uk_martin

...and keeps the crowds coming...??? Now there's a conspiracy theory for you...

Tell me about it. They only stopped falling off when we had run out of feet to shoot ourselves in. It has to be said too...congratulations to Kent for being the first NL team to visit Perry Barr that didn't have one rider to fall off of their own accord or without "provocation".

Any 3-pointer who stays upright for 4 laps has a chance of picking up a point. It's the staying upright bit that proves difficult for them sometimes though lol.

Doubt if that will ever happen. Birmingham rely on the top 3 racking up 40ish points with the winning margin being decided on the scraps that the rest of the team get when they are not busy falling off their bikes more than the opposition fall off their bikes. Consequently, the Brummies stand a good chance of winning, but never by any cricket scores. Man to watch - Adam Kirby. Birmingham's fate will largely depend on either his scraps or his scrapes...time will tell...

Is a return to speedway at Crayford out of the running?

"Day Trips" sound a bit hectic to me. We like to add a day or two's "tourism" into the bargain. Cheapest one this year was a trip to Daugavpils for the Lokomotiv v Polonia Bydgoszcz match (strangely enough, being about as far away from the UK as you can reasonably get). Flights from Birmingham to/from Kaunas were £55, car hire was about £20 per day, and it was a 2 hour drive from Kaunas to Daugavpils. On the way back, we took in a sightseeing day in Vilnius before flying back to Birmingham from Kaunas. Hotels ranged from £15 - £20 per night, depending on the level of comfort and location that you wanted. Can't wait to do the trip again next year, maybe taking in Riga as the destination on the "R&R Day". Other than that, I do enjoy my Friday to Monday jaunts to Poland, where there are both Saturday & Sunday fixtures to take in. I did the WSL / Grudziadz v Stal weekend this year, and I've done the Gorzow GP + Falubaz v Stal derby in weekends gone by. This year I'll be going to the Silver Helmet final in Pila the day after the Gorzow GP. I did one slightly longer trip this year, when it was only £50 to fly to Szczecin if I flew on a Thursday instead of £120 to fly on a Friday. That £70 saving went on another night in an Ibis Economy hotel (£15) and it enabled me to go to Gustrow and Teterow on the Friday and Saturday, returning to Szczecin on the Saturday night, and then to drive to Zielona Gora to be in with the Stal fans, "in the cage" for the Falubaz v Stal fixture. 3 speedway meetings plus the Bergring event and a nice day of sightseeing in Szczecin made for a nice trip all in all. £60 total for the car + 2 tanks of juice for it to drink, cheap food and drink, reasonable hotels also made it very affordable. We did a bit of Sweden last year, when we flew into Stockholm (Nykopping known as Stockholm lol) on the Thursday, and from there we hired a car and went to see Lejonen v Grippana on the Thursday night, before staying overnight in Norkopping. From there the next day we drove to the real Stockholm, to catch the ferry to Helsinki, from where we drove to Tampere for the GP. Sunday saw us reverse our course, and sail back from Helsinki to Stockholm (a ferry ride that can't be recommended highly enough) and after a touristy day in Stockholm on the Monday we went to see Inianerna v Elit Vetlanda on the Tuesday before flying home on the Wednesday. In case the thought of the costs of a whole week in Sweden / Finland sound scary, bear in mind that Aldi and Lidl are all over the place over there, selling stuff for impromptu BBQ's and picnics (also to be highly recommended at one of the many scenic picnic areas) as well as beers and soft drinks at very reasonable prices.

Indeed, the Didier Drogba question... Having seen incidents where riders pile into the fence on the 2nd bend be deemed to be an unsatisfactory start, then this is no less a candidate for a similar verdict. So Gollob drifted out a little to get a better angle going into the first turn...well if that's what gets a rider excluded, then let's look at everyone who doesn't go parallel with the safety fence out of gates 3 and 4 in their approach to the first bend as well. What's good for the goose and all that...

I've been to Somerset since the days when the Brummies were in the PL. It's always the same. The M5 between Bristol and Weston is a Super Nightmare. I make allowances in my timing to allow for it, and on that stretch of the M5, always remember, "the fast lane is the slow lane and the slow (inside) lane is the fast lane. Dunno why there specifically, but it always works.

BWD got 12+1 from 5 = 10.4 average stuff in old money or 9.6 in new age averages where the bonus point does not count. ZW got 10 from 4 which is 10.0 average stuff. May the debate go on...

Sounds like you found one of the Brummies younger fans then :-D

Just grateful that Birmingham have one of the riders involved in this debate. After the first meeting of the season I'd have put money on a debate like this involving Ellis Perks instead.

