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Unless UK speedway changes its operating model these call to arms will become ever more frequent. I know the rent and operating costs hurt Newcastle but its likely to be a side built at the lower end of the wage scale (throw in that not all that many points are being paid out) and its still not sustainable. Many clubs are struggling to attract 400-500 paying fans but if thats what the limit is then the whole product needs to be marketed to work with those numbers and not the hope that another 300 fans might appear out of the woodwork. If UK speedway as a whole gained 300 fans combined across every track in a season it would be a miracle. I feel for Rob Grant i really do. He's taken on some bad advice, made some brave decisions (like getting involved in the first place) and faces going from hero to villain. Sadly though a bad business is a bad business and short term cash injections are clearly shown not to be working.

Ultimately Ian who cares who the champions are? It really doesn't matter... And that is THE No1 issue the sport faces... No2 is its Mickey Mouse operating model that allows the No1 issue to exist... Some say "we need to attract new fans" and of course the sport does, however, just getting back one half of those who "used to go" but got pissed off watching "their riders" ride for all and sundry (to the detriment of their own team), or becoming slowly disillusioned by the application of make it up on the spot nonsense rules, whilst facing inflation busting price increases to pay for rising rider wages, would be far of an easier challenge to undertake.. Running a dual league system with barely any demarcation from each other is not much short of utter madness, and can only be done to ensure enough rides for far too many professional competitors for a sport with such few followers.. The operating model simply does not work so to keep churning it out annually (with a cost saving tweak here and there), expecting it to miraculously sort things out is crackers... When teams can dip in and dip out of any league with such regularity it says everything about the level of "kudos" even the clubs recognise in their very own competitions... When they don't see any merit in winning any particular league (and could even go bust by doing so), why should the fans take it seriously?

It won't be ONE last chance though, will it? IF the attendance is good enough THIS Wednesday, then the fans will have the same gun pointed at their heads the next Wednesday. EVERY Wednesday becomes the next "use it or lose it" Wednesday. The writing is on the wall, and sooner or later, when the fans will tire of being blackmailed into attending, that'll be it, sadly.

You don't want 'fan involvement'... Imagine how long the AGM's would take because the 'fan owned teams' kept saying "Really? Are you mad?" to every agenda point raised by the clubs ran by sole promoters...

I will make the effort to attend , we cannot afford to lose Newcastle.

I always said that it was the variety of formats that kept us happy! Three or four league matches, then a cup tie. Then an individual meeting. A couple more league matches, followed by a Test Match. Then a couple more league, then a 4TT...

My first post on here so go easy! I was at a bit of a loose end last Sunday so I suggested to the wife and bairn that we'd go along to watch the Speedway to fill in an afternoon. Probably worth mentioning that the last time I went to watch the Newcastle Diamonds would have been around 1990 and I still remember a rider called David Bargh being their best rider (he's the only one I remember). After some strange looks and a bit of persuasion the 3 of us went along. Cost £17 each for the 2 adults and £3 for my 8 year old and the £3 I paid for a programme made it a straight £40. Good value I'd say compared to other sports in our area; For example; £100 to watch Newcastle United £70 to watch Newcastle Falcons £50 to watch Newcastle Eagles £45 to watch Newcastle Thunder What we got was a cracking 2 hours of entertainment. Yes the Diamonds were pretty rubbish and Redcar won easily but my son loved it and has been badgering me ever since to take him back and even the wife admitted she enjoyed it. Drinks were also reasonably priced compared to other venues we've visited. Can't complain about what we spent for what we got in return, that's for sure. Not sure how many people were there as they didn't announce it but it looked a very healthy amount and the start was delayed to let all the spectators in.

Yes it does

Is part of the problem that when speedway was booming, running the speedway was the promoter's main business. I don't recall Reg Fearman, Ian Thomas etc having other businesses, although I might be wrong. They were full time speedway promoters and their lives depended on getting people through the gate. At the same time, the vast majority of riders weren't full time. Looking at the Who's Who in Speedway from the mid 1970s, Peter Oakes would put in the riders' occupation in the profile and it was only the top riders who were full time. Now the riders are full time and need paying the money to live on and the promoters have other businesses and perhaps not the time or the incentive to get people in the stadiums. I might be miles out, but it's just a thought.

The likes of Andersen should not be allowed to ride at No 7 allowing him to ride in the protected heat 8.He should be at No6.It should be the the young star at 7 for all teams.

In my opinion, attracting new fans isn't going to happen with the way the sport is currently set-up. Those that run and compete in the sport, in this country, obviously believe the sport is bigger than what it actually is. For the circle to be squared for speedway, the first stage has to be reducing costs for everyone involved, including the fans. Unless that happens, and happens quickly, more tracks will close and more riders will turn away or will not enter the sport. I think the Isle of Wight's ideas could be the salvation of 4 bikes going round a shale oval track.

