Grachan

I remember going to a Reading Press and Practice day and they still only had half a team signed. They won the league that year. (Memory is a bit hazy, but I think they signed Todd Wiltshire between then and the opening fixture).

I love the bit where he picks up so much speed going into the bend that you hear the crowd let out a gasp.

I went to Amsterdam and it wasn't good. The problem wasn't the fact that it was 2 days or the quality of the racing, it was that - apart from the British section on bend 2 - the stadium was practically empty. Cardiff, sadly, was starting to go the same way so was bound to get dropped soon. This is yet another sign of the decline of the sport in this country. If the GP is going to be held at a league track, though, Belle Vue is the best choice. The GP will continue to decline, at least until all the World's best riders are allowed to ride in it. It's pretty meaningless at the moment. I can also say that, as one of many people who no longer have a home track to support, interest in the sport itself gradually fades away as the years pass. Time is a great healer.

I think this is sad, but inevitable. Last time I went to Cardiff the crowd was shocking, and with teams shutting down and the leagues shrinking, so the number of people going will also shrink. Cardiff never sold out, but it used to be pretty full until recently. Now there were more empty seats than occupied ones. GP now back to when it was held at places like Coventry and Hackney. Next thing we'll be back to one- off World Finals in Poland. Only positive about this is the Belle Vue track, but I'm not even convinced they can fill the stadium for 2 nights.

I can actually remember that match really well. It was one of the few matches that I enjoyed so much that I bought the video. This is from it. Andrew Silver in red.

Have to agree on Andrew Silver. Probably my favourite ever rider, although I sometimes think he could have been even better if he'd changed his style. I sometimes wonder if he rode in that manner deliberately because it looked so damn cool! He was a sensation for a few years at Swindon. To see him deliberately miss the gate on lane 4 and then cut under everyone on the first turn was one of the best things I've ever seen. Another one at Swindon was Shawn McConnell. Possibly a degree of style over substance but well worth it! He tended to finish second or third in races. I once saw him about to win a race and pull a massive celebration wheelie that was so big he got passed. He came second.

Is Kildemand any good these days? Who's next? Charlie Gjedde?

I wondered that myself so looked at the profile. It has no blue tick, but it's been there since 2016. Also he is followed by, amongst others, Darcy Ward, Jason Crump, Natilie Quirk and Chris Holder and Kelvin Tatum. It's also the only Dan Bewley account on X. I think it's genuine.

Let's all hope that those noisy Oxford fans keep quiet and "Dangerous" Vinnie Foord doesn't try too hard or interact with anyone. That way there will be no atmosphere so it will be a good advert for the sport.

It wasn't a terrible advert for the sport at all. It actually made it look interesting on TV for a change. I watched as a neutral, and found myself rooting for Oxford as the two meetings went on (Lord knows why!), but the way people are moaning about Poole actually having a bit of character and spirit is ridiculous. Do speedway fans really just want deckchairs, flasks and programme boards?

I actually thought he was less at fault for that one (where he was excluded) than for the first one (where he wasn't).

I don't think he has an awful attitude. It looked to me like the Oxford fans were giving him stick, and he was giving it back with a smile on his face. I like him, and I think he has a lot of potential. I do agree that he is a bit of a bull in a china shop at the moment, however, and needs to calm down a bit.

I think that was the ref's logic on the Foord/Killeen incident - that Foord was ahead. I never understand that logic though. Just because you are ahead doesn't mean you can't be at fault. Particularly if you are not clear in front but just technically ahead.

That's a very odd thing to say considering the bloke was a murderer.

That's weird that he has guidance from Norris. When he was interviewed I thought he reminded me a bit of him from the way he spoke.

Just got back from an alternate universe, where the Oxford Rebels held a 14 point lead going into the meeting after good use of Luke Killeen in the first leg. Oxford got off to a good start, having a 2 point lead following Foord's exclusion for "foul, dirty, absolutely outrageously disgustingly horrible riding" in heat 2. The Rebels kept the pressure on, and remained level on the night following Nicholl's perfect tapes-to-flag victory in heat 6. The Pirates started to edge away in the second half of the meeting, and were just 4 behind on aggregate going into the final heat. Sam Masters looked to be having bike problems, but a ray of light came down from Heaven and his bike seemed to be fixed miraculously by an act of God. Masters then clinched the required second place to give the Rebels a 2 point victory and win the League title. Congratulations to Oxford Rebels on their best campaign since finishing bottom of the league in 1974. Poole Pirates ha ha ha! Glug! Glug! Glug! Much better meeting than the Swindon v Coventry Eurosport bore-fest in the Elite League play-offs.

Looks like it's down to whether or not Oxford's top 2 can beat Brennan.

Interesting bit of commentary there. Vinnie Ford might have to borrow someone else's bike for his remaining rides. If you were a rider, would you lend him a bike?

He's certainly a bit of a menace, but the way he is makes me think that in a couple of years time he'll be brilliant.

Oxford are in danger here already. Poole are really fired up - perhaps too much so!

1st - Sky were the best by a long way. 2nd - BT Sport were also very good. 3rd - BSN do an admirable job, and are improving all the time but do make error i commentary and editing. 4th - Eurosport - I look at the coverage, and I think to myself... "Eurosport".

Oxford gifted that one to Poole. Very odd that they didn't use Killeen. Could cost them the league.

Suzi Perry was great, but probably under-appreciated at the time as she was still cutting her teeth in the business when she did speedway. When Speedway was on Sky, she'd be interviewing riders walking back to the pits after they'd been brought off. I remember Jimmy Nilsen saying he would get revenge on Joe Screen while stomping back to the pits. It's great telly. Now, if there's a crash, they cut to a bunch of over-60s eating their sausage and chips because they don't want to upset anyone. Also, instead of cutting to some interesting conversation between races, we get long shots of stadiums with a tractor going round or race-re-runs with repeats of the races to the same old music every time. Every time that comes on, my 6 year old complains that it's "that again" and that it's "boring". Kelvin does his best, but it is a lot to expect an ex-rider to carry the whole programme - and his self-confessed maths problem is a major flaw as it's pretty key in the context of a meeting that if you are 10 points down then two 5-1s aren't going to get you a draw. I must admit, I do find speedway on Eurosport a hard watch at times and don't always get to the end of a meeting. But it's Eurosport. It's always been poor for as long as I can remember. There is a lot of space between races at a speedway meeting. The key is how to fill those spaces.

Jack saying there exactly what I thought the first time I read about this. How can you throw a team sheet through a wire fence? Must have been one hell of a throw.

Because it's based on position in the meeting. I actually like the current scoring system. I wasn't sure at first, but now I think it's better than before. Sorry.