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Do Poole fans get a Matt Ford christmas hamper voucher everytime they big up a Pirates rider., must give out hundreds this time of year

That's their choice. I've followed speedway for over 50 years and watched it been totally decayed by mismanagement and greed over the years. British Speedway has gone from being the jewel in the crown that riders from every nation wanted to ride with 20 teams in the top division all featuring at least one, if not two, WORLD CLASS riders down to a Mickey Mouse level where even top Brits are posted missing. The BSPA oversee year after year of embarrassing errors and as long as promoters own team come out smelling of roses then that's OK. The only way British Speedway will grow and improve is when a totally independent administration takes control. And if I can't be arsed then maybe it's because I have finally got my priorities sorted.

It may well be diluted and at present some say poorly run or run with self interest in mind. However it is still with us and those who chose are able to do so whether in person or streaming. In 1980 there were 20 teams in the equivalent of the CL and now it looks as if we are down to 9 so we are not exactly in the golden age for Speedway - but we are still here. There are clearly a huge number of factors involved in how we have arrived at where we are. At present there appear to be only temporary sticking plaster solutions to keep us jogging along until someone comes up with a grand plan to turn things around. Debatable if that will be possible and even less likely if support further diminishes so it is vital to hold on to and consolidate what we are working with at present. Some say costs are too high and poor value @ £20 or whatever for 90 minutes stood outside and only 15 minutes racing, but that is what Speedway has always been - except delete 20 and insert applicable substitute. Anyone old enough to remember the early 60's may recall that kids got in for the equivalent of 7.5p and adults about 12.5 p and riders could well have been on 50p a point if they were lucky ( Alan Weeks on BBC TV once mentioned that Barry Briggs got 10 bob ( 50 p ) a point ). Point being this is 2022 and it costs what it costs to run a Speedway meeting and keep a club afloat. Where are we now - max. £90 a point "capped" - suggests one heck of an income required to keep in business. Have never been a great subscriber to this "value" argument. Everything's relative on that score i.e. some ( not all ) may easily spend £20 on an evening and p**s it all against a wall never giving it another thought - it's all down to personal choice and rightly so, Only saying !

He was one of many. The EOES needs shale, not clay...

I think the 21 year gap that OGT pointed out, has had the biggest impact.... Also, the stadium isn't great for watching speedway (IMO) and the location is a nightmare at times..... I dread travelling to the area.

Lawson has been a fantastic rider in the championship for many years now. Don't get all this talk about number ones, an out and out number one is a rider who leads from the front and wins the big heats and Lawson is one of those.

For me it sums up that running a speedway club is expensive. I struggle to understand why promoters and riders aren’t actively trying to make running it cheaper. It seems a no brainer to me.

I can not believe they picked Allen over mountain. Absolute shocker that. sums up British speedway when a Brit improves but means they are penalised

It could also cause problems if one of them gate as the top riders generally leave a racing line Open for an opponent

Thought Lee worked on railways so hardly full time maybe they could go when he's on strike again

Lynn too.

Not bad as you get 13 free programmes, and are able to watch 3 races per meeting from the centre green which i think is usually a fiver. You can also buy a riders kevlars before the season starts for £300, have you name on them if you wish, and you get them at the end of the season. Not bad if thats your thing.

because it would require some radical decisions that they seem unable to make. The dog should be wagging the tail but the reverse is the current situation.

That's not a bad deal on a season ticket.Didn't realise you got your programmes chucked in with the price.I may decide to get a season ticket this season,something I haven't done for about 30 years.

Personally I think Mountain is on the way up and Allen is on the way down .

Mr Tomalin is obviously a very shrewd businessman, so he will be aware that if he can't find a new site quick, he will lease the speedway for next season, & try to secure the new site in 2024.

How many different 1 to 7 is that you have put together,,,, must be an all time record.

That would make an unbelievable gift for the youngsters! If I’d have managed to get a pair of Siggy’s leathers back in the day when he was my idol growing up, that would have been something I’d have treasured.

And closed with in 6 weeks!

Emil - 8.00 Sedge 4.44 Holder 7.16 Basso 6.83 Artem - 8.00 Cook 4.06 Jenkins RS Total: 38.49

……..and the inexperience could could possibly cause some strung out racing which isn’t ideal.

And there lies the problem. We have a standard that we can't afford. Championship Riders should be semi professional and certainly shouldn't have paid mechanics. Riders were paid £1 a point in the Provincial League in 1964. This equates to about £25 at today's prices. On this basis £90 sounds too much. Riders were semi professional, all but the top men had day jobs. All riders just had one bike. If it blew then they used the track spare or were out for the night.

Buster doesn't own the land. However why would you buy Peterborough speedway without having a site secured to develop a new stadium when you lose your current home? That would seem like good business sense to me.

Flappy said last week that it was being held up by the purchase of some land for a new circuit....no reason to disbelieve that.

No they won't be. They are only allowed to race in Poland, as it's against Polish law to discriminate against their own citizens - both hold Polish citizenship.

