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It's madness that every team doesn't allow 16 year olds and under in for free every week!

No point in targeting new audiences, or even trying to hold on to your existing ones if you don't first of all give them a speedway meeting to attend. As has been said before, what those dullards Chapman and Godfrey have done is to unliterally wipe three clubs fixtures from the already sparse fixture list , which cannot fail to hit the attendances of the clubs concerned even further. They then compound that display of mismanagement by telling the fans absolutely nothing, not even the briefest of announcements and merrily carrying on as if nothing has happened, and hope the fans wont notice. The more I think about this utter, crass stupidity, the lack of communication, and the abject short sightedness of those at the helm, the angrier I get. They are worse than useless.

He was unhappy about the way Lakeside and other Friday teams fixtures were removed without warning. He said that ongoing discussions are to be had, and that whilst our next home fixture is in 2 weeks against Peterborough, this is only provisional as the official permission to run it has not been given yet. He stated that decisions were being made to benefit one club at the expense of several others. He didn't name names, but the implication was pretty clear that the culprit is Mr Godfrey at Scunthorpe.

NO! I won't have this... they changed the white helmet colour to green! They did all they could

I have just had to scroll to the top to check that I am actually on the Somerset thread. If you aren’t going to discuss Somerset topics guys can you use another platform to air your views please.

But you are now a serious prospect for the play offs. No one will touch EDI at home with a top four of Wells, Riss E, Worrall and Palovaara. Glasgow have handed you a lottery win by dispensing with their more flexible heat leader and rider most marketable to rival play off contenders on 7.57. Had it been Harris in the low 8's there would have been few takers, especially not Edinburgh. Its a spectacular own goal by Glasgow that could end our own fragile playoff hopes, particularly as the last two league meetings are Edinburgh home and away.

Superb guest choice

The tracks are too small and the bikes are too fast. Has anyone got a magic wand.

Yes but Fred Flange, I’m not the one populating most threads with spats with other posters, and rarely being on topic.

Unfortunately with a PR company you have situations like last Monday. A live TV match on a major broadcaster, 2 evenly matched teams , the most successful team of recent years as the visitors,a modern purpose built track and stadium , beautiful weather and no clashes with the World Cup. And what do we get , 2 hours of dross,a trapping contest with riders strung out like washing after 1 lap with little or no racing. A bore fest, now how could any PR company worth its salt do anything with that ? Unfortunately that's where we are !

I hear what your saying but my point is that in whatever business your in, you have to listen to the paying customer and adapt to keep them happy or you will lose clients..

Yes the troll will come up with another load of rubbish re replacements, just like Chris Harris

Riding stoke most weeks would dent any riders confidence

The sport needs an independent body with a blue print plan for the future of the sport, I think most agree on this. The sport needs to go back to basics and concentrate on the product on offer. We can't afford the top lads so get rid of them for a while, spend the money not on wages but track prep, presentation, advertising and putting on an entertaining evening with fast flowing speedway on a well prepared track with a slick show in between races to keep fans entertained. A consistent fixture list is essential with the only non race night is because the team is away that night for a fixture. The governing body needs to at first win back the trust of the existing fan base with transparent honesty and then look towards winning back the lost fans base and then and only then can it start to attract a new fan base. Stabilise the current business, work within the existing financial constraints and then start to build for a future.. They have to consolidate what they have first, work as a team and then build, this I doubt will happen..

Why should Sheffield Ipswich and Redcar be sacrificed just so the premiership teams can have fixed race nights. The championship / premier league / national league has always been a better run league. Several clubs have been tempted “up” and then been shafted and either closed or ran in the current national league.

You are nothing if not consistent in your anti Lakeside rantings. You may think your comments are meaningful but they just exemplify exactly what you are . After experiencing a truly awful track at Peterborough and then being lied to by the then promotion, I vowed never to go there again (and haven't) but I do not constantly post anti Peterborough comments. You need to get a life!

I must admit it was close and waited for the official announcement before jotting down scores . P.S did you touch the tapes ?.

They have not listened to anyone, as far as I know, or asked any fans or groups of fans about preferences. The BSPA should be going ahead with a survey of the type recently posted ( which was first done 20 years ago ). They neither welcome nor acknowledge feedback from their customers. Such businesses usually end up by closing down. I agree with your choice myself.

Again you are missing the point, I was comparing Klindt score against those of the rest of the team. Such was the advantage of having a strong reserve, any team would have profited likewise had they had the same.... In all of my years , jealousy has never been one of my straits. In fact I believe jealousy is such a juvenile behaviour, that its probably more in keeping with those who think it.....

