21st century heathen

Well I'm nowhere near but there are storm cells popping up over the UK now. In particular there is a huge line of storms stretching all the way from London to Bristol/Cardiff. The whole lot is going BANG in a big way. It's heading into the midlands. The south coast should be OK. No new storms developing in the channel at the moment.

I think they all did a fantastic job, but Screenie certinaly did it the hard way. Fully deserved his chance, and he took it with both hands. Good on ya Joe

Too late we've seen it.

Glad to see someone knows what's going on. I assume that if tonights meeting was rained off it would have to be on Wed, tomorrows on Thurs, and the play off on Fri???

Midlo probably could, but I think he's got something on this afternoon.

C'mon the Brits. I've now put my money where my keyboard is. Sadly the odds on Sweden have changed from 4/1 to 10/3. Still, with a fiver on them and the Brits it makes things interesting. I was glad to get there and see the 5/1 (for the Brits) quoted last week hadn't changed. I think the boys can do it this year. Lets just hope everyone who can make it will get right behind them, and forget club loyalty for a week. Give them a cheer for me

I doubt anyone has planned ahead in case of rain offs. I did mention the storms the middle of last week but it now looks as though the south coast might escape the storms/downpours this evening. Keeping an eye on the radar this afternoon though.

They backed out at the last minute last year because they couldn't put a team together, and are not involved this year. Sad really. With respect to Italy and Hugary I know who I'd rather watch.

Was that skybet? Taken from William Hill website. Speedway : World Cup - Qualifying Heat 1 Great Britain 11/10 Sweden 11/8 Poland 7/2 Hungary 50/1 Speedway : World Cup - Qualifying Heat 2 Australia 4/5 Denmark 5/4 Czech Republic 13/2 Italy 66/1 To win SWC Australia 6/5 Denmark 3/1 Sweden 4/1 Great Britain 5/1 Poland 9/1 Czech Republic 33/1 Italy 500/1 Hungary 500/1

Right here mate.

Just an early warning that maybe...

Not if the storms kick in on Monday, and they have to try rearranging matches.

CM - I notice you fancy the Poles to do well. I honestly don't see why. Do you really think they will be that good at Eastie in particular? As for the Drymls...are you serious? Both may be good riders, on their day, and on the right track but no consistant enough or enough back up. The Czechs always get in the way, but I wouldn't consider them a serious threat. (waits to be proven wrong ) Brits Swe Den Aus

William Hill have us at 5/1 4th faves. (behind Aus, Den, Swe) In the three years since the new format WTC started we've had terrible luck with injuries. Again our boys are carrying injuries, but seem to be coping quite well. Lee is suffering, and probably shouldn't ride. At his best he's a great rider, and we really do need him. Rider for rider it's hard to chose between GB, Aus, and Swe. On paper the Danes look inexperienced but seem to be able to pull it all together, and rise to the occassion. Considering the tracks being used I think we have our best ever chance. Although there's no great home advantage, as most of the riders ride over here full time, I think we have an edge. David is virtually unbeatable at Eastie, especially this year. Mark and Joe have plenty of experience there, and Scott rides well on any track. Deano is always an option. He rode there for many years, and knows the lines. Lee may struggle badly on the tight turns. I genuinely believe we can win there. At Poole, if we're there, we have Mark, Scott, and Lee as ex-riders, David is flying everywhere, and Joe seems to have suddenly found some form. Despite the typical British attitude towards sport we do have a good chance this year. (and at 5/1 I'll have a couple of quid) Give us a bit of dirt though please. Our riders are not the sharpest or most consistant gaters, but boy can they race. Poole in particular has to have some dirt on it for us to stand a chance though. If it's slick then I fancy the fast starting Danes to do something a bit special. Hard to believe that Nicki is probably the oldest, and most experienced, rider in the Danes team, at 26?

I expect that nobody has thought that far ahead. Expect a 20min delay while they argue about it tonight, if the situation arises.

In place of? Charlie?

Should be the best match of the season. What fantastic line ups. I'm hoping we will have the edge in a last heat decider.

...Always possible to find an open store... Unless you go out early. Apart from the 7 eleven always being open Swedes and the Danes don't seem to be in any hurry to get to work. I did enjoy the trip thanks. (despite your weather) Prices depend where in the UK you are, and what sort of place you're going to. (dodgy local pub or a city bar) Maybe £2.50 would be a decent average. (local pubs usually have a £1 a pint night) A Breezer would cost me no more than £3 here. We have a similar chain to the 7 eleven (Spar) and they're not the cheapest either. It would be maybe 90p for a 500ml bottle of coke, and maybe 40-45p for a Mars/Twix etc in there. As you can see even comparing 'like for like' you guys pay way too much.

