Fozzie4388 Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ben Hopwood Hackneys first signing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Blimey thats a slight turn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vog Posted February 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Also signing Barrie Evans so long as he can get some sponsorship down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 A very good rider at this level. Any other surprises? George Barclay at number 7? I really do welcome these changes but hope we still have shane ben marc and Joe - although I suspect the latter will now be heading Mildenhall way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 (edited) Surprised at the signing of Ben Hopwood,a decent middle order rider who has been around a while and may well have reached his level,hope im wrong,..Barry Evans sponsers should respect the riders wishes where he rides..However i suspect the Rye/ Lakeside fans are more concirned about signing the youngsters with real potential You know the lads i mean... Edited February 9, 2011 by waco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikko Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Surprised at the signing of Ben Hopwood,a decent middle order rider who has been around a while and may well have reached his level,hope im wrong,..Barry Evans sponsers should respect the riders wishes where he rides..However i suspect the Rye/ Lakeside fans are more concirned about signing the youngsters with real potential You know the lads i mean... Â With respect waco local sponsors want exposure within their area. Â I fully appreciate some sponsors do move with riders, for example, I have confirmed to Barrie that I will honour my sponsorship for him this season, but many dont. Yes the sponsors should respect a riders wishes where he riders but at the same time any rider should respect that sponsors, especially local ones, may not wish to sponsor them once they move. Â At the end of the day most sponsors hope to gain business from their sponsorship therefore sponsoring a rider in your area makes more business sense than sponsoring someone riding outside your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Of course I am delighted the Hackney Hawks are back racing, not just the odd occasional micky mouse challenge but back in a league to race. Of course you will never please all of the people all of the time. Yes Hackney did loose supporters when they became the Kestrels. I was just pleased to see speedway at the old Waterden Road track continue. Potentially it could have finished in 1983, so at least Hackney was able to race for a few more years until that awful 1991 season.  I have for many years tries to keep the Hackney Speedway flag flying, I never imagined in my wildest dreams they would once again be gracing tracks up and down the country.  It has been posted on speedway forum before, but I am attempting to get a memorial plaque or something similar as close to the old track as possible, to remember the young men who lost there lives at Waterden Road. Of course I refer to Dusty Haigh, Alan Clegg, Vic Harding, Denny Pyeatt and Paul Muchene. If you are on facebook, there’s a group set up called ‘Remembring our Fallen Speedway Hero’s’ With the Hawks back on track it couldn’t have come at a better time to getting this memorial in place. It has well over 1500 people who have joined the group and would ask you also to join if your not a member. Speedway has a massive following on facebook from all over the world, [including former Hawks favourite Zenon Plech and Dave Morton to name but a few] many different riders from the past and the current crop of our speedway stars , plus of course many thousands of fans.  Yes I’m very pleased to see Hackney back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 With respect waco local sponsors want exposure within their area. Â I fully appreciate some sponsors do move with riders, for example, I have confirmed to Barrie that I will honour my sponsorship for him this season, but many dont. Yes the sponsors should respect a riders wishes where he riders but at the same time any rider should respect that sponsors, especially local ones, may not wish to sponsor them once they move. Â At the end of the day most sponsors hope to gain business from their sponsorship therefore sponsoring a rider in your area makes more business sense than sponsoring someone riding outside your area. Glad to here that you put the rider first in your sponsership and that really was the point i was trying to make..Obviously the other sponsers are more concerned what they are getting out of it.. Theres speedway people,,, and hard nose buisiness men...I am aware of the help you give to a number of riders and i understand your point..I just hope Barry has an enjoyable season whoever he rides for.