westhamboy66

Haven't missed a British GP and to be perfectly honest i wouldn't lose any sleep for it to be moved away from Cardiff. Half empty stadium, depressing city centre, hotels far too expensive, rubbish track that since it doesn't cut up has no overtaking. Far too costly and need to go back to a proper sized stadium. Why Wembley? There are several Football clubs with a 40000 capacity that could and would stage it. why not Hampden Park at least it's a Speedway City with a realistic capacity Cardiff has bee awful for several years just hyped up by sky and IMG

To be fare the season ticket issue you raise isn't really relevant is it. Not many people can afford to shell out for a season ticket nor can many others commit to making it to all meetings making a season ticket so it actually benefits very few

What does the Cook / Douglas pair do that Silver doesn't? For one thing unlike Silver they haven't provided a League winning septet once let alone twice in the last decade continually needing to borrow riders from other clubs So quite how are meetings run differently at other tracks compared to the way they were run 30 years ago. Not sure that i have noticed much difference at Eastbourne Ipswich Coventry Poole etc etc over the last 30 years. Riders are introduced, fifteen races take place the winners are paraded so what should he be doing as far as the meeting is concerned. The loss of the Rye House name to the NL team that has been well supported in the past has alienated a lot of the fans quite understandably. A pathetic calender filler for Cook whose EL business obviously needs proping up due to an inferior product As far as Rye goes Len has done lots right getting the stadium up to scratch with reasonable food free car park and somewhere to go when its cold. A far better prospect that a night out at Arena. Where he has really gone wrong the last couple of years is poor team building especially at reserve with very little coming through from NL level. Charging more than he should compared to other PL tracks and having the ability to do little to communicate with the customers via a poor website and even worse programme. This was acceptable as long as the Rockets were challenging for honours but our season was more or less over in may due to a couple of poor home meetings where our home advantage seems to be disapearing with the dirt that used to prove more than the current one racing line. Despite the fact i live less than 3 miles from Arena there is no way i would give Rye a miss for a night out at Arena. As far as the crowd levels improving year on year they could hardly dip to where they were with Mr Russell in charge could they.

Extended time at Rye did nothing to stop the likes of Kevin Smith, Marvyn Cox from becoming very good riders at International level. You could even argue that starting off in places like Peterborough Workington Berwick Sheffield etc has the same effect where the big track kids simply can't adjust to the many smaller tighter tracks. Put them on a tight slick track and they can't do four laps. But surely if you are the real deal you will become good enough on all tracks. It's a pity there are only one or two other Promoters who give the kids a chance in a similar way to Len Silver.

As normal the organisers seem happy with a half empty stadium rather than trying to entice a bigger crowd with lower prices. The trend continues at Cardiff and i suppose we will have another "record crowd" this year despite the the empty seats being more evident year on year. Will they never learn?

Spot on Only saving grace to this meeting was the efforts of Shawn McConnell and Eddie Castro. Both are to be thanked for their efforts at providing entertainment. Yes only a challenge match but the referee did his level best to make it a joke. thought at one stage i was at the Brighton bonanza with the all four back due to "crowd" opinion so why make Eddie Castro go off 15 when who cares that he touched the tapes. I suppose the playing of the magnificent seven and a couple of laps by Barry Thomas appeased the old Hackney supporters but the meeting in general made it unlikely that i will bother with further Hackney meetings if Eastbourne ar running at home. Fourteen quid lighter and a total mismatch in the name of Hackney Speedway...well for me this event did nothing for the image of Rye House Speedway and lets face it Rye House Speedway has suffered enough so far this season

Agreed. £10 with an £8 OAP would be about right. That way more people would be in and the more takings he would have over the bar etc. £12 plus £2 programme is the same cost for Scunthorpe v Rye House PL match (£13 + £1) which prove it's overpriced. It has nought to do with getting speedway back into London just another inflated price for a speedway meeting. They will never learn in pretty much the same way as the GP's have become a rip off and the crowds are falling year on year

Couldn't agree more Every point is correct Not sure about parsloes comments as i can see no flaw in what you are saying ...quite the reverse the regulars at Rye will give the hackney meetings a wide berth. I will go to see this one just to get another look at Ronnie Correy Eddie Castro and Shawn McConnell. After that it's off the Eastbourne for me if they are riding on Future hackney dates at rye. Ridiculously expensive for what it is

Ted Sear simply the best at his craft. Although i admit i am a traditionalist i have to say his style was perfection and he has been often immitated but never equalled. Think Craig is pretty good (nicknames apart) but i long for the day that races are introduced as printed in the programme red blue white and yellow. Sounds much more professional. I have no problem with lively presenters who make idiots of themselves but the announcer should be above the banter. Edwin Overland is particularly good but sadly since Teds day announcing has gone down the pan. The USA match should be pretty good and a decent way for the hawks to start their season. I reckon the on track entertainment should be pretty good

There's no bar on the second bend and any self respecting speedway fan knows thats the only place to watch from plus alcohol is the root of all evil and we all know that abuse of such a substance causes all sorts of problems!!!

