spook

*cups ear*

so the press releases say

how on earth have I repeated you? you are saying that the ref may have been changed because Nicki pushed for it I am saying that it is irrelevant if he pushed for it or not...... and in fact he should know not even to try because there is no way on this planet that the GP's should be run like that so if we are talking about the rights and wrongs of pushing then im sorry but it is not in Nicki's favour if he is........ and Leigh is the one with the correct attitude!....... and if one's opinion was to be trusted more than the other who exactly should that be? In my world it isnt the person who shouts loudest what strange discussions we have on here sometimes!..................... doesnt it just prove how twisted this sport has become?

I cannot believe you have said this Iris Leigh has been the top league rider of his profession alongside Jason Crump and Tony Rickardsson for the last 10 years+ ............. look through the GB, Swedish and Polish combined averages ................ without mentioning armchairs or mildura the guy really is class personified.............. he is also a respected voice of reason........... You are correct that Leigh doesnt have what Nicki has... but that is double edged.......... Nicki takes risks and puts himself right up peoples noses on and off track and this always has downsides.......... as posted elsewhere my opinion is that he was caught out riding the man and not the track as he has been consistently doing so far this season........... if a rider is doing that then they will end up at some point in a situation where they are excluded ........... Leigh Adams could be accused of the opposite.... not being hard enough........... The fact that Leigh doesnt go off crying to people is because he is built this way and he knows that within the rules of the sport there isnt much that can or perhaps more importantly SHOULD be done........please ask yourself first of all why Nicki feels that he may get somewhere if he does go crying to Ole/FIM? Surely if as a rider he knows that nothing can and should be done he wouldnt even bother? Could it perhaps indicate that something has been bent before? Maybe several times? There should be no appealing about something and there should certainly be no interference from the FIM unless for very good reason............. if they saw fit to appoint the ref in the first place then I see no reason whatsoever to change that and in doing so they only make something fishy

I think you are talking about sponsorship money there Mark tbf here although money is a factor and very little seems to be given to our national representatives it isnt the main issue for me even if all the guys pay the same money they would have chucked at engines/tuning for the world cup into the collective team pot instead and then the team GB management invest that as wisely as they can..... then it has to be a step up on what we have had..............especially if we suddenly have a technical guru .......... are we even sure that some of our guys havent purchased anything primarily for the world cup in the past? (ie this old engine might do a job..... maybe i'll get away not retuning....... I can get several more uses out of that carb.....etc) Could we blame them if they are expected to fit all the bills? As pointed out in the opening post come SWC time the poles go crazy with machinery and win bonuses........ the danes never fail to turn out with top class machinery...... and the swedes and the aussies although have had a mixed bag in recent years know what is required and have been there done it............................. we just do not appear to be on the same level when it comes to it

that is very true.... however it would be easier to find guys with the experience from Finland and Italy to name just two off the top of my head............... that is not to say that they wont be having more representation in the GP's but it is to say that they dont currently... and they certainly are not from one of the major nations and it just so happens that Armando Castagna is already in the FIM and I believe last season was responsible for the world U21 competitions In actual fact the quoted report mentions nothing about Ole Olsen and only mentions 'FIM' ....... read into that what you will .....but I translated the name 'Ole Olsen' as he is a master at ducking and diving.......................... even ignoring this issue....... in fact even ignoring anything that smelled fishy around Ole in this job (and there has been a lot!) ........... speedway has an undesirable history of dodgy goings on that is going to follow it for some time now until memories fade............. that is not going to happen while there is a guy in a position of power where he can seemingly do whatever he likes....... and is from one of the top speedway nations................. it makes no sense and for the record yes I agree that a British ref shouldnt have reffed that meeting............. however and heres the thing with this particular issue......... Olsen/FIM have just publically pulled down the ref's pants in front of everyone over what? Over a very close decision......... no sport replaces an official over decisions that were close.... they replace them over outrageous decisions where impartiality and eyesight are being discussed Maybe it wasnt Ole and it was this guy called 'FIM' ....... maybe the ref is feeling under pressure from this militant danish group on facebook ( ) ......... maybe speedway is as squeeky clean as can be and always has been in the GP's ................ maybe the people running the GP's do everything in their power to protect the name and integrity of the competition

