MattK

So as it stands, no extra teams in the PL, just Sheffield and Poole swapping places?

To save me reading nine pages, are any of these teams actually moving up?

There are two problems I foresee with that. Firstly, are there riders available for team to strengthen up? Take Peterborough, they finished 8.51 points under Swindon. Who are these mythical 10+ point riders who didn't ride in Britain in 2019, but will next season? Secondly, even if these mythical riders existed, could teams afford them?

Wouldn't a highlights show require broadcast quality cameras at every track, therefore substantially increasing the cost?

Is the old Smallmead still undeveloped?

Has the land that was supposed to become the "racino" event get built on?

Zmarzlik 100 MORE Vaculik 100 LESS

Michelsen 50 MORE Madsen 50 MORE Zmarzlik 50 MORE Janowski 50 LESS

Zagar £200 more please boss

They scores a point between them, which was achieved by Nicholls "beating" Ostergaard.

Are Nicholls and Andersen engaged in some elaborate practical joke?

Well spotted. This has more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan film. Interestingly, the status is still marked as "Unknown" despite claims it has been approved and if you read the two emails from Janet Busby (Swindon council's senior planning officer) it sounds far from a done deal. Presumably these new plans are materially different that new planning permission will need to be granted anyway?

Be competitive yes, that's not the same as being expected to win.

Yes of course it is attractive. As I said, there is no expectation on you to win anything, you get a nice foreign jolly and if you're an egotistical maniac you also get bragging rights among your fellow team managers.

If you're a team manager, then yes I'd say it is attractive, as you can easily do it alongside your day job. It isn't attractive to someone like Phil Morris, as he has a proper job which presumably he couldn't do alongside being FIM Race Director. As for Rosco, I think he achieved what could have been reasonably expected with the riders at his disposal. Clearly he doesn't see eye-to-eye with Woofy and the TeamGB promoters have made a decision and chosen one over the other. I do have to wonder if all the hangers on really add value and I would love to know if Rosco asked to take a spare rider once he knew how many support staff would be going to Russia.

How is it a "poisoned chalice"? No one expects GB to actually win anything given we only have one world class rider. All people expect is that the team don't make schoolboy errors, like taking six sports scientists and no reserve rider to the finals.

Zagar £70 More Lindgren £70 More then

Zagar £100 More Lindgren £100 More

Thanks for the reminder! Drabik £200 MORE with Spreadstretcher please

This is the elephant in the room which no "one big league" proponent seems to be addressing. Why would CL teams want a huge increase in costs for a minimal increase in revenues? It makes no sense.

Janowski £100 More Lindgren £100 More

Lambert 50 More Lindback 150 More Spread Stretcher ACTIVATED!

Madsen £20 more Dudek £20 more Vaculik £20 more Lindgren £20 Less

I don't think that is an insurmountable challenge. When I worked for a large local employer I knew most of the people there who attended speedway. Therefore, let's say I was a Robins Ambassador, I could "invite" 20 people from my work to attend speedway for free each week and escort them through a meeting. If clubs were really invested in this the it could also include a pre-meeting pit walk, meet and greet with a rider and even watching a heat from the centre green, all things that cost nothing for a club to put on. If there were 10 ambassadors, each bringing 20 new fans per week and if only 10% of them returned as paying customers, over the course of a 20 meeting season it would generate 200 new fans and increase income by over £30,000. All for little more than a bit of effort.

I think speedway is quite a hard sell. Convincing someone to spend £18 to watch four blokes going round in circles needs more than just a leaflet. For me, you have to offer newcomers free entry and then a "guided" experience in order for them to get the most out of their first time and encourage them to return. I leaflet simply won't do that in my opinion.