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topsoil

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Posts posted by topsoil

  1. Posted

    7 hours ago, mikebv said:

    When the sport was "very popular" it wasn't domestic speedway that stimulated the interest..

    It was the very regular national success at both individual and team level, being beamed into millions of homes several Saturdays a season...

    Domestic speedway then lived off the back of that publicity and interest, and, with no social media, its "Mickey Mouse"' rules, and ad hoc last minute rider changes, which existed even then, didnt impact crowd levels the way they do today. 

    (eg. You would find out PC was riding in Germany in a LT meeting, or that a team had four guests and RR, after you had paid to get in, now you would know well in advance)..

    Then the promoters started training up all the rest of the worlds riders, and reduced opportunities to UK riders, which had the inevitable conclusion that UK success on the international scene dwindled to virtually nothing...

    And domestic crowds therefore naturally dwindled off the back of it...

    As Italia 90 showed, and the England Rugby success in 2003, and the Ashes victory in 2005, international success stimulated each sports' domestic success by the interest it created in the sports' as a whole.. 

    Maybe a test series against the Aussies might engage a few more to attend their local tracks..? (And, such is the relatively low crowd numbers, just a hundred more at most tracks would be a double digit growth)...

    You would think a 2,000 crowd on a BHM, a GF, or a Saturday or Sunday would be possible at several tracks wouldn't you?

    Max £25 a ticket and that's circa £50k..

    Maybe a £25k prize money fund per test if that crowd size was possible? 

    A "properly ran" speedway meeting/series ran with credibility and something worth winning, might also draw some sponsorship from others outside the sport too, rather than, as so often happens currently, much of the sponsorship coming from those who follow it, or benefit in some way, from being involved in the sport...

     

     

     

    Try getting riders to leave their Polish clubs for the weekend and getting all the other tracks in Britain to cancel their fixtures on a Bank Holiday. Good luck. 

  5. Posted

    52 minutes ago, mikebv said:

    Not a chance...

    The riders need to earn money...

    A way forward would be found to keep the sport going.. 

    Akin to the IOW maybe? 

    Team Speedway in the UK has delivered what we have today...

    With the glaring fact when you look at the stadiums, that not enough punters, (many of whom follow the sport closely), buy into it and take it seriously enough to warrent spending their income on it..

    A dead horse that they need to stop flogging, and, instead,  try to find a new one to ride...

    Amateur riders, grasstrack bikes on shale, upright bikes? That's bound to develop the next generation of riders.

  11. Posted

    10 hours ago, Bryce said:

    His decision in 2018 to force Lakeside and Workington to cancel established fixtures and then run on off nights (so he could have a better choice of guests) did huge financial damage to both clubs who both folded at the end of that season despite being in all the cup finals and in Worky's case winning a treble.

    Lakeside arena was being sold. Workington were losing money hand over fist already. He wasn't the one to decide to overpay the riders. Already been discussed to death.

    • Like 2

  13. Posted

    11 hours ago, iainb said:

    It was nice to read Rob Godfrey's rallying Churchillian war cry, FINALLY for some reason this Wolves news seems to have hit home with him despite his Charimanship since 2018 seeing the closure of Rye House, Somerset, Swindon, Lakeside, Newcastle, Workington, Buxton, Cradley, Eastbourne, Kent, Stoke and the expulsion of IoW. Like others have said with Edinburgh & Peterborough highly doubtful for next year and question marks around Poole's future and the annual Birmingham crisis it could be a total of 15 clubs gone in 5 years under his stewardship... FIFTEEN! Even if you factor in the return of Oxford, Worky & Kent... that's still 12 a number higher than any of the current 3 leagues we have running

    Interested in what Rob Godfrey was expected to do to stop the closure of those tracks. 

  17. Posted

    27 minutes ago, mikebv said:

    Six actual "seniors" including the number 8, and two juniors..

    This country's top league could have gone to four seniors and two juniors when the "top names" left, meaning plenty of "senior" cover for injured riders...

