NOBBY

I've messaged a few of the old crowd who were on it before to let them know, and joined myself. Looking forward to some good discussions again. Notice I say discussions and not arguments !! Lol. One thing I do want to say though is another possibility that needs to be put forward about the closure of the old forum.....it could have been because the admin guys who ran it and moderated it where necessary ( and I believe there was originally just two fans who ran it ) may have come to the position in their lives whereby they could no longer spare the time. We all get to that at some time in our lives. It's worth thinking about and now the new one is up and running, it's probably best to leave the past in the past and move forward. See you all on the new forum. Not worth having an 'Ackney Sqwarks section mate......it won't carry that many posts !!! Lol

Surely it will be AJ, Pedersen, Nilsson, Swiderski, (either Kennett or Lawson) then Mear and Kerr ???

Non EL meetings in the past have been under the control of the BSPA (like the British under 21 final etc) and Lakeside promotion have no say in the matter. That is why Geoff doesn't do his bit on those nights. I agree with you though and hope that the presentation is just as good as normal.....I'm also hoping some nostalgic stuff can be done to get the old Hawks fans to come along regularly at Lakeside (even though I am a West Ham speedway Old Boy ) but starting the meeting with some music like the Magnificent Seven would be a good idea, as would some specific rider jingles for when they win important heats etc. I must admit I am really looking forward to seeing the NL team this season.

So it's not just Danish Riders that are competitive to the extreme...it's the fans as well !!!!

Well so far Scott has scored a paid win and in his second ride was a non starter so I assume the reason for this thread is behind why he didn't make it to the tapes for his second ride. No sense really though in such a comment against a rider unless an explanation or reason is given. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to push the blame on the team manager again is it !!!!! All for the sake of 3rd place and a losers Medal !!! That's what it amounts to....a 'LOOOOOOSERS' medal. The plain truth is, it doesn't matter who you put in place as team manager, we will never win the damn World Cup because we don't have a GB team of world class racers and we don't have any world class GB riders coming through to replace who we do have in Team GB !!!! Forget the manager, forget trying to put the blame on whoever is daft enough to take the job on....the blame lays (or lies !) with those in charge of UK Speedway in helping to train up our opposition every year instead of helping some new British blood come through !!!!

I bet the Gelsenkirchen dossier would make interesting bl00dy reading !!! It would probably be a bigger read than War and Peace !!!

While I am a little put out by the move of venue, I think this post sums up the real common sense of the change. Wheelchair users and also those who have other dificulties in getting around need to be given more thought and that is what the organisers have done...well done. I for one will be there, and anyone who wants to share a lift, out of our little crowd of Hammers supporters, will be more than welcome to join me.

According to today's Speedway Star, page 3, the headline reads..."Russin League in crisis".... To cut a long story short it would appear that because of the International Financial crisis the Russian speedway league could end up folding completely !! Salavat are to close down, it reports, due to sponsors pulling out. Balakovo are to continue but with far less financial backing, and as someone else has already stated on here, the 'breakaway' Ukrainian league could mean the loss of another club, Chervonograd, and that would leave the Russians a league of only 3 !! And we were worried about the 9 team Elite League. Could it be the first pin prick in the bubble of riders big pay days away from the UK ???

Is there any chance of someone putting the results on here...I won't hold my breath for the BSPA to put any results up, even though they are supposed to be all up for developing young British riders !!! Yeah Right !!! It would be nice to know and I dare say very encouraging for the young lads them selves to get some credit somewhere for trying to make the grade.

Was it tasty Shazzy !! what is it, a new French cullinary delight ?? Oh dear !!! I must admit I didn't read through all the posts !!! I'll do a hundred lines of ' I must pay more attention'...sorry Shazzy !! Even so, my last statement still stands about top marks to the RFL for looking after the fans interests. Please take note Mr. Bellamy !!

I have heard that the Rugby League Authorities, the RFL, are moving the Millenium Magic weekend to Edinburgh next year because of the way fans were ripped off in Cardiff this year. It was mentioned apparently in an official statement by the RFL. They have been working behind the scenes on deals for people in Edinburgh and have got gaurantees on such things as hotel prices and availability for the weekend from many sources. I'm not saying move the GP from Cardiff, but it's nice to see a sports authority getting involved in fair play for the paying customers and basically saying enough is enough. Couldn't really see the IMG/BSI doing anything to stop the speedway fan getting ripped off left, right and centre, could you ????

It's already at 'silly stage' if two grown up adults can't get together, talk sensibly and sort out their differences. A team thrives on team spirit and team work just as much as it does on adrenalin and ALL the team need to be pulling together and helping EACH OTHER out, especially when backs are against the wall like they are with Team GB at the moment. If they are going to stay like a couple of kids at loggerheads with each other then for christ sake get shot of them both and give some new riders chance to prove themselves for the future. It is as much Jim Lynch's job to work on team spirit and team work as it is the riders and if he can't sort it out quickly then he is not bthe right man for the job. I would rather see us lose on Thursday with some new riders that can start to bond together for the future than lose with the ssame old faces and stories of riders not getting on together and not getting on with the job in hand !!!!

I take it that you saw it on Youtube then...we were all caught by surprise that night. Should I fear reprisals on my next visit to Wimpborne Road then !!!!! What heat did Bjarne go from 4th to 1st, I was probably watching the airplanes flying over or queueing for a cuppa, both of which were far more exhilliarating than what we originally went there to watch !!! Or was it after heat 19, as we left early because at that point the M6,M1,M25 journey home was beginning to sound quite exciting compared to heats 20 to 25 !!

