steve roberts

Crumbs that rules out about 50 per cent of the posters on here!

I would have enjoyed watching the likes of Van Praag, Langton, Parker, Farndon, Elder etc etc. The pioneers of Dirt Track Racing in its formative years.

The two 'backtracking' volumes would be a good start.

That's what I tend to do if so inclined!

Received my copy...simply superb piece of work par excellence!

Football was a sport I followed ardently (many moons ago) but am seriously out of touch with the modern game (thank goodness) and England's under achievers in successive World and European Championships. I still recall Bobby Moore's total domination of the team (especially that great performance against Brazil in Mexico in 1970). Cool under pressure and the complete master. He will always remain my greatest English player during my life time and it's tragic that his knowledge was never really put to good use after he retired from the game.

I would agree. Different eras had their greats and it's difficult, if nigh impossible to compare like with like. However personally I wouldn't go beyond Ivan Mauger...not just based on his world championship achievements but on his team ethic and his willingness to get the best out of his team mates and having a say in the make-up of all the teams that he rode for (which must have put many people's noses out). One reason I put him head and shoulders above Tony Rickardsson who I always thought was much more of an individualist. In fact I would put Tony quite a bit down on my all-time greats. Greatness of riders should not just be based on the number of world championships won but their overall impact at all levels of the game.

I guess that you could classify most sports as a business activity now judging by the vast amounts of money involved.

Interested article in the latest 'Classic Speedway' Magazine. During the days of the 'Entertainment Tax' that hit speedway hard during the fifties speedway was apparently classed as an entertainment along with other forms of motor sport, horse and greyhound racing rather than 'sport' on the premise that it was a 'test of speed not skill'. It was also considered to be 'non-live'! However both football and cricket were considered to be sport and therefore attracted less than half the levy. Football paid 15 per cent compared to speedway's 48 per cent. Interesting analogy.

I've stated before that speedway no longer offers value for money in many people's eyes. £15 for 15 (?) heats doesn't entice me to travel 100 round miles to my local track (Sheffield). I was always a great advocate of second halves (in whatever format) but apparently many people today don't see that as an issue.

Crumbs that could be a picture of me on the platform...known to have done a bit of train spotting in the past!

I was forgetting Arena Essex...whoops Lakeside!

Okay Sid, my favourite ten tracks would be: Oxford (obviously - best track in the country!!!), Swindon (when prepared properly), White City (may surprise a few but I saw some great racing there - Simmo liked it also), Hackney (Len Silver days), Wimbledon (closeness of racing), Leicester (old one), Belle Vue (Hyde Road), Berwick (Berwick FC), Eastbourne (old style), King's Lynn (However I do find this a strange track - did 'ride' it at one of Olle's Training schools - seen both good and poor racing there) Least favourite: Wolves (too long straights for the tight bends - I'm with John Berry on this one)), Reading (rarely used to have any shale...but was good when it did!), Coventry (1970's version...too smooth (!) that there was little passing but did improve later), Newcastle ((B)rough Park), Milton Keynes (Elfield Park), Mildenhall (basically a circle), Exeter (although I admit that it did get the adrenalin going), Ipswich (too narrow and little banking), Crayford (too small), Eastbourne (new version - crazy first and second bend), Poole (1970's & 80's version - too narrow). Tracks I wished I had visited: West Ham, Crewe, New Cross, Glasgow (Hampden Park), High Beech, Scunthorpe (Quibell Park - watching racing inside a cycle track!), Southampton & Norwich.

Interesting list...mine in no particular order (grief I'm sounding like that woman on 'Strictly' now!) Sampson, G.Hunter, Perks, Rumsey, Humphreys, Emmett, Kennett Bros., B.Clark, Ballard, Harrison.

I quickly put my mind to the number of English riders who progressed to full internationals from the old Second Division/National League. Dave Jesuup, Barry Thomas, Gordon Kennett, Peter Collins, Chris & Dave Morton, John Davis, John Louis, Doug Wyer, Reg Wilson, Kenny Cater, Michael Lee, Ian Cartwright, Alan Wilkinson...quite a list and that's not having to think very hard. I'm sure that there are lots more! No wonder Britain/England ruled the waves during the seventies!

As you know Sidney supporting Oxford I saw the best of both worlds (and the old second halves when we got to see the talented riders from both Eastbourne and Peterborough) and it was a massive shame that the doors opened up giving the National League an opportunity in filling their teams with often very ordinary 'foreigners'. As regards 'Razzer' he had a case, of sorts, being married to an English girl but Peter Schroek really was the beginning of the situation we now endure.

I enjoyed collecting programmes and had a vast selection of them (Britain, Europe and further afield). Wish that I had hung onto them now but due to re-location and lack of space that really wasn't a viable option.

The old Second Division produced a hatful of riders who went on to become internationals and/or heat leaders in the First Division joining a smattering of class riders from the old Provincial League. It was no accident that Britain/England ruled during the seventies but of course this became more diluted once certain influential entrepreneurs took control and the old Second Division became a training ground for foreign imports and the whole scene changed. Hence one of the reasons (amongst many) why domestic speedway is in the state that it now finds itself.

Just received my copies...fabulous publications! So much information packed into both volumes. A must for anyone interested in the statistical side of the sport.

One of my favourite unsung heroes was John Dews. He was allocated to Oxford in 1973 (as a replacement for Dave Hemus) and really struggled around Cowley initially. He eventually got to master Oxford and by 1975 carried a very respectable average of around six and a half points. His team riding with both Dag Lovaas and especially Richard Greer were a joy to watch.

I'm the same actually...and well into my fifties! However I'm not sure what teenagers and or twenty somethings want (at the risk of stereotyping) and it would be useful to receive some input (please don't keep quoting music!) and constructive advice and/or criticism if there are any of that age group out there? I'm sure the promoters would love to hear from you!

Widening my search riders like Ian Turner, Mike Lanham, Norman Storer, Roger Johns, Trevor Geer...all good dependable 'team' riders who are what league speedway is really all about. Okay we crave the 'stars' but without the middle order cum reserves team speedway just wouldn't be able to exist.

I'm really at a loss what the average teenager/20s year old person wants personally but I'm sure that someone out there will have some answers and/or helpful suggestions?

David Smart was a good middle order rider who rode for a succession of teams (Oxford included) and was often forced to move to other clubs purely because his average didn't fit (these sort of riders are always the ones that tend to suffer under points regimes). He became a successful and popular re-enactor of World War Two events (as did brother Kevin) but sadly took his own life (details were vague at the time).

I thought that Kevin Smart had an abundance of talent but injuries held him back. He was a revelation when riding for Oxford in 1982 & 83 and did himself proud whenever he was called upon when 'The Cheetahs' moved up into the British League. David, sadly, ended his life tragically. Gone but I'm sure not forgotten by those who knew him.