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THE BSPA General Council met on Tuesday at a time when speedway in the UK is in crisis. But, as usual, no word from the inner chambers of ACU House in Rugby. We are not allowed to know what they discussed, what plans they have afoot or any decisions made. They have become the ultimate secret society. And yet they wonder (maybe they don't) why the paying public, on whom they depend, despair and are deserting the sport in their droves. Are they interested in what British fans, those that are left, are prepared to pay to watch?

Rather than knock the management for not signing a decent replacement for Kerr, let’s see a list from you guys, then we can all make a judgement on your judgment.

Think I got the thread title spot on Well done Worky We may well have won without the injuries but again all our bad luck was self inflicted Solid effort and a deserved away win Get well soon to Danyon and Jonas

Even better, by four, absolutely buzzing what a result big well done kyle Bickley with his 4 pts doesn't sound a lot but it's a big deal for kyle I'll bet,well done worky

All those making snide remarks abut Glasgow " Splashing the Cash " are hypocrites , not one of them would turn down that sort of investment in their clubs . The Glasgow owners should be admired and applauded for what they've done ., without them It's most likely there would be no speedway in Glasgow now . Good luck to them I say for giving it a go , I for one would be quite happy to see them make success of things and for Glasgow to win the title , ( if it's not going to be Berwick that is ) , the petty jealousy is boring and sad IMHO.

Monday is speedway night that's obviously why only one PL team chose it when they had a free choice. Nothing interesting about those comments just his self interest because it happens to suit him and a disregard for the future of the sport in the UK.

IF I knew what was going on and was at liberty to tell you I would. Being told something in confidence is one thing, being able to use it is another.

Need to find out Paul's favourite

As soon as this torid season is over, the first agm on November 1st and the first question is a simple one , do we want british speedway to be a competitors sport like Moto GP, motox etc or do we want to be a team fan sport like it has always been, a team sport on motorbikes, if it’s the first then there is no point perusing the team aspect and make it pay to race with prize money, if it’s the second then the bikes,riders, cost, presentation and the team ethic need to be looked into and changed , currently we are trying be be the fan based team sport but being run like a competitor sport and it doesn’t work, there is hardly any control over mechanical side of the sport and riders and tuners are pushing and pushing but in reality all they are pushing is the cost up and many fans and potential fans couldn’t care less, to prove this point something I would like to see is take a meeting like poole v belle vue and get the riders to all use a basic no frills engine used by all 14 riders but don’t tell the fans, the fact is hardly anyone would notice because it’s not something they care about , it’s all about the riders and their teams, we need to push the team model

Firstly hope the injured ippo riders are okay , we know all too well how injuries can hamper your season Our boys just continue to amaze me , just shows how you need strength in depth we are covering injured riders, a young reserve on a learning curve and riders having off nights , there are fighting for every point , every match . There’s still a long way to go but I’m going to bloody enjoy this while we can ... a massive well done boys keep it going we right behind you

Part of the game I'm afraid, nobody's exclusive to the injury department,and we've had our fair whack over the years

Ipswich unlucky with injuries but that’s 5 away wins in total I think this season. It’s swings and roundabouts, won at Newcastle Sunday with virtually 4 man team. Hope injured riders recover soon.

would have preferred Nicholls, bit surprised sundstrom the one to go, thought it might have been josh or Ritchie

oh well . so craig can ride in the championship after all . looks like you have a bargain there , as does craig . good luck to the lad and well done glasgow for having the guts to do what everyone out there thought it was an unwritten rule . no GP riders in the championship .woofy to ippo now and hancock to glasgow . its wide open now for GP riders everywhere to join lower league clubs . a bad day for the unwritten rule and speedway in general . just glad we dont have to meet em again this season lol major cave in by the body of pillocks .

And the Kinks : )

There is enough riders. We had uncompetitive races in the halcyon days of the 70’s as Mauger etc raced away from the oppositions reserves. Even worse they could do it in heat 8. We created rules to stop that and we recently had protected heats where only the administration of averages saw that not work correctly. If we know beforehand that lower league club will be shat on then create a system to stop it. The Aces always got the crappy end of the stick with rider control and we would again but if it suits the sport as a whole, bring it back. We don’t have the option to do nothing nor make minor tweaks here and there. A full and comprehensive relaunch or reboot as is the modern term is required.

