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I just want to say congratulations to Mark and his team at Plymouth in achieving something really quite special this season for speedway in the West Country. Mark has truly worked his socks off, like us he gives literally all that he has in trying to ensure that fans, riders, sponsors and officials have a brilliant night out - he has delivered. He takes pride in his events, pride in his stadium, pride in his "show". People of Plymouth, be proud because you have a good one here and you are now starting to see the acorn Mark planted grow in to an Oak. Businesses are starting hear of the Gladiators, and now have pride in aligning their brand with your club, fans are flocking back, great food, great service, good people. Long may it continue. Congratulations.

So according to a Craig Cook tweet,,,he had family issues,,, not mental health issues. Bit silly of Ipswich putting out statements that are not true. Or was that the only way of getting a facility? Very strange indeed

Whatever format the league(s) take next year, Plymouth will be competing and Richard will be riding. Surely some positivity is exactly what speedway needs at the moment. 21 league season not yet over and already we can’t wait for the next one down here.. Carry on breaking with speedway convention Mark. We love it.

Good attendance ,great racing, great track no issues at all,slick presentation, early start to team building for 2022,Good get together afterwards around the bbq polish sausage very popular with riders and fans. No begging bowl at Plymouth not bankrupt as many predicted riders wanting to ride for us as they know they will get paid bring on next season.

So 8,000 fans in a stadium open to the elements over two nights is more appealing than 40,000 on one night? I don't think so.

Bottom line is Cook withheld his services for whatever reason and clearly Ipswich reported that and rightly got a facility. The upshot of that is Riders are then given generally a 7 day suspension or longer depending on circumstances, as the Ipswich press release says his return is subject to SCB approval. A lot of the problem is clubs don’t properly explain riders absences, Pedersen and Palin are missing for the Panthers, nothings been said explaining why, either by Peterborough Plymouth or Scunthorpe. Its doesn’t help but fuel suspicion and rumour on the internet.

Pleased to see Plymouth on the upward spiral mate another forward thinking promotion with a vision can only be a good thing. Top signing in Richard Lawson also for next season things are looking good for the future down Plymouth way well done .

Thought that was the norm now in 21st UK league speedway .... that and regular delays and oh tractor racing. Usually get one good "race" and that's "worth the admission money alone" That's why I rarely go to meetings nowadays.

You'd know

Could be drone footage of Boris Johnsons head An overgrown area covering an unused facility

It took you 6 pages to tell us we only need 1 page

Yes they bloody do!

I get bored watching live speedway on TV, long breaks for adverts, plus riders taking an age to get settled into their start positions for races! Watching it after means you can fast forward lots of wasted time!

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Give it up for the 2021 Division Two Play Off Champions!".... "The Glasgow"... "Tigers/Monarchs/Bandits/Bears/Diamonds/Scorpions/Lions/Eagles/Gladiators/Kings/Brummies/Pirates" (Pause for a deep breath)... "And now let's hear it for your fantastic 2021 Division Two Runners up who pushed them all the way"... "The Poole".... (Another deep breath)... "Pirates/Monarchs/Bandits/Bears/Diamonds/Scorpions/Lions/Eagles/Gladiators/Kings/Brummies/Tigers"... You would need a couple of big old winners and runners up trophies to fit that on the roll of honour of them wouldn't you? And also need around 50 of each of the winners and losers medals.... With plenty of lads being awarded both... !!

At the end of the does it REALLY matter ,whoever wins the league,at the end of the day there won’t be enough room on the Trophy for all the guests that all the Teams have used. It’s all a bit farcical really.

I would expect the second tier to be a cross between the championship and the NDL. The poorer relations to move 'down'.

Thirty seconds of applause at the NSS on Monday in memory of Taffy.