    However, the 2nd Div wanted to use Div 1 HL's and the Div 1 HL's wanted the money, hence DU'ing become rife and out of control...

    As you say, there is a reason Poland will never go down the guest route and it's that the fans, media and sponsors would never countenance such a situation as it would destroy their competitions credibility and render them pretty much worthless, (and unwatchable from those brought up on it being a "proper team sport").....

    Lucky losers

  19. Posted

    On 2/17/2023 at 11:12 AM, szkocjasid said:

    I can't remember where I read it (maybe in a Speedway Star) but Danny Phillips was hyping up the Bullets as play-off contenders. Naturally he's going to say something positive like that, as no-one signs for a club planing to do poorly.

    But I do feel he's gravely mistaken & that Berwick will be nearer the bottom than top. Built to just over 40 points, which means they need to put 2 points on their averages, just to be a mid table side. I honestly don't see much potential for riders to up their averages.

    The league certainly looks stronger than last year.

    Coles is a good number one, but rode at 3 last year, so by adding heat 13 to his races, if he keeps his average, he'll be doing well. Ditto for Blair, had a great season, but at the easier number 4 for half the season. Phillips is an acceptable 3rd heat leader.

    Freeman showed so much potential for Newcastle & Armadale I expected a lot more from him last season. Now out of the reserve berth, it's tougher. Like Coles I think he can improve (by keeping his average).

    The bottom 3 all have the potential to improve, but I see that as a slow & steady rise up the ranks, which is where they will miss Luke Harrison!

    So on the whole, the team doesn't look bad. But if you have 6 or 7 strong looking teams & 1 or 2 average looking teams, they'll be near the bottom.

    If I was a Berwick fan, I'd just be happy you're getting to see lots of Speedway in 2023. More matches than Glasgow & Redcar (not to mention Newcastle).

    By the time you take in cup matches, Premier Trophy next rounds and playoffs, i will bet Redcar and Glasgow have as many matches as Berwick.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    31 minutes ago, Mr Blobby said:

    Think the whole point of moving away from the devils and to the monarchs academy is so it all links with the first team being the Edinburgh monarchs. Bit like a football system where you have the academies who will then move up to the development sides and then eventually the first team. 
     

    Similar here with the new system the club have put in place where we have the academy the now monarchs academy NDL level and then the Edinburgh monarchs. 
     

    Nice stepping stones for the kids to look and aim for.

    All very commendable and good in practice, just like Berwick had in place last year, but it hasn't stopped them losing Ace Pijper and Luke Harrison from that system

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    17 minutes ago, RoundTheBoards said:

    They weren't on Tuesday when Championship was set to be 2 home & 2 away.   Bewick, Armadale and Plymouth were all set to dump NDL.   Did they change their minds on Wednesday?

    The promoter (can't remember which one of the Courtney's) told the crowd after the last meeting of the season that Berwick would be running a team in both the CL and NDL).

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    6 hours ago, mikebv said:

    Well done Poole...

    Being the only team out of the two to ride at their home track in a two legged final, with Kings Lynn's No1 riding for you, (at Kings Lynn), must have put you at a huge disadvantage, but you came through magnificently..

    Yet another trophy for the very successful outfit from the South Coast...

    That's trophy153 in the past decade isnt it?

    Be great to see you in the Premiership next season after your deserved promotion...

    Hang On. Apologies...

    Congratulations to Poole on your 85th title, but even greater congratulations to the runners up, Leicseter, on your "promotion" to the Premiership..

    All very confusing this...

    Lets hope next season the Leicester area has lots of warm dry summer evenings, (unlike obviously it suffered this year if appears), meaning they can complete their home fixtures, (and this time at their own track)...

    Seriously though, with a crowd mentioned at circa 600 (for the "flagship final" in the 2nd tier), it was probably a very fitting "epitaph" to another season of Speedway in the UK..

    You only had to see the lack of anger from Leicester's fans to the loss of home advantage in the final, which meant basically fighting with one broken arm, and the other tied behind your back, given how fundamental to a result home track advantage is in Speedway, to see the abject "indifference" that so many have for the actual competitions themselves and the results they deliver...

