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Well, can you not give a freind your money and get them to pay you in ?

Sounds like many of you think the best plan would be to turn off the lights, lock the doors and hand back the keys..... You should be delighted anyone wants to take it on and keep it going (at whatever level)

No, he just knows everything about everything, most of which is usually rubbish..

Very sad news. He was my favourite Racer of the 70's and early 80's. Team riding with Bobby Schwartz was brilliant to watch. A team man through and through. I use to watch him grass tracking as well. A lovely man. Condolences to his family.

Yes but you will also cut the revs as you wouldn’t be able to get the same power and also the obvious thing is 2 less valves, springs and guides so you save £150 straight away

You are deluded chap, nothing can be done to save a sport that delivers only 15 mins of action over two hours. They find it boring, it's that simple...

Very sad news. Remember watching Bernie many times and was Reading thru' and thru'. After his one year loan spell at Swindon he did consider swithing over to 'the 'Robins' but returned home after Smallmead was completed afer a little pressure from Reg Fearman! Speeday couldn't survive without the Bernie Leighs...dependable team orientated loyal riders and something sadly lacking nowadays. May he RIP.

One league of 18 team would give 34 league matches + play off +koc or any other competition + any challenges , that’s around 50 meetings 25 home 25 away , season is only 26 weeks long , that pretty much 2 aWeek , how many do they need ? , I like bomber but his interview was selfish and at odds with what the sport needs to do to move forward

If I recall six-man teams were also implemented during 1997 (?) when the home team were numbered 1-6 and the away team 7-12 to help simplyfy identification.

With the lack of shale on most tracks..they like to appear to be doing something constructive,,,But if there is no dirt they are doing nothing except making meetings drag on going round and round on tractors...

I have said this before but when riding for Coventry ~ which covers a number of years ~ Chris used to spend months trying to get the right set ups on his machines at the beginning of the season and then by July he would be flying until the end of the season. So why was it necessary to then get rid of these and start again the next season on new equipment , which meant another frustrating session of trying to get the right set-ups. Seems a crazy waste of money to me.

The way things are it's hypocritical for both the Football and the RL team's to commit to a 50+ yr lease agreement as both are spent forces and highly unlikely to be around themselves in anywhere near that timescale? The council should be looking to benefit "all of the sport" in the town and not just provide a new home for those whom feel they have a god given right to perform in one? Neither club will fill an 8000 arena so it's already certain that outside factors will take the lion's share of usage in order to make it viable, West Ham moved into the Olympic Park and simply put temporary seating in to get fans closer to the action, an option not even considered here but eminently workable and, a reasonable chance of larger crowd access and bigger events being brought in to make use of the extra capacity? It just re-emphasizes the narrow minded/parochial view of the people in charge that the most successful club in the town are "potentially" being forced out of existence by the use of a completely nonsensical agreement that really means less than the paper it's written on?

Danny Phillips (or any other young rider) signed at reserve don’t deserve all this crap he’s getting.The lad rocks up with good equipment and keen to learn.running last places isn’t his plan I’m sure.trouble is when the so called “good lads” don’t score, the 2 point riders get the blame .the way this sport is going they won’t be one soon .give the lads a break or maybe even ask if you can borrow there kit and show em what there doing wrong......

Change, a rider believes somehow that someone would be getting an advantage and they are not thinking about the future of the sport , the old argument about what would happen to all the current engines if we brought in some sort of standardized or different engine is about to be tested , GM has just brought out a new engine that looks completely different to current model, now the top guys will buy it and if it proves to be a winner then every one will have one within months and the GMs we use now will become obsolete , so what’s the difference ?the only difference is one way is enforced and the other is choice but either way it’s the same end result of the current engine being made obsolete except one way is good for the future of the sport and the other pushes up costs

I posted this on the wrong thread so have re posted: It is obvious that British Speedway cannot afford the top riders with the wages and the big signing on fees they require. Something has to be done to bring the cost down for promoters and riders alike, although it may be a little late, when all costs starting rising and crowds starting dropping years back, action should have been taken then, but nothing of any consequence was done. Speedway in this country must take a step back, throw away the rule book and start again. Too many complicated rules for a simple sport that fans cannot understand (or is that the general idea I wonder). The sport has gone from a team sport to a sport of individuals, riders rushing off soon as the meeting has ended and not mixing with the supporters, and the presentation (if you can call it that) is abysmal. The cost is too expensive to take a family on a regular basis, although Speedway prides itself on being a family sport! The entrance fee for two adults and two kids, programme, car park and the kids will want burgers and drinks, not forgetting the adults say an average of £60-£80, plus their fuel to get their, how many young families can afford £240 or more a month, with a mortgage to pay etc. As soon as the crowds drop the promotions only answer is to put the entrance fee up. Thoughts.