Not only are they silent and secretive but they also silence those within who dare to speak out

IF they deem to tell us which is far from a given

Can you, or anyone provide the reference number in the SCB Regulations to the alleged "no gp rider rule" in the Championship, or is this another BSF myth that the ill-informed are getting hot under the collar on? Regarding Glasgow requiring permission from Edinburgh to sign Craig, I believe that when a loan agreement is already in place with another club, it is that Promotion (i.e. Belle Vue) that Tigers will be dealing with and Monarchs will not be involved. The Glasgow press release did state "The changes are subject to BSPA management committee approval." which other clubs have used in the past in such situations, so allegations of being presumptuous are unfounded. FWIW I believe the majority of Edinburgh fans have no problem with Cookie being able to supplement his earnings by joining Glasgow. After all we were able to loan Palovaara from Glasgow and John Campbell thanked Tigers for their cooperation in his column in a recent programme.

YERS, very much so. Before speedway found a place on TV, the vast majority of people in this country thought it had long since died. Sky brought speedway back in front of many. Admittedly, the majority didn't also visit tracks to see the sport live but you can hardly blame Sky for that. The money Sky poured into British speedway was never well spent. It largely went to fund rider payments and never to improve the infrastructure of the sport. Cannot really blame Sky for that either. British speedway had a great opportunity to build on the exposure and platform provided by Sky but didn't do so. Personally cannot see how Sky can be blamed for the demise of domestic speedway. They don't create the product.

We need to sign riders that can stay on their bikes.... as they either injure themselves or hurt their team mate... Well done to Worky who didn't have a weak link.

Who do you think you are? “You lot”? This is a forum for opinions - I gave mine. I’m fine with you disagreeing with my opinion but don’t you dare refer to me as “you lot”

A desperation signing. Can have good days but mainly poor this season. I never expected he would ride for Poole - it may help his season. How many riders is that now this season from the starting 1-7 who were going to clean up this season. At least it’s not Lahti or Kennett!

Oh for the days when the top riders rode in the top league and the lower league was for the part-time riders,youngsters and middle ability riders.The championship has become the premiership with a different name.Glasgow just taking advantage of the situation.The real credit has to go to the bspa who have spectacularly managed to completely destroy speedway in this country in the space of only a few years-you have to give them credit for at least succeeding in something.

Sweden works??!! Despite not having 5 weeks of invoices being paid!! " Monday night is speedway night. Everyone knows its on a Monday night." Well it might be in Wolverhampton and very occasionally at Poole but hardly anywhere else.

Well done to the Glasgow promotion for having the ambition to go after and get Craig Cook into their team as I think it will suit both rider and club.

Speedway lost its credibility many years ago, I go to hopefully see a few good races and a crack.

Who really cares,no credibility in the sport,still as long as he can earn afew quid to offset his. GP and Poland losses.He has always wanted to ride for the Tigers

The big raffle was straight though

I didn't comment on Lakeside's apparent 'free' use of Nick Morris, I was more concerned with his vow to make life difficult for everyone around him as a response to perceived injustices. It's unprofessional, counter productive and solves nothing, as well as making him sound like an idiot. He's moaning about laying in bed that he was at least partly responsible for making. My club and stadium (Coventry) is on the recently deceased list, so I'm losing interest in the sport hourly to be fair. I happen to think that Coventry's demise is a massive factor in all this coming to a head. The day British Speedway's heart stopped beating.

Are you really that influenced by what other people think? Why not have a bash at making your own mind up about things. It might be a pleasant surprise to you.

I am not someone who thinks that TR is the antichrist or has swindled money out of the sport as other seem to do. Quite the reverse i would say. But his comments in the Star this week just made him sound like a bit of a pillock tbh. The BSPA voted for fixed nights and in the end after switching around made Monday and Wednesday the nights that the PL would have all to themselves. Withthe Cl getting priority on Thursday onwards. It was Swindon who got their wish to stick with SOME Thursdays in the full knowledge that matches that night would not get priority over CL. And now the daft bugger moans about that exact thing happening. I despair.

Probably the most important thing on the discussion table was where to have this years p!$$ up, excuse me AGM.

definitely coming down to a "survival of the fittest" scenario. maybe the decisions over the next few months will see that the clubs that survive week by week are forced into closing or running at a NL level, and hoping that the stronger ones become stronger to form that one league that hopefully can then build. i'm not sure, i'm thinking the damage has already been done and ideas for having stronger clubs will be hit too hard by supporters not playing ball

Only southerners polluting the seas with plastic then??

