Fortythirtyeight

My mistake. Wasn't clear in the press release. I know they dont get big crowds but hoped it wasn't that bad!

So Belle Vue next??? The 'National Stadium' that was going to be the pearl of British speedway? This will send shivers down the rest of the British speedway.

Having travelled the 3 hours to watch this meeting I was thoroughly entertained. Talk about a match of two halfs! Meeting all but won by the Scorpions by heat 10 having out ridden the opposition some of whom just didn't know where to put themselves. Out come the tractors and back come the Bears. Not seen a finish like that by an away team for quite a few years so they deserved their consulation point. The match had everything, dubious decisions, hand bags after races and good racing. Travelling support were very vocal , if a little course at times, which created a good atmosphere, although the speaker system wasnt very good ( intermittent ). Scorpions were solid enough but Auty wasn't his normal self. Riss and Douglas were very good and kept the Bears in it till the rest woke up. Godfrey stated his intentions to run in 2020 which is most unlike him but there's time for him to change his mind several times as he tends to do before running again. Must say the Ice cream was the best I've tasted at any track so the return trip wasn't too bad.

Sensible? Not a word associated with the rules of speedway I'm afraid. Doesnt have to be a ' rule ' the BSPA committee simply say ' no' and that's it , it seems. Open knowledge at Plymouth and Redcar that it was a done deal until the Mafia said no, their reasoning being a Friday night track can't sign a rider from another Friday night track in a lower division and leave them short of a rider of that calibre as the selling club would have to use guests or R/R for the now absent rider as no suitable replacement was available, or some such none sense.. Not advertised as the move was not ' sanctioned ' so it never happened. The Mafia don't like to advertise their decisions incase of criticism. Got to assume that the rest of the promoters from all divisions were advised of this in their copies of minutes of the management meetings, issued monthly, which just goes to show how good the communication is at the BSPA.

Workington closed after wining just about everything available that season, having run double headers at a massive loss. The previous two clubs are still running and won leagues ( both premiership and championship ) cup , and fours trophies over the seasons. Higher admission prices put some regulars off. See Neil Watsons wise words, double headers lose money.

Are you completely devoid of any common sense.? Having worked behind the scenes at a number of tracks I have experience of how tracks finances work. You clearly have no understanding of incomings versus outgoings. If one meeting brings in , say £8,000 and the cost of that meeting including wages is £6,000 then you have a small profit. Do you understand this so far? Now run the same meeting with your income of £8,000 but double your wage bill and say that cost now comes to £10,000. Youve just lost £2,000. get it???

Can't believe any fan thinks a double header is a good idea. Same income , double wages. How does that make any sense to anybody??? Then add any possible injuries in the first match, or delays or any incidents whatsoever....No, running it as a double header is a ridiculous idea. We at Workington were forced into running them and look where we are now!

Must be one them same rules that stopped Bears signing Wallinger or having a guest or R/R for Riss riding in a German League fixture? If you're not in the BSPA mafia, then don't expect any favours. Congratulations to the Bears , will be great to have two north east teams in a cup final. Saw the first leg at Redcar and thought this would be a tight affair. For me the difference was Nathan Greaves who scores , strangely, well away from home and his points made the difference when the pressure was on. Eagles performed well but the heat leaders appear to be a little too inconsistent at times. That will always hinder you with weak second strings/ reserves.

Simple. The quality of the racing at most of the championship tracks. More overtaking, better prepared tracks ( I exempt Belle Vue and Swindon who have very good tracks now), variety of opposition and general presentation. I also take into account that the majority of these tracks charge less than the premiership yet you see, 90% of the time , the same riders . Even the Isle of Wight, in the NL, put on a better show than most premiership clubs.

Make your mind up. Either they haven't changed or there up. When I have visited they appear around the same as the previous two seasons ( not the Havelock sparse crowd era) Very healthy compared to Newcastle, Berwick and Edinburgh but with more youngsters attending than previous Thursday racing ( kids ) who get free entry.

Yet you list your team as Berwick???

I said these teams dropped a division , not necessarily to the NL, to save closing altogether, which is what we were discussing. Theres is a difference between Premiership and Championship. The Championship is much better.

Why? You're a Berwick fan so it shouldn't affect you. Sounds like more space is available than normal so that's a good thing isn't it? Doubt the current promotion will want to return to Thursday's with a reported increase in yougsters attending on Fridays meaning takings are up , especially in the bar! But it's all speculation till the Mafia decide their next cunning move to save speedway.

You don't have to agree,thats fine. But owners make the decisions not the fans. If the owners want to reduce their losses and still run , then they'll drop down . Ipswich, Eastbourne, Somerset, Plymouth , Birmingham, all have done it and Lakeside dropped two divisions. If they don't want any more losses, they'll close altogether. So the examples are there.

Redcar look considerably weaker without Wright and possibly MPT so this match is in the balance. Eastbourne doing themselves no favours by having Phillips guest at Redcar, obviously a financial decision which shows the state of the sport. I think Redcar will need at least a fifteen point advantage from the home leg and I don't see that happening without those two but I do hope it's an all north east final. Then I'll get to see it.