Chairboy

Agree 100%. There is no point making the place ready for racing and not providing a decent amount of seats with a good view of the track - if you want the fans to come.

Big respect to you, Cityrebel! This is interesting stuff. Can I take this opportunity to apologise to you for something - I don't make many posts on here, but the user name I first gave myself was "White City Rebel". I felt rather guilty when I found myself reading posts from you, and you had clearly been on this site a lot longer than me, and I had inadvertently chosen almost the same name. I did eventually get round to changing my user name! I hope I bump into you sometime at Kent or Eastbourne, I'm sure you have many tales from your dog days...

Good stuff. I've no doubt you will always remember that Gold Cup Final, and the preceding rounds. My family had dogs trained by John Annett (attached to Oxford) and Gary Baggs (Walthamstow) in the late 80s/early 90s. I trained a few myself, racing mainly at Rye House and Milton Keynes. I'm guessing not everyone on this forum will appreciate this foray into greyhound reminiscing. I will always see football, speedway and greyhound racing as the 3 great working class sports of the 20th century (not necessarily in that order!).

Hi Blueherb - I'm probably one of a select few on this site that that also has ( or had) an interest in greyhounds. What was your Gold Cup finalist called, and who was your trainer?

I agree, I would happily support an NDL team at Rye House, and I know I'm not alone in saying that. In terms of it's facilities and ease of access (or lack of it), RH suits that level of racing.

Starting the season with 7 teams, can we really have 4 teams qualifying for the play-offs? More teams qualify than don't?! Some sporting credibility could be maintained if only the top 3 qualify, with the team finishing top going straight into the final.

As a speedway fan who also follows football, I am always amazed that this mysterious 'asset' system remains in speedway. There was a time (not so long ago) when football clubs owned player's registrations, and even at the end of a player's contract could stop a player from playing for someone else, unless a transfer fee was paid between the clubs. This all changed, of course, with what became known as the 'Bosman' ruling by the European court. A Belgian player got his lawyers to argue (successfully) that when his contract with a particular club came to an end he should be free to seek new employment wherever he wished. These days, transfer fees are only paid between football clubs for players who wish to move while they are still under contract. I would suggest it would only take one speedway rider with a decent lawyer to bring this system to an end.

Massive respect to anyone coming down from Cumbria...I know you're made of stern stuff up there, but you might want to bring a jumper.

So the 2 Lakeside riders will race in a double-header at Workington on Saturday night, and at Rye House on Sunday evening, and in between will ride in the grasstrack meeting?

All this is great news for Peterborough. Next Friday, Lakeside v Workington. Saturday, Workington v Lakeside double - header. Then Lakeside v Peterborough on Sunday. I have to confess to having no experience of life as a speedway rider, but when the Lakeside team line up v Peterborough on the Sunday they will have already ridden in 3 matches over the previous 2 days, and driven the length of the country twice. Seriously, how do you cope if you are feeling the effects of an injury, or have a problem with a bike that needs fixing?

As a speedway fan living in south Buckinghamshire, Peterborough is easily the track I have visited the most as a 'neutral' supporter in recent years - mainly because you're always assured of a covered seat with a decent view. So, at the risk of stating the b. obvious, I'd certainly count myself among the many who would describe themselves as 'gutted' if the track closed. On another matter, it's interesting that the attendance for the Play-off SF was low. Aren't we always told 'the fans love the play-off system'? I would love it if we went back to the proper league championship system, and I would say the same about the Premiership too. If BT want some guaranteed end-of-season fixtures to broadcast, the Semis and Final of the KO Cup would surely fit the bill.

With a forecast like that (significant rainfall from 10am and throughout the rest of the day), I would say calling it off as early as possible (tonight hopefully) would be appreciated by riders and fans alike. Very unfortunate for the home promotion, the band of rain is coming through at exactly the worst possible time.

Well, I do like a straight answer to a straight question! Thanks TT.

Genuine question - does anyone have a theory as to why Lakeside persist with R/R (rather than a guest) for Kyle Newman? I was at Peterborough last night and I can't see how giving extra rides to Alfie Bowtell and Broc Nicol is supposed to work.

I read in this week's Speedway Star that they have booked Chris Harris for the meeting at Rye House, then Ben Barker for the one at Peterborough. If that's correct, it's a little odd that the Panthers own preview does not reflect this.

Whether or not we all like it, the League Champions are determined by play-offs - which effectively means a 2 legged knockout contest tagged onto the end of this season. For this reason, it is absurd to also have 2 other competitions which end with exactly the same format, at the same time of year (and often with the same teams). Ideally, if there were sufficient league fixtures there would be no need for the rather contrived Championship Shield. As for the KO Cup, in my view it should have cut-off points enforced earlier in the season, and a Final much earlier in the season, so it is over and done with long before the play-offs start. In a perfect world, of course. Next week, my solution to end conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Couldn't agree more with that last sentence!

The name can have a significant effect on how fans identify (or don't identify) with a team, and I agree with City Rebel - if this season's 'experiment' is seen as a success, and the Lakeside promotion run at RH next season, the name should incorporate both elements. Eg, Rye House Hammers or Hoddesdon Hammers.

I may be stating the bleedin' obvious here, but I would suggest that these end-of-season Lakeside fixtures at Rye House are of crucial importance to the future of speedway in this part of the country. Rye House fans are pissed off because they have lost their team, Lakeside fans likewise because they have lost their track. However, if enough people come through the gate for these meetings, it might just mean that the Hammers name (and promotion) lives on, and competitive speedway continues at Hoddesdon in 2019. It's now up to us fans, effectively. If as an old Rockets fan you don't want to support a different team at your track, you have the right to choose not to go. Hammers fans who either are unable to make it to Hoddesdon, or prefer not to, can also make that choice. So, you might say that in this instance the power lies with the fans. We can make this work - if we want it to. We just need to turn up.

Couldn't agree more, CR. Every now and then I walk out of a meeting feeling that British speedway is still alive and kicking, and that was how I felt last night.

As a neutral, I quite fancy attending the double-header on 5 August - I'd be interested to know what the admission charge will be.

When commenting on here we all the risk of saying something which may turn out to be wildly inaccurate, or ill-judged, as we cannot see the full picture. We can only speculate as to what plan RH put to the BSPA. It may have been ridiculous, maybe not, but it was probably well-intentioned. Speaking as a speedway fan, I am pleased that RH have made that statement on their website. There is a tone of defiance about it, which I like. There are not that many people left with the will or the means to promote speedway in the UK. I've no idea what they have in mind for the future, but if it means speedway racing continues (or resumes) at RH, at any level, I will be delighted.

A new statement on the RH website (sorry, no idea how you put links up) - worth reading!

Will the Speedway Star reveal all tomorrow, Philip?!

If I may return the topic to Rye House for a moment...I must say I really did think that some kind of statement would have been put out by now. Can the Speedway Star really go with a "let's pretend nothing's happened at RH" approach tomorrow?