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Treating a speedway fan not as a speedway fan but as a valued paying customer. The difference is that with the former you can get away with a sub standard product, with the latter you can't. With the massive amount of competition in the leisure industry and the difficulty of attracting and retaining support it has to be the case that a paying customer is looked upon as the life blood that he actually is, not a mug to be taken for granted. We are not in the 1950's or 1970's any more. We have all been there. Rubbish tracks prepared without care or for the wants of riders. Filthy, uncared for facilities. Overpriced, dreadful food and a bar on taking your own in. Appalling customer care - aggressive, contemptuous and even abusive responses to legitimate criticism or questions from promoters, team managers and club press officers. Shambolic organisation, leading to ridiculous delays. A total lack of imagination regarding the entire meeting, because its not just about speedway. I believe all of that can be addressed at little cost - in fact I know it can, because Isle of Wight have done it.

The shocking news would have been if Panthers were not running. If you read what he's been brought in for then it makes perfect sense tbh. Rathbone still calls the shots and I'm sure that Neil will do a good job away from Supremo Horton. Given that Rathbone will be treading on eggshells with our lords and masters during 2018 I'd say that bringing in someone who seems to understand the rules and other issues as much as Neil is a smart move? Rathbone will no doubt listen to Neil and take his advice on board. I don't get the impression that that was one of Horton's strengths. Apologies for a positive post, I'll go and lie down for a bit!

1. Marketing/Hype. - No marketing of the Sport nationally yet millions paid out to riders who patently didn't maintain the crowds interest or numbers. Look what Barry Hearn has done with darts? Look at how the PDC is marketed v the 'other' organisation the BDO? Its the same game! But that is where the similarity ends. Hearn marketed the Sport, and the players incrementally earned more as the Sport grew organically. He didnt pay out huge money before he had it coming in! In 1993 the Winner of the World Title earned £64k. This time he will get £440k.. One is loud, brash, colourful and very, very succesful. The other tries to match it (badly) and tries to be all things to all men from grass roots to World Champions.. British Speedway is the BDO to Poland's PDC, stuck in a time warp of a by-gone era which has no linkage to today's society.. 2. Attendances - Not spotting that an ever growing older demographic was your only dwindling customer base. (Just like Woolworths, and we know how that went). And even if they did spot it, doing absolutely nothing nationally as a colllective about it (see point one)... 3. Credibilty. - planning fixtures to suit riders needs rather than the requirements of the fans. Resulting in disjointed schedules, and a plethora of 'Mickey Mouse' meetings, full of guests, which render the whole competition a waste of time and loses any emotional involvement a fan should have following 'their team'. And if a competition is a 'waste of time with no credibilty', simply "why go to watch it?" 4. Admission Costs. - Maybe due to costs they cannot be lower? But quite simply, you will not attract a regular crowd every week/fortnight/tri-weekly/every fourth Wednesday if the dogs isn't on and we can get Greg over (delete as applicable). There has to be a way of reducing entrance fees. We who are left are used to paying inflation busting admission fees, now circa £18, but any newbies (which the Sport so desperately needs) will be very reluctant to dip their toe in the Speedway water at those prices. Remember, most won't have a clue about the Sport other than via TV or YouTube. Forking out £50 or so for a family not knowing beforehand if they will enjoy it or not is a big ask I would suggest. And one not too many will take.. 5. Integrity - Far too many rules and regulations mean the more switched on will invariably find loopholes to gain an advantage. All this does is frustrate fans of other clubs who either follow the rules honestly (or maybe are not savvy enough to do the same?). Assessed averages based on performances from previous years? He can ride in that division on an 8.00 average/But Him on a 6.50 cannot? He is Swedish, but blonde, but also left handed, so is a 5.00 not a 6.00? etc etc just paints the Sport as an insular nonsense. Self policing is often no policing and as long as those who make decisions have a vested interest in that particular decision, there will always be suspicions of things being contrived and manipulated. Not a great way to encourage fans to 'buy in' to your Sport with emotion (and cash).. 6. It's Not Just The Speedway - As years go by and times change, people want more from a night out. Except in Speedway where the policy seems to be 'if it was good enough for Great Uncle Jack, it's good enough for them today'! Many it appears, simply opens the gates and expect thousands to flock in. It's the same tired old routine at so many tracks with absolutely zero extra to enhance the evenings experience. People want more bang for their buck these days! Speedway's well meaning amateurs unfortunately are not equipped with the relevant skill set to deliver it.. In Summary TMC. For me there are far too many self inflicted wounds compounded by a complete lack of vision and adaptability over the years to turn the Sport around. It is crying out for modern thinking, dynamic and clear leadership from someone who understands marketing and customer needs and wants. Always struck me as odd that as 'Rome has burned around them' the 'Nero's' who have run the Sport have paid over the past 20 years literally tens and tens of millions out to riders, who by their presence havent even maintained crowd levels never mind increased them, yet haven't paid a penny to any professional marketing company who maybe could have hyped the Sport enough to get it on the wider community radar... An incredible business plan..

