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It has now been confirmed on the official website that Comets are good to go in 2019 and that talks have also been held with the leader of Allerdale Council about the longer term future of the club. This is fantastic news for the speedway fan base in Cumbria and i' m absolutely delighted.

Absolutely delighted for you and all the other Comets diehards, brilliant news.

Thanks Dorothy see you at the Tigers den in 2019 !!!! What a great feeling to be able to say that I'm soooo happy The hard work now begins to make sure that we all support what Laura, Jacko, Steve are doing in their quest to secure the long term future of our club . Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming fundraising events from the Workington Speedway Trust , we would like the trust to be a major backbone of support to the club as Edinburgh have done, where us the fans can help Tricky team building now its lowered to 38 but we get the chance to defend our 3 Titles of our H18tory season 2018 The future is bright the future is BLUE & WHITE

Brilliant news for all connected with Wukiton Speedway, happy days marra’s Now, the same news from Berwick would be very nice indeed

The saddest part really is that this is probably the best outcome of an AGM that was ever going to be possible. Rather like Mrs Mays deal is. Though it pains me greatly to say it. I know just about everyone wanted more or bettter. But there was never any true consensus as to what that 'better' was. And the people actually involved can only deal with the situation as it is today. The real Politik. The last thing speedway needs is a rash of supporter resignations. We are better than Cabinet Ministers, surely.

Fab news for the Comets fans

You're always tempted to open a post out of curiosity but it usually only confirms why one doesn't bother to read the diatribe on a regular basis. Excellent contribution of drivel as per usual sir, I feel that you're overdue for your visit to nurse Ratched for your medication

I think what everyone should remember is at least they have Speedway........... many don't.

It was stated publicly at the R.E.F. function last night (relayed by Matt Ford) that there would likely be 2 Monday tracks an 5 Thursday tracks (possibly 3M and 4Th). Poole will run mainly on a Thursday although for TV it'll be Mondays. There will be the occasional Wednesday meeting due to when all the Thursday tracks are against each other, if that make sense. Poole will continue with Good Friday and BH Mondays. The first home meeting is likely to be around the 10/11 April 2019. The club will announce 2 new co-promoters (not owners - Matt will still own the club) around the end of this month - they are expected to be officially licenced by the end of November. Expect the first rider announcement to also be around the same time. NO mention of a new club main sponsor as yet.

Gutted to see Somerset drop out of the top flight after your rise (almost) to the very top of British speedway! So glad I made the after work dash from Warwickshire to see the KO cup final this season as my first ever visit to Somerset, with the likes of Doyle, Iversen, Harris and Lambert (not forgetting your home track hero Wrighty) in action at the OTA. As a Coventry fan in exile, the above meeting provided the perfect end to my season of travelling around the tracks. Just surprised to see this move has been taken, based on the feel good factor I picked up on my visit. I wish you luck in the Championship and look forward to visiting again, maybe the Championship Fours one day!

Try signing in with your password that usually works, I have sent you a reminder of it below cornhillfreebiesh*tforbrainscumontheladslollollol. that should work.

Of course that won't happen because Lynn will be 4th at the time thing to really be concerned about is when all three make the play offs....although bloody Poole would still probably win.

I'm all for buster saving the club's, and giving us a top league, well done him. BUT..... what if this scenario happens. 1 match left in season, Peterborough 5th facing Ipswich at Ipswich who are last, a win for Peterborough sees them into play offs. Buster will throw the match, how is that fair

It all looks a bit of a non event AGM with the main discussions probably focusing on the composition of the Ltd company being formed to run the sport in the UK. A 42.5 average for the top flight gives a bit of breathing space to develop a team, but if the lower end riders are assessed at at least 3 then that will eat into that flexibility. My main concern is a 7 club top flight which to me just isn't enough. Last season at Monmore Green, as Wolves didn't qualify for the play offs, there were only 15 meetings. When I started attending speedway there were regularly over 30 meetings a season. It could be argued that affordability for supporters is helped by having less meetings, but I always thought that the healthy crowds of the good old days was partly because people knew there would be a meeting on every Monday night and planned their time accordingly. Now there can be meetings three weeks running then nothing for the next three weeks. And people get out of the habit of going. I don't personally have too many concerns about doubling up as long as its clear which club has priority when fixtures clash. The top riders will ride for two or three clubs a season in different countries, why shouldn't lesser riders have the opportunity to increase their income by having more than one track in this country in different leagues. And I don't think promotion and relegation is something that will ever work in speedway. Teams that get relegated would probably go out of business as attendances would suffer from the lower standard. And promoted teams would probably not have the financial clout to develop a competitive team. So in principle although it would be nice to see, I think its an idea that needs to be put to one side.

