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Of course your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. Mine is too - and for the record I think you are a miserable, tight-fisted old moaner. £2.90 is a steal for what Speedway Star offer on a weekly basis.

Depends on how you view value for money.

 

I buy 'BackTrack' and 'Classic Speedway' Magazines on Subscription and think they are excellent value for money.

 

I don't believe that Speedway Star fits in to that category these days. I used to have it delivered from the Newsagents years ago and in those days, it was indeed value for money. Not now unfortunately.

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I wouldn't claim to know what budget Speedway Star operates from, but given the profile of the sport in the country now, I think that as fans we are lucky to have such a magazine published weekly.

There are some features I would do away with, such as coverage of the domestic grasstrack scene and I skim through the track by track news, but I'm sure other fans have their gripes too.

All in all, I'm glad I took out a subscription once again, but I actually get more pleasure from the other speedway magazine that I subscribe to - Speedway Sanomat from Finland, which is a true labour of love to compile and a magazine I would heartedly recommend to other speedway fans.

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I have read every issue of Speedway Star from March 1952 to date. In my view it has maintained a high standard over the years and it has certainly retained my interest. On the whole I feel the magazine reports the news (and results) in a timely manner and allows readers to form their own views on events. I appreciate that on occasions a degree of investigative journalism can be enlightening in any publication, but if facts and events are reported comprehensively this gives the reader every opportunity to form their own views and reach their own conclusions. I am sure that anyone who feels there is a topic which has not been covered in a balanced way or in sufficient depth could air their views and promote further debate through the letters page.

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Of course your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. Mine is too - and for the record I think you are a miserable, tight-fisted old moaner. £2.90 is a steal for what Speedway Star offer on a weekly basis.

 

Agreed. I've been buying the Star on a weekly basis since my teens in the 80's in Berwick. And i've lived in Banbury, 16 years in Inverness, then back to Falkirk since 2004. I've been in a new job since July 1st, full time contracted hours again. But was in a zero hours contract job before that for five years, weekly paid every friday. But every thursday, i cobbled together the loose change for my weekly Star.

 

Yes, we live in the internet age, and i'm as active on it as anyone else for a 43 year old. But i don't follow every club on Twitter or Faceache, nor do i really want to to be honest. And yes, i know the news from friends that retweet or share news on social media or the pages that i do follow. But Speedway Star is still the first thing in my trolley when i go shopping after work every Thursday. For £2.90 a week, it's a bargain whether you read it all or not!

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I think it's excellent value and have had it on subscription for donkeys years, quality read with some very good articles.

 

Like others I would like to see the odd survey conducted as to problems with the sport and what supporters want.

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Have been a subscriber on and off for donkeys years - currently lapsed - but tend to pick a copy up at my local Sainsbury's. If I miss a couple of weeks it doesn't bother me. Prefer the off season editions and will try and get this weeks copy to read the article on the 1969 Pirates (my first season watching the sport).

Having said that I was disappointed with the coverage of the Hancock furore in Melbourne and I feel the increasingly prolific Paul Burbidge is a tad Piratecentric in his coverage. This season my favourite feature has been the Peter Oakes pages.

Edited by salty
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I have read every issue of Speedway Star from March 1952 to date. In my view it has maintained a high standard over the years and it has certainly retained my interest. On the whole I feel the magazine reports the news (and results) in a timely manner and allows readers to form their own views on events. I appreciate that on occasions a degree of investigative journalism can be enlightening in any publication, but if facts and events are reported comprehensively this gives the reader every opportunity to form their own views and reach their own conclusions. I am sure that anyone who feels there is a topic which has not been covered in a balanced way or in sufficient depth could air their views and promote further debate through the letters page.

 

Agree,and anytime I have contacted them regarding a subject my letter was published.

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Have been a subscriber on and off for donkeys years - currently lapsed - but tend to pick a copy up at my local Sainsbury's. If I miss a couple of weeks it doesn't bother me. Prefer the off season editions and will try and get this weeks copy to read the article on the 1969 Pirates (my first season watching the sport).

Having said that I was disappointed with the coverage of the Hancock furore in Melbourne and I feel the increasingly prolific Paul Burbage is a tad Piratecentric in his coverage. This season my favourite feature has been the Peter Oakes pages.

