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The whole culture is different because the Sport has credibility.... If Poland ran their Leagues in such a 'Mickey Mouse' fashion as British Speedway does then simply they wouldn't enjoy anywhere near the same coverage... Part of the Polish success story (and the success story of any team sport at whatever level) is that 'tribal loyalty' that is built up through the identity of their teams... Polish fans simply wouldn't stand for the No1 rider of their fiercest rivals wearing their colours and representing them on an adhoc basis... As it fundamentally goes against what team sport should be... I remember how hard it was for Darcy Ward to be accepted by his own ZG fans when they signed him, as they saw him as a Torun man.. In Britain in one single week you could be a Wolverhampton rider on a Monday, a Somerset rider on a Wednesday, and a Swindon rider on a Thursday and actually be the Belle Vue No1....! (Who also represents his contracted team of Glasgow on a Friday, but rides for Workington on a Saturday and Newcastle on a Sunday)... Simply nonsense... And will never generate any decent national mainstream media coverage as it simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny... As it wouldn't in Poland if they ran the Sport the same way...

None of that really made much of a difference... The key things they did which drove the success of the Sport in Poland were the following... They found great success in letting riders dictate to clubs when they would be available, meaning they had to ride on nights to suit the riders earnings rather than when the spectators wished meetings to be ran... They also saw great benefit and positive feedback from the mainstream media by allowing meetings to take place with the two teams in attendance regularly being made up by any random couple of septets who happened to be available. Septets that had been cobbled together on an adhoc basis on any given evening, to wear the colours of the two clubs competing.. Another master stroke was ensuring that as many riders as possible were contracted to as many teams as possible, preferably covering (thus impacting), three leagues, which meant "guests" were in great demand, bringing that much needed lack of credibility to almost every match that takes place.. Possibly their finest idea was to produce a fixture list and then systematically dismantle it halfway during the season so plenty of "guests" can always be available. (And spectators who had booked time off work, and maybe hotels to watch their team, become disillusioned). A fixture list which had been put together in the first place with a clear plan to avoid running meetings during the warmer, dryer Summer months, and instead, cramming in as many meetings as possible towards October and November when it becomes colder and wetter. With the genius add on of running "dead rubber" League meetings to qualify for the play offs, AFTER the play offs have been completed and the League has already been won.. Add in an admission fee that has no correlation to the entertainment value on offer, but goes up by inflation busting amounts annually, allied to a year on year reduction in the overall quality of riders on show, and you surely have the perfect recipe for success.. Cannot think why the BSPA don't run something along similar lines.. Sure to be a winner...

Nice to encounter one of life's natural optimists.

EVEN if speedway in Norwich was a huge success it would never rival soccer in the shape of Norwich City. Places like Torun, Gorzow, Leszno, and Zielona Gora are towns where speedway is the undisputed number one sport, it is what they are synonymous with, and the fans that attend are doing so in support of not just the club but the town itself. The whole culture is different and is reflected in the media at all levels including TV.

And what are your qualifications to give any rider advice??

Honestly It is not just the teams you have quoted who run at a loss nearly all of the promotions in all the leagues are "blowing their brains out", however when you talk to these guys it is the same old "Hydraulics" "oh we have made a small profit", or "oh we have broke even this year" or the old chestnut "oh we have only made a small loss but we are nearly their". One promoter advised that "I've nearly balanced the books and only took a seven grand hit this year due to buying a 25 grand air fence, next year I am in the black" on further due diligence inspection prior to a possible investment that £7k loss was actually and £85k loss and the following year there was another £75k loss. When are these people going to realise, when is the message going to get through, how the sport is being run (especially in the top two leagues) is just not sustainable. We can not compete financially with Poland or anywhere else on the European continent for that matter. Currently British Speedway is being run as a "feeder country" for the Polish Leagues and we may have to revert back to the semi pro or fully amateur format that we once run in the past and stick with that for a period before we can climb back to anywhere near the way the sport was. BluPanther may have put up a really negative post however under the current terms of reference the sport has major difficulties and he may well be correct in his assumptions (unfortunately) Regards THJ

THAT'S not what I said and as someone who has visited Polish speedway towns no doubt you know that. Of course there is a place for team speedway in the UK. It is the only type that can possibly work.

Richard Hollingsworth is the best man for the job .

Some would argue that it is a good move, as it would get rid of his three rides quicker. There seems to be little mention of the fact that Danny was coming back after a serious injury (bearing in mind the doctors told him to forget about riding again after the injury occurred). Some take longer to get back to a level they were at (he was averaging over 4 in the PL when the injury happened). The only thing you can have a go at him (or indeed the Scunthorpe Management) for is he came back too quickly at the higher level and maybe should have concentrated on the NL for the season.

Vulnerability to shoulder and neck injuries is sadly the undoing of many of the more tall and slender riders whether earlier or later on in their riding careers. Being more box-shaped seems to be more advantageous, in the long run.

