Skidder1 7,637 Posted September 20, 2015 We've already got 9 of the current GP riders in the EL. All EL teams, except Wolves, have at least one GP rider. Any more would likely increase admission to around £25/£30 but would it generate better racing and more fans - and would it be currently sustainable? Imo, NO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waiheke1 4,295 Posted September 20, 2015 Tai said no under the current fixture list. Didn't he indicate he would be interested if there was one race night? We've already got 9 of the current GP riders in the EL. All EL teams, except Wolves, have at least one GP rider. Any more would likely increase admission to around £25/£30 but would it generate better racing and more fans - and would it be currently sustainable? Imo, NO.Really? So adding a gp rider to a team would nearly double that teams costs? I find that hard to believe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nobblytriers 201 Posted September 20, 2015 If you wanted ALL the big boys back here you would be paying something like £20 admission. The big boys don't want it, they are very happy with there lot riding in Poland Sweden and the GP's. Why would they want to increase there travelling to come and ride here for a pittance compaired to what they get abroad for less travelling. You might get a few but the majority will not come over. Even Tai said no, and i would expect him to do the same next season, Got to tell you something... Is it possible that could change in the not too distant future? Aren't we reading that crowds are down in Sweden and that some Polish clubs are in financial difficulty? Maybe a few more will come back when, or if, continental speedway goes a little pear shaped. On that note, why is it that we have to dance to the tune of the Poles and Swedes? They always seem to get first dibs on where and when riders race. (or maybe I've got that wrong ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shale Searcher 1,264 Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) It's possible that if speedway takes a downturn in Eastern Europe, Sweden, then the money on offer, or its regularity will drop, the riders therefore will look to good ole Blighty to earn there corn..... What our response would be is the deciding factor on whether speedway survives in the UK, personally, I'd tell all of them, except the ones currently riding here on a regular basis to go and get stuffed!!! Edited September 20, 2015 by Shale Searcher 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,637 Posted September 20, 2015 It's possible that if speedway takes a downturn in Eastern Europe, Sweden, then the money on offer, or its regularity will drop, the riders therefore will look to good ole Blighty to earn there corn..... What our response would be is the deciding factor on whether speedway survives in the UK, personally, I'd tell all of them, except the ones currently riding here on a regular basis to go and get stuffed!!! To be honest I might say the same to a couple that are already riding here!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostwalker 1,859 Posted September 20, 2015 Is it possible that could change in the not too distant future? Aren't we reading that crowds are down in Sweden and that some Polish clubs are in financial difficulty? Maybe a few more will come back when, or if, continental speedway goes a little pear shaped. On that note, why is it that we have to dance to the tune of the Poles and Swedes? They always seem to get first dibs on where and when riders race. (or maybe I've got that wrong ) Well compared to last season there is a small difference (~180 average) which can be explained by the unusual bad weather with lot's of postponed meetings. In general the attendance have been pretty stable for quite many years with some fluctuations in both directions from one season to another. Also have in mind that most teams are located outside the bigger cities. Of the 15 biggest cities/municipalities in Sweden, only Eskilstuna (14th biggest,Smederna) is the only one to have a team in Elitserien. Stockholm (biggest city and capital) have a team in div1, Malmö (3rd biggest) have team that finished last in Allsvenskan. Second city Göteborg haven't had a team in almost 10 years. 4th city Uppsala's nearest team is 60km away on a fairly narrow/unstraight country side road. Linköping (5) used to have a team in Div1 but they dropped their 500cc team due to being unable to afford an airfence. 6th city Örebro have team about 50km south in Kumla, then 9th city Norrköping have an Allsvenskan team (Vargarna). Also have in mind that the (relevant*) population of Sweden is about 35% smaller then the population of Metropolitan London... *the population in Norrland (12% of the population) except Gävle (about 100k population) is not relevant due to the large distances to the nearest league track. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ColinMills 1,728 Posted September 20, 2015 whilst I hate footy, theres a "team feel" about the sport, they train together, turn up together, only compete for one club. the speedway scene is just a case of turn up separately, not particularly gel, don't even watch what team mates doing, hardly ever any tactics, half of them don't even know the score during the match, get changed, hop in car, off to next ground, see you next week either for you or against you, its just amateur! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostwalker 1,859 Posted September 20, 2015 whilst I hate footy, theres a "team feel" about the sport, they train together, turn up together, only compete for one club. the speedway scene is just a case of turn up separately, not particularly gel, don't even watch what team mates doing, hardly ever any tactics, half of them don't even know the score during the match, get changed, hop in car, off to next ground, see you next week either for you or against you, its just amateur! I think speedway teams can have good team feel as well. Particular Smederna's riders have said that there is a good team spirit in the team. Even if the riders ride in different leagues on different days, the team manager (if skilled enough) can create a "we feel" in the team. I also see it as a good thing that the riders "doesn't know what the score is" (so they claim) since then they might be more focused on just riding. Personally I do think the riders have a pretty good idea about the score, maybe not the exact numbers but large/small lead/trail or more or less even. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan_Jones 1,005 Posted September 20, 2015 On that note, why is it that we have to dance to the tune of the Poles and Swedes? They always seem to get first dibs on where and when riders race. (or maybe I've got that wrong ) They get their leagues and fixture lists sorted before we do. Riders can organise themselves earlier and, now we have the International Speedway League Bureau, their fixtures are inscribed in the calendar before ours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chalkie 263 Posted September 20, 2015 Are the loos at our speedways really bad anymore, Not in my experience at EL clubs. Have you honestly not been to The Abbey where the main male toilets consist of one trough which only comfortably takes two at a time and stinks like........well, a toilet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trees 2,814 Posted September 21, 2015 They look after us women better than u blokes obviously 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ColinMills 1,728 Posted September 21, 2015 60% of riders in tonights play offs ride in prem league!!! 7 at poole and 9 at Swindon.....sojealous of Sweden/Poland leagues!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostwalker 1,859 Posted September 22, 2015 60% of riders in tonights play offs ride in prem league!!! 7 at poole and 9 at Swindon.....sojealous of Sweden/Poland leagues!! so? almost every Swedish rider in Elitserien (except Lindgren and Jonsson) also rides in Allsvenskan. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fullbore 129 Posted September 22, 2015 so? almost every Swedish rider in Elitserien (except Lindgren and Jonsson) also rides in Allsvenskan. But there are no fixture clashed between the leagues in Sweden. Niamh 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostwalker 1,859 Posted September 23, 2015 most of the stadiums in Sweden are owned by the clubs so all the money earned go straight to the club so all profit`s to the club so they can afford to pay better wages and no big rents paid to others Actually not, I think it is only 2 -3 teams that owns their track, however regardless all money earned goes to the club but (some of ) those who doesn't own their track will have to pay rent (or lease agreement in one case). My team Smederna pays an annual rent of about 190'000SEK which is about £15'000. Although it's likely for all teams that races under the Smederna banner which is the main team, the Elit-B team and the youth (80cc) team. The latter have it's own smaller 80cc track located behind the back straight stands. I don't know what goes on in Sweden, but speedway in the UK suffers from poor local (exception of Poole) and national marketing. From what I can see, the sport does very little to attract a new audience, relying on existing fans to take or leave what is on offer. Unfortunately, many have voted with their feet. I think it's pretty much the same here, except that some teams, like Smederna, that are very good at having a presence on social media (twitter, instagram & Facebook) but proper advertising? Not so much except maybe a small advert in the local newspaper on race days. I think it's pretty much the same for the other teams but I don't know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
