Elite League 2014

[orion 7,615]

One thing the top league must do ,if it continues to exist, is condense the race nights into one or at most two (wed/thur). I maintain it is no accident that Poole are the best supported and successful franchise. They can attract top riders with the Wed. racenight and the opposition turn up full strength making the whole thing look more professional. At Coventry on a Friday night it's been a total joke this year with Swindon minus half their team on FIM duty, Wolves minus Lindgren at Togliatti, Belle Vue minus Craig Cook doubling up. Keep the current points limit, maybe increase the league to 12 teams and race 22 fixtures on fixed night(s).

This is a point I have been saying for ages ..top level speedway can't run or a Friday or Sat night anymore ...if you want full teams and thou it's hard it has to be mid week

[MattK 3,447]

I dont think anyone is saying get rid of Tai, as he is British he SHOULD ride in Britain.

 

Wouldn't that defeat the object of consolidating the leagues? The "big clubs" will simply offer the three or four elite British riders wages that smaller clubs cannot afford - thereby create a two-tier league.

[uk_martin 1,606]

No offence but watching somebody wobble around the track doesn't appeal to me or many other fans and it would lead to crowds being lowered all across the country and possibly the death of speedway

 

Sometimes the rose bush has to be pruned back if it's ever to be seen in bloom again...

[Gemini 4,894]

No offence but watching somebody wobble around the track doesn't appeal to me or many other fans and it would lead to crowds being lowered all across the country and possibly the death of speedway

 

Even the National League lads don't 'wobble round the track.' You should try watching them sometime. I'm quite prepared to watch speedway next season without any foreign riders who just take the mick and I would really like one big league so there is a meeting every week against a different team rather than the same old faces. League racing here being disrupted because there is a Grand Prix more or less every fortnight is a pain in the neck so no G.P. riders either. Sorted.

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

 

 

The only blow to me is that i wouldn't go as often or be interested in supporting a PL standard team.

 

I suspect you won't be alone in that. In truth, I don't think that your crowd reduction figures of 35% at EL clubs should they drop down is that unreasonable.

 

Whatever you say,though, BP is right. The EL in its present state is financially unsustainable even without the loss (or reduction) of the Sky contract. Carrying on as things are is simply not an option and I think that you (and others) have to come to terms with that.

 

It'll be very interesting to see what finally happens come next March.

[Woz01 3,589]

 

 

Wouldn't that defeat the object of consolidating the leagues? The "big clubs" will simply offer the three or four elite British riders wages that smaller clubs cannot afford - thereby create a two-tier league.

 

That would still happen no matter what the league structure would be but a team having Tai in it can easily still mean lowering costs. Wolves for example would have Tai but not Freddie, cost lowered.

[T.N.T. 355]

While there will possibly be a number of big names missing next season, you will still have some top riders here that ride in another league or even the GP's.

 

Tai Woffinden is likely to be back at Wolves and I would guess that either Darcy or Holder are back at Poole with the other moving on to pastures new. Even Matej Zagar could stay at Belle Vue, maybe even Iversen at Kings Lynn and Bjerre at P'boro but these riders would have to commit to racing just here and ONE other league which is likely to be Poland.

 

Sadly this would make it hard for a riders like Fredrik Lindgren, Grzegorz Zengota and Peter Karlsson to stay as they would have to still ride in Sweden and would then have to decide on riding in Poland or Britain and in Freddie's case possibly a new club as it would be hard to fit in both Tai and Freddie as both are 9+ riders. .... Hopefully he does stay in British Speedway but the money is clearly elsewhere.

 

 

Harris, Schlein, Nicholls, King, Smolinski, Doyle, Watt, Batchelor, Barker, Skornicki etc could all still be based in Britain but there has to be question marks on the Danish riders that ride in numerous leagues and may opt to miss out Brtain instead but as there are not many Danish matches, these may not get in the way as Iversen has ony done 2 this season and Bjerre 7.

 

 

The question would be if they were willing to ride for less money or do less meetings, ie share the #1 position in some cases (Ward/Holder ... Andersen/Kildemand for example) but mainly I would think a number will be missing and the 7+ riders we have now will be the main riders in 2014

 

 

EXAMPLE ONLY; WOLVERHAMPTON

Tai Woffinden (Britain/Poland), Adam Skornicki (Britain/Poland), Ty Proctor (Doubling Up), Ricky Wells (Doubling Up), Jacob Thorssell (Sweden/Britain), Ashley Morris (Doubling Up), 2.00 National League rider.

Edited August 25, 2013 by T.N.T.

