moxey63 Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 Yet another fan has realised the silliness of one of speedway long-established rules - the guest system - and it throwing up the case of Scott Nicholls. One night he's battling for his second-placed Belle Vue team against Wolves, who are top. The next thing, he drops in to the Wolves line-up as a guest, in the process battling to keep Wolves ahead in the table of his Belle Vue team! Dum-de-dum-de-dum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 Yet another fan has realised the silliness of one of speedway long-established rules - the guest system - and it throwing up the case of Scott Nicholls. One night he's battling for his second-placed Belle Vue team against Wolves, who are top. The next thing, he drops in to the Wolves line-up as a guest, in the process battling to keep Wolves ahead in the table of his Belle Vue team! Dum-de-dum-de-dum... There was a better letter about Woffinden swearing in the same edition - in my opinion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted July 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 There was a better letter about Woffinden swearing in the same edition - in my opinion. What... about the guest rider farce? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 I recall Ivan Mauger turning down a guest booking (Belle Vue?) as it may well have affected the chances of his team, Exeter, from winning the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted July 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 I am not saying that it hasn't happend in the past, but this was in the space of 24 hours. If you want a credible sport, this is one of the things that needs addressing. As I have felt for ages, the sport is all about getting the next match out of the way. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 (edited) I am not saying that it hasn't happend in the past, but this was in the space of 24 hours. If you want a credible sport, this is one of the things that needs addressing. As I have felt for ages, the sport is all about getting the next match out of the way. The guest system was out of control when I used to go to speedway but I have to confess I'm not familiar with today's rules on guests. Once upon a time it was used for missing heat leaders but then it became common practice to replace missing reserves with a guest! I recall Oxford once using John Davis as a guest for...John Davis! The example you give does seem totally bizarre I have to say! Edited July 21, 2016 by steve roberts 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 The guest system was out of control when I used to go to speedway but I have to confess I'm not familiar with today's rules on guests. Once upon a time it was used for missing heat leaders but then it became common practice to replace missing reserves with a guest! I recall Oxford once using John Davis as a guest for...John Davis! The example you give does seem totally bizarre I have to say! Once Kai Niemi was "paid off " - allegedly when guesting for Reading and scored a big fat zero !!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 Once Kai Niemi was "paid off " - allegedly when guesting for Reading and scored a big fat zero !!!! Remember that! I was there. Someone in the crowd shouted "How much you been paid by Hackney?" To which one wag replied "More than Reading are paying obviously!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert72 Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 There was a better letter about Woffinden swearing in the same edition - in my opinion. You mustn't say anything bad about the golden boy on here or the mafia will be out in force Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 Remember that! I was there. Someone in the crowd shouted "How much you been paid by Hackney?" To which one wag replied "More than Reading are paying obviously!" Pretty sure I was there as well !! 1980 he was riding for Eastbourne at the time and Hackney were our biggest rivals for the title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 Pretty sure I was there as well !! 1980 he was riding for Eastbourne at the time and Hackney were our biggest rivals for the title. We had the better guest that night in Les Collins (for Plechy) and won 40-38. The Hawks won the battle, but lost the war. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted July 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 How we can remember 40 years back, but have trouble naming this year's one-to-seven.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no-brakes-uk Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 It was only a couple of years ago that riders from teams in the play off semis we're guesting for other teams who were also in the play off semis. As I recall there was then a rule introduced to stop it happening again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 How we can remember 40 years back, but have trouble naming this year's one-to-seven.. I guess it was just so much more memorable. Talking of guests, favourite guest riders could be an interesting topic. At Hackney the aforementioned Les Collins was always a popular choice. Also Terry Betts always did well for us, I remember one night he scored a full 15 point max, along with Keith White scoring a full 18 point max. Quite a rare occurrence! Kenny Carter guested a few times even though it was quite a journey for him. I think he got on well with Len Silver and always did well. Our worst guest without a doubt was Bobby Schwartz. He rode for us against Cradley, scored 3 ponts and we lost 38-40. In hindsight it wasn't the smartest decision from Len, considering his Cradley connection and his friendship with Bruce Penhall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyfan Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 When Michael Lee was banned back in 83? Pooles favourite two guest riders for him were John 'cowboy' Cook and Phil Collins and both always did a sterling job for the Pirates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 (edited) Martin Ashby was a favourite guest in place of the sadly killed Tommy Jansson. In fact Cyril Maidment wanted to sign him due to his popularity but Martin decided otherwise. Guest riders have always been a thorny issue but how does one replace a missing number one? Hackney would have been in dire straights if after losing Dave Morton early during the 1977 season they had been denied the use of guests. One had to admire John Berry's stance when he took a stand and refused to use guests especially when it could have caused his team, Ipswich, to lose out on the 1976 championship when John Louis missed some matches due to a shoulder injury. Edited July 22, 2016 by steve roberts 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 Guest riders have always been a thorny issue but how does one replace a missing number one? You could maintain a pool of non-affiliated riders to use as guests - maybe offering them a fixed fee to cover set-up costs, or a guaranteed number of meetings during the season. Or alternatively run some sort of points handicap system to compensate for having to bring in a rider of lower ability. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester Hunter Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 (edited) I recall Ivan Mauger turning down a guest booking (Belle Vue?) as it may well have affected the chances of his team, Exeter, from winning the league. You've got that the wrong way round Steve. Ivan Mauger accepted a guest booking for Wolves against Belle Vue, because if the Aces won at Monmore Green, it gave them the title over Exeter. It certainly worked. Ivan top scored (I think), and Wolves won the match 40-38, giving Exeter the championship. Edited July 22, 2016 by Leicester Hunter 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 You've got that the wrong way round Steve. Ivan Mauger accepted a guest booking for Wolves against Belle Vue, because if the Aces won at Monmore Green, it gave them the title over Exeter. It certainly worked. Ivan top scored (I think), and Wolves won the match 40-38, giving Exeter the championship. Thanks for that! The old memory plays tricks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ommer Mon Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 Candidate for the daftest ever guest situation was the 1989 KO CUP Final when Jimmy Nilsen rode for both teams! He rode for Cradley at Monmore and for Wolves at the Wood. Happily our Jimmy Nilsen was much better than theirs and the Heathens scooped the Trophy! I wonder which medal he picked up or whether he got both winner's and loser's. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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