RobMcCaffery

One race, possibly two. Is that enough?

Supposing a surgeon messed up an operation he was undertaking on you or someone drove into you on a zebra crossingf. I think the 'we all make mistakes' rubbish would soon stop, eh? The entire point I'm making is that this one should not have happened and of course should be prevented from happening again. There I've made it as plain as possible. If you can't understand after all this then it's your problem. Yes we all make mistakes. Mine was talking to you, obviously. "We all make mistakes" x 256

Thank you. At timers like this your inside knowledge of the German scene is vital.

I have made mistakes. There are degrees of mistakes however. Comparing a typo to a huge commentary gaffe is ridiculous. I have commentated on nearly two hundred speedway meetings in the past, for video and satellite TV in its early days. Included in this were world finals. I also hosted my own studio-based speedway news programme. I think I might have an idea of what the job entails and requires, don't you? As most will know I rarely attack Nigel and Kelvin's work. This is not because I am looking after 'mates'. I can't recall ever meeting the former and I haven't spoken to Kelvin since interviewing him when he was the new reserve at Wimbledon. In any case I was scarcely a member of the speedway 'establishment' when I tried to help the sport out. I know that commentators do not have the freedom of choice or action that the public assume they have. They are answerable to producers and directors, literally through the meeting. Commentating while your boss is screaming in your ear isn't the easiest of jobs. Yes mistakes happen, but this one was sloppy and perhaps a product of overconfidence that needs to be learned from. I agree with those who acknowledge Nigel and Kelvin's knowledge, love and respect for the sport. Nigel's constant inclusion of mentions of events taking place in Britain in the coming week clearly goes over the heads of many people's heads but it's clearly an attempt to use commentary to sell the sport directly to the casual viewer. "Hey if you like this you can go and watch it yourself". The question, as ever is one of balance. At which point does repetition earn diminishing returns? It's been mentioned that they are under constant pressure to cater for the casual viewer who may have joined the coverage part way. The question is how far should the balance tip away from those who know the sport, know what is good and don't need the hype in favour of those whose attention needs to be grabbed and massaged. That's not the commentators' role. They do not run the programme and I'd suggest that BSI and BT at least review whether excellent content is being damaged by the volume and hype. Unlike other sports like football I do suspect that the majority of viewers are 'casuals'. Yes there are mistakes. Yes they are acceptable. When they're serious enough and avoidable enough it's complacent and arrogant just to shrug shoulders and carry on defiantly.

Yes, but then I wasn't being paid significant amounts of money to share my work with a large international audience. And yes, I have done the job myself, albeit not at such a level as live to an international market. I do know what the job entails however and what is required. Declaring heat 21 as irrelevant and insisting both teams were eliminated wasn't just a minor slip-up. It could and most definitely should have been avoided. It just needs a little bit of the budget to be used on hiring someone to monitor the scores and correct the commentary team over talkback when they are factually incorrect or have missed a vital point. Add in dreadful camerawork and I'd be asking some very pointed questions of the producer. It didn't hep that it was a dreadful meeting on a dreadful track. I'm sure the rest will be better but you only really get one chance to make a first impression. This was not the SWC. To be honest I've enjoyed Rye House v Crayford challenge matches far more ;-) (and they were far more meaningful, well to us and the budgies...)

You got this exactly right. Thank you.

The point about venue options is actually quite chilling. Have we really reached the situation where our supposedly premium events can only be staged on a handful of tracks? If so, why run them? Now, I've been in love wit the WTC since the Wembley thunderstorm in 1973 but if the only option is to switch to the rightly discarded World Pairs format then the time is sadly here to ditch the whole thing and just carry on with the GPs alone - and be more selective on venues there with choices based on excellence of venue, either for racing, accommodation or hopefully both, rather than political choices. Sadly sporting politics are even less pleasant than politics themselves, with the exception that nobody has to stand for election outside their own closed group. No it wasn't a good start. When have we ever had a classic on the German tracks? It's tempting to ask when we've ever had a simply memorable (for the right reasons) meeting.To them and other nations it's a Sunday afternoon amateur sport and they simply can't step up to the level required. That's been obvious since Norden. Instead we get the usual pious bilge about expanding the sport. I've watched this process long enough to know it just does not work and all it does is compromise the sport in the developed countries. How? It diverts riders from their league racing which despite the attempts to portray the sport as an individual one is the rock on which the sport was built nearly a century ago here and which was exported to great success elsewhere. I'm sure the Poles are only interested in anything other than their leagues unless the nation or an individual are winning. A track or nation should stage these events on merit.