I'd love Greg to have another title in him but as great as he still is I cant see it happening sadly..... who knows this season could have plenty more suprises ..... I feel we have the most open field we have for ages..... what a shame that the tracks arent being given to them to match that

ah the 'hammy wrestler type' .......daft argument? no not at all....... actually I havent seen this discussed much on this forum but yes I truly believe that he does ham it up for the cameras and the media............. the guy has no issue with the camera on him and has a catalogue of incidents where he has exploded when the camera has already been on him for some time following an incident or the decision of that incident......... I believe the relevant saying is 'any publicity is good publicity' His stories on the SGP site are usually dripping in one controversial comment or another..... how great he is or how hard done by he is .............. and then in the true unbelievable style of wrestling we had the Nicki and Ole sparring story last season and they both contributed to the pure theatre It is actually something that I like in the guy and something that the sport is sadly bereft of............. im one of those guys who feels almost naseous when I flick through the sports channels only to see a heaving stadium crowd being entertained by a wrestling act which is so fake it isnt even close to looking like the real thing.................. this is theatre pretending to be sport and yet it has a huge amount of fans while it doesnt appeal to me for speedway to become the latest victim of the americanisation of this country I would most certainly tolerate it (and secretly enjoy some of it!) if riders adopted hammed up 'characters' and the fans and money started rolling in however, and this is the point I was making (I think) ............. he (or his fans) cannot have it both ways....... if someone comes out with the stuff he does at such a sustained level then when they have made a prized pratt of themselves people are obviously going to point and laugh......... isnt that human nature and all part of the grand theatre that he buys into?

he certainly does! as it now appears he did for Nicki as well Lets hope Mr Lyon is reading this then or people who can point him towards it are and something becomes of it

I still think that the chicken wire fence is the best first step towards an air fence................. when the subject of air fences is brought up everyone straight away starts talking about money....even though the overall finances of a speedway club ultimately make this a minimal price No one can say however that in a 3 year plan towards an air fence where the club can save up..... that a chicken wire fence cannot be installed cheaply When setup correctly these fences, while they are no air fence, they are still a damn site safer than wood or block fence............ they 'catch' the rider.... and the wooden supports holding up the wire should shatter on impact

yes hats off to them but lets not use that as a reason to burn the others at the stake speedy den boy as has already been stated in this thread ...... the guys lost upwards of 1k doing this meeting............ since when did/have you had 1k to blow on one day before you turned 21? It is far too easy to blame the riders here when the fact of the matter is that the amount being offered to the riders to represent their country leaves them badly out of pocket ................... I thought it was an honour to represent one's nation .... not a financial punishment!

tbh thats not a subject im all that interested in ........ I know what I saw and I know what I have seen since he came into the GP's......and likewise with Greg.... likewise with Ole...... refs ...... etc etc.............. I should imagine it is the same for others now if your own personal agenda of trying to lump Greg in results in a weak argument then expect people to bring you up on it........ if then you dont feel like putting your point across and instead you want to try to silence me over a topic that you started then expect me to have a bit of a laugh at that............. where are you going with this now? Are you appealing to me that Nicki is hard done by? He was excluded correctly imo He has been a liability on track in his earlier career and unlike others who have done this and mellowed...... he has decided to go back to it He is great entertainment to watch in the pits and on the phone to the ref........ tbh im not sure he realises just how entertaining some of the things he says actually are (but not in a way he would like to be known for).......... but ultimately this 'entertainment' comes at a price because he is now the very image of the little boy who cried wolf While he was busy having his tantrum he decided to put his season in even more jeopardy than he already just had with his old wolf/young wolf on track agenda and ended up breaking his finger! now seriously i'll ask you again .....how on earth did you think people would react to this news ....... especially after his whimpering about taking a holiday? It is one thing liking him but fully in the knowledge of what he actually is...... and it is something entirely different to being a fan of the guy to the extent where you cant see a word printed about him which may actually highlight one of his inadequacies.... and that isnt apathy

please dont shout at us sadly it does appear that his % game has become way too cautious and he is in serious danger of scoring very few points over all 3 temporary tracks if he takes the same attitude to Parken and Cardiff I like Leigh Adams ....... and there are aspects of Scott Nicholls that I like but I wonder how realistic the scenario is of one or both of them pulling out of the GP's over the next month?

