promotors who don't last long and I too don't enjoy obnoxious persons, successful or not! I'm sure that Steve Ribbons can be a nice guy but in speedway hes judged on whats he done in the past, not for beinbg a nice guy! Again like I keep saying just cause you and indeed Ribbons gives your name on here doesn't make you right and myself for not, wrong and evil! Also you know nothing about myself and how do you know I haven't had involvement with Steve Ribbons? I don't like an argument but I find it very annoying that a guy like yourself Rob who speaks a lot of sense cannot see the facts of Steve Ribbons' involvement with speedway! Whether I'm right or wrong or you are right or wrong, Steve Ribbons has not produced the goods as a promotor (apart from giving others the opportunity to run teams properly!) and says the wrong things at the wrong times, hence the BSPA's reluctance to entertain him which is very justified! Quite simply had he made a success of promoting we'd not be having this arguement and Ribbons would now be accepted by the BSPA as the new promotor of Mildenhall! You get on with Ribbons and see him as a friend which is your perogative and its not illegal but please don't let this friendship blinker your opinions on his attempts at promoting and the BSPA's very justified anti stance toward him!

Reopened Wimbledon speedway in 2002 and went t its up after a handful of meetings meaning that it had to be bailed out by others in order to keep going! Many big ideas that were rather "pie in the Sky" because he didn't have the money to carry out those big ideas! Taking digs at the BSPA at many oportunities which made him a marked man! Still like Rye House and Wimbledon before them I suspect that Mildenhalls reopening this year has been helped by Steve Ribbons' enthusiasm and drive even if he isn't the right person to run the operation! Lets hope things are right at Mildenhall this year!

Believe me nothing gives me greater pleasure than a speedway track reopening! Lets hope that Mildenhalls rebirth this season is a success story that lasts for a lot of years!

Yes many promotors have got partners who put in the money but they are partners they trust and have thoroughly investigated. Ribbons'enthusiasm and lack of finance of his own, got the better of him at Wimbledon which meant he jumped in with partner who anyone being sensible would of sussed out and avoided! Yes I know that many promotors in the past or presently aren't diplomtic but the difference between most of them and Ribbons is they've proven themselvs as promotors by running tracks for many years, something Ribbons has not been capable of! You mention winners but thats the point. Ribbons has been a loser as a promotor becuase he has been uncapble of doing it successfully mainly through not having the money to do it and letting his dreams get the better of him which is why the BSPA won't entertain him now! I'm sure theirs load of speedway enthuiasts who would like to be promotors but can't because they haven'tgot the money to do it properly. Fair play to Ribbons or having a go and helping to restart ye House and wimbledon but utimately he falls into the speeday enthusiast not wealthy enough to do it. We could keep this arguement going forever it seems Rob but I'm only stating facts. I'm sure that Steve Ribbons is a genuine guy with the best intentions at heart, someone you obviously get on with but his record speaks for itself in speedway! Back to Hackney - Good solid signing in Barrie Evans. Lets hope that its supported well enough to open some eyes amongst the Olympic commitee!

The creation of the 3rd Division in 1994 and its continued existance ever since has been one of the best things to happen to British speedway ever and really the sport could of done with it being formed in the late 70's/early 80's! The reasons it has been so beneficial to British speedway are - Many British riders have had their first rides in League speedway in the 3rd Division. It has produced more riders than the old junior Leagues that existed before 1994. Theirs a number of riders who are not good enough for top 2 League speedway but can still produce good entertainment and want to ride. These riders have been able to ride League speedway through the 3rd Division. Old speedway centres that struggled to afford top 2 League speedway like Mildenhall, Rye House, Stoke, Wimbledon, Scunthorpe, Plymouth, Berwick, Arena Essex, Weymouth, St Austell and possibly others I can't think of now were given a route back into speedway through the cheaper 3rd Division. Its likely that most of these tracks would of never reopened without the 3rd Division. As well as old centres, new teams and others that have never staged League speedway like Buxton, Carmarthen, Somerset, Linlithgow, Sittingbourne, IOW, have all started in the 3rd Division. Look at the current PL (+ the EL with Lakeside, formerly Arena Essex who rode in the 1996 3rd Division after leaving the top flight the previos year) and the line ups for the League in previous years and you'll see that many tracks and teams that either started in the 3rd Division or reopened in it. So therefore the continued strength of the PL owes a lot to the 3rd Division! Being local to Mildenhall I know thats its probable the track would of never seen speedway again after shutting midway through the 1992 Division 2 season. Indeed the club made the misjudgement of moving back into the 2nd Division in 2006 and struggled at that level for 3 seasons before having to move down after a disasterous 2008 campaign. Long live the 3rd Division and anyone that think its not worthwhile should look closely at the facts!

