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Couldn’t believe just as my partner & I waved when the announcer asked if anyone had traveled up from sunny! Devon the heavens opened! Did fill my Tennents up almost quicker than I could drink it! Talked to some very friendly people & had more drinks in the bar before getting train back to city centre. Gutted I didn’t see any speedway but will make the effort to go back once I’ve dried out!!

I disagree with that, I think the points system worked really well and provided jeopardy and last heat deciders where the away team could 'steal' one the home team's points. Giving the hone team a guaranteed three points for a win was a backward step IMO and the reasoning for it was pretty lame IIRC.

It`s an " Extraleague only " knee

I think a fair few (ie five others), may use Anders now it's a "free for all".. Maybe he could ride for both the Tigers AND the Aces when the B fixture takes place..? Obviously not in the same races though.. As that would be just silly wouldnt it?

Not really. I saw a very entertaining meeting which we won with some very good racing especially from one of your riders who made the difference to us winning and moving above your team in the league. Happy days. Nice to see some British potential at last. I can actually see us using Anders again to be honest and will be most welcome. The only WHOOSH was as he passed Brennan on the line which actually was the difference between us drawing and winning

Feared the worst about 6 with that heavy shower, but credit to the promotion for holding their nerve and the riders for putting on a show. Pleased with the win and an outstanding performance by Leon, but being honest, it feels like papering over the cracks. I fear for this team up against some of the top teams in the league. The Berwick team was put together based on riders progressing, but for most the opposite has happened. We need the main body of the team to get their form back. While it's great to see Leon making great strides and piling up points, it's not a recipe for success when you are relying on your number 7 to do the heavy lifting for you. End on a positive note, I was chuffed for Matty Wethers tonight. Always struck me as the kind of rider you would love to have in your team. Guaranteed effort, a racer and a good guy. Still remember his horrific crash against Edinburgh and great to see him still scoring points.

What your really saying is we have got 7 reserves

The rules were (are?) that overseas riders had to ride a minimum number of times before they can be added to a retained list. Vaculik and Zmarzlik, and I think, Przedelski, didn’t do enough meetings. Interestingly, when Birmingham brought Zmarzlik in, then promoter, Alan Phillips thought he was just another foreign rider, and had no idea of what he’d got. Bartosz only rode one meeting for Birmingham before they sacked him for declaring himself ill and unable to travel. He was accused of pulling a sickie.

To pick up on this topic, clubs were required to have a retained list - I have always disliked the term “asset” - with a minimum value plus a cash or bank secured bond. BSP valued the list and, if it fell below the minimum, a club had to lodge additional cash to make up the minimum. An example of this was in 2013 when Glasgow changed ownership, BSPA advised that the rider value was insufficient. We challenged this and asked for the Management Committee’s valuation but they wouldn’t tell us. Instead we had to find the extra cash. A rider on a club’s retained list can be loaned out for a fee which was calculated as a rate per point multiplied by their average. There was a sliding scale so the higher the average, the greater the rate. I don’t remember the numbers, but my recollection is that a reserve or second string in the lower league would be a few hundred whereas a heat leader in the top league would be many thousands. Purchasing a rider would then either save you a loan fee or allow you to lend him out. The “value” of a rider could therefore be assessed as what you might save or earn from the rider over how many years you might expect him to ride for you. That’s it at its most simplistic, of course - having first call on a rider might be beneficial in team building, but how do you value that? One of the benefits of the system was that being able to sell riders helped to balance the books and some teams, like Scunthorpe and Edinburgh have been particularly good at unearthing riders with potential that they could nurture for future sale. For rider values to keep increasing, then so do loan fees but they have remained static for many years and, in hopefully a one-off for this year, have been reduced to very little. This then means that the transfer market has been largely inactive for some time - why pay thousands for a rider when you can loan him for a few hundred? The reason behind clubs having to have a minimum value in their retained list was, in the case of a financial default, the riders could be sold to cover some or all of the deficit. The flaw in that is that, as only clubs can buy the riders, then the deficit is covered within the system - no new money comes in A solution would be to wind down loan fees and wind up bond amounts. That way, cash would be available instantly rather than there having to be an auction of riders. Now to the accounting procedures: firstly, the answer to whether you buy the riders registrations when you buy the licence is yes. You are purchasing something that will either earn you or save you money, so why should you get it for nothing? And now to assets. The best definition I can find is: As holding a rider’s registration does provide a future benefit, then, if you believe that benefit will last more than one year, it is reasonable to capitalise the purchase cost and write the value off over a period The question then is what period? My guess is that the maximum should be four years but, as accounting rules mean that you have to consider values annually, then the period chosen could be shortened or increased. My final point - the above is based on how things were when I was a promoter. I handed my licence back in 2018 and many things have changed since then. Whether the rules on retained lists are part of the changes, I know not