A list of team building averages for all riders would be useful.

Has there been an AGM ?, Nothing done to help reduce machinery costs, nothing to reduce wage costs, nothing to stop the end of season rush to complete fixtures, a little tweak to reduce doubling down, and worst of all nothing to attract new fans to the Sport. I know it was always going to be a difficult AGM but not to have done anything beggars belief.. obviously Somerset and Leicester were not happy in the Premiership, why didnt they just form a breakaway from the PL/BSPA, and go there own way, its pretty clever how Buster has allegedly brought into Peterboro & Ipswich it keeps the Premiership alive for now, but its only alive for as long as Buster wants it to be. The number of Championship clubs that were/are for sale sums up the problems Speedway has, little if anything has been done to sort out those deep rooted problems.. good luck for 2019 its going to be needed if British Speedway is to have 2 senior Leagues in 2020..

I actually think that there is some light at the end of a very, very long tunnel... Issues such as doubling up are starting to be addressed by the points limits. Quite cleverly too as they are not disallowing it but just making it harder to take on say a heat leader from the Premiership, ie a high earner... Instead Championship teams will need to look to the NL for more riders I would say which can only help bring them on, and cost less. If teams want to have Premiership standard riders then they should be in the Premiership, and the lower tiers then should have clear separation of standards. It looks like this has been taken on board... The 2.5% reduction looks good, however, given its Speedway no doubt there could be ambiguous interpretations of the rule so absolute clarity is needed.. Two fixed race nights have got to be easier to manage than three (especially when one of them was Denmarks night).. The Test matches look positive, and the fans interaction stuff looks like they are dipping a toe into the waters of technology. About time.. New competitions could work but need to be done and dusted well before the annual cram in at the end of the season for all the silverware distribution. Surely next year they will ensure finals are held throughout the season and not just in the last fortnight? Now, don't get me wrong, I am still far from convinced the sport will move forward at the pace needed to get it successful, but there does at least appear to have been some sensible, common sense decisions made... Which after many years of less than fit for purpose ideas, it is a welcome change... As always though, the proof of the pudding will be in the implementation.. And this is British Speedway don't forget, so you never quite know how that will go....

Whilst excited at the prospect of the move up there is also a tinge of sadness to be leaving the Championship I have thoroughly enjoyed the Witches latest time in the 2nd tier and the banter on here with a great set of fans all over the UK I hope you all have an enjoyable 2019 No doubt I will stick my nose in every now and then

WHY pay for a rider you can get for nothing?

The other teams in the league need to tell him that if he can't get riders then it up to him to change HIS fixtures and he can go to hell if he thinks he is going to do what he did last year.

They had better keep their hands off OUR Razzer...else there will be a certain Comets "witch" setting the most unpleasant curse on them !

I dont think there will have been any need to....you bet TJ and Laura will have said to him before he boarded the flight home..."Rasmus..IF we run in 2019, we WANT YOU " !! Fantastic news for management, riders, and fans, that we are running in 2019. I have ALWAYS been proud to be a Comets fan, ever since going there with my dearly departed dad, way back in 1970. But I am prouder than EVER right now !! Lets hope TJ has a MUCH easier year planning fixtures etc...he has been through HELL and back this year. Congrats to all involved in bringing us back next year. "WE BELIEVED" !!!

7

Now we know what Ford valued Poole at £500k... Buster was coming for him

I hope to see Jake back at Scunny….Please!

I said many years ago that Speedway should adopt a MLB / NFL / NBA style franchising operating model, with shares in the holding company being divided amongst the promoters in proportion to the value that they bring to the party at the outset. That way with everyone having a stake in the prospects of every franchisee, maybe there will be some decision making for the common good rather than promoters not being able to see beyond their own stadium car park, as is the case now.

From where I see it,In simple terms, without that one man, there would be no top league. Love him or hate him he has on his own kept the league afloat.

Then I assume belle vue can ride some Fridays also

When BMR took over from Len Silver they started a number of improvements but it appears they ran out of money or enthusiasm before any of them were completed. If they had started one project and finished it before doing the next one the place would be in a much better state than it is. On the subject of paying riders, surely the bond should have been used by the BSPA to pay the riders or has it been used and a balance is still owed? If money is still owed then it is right that BMR are not allowed to promote speedway but it should not stop another promotion using the track or has the BSPA said that speedway cannot be run at the track until those outstanding bills have been paid.

i said at the time that reading the SS last week would be wasting my time.... and so it has proved.

