scribbler

Charlie Knott - Southampton Speedway. He wasn't a 'one trick pony' - he did so much more. He brought Speedway, Ice Hockey and other entetainment facilities to Southampton. Are there roads named after Matt Ford in Poole? There is a Charles Knott Gardens in Southampton ;-)

I'd expect his mates to mention that they're out with Dak to try and distract him from his Dad's accident. You'd think that riders and ex-riders would be sending good wishes to his Dad and commiserating with Dak. That's what normally happens in the Speedway world. I often see posts on Facebook letting people know about the health of ex-riders...

I've used up my daily quota of 'likes'... Much respect for foreverblue and his comment.

Holder rode in the same sport that has seriously injured his best mate. Holder has had serious injuries himself - and yet still rode in the GP to honour his mate. Racing in the same sport as your mate was seriously injured must be far more nerve-wracking for a rider.. Dak won't/can't ride because his father is injured - but also won't/can't fly home - unless you believe that Ford won't let him ride... I believe Dak's father is an ex-speedway rider. I'm not sure that he'd be happy that Dak is staying at home - yet not riding. Maybe Dak's mum assumes that Dak is riding and has suggested that, rather than let his team down, he stays in England as it seems that the injuries are not life-threatening. (All supposition on my part). The question that needs answering is whether it is Dak or Matt Ford who is stopping Dak from riding.

This thread shows part of Darcy Ward's life as a speedway rider.and to delete it would be wrong. It would be eradicating his personality. He hasn't become a saint because of his injury - he has become a rider we are concerned about because he is injured. Even if we don't normally support him or his team we will support and care about him in this situation. To de-personalise this I imagine a thread about NP being deleted... NP would be saying 'Hey guys you've deleted all my best bits ...'

He's 23 years old - not a kid!!! Tai won his World title aged 23 and already had the maturity that Ward sadly lacks at the same age - and Darcy will be 25 before he's back in the GPs, whereas Tai may have won the World title for the second time at the same age. Tai is proving himself a World class winner... Darcy is proving himself as a World class loser...

Part of the consequence of his ban was that he missed out on selection for the GPs. His ban was only part of his punishment. He has to suffer the full consequences of his actions otherwise he will not learn from them.

(Irony Alert ) I'm sure that Darcy Ward will see the error of his ways by not having to wait for a team place to become available... He's so special in the eyes of himself and any promoter that British riders are not necessary for a British Speedway team and League and Team GB are is so highly thought of on the world stage... (end of Irony)

It isn't vitriol - methinks your statement is coloured by your own opinions of Ward. My thoughts were coloured by how I imagined other riders would react in the same situation - and how neutral fans would hear the comments he made. IMHO he should have been more humble regarding the situation. His self belief might get him somewhere on the track - but off track he'll be vulnerable to making more poor errors of judgement.

Yes... I check spelling,grammar and punctuation.

You don't have to look back... Just compare the careers of Darcy and Tai. One -Tai - has committed himself to the sport and has a good work ethic - and coped with the death of his father. He became Speedway World Champion. What has Darcy achieved?

Yes Ward is the only one to make the decision to change - but if that is what he decides a strong mentor/role model would be able to support him. Sadly he has not had that at Poole.

I know. I just wish that moderators moderated on attacks more often. (Mind you - I sometimes want to give you a clip around the ear when you bite

Attack the post contents - NOT the poster. Forum etiquette... On other forums attacking posters and not post contents would result in lengthy bans...

"..could 'take a couple of years out' " = could be banned for a couple of years. Self-inflicted stress... if he hadn't drunk alcohol he wouldn't have had an FIM hearing... simples...

The FIM are being professional and taking their time to decide on the right punishment for the offence. It's not something they have to deal with that often. If they were not sure of the conviction they would have had to throw the case out. Don't forget - it's a punishment for the offence. It doesn't matter who he is or what a good or poor rider he is. All that matters to the FIM is that a rider was willing to race/prepared to race with alcohol in his system (and that rider happens to be Darcy Ward) and deciding on the relevant punishment.

Aborigines and Maoris ...they are the true indigenous people... the rest are just immigrants...

He's not a young lad. He's 23 - supposedly an adult. He and Tai are a similar age - and look at what Tai has achieved. Tai also raises money for charities. Compared to Tai Darcy is selfish and wasting his life and his talents.

I'm presuming that this is because the BSPA have ignored the UKBA rules for the past couple of years. The BSPA allowed Somerset to use an Aussie at a lower points limit than the UKBA stated last year IIRC. Weren't the BSPA due to have a meeting with the UKBA about this? It appears that the BSPA were more worried about upsetting Somerset than the UKBA and now UK Speedway is paying the price...

IIRC It was (supposedly) because he was upset that his parents had 'split up'... Then somebody said that they had separated a while before Darcy's drinking incident...

And yet again - as with Dudek - it wasn't as intentional as drinking alcohol - yet the guy seems to be banned for a year.

The FIM covers all motor sport - not just Speedway. In their eyes he's just one rider in a relatively unimportant sport. In the eyes of the FIM there are probably far more important cases that need dealing with and he'll just have to wait his turn.

None... But any negative mention in social media that he was a speedway rider tarnished both the sport and any specifically named club that he rode for.

I'm back in touch with Elaine and they have three grandsons and a grand daughter. His bike and other memorabilia are in a Speedway museum in Australia. His name is on a Roll of Honour Board In honour of Australian riders who lost their lives whilst riding Speedway, both solo riders and sidecar riders and passengers.

I used to get abuse from certain Poole fans whenever I posted... I was a Poole fan in the late 1960s and 1970 but when my next door neighbour, a Poole rider, got killed in his first meeting back in Oz in November 1970 I gave up on the sport. He wasn't just a speedway rider he was a dear friend. I'd probably still support Poole as 'my' EL team, without attending, if it wasn't for the antics of the present promotion/management. Nowadays I just check on the latest tricks being pulled and the way that some supporters blindly follow their leader in any Poole thread... That said - there are some Poole supporters who are gaining my respect... More and more of them are willing to state what they really feel - and, funnily enough, are never attacked by their fellow supporters who worship MF.