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Good for Berwick, at least they are trying to fill the hole created by Eastbourne's implosion. OK it won't satisfy everyone, but nobody is being forced to go.

If the beer is watered down then yes youd hundred percent want to pay less.

Also worth noting that if you are not dashing out to leave after Heat 15 there are usually rider interviews and a rider of the night presentation, so staying to watch and listen to that can mean the car park is easier to get out of, if others have left!

Being reminded of Jack Young finding his best form so late in his career make me looks back at the New Cross team that I supported in 1961. I often think that if they could only have all been riding at the peak of their form we would have had 6 heat leaders and maybe even have challenged our near neighbours, Wimbledon for the league title. Obviously the difference in ages and riders being at different stages of their development makes this a pipe dream but there are not too many teams that can boast of having 6 world finalists in their line up with Waterman (twice runner up) and Eric Williams (fourth place in 1955) being the most successful.

I don’t even want a new stadium i just want the speedway to be back come next April.The new shape track took time to bed in but fair play to the management it ended up creating some great racing Doyley/ Rasmus being terrific from the back.Hand on heart we have all been skanked here cannot see speedway coming back hope i am wrong.Of course all speedway fans want us to survive but the two I feel sorry for are Alun/Lee they are just like us in the dark.I just feel a bit of honesty is owed to us the Swindon fans in reality the situation now is seriously taking the p…. out of us.

It had nothing to do with the "Budget set out!" as has been pointed out numerous times... Regards THJ

I’m sorry this is not a gossip site to discuss what allegedly happened. It was a good night, singer was very entertaining and the riders in attendance were very happily chatting to the fans.

Drove to Glasgow on Friday for a meeting. Drove back Saturday (8hrs+) to Leicester. Didnt see a meeting. And both rain offs were the right decision at the time they were made. The forecast was bloody awful (weather warnings on all weather apps for LE4 on Satrurday) when the decision was made and I would rather have the opportunity to make other plans rather than stand in the drizzle, watch second rate racing (due to track conditions) and possibly see a rider pick up an unnessary injury. But the one that I really hate, is the scrape to Heat Ten and get a result declaired on a track that should never be raced on. Remember you go to a meeting for a nights entertainment.

Well it is… You’re obviously not quite up to scratch with forums…

It is a League Cup match with the sides undoubtedly using reserve and youth players in the main and not their full sides . I know Baggies fans who are not bothering to go to watch it . We need positive posts telling people how good a meeting it was last week with the dust problems of the previous week sorted and John Priest getting the track sorted .

This team is the weakest of the bunch but has plenty of fight in it, pleased with that point and the effort put in to get it.

Hi Lisa .. there is certainly a desire to bring the press conference back whenever the Champs Bar becomes available (including this year if possible). Until that happens we will continue to interview riders after the meeting at the start line. We did think this would be a popular alternative as it was immediate rather than having to wait for riders and fans to assemble in another place.

The car park does fill up quickly, but it is a decent enough size considering the stadium isn't far off the town centre. Wimborne Road is a pretty long road, and there are quite a few side roads to possibly park down if you get stuck. But if you aim to get to the stadium for 6pm then you should be okay. I never get there til about 6.45 and there are only a few spaces left then. But it is a public car park during the day not 100% sure what time it changes from public to speedway car park (i'm thinking about 6pm) It is a lot more expensive as a public car park. Last time we parked in it, it cost £1, but that was a while ago and Skidder is quoting £2.50, so we'll go with that one! No apps I don't think, I think there will be someone taking money as you drive into the car park. No youth meetings unfortuantely, probably take about 10 mins or so to get out the car park.

Fair points. My relationship with speedway has changed post lockdown. I will continue to support my two local tracks, Eastbourne and Kent, but apart from the odd trip, i don't do the miles anymore. Maybe it's an age thing, but i don't have the enthusiasm like i used to.

