One League - Matt Ford

[steve roberts 9,242]

9 minutes ago, GWC said:

But there has always been a double up or down in speedway mainly due to the unique nature of the sport where injuries exist or rider experience shortages.

It works for inexperienced riders to ride in a higher league but what we have now is the bspa allowing ALL riders in the lower league to earn money and keep their promoters happy by not losing better riders and thus dilute their product.

 

Certainly at Oxford during the early seventies "The Rebels' utilised the talents of Eastbourne and Peterborough (sister tracks) to good effect when the occasion demanded.

[bruno 1,790]

There's always been doubling up but wasn't it usually riders in the second division trying to get better so therefore riding in the top division, more or less. Can't remember the top riders in the top division riding in the second division. Maybe wrong tho. Different times I suppose with riders not wanting to race here

[steve roberts 9,242]

7 minutes ago, bruno said:

There's always been doubling up but wasn't it usually riders in the second division trying to get better so therefore riding in the top Division on, more or less. Can't remember the top riders in the top division riding in the second division. Maybe wrong tho. Different times I suppose with riders not wanting to race here

Absolutely...Oxford benefitted with the likes of Ballard, Kennett, Davis, Greer, Gachet, Geer etc.

The early role of the Second Division was to produce talent who would progress to the upper...unfortunately the system began to deteriorate in time when the leagues became somewhat independant of each other.

Edited July 31, 2019 by steve roberts

[ShyTalk 22]

Nowadays may be more appropriate to call it doubling down.

[GWC 495]

1 hour ago, Richard Weston said:

Not sure that is correct that there has always been doubling. I dont remember when I first watched.

My first year in 1969 many teams in Division 2 had riders on loan from Div 1.

As those riders improved they began to feature more in their senior team whilst continuing to compete at lower level. However it wasn’t long term like it is now.

I remember Geoff Maloney at Rayleigh started one season on fire and was doubling up with Hackney, he moved up full time mid season much to my annoyance!

What did stop riders dropping down a league was when Romford signed Des Lukehurst from Hackney as he couldn’t get a ride with another Div 1 team.

In those days overnight it turned Romford into title challengers and I don’t think they lost another match all season. I remember huge crowds too.

 

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by GWC

[mikebv 10,261]

4 hours ago, ShyTalk said:

Nowadays may be more appropriate to call it doubling down.

Spot on...

When riders rode in both of the top divisions it was to give them a chance to develop their ability against better riders, to see if they could make the leap into the top league permanently,  and then further into international class, once they became established top division standard riders..

Now it's simply done to allow riders without Polish and Swedish contracts to make money, and all it has done is result in some clubs racing on nights they would prefer not to, to accomodate these riders' earning potential and deliver a fixture list driven by when the riders are available to ride rather than when the customers will be available to attend. .

[Midland Red 2,383]

12 hours ago, ShyTalk said:

Nowadays may be more appropriate to call it doubling down.

Or dumbing down 

[moxey63 1,785]

I saw a post on the internet from a British club prospective giving the thumbs up to three of its riders' scores for Polish clubs.

One of the only ways speedway can return to attracting fans is to return British speedway to a sport where there's an affinity between rider and fan.

How far it has drifted from this is surely shown by the example I started with.

Celebrating your British club riders' score in another league is a bit like you, the fan, allowing your mate to take out your girlfriend because it reduces costs to you both and she gets the best of both worlds. In the meantime, she doesn't know if she's coming or going and yet is expected to give both of you her full attention. As her boyfriend, you, the fan, becomes disillusioned with it all and look somewhere else for your desires. 

There has to be loyalty. Otherwise, why, as a supporter, bother putting aside best part of a night to travel miles, pay a king's ransom to watch, witness two sides made up of somebody else's guys, feel a bit weird cheering on these fallas who are merely just borrowing your club colours...

Speedway is just a sport filled with riders who act like they are on zero-hour contracts and will ride anywhere and for anyone. 

For starters, as a fan you have got to drink, eat and breathe your local club. You have got to hurt when the team gets beaten, worry when a rider is off form or injured... It has got to be that important that you bother showing up at trackside to support them.

By allowing riders to spread themselves so thinly, we have lost much of the passion from fans to show up and support their so-called team.

  
 

Edited August 1, 2019 by moxey63

[DC2 11,150]

 

Possibly a 60:40 chance of One League according to this promoter:

https://www.eastbourne-speedway.com/ian-jordan-reveals-the-ingredients-for-success/

 

[steve roberts 9,242]

49 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

I saw a post on the internet from a British club prospective giving the thumbs up to three of its riders' scores for Polish clubs.

One of the only ways speedway can return to attracting fans is to return British speedway to a sport where there's an affinity between rider and fan.

How far it has drifted from this is surely shown by the example I started with.

Celebrating your British club riders' score in another league is a bit like you, the fan, allowing your mate to take out your girlfriend because it reduces costs to you both and she gets the best of both worlds. In the meantime, she doesn't know if she's coming or going and yet is expected to give both of you her full attention. As her boyfriend, you, the fan, becomes disillusioned with it all and look somewhere else for your desires. 

There has to be loyalty. Otherwise, why, as a supporter, bother putting aside best part of a night to travel miles, pay a king's ransom to watch, witness two sides made up of somebody else's guys, feel a bit weird cheering on these fallas who are merely just borrowing your club colours...

Speedway is just a sport filled with riders who act like they are on zero-hour contracts and will ride anywhere and for anyone. 

For starters, as a fan you have got to drink, eat and breath your local club. You have got to hurt when the team gets beaten, worry when a rider is off form or injured... It has got to be that important that you bother showing up at trackside to support them.

By allowing riders to spread themselves so thinly, we have lost much of the passion from fans to show up and support their so-called team.

  
 

Couldn't agree more. Riders would regularly remain with the same club which would develop a raport between riders and the fans.

[Trees 2,814]

11 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Couldn't agree more. Riders would regularly remain with the same club which would develop a raport between riders and the fans.

And they still do ......

[ch958 2,394]

On 8/1/2019 at 10:19 AM, DC2 said:

 

Possibly a 60:40 chance of One League according to this promoter:

https://www.eastbourne-speedway.com/ian-jordan-reveals-the-ingredients-for-success/

 

well will the 40 tell us where the fkin money's coming from

[iris123 20,959]

On 8/1/2019 at 11:19 AM, DC2 said:

 

Possibly a 60:40 chance of One League according to this promoter:

https://www.eastbourne-speedway.com/ian-jordan-reveals-the-ingredients-for-success/

 

The worrying thing at least from Eastbourne is that they had poor attendances against the Scottish teams. So will one big league make it very difficult for those teams at each extreme of the UK while suiting those in the middle?

[Skidder1 7,633]

6 minutes ago, iris123 said:

The worrying thing at least from Eastbourne is that they had poor attendances against the Scottish teams. So will one big league make it very difficult for those teams at each extreme of the UK while suiting those in the middle?

Maybe running on a Saturday when theres a GP on tv might be a factor?  We might get another clue this evening.

[DC2 11,150]

3 minutes ago, iris123 said:

The worrying thing at least from Eastbourne is that they had poor attendances against the Scottish teams. So will one big league make it very difficult for those teams at each extreme of the UK while suiting those in the middle?

 

Does any away team ever bring more than 100 fans (other than in the play offs)?

All clubs need a core home support of 800 and the ambition to double that, either by marketing or by improving the product (with a better track and better racing or with one league giving a more attractive variety of opponents).