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A big crowd at Stoke last night, but those who stayed away missed another Speedway Extravanganza at the Stadium of Wonky Light. A dodgy-awfully prepared track sent entertainment values soaring. If you blinked you might miss another faller. Stoke delivered on their aim to have fallers into double figures (10 at the last count). Where else in world speedway can you see 7 out of 15 heats awarded due to falls? Fantastic stuff. Why don't other clubs booby-trap the track in this way? Stoke convincingly won 8 falls to 2, which excited the crowd so much that they lifted the roof off the grandstand (at least I presume that's why parts of the bar ceiling are falling in). But despite winning on falls, Stoke lost by 7 submissions and numerous knockouts (mostly knockout blows to the credibility of the sport). Back to the beginning, Stoke started with a minute's silence for Roy Smallwood MBE (since he had worked at Stoke for over 40 years, an MBE seemed most insulting. He should have been given the George Cross for acts of heroism in extreme danger). I don't know if Roy was a good man or a bad man, but even if he is now in hell being tortured for all eternity, we can feel content that he is in a better place than Stoke. Roy was pictured in the programme in a 50s Teddy Boy suit. The picture was taken the last time the Stoke electrics didn't fail. Despite being dead, Roy was still in the programme's officials' list as the Pits Gate Manager. Then the announcer. It was his first time. Not just his first time announcing, but his first time at speedway (possibly his first time out of the house). He had no idea what was happening. Remember the taxi driver interviewed on BBC by mistake? It was far worse. The poor sod tried to hand over to a centre green presenter, but the presenter had no microphone. So the confused newbie had to read out Belle Vue names he'd never heard of all by himself, such as Ken Dicken and Joe Lola. The hapless announcer must have thought he had been duped into the Jeremy Beadle show, except for the fact that Beadle has been dead for 10 years, and is now presumably working as the Stoke Pits Marshal. Heat 1 and novice O'Keefe leads from the far better Clegg and Perry. He realises this is wrong and throws the bike at the fence to become first faller. SUN BREAK Heat 2 and O'Keefe becomes the first rider to cause an awarded race. Heat 4. O'Keefe retires and Shuttleworth inspects the "shale" to give BV an awarded 5-0 (Shuttleworth's first of 3 track inspections). SUN BREAK Heat 5 All 4 riders finish. This is to be an extreme rare occurance. Heat 7 Awarded again as the hungry Shuttleworth eats more "shale" Heat 10. Alcock falls, and Clegg goes an unexplained splat while in a comfortable lead. Awarded 5-0 Heat 13 Smith is the first BV faller, trying to use the outside on the first bend. (You can't do that). In the re-run tired Shuttleworth needs a third lie down on the track. Awarded Heat 14 Who else but O'Keefe falls. The ref puts on the red light and fuses the whole stadium. He's been over-using the red light. (Remember in the 70s when it got cold and you had to switch off the TV before you could put on the second bar of the electric fire, or else risk fusing the whole street? The City of Stoke still runs like this). The referee is warned that he must not use the red lights again. To do so would damage the flux-capacitor, destroy the space-time continuum, and we'd all be stuck here in 1955 with Biff Tattum, and Roy Smallwood playing Johnny B Goode whilst dressed as Stoke's answer to Showaddywaady..... Shoddyshoddy. The ref agrees that when the inevitable awarding of heat 15 happens, the race will be stopped by hand signals and the shouting of the moronic announcer, which will alert members of the track staff to wave red flags (the ones that are still alive anyway - Roy and Beadle are excused duty). Heat 15 and an actual race develops between Atkin and Lawlor. Perry is a distance back in 3rd, Clegg further back stone last. Lawlor chases Atkin and just gets ahead up the back straight. Atkin faces being moved into the outer part of the 3rd bend track (here be dragons) and tries to resist. The two collide and the race needs to be awarded. (the 3rd awarded race in a row, 7th of the night). The Announcer then announces Perry (who was minding his own business back in third) is excluded. The win awarded to Max Clegg (who was stone last). The announcer returns minutes later (possibly with a referees hands around his throat) to change the exclusion to Lawlor...but still has the awarded places wrong. After a further few minutes it is changed again. The MDL match is cancelled and everyone leaves, completely unsure on the final score or the final awarded decision of heat 15.

Because with the 1-7 Poole started with the bookies made them favourites. Quite clearly that 1-7 are nowhere near good enough to have been deemed favourites...................therefore the bookies got the odds wrong

Sorry! You aren't allowed 'better options' even though they make total sense.

people are saying it looks pretty similar this season i always thought that what the managers job was as well ?

