Garforth Duke

Fair comments i Suppose - it's all down to opinion, although I still maintain some fans would rather have had KC on their team than against them - maybe Cradley was a bad one to choose!!! You had one or two decent riders of your own! Still, have to agree with the rivalry comment, there's nothing nowadays - everybody either gets on too well, or are too laid back to get involved. As far as what Penhall did for Speedway, much of the publicity he generated in 82 was quite negative from what I can recall (White City etc) and I seem to recall Cradley fans being not overly impressed when he quit - that probably cost Cradley the league that year. Still, as with all good riders, you do remember the good times - back to what I originally said about KC. Anything happening on the Cradley front of late?? What's the latest on a new track etc - is this still being pursued?

Just my opinion - I didn't want to go down the route of saying that other fans were jealous that he was scoring points for the opposition, but often that's why the hatred gets aimed towards these figures. I like the subsequent reference to Nicki Pedersen - he doesn't do a right lot for me as a person, but as a rider he is a class apart at the moment. He winds up riders and fans wherever he goes - it's for the same reasons! Imagine Cradley fans watching the Golden Hammer etc in 82 - Carter romps to a 15 point max, whilst Penhall messes about and gets 7! You can't tell me the home fans were not just a teeny bit envious? OK, so Penhall got his 2 world titles - that didn't do a lot for Cradley or for speedway in general did it??

This is my first post on this forum, and having read "the book" I feel compelled to reply. I was a young Halifax (subsequently Bradford) fan when KC was at his prime. To me, like many other people there, he was simply the best. It seems to me like the rights and wrongs of this book run alongside the opinions of those who either loved him or hated him as a rider - and at the end of the day, its as a rider that everyone should remember him. No-one can condone how things ended, I certainly do not. I was absolutely devastated by what happened on that Wednesday evening, and it still haunts me today, but reading the book has given me a sense of "closure" if you like - you can begin to understand what was going on, whilst at the same time remembering what a fantastic rider he was. Eric Boocock hits the nail on the head when he says of KC that we have never replaced him - we think we have, but we haven't. He is quite right. In the years that followed, I became a big fan of Havvy - and still am - but despite all his achievements (winning the things that KC never did), Gary never was KC - although probably the nearest there's ever been. They both had a winning attitude - sadly lacking in British sport generally (Henman, Coulthard etc) and I include our latest GP stars in that criticism. There is not as much will to win as the riders that ultimately do. You could never say that about KC - he meant to win, and that's what wound people up so much. But that made him great to watch - just look at Heat 20 of the 1984 BF if you disagree, and compare it to the turgid rubbish that was the GP last night. Sadly, the people who hated him at the time will walk away from any debate like this saying "I told you so" - however what happened on 21/5/86 was nothing to do with his ablity or otherwise on a speedway bike. The thing is, everyone knew in their minds that he was actually the best - however you don't like to admit to it if he's scoring 15 point maximums against your team!! Whether the book in itself is right or wrong, is up to you as individuals - I agree it may be viewed as insensitive, however life moves on, time heals as they say. Reading the book has reminded me of a lot of happy times - this was 5/6 years of my life in that book, and it made it a very compelling read indeed. RIP Pam and Kenny xx