This was from the 7 eleven and similar, but admitedly the breezer was from the Hard Rock Cafe so a little over priced. I paid £7 for a rum and coke in Sweden last year. (only had 1 though) By contrast I went to Kos and had a double cocktail, and 3 shots of watermelon vodka for 5 euro, about £3.50. (had lots of those)

Can't argue with that. I had a free pint off a couple of Danes sat behind. Didn't want to drink any more, didn't want to waste it, and didn't want the money. As for the prices... (just as bad as Sweden) £1.65/£1.70 for a 500ml bottle Coke 85p for a Mars/Twix £5.00 for a Breezer etc... Fast food was about the same price though.

Thanks guys. I was in the stadium well before 'kick off' so I did see all the kids out on track. It was good to see them all out on track in a continuous line. Didn't get any photos though. Some of them couldn't have been more than about 4. Still amazes me that such young kids will go out on track and ride their bikes in front of a crowd like that. Shy? What does that mean!

sorry double post

OK...you got me...I can't resist... I was sat directly opposite the fourth turn (but on the home straight), and was in a dead straight line to see the riders in full broadside at the appex of the turn. Few can claim a better view than that! The person I went with is not a speedway fan in particular and has only been to three matches since then end of '95. As such this person has no bias at all. Imediately this person said 'he never touched him...he just fell'. Now admittedly on video evidence there was the slightest of contact but certainly not enough to make a rider fall. Jason chose to get off the bike. Far from being over 60mph as some are trying to claim this was at the slowest part of the track. On a tight circuit I'd be willing to bet that they were doing barely half that speed. A talented motorcyclist like Jason can quite easily slide off gracefully, and without injuring himself, at that speed. If he can't then he shouldn't be riding as he wouldn't be able to avoid a fallen rider. Nicki did know that a rider had an outside run on him and, as he was a clear leader, he was well within his rights to move out to around mid track to cover an outside run by an opponent. This used to be called good speedway! He did not take the rider all the way to the fence, and he did not take the riders front wheel away. He moved once by about a metre from the line he took going in. There was the slightest of contact between Nicki's dirt deflector and Jason's front wheel. Lets be honest though...if Jason was using a worn front tyre there would have been no contact, that's how slight a contact we're talking about. Is Jason really the talented rider most think he is if he can't control a bike with such slight touch? His wheel doesn't even move from the line it was taking. He simply takes a dive knowing that there's a good chance he can get Nicki excluded now that he has a bad boy image. It gets worse. He then jumps straight to his feet, hoping mad (apparently), waving his arms around like a footballer trying to get an opponant booked. He leaves his bike and begins to walk back to the pits. Finally the bit that really gets on my nerves. He suddenly, out of nowhere, begins to limp!!! Funny how that went away as quick as it started. As for Nikci's reaction he shouldn't have made a gesture towards a photographer but nobody has mentioned the fact that Tony R actually pushed a camera man away from him. Again it is strange how selective some people can be when reviewing an match. Nicki does kick and scream when things go wrong. Nothing wrong with that. As he says it gets it all out of his system in a few minutes. He's then back to the smiles and jokes, and more importantly he can focus again on what he has to do next time out on track. Jason will sulk for the rest of the night if things don't go his way. Which of them has a tittle under his belt? The phone call to the ref. I thought Nicki should be congratulated on keeping his cool when he clearly thought he was being victimised by the ref. Oh...and how's your Danish before you have a go at his choice of words. We all know exactly what he meant. Put simply he never wants to speak to him again. Oh yeah...nearly forgot. For those who seem to think you should look at other riders reactions. I think Scott summed it up. None of us can be left in any doubt what he thought about Jasons actions. Finally I'm glad to see that some of you could at least give Nicki a pat on the back for clearing his bike in the final. The cameras didn't pick it up too well. It was a big off as the bike just suddenly stood upright. Rather than trying to hold the bike like Scott did he just let go. He sprinted virtually the length of the straight to retrieve his bike. He then dragged it sideways, and finally (litterally) dived off the track as the red lights came on. Anyone who was there will tell you it was the single most sporting incident you could ever see. (considering it was Jason leading) (and if i get any more offensive e-mails for voicing my opinion on Nicki/Sam/or Wolves i'll name and shame)

1. Tony 2. Leigh 3. Nicki 4. Jason I'd love to see a Brit or Greg win though.

Wouldn't dare! (you might tell me to do it) One more good result this week and I can put pressure on the leaders. Do I need to stay in the top 8 to qualify for next season?