oh i'm sorry I wasnt aware that the priority was you having the last word lmao (wth?!) please remind me next time when i'm not allowed to respond to what you post thats very odd behaviour 21st CH!

the temporary tracks are the temporary tracks and not only so they bring the stadium atmosphere but they also historically have paid the organisers handsomely........ all good so I dont understand why the other two thirds of the GP fixtures are ruined when the reality is that those tracks should see far better racing............. and I dont understand why we have a block of 3 temporary surfaces at the height of summer when 2 of those stadiums could actually be quite handy in the slightly wet parts of the season............. the latter seems quite odd to me...... the previous there is no excuse for

its too late by that point In fact I should imagine its way too late already...... its most likely something that would need a bit of time to get sorted

the trouble is that whether their intentions were/are good when coming into the job or not it ultimately just becomes waffle.............. Lynch did not field a radically young team..... in fact he didnt field anymore of a youthful team than picked itself anyway.... with the possible exception of picking Tai although it could still be argued that the decision made sense considering the form of others................... he did however continue the policy of encouraging the young squad members to be present after they werent picked............ but lets face it other nations have been doing this for years Rob Lyon has immediately indicated that the keyword is youth and yet do we really expect him to pick any other team than Rico, Harris, Nicholls + 2 youngsters who will most likely be Ed + Lewis/Tai???................... as much as i'd love to see a policy of only one of Rico or Scotty make it I just cant see it happening...... which begs the question of how is the likely team going to be any more about youth than if the manager was someone who wanted to go for experience? Ultimately the team picks itself this season They have been talking about youth because their situation and choice has been dire and 'youth' sounds good as a plan b doesnt it?.....imo we are yet to see it really being about youth and the BSPA backing that up....... it is a good job that the youngsters have been riding well because the team we would have if they hadnt doesnt bare thinking about the real nuts and bolts of the whole 'youth' thing doesnt lie with a couple of GB Managers PR offensives ................ it lies with the promoters and their agendas ............. I remember being told by a certain announcer that the BSPA had great things lined up for grass roots level.............. it turned out to be a few training sessions........................ From where we are at the moment I would describe 'great' as sensible assessed averages that didnt encourage asset hunters and those looking for riders to put 2,3,4,5 points on their average.......... a staggered 5 year plan of protected reserve slots in the PL and EL for British riders.....and eventually protected 2nd string slots in the PL as well........... national representation budgets that show that the end result actually matters - at the moment the bspa are pretending that they care what happens with these riders and teams representing us and no doubt they would be outraged if no rider bought into it anymore - but who would blame the riders if that was the case? and if they cant even do the right thing at PL and subsequently EL levels how do we expect them to work their way down to bringing the right funding and encouragement to those only just starting out? I started a thread in the GP section a while back asking who did the tuning for which national team because come SWC time we appear to be the only nation not set up collectively...... with once again it being about the rider sorting themselves out regardless of what their own personal financial situation is...................... Is it any wonder that we have results like the last two finals when we dont have the organisation, backing and support that the other nations benefit from? Who in the BSPA is currently courting Ash Holloway to see what kind of deal they could get for the whole team to be setup? Has Peter Johns ever been asked? Something convinced Brian Anderson to work with Bomber a couple of seasons ago ... if it was money would he be too expensive for a 2 week project like this? I understand that we do not have the money that the Poles have .... or probably the advertising that the swedes or danes have (why is that?) ..... but I do not believe that we should be any different to the Aussies and yet the reality is that we are