Luckily I live in Exeter so can knock off 40!!

Because there are only 6 teams in the so called league

Not a case of fingers in ears or attending meetings mate. Get real speedway is on the decline because all the promoters are in it for themselves. The 70s and 80s are not coming back it is what it is. Look at the stadiums look at the age of the people attending the sport is on its arse and will get no better. Open your eyes to the results Ipswich lost 3 at home thats 9 points your not getting. Anders Rowe helped us get 3 points last night and your blaming the poor lad for Ipswich not making the play offs ??? Look at the world it’s riddled with covid and your worried about a guest reserve. Jesus get real !!!!!!!!!

I don’t expect the site is guilty of either of those things. I think it’s clear that you don’t wish to use the site, which is your decision, but your negative scaremongering isn’t helpful. All Clubs are relying heavily (if not exclusively) on on-line bookings for another few weeks - we should be encouraging people to book. Have you raised your concerns with the Birmingham promotion or the booking company - or simply posted repeatedly on here? I’m sure the Club would be happy to set your mind at rest given the opportunity.

Seems to me that these comments are very unfair. It can't be much fun for a 17 year old who can't speak much English, to be stranded in a foreign country and suddenly finding himself out of a job? I Don't doubt that Plymouth painted him a rosy picture of what he could expect if he signed for them so I can only sympathise with his current predicament.

Watching your team away is great but rain is a b—-er. As a family we have travelled to watch Poole at Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Edinburgh only to be rained off. However most away matches have been fine. Never the less it never stopped us travelling. Don’t do it now as age creeps up but would not have missed it.

I think you missed off a zero there bruv...

If we have to take Bates then it's £20k

Scunthorpe got the maximum they could ............... 3pts for the win. We do NOT want to go back to the old style 2pts for win, 3pts for win by 8? or more, suiting technical tracks or unfair track preparation. Berwick deserved their point.

Asked this at a fans forum a few years ago now. Answer I was given-: Each Club has an asset list and riders have notional values. Each Club has to have a certain target within that asset list if above it it's fine, if below it they have to top it up each year with a cash payment to BSPL. That's why some Clubs sign young assets, adds value to their list and reduces cash payment to top that list up to required level. Before Covid Clubs pay loan fees based on a % of rider average. So if a Poole Asset (Poole have by far biggest asset base allegedly) with an average of 5 is loaned to another Club annual loan fee is about 1.5 x that...so about £750 a year the loaning club has to pay the lending club. Higher the average higher the fee. NDL Clubs get a "training fee" again based on NDL average if a rider they have signed is given contract by a CL/PL Club (at time i was told that NDL Clubs could not sign assets, I think that changed though in 2018 or 2019) (this was correct as I understand it in 2017 not sure if still the case)

Just watched Zielona Gora v Czestochowa recorded on Freesports. Fantastic advert for the sport. There appeared to be a great atmosphere in the stadium and the racing was top notch for the most part. I don't think there was any R/R or guest riders but admitedly I did fast forward as there were long gaps between blocks of heats. Maybe for TV but certainly too long even if the 15 minutes of action were mostly fantastic. I'd definitely pay £25+ to see action of that standard and I imagine if someone new to speedway watched it I'm sure it would have caught their interest. Notwithstanding the length of time the meeting took. Unfortunately this is the benchmark British speedway is up against and it doesn't compare favourably. Even if you could attract the big names back plenty of tracks are just not conducive to modern racing and/or the stadiums are basic. I can only imagine if someone new to speedway had watched that match on Freesports and thought they'd fancy watching some live action in the UK they'd end up feeling disappointed. I know there is no magic wand to resolve this but I've said before, if you can't beat them join them. Once people decide freedom is worth the risk again if you could enter Belle Vue into the Polish League there'd at least be some top level action supporters could access in this country. Maybe if it was successful in attracting visitors to Manchester other local authorities might be interested in having a similar facility? However fanciful that might seem right now. Of course it would undermine the position of the Premiership being the top level of sport in the country but that might just temper expectation. Although I'm not sure what that would mean for the pricing. My general point is that the sport needs to find away of being able to provide a product of comparible standard if there is any chance of attracting a new audience.