So if Grant breaks even on Sunday’s double header then what ? Surely all it’s doing is ‘kicking the can down the road’?

Bring back the 4TT qualifiers and the Golden/Silver/Bronze helmet races too. Another thing gone that has aligned with a major decline.

A lot of the ideas being suggested on here are really akin to re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. For speedway to continue/survive on any level, it has to attract new fans, young fans at that. I honestly cannot see how this can be achieved in this country. Old duffers like me waffling on that football/cricket/rugby, bike racing etc is crap and speedway is the greatest sport on earth really need to emigrate to Poland for this opinion to be anywhere near correct. I honestly hope that by some miracle a master plan can be evolved for speedway to rebuild and bounce back better, but without youngsters coming through the turnstiles, it ain't gonna happen.

We’ve all been scratching our heads as to why it’s took this long for team to take josh on in the premiership. I’m sure people are beginning to see why we were now.

I'd be happy to pop down the road and watch some British riders and not breaking the bank in the process. Oh and a cheap pint and something to eat not dripping with fat.

If Ben IS placed in the number 2 race jacket, it will be his opportunity to finally establish himself as an out and out Championship level rider. He certainly has the ability and in recent times has shown far more aggression in his riding. IMO if he keeps that aggression going he will take the No 2 position in his stride. I certainly hope so, he is a great favourite with the fans at Central Park and I am one of them.

Ask Barry Bishop and Martin Widman to be in charge of bringing Speedway into the 21st century. They not only understand that these days you need to provide more than 15 heats of Speedway to make a night out but will listen to the ideas and thoughts of others. In fact they are so forward thinking that they were forced out of league Speedway in the UK!

Heat 13 being the easiest ride he had all night

To be fair to Birmingham they are doing quite a bit extra this week on top of the "gun to the head" style of promotion... http://www.birmingham-speedway.com/news.php?extend.3029 Not all of it my cup of tea but probably begs the question of why they haven't done this before now, that's one for another day though. Also, while this has come up in the Extortionate Admission Prices thread, at £16.50 Birmingham must be one of the cheaper Speedway nights out in the country.

It's not just home track advantage though, a lot of the Poles will have done many more laps around their own tracks than, until recently, fly in foreigners. But then there's also other factors like home crowd, language, food, just general familiar surroundings etc. To me it does matter, the odds are stacked in the Polish riders favour, it's just not a level playing field. 6 rounds in an 11 round World Championship is too many for me. There's a reason why home teams usually win in most team sports and especially in Speedway.

That's when team management involved tactical decisions, the rules of today don't allow for it. Your number 1 must ride at 1 what a crap rule that was to bring in

Re 1951 - irrelevant. The winner was the rider with the most points, not he who won the most races. Still cannot fathom out why they moved away from the winner being decided over 20 heats, where every rider races against all the others. That’s the wretched circus for you, though.

This is amazing-and I thought I was the only one interested in the old PL. You are right- Bob Oakley for Wolves in 1961 (I wonder if he rode at the same time with his old oppo Graham Warren.} And indeed Ron Clarke for Sheffield in 1960. In the Peter Morrish book it shows Ron scoring one point for the Tigers in 1960-anyone know the background to this. I thought he must be too old at 49 to be riding-but now he seems young (I'm 75 this year but then again I don't have to ride speedway!!) Re anoraks-which is an article of clothing I don't think we ever had in Canada -ay least under that name- I have decided to purchase one from the UK- I will wear it when I'm looking at my old speedway programs and Speedway Stars (without anything else on)!!! Hopefully none of you are eating breakfast when you are reading this!! Keep smilin' everybody in forumland!!

Just spent the last hour thinking how British speedway could re-attract the punters and provide value for money - sorry to waffle on... 1. Scrap doubling up once and for all. If there's not enough riders to fill both leagues then combine the two leagues into one. All we see now is the same riders racing each other all of the time just in different race jackets depending on what night of the week it is. If a football player turned out for Chelsea on Saturday and then Millwall on Wednesday it would be called a joke! 2. Bring back the aggregate bonus point. This current point system is stupid and confusing. The old bonus point gave a meeting something to race for even if a team was losing on the night and sometimes we even had a run-off. 3. Revert to the old 13 heat format. Have a full 2nd half which includes junior league races and individual heats. How about also staging say 4 80cc races prior to the main meeting? 4. Employ a centre green announcer/ master of ceremonies that can actually entertain the crowds with a bit of humour and also one that knows what they are talking about. This was the one key area where most tracks fail. Most of them are boring dinosaurs from the 60's. Also do away with the boring rider interviews. Most of the time the riders don't want to talk and what they do say is boring and can easily cure a sleep disorder. 5. Actually promote the sport. Local radio and other media is a great thing. Don't just open the gates and expect people to turn up. Those days are gone.