Ipswich V Edinburgh 25/7/13

[mikec]

I see tonight that Craig Cook's been given the Belle Vue captaincy. After the SWC episode & last night's events it could be seen as pretty strange timing by some. Or maybe giving him some added responsibility may help him mature a bit & re-focus on what he wants to achieve in the sport, without responding to provocation. Only time will tell, hope it's the latter.

[orion]

Cant wait to read tomorrows sun i take it wont be on the front page.

tbf to cook he agrees with dan holt in his decision to exclude him from rest of meeting saying that heat 13 could have got nasty.

Maybe page 3 ? after all Cook and Barker are a pair of ** (surely that is not a rude word ) Edited July 26, 2013 by orion

[Django]

That specific chant IS in reference to Hillsborough and if you have reason to know better then you shouldn't make such flippant comments. A stereotypical, narrow minded, bigoted view. I'd love to have a debate on speedway with you but sadly that crosses a line and you can't see it.

[Arson fire]

That specific chant IS in reference to Hillsborough and if you have reason to know better then you shouldn't make such flippant comments. A stereotypical, narrow minded, bigoted view. I'd love to have a debate on speedway with you but sadly that crosses a line and you can't see it.

have a look at the hillsborough thread on here from a while back then come back!!! You haven't a clue.

[glasgowmicktiger]

Maybe ben will feature on dear deidre...all my work mates think im a tool and slag me off on social media sites but really im a nice guy who just wants to meet someone and fall in love.

[Django]

I don't particularly care what you've said on the subject. I found your comment on this thread offensive. I'm not a Liverpool fan but it is a subject close to my heart

[Arson fire]

I don't particularly care what you've said on the subject. I found your comment on this thread offensive. I'm not a Liverpool fan but it is a subject close to my heart

aye ok... Whatever, not as close to mine I can assure you... But your another know it all or thinks they are.

[TheReturn]

tbf to cook he agrees with dan holt in his decision to exclude him from rest of meeting saying that heat 13 could have got nasty.

 

No idea what happened last night, but the last time I saw two riders have a go at each on track was the last time I ever saw Robert Nagy race. Him and Matousek clashed at Long Eaton on the Wednesday evening, and as the two lined up the following evening, before tapes rose you could sense something was wrong.

 

If you ask me, throwing a few punches in the pits is far better than letter disgruntled riders take it out on track.

[The Doctor...]

That specific chant IS in reference to Hillsborough and if you have reason to know better then you shouldn't make such flippant comments. A stereotypical, narrow minded, bigoted view. I'd love to have a debate on speedway with you but sadly that crosses a line and you can't see it.

 

I see nowhere in his post where he repeats the chant you're referring to. And with respect, you highlighting the Hillsborough link probably only serves to get a few curious people googling it,

 

So before you posted, maybe only a few people on this thread knew about that song, now...well maybe a lot more do. Well done.

[crazysue]

And I think you're talking rubbish! OK, I agree, if cookie has damaged equipment and continued to act in an aggressive manner when talking to the referee, then fine. The ban was the right thing to do. But nobody is pointing to why it started in the first place. Will Barker explain in the Sun what the initial provocation was that made Cook react like he did? Cook had beaten him in the race fair and square so wouldn't just go and start a fight. He reacted (wrongly) to what was said. After it flew out of hand with the ref.

 

But of course, Barker won't have said anything... Poor little Benji... All the blame is on cookie. Fact is nothing would have happened if Barker could keep his mouth shut - maybe this is the reason fellow professionals don't get on with him.

 

I was one that was also lost out last night but I feel as aggrieved with the intended incitement in the programme by a supposed professional promotion team and the actions as much of your riders as our own.

 

Well done Cookie for the professional apology. Now to do the talking on the track.

 

I disagree. If, as reported, the exclusion from the meeting was because of the conduct involving the poor wee heater, then he was rightly excluded and very much in the wrong...no matter what the inital provocation was.

 

I say this as a Cookie fan rather than an Ipswich Barker fan (he is certainly not on my list of favourite riders), so bias towards Barker is not forthcoming from this quarter.

 

It's rather like one of my boys whispering something to another and then the receiver of the comment going mental whilst I am giving them both a talking to and breaking things belonging to someone else (usually mine), it is completely out of proportion to the initial comment.

[spt82]

 

 

I disagree. If, as reported, the exclusion from the meeting was because of the conduct involving the poor wee heater, then he was rightly excluded and very much in the wrong...no matter what the inital provocation was.

 

I say this as a Cookie fan rather than an Ipswich Barker fan (he is certainly not on my list of favourite riders), so bias towards Barker is not forthcoming from this quarter.

 

It's rather like one of my boys whispering something to another and then the receiver of the comment going mental whilst I am giving them both a talking to and breaking things belonging to someone else (usually mine), it is completely out of proportion to the initial comment.

 

So did heater gate actually happen? Is there proof? Because from what I've been told its a load of rubbish and that never happened.

He's admitted himself that he lost his head and the ref made the correct decision, although should've chucked Barker out too, but it would seem some parts of the story are getting a bit blown up?!

[navinjohnsonsdog]

I have read this thread with interest. What concerns me here is that there are character assassinations which somehow justify what the apparent miscreant did. I was there last night. I didn't see what happened to cause it, or the full extent of what happened in the pits. I did not hear what was said in the private room. However, it appears that many people who were much further away than me feel in a position to make a decision as to what happened based upon their opinion of one of the riders and/or their allegiance to the other. What is clear is that the referee did the only thing he could do. He fined them both and then match banned one of them for what he said & did in the private room. Craig Cook has made a wisely delayed statement, making an unqualified apology, which he then went on to qualify. I must say it was much better than I expected and feared it would be.