Berwick in the premiership cant see it personally.

It is not really that surprising Ray as BMR are a motorsport company involved in many areas of racing including British Superbike racing in the past. I believe Warren Scott did race in the superbike series so obviously has a passion for 2 and 4 wheel motorsport.

I QUERIED his comment about Monday as a set night. Apart from Wolverhampton, who have a long tried and tested Monday as their racenight, many other tracks won't entertain it. It is financial suicide... the night after a weekend when many will have had their fill of 'entertainment'.

as usual - nail on the head - 90 pc of fans don't know or care about the engines. Probably uniquely in motorsport

The only way Buster can really make a statement of intent is by redeclaration and Keeping Iversen, Lambert and Proctor. The problem is that when available, would you find better than Jorgensen and MPT?!? Kerr's average is one of those that can only really be replaced by a bang average rider. The management team really are between a rock and a hard place in this situation. I think continue as they are with R/R and hope there's no more injuries and fixture clashes with Denmark.

Don't know if the situation has changed, but the freehold of the land at Rye House used to be ( and may still be) owned by the Lea Valley Park. Can't see them allowing houses to be built...but who knows ? If the Car Racing people who own Rye House Speedway offered a plan to BSPA to keep running, it must have involved paying off the debts. So we need to know...why did the BSPA refuse ? More to this than meets the eye. Given all the grand promises that have been made about the stadium in the past couple of years, I would tend to doubt the promoters' words.

Sadly Speedway is not looked on as the same as Prem football, that is a multi million pound sport, our national sport, when you see packed stands at prem matches people for whatever reason look at it differently, the only time our stadiums get pack is for the play off's and final, otherwise its not appealling to the casual veiwer, could sky have done things diferently ? Can BT do any better ? Im not so sure, could the BSPA have helped, ? Fot whaatever reason speedway has changed a hell of a lot down the years, and personally, i dont think you will attract the type of crowds clubs would get in the early 70's and 80's,. Then you had big sponsorship also national paper exposure, now you have nothing, clubs have to fend for themselves.We at Poole are lucky we are a high profile club that has and can attract good sponsorship thanks to Matt ford and his tireless work, other clubs are not so lucky. And when the casual looker watches speedway on TV and fair play, you have the likes of Pearson and Mr modorbike trying to ramp up 1234 its a bit of a turn off. no matter how hard they try.. Losing the majority of the top boys to Britsh speedway has not helped our cause as a promotional aspect either.

I would say Sky gave British Speedway its last chance saloon and the investment was poorly managed, not Sky's fault.

You been in a black hole?

money will not win gold or silver just tears in the end

Looking at the decline from a technical perspective it was the introduction of laydowns for me, not because we saw poor racing but costs increased significantly overnight and it put the riders under immense pressure to invest more in equipment/facilities than was ever needed before.

Maybe Glasgow have been taking advice from Rob (I didn't say that ) Godfrey.

2010 / 2011 was the beginning of the end of speedway in this country. The F.I.M changes in silencer regulations changed speedway bikes forever in noise and performance and rendered many British tracks unsuitable in shape, size and material to produce good speedway racing. While the throaty raw of a speedway bike was lost, also the smell of Castrol R disappeared and the atmosphere on the terraces was never the same again. The sport in Britain has plummeted rapidly ever since.

So it should, because its nothing less than a bloody disgrace . Workington had their fixtures and dates approved by the BSPA and they aren't being told to change 'a few' but all of them, regardless of the arrangements they and their riders have made and whether their stadium is available on other days. What makes it even worse is that the very promoters who are responsible for this action now will not co-operate and bring their teams to Derwent Park when asked, and the icing on the cake is that this is almost entirely at the behest of one promoter who agreed with it and then changed his mind when he couldn't get guests for injured riders. An appalling example of just how badly speedway promotions are motivated entirely by self interest without any regard for the needs of others or the best interests of the sport as a whole.

Terry Russell, and he alone, got the BSPA the original TV deal that no-one else within the promoters' association was capable of. And in hindsight, he spent too much of his own money on a lost cause, or certainly British clubs that didn't deliver a return on that investment. It's ironic that fans, many of the same people who still slate Terry today, probably wouldn't have been able to watch league racing at their local track in the last 25 years if TR hadn't let his heart rule his head. Those who blame TR for any part of UK speedway's demise have got the wrong scapegoat.