There is 3 months left of this season plus a 6 month close season. In that time there will be a number of BSPL meetings and an official agm Time for at least 3 sets of rules and regs to be devised,manipulated and dropped before implementing plan z for 2022 which almost certainly will mean stage 2 of this seasons 5 year plan being shelved in favour of the latest scheme that favours certain quarters

As I raised on the thread it’s bloody ridiculous that a rider who wasn’t selected as a RS by Ipswich ( I accept he is on the list) was then allowed to guest for a rising star (who in all probability shouldn’t have been) when he had an official MA which was above both the RS he was replacing and another rider in the teams 1-5. Its this skewed rule bending where one rule says he can do it and another says he cannot that infuriates me and our authorities allow it to happen. The SCB official should have said no and that’s the end of it. As has been said not only that but it further shafts his own team Ipswich who are now struggling to catch Sheffield to make the play offs. Some could argue that it’s swings and roundabouts especially after the last episode which allowed Cook & Starke to sign for Ipswich in the recent declaration as Cooks July GSA was ignored in favour of his June figure. But personally I like to see things done properly and without the underhand tactics this sport of ours is continually blighted by. Rowe’s guest bookings going forward are surely going to be busy now as he undoubtedly will replace Bates, Brennan and Mountain as regularly as his other team commitments allow, with the aforementioned trio likely to be unluckily smitten with various injuries and illnesses as and when the situation arises. I dare say the BSPL PR manager will surely come on to say it’s perfectly within the rules as they are written but when the rule book throws up anomalies like this it should be sorted and quickly by the SCB. I think going forward it would be a good idea if the BSP suggests rule changes to the SCB that they want, but these are then written by an SCB official not connected with any club.

We're in new ground for this kind of thing . We had tickets for Berwick v Glasgow last Saturday, which was rained off , and we got refunded by the Tuesday without having to do anything . I'm sure Glasgow will be the same , just keep an eye on your bank account

I have watched every streamed meeting shown in the past two seasons. If they are filmed on mobile phones then they are very good phones. If I pay Edinburgh £11.99 I know I'm doing my bit to help then survive Covid. I also have for more interest in their meetings and those of the other streamers than One Sport's contrived offering. It's not all about the price. Sometimes it's about principles and value for money, certainly not gullibility or foolishness as you imply. Are you sure you can cancel the Player after one month?

Decent meeting so far. Cracking coverage on the Eurosport player. Good value at 6.99 for a month covering all 4 rounds as well. Especially when you consider that people will pay upwards of a tenner for a British meeting filmed on a mobile phone.

Great ride by Lambert.

Too much pain in his knee

Always

Just watched the interview and some interesting anecdotes...not surprised he wasn't a fan of Oxford's track as he was dropped during the 1994 season due to poor form! Neil Evitts wasn't one of his favourite opponents...now there's a surprise!

It was fair for about an hour. Started light rain again now.

Let’s hope that from 19th July all the restrictions are removed and everyone can go back to paying at the turnstiles - problem solved. I’ll look out for ‘uk_martin’ in shades and camouflage trying not to be seen :-)

Lol……Karma. My wife and I were in Devon for the rained off Plymouth/Glasgow meeting but at least we hadn’t travelled specifically to attend. Feel for you Redflag but don’t let it put you off….do please make a return visit.