As usual a good post Rob! I respect you more than most on here cause you do talk sense on here but we'll have to agree to differ over Mr Steve Ribbons! I too respect Mr Ribbons for his part in opening the door to reopenings at Rye House and Wimbledon but not for the shambolic efforts at Plough Lane that saw the operation temporarily closed mid season and needing taking over by the PLC in order to reopen! And yes I'm well aware of Steve Ribbons' partner at Plough Lane but had Steve had the finances to do the job proporly without needing to lean on that character for financial backing then things may of been different. Apart from the 2002 Wimbledon fiasco, Mr Ribbons very undiplomatic nature and Eutopia like dreams that he couldn't subsidise, means that the BSPA won't take him seriously nowadays even if he has the money to do things more properly nowadays. The recent Mildenhall developments should have been handled better by the BSPA in that they should have made their intentions over Steve Ribbons clear instead of their backdoor methods of trying to stop him being involved, but they were totally justified in not allowing to become the promotor of Mildenhall! Anyway back to the thread, I'm really chuffed that Hackney and Mildenhall are running this season!

I agree that Rob McC normally posts very sensible posts and sounds like he knows his stuff about speedway. This is why I find it so bemusing that he continues to stick up for/heap praise/doesn't see the reality on a failed wannabe dreamer, bodge job promoter whos recently and rightfully had the door shown to him when he attempted to return to the promoting ranks! Great to see Hackney back in speedway albeit as a "cuckoo" at Lakeside and Rye House. Surely there must be some available space/smaller stadium within the Olympic site that could be used for a proper Hackney return at a track of their own after 2012? Hopefully the Olympic committee will be true to their word and make full use of the Olympic site creating a true legacy for North London and England. This would in my eyes have to include a speedway stadium! I remain convinced that London could accomodate two viable speedway tracks and teams if both venues were well run. One in South London, Wimbledon and one in the North, either Hackney or Romford?

Some people although enthusiastic and well meaning, live in cloud cuckoo land and try to do things they are not capable off, enjoying the noteriety at the same time and almost everyone whos came across the person I'm referring to will know what I mean! Shame my honest, truthful post has been deleted! The Rye House revival in 1999 led to the club returning to their spiritual home the next year which made it a very good, worthwhile exercise, but the Hoddesdon, Rye House stadium return probably wouldn't of happened without Len Silvers influence and finance even if he can be a funny old boy! Please Mr McCaffery inform me whats factually wrong about the above paragraph! The reopening of Wimbledon in 2002, although initially a bodge job served a useful purpose in that it opened the door to Plough Lane, which meant that when taken over by capable persons we were able to enjoy 4 seasons of Wimbledon Dons being back in the sport. This would not have happened with the original promtion involved in the Wimbledon 2002 revival! Please Mr McCaffery inform me whats factually wrong about the above Paragraph! The unamed gentlemen I'm referring too deserves credit for helping to start things going at Rye House and Wimbledon but not for what happened after the reopenings. Thats not derogetory one ounce, the truth again! Who or what Iam or is irrelevent because I just speak from experience, using the truth and have never said anything derogstory about anyone on here so just because I don't give out my real name online doesn't make me a bad person or indeed those that do rightous and correct! Your entitled to your own opinions, friends and associates Mr McCaffery but your assessment of a certain character we know I'm talking about is way, way out! Still lets be glad that we have Mildenhall back in speedway!

Great news! Yes Steve Ribbons should be commended for his enthusiasm as you point out Rob but his previous record means that the BSPA won't ever take him seriously anymore and thats whay they are so anti towards him! (see my longer post in the other Mildenhall thread in the NL section to get a better impression of the above mentioned character and his relationship with the speedway authorities!) Word of caution for the new promotion, something I'm sure they've considered? - With the huge shot in the arm that Ipswich speedway have had in dropping down to the better run and more viable PL combined with getting together such a good team, Mildenhall has to be right otherwise people will stay away and get their speedway kick at Ipswich!

