Little Thumper

Would I be right in assuming that this is, "tongue in cheek"?

Right, I'm getting the hang of this now. So instead of all this team-building based on contrived averages, perhaps we could do something based on the combined age of the team. The older the team, the more points head-start they get. On that basis, uk martin, the powerful Stoke team that you have just put together has a combined age of 249! I think that will take some beating and I confidently predict that the Stoke Potters will be NL Champs in 2017.

Looks good to me!

Skidder1, your knowledge of these matters is far greater than mine and I am sure what you say makes perfect sense. But do you not think that all these "complicated" rules are likely to be a real turn-off to potential new supporters and that a clean sheet of paper approach is the only way to go?

Sadly, my invitations to to Royal Garden Parties always seem to get lost in the post, so I shall have to take your word for it as you seem rather more familiar with our blue-blooded chums.

Says a poster who has just posted!

Trees, my knowledgeable friend, you are very right. But what could be more "proper motorcycle racing" than speedway? I live close to Oulton Park and quite often go and watch the bike racing there. To be quite honest, it is boring as hell! It goes on forever and a day, is usually processional and hardly anyone falls off. If speedway was properly re-structured, correctly priced and effectively promoted then bikers would be more inclined to take an interest.

Shock horror.........surely not! I'm sure that all the Rye House chaps will be keen to make the trip to the Frozen North - it may be their only chance to go up in the world!

It always reminds me of Jeux sans Frontieres! You half expect Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring to pop up when anybody pulls their joker out. If a team is not good enough to win, then hard luck. Speedway needs imaginative thinking not childish gimmickry.

........not just time but obviously people as resourceful as MrMungo and miadfa8 who could surely just have a little dig for us?

Having had a look at the weather forecast for the weekend, there looks a pretty good chance that this will be a goer.......hooray! Sadly, Shelby Rutherford may not be fit enough to ride but hopefully, he will be there to say cheerio to the loyal band of Buxtonites. I think I must be suffering from a dose of Pipeism (blind optimism) because I genuinely believe that this will be a fairly comfortable win for the Limestone Lions, assuming that Mr Pipe can snaffle enough riders from our posh neighbours down the road. As Rye House aren't exactly famous for winning anything away from home, I think they will be travelling back to Hertfordshire with little to show for their efforts, apart from possibly frostbite. After such a desperately poor season for the Buxton riders and supporters, it would be very nice to finish on a bit of a high and at least give an opportunity for the loyal Hitmen supporters to show their appreciation to the riders and all the other people who make it happen. Give it LARGE, Buxton.

British and Commonwealth Riders. 1st half - 13 heat team competition ( 5 riders/team) 2nd half - individual competition for British Championship points.

So what about the clubs that don't appear in this helpful list? Is there no legal requirement for them to file accounts or are they operating on some kind of sole trader basis? I would be really interested to find out a bit more about the mysterious world of speedway finance.

I intend to buy MCN this week, as I am thinking about a new bike. When I used to get MCN on a regular basis, there was little mention of speedway and if it was mentioned, it was in a bit of a patronizing way. Shame that the "promoters" of speedway in this country don't try and forge some links with the publication but perhaps they can't be bothered. They will be sticking to their policy of, "The Right Crowd and No Crowding". Be seeing you.

Thanks for getting this information. It is pretty depressing really. So the majority of promotions are running on empty yet at the top of the sport, money is sloshing about. Why the majority of promoters bother carrying on is a mystery.

Handy few lines on the MCN website for those of you who are planning on embarking on a career in speedway:- http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2016/october/how-the-hell-do-you-turn-a-speedway-bike-tai-woffinden/ Seems all pretty straight-forward to me.

Great news! How much profit has been made?

Skidder1, your grasp of the world of medicine does you proud. I would rather the patient be enjoying a little R&R than be boosting the profits of the local undertaking business. I have confidence that change is in the air!

Wow! That's a novel idea.