I have never ridden a speedway bike but I used to ride a bike on the road (Jawa CZ 250cc Twin and then Honda 400cc Dream). Driving rain was never a problem with visibility but a fine mist could make things very difficult. In fact the only things I came across that was worse was driving snow, a low sun ahead of you and the occasional idiot who put their main beam back on about 30 yards before they passed you in the opposite direction. I say this remembering that I had a screen in front of me, tarmac rather than shale under my wheels and brakes to slow down and stop with. If most of the riders at a meeting say they can't see properly then I would never argue with them.

I think a good option would be a permanent switch for a £10k fee

Once a meeting at Craven Park Hull in 1999 was rained off, I should say 'monsooned off'. As I drove into CP car park you know those videos of folk on a Niagra Falls boat trip and they ride under a wall of water, it was just like that. 20-odd year ago rain offs apart, I also recall in Scunny's CL days, the fixtures fell, CL, KOC, rain off replay?, that Plymouth visited 2 or maybe even 3 consecutive weeks. Now compared to Glasgow Scunny is relatively 'just up the road' but, each time half or dozen or more Plymouth fans turned up wearing team caps, most with 'red devil' capes. Good stuff....

Sorry you had a wasted journey , was brilliant sunshine all week up until ten minutes before the tapes were due to go up . Nobody could really believe how hard it came down , we stayed for a few pints and within an hour the track could have probably held racing , bit too late though . Hope you can manage back one day and actually get to see some racing on our fantastic track

There’s a Haribo shortage?? Oh no!

Thanks. I will give up now as I can't afford to add the Eurosport Player to what I can watch. It was during the live match last Monday that Abi Stephen's (?) announced it was going to be on Eurosport - no mention of the Player - and my hopes rose!

In fairness I'm glad leon didn't ride in 12 was a nightmare for the Mechanics doing heats 1,2,4 would of also been 11,12,14 ran me raggged

I think Sam Hagon will be at reserve next year. and we need fresh blood only two I would keep from this season Lawson and Jorgensen

Sorry auto correct !!

It’s sad that a topic about a meeting which was entertaining and seemingly accepted to be a “good” meeting, has to descend into the usual our sport is crap debate… maybe that’s why it’s on its arse

In the 'days of yore'.. Number one riders in a 13 heat match would run a minimum 9 point average with the top ten running 10 and 11 plus... Often meaning (particularly away from home) the likes of Mauger, Olsen Collins, et al would score 13 to 15 a night (with a TAC sub 'gimme' against a second string and reserve included).. And every team had a 'proper No1... As you only needed to score 39 to get s draw it meant that the "Number Ones" were vital and 100% integral to the teams success, with, even on a bad night, a double figure score of just 10 was often more than 25% of a teams' total... Meaning that if they were missing then, so fundamental were they, that a replacement of a similar standard was needed.. Now teams have seven point men at No1, with five point men as second strings... If ever Speedway (in the UK) was going to dispense with the guest system (and with it remember, it can never hope to succeed), it should have been now, given the closeness in standard of the riders in each team.. Last week for example, Ipswich at Sheffield should have been allowed to have Cook and King take all Crumps rides up to a max seven each (if that was what the manager wanted).. Meaning the meeting (and competition) kept its credibility, the Ipswich riders (not non Ipswich riders), got to earn more money, and the team ethos and spirit was protected.. Not to mention the guest themselves don't get accused of trying too hard which penalises his own team or throwing the meeting to protect his own team... Imagine if the sport did get major coverage explaining either of those scenarios post meeting to a watching audience...?

The 2020 rulebook was revised by the SCB Chairman and others, proposed changes and ideas come from the BSPL via their directors. The SCB are not powerless although some parts of ratify undoubtedly happens. I wouldn’t argue with your third point in principle apart from the rulebook is in his head.

Agreed , but the so called top league is a bit of a nonsense

It is a bit of a farce to be honest.

The Star will not print anything controversial that criticises the BSPL or the SCB , they won’t bite the hand that feeds them.

links for tomorrow http://www.drhtv.com.pl/drhtv-2.html http://www.maniak.tv/mk9

Cook going back to Lynn as a Witch , Heeps with a point to prove for being dropped by the Witches , Local derby match , every team deserves a share of being shown with sponsors in mind .

Should be a £1 discount according to the rules. Surely you kind folk can let them off, considering the clubs circumstances.