Honestly For the sake of everyone's sanity I am not going through this again however Visa with Travel to and from Denmark was a major issue as at first Claus said he would be residing in the UK then changed his mind and more than anything else his commitment to the club could not be guaranteed as he did not have a slot in the top league to make it truly viable for him and stated his Danish commitments would come before anything else amongst other things. As ever it is much more complicated than a throw away one line comment... the deal had been done (which wasn't cheap granted) however the other baggage that started to rack up once the deal had been done was starting to prove to be more expensive and disruptive than the actual hassle it was causing or worth but the promotion couldn't say or wouldn't say the bloke was being a tool and talking himself out of a deal now could they. IMHO I don't think there was one major single issue as such; and it was an absolute multitude of minor problems that made the promotion think again and all have been discussed "ad nauseam" on a multitude of threads on here... Regards THJ

They've got to decide whether they're running a sport or 20 or so individual businesses... not just on this but a whole heap of topics

Doesn’t matter how many times it’s said. Most people will believe what they want.

I agree. Many on here blame the riders for holding the sport to ransom and insisting on huge wages. the promoters always make their case for being the victims. Yet I can recall at least 3 attempts in the last 10 years when the promoters have agreed on a pay cap and then within literally weeks of agreeing it, one or two of them have gone way outside the agreement to get one over on the others. You can't blame a rider for being paid what one idiot is prepared to pay them. It's a bit like someone refusing a pay rise insisting they are not worth it. It's the idiot prepared to pay them an inflated wage in one breath and then moan about it in the next. Can you imagine any other place of work where if you weren't being paid, so you refused to work because the terms of your contract had been broken, the people owing you money could stop you working elsewhere? Speedway in the UK is run INSPITE of the people who run it, not because of.

Don't Eurosport have form for editing out the races and leaving in all the guff!!

It’s the pay rates for these “dropping a league “ riders that’s the problem.

And it would given them time to edit out all the delays between races too.. A much more snappy, fast paced programme..

What is Batchelor doing at this level, other than making easy money of course? Nice to see Max Clegg back to 2019 form.

They could still record it and play it on the Monday night but let the fans and riders have their day back. A Sunday afternoon might be better for a bigger crowd and youngsters.

Apologies my mistake ….. Eastbourne Eagles Limited. Company number 11727388.

Those that are complaining are assuming that the track is dry and perfect just sitting there waiting to be ridden on before rain appears. Clubs do read weather forecasts days in advance of a meeting. A wet track will still be a wet track with only a little light rain. If its chucked it down for 4 days but is dryer on the fifth day it will still be wet.

If only we could get our Speedway as intense and as meaningful.. Or even half as much... Amazing atmosphere, great full on racing, and a fantastic finish to the season.. Let the play offs begin...

Write to Gaming International at Swindon Stadium - you never know you may get a reply?!

Yes, that is true. The interviews are still very good! I did like the fans questions though as sometimes they can be a bit blunt and less diplomatic! Thanks for the response!

Wouldn't shock me if Peterborough pick Wolves. Wolves struggle at the EOES and Peterborough were very unlucky to lose at Monmore a few weeks ago. There a miles better team

True, next time they'll be telling the riders to turn round & race clockwise instead just so they match up with the graphics!

Wolves have won the play-offs 3 times, 2002,2009,2016. On none of those occasions did Wolves top the league and they always rode the second leg away. Any suspicious Wolves fans might not want to top the table !

Further to Lisa's reply the car park is £2.50 cash only, payable at the kiosk on entry. The car park is used as a hospital overflow car park during the day so is heavily used during the day until shifts change. On a weekday it usually begins to clear of hospital staff between 5.15 and 6.15pm. I usually arrive around 6 pm and park very easily with gates/turnstiles opening from 6.30pm. There are usually queues at both sets of entry. Not sure yet what is happening for the Brum meeting on Bank Holiday Sunday with a 5pm start? I expect they will announce more on Wednesday. Hope this helps

Becker has stated in programme notes that Peterborough and Glasgow are his favourite tracks over here

100% However, the level of rider being used in the 2nd tier can only inflate the overall payroll costs for all the clubs.. And as Promoters see winning at home as fundamental to any survival, all then have to pay the "going rate" for that level of rider.. If one club has that level of rider (and some have three), then others need them too... And whilst some clubs can (and are allowed to), throw massive sums on a "hobby", with actually making money not being a priority, you can only cause an over heating of the payroll spend.. Which can only end badly for some...