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Spot on Rob. Great couple of posts. Â I 100% agree - there is NO-ONE on the BSF who posts better and more sensible but still thought-provoking stuff that Mr. Mc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Spot on Rob. Great couple of posts. Â Â I 100% agree - there is NO-ONE on the BSF who posts better and more sensible but still thought-provoking stuff that Mr. Mc... Â Many thanks to you both. I just try to say honestly how I feel. It's very reassuring to know some are listening. I hope you both enjoy the season to come after this quite appalling winter. Â Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squall Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Surprised at the signing of Ben Hopwood,a decent middle order rider who has been around a while and may well have reached his level,hope im wrong  IMO, you are wrong! He's still a youngster and is improving. The above quote brings back memories of a year ago when someone said Josh Auty hadn't 'made it'. Some people expect too much too soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) IMO, you are wrong! He's still a youngster and is improving. The above quote brings back memories of a year ago when someone said Josh Auty hadn't 'made it'. Some people expect too much too soon... [/quote A Year ago Josh Auty was at a considerably higher level than Ben Hopwood is now..Ben is a decent rider at his level in my opinion (and that is all it is.)This may be his level or near to it.. Edited February 10, 2011 by waco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGER KLINGON Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 didnt haines and hopwood used to be quite close in the under-15s? Even Haines who hasnt done a great deal since then is still miles and miles ahead of hopwood, cant see why the signing has been made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_boon Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 To me, because I started with speedway in '88, Hackeny Hawks sounds odd - Hackney Kestrels is more up my alley  Anyway, I hope that one day the Hawks/Kestrels ride again, hopefully at their own stadium (Upton Park's soon going to vacant ), and that a new Andy Galvin, Paul Whitaker, Steve Schofield, or Michael Warren will emerge from their ranks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
25yearfan Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 I 100% agree - there is NO-ONE on the BSF who posts better and more sensible but still thought-provoking stuff that Mr. Mc... Â I agree that Rob McC normally posts very sensible posts and sounds like he knows his stuff about speedway. This is why I find it so bemusing that he continues to stick up for/heap praise/doesn't see the reality on a failed wannabe dreamer, bodge job promoter whos recently and rightfully had the door shown to him when he attempted to return to the promoting ranks! Â Â Great to see Hackney back in speedway albeit as a "cuckoo" at Lakeside and Rye House. Surely there must be some available space/smaller stadium within the Olympic site that could be used for a proper Hackney return at a track of their own after 2012? Â Hopefully the Olympic committee will be true to their word and make full use of the Olympic site creating a true legacy for North London and England. This would in my eyes have to include a speedway stadium! Â I remain convinced that London could accomodate two viable speedway tracks and teams if both venues were well run. One in South London, Wimbledon and one in the North, either Hackney or Romford? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) I agree that Rob McC normally posts very sensible posts and sounds like he knows his stuff about speedway. This is why I find it so bemusing that he continues to stick up for/heap praise/doesn't see the reality on a failed wannabe dreamer, bodge job promoter whos recently and rightfully had the door shown to him when he attempted to return to the promoting ranks! Â Â Â It's very simple. I've known Steve Ribbons for years and have been acting as a helpful ear over the phone for over ten years now. I was involved in the 99 Rye House revival and also with him at Wimbledon and Sittingbourne. I would have been helping out at Mildenhall where he wanted me to be the meeting presenter, an offer I hsad to decline simply through the distance involved. I did not get involved with Norwich/Swaffham because I didn't agree with the idea. Â As for my own credentials - forty years of following the sport, several years as a meeting presenter and announcer, including five years at Rye House, an occasional speedway journalist and for a frustratingly brief spell chief presenter and commentator on speedway for Britain's first dedicated sports TV channel. Yes there is plenty I don't know, and many others know far more than I but I think I've earned a right to be at least heard. Â Most of all, I've done my time on freezing cold terraces, hundreds of miles from home supporting my team and living speedway since I was first captivated by it in 1971. Â Of course I don't know everything that has gone with Steve over the years but I do know plenty, and far more than the vast majority of posters on this forum. Â When Steve came to me to tell me about Mildenhall I stressed to him the need for this one to work - that he needed capital and in turn the Fen Tigers desperately needed stability. Steve's finances now are very different from his days as a willing fan. Â It's very, very easy on a forum for hearsay and rumour to become 'facts' and indeed that has happened over Mildenhall this year. Now 25 Year Fan may have insight that I do not have but since he like most on this forum hide behind a false name how can I judge, except on what I read here. Â Make no mistake Rye House's revival was started by Steve, as was Wimbledon's. In the lattter case it is incredibly difficult to tell the story since an individual concerned has a hold over the BSF and has all comment about him banned. This posting may also be deleted for me just stating that. (I'm keeping a copy this time in case it is). Â It's hard to defend someone when the whole story can't be told. Steve has been harshly treated and yes his combative style has made important, influential enemies. There should be no confusion over an apparent conflict between my forum