RobMcCaffery

There are times when I hear of riders wanting speedway to be more like F1 or Moto GP or Superbikes that they went off and raced in those sports rather than wreck the one they're currently in.

I think Glasgow proved that you don't need to bribe fans to watch TV meetings. When EL tracks are covered by Sky their fee appears to be considerably higher than that received by the PL which does help cushion the blow of dropping prices to £10. Without such financial assistance you can't blame Berwick and Glasgow for sticking to normal prices - and still got satisfactory or excellent crowds. Perhaps the rarity of such visits helps? This of course leaves the question - why do the PL tracks get a lower fee?

Football is a very different sport. It is stupid to compare. For starters: A runaway win, say by 6-0 in football and the neutral will thrill at the way one team has been able to play. In speedway no neutral will enjoy a 70-20 result. In football and other field sports the better the talent, the better the skill, the better the entertainment (well in theory). In speedway it's all about relative rather than absolute skills. You can have a meeting full of star names, no racing and a huge home win. You can also have a meeting of lesser-known riders with plenty of racing and a last heat decider. Which would you rather have? Broadly speaking there now seems to be two main forms of people attending speedway - those there to enjoy speedway or those who only want to see names and a win. The first group seems to be being squeezed out and that isn't healthy for the sport. Still, we live in a world where 'celebrities' rule, even if they do damn all.

Given Gaming International's appalling record of stadium closures and false promises for replacements it is sadly no surprise. How long have Reading fans been waiting for the Smallmead replacement? Where's the new stadium in Milton Keynes? When there's huge money involved developers can play the same 'long game' that killed Cradley and may well do the same to Wimbledon and Oxford. The fact that GI keep filing failed planning applications with obviously crucial flaws and the rapid development of the rest of the site it is hard to avoid the suspicion that their version of the 'long game' here is by building most of the estate, right up to the boundaries of the present stadium and to keep issuing unworkable plans for a replacement until they can finally win the argument that they can drop the subject and complete the housing estate. I hope I'm wrong since I really want Swindon like all tracks to survive. It will give me no pleasure at all if if the scenario I've suggested tragically comes true. There is no victory in being proved right by a stadium closing. There is one simple fact though amidst all the opinion. Without planning permission nothing can be built without the risk of having just to pull it all down.

There is a full programme of Polish League Division 1 fixtures on July 10th. Sam Masters at least would be riding over there. Other riders named in the line-up who have ridden in the competition this year are Rohan Tungate, Josh Grajczonek, Claus Vissing, although they are all listed as 'unclassified' in the league's statistics. No riders are involved in that day's German Bundesliga match. Not all of the top two riders per the green sheets have been nominated for the meeting: Workington - Ricky Wells (no.1) Peterborough - Craig Cook (no.1) Plymouth - Brady Kurtz (no.1) Can anyone come up with a line-up over the history of this event (which goes back to 1975) in which every pair consisted of the top two in the averages? It would be fascinating to know. Were all of those that didn't all farces? Riders always withdraw or have other commitments. This time three riders are in the GP and people get their knickers in a twist over it! It's staged the night before the GP for a very good reason - it gets a superb crowd and turns Cardiff into a weekend party.

Clearly the weather spoiled the racing. Ultimately it doesn't really matter what the EL snobs think. Let them enjoy their 14 home meetings a year and weeks without meetings. They take a sample of just two meetings and make stupid judgements - they see what they want to see. Apparently having their team compete in a higher league makes them some kind of superior supporter. Just enjoy the PL and its positive spirit. The PL has fun while the EL fights to exist. Great to finally get to see a Scottish derby, even if from a distance - and to see a British speedway track packed for a league match. Clearly the new owners have worked miracles there.

Could have got to heat 10, surely?

Despite all of the talk GI have yet to even gain planning permission. Applications to date have been rejected due to chronic flaws, which we have to assume are accidental rather than deliberate. Without planning permission there will be no stadium.

.....and the winners of the race to get the former Grand Prix winner to reserve are....... No wonder they took a month off

Riders only lose rides if they have failed to perform. Would you also block reserve replacement rides for the same reason? If a rider is hopelessly out of touch he has to take all of his programmed rides? Riders are guaranteed three rides. Whether they are replaced by reserves or tactical substitutes is irrelevant. Under the old system if you were in trouble you used your styar riders to recover. Now it's all about finding strong reserves to do the job instead which is totally about-face. It worked for years and still does in Sweden and Poland. If it didn't they'd have both dumped it years ago. Britain only did it because EL heat leaders wanted too much money to take the extra rides and the Golden Double, later Tactical; Ride was introduced. Part of the fascination for many was to watch skilled team managers use their riders to try to win matches. Now those tactics have been reduced to hoping you have a reserve that's on form and working out when to play the joker. Okay, some people don't have the ability to follow such tactical ploys but that's no reason why they should dumb the sport down for others.

The same as in Britain until replaced by the cost-cutting Tactical Ride double points that we currently have to endure. Many a match was made fascinating by watching a team manager work his resources to the maximum rather than being limited to the one TR ride and the odd reserve change. So unfair that it was used for decades in Britain and still is in Sweden and Poland.

An idea of the scale of the challenge can be seen here: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_17/images/orbital2_lg.gif This was taken before the BMR takeover, hence the absence of atmosphere.

Berwick's too long and narrow to give good racing sadly. Workington's early incompetence didn't help. I've been watching second-tier racing for 45 years now - that meeting was far, far from typical. There were suggestions that the track had been made slicker recently to give the Bandits an advantage. If only they hadn't. Basing judgement of the PL on that match would be totally foolish. Sadly there are plenty of fools around who will. I've always had a soft spot for Berwick but this did the PL no good at all. Please do. If you're prepared to make that choice on the basis of that meeting then the PL will do fine without you.