Agree, but, better a guest, if it had been last night, been down to 5, too risky against a good Sheffield side

maybe give them a free rattle and a club rosette?

A very enjoyable meeting with lots of good races. Much credit must go to Sheffield who gave a real battling performance. The two 5-1s in heats 13 and 15 made the score look a lot more comfortable than it ever felt. Fortunately for the Hammers, Lawson and Morris were superb, and it's that spearhead that may make the difference for us when the trophies are handed out.

I don't know why any sensible person wouldn't go for the heat 15 option when winning the toss.

Not fans at fault it's down to the BSPA who have allowed this to happen , fans, have not created this situation , alarm bells have been ringing for years , when the so called top league started poaching riders from the now known championship to double up in reserve positions for the now known premier league , you see they even nicked our league name because they know we have a better product.

Really - Harris signed for Poole using his Rye House average It wasnt reverted to last years Premiership end figure or a conversion of his current Champinship figure Therefore Id say Clegg would be a conversion of his Rye Premiership figure It is his Championship average that is now null and void

Feel really sorry for Mark, good luck lad and I hope you can come back to us sometime. Thanks for your contribution to Monarchs, you are a much better rider than you have been lately. I’m sure someone will snap you up

Glasgow dropped a rider that was performing way below what everyone expects him too and im sure that includes fans from every club/area of the uk cant call a club that drops a rider that's probably been given a really good deal when they don't perform maybe the lesson there is give them more points money rather than big sign on fee and big start money throwing money at someone before they do there job isn't the best way to motivate most people reward them when there doing the buisness

Well, no. Surely you’ve got to balance what the customer wants with what’s financially viable? Customers want: (a) the best riders, no doubling up or guests, better stadiums, preferred race nights, better presentation and (b) cheap prices. It’s obvious to everyone that you can’t have (a) with (b), so the BSPA needs to come up with a costed compromise and get the support of the fans for it. Be inclusive, open and honest.

Tracks are not too small, gustrow proved that today and bikes are not really any faster than they were 30 years ago, the back wheel speed has increased but the bike speed is pretty much the same but you don’t need a magic wand what you need is someone to get control of the machinery and stop the free for all which has gone on for years but it won’t happen cause the tail wags the dog and while it does the sport is cooked

besides at some of the bigger tracks the racing is quite boring at times and some at the smaller is very good

I think you are right to a degree - and you are definitely right in your paragraph above regarding the bewildering and contradictory suggestions made - but what you said was 'fans are the last people that should be listened to' . In my book, that is definitely wrong. You have to listen to them, as bizarre and ridiculous as their comments might be. The alternative is failing to address concerns that can be addressed and, in doing so, ensuring that they remain happy. To give an example, Isle of Wight have a food outlet, the Retreat. One fan complained ordering and receiving was a bit of a shambles but the next week signage had gone up to make sure that people knew where to order and where not to. Small, I agree. But still a case of listening to fans. Part of speedway's downfall is that it has taken its fans for granted, ignored them and, on occasion, treated them with contempt and even abuse.

That's not always true , plenty riders have had problems getting paid riding in Sweden and Poland

No doubt at all. How`s that for support Mrs Cresent Girl.

Get Josh Auty! Beat him to it. lol

You only have to read the arguments, self interest, and sometimes downright crazy ideas on here to realise the fans are the last people that should be listened to. Neither do the vast majority of businesses consult their customers on their product and services as quite clearly the proof of the pudding is in the eating. If you go back a few years you had fans complaining about speedway being watered down, when quite simply the top riders were becoming unaffordable and in many cases unavailable. Now there's a bit more realism about the situation, yet still lots of complaints about missing riders which is why something was done to try to address that, yet fans have essentially voted with their feet as a result. The underlying problem is that speedway has become poor value for money, played out in largely unappealing venues lacking 21st century facilities, and where you're not even sure who's going to be riding. You're also facing an increasingly ageing fanbase who's kids have already grown-up and aren't the least bit interested in the sport, let along willing to bring their own kids along - all the marketing in the world isn't a substitute for existing fans introducing new people to the sport. At the end of the day, professional speedway will only survive if the promoters themselves are able to come-up and implement a workable plan, and that is a big if.

I can see a lot of riders being forced abroad to supplement their income if they want to remain full time. Quite where they will go is anybody’s guess as Sweden and Poland seem very tough leagues.

Following your expert advice?

And didn't even need a lollipop to help?

