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With comments like that you don't do Poole speedway any favours at all

I liken British Speedways problems to the British Superbikes series' predicament in the early nineties.... When Carl Fogarty was in his pomp and Sky fell in love with the World Superbikes series, giving it the massive exposure which resulted in 'Foggy' becoming a well known sportsman across all mainstream sport followers. BSB didnt try and compete. How could it? WSB had the best riders, BSB had the next level down. But instead of trying to match the WSB they ensured they delivered a great weekend of racing with the calibre of rider that they had which then grew their own 'brand'... They also realised that inevitably their best would eventually go off to seek fame and fortune in the WSB or Moto GP and test themselves in the 'higher standard' of racing. Therefore BSB invested in plenty of track time over their race weekends for the next generation of riders. With standard 'out of the box' one make Championships included to keep costs down and attract 'entry level' riders in.. The result? Thousands still attend their race weekends and plenty of British lads have made succesful careers racing at no more than a 'domestic' level.. If the likes of Dan and Robert can earn vast amounts elsewhere and improve quicker by racing against the Worlds best then good luck to them. 100% let them ride in the 'WSB' that is Poland.. However any rider wanting to ride in the 'BSB' of British Speedway needs to understand that British Speedway, and that alone, is his priority.. British Speedway has two options... Run itself like a 'proper team sport' on days and nights it's fan base can attend, paying for itself from an income delivered via a price point the fan base sees as value for money, and be as radical in delivering this as they need to be.. Or... Carry on doing what it always has.... And we know how tremendously successful that has been... The current model simply does not work and is miles away from what they need.. And as is blatantly obvious. The sport is down to the bare bones of its fan base.. Opening Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday days, are a one million percent fundamental necessity for any business running in the entertainment sector, which is unsurprisingly why Poland (and Motor Racing in general) choose them! (How strange?!).... Simple choice... Find a way to use the weekends more, and let all tracks run on nights they know will get their biggest income... Or.... Carry on cobbling together Mickey Mouse Team Speedway meetings in front of an ever reducing fan base, running the meetings on days/nights to suit the riders but not their customers, at a far too high a price point for those customers to recognise it as value for money. I would humbly suggest that if they keep doing the latter, it can really only end one way..

I have to say that I am shocked and appalled by this. We live in a democratic society where an individual's right to free speech is absolute and not a privelage. I have read many of your posts and at times some are incoherent and others I may disagree with, however I absolutely support an individual's right to express their opinion.

I'd tell them where to stick it personally. If they only want happy clappers then it'll end in tears

More chance of understanding the Poles than Ermolenko

Does it REALLY matter if some teams might be a rider short if Rye House run on a Saturday or Belle Vue on a Friday or Swindon on a Thursday. Does it REALLY matter if your team finishes 2nd, 3rd or 4th I suggest it REALLY matters that 8 teams finish the season at the correct time

Charles Wright and Ricky Wells in, Danny King and Kyle Newman out

That's because Poole are crap at the moment

like a load of vultures.....hoping for a rye house collapse, so their own team will benifit

I honestly can't believe what I am reading here. I know why Jenga has apologised, but don't see why he should have been put in that position for expressing his opinion in the first place. I think that it is a certain Mr Whitehead that needs to apologise, not you Jenga. As others have said we live in a society (thank goodness) where we supposedly have the right of free speech. If our promoters are so sensitive to criticism from one of their most loyal supporters that they are prepared to ban him from attending then they are in the wrong profession, and we as a speedway club are on a far slippier slope than we all thought. One of the reasons Jenga is so prolific on here is because there is a huge vacuum where the official Comets website should be keeping us all up to date with what is happening and (this year) not happening with all things Comets. I don't always agree with Jenga's posts and yes sometimes they are a little confrontational, but for goodness sake we are mostly (if not all) adults on here and it is a forum for public debate. One thing that is obvious is that Jenga cares passionately about the club and if the promoters are willing to ban the likes of him, then we really are truly f***ed.

I am not trying to defend him, I am genuinely appalled that an individual's right to free speech is threatened in this manner.