Realistically its a big catchment area, if theyve survived crump and bjarne they should survive lawson et all

Let’s pick some of the bones out of your argument. Redcar struggled for a decent crowd because of Havelock, his demeanour towards the fans and his budget for the team reducing the product to a bottom of the league regulars. A new promoter came in, used the same budget but with a complete different mindset in producing excitement around the place and doubled the crowd and more. The new management trio have continued on with that trend and made it even more successful. Do you not think Redcar pay rent to the council for the STMP? Everything inside the stadium belongs to the club , it was just a rubbish tip when the track was constructed and, unlike Brough Park, not a structure was standing so Redcar have built from scratch. Access to revenue streams….yes they have, through their own efforts. They only took over complete catering in 2020 . Sponsors….all clubs are responsible for generating their own so that’s down to the club to source. Watered down product …promoters choice, just like the clubs management structure, Redcar have a team that works, how many staff did Grant get rid off/ bring in to help ? His choice. Redcar were in the doldrums, but turned it around with positive, enthusiastic management from 2017 onwards using exactly the same budget that Havelock had. They have shown it can be done. Newcastle , take away the non disclosed debts they inherited, which should have been identified, have no different challenges to any other club this COVID affected year but I do understand Grant walking away from the stress of running a speedway club as even the Redcar management , who are all volunteers, are finding it very stressful in these challenging times.

You need to be a headcase to ride a speedway bike don't you?

I would suggest 9 from 4 completed rides is far from” not showing up”.Every point matters for different reasons.IMO.

Chris Harris not showing up in the big meetings. How glad I am he's someone else's problem

Yep. He missed 3 (?)years when he should have been at his peak. Typically racers, as opposed to gaters, have struggled to be as successful later in their career. (Gollob is an exception).

People just love to have a moan don't they...

Take Chris Harris as an example 23rd August rides for Peterborough, 25th August rides for Birmingham & finally 26th August rides for Ipswich. Anyone who can't see the issue with that or defends it are part of the reason this sport in the UK is finished it's utterly crazy & provides no credibility end of!!

the horse has already bolted on this one, we're much too far down the line to make any changes now

To be honest I never saw any problem with that when there were simply too many clubs... Instead, at that time, this natural evolutionary process that strengthens any species or entity, was completely ignored and everything was done to keep everyone going, no matter the impact to entertainment level, and league credibility. .. Now it's very much a different time and clubs are being removed from the UK map at an alarming rate, therefore all Promoters need to work together and support their "weakest links"... As without them all inevitably will end up disappearing too..

If next season remains the same as this, more track closures will be inevitable. Maybe the survival of the fittest, is the master plan.

Perhaps it could signal the start of a more formal breakaway from the establishment

Even though I live in Yorkshire I have kind of adopted Plymouth as my Championship team and always look out for their results. They seem to have had a successful year so far so well done to everyone concerned. The other team I have a soft spot for is Berwick. Here's hoping both teams can look forward to a successful 2022!

So if its two divisions (plus the NDL) you have a Champtionship No1. If divisions are merged, so its one professional league and an NDL you have a No1. Err no brainer IMHO. He rides Plymouth well, and whatever pans out in the Winter the club have secured a Number 1 for next year. Well done to all concerned.

All I read is positivity from the club so it isn’t a surprise really. If a top rider becomes available you would like to think your club would try and sign the rider, especially if Pedersen does retire.

Deadline has been extended is my understanding. Covid has caused a lot of disruption in the speedway world.

Do you think there will be middle tier next season.Surely not.

This does ask the obvious question. Why bother with a young Danish rider whose club rides on a Wednesday causing a direct clash with our home meetings? There’s no doubt he is a talent and a top rider in the future, but if he can’t ride in the U.K. on Wednesdays during the Danish season, he’s going to be of little use to our club.

Oh I remember..sure was day after scored about 6 for us. Language my old man used that night could never be repeated ha

Yes Danny King was on the gas and did make a couple of great passes however, I didn't think the racing was that good apart from Kings overtakes it was from the gate and spread out. No sour grapes well done to the Brummies.

never watch speedway on tv live chris,use sky plus and usually start watching an hour after the start time,skip adverts (and some other parts!)

Bit late now but think Perry Barr train station is shut due to infrastructure upgrades due to Commonwealth Games. My work colleague who is a Villa fan living in Dudley moans about it allot. Seen the odd Pugwasher but not like the army that visited Monmore/Brandon in the mid naughties. Looking forward to seeing how Hume has developed, had a few good outings as a guest for Brummies in 2019. Poole to win by 10.

Don't forget, as you keep reminding us, we are the Man Utd of speedway

I here the BSPA opening a Go Fund Me page,the get some cash for all the medals they need for the Winners.

Please do not feed the troll.

When you see the repeated dross that’s served up in the GP,s this year it’s not hard to see why people are giving up on it, if going forward Eurosport put this on subscription channels I can think of a few more that won’t bother including me.