Not obsessed just getting fed up like many on here.

Conpletely agree with all of this

Tony Mole said the most important aspect of his final interview as a promoter ( in the SS ) , right at the start, that he was giving up because he felt that he had " run out of ideas to get the general public interested ". And there lies the truth of the matter. No-one can do that. Certainly if TM can't it's impossible. It does not matter how much re-organisation or rule tweaking the BSPA undertake if they collectively ( and individual promoters themselves ) cannot get people into the stadium. Getting the general public in to sample the "show" and see how good on track racing excitement can be, is the only way forward if Speedway GB is ever to see a revival. Thanks and farewell Tony. We now need A Real Showman ( oops Showperson ) to make people see speedway as a fun night out, worth spending their money on. Every track should seriously consider putting on a Open Doors Free Entry meeting early in the season AND market it hard so that their stadium is 100% full for that meeting. The "Wow This is Speedway Racing" meeting should be very crisply presented so that the time ( and interest in it ) does not drag! Every person should be given a free race card with some basic newbie info on "what you are seeing" tonight. The track should be prepared as well as possible as a fair racing track ( not for the best home team advantage ) and the riders should be meeting with fans before and after the meeting for autographs ( Hug your Hero selfies time etc ). And the riders should be told and understand that this is a speedway show - designed to impress and catch new fans. I know, I can hear the shouts of " do you know has much that would cost?" BUT it is money well spent on advertising and almost guaranteed to being thousands though the gate to see the on track spectacle ( hopefully presented at it's best ) IF you should it loud in the couple of weeks before the date. Every spectator should be given a Feedback Card re "what did you like best and what if anything did you not like" etc ) . The promotion needs to read and listen to the valuable feedback offered ( especially by newbies ) " Will you be coming again?". Unless the general public do see speedway RACING at it's best then there is no hope of them bothering to return. Especially if they cannot see it on TV where they must see a stadium full of fans really into the racing and having a VFM good night out.

Have you Bees supporters listened to The TALK SPEEDWAY PODCAST on Twitter where Save Coventry Speedway campaigner Jeff Davies is interviewed for 42 minutes .. Without taking sides this is an absolute brilliant , enlightening & passionate interview .

Not for the first time you are 100% wrong.

Its interesting to read your - very reasonable - comments here. I have mentioned Isle of Wight here (and many times before). They have a policy of allowing Islander newbies in for one meeting (that includes their family) for free by taking their names and putting them on the gate. At the end of the match, they are asked to give feedback to the promotion. No cards are given out, but announcer Rob Dyer does give a brief but informative outline of the sport before the racing starts. The racing is decent. There are autograph sessions before every meeting, and riders are usually in the bar afterwards. One member of the promotion tours the crowd during the meeting, and does so every week. Last season, I saw away fans invited on to the centre green. That is part of the reason why Isle of Wight speedway is, in my view, a blueprint or at least an example as to how speedway tracks should operate. The cost of all that ? Pretty much nothing. If a fan isn't going anyway and you let him in free, you haven't lost a penny. Feedback, centre green and pits visits are just a matter of a little time and effort.

Hearing rumours today that we've signed Chris Holder, Robert Lambert, Charles Wright and Bradley Wilson-Dean.... remains to be seen how true that is!

As I said on another thread, the likes of Bartosz Zmarzlik, Maceij Janowski, Patryk Dudek, and the Pawlicki brothers were cuttung their teeth at the deep end from age 16 in Poland. The result is that Poland won the SWC with effectively an u23 team. Not to mention the success of their u21 team in their own event. I dare say that if the Poles put out an u19 or even an u17 team they would wipe the floor with all comers in those age groups too. That's what British riders need to emulate. Being up there with the best in the world, not the toddlers who get races stopped after half a lap because they can't stay on their bikes. It's no good wrapping them up in cotton wool and making them nice and comfortable in the kindergarten league. These young men need to mature improve and develop in a competitive environment that challenges them and improves them...all the way to the top.

And there's the problem. The horse designed by committee scenario. The resulting camel that's designed to be most things to most people and ending up being useless to all.

Not even santa is that much of a miracle worker.

