Commentary on One Leg!

Now some people might question the dedication of speedway riders but they certainly weren't where I was on Sunday afternoon. Yes joining me as T2TV co commentator was none other than the Bowen 747 fresh from being released from Harlow Hospital with bruised ribs and broken foot. Well getting up the stairs with one good leg is one thing but standing through 15 Heats that's real dedication. Must admit I was very aware for the first couple of heats that if I made one false move I might catapult Luke crutches and all back down the stairs. Silver be moans Bowen Commentary Box Fiasco was not a headline I wanted in the Speedway Star! But it was a cracking afternoon and I think Luke did really well putting yourself behind a microphone isn't everyones cup of tea but he's a natural bringing a real riders perspective. The Kelvin to my Nigel? No I wouldn't say that I thought we were better!
Welcome back to the skipper with a typically classy display. He reckons the track record might still go this year and after 55.7 in Heat 1 who's to say he won't be right. Couldn't help but feel sorry for Jordan what are the chances of your bike throwing a wobbler on the same piece of track in 2 consecutive heats?
Crowd was down again and it had nothing to do with the X Factor. Might just be more to do with the fact that the fans don't want League fixtures after all. Come on hands up who'd rather be looking at the chance of Young Shield or Premier Trophy silverware rather than 15 heats against Berwick on Sunday week?
At least next week its a local(ish) derby so be sure to watch out for the tractors in the car park!
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Hurricane Irene Jet Lag and the Admiral!

Yes its been a while and to those few loyal souls who admit they actually read this stuff I issue a humble apology. My Blogging report definitely reads 4 out of 10 could do better at the moment. As you can see from the title there have been a few mitigating circumstances. My planned trip to New York at the end of August to watch my other great love tennis being interrupted by what we Brits would call a "bit of dodgy weather". As the subsequent wrangle with Expedia and an insurance company that want written confirmation from BA that my flight was cancelled due to a hurricane (were they living in a sealed bunker with no communication with the outside world at the time!!) have nothing to do with speedway I'll spare you any more of the gory details. So back to the track and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the NLRC although I was that jet lagged I'm sure Ken had to point me in the direction of the starting gate on more than one occasion as the eyelids started to droop. Top stuff from young Garrity though so come on Len get a contract out!! The Hackney experiment came to a predictable end east London ain't what it used to be and plonking it in the middle of Hertfordshire was hardly going to get much support so its a warm welcome back to The Raiders next year and a chance to cheer 7 lads who are truly ours. Talking of lads well The Admiral's 16 points on Saturday definitely deserves a mention. was it me or was he looking quick? Bodes well for next season talking to him afterwards he's certainly raring to go. With the X Factor again on Len's mind its Sundays from here on in, I'm a bit confused by that one because its a moot point if anyone watching Gary Barlow and his cronies should really be allowed anything sharp like a pen to fill out their programme so quite why we're worried about the competition is anyone's guess. Maybe Uncle Len fancies himself as a judge I could just see him slotting in between the one I've never heard of and the annoying American woman. Now I'd even contemplate missing my speedway for that!

Wow! Sensational Speedway!

Much over used words on Sky Sports but I must admit even I went a bit "Nigel Pearson" on Saturday night. Leaving it to the last heat is bad enough for the blood pressure leaving it to the last lap that's heart attack material. Had we had a bit of luck earlier on it would surely have not required the skippers last gasp heroics. The ref might want another look at the start of Heat 11 having pulled back two rollers he should of made it a hattrick well that's the way I saw it from the commentary box. As for The Admiral well it really was one of those nights to be fair he couldn't help his chain going first time out and that seemed to affect the rest of his evening. Hats off to Richie for the pass of the night in Heat 12 we need some more of the same in the coming weeks. Fair play also to Stewart Dickson who showed how a good team manager can make a big difference.
Am I the only one who wonders what this new interval lark is all about? Last night we seemed to sprint through the opening 9 heats like Linford Christie and suddenly everything stopped for tea or coffee as it says in the programme. Is Uncle Len going for a Starbucks franchise in the future? Fish and Chips with Curry Sauce and a Skinny Late' anyone?
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Race of The Week

This weeks offering is a cracker involving Stevie Boxall and the Admiral Nelson http://tinyurl.com/3e49qef

Who stole the Black and White Hat?