True but when there is a double header at Rye I'd need to raise another mortgage so i tend to forget to take the missus, cuts the cost and i only have to get one portion of chips

Was looking at that meeting as well then onto to Eastbourne for the evening assuming it's run a bit quicker than our double headers. Only thing that puts me off is how cold it gets over there even during the day and if there is potentially a lot of hanging around my interest goes quickly followed by me leaving

Malcolm May i ask what you feel about such a record given that the third tier of racing was in effect a development league. With the inception of this tier was it ever believed that there would be riders who more or less spent whole careers in this standard of racing. Personally i think it's great when you see riders like Dean carrying on doing what they love doing but has it been a distraction from what the league was designed to do? I don't have thoughts other way as my choice of speedway watching is generally PL but as a Rye Supporter of course I have watched quite a bit of the Raiders Cobras and love a trip to mildenhall as well Good luck with the Book Harry Ward

If one rider would convince me to watch Hackney Meetings this year it would be Marc Owen Check his style here

25yearfan What you have to say on the subject is the important thing not who you are. From my perspective you have raised several valid and truthful points. For some obscure reason RMC wants to know your name. He attacked me both on the forum calling me a coward for hiding behind a nickname and in a private communication. I took exception he then sent me an abusive private message and then blocked me thus not allowing me my right to reply. Seems he is rather childish in that way. Sadly, but predictably, I had no support from the Forum administrators You obviously have an interest in what happens at Mildenhall and i for one am glad it's back and wish all those involved the very best of luck Don't be put off by the clique who feel they are better than you, it's just not worth it Harry Ward (Name added for the benefit of RMC)

Surely whether they pay rent or not is irrelevant? It's all about getting the punters through the door and these extreme prices will not do that If they can't afford to subsidise this level of the sport they shouldn't bother with it. After all they are supposed to be speculating to accumulate i.e find and benefit from new talent.

Agreed far too much for this level of the sport. Many complaints last year about the Rye House entrance fee last year and that was reflected in very poor crowd levels

Great News Looking forward to visiting in 2011

Hackney is Hackney no matter what spin you put on to the nickname Hated at Rye simple

Agree with the sentiments Fiala.I wish them well but wouldn't pay to watch them They have been the enemy since I started watching speedway and as such will remain so. I do hope that they are not involved in a PL/NL double header thus increasing the price as I would be reluctant to part with the extra cash for such meetings.

Don't agree there. Completely against the purpose of the league. I feel short changed when there are guests present. One of the main reasons our sport will never be taken seriously

To be honest I don't care if i go to Rye and see the Cobra's thumped every week. For me it's all about finding the next Edward Kennett etc.Yes he was an Eastbourne asset but he gained great experience at Rye. we also go a lot out of him when he progressed to the PL side and for me that's the whole point of Len running the Cobra's. Winning the league would be nice but i'll get a much bigger kick out of watching another new talent coming through. I can understand the standalone teams wanting to be ultra competative but for me the biigest concern of recent years have been a distinct lack of natural progression to the Rockets team. I still maintain that if other promoters had the foresight of Len silver British Speedway would be much healthier. Having said all that rather than have a few Free entry meetings I'd prefer a more realistic pricing for the NL as currently it is too expensive for what it is

Have been to vojens several times and stayed in a local best western. very expensive and don't forget there is nothing in or local to vojens. couple of nice white churches few expensive hotels and a lot of grass personally as i drive there i tend to stop in flensburg on the german border and its an hours drive. I would suggest that if you have a car at you disposal (or a van) rented from a local airport that would be the best bet. If you really want to stay in vojens try www.booking.com that allows you to select your own parameters like cost location etc. sorry cant be more helpful Harry

I fear that vey few Speedway books written about a life in the sport are worth reading, For me notable exceptions are Len Silvers Book. Tommy Janssons book and the Ivan Mauger effort which is not only well written but factually fantastic. If you really want to read rubbish then I can endorse Hammerin' Around by Brian Belton