WHERE'S VESPRINI?: THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS PART5
Thursday February 12, 2015
It’s a long way to Berwick a journey that must seem even longer when you’ve conceded over 60 points for the fifth time away from home.

To be fair it was a strange looking lineup with no 747 nursing an elbow injury, Young Norman, away with the Bees, or A Train who had decided that his back was too painful to continue. As I’ve already said I saw the rod that was holding the lad together and certainly can’t blame him wanting a bit more healing time. To be fair to the lads that made the 640 mile round trip they did partially put things right the following day at 6pm. It was the first time a visit from the Bandits hadn’t coincided with some sort of holiday for me and the first time I can remember them visiting when it was actually warm! The action on the track was hot as well 13 race wins and 17 points from Eddie K made us wonder quite why we were still looking at the foot of the table. Unfortunately after another 800 mile round trip things returned to type, a thumping at Workington was followed by a night at Glasgow everyone will want to forget. If there ever was an opportunity to break the away duck it was surely against a Tigers team with two National League guests in place.

The internet is a marvellous invention which we will always be eternally grateful to Tim Berners Lee for and likewise electricity is one of the greatest gifts to mankind but I must admit on Sunday 31st August both were the source of many rude words. Following the lads on updates is sometimes a necessity although it does occasional remind me of the 1980’s football joke, Question: What’s the best way to watch Wimbledon? Answer: On Teletext. (younger readers will have to ask their parents about that one.) Anyway back to the last day of August and after a pointless year away from home there I was having got home from the commentary marathon that was the British Youth Championships looking at a screen that read, Glasgow 43 Rye House 40 with 14 heats gone. Then suddenly its lights out and a blank screen staring at me I suppose I shouldn’t really lay that at the feet of Sir Berners Lee, the entire Apple corporation or Benjamin Franklin, although lets face it if we can have windup radios? So there I was hanging in the air for 2 full hours wondering if the boys had pulled off a dramatic last heat 5-1 and were at that moment celebrating on the way home. Cue lights back on Mac rebooted and oh ***** yet another pointless away defeat. To be honest that was the moment I knew the wooden spoon was on the way.

A home win over the Panthers and an away point at last at Redcar only served to delay the inevitable. When Edinburgh came to town on September 6th the difference between top and bottom in the table was plain for all to see. So to the final home meeting of a forgettable campaign which once again gave a glimpse of what might have been, victory over Scunthorpe was followed by Eddie K deservedly scooping Mr Rocket and everything else on offer. There was though no dancing in the long bar, no fireworks, and no fuss and after a season Uncle Len described as “one of the worst I’ve experienced in Speedway” that all seemed strangely fitting.