I agree about the rip off programme....semi glossy paper that doesn't really lend itself for writing on with the scorecard, silly small space to write heat times, no separate boxes for cumulative scores, space available for writing any subs names in for heats 10 to 16 was tucked away in the middle binding of the 'overpaged programme' and was too small a space in the rest of the heats anyway, very poor design of the most important part of any speedway programme....by now you would have thought that they would have got it right, but no, the attitude is give them a mini glossy magazine full of crap and they will pay a silly amount for it...more luvvly lolly in the bank !!! Photo's ...good, but we've seen them all before...reading material...generally good, but we've read it all before !!! How about something new and innovative ? Presentation of the meeting was IMO very poor. All the faffing around positioning the managers on the bend so that the riders knew where to stop after the long winded and drawn out ride round the track .... all the waiting to get on with it...most near us on the back straight were getting agitated and wanted to "just get on with the bl00dy racing" as one fan shouted out !! The PA system was rubbish and you could hardly hear it on the back straight...We got lost because of this as to when Jokers were being played as it was only really clear to the TV audience and those on the bends and home straight as to when it was happening...it was not clear at all to those on the back straight. The track looked to me like it was as smooth as a baby's b**.....and I doubt it will be the same for the Craven Shield Final when Lakeside go there, it will be like the Brandon track that I have always witnessed on my visits, but last night it looked like a typical GP track surface. It didn't even look like the gates were ripped up like they were last time I went there for an EL meeting. Racing.........almost all processional and very boring. We actually left after heat 20 as we couldn't bare the pain of watching Team GB get such a humping and we couldn't take any more boring races. Food....passable, but thank God we went to the Pizza hut first !! Too many hangers on with their 'look at me' SWC jackets on, swanning around like a load of luvvies telling paying fans what they could do and what they couldn't, where they could or couldn't go and giving out the 'this area is just for us and you are not entitled to be there' attitude. I expect a little disruption when the TV camera's are in town, but for Christ sake give us our proper speedway back !!!! Now I dare say there will be many who will rip what I have just said to shreds, but it is my opinion and I accept you have yours, but if this sport is going to be taken into a successful future then basics like I have mentioned need to be looked at and improved greatly...and I haven't even mentioned how far behind we are with regards to rider standards for Team GB either. I think it's the first time that I have ever left so early and so disillusioned from a speedway meeting since I started going in 1965 !!!

A bit unfair in my opinion, surely if he came from a broken home he should have been given some sympathy and help !!!!!

Setting off tomorrow morning on a 7:40 am flight to Dusseldorf Weese with two of the lads ( advance party of 3 on reconnaissance mission out of 12 in total )...so it's a Pub Crawl from Weese to Gelsenkirchen tomorrow and should arrive at the hotel in time for Happy Hour !!! Or should that be Very Bl00dy Happy Hour !!

Tickets stated 7:30pm engines start...now does that mean the Harley Davidsons engines starting in order to bring out and introduce the riders in a long winded drawn out eight slow laps of the track and then drop them off at the start so that they could be re-introduced to the crowd and then amble back to the pits. Or did it mean the riders engines start so that we could actually watch some ***** speedway having stood there for almost two hours. As for the referee, could he not find a hotel to stay at ??? he seemed to want to stay at the track all night. He certainly wasn't a Frank Ebdon trained official. Why let the riders go back to the pits for about two to three minutes every time there was a race stoppage. On the occasions that a rider was excluded, he waited until that rider walked back to the pits from the opposite end of the track before he even put the two minute warning on...Why ??? if the rider wasn't coming out and could not be replaced why wait so long ??? It was almost 11:00pm when the meeting finished and of course getting out of Brandon was always going to take time....still, there isn't much traffic apart from lorries on the M1 /M25 at 1:00am is there thank God !!!!!! Meeting was great though and a fantastic track as well....compliments must go to all the track staff and the track curater. I've always liked Coventry ...brilliant stadium.

Probably so that the stall that was there selling merchandise could charge £15 for an air horn that you could normally buy for £9 at most Elite League tracks !!!....and other such overpriced stuff !!!

Far from it Parsloes....and the sooner they get back to that side of the river the happier we will all be !!! In fact Kent would be too close for me !!! Now I bet you can't guess who I support !

Does anyone know when the next issue is due out ? AND Has a date been fixed yet for the annual pilgramage to High Beech, Epping for the VSM day in February ???

That reminds me...Do you remember Nev Slee at West Ham? He used to leg trail. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The name rings a bell, but the memory ain't what it used to be. Was he a second half rider or did he ride for the Hammers ?? I think I remember him but didn't he only appear now and again ??

I can't really say, but I remember seeing a few riders leg trail now and again even in the sixties. Christer Lofqvist used to fly round the bend with his leg back sometimes...not all the time, but he was a bit of a daredevil and a complete blood and guts showman. I suppose it depended on how flamboyant the rider was. Failing that maybe the photo was taken just before he "stacked it" and the leg trail wasn't meant ?? That will be one mystery that I doubt could ever be solved.

Well done mate...mystery solved. I'll have to find another one now to keep us all busy. Cheers Nobby

Thanks guys for the help, maybe I won't get to the bottom of the race jacket mystery, but at least I know more about the man himself. I suppose there is a slim chance that he may have guested for either Norwich or Wimbledon and it wasn't recorded officially, or raced in a friendly meeting, who knows. Stranger things happened in those bygone days !!! Thanks again. Best regards, Nobby