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Soundbites: 19th June 2004
"I'm stunned. I didn't expect anything like this. I was looking for another
victory, but I thought Stoke would make it tough for us.
We left them demoralised when we hit them so hard right from the start.
They didn't have an answer. Our two new lads, Paul Lee and Kevin Doolan, have
jumped straight in and certainly strengthened the team and it was also good
tonight to see young Trevor Harding back in business."
"If they want him they'll have to buy him. I'm not interested in a loan fee
halfway through the season. I've had to buy Jason Crump from Oxford and
Kenneth Bjerre from Newcastle this season, and, if I want to bring in Rory
Schlein from Edinburgh next season, I'll have to pay for him as well.
There's no way that Ferjan is going to Poole on loan. I need the money to put
into the business here at Belle Vue."
"It's an extremely tough meeting to win. You can be riding well and making good
starts in the heats, but at the end of the day it comes down to a sudden-death
semi and final.
One bad start, tapes offence or referee's decision and it can be all over.
You must make sure you don't run a last place in those sudden-death races,
so team riding and tactics are very important, particularly with the 4-3-2-0
scoring system. I think whichever pairing wins it will need a little bit of luck."
"I'm absolutely over the moon, it was an excellent effort from all the lads.
While we were fairly comfortable throughout the meeting, I thought we were going
to let it slip away near the end when things didn't quite go our way. But
everyone pulled together and it was an excellent result."
"You have obviously had to do your homework when you are booking a guest and
Rory (Schlein) fits the bill perfectly as far as Sheffield are concerned. He rides
Derwent Park well, is in form and is a consistent rider so we know that
we have a very good guest to contend with on Saturday."
"Kings Lynn have great fighting qualities, so it was a good win for us. This
victory will give us heart for our match at Stoke tonight (Saturday)."
"It was the same old story, I'm afraid.
Richard (Juul) and Scott (Smith) got the bulk of our points, while Lubos Tomicek tried hard
even though I think the track was a bit of a culture shock to him.
We have a 10-day break before our next Premier League match and I would like to
think we will have another new face in the side by then. If we don't, it is not
for the want of trying."
"I've been enjoying it so much at Exeter this season that I don't want to miss
any more meetings. I've missed so much that it will be the end of the year
before I know it. I've been going through a bad spell so I need to come back and
not have any accidents for a while. I almost expect to have a crash at most
meetings now, so I need to get back to how it was at the start of the year."
"We didn't need that injury to Tomasz but it feels good to win two matches on
the trot. Billy and me knew what we had to do in the last race, and we were
always going to do it."
"The bottom line is that the design is incorrect.
We have fitted the air fence exactly as told by the manufacturers and we have
followed every instruction that has been given to us.
It is totally out of order to suggest that the fault lies with us. At the end of
the day the application of an Airtek fence does not work at Foxhall Stadium."
"Of course I don't want to be dropped but I feel pretty down about everything at
the moment. I've been reading things on the internet and I think Neil Machin was
saying things to disappointed supporters on the ferry coming back from the
Isle of Wight on Tuesday which then got on to websites.
Believe me, it's not nice when you hear and read that you're going to be dropped
and I would rather stay at Sheffield. I know I've let people down with my away
performances. This may sound like an excuse but I was left with inadequate
machinery for the meeting at the Isle of Wight and I just wasn't competitive."
"It's about three times the size of Eastbourne, but I'll soon get used to it and
I've got to say I was knocked out by the welcome I've received here on the Island.
I think I've joined a very good club and I'm really looking forward to the rest
of the season."
"For goodness sake, we've only ridden nine meetings out of 28.
We've got our feet on the floor, it's everyone in the press hyping it up, even
those nationally pre-season who said we'd finish eighth.
Well we might finish eighth, we might finish lower, but at the moment we're at
the top.
It's good to have the points in the bag, but the only to way to go when you're
at the top is down. You're there to be shot at."
"I just want to ride. It is up to Poole and Belle Vue to sort it out.
I'm still angry that my move to Newcastle didn't work out at the beginning of the season.
I had made all sorts of plans and arrangements. Then it fell through which was very
disappointing."
"I am very grateful to have this opportunity to lead one of the UK's most prestigious teams.
I know that there is a lot to take in and do to run a successful team but I have been around
speedway all my life so I am sure I can do it. After all it must be in my blood considering
my great-grandfather, Maurice Littlechild, was the Star's manager back in the 1960s and now
my own dad's in charge."
"On paper, Glasgow look awesome, although they aren't getting the results everyone expected. This
will be a great meeting and I can see us getting a big crowd."
"It will be a tough match at Buxton, but we could win. Wayne Broadhurst is now finding form
after coming back from a broken collar-bone. He's had a week's holiday in Cornwall and told me
that he's just raring to go."
This article was first published on 19th June 2004
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