cyclone

The booze has certainly taken it's toll on you - you look at least seventy plus nowadays!

Could you provide examples of how other sports quantify long-term permanency and also inform us as to how long Schlein has been permanently resident in the UK?

Bollocks ! His first outing was at Coatbridge on on 27/4/73 against Cradley. He beat Bruce Cribb in his first race for his solitary point. Was a bit hairy but wasn't afraid to wind it on. As Max Boyce would say : "I was there"

Agree with above in overall career achievements. However George Hunter for the first couple of months of the newly formed BL in 1965 was, along with Charlie Monk, one of the top performers together with ex National League stars. However he suffered a nasty head injury in a Best Pairs meeting at Old Meadowbank which adversely affected his performances thereafter. I reckon he suffered a severe long term concussion, which then was not really diagnosed as being a serious head injury and treated appropriately as it is today. I believe if George had not had this accident, he would have been a regular World Finalist & leading top performer for several years.

Last night's results imo confirmed that Glasgow, Ipswich, & Sheffield will be the top three at the end of the Season with the rest scrapping for the fourth spot. The reason Monarchs are currently at the top is because they have completed more matches than the aforementioned trio, who will in due course, rise above them in the table. IMO on paper, Peterborough should take the fourth spot, but they continually implode when they get on track.

You can buy pics via John Somerville's website. Here is what he can offer of your grandad:- http://www.skidmarks1928.com/?ppwd=john-somerville-collection&Action=EGS&id=243991604&q=maurycourtnell

So you have narrowly lost to probably the strongest side in the CL and having to use r/r for your second heat leader which realistically, you cannot expect the lower order riders to match his usual points return at home. Get a grip, it's your first home defeat, and tbh, no surprise, given the circumstances. If your "whole team needs ripped apart", where are the replacement riders going to come from? Be interested to know what alternative 1 - 7 you would suggest that are available and would comply with the 40 pt limit. And don't use the excuse "it's not my job, it's the Manager's", as you're the one demanding radical surgery on here.

On reflection, the grippy track certainly sorted out the men from the boys on both sides, and instead of the gate and go which is now the norm at most tracks, we were treated to passing during the racing after the initial opening two bends. The match report on the Ippo website is a fair description of the racing, and at the end of the day, the riders with skill prevailed over the throttle jockeys, who struggled for the most part. Wells, Erik Riss, Masters, Sedgmen, and Schlein showed the way, with Riss Jnr clocking the second fastest time of the Season of 54.8 in heat 5. Pickering in particular really struggled in the latter part of the meeting, but I'd guess he has never ridden such a grippy track before, and hopefully will learn from this experience for the future, as I hope Edinburgh continue to prepare their track with plenty grip. Commiserations to Mark Riss on his unfortunate crash and wish him a full and rapid recovery from his injuries.

Suggest you read the current Regs. Try 18.6.2.1

Apart from Newman (Ippo) & Pickering (Edin), I reckon the remaining twelve also d/up/down with a PL or NL club. IIRC it's Masters, Mark Riss, Rory Schlein, Nathan Greaves (all Wolves). King, Erik Riss (Leicester), Wells (Rye House), Sedgmen (BV), Heeps (Somerset), Mountain (Mildenhall), Clegg (Buxton), Davey (Stoke) I believe however that the CL clubs always have priority over their NL counterparts whenever there is a fixture clash.

According to latest Green Sheet, Williamson moves out of no. 6, with Sarjeant taking his place.

Have to agree that in this instance it was a fair judgement, given all the factors, and permissible under Reg.15.12. For those who are saying this is another example of UK Speedway becoming a farce, consider how other European leagues determine the results of abandoned matches. As far as I am aware, they all have earlier cut-offs than heat 10. As an example, the Danish Super League match between Holsted & Esbjerg on 24th May was abandoned with Esbjerg leading 25 - 22. According to the report in the Star, "the result will stand with the remaining heats declared as 3-3s to give an official scoreline of 43-40 to Esbjerg". For all the apparent shortcomings in how the sport is run in Britain, in this instance I prefer how we determine the outcome of abandoned league & cup matches.

Running true to form eh Rob, when challenged to provides facts to support your propaganda, you repeatedly duck out

Monarchs form overall has been patchy recently, but it appears there is a consistent pattern in away matches emerging as we regularly concede 5 - 1s in heats 1 & 15 Expect a scoreline similar to those at Sheffield and Workington, meaning zero match points.