Well, Sherborne Green, my friend, that is a very valid question. Sadly, I am not too sure that you will receive many accurate answers! Whilst it relatively easy to look at crowd numbers and make a profit assessment based on what you see, of course you have no idea what costs the club may be incurring in items such as rent and payments to riders. I am sure all speedway promoters would shout up and say that the profits are minimal or non-existent but my question to them would be why do they keep promoting, do they regard it as charity work? And then of course, there are the difficulties that are encountered when an organization has a flair for creative accounting and companies hide behind other companies and the money flows become a little convoluted. I think this is one of the problems with speedway. Supporters see promoters arriving in flash motors and assume that they are minting it on the back of the riders and supporters. Perhaps they are, I know not. Like you, SG, I would be interested to know more about the financial goings on in the speedway world as it appears to be a mysterious world where money appears and disappears quicker than one of Paul Daniels' rabbits. So those in the know, spill the beans - it won't go beyond these four walls. Don't tell them your name, Pike.

If Speedway was a patient in a British hospital, the notes on the clipboard at the end of his bed would read, "Terminally ill, Do not resuscitate". When promotions from the newest and shiniest to the oldest and grubbiest are facing unprecedented financial challenges, as a result of which some riders have allegedly not been paid, then the illness is clearly serious and life-threatening. Can Speedway survive the latest onset of disease or will his treatment be too late and merely palliative? I have known my dear friend, Speedway for over 50 years and we have had plenty of good times along the way. Even these days we still have a few laughs. But we are both older and a little ragged round the edges but whilst I have done my best to move with the times, dear old Speedway has kept ploughing the same old furrow, wearing the same old clothes and harking back to the "Good Old Days". But our friend, Speedway can yet be saved.......Alleluia, Brothers and Sisters! Courageous and drastic surgery can revive the flagging patient. This brave surgical intervention will involve the removal of a lot of dead tissue and grafting in that which is new and vibrant. It will involve totally re-structuring the way that the sport is organized and it will mean burning the various rule books ans starting afresh. Do we have brave surgeons in charge of our sport who have the vision and the expertise to see beyond their own personal aspirations and realize that if they do not make that first incision quickly and decisively then Speedway will have breathed his last. Would I be sad if Speedway died quietly in his sleep? Yes, I would feel as though part of my very being had been ripped from me. But I would far rather Speedway drifted away quietly and with dignity rather than see the Old Boy stagger on past his sell-by date in obvious pain and being ridiculed by those around him. Whether Speedway comes bounding out of the hospital like a spring lamb or is wheeled away in the dead of the night to that quiet, windowless basement room in the hospital building is in the hands of those medical practitioners that oversee the health of our beloved friend. Does their expertise extend beyond applying a few sticking plasters onto Speedway's tired and twisted body? Do they still believe that putting leeches on the wound continues to be the answer to every ailment that has ever existed? Having spoken with others whose knowledge of Speedway's condition is far greater than mine could ever be, I rate the patient's chance of survival at 50/50. The treatment plan must be initiated without delay and we put our faith in those that we have entrusted with our dear friend's survival. Do not let us down. Namaste _/\_

They must have known you were coming!

I'm signing nothing!

Well, I have it on good authority that Shelby Rutherford will be trying to race next weekend. You have to admire these speedway riders. They get hurt and all they want to do is get back on their bikes and give it LARGE! I shall do my utmost to get up into the hills next weekend and give the Hitmen some support. They might not have won much this year but the riders have given it their best shot and I am sure they must get a bit dispirited when they experience defeat after defeat. So, Shelby Rutherford, Lee Geary and Lee Dicken thanks for hanging on in there and lets finish the season on a high and give our friends from Rye House a bit of a lesson in the finer arts of speedway riding. Make it so.

Clearly, the match report on the Buxton website has been written by someone other than Jason Pipe, as the author uses paragraphs and there is no job application contained therein. It would be nice when something appears on any club website if the author would be kind enough to put their initials at the bottom. Even the author finds it difficult to say anything positive about Buxton's poor performance. It would be helpful to know how Shelby Rutherford is getting on, as I am sure that Buxton supporters would be hopeful that he would be fit enough to ride next Sunday, as I am sure that they would wish to show their appreciation for all his efforts this year. Efforts which have not necessarily received their fair reward. Be seeing you.