I think you're burying your head a little bit here, Back in the 70s the wage was around £50/60 a week, and petrol was 6 bob a gallon ( 30p), I could take the wife and the kiddies, buy 2 programmes, drinks and burgers all round for less than a tenner. The night was full of enjoyment and exciting races that kept everyone interested. Looking back at a 74 programme that cost 1 shilling (5p), here were 23 races starting a 7.30 pm on a Saturday night against Hackney, (we lost 36-42.) The tenner probably equalled a 1/6th of your weekly wage, but we had nearly 3hrs of enjoyment watching 23 races. The same day out now is very different, with considerably less to watch, A lesser program, perpetually drawn-out to make it last does nothing to enthral the fans. Everything you buy, you pay through the nose,. Petrol £ 7/ gallon, Admission £18 a head, Programmes £3 each Drinks £3/4 a throw. Before, it was excepted as a normal price for a night out and each believed they received VFM, not any more.... It would be wrong to pin all the blame on costs, for the sport was much different then, the Bike were slower and the competition was much closer. Missing the gate wasn't the be-all importance then as it created more excitement. Every race was competitive and closely fought. Today's super fast bikes, that cost the earth, produce a different race from the ones we use to watch. All the low torque engines have been replaced with high revving ones. Exhaust and tyres play their part . The throttles now are either open or closed, very little control how there once was. The emphasis has moved from the rider to the bikes, meaning far more follow the leader races, and these don't pull in the punters. You only have to look at the dwindling number over the years to see the effect it has had. But nobody takes any notice of these facts and continues in the same old pattern. Regardless of how you dress it up, the sport today is not working. and unless they address the important issues of Costs, VFM and excitement, the sport will continue to die ...

I’d have thought one of them at least will be a shoe in. Both local lads, club mascots and regular second halfers. Whether we include both may depend on how successful this season is. If we fall short again, maybe they’ll try a different strategy and go with one of them and a stronger reserve partner to take the pressure off them in their first season next year. We went with two 2 pointers again this year to pack in a stronger top 5 and it remains to be seen if that’s successful or not. Personally im a big fan of building a team that way and it’s the way I’d go again next year regardless of what happens this season. Especially when you have two terrific talents as those two waiting in the wings. It would also be a shame to lose one of them to a rival. It would benefit the club in the future to get them both on the clubs books so I’m hoping that will be the case. Looking forward to watching both them, and the other British youngsters in the under 19 final a week on Thursday. I hope it’s well supported!

Against my better judgement I found myself at Loomer Road last night and was disheartened to see that the place was even more dilapidated than when I last visited a couple of years ago. Surely somebody can at least work a lawn mower? It took the best part of an hour to get the first 4 heats away due to the sun being in the wrong place but at least we were able to marvel at Mr Tattum's tractor driving skills. Sadly, the centre green announcer couldn't make it last night so instead he sent his brother whose knowledge of speedway seemed a tad sparse. When it was announced that Ken Dicken was coming out for the Belle Vue Aces in heat 2 it kind of signalled that the guy perhaps wasn't a great follower of NL speedway. It could have been worse, he could have announced that it was Ken Dodd who would be riding in white. We had a minute's silence for Roy Smallwood who had apparently gone to a better place . Happy to say that they didn't bother playing music through the period of silence as they did when Mr Plinge witnessed a similar "mark of respect" at a previous extravaganza at Gloomy Road. Interesting to see that the deceased was still listed in the programme as being the evening's Pits Gate Manager so perhaps they were hoping that he would be there in spirit at least. Moving on from the depressing and farcical to rather more serious matters. I think it must have been heat 14 when William O'Keefe once more carried out a close inspection of the air fence. The referee switched on the red lights and immediately all the track and stadium lights went out. Fortunately, the riders survived being plunged into a diminished light situation without incident. After a few minutes, the lights flickered back into life and no mention was made of this failure by the commentator. As the riders were approaching the gate for heat 15, the commentator puts out an urgent call for the clerk of the course to contact the ref. Whether he did contact him, I know not. The race gets under way and Lawlor and Atkin come down heavily at turn 3. No red lights come on but the commentator is shouting at the the corner marshals to put the red flags out which they do after a few seconds delay. Now my questions are these:- Were the red lights not turned on because the referee knew that if he pushed the switch then the track lights would probably go out again? Did the referee know before he started the heat that there was a fault with the warning lights hence the urgent call out to the C of C? If the referee was aware that the safety systems were not in place then why was the race allowed to start? Perhaps there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for these events but I would be interested to know what it might be. Electrical failures appear to be a common occurrence at Loomer Road but the referees and the SCB seem to take no heed of these potentially catastrophic defects. I just hope that it does not take a rider getting seriously hurt before action is taken to remedy the situation. I see no mention in Stoke's own match report of any of these failings and it is shame that they didn't take the opportunity to apologize to the customers for last night's failings and give an assurance that they would get things sorted out. A win for the Colts but numerous crashes, interminable delays and some genuinely frightening incidents mean that it wasn't one of my most enjoyable speedway jaunts. I spoke to a family (grandfather through to grandchildren) on the terraces who were attending speedway for the first time and asked them if they would be likely to come back again. Unsurprisingly, they indicated that they would not be returning and after last night's show you can understand why. Speedway is a better sport than this.

Forgettable meeting kept alive by the closeness of the scores and a couple of controversial refereeing decisions. Dust was flying about from the first heat. John Lindman can’t have long left in this side. He only beat Kyle Bickley. Seen him a few times and not impressed.