[racers and royals 8,720]

While there will possibly be a number of big names missing next season, you will still have some top riders here that ride in another league or even the GP's.

 

Tai Woffinden is likely to be back at Wolves and I would guess that either Darcy or Holder are back at Poole with the other moving on to pastures new. Even Matej Zagar could stay at Belle Vue, maybe even Iversen at Kings Lynn and Bjerre at P'boro but these riders would have to commit to racing just here and ONE other league which is likely to be Poland.

 

Sadly this would make it hard for a riders like Fredrik Lindgren, Grzegorz Zengota and Peter Karlsson to stay as they would have to still ride in Sweden and would then have to decide on riding in Poland or Britain and in Freddie's case possibly a new club as it would be hard to fit in both Tai and Freddie as both are 9+ riders. .... Hopefully he does stay in British Speedway but the money is clearly elsewhere.

 

 

Harris, Schlein, Nicholls, King, Smolinski, Doyle, Watt, Batchelor, Barker, Skornicki etc could all still be based in Britain but there has to be question marks on the Danish riders that ride in numerous leagues and may opt to miss out Brtain instead but as there are not many Danish matches, these may not get in the way as Iversen has ony done 2 this season and Bjerre 7.

 

 

The question would be if they were willing to ride for less money or do less meetings, ie share the #1 position in some cases (Ward/Holder ... Andersen/Kildemand for example) but mainly I would think a number will be missing and the 7+ riders we have now will be the main riders in 2014

 

 

EXAMPLE ONLY; WOLVERHAMPTON

Tai Woffinden (Britain/Poland), Adam Skornicki (Britain/Poland), Ty Proctor (Doubling Up), Ricky Wells (Doubling Up), Jacob Thorssell (Sweden/Britain), Ashley Morris (Doubling Up), 2.00 National League rider.

You must be living in cloud cuckoo land if you think Foreign riders will choose to ride in Britain instead of Sweden.

[Daniel Smith 5,658]

While there will possibly be a number of big names missing next season, you will still have some top riders here that ride in another league or even the GP's.

 

Tai Woffinden is likely to be back at Wolves and I would guess that either Darcy or Holder are back at Poole with the other moving on to pastures new. Even Matej Zagar could stay at Belle Vue, maybe even Iversen at Kings Lynn and Bjerre at P'boro but these riders would have to commit to racing just here and ONE other league which is likely to be Poland.

 

Sadly this would make it hard for a riders like Fredrik Lindgren, Grzegorz Zengota and Peter Karlsson to stay as they would have to still ride in Sweden and would then have to decide on riding in Poland or Britain and in Freddie's case possibly a new club as it would be hard to fit in both Tai and Freddie as both are 9+ riders. .... Hopefully he does stay in British Speedway but the money is clearly elsewhere.

 

 

Harris, Schlein, Nicholls, King, Smolinski, Doyle, Watt, Batchelor, Barker, Skornicki etc could all still be based in Britain but there has to be question marks on the Danish riders that ride in numerous leagues and may opt to miss out Brtain instead but as there are not many Danish matches, these may not get in the way as Iversen has ony done 2 this season and Bjerre 7.

 

 

The question would be if they were willing to ride for less money or do less meetings, ie share the #1 position in some cases (Ward/Holder ... Andersen/Kildemand for example) but mainly I would think a number will be missing and the 7+ riders we have now will be the main riders in 2014

 

 

EXAMPLE ONLY; WOLVERHAMPTON

Tai Woffinden (Britain/Poland), Adam Skornicki (Britain/Poland), Ty Proctor (Doubling Up), Ricky Wells (Doubling Up), Jacob Thorssell (Sweden/Britain), Ashley Morris (Doubling Up), 2.00 National League rider.

 

You must be living in cloud cuckoo land if you think Foreign riders will choose to ride in Britain instead of Sweden.

 

Absolutely right racers and royals. Far too many fans still hold the EL in to high regard when the reality we're 5th in the priority list behind Poland, Sweden, Russia & Denmark, we're even 6th with some preferring the Czech league too.

 

I don't fall for this drastic crowd lose if we loose the top riders rubbish. Most people turn there backs because the product isn't good enough not because because of some bloke's name under a red, blue, white or yellow helmet colour.

 

We need to peg this sport in the UK back a bit and just sign riders that commit to every meeting as priority. So if that means loosing Iversen, Lindgren, Holder, Ward etc then so be it. It would then just prove my point one.

 

Once that's all sorted we can only then look at the league structure

[Skidder1 7,634]

Sometimes the rose bush has to be pruned back if it's ever to be seen in bloom again...

...as it grows again out of the same pile of manure!!!!