We almost nearly kind of do have the riders though, it's just that they aren't given the chance. Look at Jason Edwards, binned from Eastbourne and binned from Plymouth in favour of a rider from the upper league. BV elect to go for NBJ instead of a home grown rider... and they operate a NDL "feeder" team!!!! Just 2 examples, there'll be loads of others from the last few years

So hiring and installing a track in London costs the same as hiring the likes of Mallila, Vojens etc.? I think the costs involved matters to the organisers, who would want some assurances that the event will go ahead whatever the weather. It also gives assurances to travelling fans, particularly those travelling from abroad.

can't believe people still pay out to watch the GPs or SoN when getting a free VPN allows you to watch the official Speedway GP youtube link, missing out on the studio stuff but seeing more rider interviews

I don’t believe that there is a singular factor to why one club is thriving at this time and one is struggling but as has been said it’s not that long ago that Redcar were struggling themselves for crowd numbers. One of the main differences between the clubs is access to revenue streams, with Redcar being in a fortunate position to have access to the STMP to run other events outside of a match day and also gain other match day revenue through the selling of food and drink. Newcastle are at an disadvantage straight away with no chance of using the stadium outside of the usual few hours allocated for a match day and the substantial outlay needed to pay for the stadium rental. Also, some other match day sales also go into the pocket of the stadium owners rather than the club. Speedway in a majority of cities can no longer survive on gate receipts alone and in Newcastle’s case they don’t have sufficient access to other revenue streams to build up the business. That coupled with the reduction in sponsorship available due to the effect of Covid on businesses, means Newcastle budget was severely reduced. This means that Redcar have the comfort of being able to control their future financial model and have managed to build an attractive side as a result. Newcastle on the other hand have had to cut there cloth accordingly and as a result do not have a team that is as competitive. This has to my mind stopped some of the more casual supporters coming along to watch at Brough Park as they see it as a watered down product. The other element for me is that Redcar finally have the management structure that is built for success. Speedway is more than a full time job for those that run it and Redcar now have a trio running the show that knows the sport, knows the club and knows it’s supporters. Ben, Jamie and Jade have done a fantastic job and the split of the roles between the three ensure they are able to actively grow the club and focus on every aspect needed to do this successfully, from social media presence to rider development. In Newcastle case, Rob has taken on a huge challenge and, as one man with only one or two helpers then I believe certain elements have lapsed, match night production and digital communication being a couple. This again means that some supporters have drifted away either through lack of insight into the club or through the fact of the product on offer. This is no way meant as a complaint against Rob as I do believe that had Newcastle came to the tapes in 2022 under Robs ownership that we would have seen a different approach from the lessons he has learnt through a very tough first season.

I think the BSPA fail on many fronts however as a total package I struggle to see how they can upgrade from Cardiff. Wembley? Too big. Spurs, not a great area, nothing to do round the stadium. And of course neither of those have a roof. Olympic stadium possibly. I believe the roof would cover the track and at least theres the mall, bars n restaurants near. On the whole Cardiff ticks most boxes tho

I'd agree Sid....remember "The Silver Machine"? Damn awful name but If I recall Nigel Wagstaff's hands were tied as regards using the name "Cheetahs". Remember one Ipswich programme that carried the name on the front cover as Oxford "Cheatahs"...most original!

I agree with most of what had been said on this topic. The GP's in their current form just aren't doing it for me anymore. After a lengthy absence I got back into Speedway in 2014 and couldn't wait for each GP to be televised. I also went to Cardiff four times, Poland three times and twice to Prague. Great times I have to say but there is now something seriously lacking which has been evident for the past couple of years at least. The points scoring system doesn't do it for me and I think they should revert back to what it was - every point counts. There are several riders at the moment who are just making up the numbers and when they're out on track you can pretty much predict the result. There don't seem to be any riders in the Nikki P mould and the lack of any controversy seems to have taken the excitement away. In effect, the GPs are very much becoming "same old, same old" and in my view a total revamp is required. As things stand, I would much rather watch British Speedway (didn't think I'd be saying that four years ago) and I really look forward to the matches on Eurosport. The stadiums etc might not be up to much etc but most matches I've seen have had some reasonably good racing with the odd bit of controversy thrown in. I think at the end of the day I probably prefer team racing as opposed to individual events. Anyway, back to the GP's, I hope there are major changes planned for next year (different format, new stadiums etc) to get that buzz back. Fingers crossed!