Come on I can't be the only one wondering what Mr Havelock snr was up to last night? Being thumped after 6 heats why on earth didn't he send the lad out for a tactical? Good job he didn't as the 8-1 they should have got might just have changed the meeting. To be honest I was up in the commentary box thinking I'd been whisked back to the 80's and Norman Kingsbury was back! Fair play to the lads for a solid performance with The Admiral providing a couple of cracking moments. Andrew Silver seems to be doing an excellent job with the boy who's beginning to look the real deal.

Spoke to a bit of a glum Jordan after the meeting just get the feeling he's wondering if its all worthwhile at the moment. Hopefully its only a temporary thing as we need all the exciting riders we can get. The crowd was well down and had Uncle Len moaning about that *#!*# Russian who was racing at Lakeside. Surely Mr Sayfutinov remembers where he first appeared in the UK?
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Isn't Technology Wonderful

If this works I should be able to blog from anywhere in future!
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Rain Rain and.....

Yes I admit its been a while. No excuses although my other sporting love Tennis did get in the way for a couple of weeks. So what's been happening? A lot of frustration really, points dropped at Berwick and rain falling in Hertfordshire just about sums it up. One Saturday watching the rain fall at 6:50pm from the commentary box is one thing doing it twice in two weeks is just not funny! Another thing that wasn't funny was the stream of abuse from the Glasgow man (I refuse to use the word fan!) standing on the terrace. We'd all had better evenings and yes you had a long journey but that was no excuse for the Rab C Nesbitt routine. Far from feeling sorry I found myself hoping it rained all the way back to Glasgow. So we've still not completed our 10 home and away fixtures that the second half will be based on. A look at the league table at the moment should certainly give Uncle Len something to think about stop things now and the second half will bring trips to Glasgow, Workington, Edinburgh, Berwick, Newcastle and Plymouth that's a cool 2,037 miles. better hope we're in for a couple of months of drought!

If It Ain't Broke

There was I thinking it was only me that thought doing away with the Premier Trophy and the Young Shield was a daft idea. It now seems everyone agrees well Ritchie Hawkins, Chris Neath and John Sampford anyway. At the time I couldn't really see the argument that the fans only want league racing. Whoever put that one forward was obviously absent in 2005 when we beat Workington in the final of the Premier Trophy and must have also missed the Comets returning the compliment two years running in the Young Shield. Put yourself in the place of the fans now instead of giving you 4 chances of actually winning something we're going to take two away and leave you facing 38 matches of an incomprehensible league format that has already condemned you to mid table mediocrity now which one would you rather watch? Another case of speedway kicking itself in the kevlars. The way the league is composed at the moment The Rockets could end up with a second half consisting of visits from Workington, Somerset, Sheffield,Scunthorpe, Newcastle and Newport hardly a lineup to set Len's bank balance jangling is it. If things go really pear shaped we could end in the other half with Berwick, Glasgow and Edinburgh I'm sure they'll love that as much as we do! Hopefully sense will prevail and it will be a one season wonder but then again speedway and sense the only thing they have in common is you can find them under S in the dictionary!

The Prodigal Returns

It had been a funny old week as Arkwright said in Open All Hours. Tales of gloom and despondency on the BSF Uncle Len losing his patience with the punters and young Mitchell saving himself at the last minute from a meeting with the back straight fence. So after all that everything appeared to be set for the Rebel army to ride into town and take a win away from creaking fortress Hoddesdon for the first time. Well how wrong can you be? Two Heat wins yes TWO is all the league leaders managed as The Rockets showed they might yet turn the season around to at least a respectable level. A cracking paid maximum from the skipper who went within half a second of the track record Jordan back to form after the Byker nightmare and Nelson at last giving a glimpse of what he can do. To cap it all Heat 4 (now up for viewing at http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Sport/Speedway/Beaming-Boxall-sends-Rebels-packing-23052011.htm ) marked the return of Steve Boxall looking as good as when he left with a Championship Medal in 2007. The Boxmeister reeled off 2 more wins and was unlucky to get the rough end of a clash with Cory Gathercole in Heat 13 which robbed him of a perfect comeback.

Time I feel to put whatever went on before Press & Practice Day firmly behind us and move on. Its a long time since I've seen a broader smile in the pits afterwards to say the lad is up for it is a massive understatement. As usual it wasn't all plain sailing with Luke injuring an elbow in a horrible looking crash that took out most of the second bend fence once again Mr Gathercole was involved. Hopefully unlike quite a few 747's at the moment our one will be flying shortly as there's a busy weekend coming.