Well I’m gutted. Seems we have lost our identity and club. Buster now owns the hottest prospect in England in Drew Kemp. Every fan wants more variety and more fixtures so we get less of both. Buster has just bought clubs to prop up the premiership as terry Russell did previously. The AGM has done little to address the real problems just moved two clubs in different leagues. The social media race is open to abuse with opposing fans voting for the other clubs reserves instead of voting for their own riders. Well im now off to cancel my 400 club membership. After 23 years of paying monthly to the save our speedway fund I’m not keen on it heading to Norfolk with our rider assets.

Yes, he's spearheading the Comets next year!

I think the Ltd company idea is a good one. It could mean that losses across clubs could be absorbed against profit to reduce tax bills even further, I'm no expert but could clubs become franchisees of the BSPA? I really hope we see the end of PL number 1s in the Championship.

Seeing the team points limit reduced presume admission prices will be likewise reduced

Thats an interesting point , what would Woffinden come in on ? Haha . The 38 point limit should rule Cook out of the equation , sad but he'd take too large a chunk out of the points limit . Personally i'd have Vissing , Kerr and Starke back . That would be roughly 21 points . I'd take Pickering in a heartbeat if Edinburgh could be persuaded to part with him , but riders on his sort of average will be like gold dust . Especially him , who'd put 2 points on his average on a proper speedway track . Kemp and Thomas at reserve would be a major coup and throw in a Coty Garcia and that should be umder the limit .

Well Well Welll Look whose back in the top flight!!! the big league!!!! with all the "Big Boys" New fare to be dispensed in the Showground Cafe, out go the meat pies and in come large helpings of "Humble Pie" All the doomsayers and doom-mongers where are they now? Oh and don't forget all the Chapman haters; how ironic is it that the man most hated by Panthers fans ends up owning the club? Absolutely Brilliant!!! JCF and his Granddad Grumpy Trumpy Crumpy99 will be a miss on the Championship Forum with all their sparkling wit and repartee, good luck in the new venture back in the top flight and enjoy your speedway Oh and "all hail Buster" the saviour of Peterborough... PMSL Regards THJ

Yes, great post. Huge 'feel good factor' at Oak Tree Arena for most of this year (at least, once they got the track sorted out) and I hope that, whatever league they are in, this continues. Like Jamie, I am an exiled Bees fan, just moved to Somerset and the club has certainly rekindled my passion for speedway. A lot of that is down to the racers in the team and especially Charles Wright.

If Buster hadn't stepped in, what would there be.... a 5 team top league and possibly 2 more lost clubs. Its far from ideal but better than the alternative.

Last week we have the national magazine devoting all its pages highlighting the problems with British Speedway, We had Promoters, Fans, Riders , Celebrities all opinionizing on the problems with this sport. Amazingly a week later, at their annual meeting, the BSPA contradicts everyone ideas and does nothing. Just about sums everything up.....

Welcome to the Chapman League.

They made a big song and dance about running on a Friday night ( remember the famous letter ) so it would be a bit embarrassing to return to a Sunday afternoon after just one season running on a Friday night . I'm surprised at Somerset dropping back down , but glad too as i love the place and if we also get Birmingham and Kent , then we might get some Southern Tours again too . With Ipswich moving up to the top flight , we should be enquiring after Drew Kemp . I know every club in the Championship will be after him , but surely we must ask the question .

Not really ..Guests are used because no one and that includes people on this this forum have come with a better idea that wont reduce the crowds numbers ..so intill they do guests quite rightly should stay .

Woffy on 7.03 please

When - Tamara Morning!

Understand he is the Chairman of that as well.

I’m very disappointed to be leaving the championship especially now with two extra teams and now we have just six opponents. I will always support my team regardless of which league we are in but I really enjoyed championship racing. My fear is Buster now owns the riders so I’d expect Drew Kemp to be riding for Lynn instead of Ipswich. I remember when Buster purchased mildenhall. He kept the rider assets and sold it on within weeks. Only positive I can see is the derby meetings.

If every club has two National league standard riders at reserve it means more actual competitive racing hopefully

Got to get Buzz back

I assume Somerset are dropping down for financial reasons, I'm a bit puzzled however as Somerset do not have to rent the stadium, perhaps only on paper, and I assume have the food and drink outlet also, so how do some other tracks survive that don't have that advantage. I think it's good news, they will now have more teams and variety visiting, assume admission prices will be reduced, and I don't care if the top stars are missing, as long as the racing is good, don't think it matters much if it isn't an expensive name on the bike..

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, never trust Clark Osborne. He was at Oxford and sold us down the river back in the middle seventies before the 'Save Oxford Speedway' and Greyhound people stepped in to save the stadium.