westhamboy66

One of my boyhood heroes at West Ham, who could forget that smile. RIP Tony.

What you say is correct but what you don't seem to understand is the high percentage of floating supporter that Kent attract, lots like me are Rye House Fans coming to support National League and many From Lakeside doing the same. It is those who you stand to lose and if that happened your local team would be no more. Equally you should understand that as a Bank Holiday there are many meetings to see and a lot of people were leaving early to visit other tracks. 70 minutes for 7 races is unacceptable. Had the meeting not dragged on i would have gone to Coventry to watch Lakeside my local club and in similar circumstances next bank holiday i will go elsewhere, Kents loss not mine.

Today was a disgrace in more ways than one. Jack Kingston came right though the fence in front of me missing the airfence by two panels. He was clearly very shocked and battered. He was down for a very long time but no ambulance on track. Eventually he was prompted to get to his feet which looked like a terrible decision as he was so unsteady and ashen faced. Almost immediately he collapsed. About another fifteen minutes passed still no ambulance on track and they picked Jack up again he still looked awful and by now was being administered oxygen, he was made to stagger the length of the back straight and into the pits being supported and still on oxygen. At the pit gate Len Silver was ranting as he explained on the phone to Roger Cearns that the Ambulance staff would not take the Ambulance onto the track as the entry over the dog track was unsafe for their vehicle. Apparently damage to the underside of the ambulance had taken place before. Silver wanted to know why the Ambulance staff didn't take a stretcher out and also asked for keys to unlock the access gate on bend two which would provide access for the ambulance onto the dog track but this never happened. Robert Henry was unhappy that racing would continue if the Ambulance could not get to the track, inexplicably the meeting continued with total disregard to rider safety. The track was awful with so many incidents and an experienced rider like Danny Halsey having two big incidents when all alone. Major concerns from Len Silver that they wouldn't beat the six oclock curfew almost prove correct. I don't pay money to watch racing on such a poor track with the riders safety seriously being put in jeopardy. I don't blame anyone who walked out Frankly the referee who presided over this debacle should also be ashamed of herself. One final thing who was the moron who chose to dump water on the track while Jack Kingston was being treated causing consternation from other track staff that led to a row amongst themselves What a poor advert for speedway this was.

Pointless thread, PL is the Premier League for speedway. I look forward to seeing every club coming to Rye House i wish there were more local clubs to us to liven things up like in the days of Mildenhall and Hackney.

Not sure if its general apathy or just disappointment that no changes have taken place. With the lineup we got everyone need to be on their game. For me four of the seven are above criticism at the moment but the two Jason's and Simon Lambert have been poor. I don't think Peterborough are that great and had the luck on tuesday night been equally divided Newcastle would have got something. I expect us to win but at the end of the day changes still need to be made and i don't mean just outing Lambert as a scapegoat things run deeper than that

Few Pics from British Semi Final at Rye House https://www.flickr.com/photos/harryward/sets/72157644467421804/

Surely that bandwagon is full by now. On a more serious all home advantage should be removed so lets either get the fours out of Peterborough or make sure Peterborough aren't in it

Good to see Tai back at Hoddesdon, did all he had too, well done to Steve Boxall hope he gets a boost from tonight and a very impressive performance from Lewis Blackbird.

How do you arrive at Tai spitting his dummy? Never mentioned his engines so that is an assumption. World Champion he may be but he is still a kid who has had to put up with so much more than a youngster of similar age. A bit of support for our first World Champion wouldn't go amiss. As far as what is inside his head nobody knows. He's not the first World Champion that has had a bad season after winning the title and he won't be the last. Chin up Tai. Always welcome back at Hoddesdon.

Great meeting for the PL. Comfortable win only because the luck went one way. Well done Newcastle who fought to the end and deserved some reward for all their effort. Superbly prepared track and good to see a decent crowd despite sky Pat on the back for the Promotion

His accident at Kings Lynn was terrible luck, he broke his leg at Rye House, a simple crash that saw him slide off gracefully into the fence only to be hit by another fallen riders bike, awful luck 99 times out of a hundred a nothing crash. His career has been blighted by terrible luck but what he really needs is a run in a team to get back to where he should be. Lovely to watch around Rye House and great to have in the team for some big away scores. I reckon i speak for all to say he would be welcomed with open arms at Hoddesdon

What with all his accidents and team moves etc i don't think Adam is quite the rider he was when he was with us, that said if he could fit in in place of Jason Bunyan i wouldn't hesitate with a fresh face replacing Simon Lambert whose time is probably up

Takes a lot of courage to realise and then admit that you have a problem, thats the first step of many needed to get well. Best wishes for the battle ahead

Couldn't agree more Humphrey, trouble is no matter how many disasters, how many errors or poor judgements from BSI they won't be criticised to any realistic level by anyone from Speedway Star. Strange bedfellows but then again the Star and the BSPA have a similar relationship. Basketball that great Polish sport etc etc You may well be right but given what BSI have done to British Speedway then the Poles should consider themselves lucky

The Darcy Ward that i observed at the Lee Richardson memorial at Arena Essex was a perfect Gentleman signing Autographs and posing for photos unlike his fellow countrymen and all round nice guys Holder and Crump who chose to run through their fans as they couldn't be bothered to stop for five minutes. Unless you actually know someone its impossible to form an opinion of whether they are nice or not surely. On track i agree he is the best rider in the world by a very long way.