Busy weekend so had to watch this on delay tonight and for once I really do wish I hadn't bothered. The line about adding to the variety of teams and giving those a chance who couldn't raise a full four man team. Well, several 'teams' tonight couldn't raise two competitive riders. It was a night of nostalgia, but not of the pleasant kind, watching Germany capitalising on home advantage on a crap track in a poor stadium. It was so reminiscent of Norden in 1983, but for some reason we have to do our bit to prop up German speedway by allocating meetings to their inadequate tracks. Oh yes, another bit of nostalgia, 'Pocking Hell'. Oh for the good old World Team Cup, whatever happened to it? Then next week, more nostalgia with a two day final. Oh the triumph of Amsterdam in 1987! Some learn from mistakes. The FIM just plough on, propping up the backwoods of speedway while letting major nations go to pot (Poland excepted) as a result. The tail has wagged the dog at the FIM for decades. Back in the 70s the World Championship qualifying system was rigged to favour the east Europeans with the result being endless Pole, Russian and Czech no-hopers occupying the bottom of the scorechart. Nothing changes - the minor nations had too much say then and do have now, although who is major and who is minor has changed. We didn't need to change to a poor race format to get the Latvian upset last year and I very much doubt whether we'll see any this year, apart from pious comments about "wonderful to see the minor nations competing", - but are they? Will they? They're in the meeting and while some had one good, competitive rider overall they were just making up the numbers. The only surprises tonight were how poor the Latvians were after last year's success and even with home advantage, how many the Germans scored. The track looked inconsistent and was catching too many quality riders out. There was nothing on the outside line with the little racing on offer giving 'kerb crawling' a bad name.... The delays at the end were unacceptable but the least acceptable aspect of the whole TV 'extravaganza' was the commentary over heat 21. Declaring both teams out so definitively was sloppy commentating and well below the normal or required standard. I'm sure both they and their producer will know as well. Surely someone on the production team can monitor the scores and tell the commentary team when they're wrong? I know back in the early days of Sky coverage the late Bryn Williams was on hand to advise Tony Millard if necessary. Like someone else said, it made even One Sport's pairs events look good and I never thought I'd ever say that! Let's hope for better on Tuesday, and that we aren't bored rigid by 42 qualifying heats to see who makes it to a final where it's not about winning, just not finishing last. Good luck, explaining that to those casual viewers that are so carefully cared for in the commentary! Pairs events just do not suit knock-out systems. I was going to say winner takes all but, well, er.....can you hype "second and third TAKE ALL". I fear we will find out all too soon. It's okay having semis and finals for events like the Championship Pairs at Somerset - that's a fun night out before Cardiff. This isn't, and certainly "Raceoff 1" was far from amusing, unless you were a drunk German.......

Look we all know if Poole came to the point of not affording their electricity bill their fans are convinced all they have to do is get Ford to point his backside at the track and it'll be fully lit by glorious sunshine. There's nothing like winning to get blind faith. Wonder how they'll deal with failure?

I commentated on stock cars many times there in the eighties. They call it Northampton. It would make a great speedway track and I'm very surprised they're laying shale because they really do prefer tarmac in that sport. Of course it was a speedway track, on and off until the late 60s. I think the final year of the Brafield Badgers was 1967. It was only ever a junior track, never in a pro league.

Ridiculous! We have started the season in BL2/NL/PL/Championship in April since 1969 (1968 was a late start due to the lack of teams in the initial year). I don't remember the second tier having gaps like this. Perhaps the problem lies in having the shortest league schedule since 1968? 10 home league matches is a disgraceful offer to the public, even allowing for the limited additional Championship Shield meetings that in the south add a paltry two extra fixtures making a grand total of 12! So, just what ARE we supposed to do? Start the season in June then move on to the play-offs in September? Trying to defend this year's schedule is ridiculous. The second tier has foolishly followed the top tier into a fragmented season and will pay the same price if it's not careful. Perhaps the promoters can only afford top stage a dozen meetings? If so the least they could do is be honest and inform their remaining fans.