    Which is sad, but down to nothing more than the way the sport is ran in the UK unfortunately...

    With that lack of "emotional involvement" always holding the sport back if it wants to continue in a "Team Concept"...

    (Imagjne in Poland the reaction from fans if something similar happened?):D

    Congratulations to Poole, who do get a fair amount of stick, but you cannot knock the professionalism and success of the business they run, and their fans on here are always good value (and provide plenty of ammo for the rest to fire back at them)..:D

    Let's hope the lessons learned will be heeded, but...

    That does seem to be the "mantra" at the end of most seasons sadly doesnt it? 

    Hopefully next season, the least that happens, is that the play off finals get held at the actual tracks of the finalists and all the other competitions ran actually get completed...

    Surely not too much to ask, and expect, that is it?

    Goodbye 2022...

    Roll on 2023...

    A bright new dawn maybe? Let's hope so...

    It would be great to finally see such an incredibly exciting spectacle get the infrastructure around it, that it so deserves, to make it more popular and look more professional...

     

    I can imagine crowds in Poland being 20% down this year, or was that reality. Maybe it was due to the 'team concept'?

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    3 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

    Other than major wholesale changes (which will never happen) the chances of attracting those fans who have drifted away, back to the fold are next to zero.

    The sports controllers have brought the problems on themselves and the riders look after number one and sometimes dictate whether a meeting will go ahead. The fans are bottom of the pile when it comes to being part of any thought process in terms of it being value for money or providing entertainment so that the punters go away wanting more. 

    Where else would you maintain a scenario of having seven man teams but rarely race with seven, more like six and Mr R/R. They cannot even complete the fixtures. You have several months to fulfil the meetings but yet again here it is October and the options for completing fixtures are getting fewer thanks to the weather or the non availability of stadia and probably the doubling up which meant some meetings could not take place earlier in the season because of rider availability.

    The current business model does not work and those with disposal income who have been going to meetings for many years have decided it is just not worth it and over the years the promoters have failed to make it an attractive form of entertainment for a younger generation.

    Get rid of the BSPL and start again on an amateur basis with a five year plan to rebuild the rider base. Some stadia will fall by the wayside but it would happen anyway with the current set up and with very few if any local authorities interested in having a track on their door step the chances of new tracks appearing is fairly low.

    To sum up, the BSPL would have you believe the sport is in good shape. How many fans believe that one?

    So you want to get rid of the BSPL and replace them with who?

    So you want the sport here to become amateur. And fall way behind the likes of leagues in Poland, Sweden and Denmark. It's funny that the BSPL get stick every year for watering down the product and here you want to take the ultimate watering down decision.

    Good luck selling that to the current riders, who have spent a lot of money on machinery. Who, out of the current riders, would be willing too ride for only expenses? Good luck getting crowds to watch amateur racing, when they've been used to professional standards.

    And you're okay that "some stadia will fall by the wayside"? 

    Sounds like a plan to me...

    • Like 2

  25. Posted

    On 10/19/2022 at 10:04 PM, mikebv said:

    Poland's biggest advantage is the fact they have seen how the UK has ran things from their own "halcyon days"...

    And therefore 1 million percent avoid doing the same..

    Hence, for example,  they ensure every team has to have a strong Polish presence...

    They may be training up the riders from other countries via the U23 league to ensure they have enough quality riders to maintain those high standards, but they haven't taken their eye off the ball to allow the national team to fall behind, because they know how important  national success is to selling the domestic product... 

    We decided in the late 70's and early 80's to spend the best part of the next four decades training up 'the world', with very much quantity rather than quality often being the key determinant of who came over...

    Unfortunately to the detriment of the UK riders, and it's media coverage, as the national team became also rans...

    Poland has lots of advantages because they seem to know what they are doing, and where they want to take their sport...

    Maybe one day the UK also could have a clear strategy for growth? 

     

    Is part of Poland's strategy for growth a 20% reduction in attendances this season? 

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