Grachan

My wife is the perfect speedway critic. If it's good, she'll get into it. If it isn't, she'll ignore it. The Swindon v Leicester match on BT the other week caused a lot of consternation on here because of the track etc, but there was one moment in it thst caused her to say "this is what annoys me about speedway", and that was when a race was stopped for moving at the start. This, seriously, has to stop happening. Whrn it does, everyone groans and gets annoyed. People aren't going to pay money and make an effort to watch something that makes them groan and get annoyed.

I agree. Poole should he docked points. They are getting a bit close to the top of the league now - so let's just get hold of their points and dock a few. Maybe about 10 or so. Bloody Poole.

Yeah, because keeping Jason would have allowed us to have stronger reserves right?

According to updates, Batch not making it to bend one, Batch pulling up in third place... hmmm. Brings back memories of a Poole performance at Swindon a few years back. Can't see it, though. The league is too tight to be able to chuck points away.

I don't consider using a guest as having a full team, personally. I just think they should be more limited as it undermines the sport's credibility. Anyway, it seems it's not necessarily true so best wait for confirmation before believing it.

Why have Schlein and Tungate in for Doyle and Morris? Why not have both sides use R/R as both have a rider missing?

You don't have next week's lottery numbers do you, by any chance?

If our top 6 are firing I don't see why we shouldn't win this. I fall into this trap a lot these days though. I look at the opposition and they look weak, only for them to come to Blunsdon and win because I forget that all teams are now weak, including Swindon. I reckon we have the beating of that Wolves side, though.

Preference was already given to Britain on Thursday nights. It was voted against by individual teams. Second division teams shouldn't have a problem with Thursdays for the top league because they shouldn't be using top division riders (and vice versa). Succesful clubs have been undermined by other clubs for about 10 years now, to the effect that all clubs are as unsuccesful now. Ten years ago crowds were good at many tracks. That success was voted away by the tracks that were less succesful. We had the tactical ride and 39.85 points limit inflicted on us to apoease Ipswich, who then dropped down anyway. We had the loss of losing a home point for winning by less than 6 inflicted on us to appease Lakeside, who promptly dropped down anyway. We had a decent top league 10 years ago and it was voted away at BSPA conferences, with the madness of changing the rules every year. A decent governing body would probably kept speedway as a sport thst appeals to the public, like it just about was 10 years ago. The second tier was also better. I used to go to Sheffield, and they had good riders riding against other decent teams with good up and coming riders like Nicki Pedersen and Tai Woffinden, who would excite, make a big impression, and then move up a league. That has gone now too.

I don't jnow who Guy Nicholls is, but the big problem with the BSPA is that all the teams vote for themselves, so the weaker teams vote down the standard each year to try and give themselves a better chance. This happens year after year. This year's fix nights of Thursday being voted out by the weaker league should also never have been allowed to happen. It just needs someone more objective making decisions, rather than teams voting for themselves.

Nice to see Janusz qualify. Has he been a GP rider before? I'm not sure he has. He was so good a few years back. It would have been nice to see someone like Lambert qualify and get some young blood in. Perhaps this is a sign that rider quality has stagnated a bit. Three riders who were probably better about 10 years ago.

Why do teams have to be so equal all the time though? In a 1975 Swindon programme they once showed the team averages for all the team at the start of the year, and they ranged from around 52 down to about 39. And nobody complained then about teams not being equal.

And suppose you get the same ref that officiated last week's GP?

Swindon are 43.04

No problem with a team strengthening, as Swindon did last year, but all the proposed changes you come out with are always shoite.

Yeah. The difference being we'd end up bottom.

In regard to it being "sod's law" then, yes, it would have been frustrating. In terms of it being reasonable - no I wouldn't have been unhappy about it. Yes, Swindon gained advantage, but it was a perfectly legitimate re-run. So much so, that it's not even worth a discussion really.

Not tempting at all. Which of our top 4 are you looking for him to replace?

Exactly what I was going to say. The fall was not deliberate. He stayed down because he was injured, not because he wanted to get the race stopped. The whole point of the rule is to stop the old laying down of the bike tactic, or staying down on the track if your partner is at the back in order to get the race stopped. It's not hard to comprehend that this is what the rule was brought in for. Neither were the case. It was a legitimate stoppage. I do sometimes wonder where speedway fans keep their brains.

I think the issue with speedway is not just the style of music played but the fact that everyone has to stand around listening to it for more time than is necessary.

Adam Ellis has joined in the criticism now, and has also named other tracks - specifically Wolves and Somerset. This is not a one-track issue it seems. So, if Swindon should be deducted points, should Wolves and Somerset also be deducted points? Who decides when the track is bad enough to merit that?

I don't know if anyone has been watching the Hockey World Cup on BT Sport, but it's interesting to see that the music they play is similar to what they play at speedway. Kashmir by Led Zep, and that one that goes "Right Here, Right Now" blaring out. And when England scored, they played the same tune that they play at Swindon when there is a 5-1. Also interesting, that someone commented that it was a big difference playing in front of a big crowd as they are used to playing in front of crowds of about 200. Speedway has its problems, but Hockey is something everyone knows about, yet apparently attracts crowds of about 200 despite GB winning a Gold Medal at the Olympics, and plays the same old music to a crowd consisting mainly of young women.

Maybe I got the facts slightly wrong (I'll have to take your word for it that the actual reason he was sacked was because he guested for Swindon - although, personally I doubt it), but the basic principle is the same. He (and Chris Holder) were outspoken about the track that night too, and would probably have had the backing of the fans had the meeting been televised. Surely riders deserve to be given a track that is at the very least safe to ride on -and that includes at King's Lynn.

Come on. He is making fair comment. Everyone who watched last night's meeting is saying the track was poor. Troy got stick and was sacke for saying things about King's Lynn last year, but I bet if that meeting had been televised people on here would have made the same criticisms as they are about this one. At least he still raced and rode in heat 15. He is entitled to comment after seeing two of his team mates hurt.

What, you want to get rid of Zach now?