00000 1,279 Posted May 23, 2020 13 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said: Isolation from Poland is sadly inevitable for both Britain and Sweden. Rather than be at the mercy of PZM's bulying both have to accept that it is not possible to use riders who race in the Polish Leagues and resource their leagues from those who don't. Already the needs of Poland, and BSI have crippled British speedway. It can only get worse. It's time to rebuild employing riders who will be allowed to race freely here. Let the Poles do their thing, even if it means having to say goodbye to some of our own riders. We cannot go on this way. Poland isn't going to change as long as the money's flowing in. We have to. Yes, this is the way forward. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 1,497 Posted May 23, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, DC2 said: Can they not say “provided the R rate is below 1 we will allow outdoor events of up to 5,000 people where two metre distancing can be practised”? They could but wont. Will 2m distancing be required come August. No one knows. Leave decision as late as possible. Government said they hoped schools can reopen June 1st. Not 100% but a very hopeful reality. Look what trouble that caused. Edited May 23, 2020 by Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DC2 11,150 Posted May 23, 2020 9 minutes ago, Mark said: They could but wont. Will 2m distancing be required come August. No one knows. Leave decision as late as possible. Government said they hoped schools can reopen June 1st. Not 100% but a very hopeful reality. Look what trouble that caused. Trouble can be caused by springing things on people; that’s why I suggested more advanced notice and guidance that’s based on a measurable criteria. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 1,497 Posted May 23, 2020 3 hours ago, DC2 said: Trouble can be caused by springing things on people; that’s why I suggested more advanced notice and guidance that’s based on a measurable criteria. the measurables are changing every day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Smith 5,645 Posted May 23, 2020 At the end of the day, as much as it stinks a little, if the PZM insist rider's ride there only if they want the big bucks who can blame them? The amount of money the Ekstraliga clubs pay they should have that right & restriction on rider's. It's a huge financial inconvenience when rider's get injured outside of Poland. The issue that may not have been thought through is with squad systems. You'd know as a rider whether you'd be a certain starter or not. You'd need to weigh up whether a signing on fee & 5-8 matches a year is worth it. I'm sure most would rather then dump Poland for rides in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Czechia & UK (if it survives). That last paragraph alone could put the spanner in the PZM works more than the concerns from the top, top rider's in the world. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M.D 460 Posted May 24, 2020 On 5/22/2020 at 11:03 PM, RobMcCaffery said: Isolation from Poland is sadly inevitable for both Britain and Sweden. Rather than be at the mercy of PZM's bulying both have to accept that it is not possible to use riders who race in the Polish Leagues and resource their leagues from those who don't. Already the needs of Poland, and BSI have crippled British speedway. It can only get worse. It's time to rebuild employing riders who will be allowed to race freely here. Let the Poles do their thing, even if it means having to say goodbye to some of our own riders. We cannot go on this way. Poland isn't going to change as long as the money's flowing in. We have to. Totally agree, time to let the Poles and riders who wish to race there go. Rebuild our leagues using riders that are far more sustainable and start putting on a show for the viewing public with better presentation, tidy up some of the stadia and concentrate on making it a good night out. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,163 Posted May 24, 2020 4 hours ago, M.D said: Totally agree, time to let the Poles and riders who wish to race there go. Rebuild our leagues using riders that are far more sustainable and start putting on a show for the viewing public with better presentation, tidy up some of the stadia and concentrate on making it a good night out. Been the obvious next step for around the last decade or so... Yet, for some reason, British Promoters have steadfastly chosen to have their businesses hugely adversely impacted by running disjointed fixture lists, using many contrived septets of borrowed riders, (to accomodate individual riders own agendas), all on many nights when you wouldn't ordinarily want to be running a 'show' in the entertainment sector.. A very strange business plan.. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobMcCaffery 2,752 Posted May 24, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, mikebv said: Been the obvious next step for around the last decade or so... Yet, for some reason, British Promoters have steadfastly chosen to have their businesses hugely adversely impacted by running disjointed fixture lists, using many contrived septets of borrowed riders, (to accomodate individual riders own agendas), all on many nights when you wouldn't ordinarily want to be running a 'show' in the entertainment sector.. A very strange business plan.. We had it once Mike. We called it the National League. How it was allowed to be sold down the river in the name of amalgamation and the needs of one club in the nineties is still a mystery. Edited May 24, 2020 by RobMcCaffery 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,163 Posted May 24, 2020 1 hour ago, RobMcCaffery said: We had it once Mike. We called it the National League. How it was allowed to be sold down the river in the name of amalgamation and the needs of one club in the nineties is still a mystery. Without going 'all our yesterdays', watching the many various meetings on YouTube from the 80's showed just how it worked too.. Crowds seemed to be very healthy indeed when compared to today.. Hardly any full time professionals on show, and all mainly with one decent bike and a 'good enough' spare.. The best riders were also in the main, the only ones who rode in the top league at the same time, and for many of them it was a 'toe being dipped into the water' to see if they could compete at that level before moving up permanently, rather than the necessity it has become for dozens of riders of various standard so they can earn more to afford the cost of riding.. It was interesting to read Shawn Morans interview in the SS a couple of weeks back where he said he got £35 a point riding for Sheffield in the early 90's. That's equivalent to £88 a point today. I wonder how many world class No1's in the top league ride for £88 a point today? (And given their outgoings even be anywhere able to afford to).. Indeed. Could you get away with paying £88 a point to a second tier No1 nowadays? As you say, they had a pretty good business model, heaven knows how they lost sight of it.. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobMcCaffery 2,752 Posted May 24, 2020 There's nothing wrong with using historical perspective but we could now re-learn a great deal from what was good practice then. That's not blind, sentimental nostalgia talking. We had our own stars, a hugely varied fixture list with the league supported by early-season contests, the fours and pairs. The fixtures were full and varied and the crowds responded. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
racers and royals 8,697 Posted May 26, 2020 Piotr Pawlicki has finally agreed terms with Leszno and will ride in 2020. Training can start from this Friday providing all social distancing regulations are kept to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Panther1997 223 Posted May 27, 2020 Good news that all 500 tests were negative. Does anyone know what is happening with Drabik? Is he banned or is he still able to ride this year? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
racers and royals 8,697 Posted May 27, 2020 42 minutes ago, Panther1997 said: Good news that all 500 tests were negative. Does anyone know what is happening with Drabik? Is he banned or is he still able to ride this year? The last translated articles i posted are a few pages back(early May) he is certainly at present not banned however it looks as if the hearing will be held early June so that he and Wroclaw will know before the season start if he is going to be banned- which seems to be the likely decision. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Smith 5,645 Posted May 27, 2020 4 hours ago, Panther1997 said: Good news that all 500 tests were negative. Does anyone know what is happening with Drabik? Is he banned or is he still able to ride this year? 3 hours ago, racers and royals said: The last translated articles i posted are a few pages back(early May) he is certainly at present not banned however it looks as if the hearing will be held early June so that he and Wroclaw will know before the season start if he is going to be banned- which seems to be the likely decision. What's happened with Drabik, failed drugs test or something? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,617 Posted May 27, 2020 12 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said: What's happened with Drabik, failed drugs test or something? He took some over-the-counter stuff which contained a 'banned' substance even though he checked beforehand and was told it was ok!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites