RobMcCaffery

I don't think that the riders have to race over those starts again four times unlike speedway riders. Aren't they separate? I can just imagine the state of the starting area in speedway after 20 heats of 4 riders going over a solid starting gate sitting in a trench......

On the same basis then how come the British immigration authorities paid attention to them then? As has been revealed from an authoritative source it's a bungle.

So were Reading. Plenty of others were and still lost their stadium. There's a difference between cautious optimism and blind faith. I hope you are right but I really can't see how given past experience.

This is what you see. Not everyone is necessarily so shallow and ageist.

Retaliation for the problems here last spring? Hopefully just a gesture by the aussies.

Goodbye Swindon and good luck. I suspect you are going to need it unless we see a stadium built in record time in a housing estate with an old people's home coming (still?) and by a developer which has a long history of false promises over building replacement stadia. This time I do hope I'm wrong. Had some good times there. It reminded me of Rayleigh, plus seats and the world heritage site on the back straight. I do hope it's not the end.

I'd suggest that that point of viability is long gone for most and that most 'promoters' are more accurately described as 'sponsors'. I hope that both Birmingham and Eastbourne have found that you don't need 'names' and their costs (tuners, flights, fancy vans, face-blowers, professional mechanics, endless spare engines and bikes) to run successful speedway. It would be good to hear from people involved at both what their views are of their first season shorn of these crippling costs. Is it still speedway for them and are they enjoying what they see? Attendances aren't good enough or we'd see a proper EL season that ran for more than 14 meetings and finished in October for most and not August! I suspect that many are finding out that while speedway might practically not be a £10 sport it certainly isn't an £18 one.

A very good season. Back then, anything under 26 and there were protests. I'd be very concerned if you did. Not surprising given the appalling state of the EL which can't even run a straight play-off final and apply the rules. PL's not perfect but at least it still has some integrity.

Still there between Thailand and Singapore last I looked ;-)

Hi Paul, I thoroughly agree with your point about early closing. It's certainly a long way from a 30+ meeting season at Hackney! Funny how not so long ago the British season ran to the end of October and the World Championship to early September. Now for too many it's the reverse. Sadly I can't agree over tonight's Rye House meeting. There were two full-time EL riders in that field but with six pairs, only 12 riders overall, as against 14, six of which were NL riders. Putting the price up in those circumstances is not on. What a way to see you supporters off for the winter! It's typical of thinking that has to change under the new ownership at Rye House. Treating the public as easily-conned mugs has to end in speedway.

Sadly Sky's approach to customers is rather like a fox with a chicken......

If it was your intention to start an intelligent discussion may I suggest that in future you avoid posting offensive rubbish to achieve this?

Such an expert that he doesn't know the difference between Central Park and Iwade.....Laughable.

Eurosport's lack of interest in the Swedish League rights was self-evident during the season and I will be relieved if they withdraw. Equally encouraging is the suggestion that BT Sport might be interested - their coverage of sport actually assumes that the viewer has a brain (okay, 'Fletch and Sav' is an exception) but in Darren Fletcher they have a man who knows speedway. I'd be fascinated to see such a high-quality broadcaster getting involved in our sport. It was Sky who set sky-high prices for watching football just so that footballers and their agents could wallow in the resulting cash bonanza. The easy answer to having to pay two subs is to ditch Sky. Through Virgin Media, getting BT has cost me £18 a month over my previous deal. That's far less than it would cost for me to take out a Sky sub. I do prefer quality to quantity and would be delighted if they got involved with our sport.

'Relatively' is a relative concept ;-) Agree though, the BEL Grand Final has rather destroyed much of the remaining credibility. It still fascinates me and I do love a good speedway meeting still but agreed, the last dregs of credibility are being strangled to death.

It's all about relativity. Speedway's relatively credible, relatively popular, relatively incompetent, relatively broke, relatively able to write a sensible rulebook. If only it were relatively ably to apply it....

To me the GP is like a handful of poor imitations of Wembley padded out by a load of Nordens....Quantity over quality.

Surely it's about what thousands of paying supporters want rather than sixteen riders, unless they wish to pay to race?

As I suspected, it's a case of honesty, fairness and credibility being sacrificed for selfish greed, complacency and in many cases sheer stupidity. It's a matter of right and wrong and for too many here they clearly have a problem with that. Still, your honesty isn't my problem. "Move along here, nothing to see". I suspect in the real world the sport's too scared to say to Sky "Oh, Poole might not be champions yet". Part of the sport's fundamental problem is a lack of credibility, guests being a very significant part of that. Fortunately few outside it take it seriously enough to notice this kind of fiasco - if they did we'd learn the true meaning of the word 'ridicule'. Clearly nothing's going to happen and that bulge under the carpet gets ever bigger. Can't anyone see the damage that's being done? Poole have their trophy but less and less people outside Dorset will care as the shoddy, stupid administration allows them to do whatever they like "In the best interests of speedway". Right now, I'm ashamed of my sport.

Ludicrous. Zagar's tactical ride was completely in accordance with the rules while Newman's ride was not. He should either have been excluded for attempting to race without goggles, which is against the published rules which all licenced officials (including riders) legally agree to abide by through taking out that licence, or he should have returned to the pits to put a pair on and accepted the two minute time allowance exclusion. Instead he chose to cheat by racing without. But then, he rides for Poole, so let's quietly forget it all, eh or ridicule those who point out the injustice eh? "They're all just Poole haters". Tell you what, let's just burn the rule book and get Poole's management to make all the decisions.... I was sickened by what I saw in the abandoned Coventry v Poole league match but that's nothing top what I've seen now. No matter how good the racing was the title's been won by a blatant cheat, recorded clearly and in full on TV. It's either incompetence or corruption. Has the SCB got the integrity to act?

So, where's the run-off going to be after the SCB take away Newman's points from Monday's heat 10? Coventry would be a home from home.

So Poole win by 2 points after Newman cheated at Belle Vue by racing without goggles to gain two points. I think we can be sure that incident will now be buried "in the best interests of speedway". How can a rider can get away with racing without goggles in order to avoid a crucial two minute exclusion and gain 2 vital points that turn out to be enough to win the league. It would make the sport a farce if only it were funny. But then that's just an inconvenient technicality, isn't it Poole fans? It's a shame because the Poole team rode well overall - I just cannot stand injustice, especially when it could have been easily avoided. A fitting finale to a shocking season.

I have seen the original plans for Smallmead and you were supposed to get a far better stadium, but huge compromises had to be made to even fit that timetable. I expect the final meeting at Blunsdon will be an individual, but wouldn't it be great to have one final M4 derby with the Robins against Reading and Oxford, even if against select teams? One final chance for the three sets of supporters to enjoy the lost rivalry....

What did I say about arrogance and complacency amongst certain Poole fans? Yet again Poole broke the rules and yet it's childish to object? Pathetic.

Some of you people really need to ease off on watching Eastenders..........