And that’s the type of night it was, some people won and some didn’t but we all had a good night

I seem to remember Becker scoring really well in the A fixture, he seems to be different to most Americans in that he rides big tracks well.

If you can’t make a profit on a play-off meeting you probably shouldn’t be running anyway.

Everything that speedway should be. Great move by Pawlicki .... a move worthy of winning a match.

Thought Kent would get something from this meeting 4pts in 2 away meetings not to shabby

Heat 13 was a cracker. Pawlicki has been passed by Hampel twice today. Tough call for Lublin team manager.

The weather forecast for the leicester meeting was heavy, thundery rain. It did not happen but I still think that the right decision was made.

Must be so frustrating for the riders to have what they do so well, so undermined by the infrastructure that exists... Unless of course they are happy to ride as much as possible for all and sundry and earn the money it brings? As for sponsorship? When I stated watching football my local team was owned by a scrap metal merchant and a car salesman.. The team I follow, (even then regarded as the biggest in the world) was owned by a butcher who had several shops in the Manchester area.. Advertising hoardings around the pitches were of local businesses with a few national ones thrown in.. Then clubs started to bring in CEO's, and Marketing people, and the top league broke away with its own CEO who wasn't affiliated to any team, but whose sole role was to bring revenue into the game by negotiating TV contracts and to bring in huge blue chip companies as sponsors... In short, Football brought in independent "white collar" experts in sports administration and marketing, who got paid by the success they brought in, which was measured in £'s... With many other sports doing exactly the same and moving forward hugely as a result... Speedway still uses well meaning "blue collar" owners to try and attract and negotiate with potential sponsors... However, to be fair, selling the sport with its current operating model, and ageing demographic of what is a very small fanbase, would be a huge challenge for even the best of marketeers.. I think there is a clear reason why Poland would never dream of running the sport like their UK counterparts do and that is simply if they did, the TV coverage would diminish, the major company sponsors would disappear and the fans, brought up on following a "proper team sport" and the tribalism that comes with it, would disappear too... A shame that what can be a tremendously entertaining spectacle is allowed to be undermined by its very own operating model....

Headed to Glasgow on Friday for the Leicester match and consulted 4 different weather apps. 3 said wall to wall rain and 1 said 45% chance at 4.00 p.m. then clearing up. Based on that info., the decision to call it off would appear to have been the right one. As it turned out, it wasn't, although I understand that there was heavy rain about 5 miles away from the track. Same yesterday at Leicester; the weather seems to be more localised and it's very much the luck of the draw as to whether or not the predicted rain will actually fall on the track or 10 minutes away down the road. Given riders expenses etc. getting to a meeting, there comes a time when a promotion has to make a decision. Your damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Given the fickleness of speedway fans these days the promoters have to call off meetings if the forecasts are poor! They need every paying fan they can get through the turnstiles .....

Lambert has come across as a bit thick in the GP's. His first and second bend moves have been poor and he has put himself in some awful positions generally on track which have cost him points. His gating is dire as well at the top level. Great talent but a hell of a lot of developing to do.

Thanks r nd r. Slick as buggery. Gate and go.

Just come back from a holiday on the Norfolk Broads, saw some leaflets in Roy's at Hoveton advertising banger and stock car racing with fixtures, speedway mentioned as well. Can remember offering to do some leaflets distribution around Wiltshire for Swindon, free of charge, as I was travelling round for work. One sponsor said there may be some leaflets up in the bar..... no bloody enthusiasm!!! The speedway was always well publicised in local media. Speedway, like the dogs, is a bit of a council estate sport, belongs more to 20th.century, little future unfortunately ..

He’d probably add a few to the attendances if he still rode in the UK. Just about the only box office rider there is.

I think most Lynn fans would say not very well for the last few years.

Not for me, he was decent for Lynn twenty years ago for a couple of seasons when he was young but looking at the way he cuts up and chops across his team mates in virtually every race for his Polish team wouldn't want him in my side. He divides opinion, very much a marmite rider but whereas many would describe him as hard I think he is dirty and always has been. Happy to leave absolutely no room and assume that the opponent will shut off or back out.