Paulco

And your point is ? Does riding in an individual event not count as speedway ?

Probably cause he wasn't out for a year through injury , he rode in the Scottish Open

Seasons greetings to our friends in the East too . The said pumpings are at an end now . Since we have a proper number 1 now . One who was born in a stable in Maryport , on Christmas Day , and surrounded by three wise men with gifts of a crash helmet , a set of Kevlars and a Tigers racebib .

I see the Monarchs on here are getting a bit touchy over criticism of the blessed Cookie . I'm glad he's back at the dump for another season , no excuses then when we kick their arse

Sheffield look very good , especially if Arthur Sissis hits the ground running .

Well , new season , new start . I'm more content with him in my team riding at reserve .

He shouldn't have been placed in the position he was . My ire was aimed more at the promotion . At the time we were on a downward spiral and signing an untried foreign rider and pitch him in at number 1 , when it was evident from day 1 that he was never going to be capable of remotely scoring many points riding as a heat leader , was an act of desperation . He has a chance now to ride from a position of relative comfort , to prove he isn't just another foreign dud and carve out a career for himself as a Tiger .

There isn't , not that would fill the reserve place anyway . Victor was placed in an impossible situation last year , number 1 on borrowed equipment and in a struggling side . Hopefully , with all winter to prepare , he's ready to go and proves much better than his starting average .

More than anything , reserves win you honours . Nick in 2011 being the perfect example . I dont expect James or Victor to do what Nick did , but i'm confident they'll score well from that position .

Maybe we'll buy the pub too

Cheque book speedway is the future

There is that . A high profile ex-Monarch riding for Glasgow is a hard enough occupation , an under performing high profile ex-Monarch riding for Glasgow is a toxic combination

He was a complete enigma , his form fluctuated from race to race , never mind meeting to meeting . Maybe back in his first British club will suit him better , we shall see .

We can do a better list than that haha

I haven't seen it myself yet , but according to what I heard at the ice hockey last night , there's extensive work going on to improve the facilities at Ashfield at the moment . And it sounds as if we're going to have a much improved stadium to watch our speedway in next season . Exciting times ahead

Nothing is tabboo in speedway , George Stancl rode for Edinburgh a few seasons back .

The Speedway Star comes under almost weekly abuse on here , but this week it excelled itself . I cut my speedway supporting teeth at a very young age at Glasgow's White City stadium , and my love of the sport co-incided by the emergence of Jimmy McMillan as a force in the sport . I loved watching Jimmy , his gating was iffy and that made him the exciting rider he became . This week the Star done a big article on Jimmy's life and career . A wonderfully written and entertaining piece and a fitting tribute to a Scottish speedway legend . Thank you Speedway Star , I really enjoyed reading it and the memories it brought back .

And his bike catching fire at the tapes

Why does speedway need to be so ruddy complicated ?

Speedway Ninja sites on Facebook are a strange phenomenon . Grainy old photos of some New Cross second halfer from 1947 with the proud " guess the rider " declaration . Yep i'll have sleepless nights mulling that one over . But the dummy spitting followed by the two pages of " oh please don't go " after the stamping of feet and announcing " I've had enough I'm going " following some mentally challenged argument about whether Darcy Ward rides better after a session on the lager or the vodka . They are comedy gold

Even so , it would be a young British rider making strides , which we should all welcome

I had a picture of Debbie Hancock in mine , but it wasn't on page 3

He did score an Ashfield paid maximum back in his Smug days , he's a decent enough third heat leader in the Premier League . Son of God presumably has to get his Christmas commitments out the way before taking up his birthright finally . Delighted with the team . Kozza and Nick aren't liked in Smugville , so it will make a refreshing change for us to have the pantomime villians in a derby clash . Glad to have Dimitri back , though it will mean limited r/r options . James Serjeant looked to be progressing well when I watched Coventry on the telly last season , so well see how he copes with the higher level of the Premier League . And maybe Victor will be more at home starting level with everyone else and at reserve . He was put in an impossible situation last season . After a couple of poor years , we have high hopes at competing at the right end of the table in 2015 , but I'm sure there will be a few more tasty looking sides put together before the winter is out . And once the replacements for refused work permits is settled too haha

How funny would that be

So we have a bye in the KO Cup first round , then Newcastle or Scunthorpe in the quarters . Couple of good decisions coming out of the conference . Only one t/r can be used now , between heats 5 and 12 when a team is 10 or more behind . And no t/r's in any tie which is decided by aggregate . So no t/r's in the play offs . And those play offs are now quarters and semis with the top two in league straight into the semis , with 3v6 and 4v5 in the quarters . And we still have 42 and a half to try and build a competitive side with However the Dark Lord remains the Exalted Cyclops at BSPA towers for another year , so nothing will go in our favour as usual Oh and 3 points for all home wins now