steve roberts

...picked up my milk today. I'd be lost without my banana milkshake and strawberry jam sandwiches!

...and Oxford!

...an experience in itself! Remember when on holiday down in the west country we used to visit Exeter on the Monday, Weymouth on the Tuesday and Poole on Wednesday. If on holiday in Sussex it was Eastbourne on the Sunday followed by Poole on Wednesdays. Great days!

Them were the days!! Great Britain won the World Team Cup in 1971, 1972 & !973 and as England in 1974 & 1975 (loosing out to the Aussies in 1976), 1977 and 1980...last win during 1989. World Pairs Champs during 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1980. Winners of Test Match series against the Swedes home and away in 1975, World Series Champs during 1972, 1973 (winning the Final at Wembley) and beating the only 'team' able to compete against England in 1977 that being The Rest of the Word...and nether mind the Tests won 'Down Under' during that glorious period! May have missed some success out...or got some facts wrong from the top of my head but no wonder British speedway ruled the waves during the seventies...speedway's last golden period!

...couldn't agree more. Too much waffle, over analysis, repeated action that it becomes tedious! The great Kenneth "They think it's all over..." Wolstensholme was quoted as saying same about football on TV. ...await the usual suspects!

Kevin Pope rode in second halves at Tilehurst (1973) if I remember before moving on to Swindon due to the closure of Reading in 1974.

...some names there Sid! Remember them well. Remember Kevin Pope? Paul Tapp and Kevin Hawkins regularly rode during second halves (sadly missed in my opinion) at Cowley. Recall Gary Spencer turning out at Pete Jarman's Training Schools that were held at Oxford during the winter of 75/76.

No doubt it has to be Kai. I saw his debut for White City (against Wolves) in 1976 and it became quickly obvious he was going to be a classy rider. As a 'Rebel' regular I saw him develop as a rider and continued to watch him when he joined Eastbourne after the closure of White City. Ila Teromaa was another class act (now sadly no longer with us) but his move to Cradley seemed to diminish his 'star' quality.

...Ah! The days of Test Matches between England, Denmark and the USA...even England vs. The Rest of the World! Happy days!

...or even England!

...wouldn't be without my copies! Both great reads when speedway attracted thousands rather than hundreds!

...I'd agree regarding "it isn't always about racing" as I used to enjoy having a good chat with those around me but when those people began to noticeably diminish over a period of a few years (for many reasons) the attraction began to wear a bit thin and it was left to just a few to add some bite to proceedings. In fact the racing sometimes became very much secondary on occasions!

...used to get great atmospheres when the likes of Swindon, Reading, Coventry & Cradley visited Cowley but even in my time following 'The Cheetahs' travelling support was diminishing and local derbies no longer guaranteed a good all round feel as they once did.

...but not 'blindingly obvious' to those running the sport evidently!

TV coverage will/has always caused debate but the bottom line is that although speedway has featured for nearly twenty years on satellite TV it's failed to attract a new audience and interest which is a worrying trend.

...and more than probable that these same people question value for money nowadays. Personally I liked the 13 heat formula (as did John Berry) but I grew up watching matches over 14, 15 & 16 heats and each had their particular merits. However personally I would want more than just 15 heats of speedway (in whatever guise) to satisfy my deemed value for money but that's my personal choice.

...and more than probable that these same people question value for money nowadays. Personally I liked the 13 heat formula (as did John Berry) but I grew up watching matches over 14, 15 & 16 heats and each had their particular merits. However personally I would want more than just 15 heats of speedway (in whatever guise) to satisfy my deemed value for money but that's my personal choice.

...personally I forgot what the original point was now!

...we were fortunate at Cowley during the seventies when the Cowley promotion also ran Eastbourne and Peterborough so we got to enjoy watching riders from those teams in the second halves and the fans appeared to appreciate it. In fact it proved so popular that a full blown match between the 'Eagles' and 'Panthers' was put on with Barney Kennett acting as a 'guest' putting it about in style! Great days!

...got lost somewhere in the midst of time! The way of threads and how they deviate!

When Chris Shears was promoter at Cowley (1995) he introduced on one occasion an old second half which was met with enthusiasm by the appreciative Cowley regulars...only to have his wrist slapped by the BSPA in case it set a precedence!

...which only tells part of the story.. Oxford's Marvyn Cox whose career was slowly going stale at Oxford which culminated in a poor 1989 season whereby he finished fifth in the team's averages (6.79) but having asked for a move he spent 1990 at Bradford where he registered an average of 8.62 he finished the season as their number one. The number of teams competing in the league during those seasons remained fixed at nine which obviously indicates that averages are not always what they seem but are sometimes influenced by riders getting a new lease of life and/or stepping out of the shadow of former team mates and/or taken on new challenges and/or responsibilities. Mick Hines was another example when under the old Rider Control system was forced to leave Ipswich (1976) where he was ranked a second string in a team that had a strong heat leader trio and was allocated to Wimbledon where he rose to the challenge after the tragic death of Dons' number one Tommy Jansson and increased his average by a good two points beating riders he often struggled against the previous season whilst a 'Witch'. Personally I don't take too much notice of averages as they only tell part of a more complex picture especially when taken into account varying points limits and team structures as indicated in my previous post. It was often the case that riders with low averages but with 'potential' (sometimes!) managed to secure team spots because of the points limit in place at the expense of middle order averaged riders who were sometimes overlooked (Andy Grahame was a classic example at Cowley when he fell victim on two occasions) Very difficult to compare abilities and records and making comparisons from different eras when different criteria were in place as regards to team strengths and make up of same.

...different eras with different criteria regarding team make-ups. With the introduction of varying points limits and later compulsory juniors plus two reserve races during one particular period helped to distort averages over a given period.

...however there were heat leaders back in the seventies and eighties who carried healthy averages (Ashby, Simmons, Morton, Boulger, Lovaas, Davis, Schwartz, Sanders, Autrey etc etc) who had to meet the opposite number one's at least on two occasions as well as opposing heat leaders and later became number one's in their own right thru' varying circumstances or, indeed, some would have been regarding as genuine number one's if they had ridden at another club during that era. Peter Collins and Erik Gundersen, for example, would rarely appear as their club's number one choosing to ride further down the order. Ivan Mauger, for tactical purposes, would often ride at number four away from home, thereby again, meeting the opposing number one twice in programmed rides.

...I was chuffed that I was able to see him ride during his last full season. 14 points at Poole I recall.