I know that many NL riders will pick up tyres that are barely touched after EL and PL riders are permitted to discard them after one meeting! Read Simon Wiggs book and you'll learn that in his last season at Weymouth in the old NL in 1982 he done I think he said 4,5 or even as many as 6 meetings on the same tyre and this was when he was the best rider in that League! A previous poster suggested running a Black League featuring the likes of LYDD and WEYMOUTH! The problem with Weymouth is that agreement and/or even communication can't be reached with the owner of the track, nothing to do with the much maligned BSPA! Lydd is in the middle of nowhere with no facilities. It serves a good purpose as a training track but would not be viable as a League venue unless a lot of money was spent on improving facilities!

Nomadic teams using some other teams tracks is not ideal but in the case of Redcar, Rye House, Scunthorpe and possibly others this method is often a prelude to speedway returning to an area where it was closed down in the past! Lets hope that this Hackney project does well and end up returning to their own stamping ground when after the Olympics have finished!

Yet again a very sad state of affairs as regards to Mildenhall speedway! I can understand the BSPA having reservations about Steve Ribbons because his previous record in speedway promotions is not good and he rubs everyone up the wrong way, hence the very low opinion most have of him, but British speedway would be better with more tracks and that should be the BSPA's main aim, surely? I learnt a few years back that when Steve Ribbons gets involved in anything to do with speedway, normally things at some point will go t its up which is what I thought would happen with his recent interest in Mildenhall, but he has a point this time. Its ridiculous that Mildenhall have to pay a fee to ensure their NL membership when other tracks in the same League don't! Last years unnecessary (unnecessary in that the reasons given for the closure were b oll ocks and things could have been sorted) mid season closure at West Row has had the knock on effect that in future getting speedway re established their will be difficult as its now proving! The head of last years failed promotion, Ray Mascall is nothing to do with this winters attempts to reopen Mildenhall and neither is his righthandman John Adams. Indeed I'm led to believe that when Ray Mascall pulled the plug he lost the £5000 bond he had to put up when opening last season! Mildenhall speedway is viable at 3rd tier level if ran properly. Ray Mascalls fiasco making of last year shouldn't have any bearing on any future attempts to reopen Mildenhall speedway. Likewise if the BSPA don't want Steve Ribbons involved in any speedway promotion, then they should make this very clear to allow a path to be cleared so that Mildenhall could be allowed to reopen. It seems to me that insisting the Ribbons promotion pay a ludicrous membership fee that no other NL team has to pay and that he justifiably refuses too, is just a backdoor way of ensuring Mr Ribbons doesn't achieve his dreams of being a promoter! I've been going to speedway a long time, have stayed loyal to the sport despite losing my team (Norwich Stars) 46 and a bit years ago and having to put up with years of mismanagement and deteriation but this winter I can fully understand why many thousands of people have turned their back on the sport. Speedway can still be a great sport if it was organised better! Like many have said this winter, its about time that an independent governing body is created to oversee speedway with totally the best interests of the sport at heart and has no "my" track motivated ulterior motives that presently occur in the old boys network/masons like organisation that calls itself the BSPA!

Good to see an old name back in the sport! Be even better if the entry of Hackney into the 2011 NL is a prelude to a speedway track track being put in somewhere on the olympic site of which the old Waterden Road site is part of!

Good news! Belle Vue Colts were good additions to the 3rd tier when they ran in 1997! The more teams the better as far as I'm concerned cause that means more riders getting team places!

I get hold of most Norwich City programmes and I have seen the speedway photo that was in Mondays Middlesbrough V Norwich City programme! The 2 Teeside Tigers riders with ex Boro player David Armstrong are current Redcar (only up the road from Middlesbrough FC's Riverside Stadium) promotor Brian Havelock and a very young Mark Courtney! Good luck to Mildenhall speedway in the future whoevers running them!

I disagree Malcolm! The fish and chips at Rye House are superior and better value for money than those served up at West Row although I hope we'll see speedway back at Mildenhall next year as well as a strong and vibrant 3rd tier!

A Eutopia I'd like to see as well! As a lapsed Norwich fan (very lapsed considering we last competed in a League in 1964!!) I know that I'd love nothing more than to see a Norwich team in the 3rd tier of British speedway! I think Coventrys pull out is more political so I'd assume they aren't interested in running NL, while it looks like Peterboroughs sugar daddy Rick Frost has said enoughs to bankrolling 6 figure losses but if Peterborough can run in the NL(or any EL,PL, Coventry as well!) in order to keep going then that'll be better than nothing and the racing at NL can be very entertaining. From what I've seen of Peterborough home meetings in recent years, a healthy crowd isn't a regular occurance while low crowds were much regular. So a drop down to a level where their low crowds would more financially viable wouldn't be such a bad thing?