isnt this one of the issues though? How much power do these guys actually have? Is everything still done on a complete string budget? Didnt Peter Oakes have to pay for race bibs out of his own pocket a few years ago? tbh i'd like to know where this large volume of people saying 'lets develop the youngsters' have been because I havent been hearing it...... and its obvious that its not there to be seen with the exception of a few clubs (well with british youngsters anyway!) .......... the promoters have no intentions of putting together attractive budgets for our national representatives which is at least on a par with other nations...........let alone being interested in bringing them on at league level this farce has been going on for far too long ...... I cant see it changing soon while so much is being invested into danish, swedish and aussie youngsters because of assessed averages and the asset system

shocking news and it is hard to comprehend the challenges ahead of him now I agree with Ghostwalker that all future official world meetings should take place using an airfence............ in fact I really do think we have reached the point where there is just no excuse for a lack of an airfence full stop......... speedway is not cheap to promote and in the grand scheme of things 15k is not the end of the world.......... its certainly cheap if it helps to stop things like this

I hate to point this out but the only person Emil is a challenger to currently is Jason I know what you are saying though blazeaway and I predicted this to happen before the gp's started......... who was going to play an 'old wolf/young wolf' game with Emil? I suspected Tomasz ....... but no it seems like he like most of the older guys are going to turn the other cheek for the moment........... the only person to go right out of his way to play this pointless game has been Nicki....... but although he does seem very interested in taking it to Emil in particular it seems everyone is fair game to Nicki......... it is a throwback to his on bike attitude in the early 00's going back to Jason...... here we had someone ultra fast, ultra competitive but also fully respectful of the track surface and the potential for disaster that it could cause for his whole season....... the guy was not going to take chances and played things cleverly......benefitting from some luck along the way....... and the true test of this was in the final rerun where after leading for the majority of the race he decided not to try to stop Emil....... that his season was more important than the final compare that with Nicki and there is a large difference in maturity and stress levels

sorry but that is just plain disrespectful! He is a guy who was there to be counted ................. if you have an issue with the strength in depth that we dont have then maybe you should point yourself in the direction of our union jack flying promoters

love your flag waving but sadly I think you are well wide of the mark all of those guys are great on their day and on paper it would have been a strong lineup.... however 1) if my auntie had balls she'd be my uncle and 2) our youngsters are just not equipped in the same way.......... they are relatively short of experience of not only travelling but also international meetings and more importantly financial backing from their own federation they are experiencing the first steps of what will become an all too familiar story for them if they take the leap to the national team and world championship level racing because they will be on their own the whole way.......... unlike the other top 4 nations (maybe we should make that 5 now the Germans are joining the party?) Congrats to Germany

tbf the camera had been on Nicki for a long period ... in fact as soon as he had got off the track and before he had found out what the decision was...... we had cut back to other footage a couple of times and cut back to him....... and then finally they showed us recorded footage of Nicki kicking the towelling roll Greg's tantrum happened as soon as he got back to his pit if one of them wants to be a showman off the track and is happy to ham up his anger for the camera while the other is embarrased enough to want to hide it from the camera ..... realistically what do you think the reaction is going to be when the fans find out that the hammy wrestler type managed to break a finger with his tantrum?

I know exactly what you are saying and to some extent I agree .......... but the issue here is also that with the exception of Hans Nielsen none of them rode a laydown engine.............. imo the laydown can make the most green novice look like an expert ... whereas the upright seemed to create a large gap between the expert/proficient and the rest who quite frankly just wobbled............. I remember PL 2nd strings who still hadnt mastered the bike............. so those guys listed above I guess had a far harder task in mastering the bike anyway Ive always been fascinated by Nicki's style and have found it interesting that we are now seeing the odd youngster come through with a similar style......... notably Ed Kennett...... although I dont feel that he skates across in the same way that Nicki does...........I vaguely remember his uncle having a not too disimilar style as well I said recently in the context of Olsen's track prep that the history books will lie ....... I wouldnt go as far as to say that NickiP shouldnt have been world champion because his win in 2003 was thoroughly deserved........ and he is a modern 'great' ....... but sadly recent years have been a world gating championship and speedway without dirt is an entirely different sport LOL he certainly got a nice slice of 'world champion luck' the other night...... but it also has to be said that he rode a very clever and mature meeting