How would we ever have managed.

[szkocjasid 3,062]

2 home & 2 away would work perfectly with no play-offs, no need to cancel cup fixtures to race league matches before the cut-off date, no need to race on your off night / twice a week. Would have till the end of October to fit in the fixtures. However I know they'd never get rid of the play-offs

[IronScorpion 1,407]

12 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

 

I'm sure Sam Masters has previously doubled up in the UK as well as riding in Poland & Denmark. Not sure if he still races in Denmark now, but he wouldn't give up Poland because the Championship had more fixtures.

I read about a month ago that Masters had not been paid by his Polish club. Whether it has now been sorted, I am unsure.

[Toady 231]

15 hours ago, steve roberts said:

I remember the days when riders had a full calender of meetings in the UK...League, Cup, 4TT, Best Pairs, Individual, Test Matches, Second Halves etc but apathy amongst the promoters, riders and fans who turned their back on such meetings has gone a long way in providing the state that the sport now finds itself in. I recall Macolm Simmons in his book saying that he used to have a full quota of engagements by riding in the UK alone.

Where have you been, No longer enough stadia, riders or promoters and fans like you for any of that. The term shoe repairers comes to mind

[steve roberts 9,246]

1 hour ago, Toady said:

Where have you been, No longer enough stadia, riders or promoters and fans like you for any of that. The term shoe repairers comes to mind

Oh the irony!

[gmarsbar2 174]

17 hours ago, iainb said:

I went to Ully's farewell today... 4 full teams, no guests, no R/R and all on a Sunday afternoon... it's the future (and the past )

There was a guest, Claus Vissing had to withdraw due to German commitments. Drew Kemp rode for Glasgow. A fan favourite not! Given he's ridden for Edinburgh, Poole and now Leicester 

[Diablo 19]

Another year & another set of meaningless fixtures in October coming up. 

[Bellers101 347]

X2 home and X2 away would stop teams going 2-3 weeks without a home fixture which is currently the case.

[szkocjasid 3,062]

29 minutes ago, Bellers101 said:

X2 home and X2 away would stop teams going 2-3 weeks without a home fixture which is currently the case.

No one's denying that, the question is, would all the rain offs get replayed before the play-offs start?

[steve roberts 9,246]

8 hours ago, Bellers101 said:

X2 home and X2 away would stop teams going 2-3 weeks without a home fixture which is currently the case.

...which is what my earlier post was trying to highlight (despite going "over the head" of one particular poster). The Knock Out Cup and Regional Competitions (we had some memorable Midland Cup derbies over the years) added variety to the calander but promoters and ultimately fans began to "pick and choose" their meetings thus creating gaps in the calander and continuity was lost and some stadiums began to question the viability of running a speedway (although there were/are other issues involved). A lack of meetings also meant riders were looking abroad to bolster their earnings (some even turning their back on UK speedway) and the development and/or opportunities of riders diminished. I recall reading that Phil Crump and Keith Bloxsome (two riders of very differing abilities) decried the cessation of traditional second halves (cost saving exercise by Promoters at the time) thus depriving them of extra income and Phil did question whether continuing in speedway was no longer viable? The National League Fours was a great success intitially but over time fans grew tired of "filler" meetings which also included all star Individual meetings (who can forget the BLRC) that each track used to stage before ultimatly they were treated by a certain amount of comtempt by riders and fans alike. Who can forget some of the memorable Test Matches that attracted good crowds before it became increasingly difficult to stage them thru' either rider apathy/reluctance (no money to be made representing one's country was one argument put forward?) and a downturn in some nation's fortunes (in particular the USA).

Yes we witness that there is a general lack of riders/stadiums/fans but the situation certainly hasn't been helped by decisions made by the aforementioned creating a vacuum within speedway today. There are other issues, of course, that have often been highlighted/debated upon many times over the years and in particular on the BSF.

Edited July 4, 2023 by steve roberts

[Toady 231]

You do talk Cobblers  the problem is with people like you despite living close to Scunthorpe speedway you have never been yet recognise the good stuff on couple of clips that another poster put up on this forum. You are not interested in today’s speedway as you have clearly stated previously.Perhaps you should stick to recalling the good old days when everything was perfect.

 

[steve roberts 9,246]

1 hour ago, Toady said:

You do talk Cobblers  the problem is with people like you despite living close to Scunthorpe speedway you have never been yet recognise the good stuff on couple of clips that another poster put up on this forum. You are not interested in today’s speedway as you have clearly stated previously.Perhaps you should stick to recalling the good old days when everything was perfect.

 

Oh dear...the "troll" is back obviously checking my posts not only on here but other threads. I've constantly stated my personal circumstances and reasons why I no longer travel distances to speedway (I would be back round to Oxford like a shot if I lived there) and am not prepared to repeat them again but no doubt you will drag them up as you appear to be "transfixed" by my posts "cobblers" or not!

Edited July 4, 2023 by steve roberts

[Toady 231]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

Oh dear...the "troll" is back obviously checking my posts not only on here but other threads. I've constantly stated my personal circumstances and reasons why I no longer travel distances to speedway (I would be back round to Oxford like a shot if I lived there) and am not prepared to repeat them again but no doubt you will drag them up as you appear to be "transfixed" by my posts "cobblers" or not!

Obviously hit a nerve then! Other  threads are for everyone to read not just yourself( you seem to pop up everywhere)recalling all our yesterdays nothing of relevance for today . if you say something then others read it and some also remember what you say even if you don’t 

 

[steve roberts 9,246]

14 minutes ago, Toady said:

Obviously hit a nerve then! Other  threads are for everyone to read not just yourself( you seem to pop up everywhere)recalling all our yesterdays nothing of relevance for today . if you say something then others read it and some also remember what you say even if you don’t 

 

No nerve "hit"...but "popping up everywhere" as you put it doesn't take away from the fact that you appear to make a point of referring to my posts if not to other posters who post similar views. As I say you appear to have some sort of "fixation" which I take as a back handed compliment in that you read my comments and feel the need to make a caustic comment especially your latest "observation" as regards "remember what you say even if you don't" which is quite laughable as well as inaccurate but that's the usual stance you take when attempting to "debate" a point.

[StevePark 2,787]

And, yet again, a thread becomes a t1t-for-tat exchange of "my Dad's bigger than your Dad" type of childish exchange.  Give it a rest, for God's sake.

Edited July 4, 2023 by StevePark

[baiden 90]

5 minutes ago, StevePark said:

And, yet again, a thread becomes a t1t-for-tat exchange of "my Dad's bigger than your Dad" type of childish exchange.  Give it a rest, for God's sake.

Amen to that. Amazing how many of these exchanges involve Toady. 

Anyway, in an attempt to get the thread back on topic, the Championship had as many as 36 league fixtures (each) as recently as 2017, and then playoffs after that. There was also a knockout cup, meaning that season Ipswich raced in 44 meetings, so it can be done. Not sure what's changed so much in six years.