Top Ten

I've been asked by Jeff Scott (Showered in Shale, Concrete for Breakfast, etc.) to write my Sheffield top ten, not as easy as it sounds, after all how do you choose between Neil Collins and Louis Carr, Arnie Haley and Ricky Ashworth?  Anyhow I made my choices and this is what I wrote;

Sheffield all time top ten.

Well first of all it’s not really “all time”, I’ve been watching Sheffield since 1972 so even though that gives me 35 years to choose from (we were closed for two seasons) I never did see Jim Airey, Guy Allott, Clem Beckett, Clive Featherby, Jack Kitchen, or Tommy Roper.

There’s also a handful of riders who have ridden for Sheffield who have got to be considered greats but who’s best years were spent elsewhere or their Sheffield career was exceptionally short, to name but a few, Sam Ermolenko, Chris Morton, Lars Gunnestad, Jan O. Pedersen and Bernie Persson.

So I’ve gone all from personal experience, no anecdotal evidence and from my own preferences.

The list would be (in no particular order).

1. Reg Wilson

2. Doug Wyer

3. Shawn Moran

4. Kelly Moran

5. Sean Wilson

6. Arnie Haley

7. Roman Matousek

8. Carl Stonehewer

9. Neil Collins

10. Peter Carr

Here’s why:

1. Reg Wilson

Along with Doug Wyer Reg was just starting out in speedway when I went to my first meeting, for the next 12 years or so he was a regular in the team, always solid at home and a class performer on the road without ever really threatening the big boys of the era.  Once he retired he spent many seasons as team manager with more success than any Sheffield manager before or since.

2. Doug Wyer

Always the more rough and tumble of the Wilson/Wyer partnership, he had the edge over Reg due to that bit more aggression in his riding – and his lightning starts, he wasn’t called Flyer Wyer for nothing.  High point was his 1976 World Final appearance, Peter Collins’ win overshadowed his achievements that day and he never managed to get back onto the biggest stage.

3. Shawn Moran

The first truly world class rider during my time at Sheffield, every team prior to the Moran era was either plain mediocre or strength in depth, with Shooey the team finally had a true figurehead.  It’s often asked what he could have achieved had he partied less, but that was part of his appeal at Owlerton, a slice of Californian razamatazz in S6.

4. Kelly Moran

If Shawn liked to party then it can only be said that he learned everything he knew from his elder brother who must be considered as one of the sports biggest under-achievers when you consider his obvious natural ability on a motorbike.  Having Kelly alongside Shawn as a Tiger for 3 years was simply amazing – and a real gift to other Division 1 tracks as they were a real drawcard at any track.

 

5. Sean Wilson

Captain Marvel as he was called during his second, and most successful spell at the club.  The successful Premier League teams were built around him and you could always see the raw enthusiasm for the sport and the encouragement he gave his teammates.  From his first meeting in 1986 as a 16 year old it was never in doubt that he would become a star, injury pegged him back a lot though and he never truly fulfilled his potential.  Always willing to have a chat with the fans, I’ll never forget the look of surprise and delight on hi face when he spotted me and Julie proudly wearing our Sean Wilson Racing shirts at the Grand Prix Challenge in Krsko in 2001.

6. Arnie Haley

My dad’s favourite rider, probably of all time, he really didn’t know when to give up. I remember a time in the early 70’s when the Tigers were truly strength in depth to the degree that Arnie was a heat leader on week then the new green sheets came out and he was at reserve despite his average hardly moving.  I don’t think he dropped a point while he was down there in the team!

7. Roman Matousek

You literally didn’t know what was going to happen from one lap to the next with Roman never mind one week to the next.  Pure entertainment, built like a nightclub bouncer he must have struck fear into the hearts of opposition riders when they saw him for the first time.

8. Carl Stonehewer

Carl was only at Sheffield for one season, the promotion had tried everything they could to sign Sean Wilson but had been thwarted at every turn, suddenly Stoney became available and he was snapped up, soon becoming a crowd favourite.  Any appearance at Owlerton nowadays and he is greeted with the Motorhead anthem “The Ace of Spades” due to a slight altercation with Newport rider Anders Hendriksen who had just dumped Stoney onto the track.  Stoney reacted by picking up a shovel from the centre green and chasing after Hendriksen.  And they say there are no characters in sport nowadays!

9. Neil Collins

A truly undervalued rider for Sheffield in so many ways, never the prime Collins brother, never a number one rider but always rock solid and dependable.  A very stylish rider without being flamboyant or flashy, his one concession being the red neckscarf flying out behind him.

10. Peter Carr

A solid second string throughout the 80’s always snapping at the heels of the heatleaders Peter came into his own when speedway returned to Owlerton in 1991 after a forced two-year closure.  By now it was second tier speedway and PC was a truly class act.  He was nicknamed the B52 Bomber because of his dives under opposition rider on the entry to the third bend.

Honourable mentions to those who were knocking on the door but didn’t quite edge their way in to the top ten, in particular;

Andre Compton

Bob Valentine

Neil Evitts

Ricky Ashworth

Greg Bartlett

Simon Stead.

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Happy New Decade

A very quiet time on the forums at the moment, Sheffield's forum is as dead as ever and this is not just due to the team being completed, it has as much to do with all the controversial posters leaving due to the ridiculous happening chronicled elsewhere on this blog.

The problem generally with early January is that everything is in the post holidays lull, there isn't even any new music to download. To counter this I downloaded five Kristin Hersh "official bootlegs" which I am now ploughing through. Just Kris with an acoustic guitar, excellent songs, excellent quality.

Why not try some?

Snow is falling outside, by all accounts we are having it easy in Norfolk, just a light dusting whereas the rest of the country is suffering heavy falls - I suppose that makes up for the weather just before Christmas when we had it much worse than the rest of England.