Speedway will never return to Romfords Brookland stadium because it was knocked down in the late 0's and now has housing on the site! Romford Dog track could fit a speedway track inside though like you said they' be guarantees that it would be supported by sufficient numbers, though I'd give it a better chance than many!

Romford was a place I didn't mention in my list in this thread but that place supported speedway in huge numbers before and I'm sure if someone could get the sport introduced to the very smart dog track then that place would enjoy big crowds! It would be nice to have a leisure firm buy the GRA with the intention of maintaining the stadiums cause we'd have Oxford and Wimbledon back in speedway!

Hopefully there'll be some new teams in the NL to make up for the likes of Bournemouth closing along with others and Plymouths proposed move into the PL but I'm not holding my breath! Bournemouth was run under the Poole promotion which is very possibly the best supported track in Britain. If they can't make NL racing viable then it doesn't give much hope for others? As for for new standalones, well if any were intending to open for next year we'd of probably heard about it now. The (possible/probable?)reopening of Mildenhall is all we'll get in this area I suspect? The likes of Norwich Great Yamouth, Iwade, Bristol, Exeter, Cornwall, Long Eaton, Boston, Ellesmere Port, Crewe, one in Scotland, Sunderland, Milton Keynes/Northampton, Hull, Wimbledon, Swansea and probably others could support 3rd tier racing and maybe higher but the chances of any of these and other surfacing in time for next season would be extremely low!

Well done Buxton who have been in the 3rd tier since day 1! The place is never going to attract big crowds and therefore move up so it has to be run on a shoestring but Buxton speedway is the almost perfect 3rd tier role model club! I've said many times that if the National League had 5 or more Buxton like set ups dotted over the Country then British speedway would be in a much healthier state!

Wishful thinking I suspect but it would be nice to see a stronger 3rd tier! The Heathens are a different entity to any other club because they were the best supported club in the Country, their closure is still reasonably recent (1995 at Cradley) and they have 2 tracks Wolves and Birmingham that are 15-20 miles and under away from their heartland which is not such a chore for fans to get to! The idea of resurrecting defunct clubs at neaby tracks sounds good in theory but in reality existing tracks are stuggling with poor crowds and one track supporting 2 teams has never been financially viable not even in better times. Also fans of defunct clubs don't really see their ressurected teams running at another team as being the real thing so don't support it. The Boston operation of 2000-2008 was born out of a desire to persuade the local Council to provide them with land to build a new track. When that became obvious it wasn't going to happen interest in Boston home meetings at King's Lynn dropped big time! Crewe last ran in 1975 so their can't be that many around who'd remember them although I know efforts were made a few years ago to build a new track in the area! Leicester will have enough on their hands running for the 1st time since 1983 without having to worry about starting a 3rd tier team as well! My old team Norwich last ran in 1964 and I don't think running a 3rd tier Norwich team out of King's Lynn or Mildenhall would see loads of fans flocking in from Norwich. Afterall I bet not that many fans from Norwich go to speedway anywhere at present. Mind you a new track in the Norwich area would be very well supported I suspect! Running 3rd tier speedway at Iwade (who called themselves Sittingbourne) is difficult and I'm no sure if the owners wants to or not so I wouldn't hold my breath there! As with any defunct track, reopening after closure is rarely straightforward so Mildenhall returning is not by any means guaranteed particularly with the rather awkward stadium owner who wants too much rent money! I think Plymouth have now got to the stage where they need to move up in order to maintain/increase crowd levels but their promotor is well known for making big statements that end up not materialising! Hopefully Weymouth will be bought out by people capable of making a good go of it! Also hopefully the owners of Oxford stadium will see sense and let speedway return but again no guarantees! I hope the 3rd tier survives but like in the past it has a struggle cause speedway as a whole in this Country is struggling at League level!

Phil Clarke R.I.P Norwich Stars speedway legend!

I understand your frustrations but I'd suspect if every club stopped running cause it didn't make money one year we wouldn't have many tracks left! Like others I have heard stories originating from people close to the management at Mildenhall about what happened and it certainly sounds different to whats been said in the speedway star. This season was certainly a sad story regarding Mildenhall speedway but whats done is done now and those involved in trying to resurect the Fen Tigers have to look to the future and hopefully learning the lessons from the mistakes that have been made this season. Mildenhall speedway in the 3rd tier of British speedway is viable if ran properly by those in control of the club!