THE biggest difference and the greatest advantage for Polish clubs is that they are representative of the towns and cities in which they are situated. That has not been the case with speedway in the UK for generations and will not change. Polish speedway clubs are akin to soccer teams in the UK.

Maybe that's the answer to ensuring you have a full stadium, week in week out. You announce at each meeting, the next one will be the last!

Qualifier dates: 08th June ACU Qualifying Round 1 Glasgow Great Britain 08th June SMF Qualifying Round 2 Zarnovica Slovakia 08th June FMI Qualifying Round 3 Lamothe L. France 10th June DMSB Qualifying Round 4 Abensberg Germany 24th August HMS Challenge Gorican Croatia

Not quite (whats this fixation with fining all the time) In very (very) basic terms the promoters can attend on the Monday (if they want) along with everyone else and hear what BSPA monies they will receive from the shared events, TV revenues etc. (if any) and learn what the outline agenda is with the proposals for next year. They are then asked at the end of the Monday if they intend to run next year, if "No" they go home on the Monday and take no further part in the AGM. If "Yes" they stay until the Wednesday and input into the meeting and debate the proposals, they are then asked again on the Wednesday if they are still prepared to run under the terms that come out of the AGM proposals. If "Yes" well "Bob's ya Uncle" and away you go, if "No" unfortunately its a case of Sell, Ice the Licence or shut down, or there could be a fourth option of a fans collective taking on the franchise if the owners are up for that and prepared to loan whatever assets they hold to the franchise. (But it ain't cheap and there has to be a solid business plan in place) however if no one was to attend from the promotion they would proxy their vote or just advise that they are not running. Many promotions didn't attend last years AGM yet weren't fined. Regards THJ

I understand your fears but I think putting barriers between the leagues is not the answer. We have to recognise that any rider would want to compete at the highest level his ability allows and to place punitive conditions on riders moving from NL to CL (or CL to PL) is not in the best interests of the sport or the riders. The reality is that Speedway operates a progressive regime. Generally speaking, young riders start out their careers in the NL and, when their skills allow, move to the CL and thence to the PL. To place an artificial 'glass ceiling' above the NL to prevent riders fulfilling their potential in the upper leagues (and punishing them if they dare to try) is not in the best interests of the sport or its riders. Speedway needs to find ways of encouraging teams and riders to work together progressively for the good of the sport and improve its marketing image as an entertaining and competitive family sport to attract people back to the terraces. The Pathfinder report does it for me.

Looks like the Warriors are asking for feedback. This from their twitter feed: It’s your turn to feedback to us on how you think we did and what we can improve on for 2019. It’s on our FB page so over to you. https://m.facebook.com/groups/294612857236337/permalink/2167284013302536/ I’m sure Barry and his team will value and act on any reasonable comments made.

Well i guess all the moaners will be happy now that the club is for sale, and they wont have to moan about the quality of racing next season,

In this climate of uncertainty, who would buy a speedway club.

Most mx clubs in the U.K left the ACU and joined the MCF as they have brought mx and other 2 wheeled sports into the 20th century and riders can have both ACU and MCF licences the Courtney's tried to run a speedway GP style event around the country through them but the riders were threatened with bans from the Bspa if any of them run with a MCF licence ,the Courtney's run a very sucessfull mini bike series through the MCF they run the F2 speedway also http://www.mcfederation.com/events

Read the post properly . also i see the bigger picture than you do

Surely if you cough up the bond, that should entitle you to a seat at the table. A sport like speedway needs fresh ideas, not the same old voices.

Thanks for the feedback. It does really show why you would have to be start raving bonkers to invest in a track or a club where you are not allowed at the top table for a few years during which you are told when and how you run your business and any decisions made by those who are at best only considering their own self interest yet they can materially affect your bottom line and you have to accept it even if it makes no sense.They also want you to put up a bond in the knowledge that they can change the rules at anytime that can be detrimental to you and your business and you can do nowt about it and if you pull the plug you effectively get fined even though continuation could leave you with substantial losses. You have a sport run by a few incompetent people and yet next step up in the chain of command is the ACU who are in effect condoning the behaviour of a collective body that is not fit to run the sport. Good luck to anyone mad enough to invest in speedway.

Yes, usually grip means fast if you attack it. If you don't it can mean slow. Some riders can't ride very grippy...Generally a little bit slicker track ( not like the M25) but with a bit of dirt and spiked up a little makes for better racing as all can ride it, just sets ups need adjusting. But for some on very grippy tracks, they just can't ride it well whatever the set up.

Great days when Swindon dropped down previously - lots of different teams and continuity of fixtures

We are all very proud to have been nominated for an Isle of Wight Radio Local Heroes award. Martin and I are invited to the awards dinner on Nov 8th so we will keep you all posted. This is a very nice surprise and totally out of the blue so, now we know about it, it will be just brilliant to win it although being nominated is equally as fabulous when you consider where the club was just 4 years ago. Thanks everyone for your support in 2018 and enjoy the off season