Mike.Butler

geronimo..i think we've got to the main root cause..

....if british riders can get contracts abroad and are lost to the uk leagues then so be it.. It's no good pretending we have an elite league if we cannot afford the top riders. What we have in the UK is a a quantity of tracks that beats any other country. I don't see why that would change..new top riders will emerge albeit paid what we can afford commensurate with gate receipts they generate Look at the amount of south american footballers plying their trade in Europe. It doesnt mean there aren't domestic league in brazil and argentina.....

I think I read that Tai will be 'going home' to Australia when he finishes riding.... But that shouldn't be a bar...British and Colonial riders only in new league please..and only those who sign up to all UK fixtures. Applying that rule means we will be left with what we are left with; but no British promoters paying for flights, and no machines to maintain in other countries should immediately bring the cost of our admission down a quid or two.. If Scotty wants to ride in continental meets then he will have to sit out the UK. The sooner we get riders having home meetings EVERY week from april-september in the UK the better...guarantee them 60 meetings a year and hopefully the choice for some will be easier.. It's a vicious circle at the moment..less meets because of rider availability means it's more likely they will need foreign leagues...Address point 1 and bingo point 2 disappears. If any promoter thinks they can run 14 meetings a season then i'm sorry they are not guaranteeing british based riders a chance to make a living..so there should be no place in the short term for those tracks (except at NL level). If and when the upturn comes then they will be welcome back on the above terms. NO FULL SEASON, NO ENTRY!

i can see us having to choose between live EL on Eurosport, PL on Sky, and NL on BT next season...

this was a new track for me and I enjoyed the meeting...and enjoyed the company of two very knowledgeable fans whom I hadn't spoken to before..(one from peterborough and another from Canterbury (the latter not having a computer).. I nderstand the heat times were being recorded..anyone know if they are going to be online? ta

£2 to park isn't unique to Edinburgh

very eventful and enjoyable meet i must say.. track getting better all the time...crowd will continue to fall though unless team can get a win soon..despite a 15 min hold-up after heat 2 match completed by 8.10 p.m. - colder than it looked in main stand!

so, will the attendance be affected by lakeside now running on monday? - assume the kent promotion will have expected this scenario at some point during season.

just can't understand why the organisers didn't listen to us lot on here and not put a 'token' gb rider in the GP..Tai clearly out of his depth as predicted by us experts

I always read it cover to cover (except the grass track) so the order doesn't bother me. I too liked the stats before every grand prix which i miss..in fact i recall one season (15 years ago possibly), they went overboard on the stats for league meeting coming up that week... it must have taken someone ages but it was interesting..maybe something a little less ambitious like last season's result in the corresponding fixture or no. of Home and Away wins in the fixture since elite league formed..but then i am a bit of a statto

[som-bre] Show IPA adjective 1. gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted: 2. dark and dull, as color, or as things in respect to color: . 3. gloomy, depressing, or dismal: 4. extremely serious; grave: any meaning in particular Tony? 1. the referees box, 2. the car park ticket, 3. the arlington micro-climate, 4. the away form ?

luckily the p.a. was able to drown the perishing high-pitched whistles being blown by a few in the main stand.... not heard the like before any where else that I can recall... as annoying as them pesky vuvezela thingy's

maybe the winner could go into the european championship instead?

could it be that Tai doing well and a terrific meet on sat are influencing people's view? ...like the England football team doing well helps the goverrnment of the day...

Trust the BV promotion will be at Sittingbourne for their opener to reflect on what goes right and wrong? just a thought..

No meetings should be staged in sub zero temperatures for reasons stated above. If Eastbourne called it off due to the wind chill factor I think they did everyone a favour tbh..

it was great watching Eastbourne's kids of the 70's take on the visiting 2nd strings and beating them (not to mention the occasional heat leader). I even gave Mick Pither 'Man-of-the-Meeting' once for his after-the-interval efforts .

13 heats is my preference...but this is just the popular view that has been stated before and nobody takes any notice...15 heats is fine provided I get to watch 20 heats minimum ...as 15 is a rip-off for the money...a junior match is fine but if not why not have a proper 2nd half....I feel like an old record

I think the word 'farce' is appropriate to describe that night..fastest & slowest times of the night? Aidan Collins 89.1 heat 11, Tom Brown 97.6 heat 3.! around that vast bowl that is/was Plough Lane..it was so upsetting to watch and you're right..the damage done to future crowds was immeasurable...anything remotely approaching these track problems at Kent will be disastrous...think of belle Vue v Wolves last year for more evidence...i'm weeping in my corn flakes as i write

wondering if you've considered these issues that have affected other tracks on opening night that I can recall making the spectator experience less than perfect (and in some cases extremely frustrating)..you get one opening night thinking of issues around:- starting gate malfunction P.A. not being heard in whole of stadium running out of programmes (no!!!!!) slow admission to stadium (with tight curfew this being particularly relevant here) announcer who was new to Speedway lighting in stands (on/off at right times) tractors/other machinery obscuring view club shop with no pens explaining rules for newcomers (+ page in prog) setting sun delaying heats track issues generally track grading when natural breaks if poss communications between ref and pits referee knows where 2 min buzzer is (lol) fence repairs well practised and spare parts required to hand aware of latest local weather forecast re-admission tickets provided enough toilets enough refreshment outlets - (incl different q for a cuppa so not behind someone waiting for onions) litter bins overflowing mud everywhere after rain newcomers mass relocation after heat 1after they find themselves plastered contrived result (surely not!) riders interviews not being heard as they pretty all well mumble..get them to practice in advance! traffic management before/after meeting advance notice of 'no claxons' or other planning reqs cost of admission/prog/parking known in advanc suitable music (no long periods of silence please) scoreboard being made best use of for info if poss people gaining free view from outside without paying two ambulances would be a godsend to minimise embarrassing delays in front of probably your biggest and most impressionable crowd telling everyone when the next meeting is (obvious I know!) Sorry if i'm teaching you how to suck eggs but all of above have been a cause of frustration to me in the past...and you are in a decent stadium after all so good luck, m

It was a DH - Leicester followed in the Midland Cup final..Coventry operated R/R (as if the needed it!).

Slough to Aldermaston is 30 miles, King's Lynn to Norwich is 43

on first look this is an eye-catching site and oozes professionalism..well done.

neither Clark Kent nor Bruce Kent have been named in NL lne-ups yet to my knowledge..

it is well known egon muller had the norden track prepared to his liking in 1983 and look at the result...so i certainly don't under-estimate the advantage the poles did have whilst riding at home back then...its all about familiarity..same apples these days..look at expectations of team gb riding at kng's lynn against when riding abroad...