Times have probably changed since I had direct experience but the promoters I encountered tended to be speedway enthusiasts who'd made a fair bit of cash from a small to medium-sized business and either fancied having a go at the speedway off-track power game or wanted to save their tracks from closure after the failure of the previous promotion. Few I encountered could be described as 'dimwits' but they weren't exactly from the business elite. I would even say that most seemed well-meaning although you could scent the odd all-out rogue. Petty rows though seemed to cloud matters when they met at BSPA level. Feuds would then resurface and decisions made to spike a rival rather than in the best interests of the sport. Many would talk reasonably about key decisions, then somehow a totally unreasonable decision would be taken by the BSPA which of course nobody had voted for ;-) So no, not dimwits individually but I suspect that 'power game' really is at the heart of the problems.

Thank you and yes, I can see that rationale for having an agreement. However I am still very concerned that the lack of priority for home federation fixtures seems now lost, or at least ifg you're British. As most will know, most of my speedway viewing over the years has been in the second tier. I have always enjoyed the friendlier attitude of those involved and supporting and learned a long time ago that a good race between two reserves can be as good as a race between two superstars. Racing is racing. I am naturally dismayed to see international politics entering this sector and the thought of Glasgow having to race a derby with Edinburgh without their British number one because of the demands of a Polish club that hadn't used the rider concerned for weeks appalled me. To then have the Poles effectively saying that we have no right to run on days other than the allocated slot days added fuel to that flame. Considering the deal on 'slots' was partly a response to Polish abuse of the previous status quo is also very ironic. I was one of the hundreds who stood on the terraces at Hackney wondering whether the Poles would release Zenon Plech to ride for the Hawks that week. Yes, systems change but having money and large crowds does not entitle the Poles to severely damage the sport in other countries. My initial reaction is that the slot deal should have applied only to the senior divisions with the argument being that the lower leagues should have domestic riders only policy or face the risk of crippling rider absences. Yes, EU employment law allows freedom of employment for its citizens but it does not allow constant absence from the workplace due to having a better offer elsewhere.

Rather disappointed by FreeSports today. I can only record TV that I receive via Virgin Media. I can only watch Freesports via Freesat which I can't record, so it's watch the programmes as they are broadcast or rely on our Polish friend. Having been out at a business meeting last night and seeing that this week's Swedish match was being shown at 2 pm today I decided to stay home and watch. With a near two hour timeslot allocated I assumed I could rely on getting the whole match. The programme started at the tapes for heat one giving no time for team listings and after heat one we moved straight on to the riders at the tapes for ...... heat 3. I didn't wait to see if heat 4 was shown.... Even allowing for ads a timeslot of 115 minutes is surely enough to show 15 heats of speedway and a look at the team line-ups? Yes it's free. Yes it's great they're showing it. Yes, Dave gets better and better at commentary, so why mess it up with shocking editing?

Surely it has to be money. Of course if you're not riding that's academic. Have they gambled and lost? Are riders over there paid if they are registered and not used, just to encourage them to sign and be available, kike a 'retainer'?

If the contract demanded that they have priority then yes. On the wider point, he is a British rider and therefore that contract should not be accepted. When we were dominant in world speedway we acknowledged the principle that home federation fixtures took priority, especially with Poland. It would be good to see the same courtesy offered now in return. Just because a contract is signed it does not make it right.

