Soundbites: 16th September 2005

Thomas	Ulamek

"This club was on its knees a year ago. Whatever happens now, this has been a terrific season for us. We are the best team because we finished top of the league over 36 matches, and I don't agree with the silly play-off system. We should be the champions now, not having to play a cup competition to win it."
Belle Vue boss Ian Thomas

"I've given it a great deal of thought and have decided to call it a day. I'm not going to make it big in the sport and so it's best I get out now. I've been very disappointed with my form this year and it's hard to put right without spending lots of money on my machinery. Unfortunately it's money I don't have. I'd like to thank Weymouth manager Brian White for all his support and also the fans and volunteers at the Wessex Stadium. I've really enjoyed my time at the club and I wish the team well in the future."
Jack Gledhill of Weymouth Wildcats on his sudden retirement

"It's unacceptable behaviour and certainly something we don't want to be connected with. But until we know all the facts we will not be taking any action against Danny. Once we know all the ins and outs I imagine we will be taking disciplinary action. We'll also be working closely with the SCB to see what action they take before we decide what to do. We need to know everything first though, we don't want to act as judge, jury and executioner."
Trevor Swales of Peterborough on Danny Norton's attack on a member of the Boston track staff. Norton is owned by Peterborough.

"There's still a belief that we can snatch the league title in the final run-in to the end of the season. I was offered a chance to ride for Workington in the Premier League recently - they are my parent track - but I told them I wanted to continue at Plough Lane for the immediate future and they agreed."
Wimbledon's Grant MacDonald

"We hope to put in an application for outline planning permission within the next week. We've been talking to the chief planning officer of Teignbridge District Council and those discussions have been very encouraging. The owners of the racecourse have also been very co-operative. We are looking for quite a long lease on the site. The track will be about 300m long, but because of the timescale we're not going to have full facilities initially. But we will build a stadium that is far more comfortable than the current one."
David Short on his plans to introduce speedway to Haldon Hill racecourse in Exeter

"I am quite sure Rye House will not want to come to Armadale and Berwick are running scared and are likely to pick Newcastle as they believe they have a better chance of beating them. We think we'll end up with Sheffield Tigers, although this is only our opinion. We thought we were odds-on to face Berwick but their boss Peter Waite has already told us it won't happen. It is a surprising decision on his behalf because home and away clashes between both clubs would have proved a box-office attraction. We would have taken a big support down there and I must say I was amazed when I discovered Berwick will, in all probability, choose Newcastle."
Edinburgh promoter Alex Harkess on their likely Jack Young Shield opponents

"After we took into consideration the distance with travelling and the overall chance of getting the better of the two teams over the two legs, we felt more comfortable against Workington. I know they have a very strong team, especially with the inclusion of Shaun Tacey, Kauko Nieminen and James Wright, but we are also a lot stronger and hopefully we may have the return of Troy Batchelor for at least the home leg. Both meetings will be very entertaining and full of action. I'm sure the end result will be very close but hopefully it will be in our favour."
Kings Lynn manager Rob Lyon explains why the Stars have elected to face the Comets in the Young Shield

"I am very pleased to have joined Poole. I am really happy about it. It is good for me because Bjarne Pedersen is a friend of mine and it is also good that Krzysztof Kasprzak is already in the team because he can help me. It is the first time I had ridden in England because I have not had the chance to ride here before. So when I had a call from Poole I came over. It is great to get the opportunity to ride here. I'll probably have about 10 meetings and maybe more next year if I do well. I haven't set any targets. I'll just ride and try to learn as much as I can. I had a good meeting at Swindon and did quite well at Poole for my first time. But I've got more meetings to come and we will have to see how many more points I can get."
New Poole hero Robert Kosciecha

"I want us to finish as high in the league as possible. I think it has been a remarkable effort because when Stoney suffered his bad arm injury, it looked as if that was going to be the final straw. But the lads have rallied round magnificently and to earn bonus points from Newcastle and Berwick when they looked lost and to beat Rye House, the best team in the league, as well as earning a draw at Edinburgh, has been outstanding speedway."
Graham Drury pays tribute to his Workington Comets

"I think they will win the league and if they do then I congratulate them on the achievement. I feel they have been the best team throughout."
Newport promoter Tim Stone on Rye House

"I don't understand why they have suddenly decided to make an issue of him riding in Britain, but he says everything is now sorted out. I think they got a paddy on because they lost heavily to Bydgoszcz."
Colin Pratt on Czestochowa's unwillingness to release Sebastian Ulamek for the play-offs

"I've contacted Scunthorpe as we have to ride our remaining two Premier League fixtures, otherwise we'll face a fine. We have to run them both by the 26th to allow Rovers to start their pitch widening work. It's down to the availability of riders and the weather. I'm not certain we can fit both in next week. Scunthorpe are looking at their fixtures and if we do race there it's likely to be a Saturday at 3pm."
Hull manager Dave Peet on the consequences of Wednesday's disastrous home meeting

"We weren't at the races, we would have been better riding horses. Wayne Carter led the team brilliantly again, and Ricky Scarborough did well on his debut. Every time we have been here before there has been some dirt for grip but there wasn't any this time. That caught us out. I am sure it was a one-off, I'll be looking for a response from the team against Stoke on Sunday."
ROb Godfrey on Scunthorpe's 63-31 defeat at Wimbledon

This article was first published on 16th September 2005