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."
Keith Chapman after his King's Lynn side thumped Stoke by 67 to 27 on Wednesday

"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."
John Perrin on Matej Ferjan's move to Poole

"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."
Reading's Danny Bird on Sunday's PL Pairs

"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."
Weymouth manager Mike Vernam on their win at Wimbledon

"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."
Ian Thomas

"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)."
George Stancl on Glasgow's home win on Thursday

"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."
Newcastle boss George English on their hammering at Sheffield

"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."
The unlucky Nick Simmons of Exeter

"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."
Andreas Jonsson on the Bees' win over Ipswich

"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."
John Louis on the controversial Ipswich Airtek fence

"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."
James Birkinshaw

"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."
New Islander Ulrich Ostergaard

"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."
Eric Boocock on the Vikings title challenge

"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."
Matej Ferjan

"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."
New King's Lynn co-manager Jonathan Chapman

"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."
Stoke team manager Nigel Crabtree

"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."
Wimbledon boss Dingle Brown

This article was first published on 19th June 2004