Peter Oakes pages are also my favourite. The rest I can skim through.

 

Anyone remember the magazine 5-1? How long did that go for?

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Peter Oakes pages are also my favourite. The rest I can skim through.

 

Anyone remember the magazine 5-1? How long did that go for?

If my memory serves me correctly, it ran from 1995-97.

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I still enjoy reading the magazine, but it shows how people have different views even as early as the first page on here!

The grasstrack/longtrack section I still like, but then I love grasstrack and want to see more longtrack.

More and more of the articles are covered by one person and as mentioned that does add to a bit of 'samey' reporting, it's always good to see different styles and opinions from different people.

As a kid I used to look forward to seeing what would be on the back cover, what team or rider, whereas now it's generally an advert for Cardiff, and that is practically preaching to the converted

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Depends on how you view value for money.

 

I buy 'BackTrack' and 'Classic Speedway' Magazines on Subscription and think they are excellent value for money.

 

I don't believe that Speedway Star fits in to that category these days. I used to have it delivered from the Newsagents years ago and in those days, it was indeed value for money. Not now unfortunately.

Have you any idea how much magazines cost for other sports ? £2.90 is excellent value in today's market.

Still enjoy reading the Star particularly articles on yesteryear but still stand by my criticism that the Star has too closer a relationship to its subjects namely B.S.I , the F.I.M and certain promoters in Britain that they regard as personal friends .

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I agree with Phil that a lot of the criticism has been unwarranted, but at the same time there are instances where I feel it has been deserved - the Greg Hancock issue stands out, the Lindback on a 7 as examples.

But overall, for a minority sport, I think the Star is an excellent publication. Certainly I find it hard that anyone can argue it is poor value for money, when it is half the price of a pint! I also disagree with anyone suggesting it should go to a lower paper/print quality.

So - why then don't I but the Star? Firstly, living in NZ the postage doubles the cost of buying it. Still decent value, but the cost adds up. I tried a couple of online subsctipions, but prefer a pper copy, and with 70+ hour work weeks and a young family, I struggled to find the time to read it.

 

I used to love the Star primarily for the statistics, the results/match reports and the heat by heat details of major meetings. Now you can get the stats on line (in more detail), live match reports, and major meetings anywhere in the world you can watch.

So if I was to subscribe again to the Star, it would be for in depth articles. But, on current contentions topics (like Hancock for example), I found far more critical discussion on the BSF than what has been reported as covered in the Star. Similarly, when the new heat format for EDR was introduced, to my knowledge the Star didn't print anything querying how the obvious impact on averages was going to be addressed, wheras on here the potential issue was identified and sebated. Obviously the form has some numpties, but there can also be informed and rigorous intelligent debate on here.

What actually triggered me to subcribe last time was an article on my favourite rider of all time, Larry Ross. So, I'm going to disagree again with TWK, and suggest more features (especially in the off season) on prior years would be a good thing.

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Like so many here I have been a weekly purchaser of the Star for my whole life.

And for the last several years an online subscriber to the Exact editions e format.

 

I offer no criticism of pricing or coverage.
I certainly would never use the term 'crap'.

It is a very pretty production and Speedway can expect no better.

 

My 'beef' has always been over it's weak-livered editorial policy.

 

On the whole, I actually think that Philip Rising (personally) does have the balls to give his honest view, when he chooses to exercise it.

And when he does express a view I am happy to disagree with it, whilst appreciating his right to differ.

Unfortunately the actual Editor - a Mr Clark I believe- seems to be devoid of any descernible opinion himself.

But is happy to give full vent to the very narrow and restricted Burbidge-view of the Speedway world.

Which is a pity.

 

The Star's greatest failings IN MY VIEW have related to some of the biggest issues of the past few years.

And it's very weak attitude towards them.

 

Darcy Ward and the p!ssed up dehydration fiasco.

BSI and it's "varied" record of performance (think Warsaw 2015) and Gelsenkirchen/Gothenburg and Cardiff before.

Greg Hancock and the race fixing 'clutch' fiasco.

Belle Vue and the hagiography of Gordon and Morton.

 

All have represented very great lows in the life of the Star.

 

It would not have cost a penny more than the good value £2.90 to have just done better with journalistic and editorial content.

Edited by Grand Central
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I read it every Wednesday... ;)

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