The result of a totally nonsense operating model which benefits no one.... Running any business which shares employees with others, and whose availabilty dictates to their employer when the operation can 'open for business', is pretty much doomed to failure I would suggest..

Phil, everyone knew Denmark had priority for Wednesdays... It's their night... Hence British Speedway was granted Monday and Thursdays as theirs... Then they changed.. Why? Well, once again, the tail wagged the dog...

The problem with British speedway is its a professional sport being run by amateurs.

As Ric Frost said before he quit in exasperation BSPA not even competent to operate a burger van

Nothing wrong with the language - you need to get out in the sun and chillax! Knobs =Dorset Knobs - doh!

thank you mmmmmmmmm

You're right even I enjoyed it . But it was enjoyment from a pretty low baseline so far this season. I was fortunate enough to attend the new BV for a season while I was working away for a while and it saddens me to see what can be done with a blank canvass and how whoever designed the track at Leicester got it so badly wrong! Anyway we move on to Monday night... where I think we can almost guarantee a sun delay but at least KL fans will be well used to that ... I've just seen on Twitter they're promoting it as "Sunshine Speedway"... that's just taking the mick!

Polish people obviously have a different opinion of speedway riders, more like the UK years ago where riders were revered, admired, put on a pedestal, but why? Not saying fans don’t admire riders today but they certainly don’t treat them as Polish people do. Polish people are generally more passionate about their cities/towns, I put that down to their history and I guess it follows that they are passionate about their sports clubs too? I’m convinced that if our stadiums were in the centre of our cities like Polish stadiums are so that locals could walk to their club they would be more popular, all our city centre clubs have disappeared, built on ........ I’ve been to Polish speedway and there was nothing extra regards promotion on the day, no extras, apart from providing flags I guess, but the fans were totally up for a great Sunday afternoon, it may be because they are young and enthusiastic, it is, definitely is, as we get older our outlook changes, we generally become grumpy, miserable, cynical, old farts who have no energy, who’ve been there, done it all before lol

I noticed a few heats in and quickly put some scores using my phone, adding heat details towards the end of the meeting

Sarj was meant to replace jack in ht 14 but because starky pulled out jack was back in and the confusion was who was replacing who but between the manager and the COC who tells the ref what’s happening with rider changes could or should have sorted it before both riders went on track

Of course if you're a regular Monday or Wednesday night track then the new arrangement's great. That takes care of three tracks, while Swindon have mainly kept their Thursdays. Now what about the other half of the league? The argument to adopt fixed race nights was to avoid guests caused by fixture clashes. The situation with Denmark blows that straight out of the water.

There is obviously much wrong with the sport but the there is no significant difference between this year and last year so the only explanation for the significant drop in crowd numbers at Belle Vue must be the change in race night. Monday may work for a team like Wolverhampton, who have a long history of racing on that night but it is probably the worst night of the week for the entertainment and leisure industries. That is why many offer incentives to try to attract people in. If you want the best chance of getting a decent slice of the leisure pound you have a far better chance on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I suspect that it was for those very reasons that the previous promotion changed from Monday, which was forced on them by their landlord and never successful, to Friday. It may be that as the season progresses crowds will improve but I have my doubts. In fact, when the TV coverage starts in a couple of weeks I think that is going to tempt some more fans to stay away especially if the weather is bad.

It looks that way, doesn't it. Only riders coming from the English speaking countries ( not in this event) keep to their own. Mind you I've heard Tai giving interviews in Polish and lately Rohan Tungate gave it a try. Good for them. Polish fans appreciate it.

Last Monday's racing was much better than the previous two matches so hopefully that's how it will be from now on. I think even ianb enjoyed the Rye House one.

The price to attend vs. The standard on offer is the biggest stumbling block. £17 for 15 x 1 minute races no matter what way you look at it isn't great value for money. As a comparison it makes the 2nd division even more of a rip off as they're getting a lot less of a standard for around £15. In answer to the original question though of how is fixed race nights working out, I think it will benefit Somerset. Whilst it was nice to end the week at Speedway instead of mid week, the traffic and surrounding areas on a Friday as a nightmare at the best of times. I can't see any reason why crowds would drop at Somerset, they should only prosper.

They can't drop him and bring him back, there is a rule to stop that, but there again this is Poole

I do think that is is the central part of the lack of public support in the UK. The product needs a lot of change and improvement before new fans are likely to embrace it and support it with their cash. It is not going to happen though, because those who currently control it believe they are selling something terrific and worth 5,000+ people turning up for a match. Emperor's New Clothes syndrome. 75% of speedway races are boring after the first lap 2nd bend. It is things like standardised bikes with handicap racing that might, just might , bring in new fans. But it is not speedway "as we know it" and so it will not happen. You have to look at why stock cars / banger racing pulls in so many more people around the country. It represents chaos and mayhem and the unexpected / unbelievable things happening and "going wrong". Speedway offers three riders chasing after the race leader with , in most cases, nothing happening. Only the die hard purists understand and appreciate the techniques involved. Newbies in the UK do not and are therefore hardly likely to join the tribal fan base with any passion.