Got to know Bernie quite well at the Lew Coffin training schools 68/69. Always absolutely determined to make the grade, it was a pleasure to see him gradually progress to team Speedway. Once he had done so he continued to attend the schools with the hire bike and was always willing to advise novices (or often as not help pick them up!). A hell of a nice guy with always a cheerful word for everybody. RIP Bernie

Congratulations Barry... Its obvious from the comments on here from those who attend your meetings that you and the team constantly strive to exceed your customer's expectations.... I presume as an NL Promoter you won't be at the AGM? A shame if so, as your clearly driven customer focus could do with being shared around your fellow 'Custodians of the Sport'.. I see you are also not resting on your laurels and pro actively seeking feedback as to how you could improve even further, through modern social media outlets? Maybe if you could attend the AGM you could have shared that idea with others, some of whom seem to struggle with the concept of running a business through listening to their customer's comments on what they like/dislike... Although maybe being more realistic, you would possibly have had to lead them out on a 'quest for fire' first..! One small step at a time/Rome wasn't built in a day etc etc etc... Well done and best of luck for next year too...

Yes there have. Crowds have been crap for years - Sky money has been bailing the sport out. Most races at most tracks are over by the back straight, if not the first bend. There is next to no racing - the reason for this is that most tracks are not conducive to proper racing/passing due to their size, shape, preparation, etc. In short, it's boring that's why nobody goes.

Donkey is an absolute legend - he couldve pulled out his lawnmower from his shed and won races

And don't forget he then doesn't work for 4 and a half months of the year... I remember a few years back when Jeremy Doncaster made his comeback and he said he was using an engine he found in his shed! He didn't do too badly on it either!

I hope that the AGM does not take too much notice of the opinions of Bomber Harris. If that is how the majority of British riders feel then speedway has no chance of rebuilding itself. "Can't go on" without doubling up. "Not worth the risk" without doubling up. Bomber is a terrific speedway racer but outside of his own backyard no-one in the outside world has heard of him and many of the 25,000 UK fans of speedway do not want doubling up. He needs to talk to more of them. If there were 250,000 UK fans prepared to pay to get in and were baying for Chris Harris then he might get the rewards he deserves for his racing skills. What he did or didn't do at school is not the responsibility of supporters and he needs to really think about the day which comes to all riders ( except it seems Greg Hancock ) when they have to retire ( or want to retire or no-one wants to employ them ) life after speedway for all riders needs careful preparation and thinking about at a deep personal level.

One thing that should be taken no notice of at this AGM is the opinion of rider's. Clubs need to look at reducing cost and encouraging larger spectator levels. Riders in British Speedway are the ones that need to look at themselves. Example, do I really need a PJR (or equivalent) engine to be racing in British Speedway? The answer is no. Do they really need super lightweight frames? No Do they need different coloured wheels rather than the standard? No etc etc So, the BSPA just need to look at 2 things, bringing costs down and more spectators. These 2 go hand in hand as more spectators = better profits or at worst, smaller, controllable loses. I still say that all the rider's in the leagues should be paid the same, whether a heatleader or a reserve. Premiership = £140 per point Championship = £80pp National League = £20pp

Thank goodness that this wasn't the case back when I used to attend (1970's & 1980's) otherwise I couldn't have taken in White City (Wednesday), Oxford (Thursday) and Swindon (Saturday) and occasionally Eastbourne (Fridays and Sundays). Obviously fans used to travel around a lot more back in those days but of course that scenario has changed dramatically with the downturn the sport has been experiencing over the last 20 years or so for all manner of reasons. I talk to many people at my place of work (tourism) who say that they used to go to speedway...a common observation amongst people now.

All I remember is attending Coventry, Cradley, Eastbourne, Swindon etc etc on Saturday nights and always in front of healthy crowds, the ONLY thing that should dictate what night a club runs on is the availability of the stadium for the night a club wants to run on. GP riders seem to be able to make it to a Polish League match on a Sunday afternoon from wherever the GP event has been held on the Saturday night so why any other riders couldn't I fail to understand, Poland is 3 hours away max, on an early morning redeye they could be at the stadium by 11 am. Some riders are going to have to make some tough decisions either 30 odd matches in the UK or a handful in Poland. British Speedway can't be running it's business to suit others, it's never been at a better place to lay down some of its own rules, all of the prima Donna riders have been weened out of the league and with the country brexited by the start of next season there'll be no restriction of trade laws to block British Speedway doing its own thing. I think we all agree something radical needs to happen, Poland really shouldn't be an issue anymore!

Pity the action does not date from the inception of the BL in 1965. I'm missing some of my all-time favourites... Knutsson Harrfeldt Nordin