OK, a million different views have been expressed about the cause of British speedway's steady decline towards the abyss and what has caused it over the past 30 years or so, but let's cut to the chase and get to the point. Forget stupid nonsense such as the black & white helmet and the tac sub rule (where and when it should be applied) - they are not compelling reasons in themselves why most clubs are running at a loss, even some who would have you believe they are doing everything very well (see you, Glasgow). There are very clearly a number of factors which, when combined, have broken the camel's back. But, for all speedway's ridiculous self-inflicted damage by self-serving promoters, some problems are unique in a speedway sense and are beyond the BSPA's control. No-one seems to want to even mention it, but speedway fans are feeling the pinch more than anyone. We know that through our business. Talking generally, whether supporters' income has been reduced due to unemployment, their benefit allowance cut, or they would rather spend what relatively little disposable income they have on other things, the harsh reality is speedway is losing out. The promoters can't continue to charge more for less, it's totally illogical and will only end in tears. So let's state no more than SIX good reasons why British speedway is in such a perilous mess (and, by definition, what needs putting right). We can start another thread with six things that would IMPROVE British speedway another day soon, but let' s start by recognising the problems before looking at possible solutions... All I would ask is, please be realistic . . . WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG? 1 2 3 4 5 6 BSPA, you might want to take note . . .

Where admission is concerned, I don't think its a matter of how much you pay but whether you get value for money that is important. As an example, I paid £17 to watch the Aces-Wolves Premiership fixture last season and it convinced to go to the NSS even more, because it was just brilliant. Everything went right that night. On the other hand, in quite possibly the majority of cases I probably didn't get my moneys worth. I don't think that in a comparison with other sports speedway is that expensive. Two adults and two children under 11 at Belle Vue is £34. At Isle of Wight, £24. Its rare that a family ticket will set you back £50. Halifax RLFC would be £44. Halifax Town £46. Leeds United £76 (at the cheapest, it could be over £100). Huddersfield Town £90. To go a bit further, Huddersfield Odeon is £31.50. You are right, though, that as its a matter of attempting to get people to go in the first place it makes things much more difficult even if prices are less. My own view is that nothing beats word of mouth - if someone is continually banging on how good it is, you are more likely to try it.

I was going by the article in Speedway Star but accept that others are impacted (not sure though how many of them would want to ride at the lower level). If they do not get a PL offer then they are effectively banned from UK speedway which cannot be right. The problem is of BSPA's own making given that we have riders with 'superior' PL averages who qualify for a Championship berth whereas those with lesser averages do not. The law of unforeseen consequences applies.

To be honest I may well leave it as it is now, the reason for changing to GB was that people who haven't met me assumed I was female

Yes it does. Neil won't be involved with Coventry now so Mick Horton will be left with the sinking ship on his own......if he's daft enough to still go ahead.

No, just asking him not to help fook our club up again.

Actually, I think he might be one of the best signings Peterborough make. I don't know the guy, but highly impressed with factual explanations on here and knowledgeable rule explanations. Wish him well, and he will be a good right hand man to Ged even if it's just to remind him of the rules.

I think the amount of comments regarding this about sums it up. Mick Horton will not get a penny more out of my pocket, the man is a walking disaster and we will vote with our feet. I miss speedway, I miss Brandon but I have certain morals in life that when you are being taken for a complete idiot then I'm out. Why Mick Horton and Neil Watson actually think this is going to work is a little strange if the answer is that simple then please shed some light? It is clear as day the fans don't want this ! How is it financially viable and what is the minimum attendance to make it break even? It's on par with putting Donald Trump in charge of us, not a grip on reality and its not going to end well. Maybe its more on par with Blackadder and who has a cunning plan ?

I hate to criticise the NL Promoters who have done so much to keep the sport alive for many or us but I think this is a disaster. When the final teams are declared there will be a load of promising riders without any ride at all. If they were going to do this they might have at least have stipulated no doubling up. As it is we already have Hulme and Morley in two leagues and probably Ayres, Smith and JPB. In will come a dozen 3.0 pointers many of whom are not yet ready. Five have been signed already. With one less team it is double disaster and should mean about 15 to 20 riders left out including the likes of Bacon and Bowtell. This could have been covered to some extent by no double up and an age limit for this league. You cannot take this sort of action without excluding the likes of Atkin, Armstrong,Bowen Hurry, Boxall and Roynan.

I guess, from that, that you never read the actual article. If you had, you would have seen exactly why it is relevant to speedway. Because it saysvthat at one time darts was in danger of going the same way as other second division sportsbof the 80's like speedway and greyhound racing.

Speedway is so short term. In fact, the only thing you can be sure of... the fans stand in the same place every week... until they vanish.

I know i will get shot down by many,especially on this thread. Personally i think all foreigners should start on at least a 5pt average.If they don't achieve that then it would be down to the promoters whether they would want these foreigners back the next season,again on a 5pt average.