This is the most appalling piece of heavy-handed bullying tactics it is my misfortune to come across in British speedway. The minute we witness team promoters taking action reminiscent of 1930s Nazi Germany is the time to pack it in. I for one will not be visiting Workington Speedway again and would urge other fans to do likewise. Jenga is a prolific contributor to a popular fans' forum, has amused us on here for years and I hope will continue to do so.

Back on topic and just wanted say well done to the promoters and staff on the Island. You get a genuine welcome from their staff, friendly banter, tidy presentation and in Barry Bishop a man who puts his paying punters front and centre. Took time at the start of the meeting to give us a warm welcome, explain their shale problem and possible dust problems. He is always visible and approachable and then kindly took some on to watch from the centre. They may not have the best team but they sure do Speedway proud.

Ok going to give you all a serious post now. No joking around. Personally I would let Rye House have the Saturday race night back ASAP. Yes patched up teams and an unfair advantage would be a joke but at least we haven't lost a club to British Speedway. I say let teams actually have a facility for a missing rider/riders who have a Polish commitment and then that's fair. Rye House remain in the league. Teams are granted a facility for a missing rider or riders then we take it from there. British Speedway simply cannot afford to lose yet another club and tbh fixed race nights will 100% be scrapped next year anyway because clubs will not agree to it due to finances. This is the final era of British Speedway and it would be a massive shame if it was to end with club's folding one after the other. 2 options patched up opposition for 4 months or lose a club all together. Easy decision and that's patched up teams. Message for everyone. With every club that folds it's one step closer to your club shutting down not because of finances. It's because you wont have anyone to race against. Apart from Glasgow teams will not step up from the Championship to replace the Premiership teams. This is a time when people need to stop being selfish and look at the bigger picture. It's time to put Rye House first now and not our own clubs. We're at a time where there is no shining light at the end of the tunnel. It's all about survival and taking it year by year until the final day and the final nail gets hammered in. No point talking about 1 big league next year and all that because it's not going to happen for a number of reasons. Which I wont get into because this is a Rye House thread. All I'm saying is go back to basics now and just see out the season. Let Rye House have those Saturday's back and continue to run because it's better than losing the club as I said earlier. Then every promoter needs to do what's best for British Speedway as a whole in the off season.

The problems are far more than FRN for Speedway in general , the disjointed fixture list, run down stadiums and poor promotion of the sport are just a-few. the attendances at Workington have been very poor for many years but we manage to somehow get to another season......2019 not a hope I fear.

Would it really of been that difficult to say something along those lines with their postponement announcement on Tuesday? It just shows how clueless people within Speedway are when it comes to PR. I think 99% of people would of accepted that they are looking to resolve it and wished them well, but the whole "say nothing" approach and keep the fans (the ones who they are going to be desperate for in the coming weeks) in the dark is idiotic in my opinion.

First time poster,long time fan. The decline,I've many points & observations.Firstly,they should start with image/1st impressions. That's cut grass,tapes that are tight & don't flap in the wind. There should be standard start Marshall attire at every track,all black Polo Shirt/Sweater/black Chinos or the like with Start Marshall printed on the back,he should be no older than 35 & slim/athletic looking. No parade on a tractor (tacky) with riders waving at clouds.Walk out,introduced,allowed a couple of laps (as Coventry did) No chairs on centre green with start girls texting (which I've seen) As regards promotion of the sport,I've more of a social media presence than many/most clubs. It should be mandatory to have/use.. SNAPCHAT/Instagram (with online merch shop)YouTube channel/Twitter & Facebook.. These are all free,give you global exposure to you & riders/sponsors etc & in an instance,these can also be monetised.You only have to look at Arsenal Fan TV who have 800k followers & no product to sell..they have betting companies/Vanarama sponsoring & adverts during their content.Often there regular contributors get on SKY/5LIVE/TalkSport. I recently asked a promoter via Facebook messenger (he said I could ask him a question(s) as to why the club had very little/good online presence (see above) HIS ANSWER... HE DIDN'T GIVE ONE OR REPLY... This was Rye House & prior to the season starting/close to season/p&p. So why should I or anyone else turn up. Oh & the bloody traffic cone they use to stop the tapes from blowing is another embarrassment,they use a prong type device in Poland which looks good & unobtrusive... They may seem like small things.. But they count...

