SteveEvans

It has been stated they will run more fixtures if league only 14 meetings. Just the way it used to be. And the way it was when the sport was good!

I'm loving the comedy on this thread from the mechanical experts on top standard speedway equipment!

A club trying to promote speedway and give their fans a full schedule of fixtures? How terrible!

At least Wolves run the meeting to close out the season. Now so many teams simply shut down for the year once their league program is done.

Very good post. The sport in the UK lacks long term planning. The AGM is at the end of a season when you have struggling business owners not in a good frame of mind fixated on economizing. Yes, any business needs to keep its overhead in check but you also need to find ways to grow the business too. An AGM should be making decisions for 2017 with 2016 format already known months ago. What other sport continuously changes its rules and structure annually? The fans are there for what stays the same (four riders going at it for 4 laps), not for the green helmet, double points, new race format, fast track reserves or heat 10 rain offs and all the other compulsive changes that have never grown the sport one inch. Regarding the race format, an EL heatleader a while ago told me, "I really dislike the format, we are always up against 1,3 or 5. When you have a bad night and only score 2 or 3 points, it destroys your confidence and makes you feel bad for your team mate and fans. Once you get in a rut, its hard to get out of it until you become a 2nd string and suddenly have easier than PL heats. Given the top guys meet each other more often one of the 6 heatleaders if not more is likely to have a very low score. It is done to save money as we are still paid the same amount per point but as the heatleaders take so many points off each other now we are all making less." It is a factor, it magnifies bad form and traps you in bad form. These guys are only human afterall...

If he brings his Birmingham form he could end up on a nice round 6.

Kasprzak anywhere but Poole would be a prime example.

Seems this rumor only comes from Spoons and Beethens! Darcy was not in the Poole team this year and Pirates have a deep and strong asset base. In the unlikely event he wants to ride for Poole he should be sold for a record fee that a world champion with Tai's amazing PR warrants - minimum 100k, maybe more. The money can be invested in multiple young assets that can give Wolves a 5 year plan to be a long term championship team.

In name if not in product! Lets also remember with Tai he had his pre Auckland injury at Leicester right at start of the year.

It's his right as a rider to take on the work he does, or not. Look at the EL 2006 - majority of the top riders raced here, 40 league matches, plus cup, plus Craven Shield and that's only UK, not Sweden or Poland or GPs. 2008 the league introduced a 3 year plan based off a tanked economy and damage done by some short term here today gone tomorrow promoters who spent more than they could. In 2008 the league essentially cut ties with many of its stars. It may have been a short term smart move to save money, but add In that and the winter debacle of 2011 and you have the two prime changes that have cut us back to a league much poorer in quality and much lighter in fixtures. The league has the same name but lets be honest, its unrecognizable and the lower number on the terraces show the fans have noticed! If the EL was as attractive and challenging it would attract more riders. The fact that so many turn it down mean he isn't all about the money or he'd be making whatever top riders make these days 28 times a year.

Tai Woffinden was fabulous for most of his Wolves career. 2009 he was the biggest riser in our last Championship winning team. He also made the play offs with us in two of his next four seasons. 2014 was a bust. It was inexplicable that the world champion would end up with an average under 7. Deja vu this year for Freddie. Tai admitted when interviewed Saturday he wasn't ready for 2014 and well prepared. He took on another league as well as charity and much PR work. He won a title at just 23 and I think he genuinely thought he was indestructible and it hit him, and us, hard in the teeth. I do not believe he did it intentionally, I believe it was naivity in a still young man he thought he could do it all. You add into that the new race format has generally lowered the average of most every heatleader. Those down are form have a brutal time. Tai and Freddie's woes were magnified. From a top riders perspective, when you reach a high level you simply don't need the EL anymore. The quality and pace of doing Sweden and Poland and GPs gives you a predictable schedule. I also think the BSPA needs to do everything it can to temp Tai to race in the UK in 2016 to raise the sport over here. I doubt they will even try. I only wear an administration hat with Team USA but World Cup week is frankly brutal. Workload, early starts, travel. I only have this for 7 days a year so I couldn't imagine it for 8 months when you ride a motorcycle at 70mph up to 6 days a week, which is harder work than I will ever do. I remember Tai for 2009 and his great work for Wolves through 2013. We helped make a World Champion who could well become one of the very best all time. My wolf pride is proud we laid the foundation whether we ever see him ride for us or not! As far as Wolves 2016 it needs to be built around a couple of riders who are not currently Wolves riders who are signed and acquired. From that we can fit in perhaps a couple from this year on attractive averages but a clear out is needed. If we base our team on current assets and fit in around them we truly have become the new Eastbourne!