I'm quite happy with my wording and note that both criticisms come from two people who I have 'crossed swords' with in the past. Perhaps we should be debating what is a serious problem rather than make playground-style attempts at point-scoring? Yes the BSPA may have upset Harris as well. I could have written a paragraph or extended sentence as thread title but I follow a basic principle - 'Keep the headline brief'. The rest can be included in the main body. I know nothing of Harris' position regarding this nor was it speculated upon in the story. I therefore left this out since there were far wider matters at issue than an individual. Whatever the theoretical position of the 'slot system' Britain is already in breach by using Wednesdays and what I considered the most significant part of the story was Poland claiming that our lower tier also only was allocated the Monday and Wednesday slots. This is all semantics. Poland are drawing another line in the sand to claim Friday to Sunday running, excepting international weekends, and no doubt in the long term would love to see those either under their (via One Sport?) control or bundled away on nights they don't want. This is not a case of 'teething problems' of a new, acceptable system. Sweden and Denmark have long worked with a one or two night a week allocation. Britain's needs are different due principally to stadium access and ownership and a need for weekly speedway from March to October, not fortnightly for a dozen weeks or so mid-summer. We've lost that and we've lost our way. Our successful years were based on weekends. We've virtually lost these crucial weekends and this latest Polish muscle-flexing will make that problem far worse. The present PL supporters may be happy to watch 'stars' racing midweek but what we need to re-grow is to recapture the weekends and if that relies on lesser names then fine - I really, really doubt whether the new supporters who we need to attract would even notice their absence. We need to be selling a good night's racing on the right night and regularly. This 'new order' and its 'teething' pains are in direct conflict with this. Is that now clear enough for you? I've written enough professionally over the years to accept critique by those who are qualified to so obviously hope to also meet your demanding standards, Anyway, apart from having to deal with such inanities I'd suggest that Hawk127 has it exactly right. British speedway is fighting for its future and despite the limitations of the BSPA it doesn't deserve to be treated with the contempt it is now receiving. We have given a huge amount to the sport over 90 years - until recently being the only serious place for riders to earn a full-time living for one or to race at the highest levels of team racing. Yes those days are over for now but we deserve a bit more than simply being told to "Go sit in the corner we've given you and don't dare to speak". I'd be a lot happier if I could trust the business controlling Polish speedway. I don't. A rebuild here is required but I do fear that the scale of rebuild will be too much for many 'supporters' to accept.

It's remarkable that such a weak on-paper team is doing relatively well. There's not enough big names in the team beyond Nicki for big-time TV.

This is where the slot system should not have been agreed. It is potentially crippling to the Championship and it's not exactly doing much good for the Premiership. It's sadly got to become a choice and with the money on offer in Poland we will have to find a way to run without those riders or face perpetual guest rider chaos.

Down in League 1, all seems very far from healthy in Krakow. Their provisional licence to stage the sport expired on May 13th and home fixtures are currently suspended with the most recent scheduled, against Rybnik last weekend, rescheduled for July. Full story here: https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/757696/kolejne-zawody-w-krakowie-odwolane-kiedy-zuzel-wroci-na-stadion-wandy Also in L1 there's a row over Harris' absence from the Pila v Lublin match. Since this has wider aspects I've put a thread in the main news section. The BSPA withdrew Harris' start permission which let him ride in the Glasgow v Edinburgh match. The Poles are claiming that they have priority over our Championship matches that are not staged on Mondays or Wednesdays.

The Polish speedway website Sportowe Fakty has a report on a row brewing between Britain and Poland regarding Chris Harris' absence from last weekend's match between Pila and Lublin. The report claims that the BSPA refused start permission in Poland for Harris who instead rode in the Glasgow v Edinburgh cup tie. Ironically this was the first match for a while that Pila had selected him. There are arguments to have him suspended but the story has another, perhaps more worrying aspect. The Poles claim that the international agreement regarding race nights that limit the Premiership to Mondays and Wednesdays (in theory anyway) also apply to the Championship and so Poland have priority on every other night of the week, especially weekends for that league as well! Full story here: https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/757719/w-pzm-nie-maja-watpliwosci-harris-powinien-byc-zawieszony-po-kieszeni-tez-dostan Translation can be made via Google Translate - just copy and paste that url. https://translate.google.co.uk/ You really are left with the feeling that riders now have to choose whether to ride in Poland or Britain. It may be possible at the top level but how on earth can Championship sides sign riders who will be taken by Polish speedway whenever they feel like it? We are just being pushed further and further into a corner. Money talks and right now it's laughing at British Speedway.

Rye House for years was a training track trying to be a league venue. Now it's a second-tier track trying to be one of the 'big boys'. The track is a better shape than in my days with the back straight moved out but it was always a compromise venue - a bolt hole for the homeless Rayleigh Rockets and we had to make do or die.

Same old "We're superior clubs and supporters - do what we say and want" crap from D1 supporters. As long as that mentality continues the sport has little chance.

We're talking about the High Definition (HD) version which isn't starting until July.

Polish Silver Helmet, Lublin 24.05.18