KO'd By The Toon

Hmm an interesting night on Saturday to say the least! Plenty of action before the meeting with Uncle Len receiving a decidedly mixed reaction from the terrace when he tried to explain the nature of Jason Doyle's departure. One thing is for sure though, fighting back in public rarely wins any friends. If the arrangement was as stated and nothing else was on then fair enough but in these days of Facebook Twitter etc its important to get that message out to start with and not leave fans days to speculate and make up their own stories. Its a long way from 1971 when you could rely on the fact that Speedway Star and the local paper only came out once a week so you had plenty of time to get your story straight. Now if you decide one night to have a sausage instead of your traditional fish and chips it can be on twitter before the chips have come out of the oil!

A KO'ing by The Toon was fairly predictable after the 39-39 at home which once again saw our reserves let us down. Little Ben is a lovely lad who is polite enough to shake your hand every time you interview him but for his own sake the time has come for him to take time out. It can't do your confidence any good constantly coming away with less than a handful of points and we must have reached the stage that if its allowed to continue he may never achieve what we hope he is capable of. As for Nelson well in the words of Forest Gump "you never know what you're going to get". Unfortunately for the lad though the poor performances are outweighing the promising ones about 4 to 1 at the moment. On Saturday he looked totally bemused when he fell on the first bend and the crowd yelled at him to get off the track as Luke was leading Stuart Robson. On the subject of the 747 he may have his critics but you can't fault the lad for effort and personally I'm glad to see him back in form.

Predictably someone has snapped up Jason Doyle, Newport's gain will almost certainly be our loss, all we can do is wish him good luck and say thanks for getting us out of an almighty hole at the start of the season. Who knows what we'll get from the returning Steve Boxall Sunday's performance looked promising but he'll have to get back to his 2007 form pretty quick to calm down the fans I've not seen an atmosphere like Saturday's since the last days of the Russell Empire!

The Good The Bad and The Ugly

First the good news 4 points from two meetings with Ipswich shouldn't be sniffed at, quite why we had to have two meetings on the same day though escapes me. Didn't make it to Foxhall but heard the crowd was massive but certainly think the attendance at Rye was down on what it would have been on a normal Saturday night. Lets face it who can afford to shell out over £30 on admission money plus petrol plus food etc all in a day.

Now the bad yet another injury to the Rockets answer to Frank Spencer it seems in the words of a wise old blues man who's name I've forgotten "if I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all". Quite how many more injuries Luke can take is anyone's guess but we wish the lad well and hope he's back soon.then to Heat 13 on Monday night and Jason Doyle's dislocated shoulder. Must say he managed to get off the track swiftly in what must have been agony but looking at John Sampford's face in the pits afterwards told the story. Finally we have a top rider who for me was just running into form and suddenly its back to pouring through the averages to try to find a guest. On that note hats off to James Holder who was sunning himself in Poole on Monday afternoon when he got the call from Mr S and unlike some others who'll remain nameless volunteered to drive up and take his guest rides.

Finally the ugly and that had to be Morten Risager's crunching meeting with the fourth bend fence. Commentating on racing is great but there is a real downside when you have to talk through an incident like that, my mind immediately flashed back to a similar one in the late 80's involving Hackney's Andy Galvin. Thankfully Morten walked away with just a finger injury, a pretty severe one I'll admit but it could have been so much worse.

So its off to Berwick and Glasgow with half a team...... wait a minute that's the phone ringing and its John Sampford surely he's not sunk that low down the averages!!

Three Points & Two Broken Ribs!

So how many times do you see a Premiership footballer go down like he's been hit by a small juggernaut roll round in pretend agony and then get up when no ones looking? Saturday night after we finally broke the home hoodoo, (thankfully the water cart only made its mark after Heat 8!)there I was talking to the 747 who nonchalantly told me he'd been riding for a couple of weeks with two broken ribs. Now I know a few people had been getting on the boys back about some sub standard performances but surely that puts it into a bit of perspective. Not much racing on Monday Leicester came into it after the Heat 8 soaking which certainly brought Richard Hall to life! But at least we got a much needed win with everyone getting at least a paid victory. Little Ben didn't have much luck, you have to be tough to mix it with Mr Graversen and it looked as if he had his front wheel nipped away on the third bend to me.

