mikebv 10,270 Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) A shame if Tai doesnt ride over here as it would be a huge plus for the sport in the UK having his name attached to it.. If it is true he only wanted to ride home matches only, then surely a way could have been found to allow that to happen.. Just use guests or RR away from home.... As, lets face it, its not as if such contrived, "let's just make it up", situations are uncommon in UK Speedway is it? The facility is there so use it. It may make the league a bit less credible but not too much less credible than it already is I would suggest.. It would also only mean paying out for one meeting, not two, out of the attendance income, which maybe would have made it all viable to do... And possibly could have been a trailblazer for other top riders to do the same. ie just ride their respective teams' home matches... Having Tai (and possibly others of his level at every track in the top league) would have a far greater positive impact to the sports attendances I would say than any increases brought by any team actually winning any title... Edited January 9, 2022 by mikebv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUPERACE 440 Posted January 9, 2022 29 minutes ago, mikebv said: A shame if Tai doesnt ride over here as it would be a huge plus for the sport in the UK having his name attached to it.. If it is true he only wanted to ride home matches only, then surely a way could have been found to allow that to happen.. Just use guests or RR away from home.... As, lets face it, its not as if such contrived, "let's just make it up", situations are uncommon in UK Speedway is it? The facility is there so use it. It may make the league a bit less credible but not too much less credible than it already is I would suggest.. It would also only mean paying out for one meeting, not two, out of the attendance income, which maybe would have made it all viable to do... And possibly could have been a trailblazer for other top riders to do the same. ie just ride their respective teams' home matches... Having Tai (and possibly others of his level at every track in the top league) would have a far greater positive impact to the sports attendances I would say than any increases brought by any team actually winning any title... You can't sign a rider who only wants to ride home matches jts an absolute non starter. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisa-colette 6,024 Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) If another rider agreed to do the away ones, I wonder if they would sanction it? A while ago they had doubling up riders sharing one of the reserve positions, so why not do it in the no1 position? *no idea what Tai's average is* Edited January 9, 2022 by lisa-colette 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,270 Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) 22 minutes ago, SUPERACE said: You can't sign a rider who only wants to ride home matches jts an absolute non starter. You could if they all did it... And I would suggest it is an ideal way of making it affordable given you only pay out for the one meeting to the "superstar", and then pay out "normal money" for guests or RR away from home... Speedway (in the UK), due to the way it is operated, isnt like other professional sports where winning a trophy can actually mean something, (eg financial reward, brand image reputation and kudos, and publicity for sponsors etc etc) so it should just market itself well enough to try and bring in increased crowds any way shape it can to build a better future.. Getting each team with a "superstar" would be a good start to this aim.. Edited January 9, 2022 by mikebv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,359 Posted January 9, 2022 16 hours ago, 847084 said: Ivan Mauger did a season for Exeter only riding in the home meetings: so it has been done before. What season did that happen.Don’t think that is the case,stand corrected if wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,270 Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Fromafar said: What season did that happen.Don’t think that is the case,stand corrected if wrong. 1984. He came back to ride for Exeter, but only rode in home meetings.. Edited January 9, 2022 by mikebv 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,359 Posted January 9, 2022 7 minutes ago, mikebv said: 1984. He came back to ride for Exeter, but only rode in home meetings.. Thanks,apologises I stand corrected. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,270 Posted January 9, 2022 2 minutes ago, Fromafar said: Thanks,apologises I stand corrected. Not sure if he did a full season as he had been retired for a couple of years.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,359 Posted January 9, 2022 17 minutes ago, mikebv said: Not sure if he did a full season as he had been retired for a couple of years.. He rode 23 matches. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lefty 1,266 Posted January 9, 2022 Perhaps Tai could ride all home meetings for Wolves on a Monday.... and then all Belle Vue home meetings on a Thursday.... it could be called 'doubling up' to help the BSPA (L) to maintain the sports integrity. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,270 Posted January 9, 2022 34 minutes ago, Lefty said: Perhaps Tai could ride all home meetings for Wolves on a Monday.... and then all Belle Vue home meetings on a Thursday.... it could be called 'doubling up' to help the BSPA (L) to maintain the sports integrity. You see... That is EXACTLY the 'out of the box' thinking that the sport needs... We currently have adhoc guest riding now, so having it already planned in as part of "THE PLAN" can only be a benefit for the sport... Bomber and Scott could be time tabled in to ride Monday to Sunday for every team, rather than having them do so on such an adhoc basis like currently exists.. We will obviuosly need another "go to" guest now Rory has retired so "feelers" should be put out to see who wants this incredibly important position in UK Speedway.. Maybe send your idea to the BSPL Lefty...? 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,359 Posted January 9, 2022 41 minutes ago, Lefty said: Perhaps Tai could ride all home meetings for Wolves on a Monday.... and then all Belle Vue home meetings on a Thursday.... it could be called 'doubling up' to help the BSPA (L) to maintain the sports integrity. Don’t put ideas into their heads 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ljriley90 47 Posted January 9, 2022 1 hour ago, mikebv said: You could if they all did it... And I would suggest it is an ideal way of making it affordable given you only pay out for the one meeting to the "superstar", and then pay out "normal money" for guests or RR away from home... Speedway (in the UK), due to the way it is operated, isnt like other professional sports where winning a trophy can actually mean something, (eg financial reward, brand image reputation and kudos, and publicity for sponsors etc etc) so it should just market itself well enough to try and bring in increased crowds any way shape it can to build a better future.. Getting each team with a "superstar" would be a good start to this aim.. I hear the sentiment but will that not make home matches a walk over and dillute the offering if the opposition star rider doesnt turn up? The match up between the numbers 1s and 5s in ht 13 and 15 etc are usually the best part of the night. Tracking r/r for your number 1 away against a strong side who have their number 1 available will be a walk over! The league will just see a load of home wins and not many away victories Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,270 Posted January 9, 2022 8 minutes ago, ljriley90 said: I hear the sentiment but will that not make home matches a walk over and dillute the offering if the opposition star rider doesnt turn up? The match up between the numbers 1s and 5s in ht 13 and 15 etc are usually the best part of the night. Tracking r/r for your number 1 away against a strong side who have their number 1 available will be a walk over! The league will just see a load of home wins and not many away victories One of the major issues the sport had when the 'superstars' rode over here was exactly the fact that they were quite often missing at away meeting, so it wouldn't be a 'new thing'.... Bizarrely. Teams would actually agree to meetings away knowing that they were going to be without their 'star man' who could be in an FIM meeting that weekend, or his own National Championships.. Strangely though, it seldom happened at home that way with the 'superstar' generally always being available except for injury... As for RR? It is a system that unfortunately isn't fit for purpose yet so easily could be... No 1 missing? Then all riders in the team can take his rides if the manager so wishes, up to a maximum seven each... eg. The other two heat leaders could take all his rides and still do Ht 15 together... Much better for the sports credibility than using a guest system, which ultimately destroys its credibility stone dead.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beowulf 1,513 Posted January 9, 2022 1 hour ago, mikebv said: You see... That is EXACTLY the 'out of the box' thinking that the sport needs... We currently have adhoc guest riding now, so having it already planned in as part of "THE PLAN" can only be a benefit for the sport... Bomber and Scott could be time tabled in to ride Monday to Sunday for every team, rather than having them do so on such an adhoc basis like currently exists.. We will obviuosly need another "go to" guest now Rory has retired so "feelers" should be put out to see who wants this incredibly important position in UK Speedway.. Maybe send your idea to the BSPL Lefty...? I think he was being satirical........................................ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