Lets all hope that Rye can get Sat racing if that is whats needed to keep them racing I like a lot of fans think stuff the other countries we need to get our league viable for the clubs riders and fans so we can watch the sport we love

Poolepiratesfanatic, Gater1, KKS, and taking you back a few years kingbatchelorspeed, michaeljepsenjensenracing......and many others.

Totally agree Wilst Jengas posting style is not everyones cup of tea I rarely see any posts that could be considered as any great offence Certainly shouldnt need to apologise for any of them to avoid a ban

Banned for freedom of speech ? What country is Workington in ?

How many changes is that now for the 1-7 that certain Poole fans predicted to be unstoppable?

Thank you for all the condolences and stories. It's been a truly overwhelming experience to find out not only was he a legend to us; his family; but to many others also Leigh

Much of a muchness to be honest.

Traditional race card for 2018 Danish GP:- https://www.keepandshare.com/doc16/21109/gp-2018-d-pdf-39k?da=y

get a job, p/t if necessary, use half days, whatever. Do your own engines, get a bike rack for the car. The money isn't there to give them a living and we need to wake up to that pronto!

Sadly, and from every source I have ever heard, its fact.

Ah-haa...Rye House should carry on hemorrhaging money, just for Belle Vue's benefit? Maybe the rest of the league, or even the sport in general should subsidise Belle Vue's advantage?

Live YouTube stream here https://youtu.be/oOVM5h9z4Rs

So the way forward is for all Premiership clubs to run on the night of their choice and go back to the fiasco of teams made up of guests / RR due to fixture clashes / World Championship commitments like we had last year.

Probably because they have not got any money available to pay their riders.

It was only heat 15 that went past 10pm - Think it was probably more to do with the promotion wanting to complete the match for the paying supporters - given you had Berge and Auty in the last race and we were down to one fit heat leader, I doubt we ran it with the view of stretching our lead, the reverse was more likely

I am sure all fans would not want any club to close including Poole fans.

No doubt some will be targeting Dan Bewley's U21 dates.....

Another, think of winning at all costs Don't matter if there's 3 in the league as long as Poole win it....

Big mistake Worrall as a guest you got what you deserved

Its included in the latest set of BSPA averages. Jacobsen comes in on assessed 4.00. Matt Ford first brought him over in 2016 to ride in the end of season Blue Riband. He didn't want a full time job at that time due to studies that he has now completed.

Excuse me ? What utter tosh - i was simply saying i hadn't heard that as the latest awful update in that particular situation. The last i'd seen on that thread that someone had created to discuss it was people guessing the chaps name. I had no idea things had turned out that way. If you think that's inappropriate, you need help, and perhaps more to the point, perhaps direct your completely misplaced ire at the person who posted it originally, not me. Edited - just seen your last post. I'll let you off.

It is suggested that Stefan Neilsen (3.67) is only a couple of weeks away from a return to action after his leg injury???? Bit of a risk but it would save 1.10 against Mateusz average (4.77) and give Matt a smidgeon more to play with if looking at replacing another!

Absolutely spot on it has big implications on visiting teams if Rye switch to Saturday nights - that’s said we don’t want to see the club close mid season but it could have a massive effect on the race for the play offs for visiting teams - in all honesty I will be surprised if they let the club switch race nights - the real only ways to get a level playing field 1 they carry on with week night racing or 2 and I don’t like saying this is they close and the meetings ridden are void . If they switch to Saturdays it’s going to have a big knock on effect with visiting teams . That said we definitely don’t want Rye to close - I’m just trying to look at it from other promotions point of view .