The actual BSPA Press Release of 21/7/2009 stated:- SWINDON have reached agreement with Croatian youngster Jurica Pavlic to return to the Robins this week following a 28-day ban. Pavlic's future was in serious doubt after he withheld his services last month, but he will now resume his position on Thursday. Robins skipper Leigh Adams said: "I explained to him what it would mean to all at Swindon Speedway to win the Elite League title. We've come so far." As no mention as to when Pavlic agreed to return is stated, you are making an unsupported supposition. As you are adamant that that a rider withholding his services will only be subject to a 14 day ban if he decides to return to the same club, can you please provide details of the current documentation source in the public domain that confirms your assertion. Look forward to your reply

Perish the thought! You're referring to the best and most fair minded Promotion and Supporters in the Universe - allegedly

Wearing your asbestos underpants AGAIN Rob?

Attended every one-off World Final from 1967 - 1994, so that means: Fundin Mauger Olsen Szczakiel Michanek Collins Lee Penhall Muller Gundersen Nielsen Jonsson Jan O Pedersen Havelock Ermolenko Rickardsson Was the real big one-off occasion of the Season, which produced some less predictable results than the SGP format.

Believe the ref is only able to declare a race result only after at least one rider has completed two laps before it was stopped.

What a pity that the four other riders racing tonight (Bewley @ Redcar, Lambert @ Ipswich, and Bates & Pickering @ Sheffield) who are also at the U-21 at Pocking on Saturday, were able to make arrangements to do so, but Redcar and Perks could not do likewise. Was it a case that Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield & Edinburgh were prepared to offer financial and logistical support to their riders and Redcar were not? I would imagine that Andersen's absence was known in advance, so you would expect the Bears would have explored all avenues for their on form reserve to ride today. Even with a full Bears side, it would have been no surprise if Glasgow were to win. Now with a depleted home side, it will be a surprise if Glasgow do not win.

Have you evidence that the initial draft fixture list only allocated home fixtures on 6 of the 10 weekends from the start of the season? In reality, Glasgow have actually had 7 weekend fixtures from the start of the season, (5 in April, including 1 postponed, 2 in May) As has been previously stated, the draft list is subject to consultation and amendment. As the consultation and amendment would also involve the visiting teams, could it be that either the home side and/or the visitors have vetoed proposed dates for specific reasons that are not in the public domain? IMO the problem of clubs agreeing suitable dates has been exacerbated by rider priority with regards to doubling up, FIM & Overseas commitments etc. As an example, Glasgow have a blank date on Saturday 17th June, but as BV are at Leicester that night, would the Tigers be prepared to track two guests in place of Bewley & Smith?. Even when dates have been agreed, original team lineups can be disrupted by other events (FIM/Overseas Domestic League) where participating riders are confirmed afterwards. There are also the short notice withdrawals for injury, illness, funerals, etc., which in the case of Edinburgh, has resulted in Berwick & Glasgow being the only visitors tracking their full sides, so far.

Is your eyesight failing and the reason you missed edmon's post immediately above?

According to the 16.3 of the Speedway Regulations:- "Changes must be made at least 72 hours before the start Time of the Meeting at which it is intended to be used." If Peterborough track Chris Harris today, then Glasgow should have been advised of this by Wednesday. If so, surprised that they had not publicised this in advance, given that the presence of CH might attract additional punters. If Kenneth Hansen's version that he was only texted of his sacking when in transit after leaving Armadale last night, then this smacks of cowardly deceit by Rathbone & Co. Maybe pressure was put on the Glasgow Promotion not to advertise the Panthers lineup for Saturday until Hansen was advised, but I would reckon that they did not expect to be drawn into such a shabby process.

Taken from the Official Newcastle website: "Notice to all Newcastle Speedway supporters that due to a decision made by the Speedway Control Bureau Manager Mr Neil Vatcher on the afternoon of Thursday 18th May, Steve Worrall will not be appearing for Newcastle at Edinburgh on Friday 19th May." According to the above, Vatcher made the decision himself. If the original BSPA agreement had been subsequently overruled by the SCB, can you find it on the SCB website, as I can't. The Newcastle statement adds:_ "It is believed Mr Vatcher has been in contact with the management of Belle Vue Speedway regarding making his decision but has at no time made any contact with representatives of Newcastle Speedway. " If this is correct, Vatcher's treatment of Newcastle verges on being arrogantly disrespectful to George English. So instead of having a sly dig at Alex, make sure you gets facts right in the first place.

Thank you for wishing that this would further damage Edinburgh's business through a situation that was not of their making Some numpty who cannot even spell Alex Harkess's surname correctly, has previously implied on here that AH was probably involved in preventing Stevie Worrall riding at Armadale today . Given Stevie is a popular ex Monarch, and also home fans wish to see visiting sides track their own riders, to suggest that Edinburgh would scupper SW's appearance at such short notice beggars belief, given the press releases previously issued. I'd be very surprised if George English was blaming Edinburgh for this fiasco, but why not ask him on Sunday and let us all know his response. As far as I am aware, Swindon do not own BWD either, who remains a Somerset asset, so SCB 's might be correct that Newcastle are being treated the same way as Peterborough by the Official SCB.