Grachan

Where do you think riders of the standard of the current NL riders rode in those days? They rode in the NL. There were also some more regular journeymen riders too, at the top end of the sides. I'd say it was somewhere between the standard of the current PL and the current NL. But certainly riders of the standard of the current NL would have been in the NNL/NL, yes. It would have been of the standard of current NL and current PL full timers that don't double up. Plus a couple of big prospects - say Robert Lambert standard if they got lucky (eg like they did with Collins and Lee). There were more decent British prospects around there, but it was just a feeder league to them.

Because they were 16. (Lee was above 9, though, even at that age, and Peter Collins' 1971 Rochdale average was 9.80) http://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/678

Won with Reading in 1973 too. He was in the Swindon side during my first season watching in 1974.

Not in the Swindon team, anyway!

Bob Humphreys. I've changed it now.

Heat 8 Proch, Jansson, Anderson, Hunter (ef) 71.4 1-5 21-27 Into Tactical Territory now!! Come on Swindon. You can do this. Reading boooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Heat 9 - Ashby comes in to replace Bobby McNeil Ashby, Bouchard, Bell, Davis 70.6 (Programme note by me: Ashby team rode) 5-1 26-28 Not over yet, by a long chalk! Heat 10 - Jan Andersson comes in for Norman Hunter Ashby, Leigh, Andersson, Humphreys 71.2 4-2 30-30 Heat 11 - Jan Andersson comes in for Cliff Anderson. Kilby, Jessup, Andersson, Jansson 70.0 4-2 34-32 YES YES YES YES!!!! Heat 12 Ashby, Davis, Bouchard, Proch (Humphreys ex tapes) 70.8 My totally unbiased and thoroughly objective programme note - in big letters - "NEVER. Geoff beat Davis. Wrong Result) 4-2 38-34 Heat 13 Jessup, Kilby, McNeil, Leigh 69.8 3-3 41-37 Racers sent home weeping, with their tails between their legs!! Get in!!! Swindon Mighty Robins 41 Martin Ashby 3-3-3-3-3 = 15 Norman Hunter 1-ef-ef = 1 Bob Kilby 2-3-3-2 = 10 Geoff Bouchard 2-1-2*-1 = 6+1 Bobby McNeil 1*-0-1* = 2+2 Jan Andersson 3-1*-0-1-1 = 6+1 Cliff Anderson 0-1 = 1 Reading Rubbish Racers 37 Dave Jessup 2-3-2-3 = 10 Bengt Jansson 0-2*-2*-0 = 4+2 John Davis 3-2-0-2 = 7 Good old Bernie Leigh 3-1*-2-0 = 6+1 Bob Humphreys 0-2-0-Ex = 2 Mick Bell 2-1*-1 = 4 Bolek Proch 1*-0-3-0 = 4

I wouldn't have put the result if I'd known Heat 4: Davis, Kilby, Andersson, Proch 70.4 3-3 13-11 Come on the Robins!! Ht 5 (re-run) Jessup, Jansson, Bouchard, McNeil (F-Ex) 70.2 1-5 14-16 Ht 6 Ashby, Davis, Bell, Hunter (ef) 69.8 3-3 17-19 Heat 7: Kilby, Humphreys, Leigh, Andersson 69.4 3-3 20-22

I have a programme for this. not always guaranteed accurate! It was 41-37 to Swindon. Hurrahh!! Ashby 15 Hunter 1 Kilby 10 Bouchard 6+1 McNeil 2+2 Andersson 6+1 Cliff Anderson 1 Jessup 10 Jansson 2+2 Davis 7 Leigh 6+1 Humphreys 2 Bell 4+1 Proch 4+1 I'll post my heat details later if nobody else does. Heat 1: Ashby, Jessup, Hunter, Jansson 68.8 4-2 Heat 2: Andersson, Bell, Proch, Anderson 70.6 3-3 7-5 tbc Heat 3: Leigh, Bouchard, McNeil, Humphreys 70.4 3-3 10-8

His recent interviews are quite interesting for me. He seems very open and just talks from the heart regardless of who he is talking to. Take Matej Zagar, for example, or Seb Ulamek. Both were brilliant at saying the right thing to the Swindon fans and sounding like they truly love the club. Darcy just says what's on his mind and half the time he's talking about Poole to Swindon journalists! It's actually quite sweet. I don't see it as arrogance.

I think the PL became a lot stronger in the late 80s, after the top flight started to struggle and the NL began to sign foreign riders. Instead of just a league for those on the way up or the way down it became a proper, competitive league - just at a lower level. By 1988 (the year of the Poole footage), the top flight was down to about 12 clubs and teams began dropping down for econmic reasons. I'd say the PL is definitely tougher than the old NL for those very reasons. The old second division and NNL wasn't much different to the National League now. That's why genuinely talented riders like Peter Collins and Michael Lee could come in and straight away be heatleaders in much the same Tai Woffinden could in the third tier recently. One reason there are so many PL riders in the British final now is because of the lack of clubs in the EL plus the doubling up. If we had 18 clubs at top level and no doubling up, then the British Final would be pretty much full of EL riders. It's funny that people call doubling up riders "Premier League" riders all the time, when they are just as much EL as PL.

After the green light comes on would be my guess.

I know they weren't due to be riding, but it did show a very strong tendancy among speedway riders to get rat arsed that rather surprised me at the time bearing in mind they ride motorcycles for a living most days. I'm sure Darcy Ward isn't the first rider to get drunk the night before a meeting, it's just he was daft enough to do it before a meeting where they had alcohol testing.

Heat 15 counts I'm sure. It's one of the reasons heat leader averages have dipped so much. I certainly don't recall averages ever being just for programmed rides.

Heat 15 and R/R also count towards the averages I believe. If so it was 12 from 6 (3,3,1,3,F,2). That averages 8.00. It counts towards his total, though. So Darcy was, technically, top scorer. Zengi averaged more, though, at 9.33.

Actually his average went down last night.

Sometimes people just need to learn to let go

Hey, guess what! Rain forecast for tomorrow. (Edit - well it is on Met Office anyway. Accuweather looks better, so let's go with that one instead)

Yes. well done Darcy. Well done lad. Well well done Darcy the Robin.

Oh yeah. Forgot about them.

Just for the record: Well done Darcy on getting 15 last night. You da man, Darcy. A true Robins legend.

They're winding you up, Starman. Just like you did with me

Strewth. What's your problem? Little green monster coming out a bit there I think!

This has been our Achilles heel all season and is the main reason we will struggle to reach the play offs. We do still have a chance, but at least we can now enjoy watching a real quality number one for the rest of the year I guess.

I went to the World Final in Vojens in the 80s. I saw one very well known rider totally out of it on the ferry and another one at the meeting. Neither were riding in the World Final, but I think this i fairly typical of a lot of riders. People give Darcy Ward a lot of stick, but I don't think he's done too much different than a lot of other people who like to have a go.

I remember Havelock getting no end of stick at Reading from people on the pits bend. Always seems a bit unneccesary to me, really. I'm all for a bit of panto booing, but nastiness and bitchiness always make me wonder about the sanity of the person dishing it out.