Chapter unknown.

[schumi]

Goodness me. Still wondering what on earth is going on with Ales Dryml, today comes the news that Jesper B Jensen has left the club with immediate effect and Oxford have been granted a facility. Of course, speculation is rife. Why? Because the one man who can put a stop to it all seems intent on treating the paying fans like mushrooms (I hope you all know the analogy.)

Poor Bryn on the BSF is doing his best to defend the indefensible, which suggests that somewhere along the way something perhaps wasn't actually Oxford's fault, so why not just come forward and say? Even the die hards are asking questions (and Rob, something you said to me recently was very telling) and they have a right to know what's going on.

Today I asked someone if they knew how many of the team are still riding, and, although this person has been a fan for many years and still follows Oxford, he couldn't give me an answer. Will the meetings against Belle Vue and Eastbourne go ahead, or will Oxford collapse under the weight of it's own mess? I guess only one person knows the answer to that, and he's not telling.

[Genghis]

Schumi,

The shows goes on. Tomorrow Iversen guests for Dryml, and it's R/R for Jensen.

It's been a horrible year - 2006 was a poor year, but this one's turning out far worse.

However, it's at times like these that a club really needs its supporters - so I'll continue to support my club home and away through this lean period.

All the best
Rob

[admin]

genghis said:

The shows goes on.

Of course it does. Young Horton's already gone on record as saying he doesn't care whether people attend Oxford or not.
Dear God, people thought the Wagster was a golem, but he's got nothing on Horton and his sidekick Swales. Is that a couple of riders now with-holding their services?
It's a crying shame for the dwindling band of Oxford supporters, who have to endure endless ridicule at the hands of others, myself included (hey, the Brown deserves it, at least).

[donsking]

Must admit, seemed like a very odd press release to me; why not just have a bald statement saying JBJ has gone, rather than fuel the speculation fire by implying there's more to the situation than meets the eye?

There's a bit of cynical publicity seeking going on here, either as a simple way of keeping the club in the public eye; or the other, more sinister, option is it could be hoped to provide a smokescreen for other, less above board goings on...........

[Genghis]

donsking said:

There's a bit of cynical publicity seeking going on here, either as a simple way of keeping the club in the public eye; or the other, more sinister, option is it could be hoped to provide a smokescreen for other, less above board goings on...........

DonsKing,

Given that there is a full fans' forum following the meeting tonight, I can't see how Aaron and Colin can be excused of being anything other than above board.

All the best
Rob

[schumi]

Are you going Rob? And if you do, could you fill us in on what's said please? I have a feeling Colin's not going to have it easy.

[donsking]

So as I was saying, publicity or smoke screen?

At this point (23.45ish, Friday night) the BSF reckon Johnno isn't too struck on JBJ's attitude, neither side is offering any in depth information (other than a suggestion that Jensen jumped, but no-one knows why) and BBC Oxford seem to think P'boro is in meltdown and the whole kit and caboodle will be moved to Oxford in due course; anyone want to put me straight on any of my thoughts?

[Genghis]

Brief summary of what came up from tonight's forum

* Eric Andersson to return very soon from injury
* Ales Dryml's 28-ban runs outs around mid-June, at which point Ales will return to the Cheetahs. The 28-day ban was for Ales's benefit, to allow him to return to riding the larger continental tracks first, before having to tackle the tight British tracks. Once Ales has one more away meeting, he is likely to drop to reserve, which should help with his confidence. Aaron Lanney stated: "We WON'T leave him stuck on a 7.70 average - we won't put him on the scrapheap".
* Had Antonio Lindback been signed, there were only SIX meetings he was willing to ride for Oxford before the end of July
* Jesper B Jensen will NOT ride at Peterborough this season
* Pepe Protasiewicz will see out the 2007 season with Oxford
* There are no plans to move the Peterborough team to Oxford.
* Nicolai Klindt will NOT ride for Oxford. However, there are a couple of extra youngsters who could appear in Oxford colours before the end of the season
* Oxford also keen to build CL asset base, however there is a shortage of riders at this level
* Lubos Tomicek was in Aaron Lanney's team plans for the start of 2007 at one stage, but had to be left out because there was only around 3.10 for the final rider
* AL felt solid team put together would be hard to beat at home, but things have not gone to plan
* Colin Horton emphasised how the rest of the season will be spent planning for the future, and reassured fans that as long as the hardcore remained loyal, there will be Speedway at Oxford in 2008
* The starting gate will stay where it is for now
* Both AL and CH thought there were some hard decisions to make regarding GP riders at the end-of-season AGM. Horton was undecided, but Lanney feels the Elite League will be better off without GP riders.
* Jesper B has his reasons for leaving the club. Mick Horton revealed "with Jesper gone, the boys were really up for it tonight."
* Iversen was asked to ride for Oxford during the winter, but preferred to stay at Peterborough

Fair play to AL and CH for putting themselves in the firing line in this way. Colin doesn't beat around the bush and calls a spade a spade - while Aaron was also very frank and open.