If all meetings were re run that had been 'fixed' in this way there would be a backlog a couple of decades long with Edinburgh close to the top of the list

yes and more work being done after next stockcar meeting

Exactly right. We don't all do Facebook and the short statement put on there by Steve Jenson last night was probably because they were aware Somerset were putting out news of next weeks postponement. The Facebook statement should have been put on the Rye website for all to see. I sincerely hope the club does not fold and I hope that there are ongoing talks behind the scenes to try to resolve the situation. Perhaps reverting back to Saturday night racing will help because every club has different needs and their Promoters should be able to decide which night will be best for them to run as I see we are not the only club suffering from lower crowds since frn was brought in. If it means no big name riders in the teams, of which there aren't many now anyway, then so be it, I would rather have the same team of committed riders to call "my team" that I can support knowing that win or lose they tried.

Lakeside look like winning this.

So, you basically saying f-off FIM nobody is taking priority over British Speedway? With Sweden given priority on Tuesday, Denmark Wednesday and Poland Friday, Saturday and Sunday how is your little plan gonna stand up??? Where do you stand with Robert Lambert and Dan Bewley likely to get Ekstraliga contracts next season? You want them banned right??? You want rid of Brady Kurtz, Jack Holder, Max Frick, etc just because they have Ekstraliga jobs. You'd ban rider's for signing with Polish Liga 1 and 2 teams?? The FIM have implemented priority race days for a reason, British Speedway doesn't get any for weekend days so we have to work with what we've got. We're not in a position or have enough rider's available to force total 100% commitment to UK fixtures except for Monday and Thursday fixtures. You throw in a 100% commitment rule there will be far more teams fold than continuing with fixed race night's.

Everyone said similar things about Somerset before they opened and Scunthorpe, who previously had poor crowds before relaunch - with no Coventry and Nottingham/Long Eaton not an option perhaps it is ideal time...

Never understood the old "not enough riders" comment. Solely based on riders who are still active and have raced in Britain in the last 3 seasons, there are plenty to fill 19 teams with spares left over - that's without touching the NL and any newcomers. Sure, a few of those 19 teams may not be able to afford running at an increased standard, but that only improves the rider position and they would have to operate at a level to suit their pocket. 16 teams would be a more than manageable amount for one big league. The big challenge would be the need to retain fixed nights (sensible ones) to enable the few top-liners we still have to stay and attract any others who previously have shown an appetite for a full season here (Zagar for example). The old pony about watching Doyle v Wethers for example is no different from the 'halcyon days' of Mauger v Jim Tebby. If the top boys cannot be accommodated, either financially or on agreed race nights, it's time to bin them off and find a level to make it a proper team sport again, with teams operating when they wish as long as there are no riders missing owing to a second division meeting in Burkina Faso ir somewhere! The key to making one league work is to ensure the teams are balanced and at a level everyone can operate at - that's where 1995/96 went wrong as Bradford, Wolves, Poole and Cradley in particular hoarded the big stars and left Midd'bro, Long Eaton, Sheffield etc to scrabble around to find heat-leaders. The current situation of pandering to riders needs is killing the game and has to stop.

Just to let you know that we had an interesting, absorbing and emotional evening. Robbo picked up a late guest booking at Sheffield so our guests were Paul Ackroyd, Adam Roynon, Garry Stead and Ricky Ashworth. Bert Harkins also supported the event and joined the panel for the second half of the evening. After presenting Ricky and Garry with their 2006 British Final race jackets and framed photos from Jeff Davies the audience were informed and entertained by our guests. Most were surprised as to the lengths the SRBF goes to and the speed with which they offer support to the injured riders' families. The SRBF is unique in the speedway world and should be cherished and supported wherever possible. At the end of the evening we'd collected £410.10 for the Ben' Fund......Bert Harkins drew his own ticket in the raffle......and there was a standing ovation for Ricky Ashworth. The NSSC will round up the collection to £500 and donate it to the Speedway Riders' Benevolent Fund. A huge thank you to our guests and also the audience for giving so generously.

Would rather use guests.....

Polish speedway ( the premiere league today) really needs to be on British TV or available online with British commentary. Surely the full stands and fast action could entice more people through their local teams turnstiles.