A tough one coming up on yet another Bank Holiday Monday. Before the start of the season I tipped Ipswich to take the title and despite Somerset's cracking start I don't see any reason to change my mind. not too impressed with the 7:45pm start though that will keep me up until the early hours making sure the match report appears in Thursdays Star. No rest for the wicked but at least I won't be typing with two broken ribs!

Victor Meldrew!

Well there could be only one reaction to Saturday night "I do not believe it!" After the boys returned from South Wales with all 4 points like a lot of people I thought the season really does start here. A 15pt max for Jordan and young Nelson flying it all looked in place for a comfortable home win. A look at the BSF will show I wasn't the only one. We were anticipating an evening as sparkling as a Steve Webb shirt but we ended up with a tour round Primark! How can a team fall apart so convincingly on their own track? Fair play to Newport and particularly Anders Mellgren a bit of misfortune might have turned into a big advantage there but we know we should still of been good enough to beat them. Talking to Jordan afterwards he made the point that at the moment the top 3 are carrying the team and looking at a few stats its hard not to agree. Between them Ben, Luke and Ritchie have had a combined total of 80 rides from which they have returned only 2 wins. When you consider that one of those was gifted by Mellgren's one error of the night on Saturday and you can see where part of the problem is.

We know all three can do better than they are at the moment. Luke is coming back off yet another nasty injury, Ritchie is adapting to a new team and Ben to a whole new way of life in the Premier League. With all that going on you need a bit of consistency and hats off to the top 3 in doing a pretty good job in providing it. That though also puts a lot of pressure on Nelson. When he performs (at Newport) we do well when he doesn't (at home on Saturday) we don't. All that said its far too early to push the panic button but it must be said Uncle Len wasn't tucking into his fish and chips with the usual gusto after the meeting on Saturday.

Who's Your Money On Now?

Funny old week particularly for a couple of the Premier League favourites. Must admit like a lot of people I had Ipswich down as the team to beat I thought they had the right balance of youth and experience while in Kevin Doolan they have a rider I rate as highly as anyone in the league. Big shock then to see them turned over at home by Somerset who seem to have taken on the mantle of "team to beat". Perhaps our narrow defeat at the Oak Tree wasn't such a bad result after all?

Newcastle were another of the pre season favourites and their chances have been hit for all the wrong reasons. Having followed a club that has occasionally made Casualty and Holby City seem decidedly boring the Toon fans have my sympathy after losing Rene Bach. Following his super show in the World Under 21 Team Cup around Hoddesdon I had him down as one to watch this season, there's no doubt he'll be a big loss on Tyneside. As for the Rockets two more defeats but a few positive signs Ritchie Hawkins seems to be getting things together Team Manager John Sampford tells me his struggles have been down to the new silencers. Nelson is also beginning to get there the fact he hasn't ridden in a team in his life has proved a big test and is probably the reason why he's yet to earn a bonus point. Here's hoping the skipper is fit for Saturday as I think we're going to need him.

Talking of Saturday's last weeks turned into a bit of a damp squib for me. Having witnessed a cracking meeting from the Dream Team in 2010 it was sad to see a side so lacking in obvious talent. The old guys did their best but the rest certainly have a lot to learn.Hard to judge quite how good the Hawks are until they get some real opposition. while the racing was poor the evenings undoubted highlight was provided by Steve Webb's choice of footwear which he proudly displayed to me in the pits afterwards. Top man Webby just what we need to pull in the punters a few more characters.

Where Was I Last Saturday?

Believe me you really don't want to know. Suffice it to say I missed my first home meeting through illness in 7 years and I was sick as a parrot. Sick being the operative word but that's enough of that! So what happened? Well according to my good mate Camera Ken from T2TV the best meeting in years. I'm sure he wasn't just saying that to make sure sales were hit when news of my absence from the commentary box got around! The action sounded fast and furious with a strange Heat 2 costing us in the end. I've said here before that Nelson is a really exciting talent but I hope he learns to stay on the bike long enough for us to appreciate it. With Little Ben finding the going a bit tough there's extra pressure on our new Aussie to be the steady one who'll consistently notch a few points hopefully that message will get across in the weeks to come starting at Scunny on Friday night. Returning to last Saturday at least I have a decent record when it comes to home defeats in the last 7 years I've missed every one except last years thumping by Edinburgh in the KO Cup. So at least I can assure myself its not me. Well either that or I used up my supply during the dark dark Russell era of the late 80's early 90's.

That Was Close!