I doubt this call off had much to do with the weather. The Scunthorpe side i saw at Ipswich were pretty poor and should have been fodder for even an average Rye side. That really says it all as i think the Promotion are running scared believing that defeat even against a mediocre side was on the cards. I know its easy taking a swipe at the team but my God i cannot remember a team so devoid of ambition. I liken it to the team that followed after the title winning team of 1980. For me only Kennett and Bowen are worth their places along with Boxall if he were a second string not a heat leader. The rest sadly are simply not up to scratch. Major work is needed on the team not just a replacement for Simon Lambert.

If Jason Garrity got anymore TLC from Len Silver he'd be in nappies as for being a square peg in a round hole i suggest that will be the case wherever he goes. I remember some warning about him from Belle Vue supporters who predicted just what is happening now. As for cutting the mustard in the EL so he should riding against mainly NL riders. The draft is a nonsense and all it has done is ruin the PL with the need for guests left right and centre For me Jason Bunyan has never been anymore than a poor second string since arriving at Rye, yes he's had injuries but he's only in the side as a cheap option. Funny with Olly rarely did we see that sort of fight from him last season. I have to laugh...i doubt it's any coincidence that Lykke, Mellgren, Aspgren were all left out of the side this year, high travel costing foreign riders replaced by English riders who came free. Given that example i doubt Linus would come into the plans plus it's not Edward that needs replacing . Doing away with the travel expenses has probably paid for the airfence but at the detriment to the team. At least Len didn't go cap in hand to the supporters for the airfence cost but it has written the season off before it's really started.

You have a bit of a downer on Rye eh? If you think Rye House have the worst facilities i doubt you have been to many tracks.

Depends who you believe with Richie, lots of fan pressure to remove him, company line suggested it was Richie who chose to go but i think he was pushed.

Kent v Kings Lynn https://secure.flickr.com/photos/harryward/sets/72157644201295334/

Is funny how the tall riders have so much more difficulty in riding Rye than the shorter boys. Riders like Ashley Pullen and Trevor O'Brien were made to look so much better in a similar way to Jason Garrity when on song. No doubt that Simon is in the side to boost the points on the bigger away tracks, so far only Peterborough of the big tracks have been visited and he didn't really impress there. Trouble is the way the team is set up you simply cannot afford to have anyone struggling. The other worry for me is that we are putting far too much pressure on Luke Bowen who is having to have six or seven rides home or away. Yes he is revelling in it at the moment but over time it takes its toll. Simon will continue to pick up more points in both the EL and NL than with us and the only difference in Lens mind if he replaced Simon might be the fact that Simon will continue to have a fair few meetings if he wasn't in the PL.

Better crowd than at Rye House the day before which was blighted by the weather. Decent first meeting but the track seemed very patchy after the watering. Only thing i missed from last year was watching Jack Kingston. Can't draw too much from this victory as i thought Kings Lynn were pretty poor. Having watched Luke at Rye for a season i think he is a much better rider than he showed yesterday give him time and i am sure he will come good. Shame no meeting next week and the next is another afternoon meeting as a bit of sun drying the track spoils the spectacle.

Well Simon still doesn't look too comfortable on a bike around Kent, yes he is scoring well but then again there was very little to beat yesterday. I hope he comes good as i like him a lot but i fear the clock is ticking even with the ultra patient Len in charge. If the right rider on the right average is available then i think a change will be made

Rye House v Ipswich https://www.flickr.com/photos/harryward/sets/72157644161288202/ Lakeside v Eastbourne https://www.flickr.com/photos/harryward/sets/72157644080174326/

Decent win i suppose but the score really flattered Ipswich. Its a long time since Rye had such a committed No1 and his efforts in heat 15 said it all. If Garrity does get back on song then we are one rider short of an ok team. Sadly Simon is going backwards i saw a lot of James Sargeant last year and he impressed me. If he's available i would jump at having him as i think one thing is certain he would be a better rider by the end of the season. As for Ipswich if Tungate and Heeps performed anywhere near their ability then they would be a pretty decent side.