How's the track lighting holding out? No chance of a short-circuit and the unavailability of suitable electricians causing the meeting to be postponed this time? Will Dastardly and Mutley be welcoming the Brummies to the track to the tune of The Muppet Show again, do you think? Can Semion tell the difference between a "proper" Yam Yam (Wolves / Cradley fan) and a Brummies supporter now that he's had a chance to encounter them all? Will the result be bootiful for the Brummies? Will this thread generate enough interest to make it to a second page?

That thought crossed my mind, but obviously something has been agreed between all parties, as there were Drury's thanks to Sheffield and Wolves mentioned in the press release...maybe one or the other of these will be "resting" Bates for the time that the Brummies need him? Possibly? Maybe SCB will join in, to apply his knowledge of the ins and outs and sometimes the shake it all abouts of the rules governing the use of riders in multiple leagues.

The fact that Birmingham used R/R doesn't alter MY OPINION about its use in the NL. I agree that Graham Drury will be cute in the way he looks after Birmingham's interests and as I also said before he'll be sure that Harvie Banks is FULLY recovered from his injuries before bringing him back into the team, however long that may be. Isn't that what any team manager would do for their club?

I'd go along with this. Both are on an upward learning curve. ZW started at a lower point than BWD but his learning curve is steeper. By the end of the season, I think you'll find that ZW will have the edge on BWD. More to the point...which will be the first to be snaffled up by a PL team...???

So the grass doesn't grow under Birmingham or Eastbourne's feet. Should it? Should the Brummies (or the Sparrows) feel guilty about patching up their teams, especially where the injuries to their riders (Tom Perry in the case of the Brummies) was none of their doing? doubt any of this would have happened at Birmingham if Dan Halsey hadn't forced Tom Perry to press the ejector seat button last week. So instead of R/R (see my comments about R/R in the NL on another thread) a young British rider is being given a chance, if nothing else, than to show everyone what they are missing by not signing him permanently. I don't see what's wrong with that.

The problem is that speedway is followed predominantly by a generation of fans that is made up of "grumpy old men". In some cases, there is a severe emphasis on the word "old" too, which doesn't help. Everyone enters into the sport bouncing with the optimism of a newly born lamb, but sooner or later all that gets beaten out of you, one way or the other. Sooner or later you too become a grumpy old man too...except if you become a grumpy old woman. One or the other.

The thread made it to a second page

It'll be hotly debated on the radio!

Brummies might still have a chance for the league, but the "Golden Cup" will be Eastbourne's to lose, before a wheel is turned with their obvious home track advantage. Might as well give them the trophy now. GOOD NEWS This morning's Facebook update says that Tom Perry has NOT broken his wrist but that there is a bone fracture in one of the bones in the side of his hand. He'll be working with the team's Fizzio and hopefully he hopes to be fit to ride again in 2-3 weeks time. Or in other words, in 3 or 4 meetings time... I assume R/R will cover for him, and that could cost the team 5 points a meeting at least from what Perry's scoring potential would be compared to who we have to take his rides. If the Brummies enter the NL Pairs, then the 2nd rider spot may now be up for grabs, depending on when Tom Perry returns, how he does when he is back on track, and what Zach keeps doing...should be interesting to watch this space. NO NEWS No-one has any more news on Harvey Banks's or Adam Kirby's injuries. I would expect however that for Banks, Graham Drury won't be rushing him back until he is fully fit, recuperated, strong as an ox, tanned from his holidays and brim full of confidence. One gets the feeling that Charley (why the feminine spelling of that name?) Powell may be invited along again (and again?) pending Banks's return.

If you are going to use the quote button please do it so that it doesn't look like I said what I didn't.

Are these the same losses that Tony Mole is also quoted as saying he never made whilst in the Premier League? So, if hypothetically, next year the EL and PL merge into one big league (bye bye GP riders and all that) and I know it's only talk, but that's what forums are for...and supposing that invitations to the "bigger clubs" was extended to, let's say Eastbourne and Birmingham again, you're pretty sure that Tony Mole will refuse the offer and stay in the NL? And, if that's the case, how long will Graham Drury be able to continue to try to convince people that Birmingham are one of speedway's "BIG Clubs" without losing credibility?

Results are going well...how about public interest and crowd levels? As I said at the start of the season, that will be the ultimate criteria that the season will be judged on.

Weren't Exeter a British League (Div 1) team in their day? Why not add this to the EL (nearest equivelent) section too?

When doing so, ask the question of whether the "cheering" is intended personally at the rider in question, or is it an expression of relief that a fans own team is better off and no longer in danger of losing a point? It may be a delicate subject, but I doubt if Birmingham's fans are any more saintly than any others, and I don't for a minute think that any fans actually wish harm on any opponent. I wonder how many people who live in glass houses will be phoning you on the matter to throw some stones? Maybe you should ask them to watch videos of Nicki Pedersen going into some fences before they contribute to the debate, because I know what reaction the sight of that generally generates?