mikebv

The main issue is that they have to try and "get in early" before Poland kicks off.. That way they are (almost), guaranteed that "the top lads" are available.. By May, the Polish leagues would be well under way, and those teams doing less well in particular, would be doing what they could to improve their situations.. Plenty of practice sessions and doctors notes have been sorted before.... And, as we know, in this country, it can rain at any time of the year..

Ice Hockey seem to do ok with their No1 league having a "small" amount of teams .. Many of them get crowds that Speedway would be very envious of, and could only dream of getting.. You need a top league with the best competitors to sell the rest of the sport..

There seems to also always be a fair few injuries "early doors" too, which could be put down to damp, inconsistent, surfaces and a lack of practice on such tracks...

I dont know... Some people on here, as usual, being quick to put the proverbial boot in.. Have any of you risked your lives stewarding for our entertainment? Thought not... And. If they don't have a good night stewarding they don't get a free brew and a burger... Or something like that... What is the Lions' Stewards Line Up this season? Not seen it anywhere... No wonder this sport is dying on its arse,.... They should bring back black leathers and monkey masks... And boiler suits and sawdust, etc etc etc, dribble, dribble...

Kate Middleton changed it a bit....

For me, one big league wouldn't work unless you got rid of all the "star names", as too many clubs couldn't afford to use them.. And that would mean an uncompetitive league.. With the fans who are used to seeing the "star names" (at the clubs with mainly the best attendances), losing interest in watching a lesser standard.. An 8 team "super league" with six of the current clubs in the top flight, ex Brum, but adding Poole and Glasgow would be my call.. Organically the top 8 clubs for attendances.. The rest are then an amalgam of Championship Lite/NDL level... Meaning clubs don't overstretch their natural level, riders are in the large majority semi pro, (have one "Bomber" per team), and admission costs then reflect the semi pro standard.. Could bring back IOW and Kent meaning even more fixtures..? DU is still there, but it needs to be currently, but you do get a flagship league to market the whole sport off, and the 2nd tier is then becomes the natural feeder league for UK lads wanting to get into the top flight, giving these riders plenty of opportunities to race...

Not sure Brum the place to run the first meeting from.. Might impact the crowd... Unless of course they are planning to go BIG on the promotional side of it to sell their club to a wider audience... Big crowd, and a good impression to any watching local people who may take a watching glance at the sport..

He can build the houses when the stadium is built... At the new place... Simple..

Whereabouts Iain?.. Sounds absolutely perfect... Let all involved know... Maybe you could be eligible to get a 20% finders fee for finding it?

Hey, You!!! If it ain't broken, dont fix it....

Their 2nd tier... As mentioned, the top league already use Thursdays for rearranged meetings if needed..

The council are hiding behind the "complex, technical difficulties around consent,"... Writing is on the wall.. All parties involved have known where this ends for a long, long time... And, given hardly a ripple of protest, they probably feel that now is the time to finalise everything.. It would be interesting to see what would happen if some promoter (or maybe all the BSP), came out and said that they would promote the sport there to see how it went... "Finish the stadium, as per the agreement for building the houses, and we will run Speedway there"...

A decent track with somewhere to watch the racing from, and somewhere to get the basic food and drink offering... That is the starting point for me I would say... Its not like die hard fans have been used to much "opulence" over the years which could dissuade many to not attend..

Good interview in this weeks edition with Phil Morris.. All 49 riders will be attending the launch of the ssason press day.. Hopefully more collective selling of the brand is the plan as we go forward.. About time, if so...

I like that idea... Could do the same with guests... Now, I get the "surprise" will invariably be Bomber, but on an odd occasion it would be someone else...

And when you get met with almost zero coordinated, organised protests, then "fair play" to Osbourne as he can take it that... 1. Hardly anyone from the fanbase cares... And. 2. (And possibly most important of alll) the promoters of Swindon and the wider BSP, seem to let him happily do what he wants.... Can't blame him to be honest...

I thought EVERY rider had to be available to ride for Scunthorpe on a Friday.....

And someone walking around the pits shouting... "Does anyone need methanol?"!!!!

Doesnt Chris get one for EVERY team?

They will probably only see the back of it..

It was an empty net, central position, two yards out.... He is a proper legend when it comes never letting anyone down.. (And must be due at least a couple of dozen league winners medals combined from both leagues).. Edit: And the same amount of runners up medals too for the same seasons..!!

Bomber as a guest?

Cannot happen, as it has been decreed that Bomber (or anyone else), could only ride for ONE team in the play offs, if his own doesnt make it.. Seemingly last years play off situation has been reviewed and we now have the new regulation... Perfectly acceptable... Some, however, still dont take this sport too seriously...

It was a "paid for" 3hr (when it first launched), advert... What an opportunity given the size of the business (very small in real terms).. Hardly anyone knows who you are even in the area where you trade, and you go out on TV for 9 hours (with the two repeats), at all times of the day.. And you get paid for this advert!! You can advertise nationally, as well a locally, your product.. Instead, we had promoters moaning that the crowds dropped.. Rather than fixing the many self inflicted reasons why they did.. And making these nights "unmissable" on, and off, the track..

I seem to remember £110k per club (10 teams), and £5k (maybe £10k?) a match that got televised, to cover any drop in crowd/reduction in admission fee to attract a crowd in.. One promoter, post Sky money, said the up front cash basically paid for the No1 riders.. Who all effed off when the money dried up...