Is it time for the Lions to roll the dice and bring in another American?

Swindon have 2 x 8+ point riders and a team total of 43.04, so who and how would you suggest?!

Think you will find we have a guest for Ulrich

What a brilliant night of racing. Heat 1 was possibly the best race I've seen at armadale and set the tone for the night. It also set the tone for the scoring with a last place for Rory. The monarchs looked the hungrier team throughout with only covatti really able to seriously trouble them. The tac sub and a few 3-3s kept the score interesting for a bit but never really in doubt and when our 2 swedes took a 5-1 over covatti in ht8 there was no coming back for the witches. Ricky and Erik excellent and very well backed up by Joel, Victor, Mark and to a lesser extent josh who had a tough night. Max got a paid win in ht2 and was really unlucky with his race against wethers and machine problems cost him. But it was a great night with passing in most races and really close hard racing. Just a shame the monarchs have 2 weeks off as the momentum of the last 2 nights could propel them into significant play off contenders. Although I'd settle for racing like that every week

Shame the fixture wasn't on the fixture list earlier as you have lost the Berwick bus as it's going to Swindon instead. Was supposed to be Sheffield, Somerset and Cardiff.

2 full teams ? should be a decent match- certainly we know it will be better than the dross from Leicester last week.

Racecard for the SEC 2nd round tonight live on Eurosport https://www.speedwayservice.at/images/racecards/2018/SEC2018-02.pdf

poor Gavan, another pasting for Ipswich tonight

Breaking the track record at Glasgow is about all he has done. Had a pretty poor season, never seems settled and is largely unreliable in the big heats. Can think himself lucky he wasn't dropped in the latest re-shuffle just as Worrall can consider himself unlucky that he got binned instead.

Not having team Kevlars makes sense now. Mind you probably would have got a discount for a bulk order.

So, three clubs, namely Lakeside, Workington and Peterborough, have seemingly had the plug pulled on their Friday meetings for the foreseeable future, despite the fixture list being approved by the BSPA at the start of the season. If the regular race night is lost it will be a financial hit to the clubs. Even if the Friday Race night is somehow restored it will mean attndances are likely to be hit because many fans, especially season ticket holders build other arrangements around the original fixture lists an cannot easily change them, not to mention the problems of trackstaff having to change their arrangements, at a time when we have the main holiday season approaching. On top of that we have all seen how difficult it is to re-arrange rain-offs let alone a whole block of fixtures. And that is the best case scenario. The worst case scenario could be having to change race nights and going down the same plug hole as Rye House have just gone down Lets be clear. The buck stops with the BSPA who have conduct of the Day to Day running of the sport, and its chairman Keith Chapman. For years now Kings Lynn fans have been on here becoming increasingly disenchanted with Chapmans lack of information about what is going on at Kings Lynn. This now seems to be polluting the sport in general despite Chapmans rhetoric about openness when first elected. This has now plumbed to new depths with the withdrawal of Friday race nights to three clubs, as it seems even the clubs themselves, let alone the fans have been kept in the dark. This is the relevant section of Jon Cooks comment on the Lakeside website :- “This meeting however, and all our other Friday meetings, mysteriously disappeared from the official BSPA fixture list at the end of last week and although the club has yet to receive any explanation from the Association, the SCB (Speedway Control Board) has reassured us on the continuation of our season,......" It seems from this that even the clubs themselves have not been told anything by the secretive Chapman, and that follows the palpable silence from the BSPA regarding Rye House. To my mind, that tells you everything you need to know about the way the present MC regard its fan base. Needless to say the BSPA website, which should be first with the news carries on as if nothing has happened. Personally I have been going to speedway meetings since before I started school, more than half a century ago. I have never been as close to walking away as I am now. There must be loads more like me. While I am on my soap box perhaps I could add that I have in my memorabilia a copy of the old Speedway News dated April 1939 previewing the start of the season for that year. The editorial stresses the need for having balanced and competitive teams to generate interest in the league and each match. I doubt if there is a fan in the country today that would disagree with that. its what gets the crowds in. Its all the fans want: competitive racing in a competitive league with no shenanigans behind the scenes. Not a lot to ask for really.Nearly 80 years after the Speedway News hit the nail on the head Chapman and his secret society still dont get it

Thank god for that, maybe now he will let Workington get their fixtures back on the Fixture List just awaiting a change in cut-off date for the play-offs to be extended til you's get some more points on the board ...He may even re-arrange coming to Worky now he has Worrall back , lets hope Worrall hits the ground running or dummy's will be well and truly out the pram again !!