All the best
Rob

[Deleted]

At least they told it like it is, Surely with all the hassles, can't they tempt Sullivan back or even Walasek, must be better than using R/R or guests all the time

[Genghis]

gunk said:

At least they told it like it is, Surely with all the hassles, can't they tempt Sullivan back or even Walasek, must be better than using R/R or guests all the time

Gunk,

Once Eric Andersson is back from injury and Ales's 28-day expires, they will fill the two vacancies in the team.

Ales's collarbone injury took a while to knit together properly, and he was confident of riding the larger continental tracks, but not the smaller British ones. Hence a 28-day ban was placed on him for his benefit, until he felt ready to return to British Speedway.

All the best
Rob

[schumi]

Thanks for the report Rob, but it poses more questions I'm afraid. It's all very good on the surface, but if it's that simple then why weren't the relevant press releases issued at the time? How would it have affected anything to say what was going on with Ales?

One more thing I'm not clear about. When Ricky Kling was brought in it was assumed he was to replace Ales, but we were told this wasn't the case and that he was actually in for Eric. As both of these riders are to return to Cowley who exactly did he replace, or was it already known that Jesper wasn't going to stay and therefore forward thinking?

And why does the Oxford Mail keep reporting untruths? That's two in the last few weeks now. Is this being looked into? Also the radio reports of moving PB to Oxford. Where is this all coming from? I'm afraid Colin is his own worst enemy. Rather than scotch any rumours immediately he's let things drag on for months, and in the meantime speculation is rife. He reads these things on the BSF then gets angry, when a simple explanation would have put all the rumours to bed, and people would have had a lot more respect for him.

But having said that there are some positives team-wise. Lubos is looking good, and Pepe picked up a few more points last night. Johnno scored more than expected and Niels is always a popular choice of guest, not only for his point scoring, but also for his positive attitude. Ricky is looking fairly settled too. If Eric and Ales are back soon we could at last see a more competitive team, then hopefully we'll be able to concentrate on what's happening on track, rather than off it.

[Genghis]

Schumi,

I think you're being ungenerous and a touch unfair, which is unusual for you.

Obviously our season hasn't gone as planned and has been in a constant state of flux. I don't think it was entirely clear who Ricky would be replacing at one point - but he was a talented lad who the Oxford management wanted so they went out and got him. No doubt had Oxford put out Press Releases which turned out to be different to how things transpired, you'd be critiscisng that instead. I know Bryn pulled at least one press release when everything was a little up in the air.

All sorts of ill-founded rumours and half-truths appear in the news - just look at the TV for evidence for that. The Oxford management dealt with these last night - and most have been around a few weeks, not months.

I think Colin & Aaron deserve to be applauded for staging a forum last night at such a difficult time, and for being so honest with the fans (brutally honest at times!!).

All the best
Rob

[schumi]

genghis said:

I think you're being ungenerous and a touch unfair, which is unusual for you.

I hoped you wouldn't take it that way Rob, and the reason I posted this on here is that I knew I'd get a decent response from you. My questions are genuine, and if you knew the answers then it would have cleared a few things up.

As for generosity, I think I have been generous in my praise of the riders - both my posts here and on the BSF have been entirely positive, apart from wondering why Skornicki didn't score when really he should have done, but that's another matter. My interest in the team is genuine - I don't go out to deliberately stick in the knife and will always praise when I think it's due.

Unfortunately Oxford is now headed by one man who has lost the respect of an awful lot of people, myself included. And I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say it's great, when clearly it's not. I've seen for myself some of the things Colin has posted on the BSF that he's later regretted. I've heard the stories about what goes on behind the scenes. Okay, so Miedzinski wasn't his fault, but, where I can support the team and hope they do well, I'm afraid Colin's going to have to do a lot more to earn my respect back, if indeed he can. Surely you can allow me that opinion?

[DschingisGerman Genghis]

Rob,
One question(or answer) that does seem strange.maybe it is me not seeing it clearly.But this thing about another couple of youngsters maybe being seen in Oxford colours before the season is finished.Can we expect more comings and goings?Or what is this meant to signify?Just a couple of challenge meetings,maybe

Doug

[Genghis]

schumi said:

genghis said:

I think you're being ungenerous and a touch unfair, which is unusual for you.

I hoped you wouldn't take it that way Rob, and the reason I posted this on here is that I knew I'd get a decent response from you. My questions are genuine, and if you knew the answers then it would have cleared a few things up.

As for generosity, I think I have been generous in my praise of the riders - both my posts here and on the BSF have been entirely positive, apart from wondering why Skornicki didn't score when really he should have done, but that's another matter. My interest in the team is genuine - I don't go out to deliberately stick in the knife and will always praise when I think it's due.

Unfortunately Oxford is now headed by one man who has lost the respect of an awful lot of people, myself included. And I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say it's great, when clearly it's not. I've seen for myself some of the things Colin has posted on the BSF that he's later regretted. I've heard the stories about what goes on behind the scenes. Okay, so Miedzinski wasn't his fault, but, where I can support the team and hope they do well, I'm afraid Colin's going to have to do a lot more to earn my respect back, if indeed he can. Surely you can allow me that opinion?

Schumi,

Fair enough, but I still think Aaron and Colin deserve more credit for putting on last night's forum than you're given them credit for.

All the best
Rob