He has done wonders for his club and his success is in a league of its own. Coventry was close behind under Sandhu. Such a shame that success has become the be all and end all though, as a result, the league is smaller with less teams, meetings and quality. If there was a Matt Ford around who could be hired as a consultant to improve the sport of speedway, its long term survival would be more certain.

Who races just Elite League anymore?

Billy Hamill increased his average when he signed for Wolves in 2006 from a false 2005 average at Oxford due to injury. You can sign an old guy on a false average if they can increase and get better.

Next years race format will be; 1 GP rider 2 PL double up 2 NL treble up 1 MDL quadruple up 1 Men In Black can barely stand up Heat 1, 5, 10 and 13 feature GP rider plus a PL rider Heats 3 and 11 feature 2 PL riders Heats 4,7,9 and 12 feature your NL riders Heats 2, 6, 8 and 14 feature your MDL and Man in Black. Clubs reported to be offering huge signing on fees to get the best man in black. BSPA hails new era and more value for money as races will now be longer. 1 pound on admission. Tacticals allowed in some races perhaps. Good Friday will award an extra league point to any team operating over 5 guests.

Gino Manzares USA

Observations from an outsider 1. It was brought in to cut costs 2. Extra races will benefit British riders in the long run 3. Effectively at an EL match you now get 9 EL heats, 4 PL heats and 2 NL heats 4. The new format will make the racing closer 5. You effectively have 3 teams in your 1-7 now - 3 EL riders who just race EL and PL riders, 2 PL riders who race EL, PL and NL and 2 NL riders who race PL and NL riders. 6. Your star riders will find points harder to come by - will they now want a points money pay rise to compensate? 7. The race will be on for EL clubs to buy talented young Brits - again sending up costs. 8. The score charts look odd these days - NL rider 10, PL rider 9, GP rider 5. How do you explain this to a casual fan, "Man that Ashley Morris is better than the world champ, right?" 9. The double up triple up situation is making guests on busy dates farcical. Fans want to watch THEIR team, not have him riding for someone else! I think that British riders will benefit but a better system would be to bring them from NL through PL into EL. The continuous compulsion to make cut backs is the mantra of the EL. I wonder what will be next?

Lets not forget the new race format (which is giving us a regular does of NL 8 pointers outscoring GP riders) gives the top dogs no easy rides and pitches them against 1-2 other heatleaders per race. With harder races most all of the top guns will go down in averages and those struggling will be getting some very low scores.

No it truly reflects speedway and the anarchy of organizations it really is!

http://www.msd-photographyandvideography.com/Media-Press-Publications Team USA is already preparing for its 2014 World Cup campaign, having staged a series of team practices at the European sized Perris Raceway in recent weeks. A link to press and practice pictures and squad video interviews can be found at the above link.

We did numbers first. I hope Charlie Venegas sues Darcy for #43 copyright!

45, 104, 142. 24. 46, 100

Interviews here - Hancok, Hamill, Wells, Manzares, Fox, Scopellite, Nicol. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCombhYcds01byf_N883VgJA?feature=watch

Yes. Having riders choose numbers is definitely a sign of the apocalypse.

For Bomber? TRFKA37