stewmac

I'm beginning to wonder what the real reason for the long delay in announcing the final rider is. Mr Campbell said weeks ago the fans would be very happy if we signed the riders they were after. Has a rider's signing been blocked I wonder? And if so, by whom?

That's fine in theory. However, in the real world, 5.2 Joe from Blackpool may well have far less potential to improve than a new European on the same average does. Promoters, especially those at Edinburgh, look at the bigger picture and often try to sign riders who will up their average, not simply maintain it.

Whilst I wholeheartedly applaud the jettisoning of both Clegg and Davey, as I said earlier in the thread, this Edinburgh side does nothing to inspire or excited me.

I see absolutely nothing to convince me that this side will be anything other than mediocre. Sam Masters gone, a rider who although he didn't manage to achieve a 9pt plus average last year is really a genuine number 1, to be replaced by... No one. The replacements may well have some potential but that's all. There is nothing there for me to get excited about.

Tasty looking weekend for me and friends staying in Zielona Gora from 27 -30th July. Friday night meeting at Gorzow v Leszno then Sunday meeting at ZG, again v Leszno. Bring it on!

Sorry to disappoint you scaramanga but Davey's delay in signing last year was due to him awaiting his British passport. So, it's unarguable that he is in fact a British citizen. Of course, he also has Aussie citizenship too, but the fact that he had UK citizenship made his 2 point average perfectly correct. That said, in my view 2 points was too high as he is and always has been utter pants. That was ably proven by the lad himself as others of a similar average (and much less experience than him) at the start of the season all improved as the season went on while he didn't. Thank the Lord he won't be back this coming season.

I would be prepared to lay a bet that he doesn't manage to match your figure of 6.45

As far as I understand, any day now...

Back up and fine now

Same as in Finland. I was at a meeting in Varkaus in July, entrance for men was €10, for women it was €8

But let's not forget that we never claimed we'd win anything this year. The expectation from the punters in Possil has been growing year on year. To fail once again will prove to be a bitter pill for you, them and most of all the brothers Grim. Hahahaha.

The meltdown continues.

100% agree.

Ridiculous decision. He didn't turn left!!

😁 😁

What a first lap that was from Vaculik to repel and then pass both Hampel and Doyle 😁

Incredibly lucky those girls weren't wiped out...

With rain having suddenly appeared, who knows what might happen...

A wonderful night to be a speedway fan :-) Tiggers, having been pumped by Sheffield, now find themselves being pumped by Ipswich and Mark Riss. I feel so sorry for the Facenna brothers right now. Boo hoo, I could cry. There is certainly some sort of issue for Tiggers right now, as they (or some of them) are being all too easily pumped these days.

How can he exclude Pawlicki? He didn't touch the tapes?

Could be interesting final two heats.😂😂😂 Been perfect for me all day.

The ZG fans could quite rightly lay the blame for their imminent exit at his door. He's been pathetic.

Yes.

I'm 50 years old and first went to Berwick in 1976 as a 9 year old with my dad. Then on 15th April 1977, I was at the opening of Edinburgh's Powderhall Stadium, and continued weekly with my dad until I was a bit older and able to get the bus to Edinburgh, then drive a motorbike and car to the stadium. Gradually later in my teens I began travelling around the UK and soon I had visited every stadium in Britain that was operating. I took weekly or fortnightly speedway trips with mates in my early 20s, driving ridiculous amounts of miles to see speedway the length and breadth of the UK nightly. That in addition to never missing meetings at Edinburgh, as well as travelling to Glasgow, Berwick, Newcastle, and even Middlesborough most weeks too. My weeks in summer revolved around speedway. My weekends were ruined if my team lost at home. I knew every rule in the book, every rider in every team, every average every week of the top 30 riders in each league. When Powderhall closed at the end of 1995, I travelled to Shawfield to watch the Scottish Monarchs, missing only one match there. Then Armadale opened in 1997 and I attended there every week for years, still doing lots of away meetings too. Going back to the introduction of dirt deflectors, I remember Dick Barrie asking Paul Bentley after a rain sodden first heat at Shawfield in the first ever match there with them what he thought of them. Bentley said he thought there would never be another rained off meeting - they were so good! But gradually, over the past 10 years or so, things have changed. The rule book became more and more ridiculous, the guests increased. The rain off became more regular. The 100 mile round trip became more of a chore. Edinburgh promoter John Campbell stated only a short number of years ago (maybe 5?) in his programme notes one week that as long as it was dry at start time, a meeting should almost always go ahead. My God, how that has changed! Even a shower now will cause an abandonment. The rules have become too difficult for me, a university honours degree graduate, to follow. I still attend weekly home matches. Away trips to the likes of Newcastle or Berwick happen once a year now. If at all. Glasgow has been dropped totally. Ashfield was a place I went to weekly in the late 90s, just to see fantastic racing. Now, it's one-line follow the leader. Am I losing interest then? BIG TIME! But, only in UK speedway. Others before in this thread have mentioned subscriptions to Polish TV. I have one too. Ten years ago, I went to a GP in Bydgozszcz for the 1st time. It was awesome, but I didn't think about it too much afterwards. Then I went back the following year, then again and again. Poland now features annually for speedway trips with some mates. But I've seen speedway in Czech Rep, Denmark and Sweden as well as in Finland this summer. I now want to visit all the Polish tracks I can. I've already been to around 10 of them, and am eagerly awaiting next year's fixtures to plan more trips. Yes, it's far away and means weekends away from the family. But it has so many plusses, in addition to the quality of the racing and the amazing stadiums. It's a genuinely beautiful country, with genuinely warm and lovely people, gorgeous towns and cities, and above all, it's affordable. In 2018, I doubt I will go to any speedway in Scotland or Britain. Our sport here is run by complete idiots. Numpties, self-centred fools who have only their own self interest at heart. Fans are deserting the sport here left, right and centre, yet they simply introduce even crazier rules. I've very, very nearly had enough. I don't know even who races in each team now, it's got so silly with guests. So, yes, I've had enough. Of UK speedway. But I still look forward hugely to GPs on TV, and to Sunday speedway from the Polish channels through my wizja.tv subscription. Next season, even if I only take 3 or 4 trips to Poland, I am 100% certain I will see racing that eclipses many times the quality of what I'd see in a whole season of UK speedway. Sorry to be negative about the sport here. But what we have here in 2017 simply is not the same sport I fell in love with in the 70s.

This is my 41st season. I've travelled the length and breadth of the UK for many years to watch my team, though latterly only done tracks close to home due to the kids and wife needing more attention. In all these years I've missed no more than 1 home meeting a season apart from if I've been away on holiday.The last 5 years though have seen me progressively lose more and more interest. I've also visited Poland more and more and find speedway there a completely different sport. A sport I have fallen back in love with. Next season I won't be doing any UK speedway. But I will do as many Polish meetings/weekends as I can afford.