postings and my support of Steve. Both are based on my sincere beliefs. Â There is an old line of 'Give a dog a bad name..." Well I am furious that Steve wasn't given the chance to clear his and that the usual ill-informed judgemental rubbish keeps being repeated by those who really haven't got a clue. Â Now, this is about Hackney, not Steve, but short of transferring these postings to a separate thread I have no choice than to post here. Â In 1999 we were criticised for creating a nomad team in the form of Rye House, quite offensively and ignorantly by an individual in power within the NL. Well, I see the creation of Hackney as being a natural progression. Many others have been inspired by Steve's vision and supporters of Wimbledon, Redcar, Scuinthorpe, Weymouth and perhaps Dudley can be thankful that he bothered to do something, even though his reward has been so viciously undeserved. All of those were represented by 'nomad' teams following Steve's example. Â I look forward to seeing Hackney race on their own track again one day and it will be heighterned by the knowledge that I played my part in supporting a friend establish a principle - that someti8mes, if we dare to dream we CAN make a difference even if we get despised for doing so. Â Rob McCaffery. Edited February 10, 2011 by rmc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMW Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Of course I am delighted the Hackney Hawks are back racing, not just the odd occasional micky mouse challenge   I am sorry I know I shouldn't bite but could you keep, the analogies of, the worthwhile work going on to stage second halve challenges and give riders opportunities of race practice and supporters associations doing their all to bring teams back to life out of it.  26 years Leicester Lions supporters gave to that cause including staging 'challenge matches' to keep the name out there.  Where else do you think riders and teams are going to come from. Regardless of popular misconception pulling items out of hats is an illusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 I am sorry I know I shouldn't bite but could you keep, the analogies of, the worthwhile work going on to stage second halve challenges and give riders opportunities of race practice and supporters associations doing their all to bring teams back to life out of it. Â 26 years Leicester Lions supporters gave to that cause including staging 'challenge matches' to keep the name out there. Â Where else do you think riders and teams are going to come from. Regardless of popular misconception pulling items out of hats is an illusion. Â You are of course quite right in most points but please cut Paul some slack over the use of 'Mickey Mouse'. Paul's one of the most genuine people I've met in the sport. I would disagree with him though about this view, but not lose one speck of respect for him. Â In many wauys this follows-on from my last posting and I apologise for leaving Leicester out of the list of 'nomad' teams, especially since their dream is now coming true. Â The problem is for every Hackney,, Dudley, or Rye House there was a Southampton - we were told in the latter case it was a serious attempt to get the sport back there but the jury is very much open on that one. Â It was easy for some promoters to put on challenges against lost teams just to make a few quid out of speedway-starved supporters. I'm sure in many cases the intentions were genuine to give fans 'another night'. Personally I'd have umpteen challenge matches against whatever named team, you like if it gave us back: Â Hackney, Cradley Heath Wimbledon Canterbury Ellesmere Port Oxford Reading Crayford (yes even them) and so many other tracks. Â I'd dare to include Rayleigh and I'm sure Paul would include Romford. Â Yes, it can be dismissed as dreaming but in several cases it's borne fruit as Leicester will find to their joy this year. A few challenge matches are a small price to pay, and anyway, if they're fun what's wrong with them? Â Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribbler Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 The problem is for every Hackney,, Dudley, or Rye House there was a Southampton - we were told in the latter case it was a serious attempt to get the sport back there but the jury is very much open on that one. Â I don't know anything about any of the others - but I do know that trying to find a site for Southampton was serious. Â I lived in Southampton at the time. I was born there and that's where my parents went for their speedway fix in the late 1940s'- early 1950s hence the So'ton Saints avatar. Charlie Knott did a lot for Southampton. Â In the late 1990s ( I think)there was a real effort to find a home for Speedway. Everywhere that was tried was refused planning applications - mostly from the NIMBY brigade. It was in the local paper on and off for a couple of years or more - mostly about yet another refusal of application. The nearest they got to sucess was (I think)in the Lordshill/Rownhams area on the Southampton/Hampshire border. Southampton Football club spent years and years trying to find a place for a new ground. Eventually they were successful - but of course they had a lot more money to use to fund their endeavours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tocha Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 The Hawks' first meeting will take place at the Arena Raceway on Good Friday afternoon, 22nd April against opposition yet to be named. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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