It all depends on the agreements made between the UK and EU. The whole situation is now fiendishly complex. Lawyers will be rubbing their hands with glee.

Anyone would think GI were deliberately stalling!

Hi and welcome. Kodi, like most apps and programs - and the internet itself is global. As for the GP streaming, this year's You Tube channel is the direct replacement for the 'Live Streaming' service that was offered in previous years. You should at least get the full international feed service that is used by the various broadcasters around the world as the basis of their coverage. It is only accessible in countries where there is no broadcaster taking the service, such as in the U.S. We cannot officially access it in the U.K. If they have gone from the 'raw feed' then I suspect that is now no longer available. The You Tube feed is by far the best legal option. No doubt you'll need some tips on Kodi. This isn't straightforward unless you get it pre-installed on say an Amazon Firestick, but this website should act as a guide. https://www.tvaddons.ag/install-kodi/ Basic Kodi is just a media viewer, originally intended for X-Box but has evolved, some would say mutated, significantly. Once installed you need to install 'add-ons' which then allow access to streaming services, some of which give world TV access and in turn sports TV access. It's a matter of finding out which add-on gives you what you need. It is a huge subject and tricky to summarise here, unfortunately, but if you have a logical, enquiring mind it's far from impossible. Once you've learned the basics, which can be a steep curve, (backed up by endless You Tube instruction videos) then learn where to find add-ons (usually through Google searches and Kodi forums) the opportunities are immense. Good luck.

Eurosport are actually giving this week's highlights programme five repeat showings! Next stop primetime and the luxury of 15 heats? We can but dream .

I was very lucky to see a large number of meetings at what was at the time an extremely well-run speedway track, Hackney, from 1973 to 1983. The track opened on the first available Friday in March and occasionally managed to make a case for earlier. Likewise it ran until the very last Friday in October, and again would often get permission to run into November. I seem to remember there being a challenge match with Belle Vue staged in November once. No Fridays were missed on the way from March to October. On the one Friday when the Hawks rode away (at Wolverhampton) the track staged an individual meeting, The Superama. This was all backed up by what was not just a marketing slogan but also a principle: "Make It A Date, Friday At Eight". Yes, time has moved on but this shows what the sport could once achieve. Continuity was the key and you always knew, weather permitting, that on Friday night there would be a meeting at Hackney. We have lost our way in so very many ways. I'm actually encouraged by much of what Matt Ford says in this piece, especially the acceptance that the trade-off for getting more fixtures may well be to accept a further lowering of team strengths. The closer the tram strengths are between the current EL and PL tracks the more chance there is to race against more tracks and provide those vitally-needed fixtures. Expecting the top PL sides to risk financial suicide by joining the current EL is simply unrealistic. His comment "We will make new stars" is very true. It shows how deep the problems are when even the top EL promoters start talking sense, even if some of their supporters still can't see the bigger picture.

Fine, I'm outdated. I'm also outdated in musical tastes and popular TV. I have no interest in celebrity gossip. I have no problems at all with this. I vastly prefer choices carefully taken rather than following the herd. Often what is 'popular' is in fact a case of people meekly accepting what is on offer. Of course businesses and developers want to charge regularly rather than just take one payment. Just because others accept this I it doesn't mean I have to. I find it rather sad how conformity is so dominant today - that the greatest fear is to think for oneself and to challenge what is being blindly accepted by others. Like many trends the current fashion will not last. People will eventually realise they are being ripped-off. I have a good stock of very useful software and am very well-equipped to ride out this rather greedy phase in I.T.

That would be fair comment if I did knock it. Please re-read and try again. For goodness' sake, are you guys that desperate for a row? Of course I'm not criticising others for watching several events at once. For goodness' sake I said I do it myself! It's just on this occasion I will want to focus on both so will watch one followed by the other. Yes, that's my choice - you have yours. What I AM criticising is people saying they can only watch one. Please read what's said, not what you want to read! It's not that complicated! Hopefully we get a great meeting. Sad that the usual types on the BSF spoil it.

It's a 4 hour drive between Rybnik and Poznan so they'd have to rely on whoever's at the latter already for to record the highlights coverage and switch to live instead. I think it's unlikely but let's see.

What have been geo-blocked are the official TVP streaming links. The illicit streamers of course will still show it. The blocking is worldwide outside Poland, not just the UK, just like the BBC's i-player can't be watched legitimately outside the UK. Unfortunately this streamer has a habit of interrupting his feed and putting up blocking boxes that need to be cleared. This link should be more reliable: http://www.drhtv.com.pl/drhtv3.html

Obviously. If you can't put the mobile phone or stay away from the pc for a couple of hours you're in a pretty desperate situation. Is it really about being 'one up'? If so, how very sad. I regularly watch several things at once on the pc, taking the commentary on the event that I'm more interested in. When like on Monday there are two events that I want to focus on fully I simply watch one after the other. Is that such a difficult concept? It does seem that people make their lives complicated just for the sake of saying how complicated life is.... It is simple - watch one, record the other and watch it later, avoiding social media until you've watched both. Of course if that's too complex for you then nobody's stopping you screwing up your evening. It would be a shame if the Bandits suffered from such stupidity though.

I'm going to do something radical - watch one live and record the other!

A final thought on tonight's heroic performance by Mr. Harris. Given his reputation (normally away from GPs) of never giving up and also his success at Cardiff in 2007 can we sum his approach to racing as......."never say Dai?" I shall get my coat. (I feel your pain).