Rockets 46 Sheffield 44
Well a lot of people rate Sheffield so maybe we shouldn't have been surprised, perhaps it was a good job Sanchez and Birks were missing or things could have been worse. Top stuff from the skipper though now hopefully we can finally put those stupid rumours to bed about his absence from the Ipswich meetings and celebrate a man on top of his form. He hasn't been beaten around Rye by an opponent since the 11th September 2010 when Kyle Legault of Newport beat him in Heat 15 of our match against the Wasps, that's some record. Jordan looked equally sharp in his three wins but there's got to be a bit of early concern about the bottom end. Love him as we do I fear it might be a season too soon for Little Ben, hopefully I'll be proved wrong but unfortunately 110% effort isn't always good enough in the Premier League. As for Nelson well it was just one of those nights, again you can't fault the lad for effort and I thought he was a bit unlucky going down when challenging Simon Lambert in Heat 2. It was heart in mouth time again when Jason and Luke flew through the fence, commentating is great at times but that part I find really tough. Thankfully both got away with minor knocks although if you see Luke's Facebook page you'll realise he's a little tender this morning to say the least.

In last years league format a point dropped at home would be disappointing but with another 37 meetings to go its hardly a disaster in fact its deja vu from 12 months ago when Birmingham did the same thing. Must also mention my some time co-commentator Shane Hazelden who did himself proud by reaching the final of the British Under 21's with a superb performance at Stoke. a nicer lad you couldn't wish to meet and he fully deserves any success that comes his way.

Don't forget if you missed last nights action you can relive every moment with a DVD from T2TV http://t2tvmediauk.webplus.net/index.html and if you want to avoid my ramblings you can watch it with the sound turned down, that way you too can hear what its like with the new silencers!

Tigers To Be Tamed?

Well that's what usually happens not surprising when you consider that you could comfortably fit the Rye House track into Owlerton and still have plenty of room. A lot of people rate the new Sheffield line up and I must admit it has a solid look about it. They've already shown what they can do by beating Scunthorpe home and away. I've no doubt Ashley Birks will turn into a very shrewd addition although he won't be at Rye as he's riding in the British Under 21's at Stoke. it also seems that Emiliano Sanchez will miss out after crashing in the Tigers opening meeting against Belle Vue. Still Josh Auty knows his way round Hoddesdon, Shane Parker is always worth a watch and Ricky Ashworth set one of the fastest times by a visitor in last seasons league meeting. Rumours abound that the skipper will return after personal problems and with Jason Doyle making his official debut I can't see anything else but a fairly comfortable home win to kick off the season. Best memory of recent meetings with Sheffield: just has to be Tai beating Andre Compton in the first leg of the Championship Final in 2007, that race alone was worth getting home at 2am for!
Teams: RH: Doyle,Bowen, Hawkins, Neath, Frampton, Morley, Nelson
ST: Parker,R/R, Ashworth, Skidmore, Auty, Bekker, Lambert

Anglian Cup Goes East

Well it didn't look very big anyway! but fair play to Ipswich on picking up the first silverware of the season. It was always going to be tough to get back 17 points after the first leg at Foxhall particularly in light of everything that had gone on beforehand. But as they say Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining and we seem to have found ours in Jason Doyle. One defeat by an opposing rider all night and the ability to out battle Kevin Doolan on a track where he has ruled in the past, that'll do for me. Talking to him afterwards in the pits he also seems to be a thoroughly nice bloke.

So what's this "Nelson" stuff all about then? The one name approach might wash with Brazilian footballers but usually thats because they have surnames that would require a four foot wide shirt. It even made a small amount of sense a couple of seasons ago when everyone struggled with Karlis Ezergaillis who suddenly became "Karlis". The name thing also brings up another dilemma how do you address the lad. I must admit on Press and Practice Day I bottled it completely and went for the tried and tested "Hello Mate". Well whatever you call him he certainly looks the business, cracking style and certainly no fear, only problem is will he avoid injury? Riding like that the smart money unfortunately will be on the fact he doesn't last the season but I hope I'm wrong.

Talking of injury hats off to the 747 who returned in fine style with a paid 11 score. I know how frustrated he was with the way things turned out last year and it was good to see Dad Kevin with a beaming smile in the pits afterwards. While we're doffing our head gear well done to Little Ben for pulling out of the GB Under 21's at Stoke on Saturday to ride Premier League against Sheffield. Its going to be a tough season for the young man but with an attitude like that he deserves to succeed.