[stevebrum 6,820]

So you're saying you just guessed and passed it off as fact ?

 

No need for anyone to research figures to make you look silly, you're managing quite well on your own.

 

If you can show me to where i said it was a fact then you might just save yourself from looking silly.

 

 

I dont think anyone is saying get rid of Tai, as he is British he SHOULD ride in Britain.

 

But many posters are saying the top guys should be got rid of to save costs. Is Tai expected to ride in the UK on the cheap then?

ALL riders that want to ride here should accept the terms offered by the clubs that they can afford ..... IF they wish to race here.

 

 

A drop in crowds of 35% will be fine if costs are cut by 50-60%.

 

So cheaper Speedway watched by fewer people.??

 

 

I suspect you won't be alone in that. In truth, I don't think that your crowd reduction figures of 35% at EL clubs should they drop down is that unreasonable.

 

Whatever you say,though, BP is right. The EL in its present state is financially unsustainable even without the loss (or reduction) of the Sky contract. Carrying on as things are is simply not an option and I think that you (and others) have to come to terms with that.

 

It'll be very interesting to see what finally happens come next March.

 

Good and reasonable post (unlike some) HT.

It isn't about coming to terms with what may or not be on offer in the future. I am fully aware that promotions (from what has been said so far) are looking to strip things back next season to save money.

I really don't have an issue with that if that is the way things are going and that the sport will be further watered down to save money, which is something that seems to be missed by some.

 

My only point is that any watering down and further loss of top riders is going to see some (myself included) lost to watching regular Speedway.

 

I am not trying to argue the point i am just stating what applies to myself and my views on the way the sport is heading (and has been heading for a long time) isnt great to keep those of us who DO actually want the top guys here. I am not blind to any of the issues that the EL has as some blindly appear to believe.

I accept that changes may be likely next season, i don't have to agree or like them do i?

[hans fan 1,001]

 

 

If you can show me to where i said it was a fact then you might just save yourself from looking silly.

 

 

 

 

But many posters are saying the top guys should be got rid of to save costs. Is Tai expected to ride in the UK on the cheap then?

ALL riders that want to ride here should accept the terms offered by the clubs that they can afford ..... IF they wish to race here.

 

 

 

 

So cheaper Speedway watched by fewer people.??

 

 

 

 

Good and reasonable post (unlike some) HT.

It isn't about coming to terms with what may or not be on offer in the future. I am fully aware that promotions (from what has been said so far) are looking to strip things back next season to save money.

I really don't have an issue with that if that is the way things are going and that the sport will be further watered down to save money, which is something that seems to be missed by some.

 

My only point is that any watering down and further loss of top riders is going to see some (myself included) lost to watching regular Speedway.

 

I am not trying to argue the point i am just stating what applies to myself and my views on the way the sport is heading (and has been heading for a long time) isnt great to keep those of us who DO actually want the top guys here. I am not blind to any of the issues that the EL has as some blindly appear to believe.

I accept that changes may be likely next season, i don't have to agree or like them do i?

we'd all like the top boys here but unless crowds are gonna average over 2500 (more if the sky contract don't get renewed ) a meeting you won't see them , elite league teams should be made to use brits at reserve instead of keep pumping money in to johhny foreigner with kit vans signing on fees , if each team lost a heatleader and were made to bring a young brit in ,british speedway as a whole (in the long run) will improve ,

[stevebrum 6,820]

we'd all like the top boys here but unless crowds are gonna average over 2500 (more if the sky contract don't get renewed ) a meeting you won't see them , elite league teams should be made to use brits at reserve instead of keep pumping money in to johhny foreigner with kit vans signing on fees , if each team lost a heatleader and were made to bring a young brit in ,british speedway as a whole (in the long run) will improve ,

 

No argument from me. I have asked CVS a couple of times about this silly EU law that prevents us ensuring ENGLISH boys riding in our countries league.

I could live with having 2 British riders at reserve at the expense of someone that doesnt really add anything to our league.

Your idea meets with my approval absolutely!

[hans fan 1,001]

 

 

No argument from me. I have asked CVS a couple of times about this silly EU law that prevents us ensuring ENGLISH boys riding in our countries league.

I could live with having 2 British riders at reserve at the expense of someone that doesnt really add anything to our league.

Your idea meets with my approval absolutely!

just to add there should be 2 reserve races like Sweden , give them more opportunity to earn a few extra £££ and elite teams might be built different then

[stevebrum 6,820]

just to add there should be 2 reserve races like Sweden , give them more opportunity to earn a few extra £££ and elite teams might be built different then

 

I am fast becoming a fan of your work.