Grachan

He says on twitter that he is "scratching an itch".

A good point. I remember Shawn Moran making a comeback and realising he had "lost his bottle", so he retired again.

Is the main issue not that planning has been granted which should, at least, keep the current stadium secure even if a new one doesn't get built? I don't live in Swindon, so I may be wrong, but, surely, the council have done their job on this. Without them Swindon Speedway would probably have closed down 10 years ago. I don't know if a new stadium will ever get built, but the continuation of Swindon has to be the main priority.

Anyone remember The Golden Greats at Coventry? What a lovely day it was, getting all nostalgic over the old boys from the past riding round. A lovely day of fond memories and jokes about grey hairs and paunches from Dave Lanning. Jason Crump is older than most of the riders were when they rode in that meeting. He is also quite a few years older than his father Phil was when he made a comeback at Swindon and averaged about 4 points per meeting without bonus points. I'd like to see Jason do well, as he was one of my favourite riders, although there are a lot of things pointing against it. It will be great to see him ride though, just like seeing Peter Collins riding in the Golden Greats was.

I don't see how the track was perfect for him and yet nobody else could apparently ride it. If he was handed any advantage at all it was probably through his engine, rather than the track. Muller was a worthy champion though. And, yes, I was there. I was also at the 1976 final and Muller was pretty sensational in that one, too, coming close to getting 11 points. Hardly the form of someone who had done little to enhance his speedway reputation. Also, if you watch the Ivan Mauger documentary, Ivan's wife talks about how Ivan used to get very stressed about trying to do things that Muller was doing - so he can't have been that bad. He was also, perhaps, fortunate that his home country World Final fitted nicely after Penhall retiring and Nielsen/Gundersen still not quite ready for World domination. But, in that final, he was so dominant that you cannot dispute his legitimacy. Also, before the final, the general consensus on our bus was that Muller was favourite to win, and, when my friend got him in the sweepstake, everyone groaned and tried to swap with him. The venue itself was an odd one, though. Not so much the stadium itself, but its location. I went on a Speedway tour and, initially, we were put into people's houses, with the bus parked in a cul-de-sac. Some people (mainly Belle Vue fans as I remember) refused to leave the bus and insisted we were put in a hotel. Eventually we were moved to a town somewhere - I don't even know what town it was! - and put in a hotel, which, I recall, was a long way from the track.

Exactly what I was thinking. Phil definitely under-performed on the World stage after 1976.

My memory might be playing tricks on me, but from what I remember, didn't Rasmussen have a British wife or something like that, which was used to deem it acceptable? I think it was the signing of Shroek that was the really controversial one - strange though it seems now.

Possibly better, but not much better. What Jason had, that Phil didn't, was the world championship winning mentality. I'm not so sure he'll have that now.

It's worth reminding people that Phil Crump made a comeback at Swindon after three years out, and he was quite a bit younger than Jason is now. He turned out to be very much a shadow of his former self, averaging just over 4 points a meeting in today's money.

I remember that, and was going to mention it. And then they won the league title.

Kildemand was very disappointing when he came into the Swindon side to replace Darcy Ward. His 7.5 average is from before that. He averaged around 6 but never rode enough matches for his average to change.

Looks like the Swedish doctor is going to be busy proving injuries next year then!

The thing is, what happens if they don't get planning permission for the new stadium? Presumably we just carry on in the current one, which is becoming a bit of an eyesore probably. Is there any indication that the current stadium is under threat if the new one isn't built?

Not really. That's like saying that Jason Doyle averaged over 13 for Swindon a couple of years back.

I actually think that if you get the track right, then racing today is better than it used to be. Old shaped tracks don't seem to work so well with the modern bikes. Swindon is a good example of how reshaping and shortening a track can improve things. Belle Vue, as an example of a modern track, can provide better racing than I remember in the past. That race where Fricke was in last place for much of the race then went round everyone on the final lap, for example. You never saw races like that in the 1970s.

Would it? All 3 of Swindon's heatleaders were better than anyone in that side. Pretty sure Musielak was fifth in Swindon's averages, below Ellis. I'm guessing the only place where that team is better is at reserve.

I do, Sidney. The way he rode at the end of the year was sensational. If he can maintain that form then Swindon and Poole are on to a winner. He needs to watch the start infringements, though, it's true. The rider who rode in the play-offs last year did not look like a Second Division rider to me, but it's up to him I guess. I feel he is ready to push on now.

Personally I think it does. I think it can hold them back - certainly with a rider like Ellis who can, I believe, move up into being a top international rider, but needs Polish/Swedish leagues to achieve that. Maybe one more year in the lower league will still be good for him, but I hope he will move on after that. No doubt that signing Adam is good business for Poole though. I think they needed a signing like this to give people a reason to support the club.

The way Ellis rode at the end of last season I thought he was ready to ditch the championship and move on. I think staying in the lower league can hold British riders back a bit. A good signing for Poole though. Could be the top second division rider next year.

I guess Musielak is missing the UK thrn, as he was the obvious signing there. Lawson is ok, but Toby is quality on his average. Tigers will still do well though.

I agree, Sidney. Wells might be a better CL rider at the moment, but he is what he is. He would have just been a filler rider whose average fitted, whereas Jordan is someone who looks like he will improve and could become a part of the club in the future. At the start of the year Wells may have actually been a better scorer, so I can see why people might choose him over Stewart, but he isn't someone I would have a particular interest in seeing ride for Swindon, whereas, from what I have read, this looks a more interesting signing.

I don't know much about Jordan Stewart, but he seems to be rated by Leigh Adams and Jason Crump so it is an interesting signing. A nice side. May not win the title this year, but two good young prospects brought in that should make us good to watch and also build for the future.

My hair is still on, thanks. I guess we'll leave it at that, then.

So I take it you don't rate Vissing then? He's not going to be expected to beat established PL riders all night. I think you are just being negative for the sake of it. You've had it in for this team ever since Batch was announced.

It was his first full year, and his average is based on his scores over the whole season. His form at the end of the year was a lot better than at the start. If Connor Mountain had a higher average earlier in the year than at the end then that means he got worse while Rowe improved.