 

What does concern me more is the allegation that the Ipswich promotion are somehow to blame for the tantamount to libelous comments in the match programme. That's so easy to suggest to the majority of people on this forum who do not have the programme upon which to make their own a judgement and can only therefore go on what is said here. I have read and re-read the programme and for the life of me cannot find anything that could even mildly be construed as libelous. Would those who claim this please be kind enough to tell me where I can find this and while doing so tell me how this compares to the twitter statements and press that have appeared over recent days?

 

The facts and prejudiced statements have been exhausted. What I dislike intensely is an attempt to deflect the blame from the guilty to allege it was majorly contributed to by the programme notes when that simply isn't true. The injustice of these allegations are frankly appalling.

 

I for one am very impressed by the referee for taking the action he did. He tried to deal with it in a private meeting and when the verbal abuse and damage was caused did the only thing he could and should have done. Craig ought to consider himself fortunate for not being prosecuted for criminal damage!

 

Craig Cook is an excellent rider and a real talent. He has let himself down by his recent actions and hopefully will reflect on this and learn from it to be the better person. Ben Barker has acquired himself an unfortunate reputation which makes people decide he has to be responsible for anything controversial that happens that he is involved in. Let's hope that Craig does not acquire a similar reputation. What I do know is that while people defend and even support his actions here he is less than likely to succeed in this. I refer especially here to fellow riders who really should know better and be thoroughly ashamed of themselves

[crazysue]

No clue if it happened or not to be honest, I know as much (or as little) as everyone else on here.....which is not a lot!

[manchesterpaul]

Monarchs team manager John Campbell is quoted in 'The Scotsman'

 

Campbell did agree that it was highly unusual for a referee to ban a rider from a meeting for striking out at an opponent, and said: “I don’t think I have experienced it before, not that I can recall. It goes on in the pits at meetings every week"

 

Is that really true??? that there are punches thrown in the pits every week during the speedway season? Not a great piece of publicity for a sport trying to attract families.

Edited July 27, 2013 by manchesterpaul

[Mr Blobby]

At the Edinburgh meeting Cook was interviewed by Scott Wilson during the meeting about Thursday's incident.

 

Cook himself said that what he did was wrong and was not like him to react in the way that he did and he regrets it big time. He also said that Barker made a comment when going by him in the pits which he then reacted to by giving him a wee slap round the back of the head then it all kicked off from that point. He also said that the Ref was right to chuck him out of the meeting because of the way he acted in the changing rooms.

 

Was told by someone tonight who usually get all the inside information on things and is very reliable when it comes to information on things like new signings etc that Cook was chucked out for the way he acted in the changing rooms and him and Barker were then both given £350 fines each for the altercation in the pits. The person also said that this incident between Cook and Barker had nothing to do with what happened in heat 1 but with what was said on twitter between the two and because of what happened at the 4's with the crash involving Cook, Tungate and Bellego as Barker was running his mouth about Cook when he was standing outside of his van after the meeting so that people around could hear him.

 

From what this person has told me they were just as bad as each other IMO, if Cook didn't get chucked out of the meeting for the way he acted in the changing rooms we probably wouldn't still be talking about this as it would have been put down as handbags between the two an we would have all moved on.

[remembertheracers]

Ben Barker's reputation on and off track stinks to high heaven.

 

Stupid Cookie for getting sucked in.

[Baldyman]

That's the thing, cook should have just bit his tongue and beaten Barker on the track, the same as riders like Kenny Carter used to

[The Doctor...]

Monarchs team manager John Campbell is quoted in 'The Scotsman'

 

Campbell did agree that it was highly unusual for a referee to ban a rider from a meeting for striking out at an opponent, and said: “I don’t think I have experienced it before, not that I can recall. It goes on in the pits at meetings every week"

 

Is that really true??? that there are punches thrown in the pits every week during the speedway season? Not a great piece of publicity for a sport trying to attract families.

 

I would hope that JC's words have been lost, in so much that he's probably referring to a rider bashing up some furniture in the pits on a weekly basis.

 

If he's talking about punches being thrown, then he's clearly very wrong.

 

I've been going since 1990 and i've seen, in the flesh, the following:

 

Phil Morris getting nutted by the late Paul Fry.

 

Stonehewer getting thrown out of a meeting for hitting someone...might have been Dave Mullet, maybe Anders Henricksson. Edit - i think it was after a race with one of those two, he clashed with member of track staff...

 

Antal Kosco and my old friend Wiggy climbing up the fences at Smallmead to throw a few paws at Racers fans.

 

Roman Matousek knocking out all-comers at the 4TT at Peterborough in what may have been the funniest thing i ever saw as a teenager.

 

And quite possibly me getting into a scrap or two with "un-named Elite League promoter who might have football team moving onto his turf in not-to-distant-future" at Cardiff a few years ago.

 

Moral of the story, fights dont happen much.

Edited July 27, 2013 by The Doctor...

[Mr Blobby]

The scotsman isn't the best paper for actual fact! As the reporter makes up most of his articles so don't read to much into what Mr Campbell has ''apparently'' said.

[northyorksbear]

I have no first hand knowledge of the incident, or directly of the riders involved so I don't feel able to pass any comments - however can I just say thanks to all the posters on here for providing such great entertainment . To those who gave considered thoughtful response It was good to read those views, to those who just decided to post the first comment they could think of to protect their team/rider or to strike back at some post they felt was unjustified - superb haven't had such a good read in months. I'll let you all decide which category you fall into !! And before anyone decides to respond please take a few minutes to consider reply, a concept which has obviously not taken place on numerous occasions on this thread already. Cheers