I think it will be Rasmus Jensen or tungate personally.

Was 2022 really a Failure for Ipswich? They finished 2nd in the league, won the pairs. Their first trophy for years. Yet it would seem because they missed out in the play off semi final to the eventual winners, they failed? I guess to some they did, but those people would very hard to please ever. The Wolves thing, I agree, They were weak at reserve, and have done exactly the same this year compared to other teams. They said that was their achilles heal, and yet could have employed the likes of Hans Andersen at reserve had they set up slightly differently.

Not enough people are interested in speedway and in any case, why would they be? What aspect of the sport would attract people who know nothing about it and have probably never even heard of it? The sport was lost to the city for 21 years, that's a lot of existing and potential fans lost to something else. The first few seasons back were fairly successful, crowd and team wise, then it kind of came of the rails and has struggled to repeat the "glory days" since. Football is the king really, Villa, Blues, Albion and Walsall all within easy reach. That's where the sporting interest largely is. Edgbaston come the 20/20 stuff too, packed out.

Jenkins, Edwards and Thomas all improved over the season after getting there initial first chances at being an RS , They should all improve further in 2023 just as Flint did in his second season of being an RS I was a bit critical of 000Jenkins at Peterborough but he made me eat my words so be prepared to admit you were wrong also Gilkes will take a few scalps as well

Yeah but there’s no rider guarantees this year so that’ll sort this whole mess right out…

Fully agree. Each and every off season, fans hope things behind the scenes have a huge shake up and things are promised yet nothing ever improves, only gets worse. Its alarming how bad the sport has became in the UK now whilst other motorsports seem to be thriving.

Birmingham just never seem to be able to make it work, how many different promotions have tried and failed there? For such a large city, you'd think crowds would be higher. Looking at the team building for this season, its hard to see that changing in 2023 either. Looks like they've splashed the cash on their number one and don't seem bothered about the rest.

100% Lynn's season really is dependent on 1 rider. He's anywhere between a 9 or 5 average, that's massive for the season. As for the 5 figure sum, I wouldn't be too concerned as that could just be £200.01

We will always savour 2019 when we won 37-53 at Ashfield though.

I have no problem spelling what I call him - 4 letters , begins with C......

All well and good being 10 mins away but coming last kills confidence it's far to early for him

Oh interesting.

Richie Worral named in the next 48hrs and then Batch on Monday Roll on 2023

Did it say 'limited numbers of guarantees'? Or just 'limited guarantees' - meaning the financial amount?

Things have gone quiet on the Leicester team completion front. Is Connor Mountain in or not? Is he good enough and ready enough to step up to being a No 6? He seems like a six and a half to me. Is that good enough to carry the extra points scoring responsibility with a very inexperienced No.7 under his wing? He's got an ideal chance now to really kick on in the CL, and if so could get plenty of guest bookings in that league.

I make it 5 I know you probably will anyway but could you keep us updated on likely TV/ streaming options for the 4 rounds.

Perfectly happy to see King back - he tries and doesn't give up - he did adopt some off racing lines last year when trying to get points from the back ie outside line - for all thiose saying certain riders give up when not first he isnt one of them!

Hi Ben, Thanks for the update. I look forward to BSN 2023 in my Conservatory as it replaces my much-loved Cradley Heathens Season Ticket. Hope Hayley, Paul, Greg and Adam are back next year too. Regards, Bernie

Reports suggest that this is his last season before retirement and he wants a final year riding in the UK so unless he injures himself like PK I can't see any reason why he won't start the season. Whether he finishes it is up for debate but time will tell, he starts with a clean slate for me.

You will find Poole fans do takeover a thread

Yeah I agree, but my struggle with Berwick is TJ on an average 1.5-2 points above what it should be so in my head your team is built lower. That and will the rooboy come back the same rider as was at Poole? I know you could maybe say they same for Edinburgh that lasse and hooks true averages would bring them down as well. But imo they'll at least achieve those averages this season whereas almost impossible for TJ to hit his.

Early impressions for me from announced and suggested teams would be a top four of Glasgow, Poole, Redcar and Oxford; a bottom two of Berwick & Brum with Edinburgh, Plymouth and Scunny scrapping it out for last two Play Off spots. Just my opinion of course, no jumping up and down or getting upset folks, I'm usually wrong

Connor held his own at reserve for Sheffield and would be able to handle the number 6 spot. Regularly won heat 2 home or away and picked up plenty of scalps in heats 4 and latter heats

Bomber just announced for Glasgow

Speedway (albeit on a much lesser scale) is no different to football. The clubs withe richest owners, biggest sponsors and profitable businesses to subsidise them are the clubs who do all the winning and own a large rider asset base. Gate receipts at those clubs will never cover the costs of riders "pay packages" and all the other associated operating costs. When these owners lose interest or they wish to concentrate on running their businesses , the club folds often with large debts. Belle Vue bought the Premier League p.off title by affording a large fee for a guest. Poole have always been able to offer their overseas riders an accommodation package and other benefits courtesy of their promoters hotel. There cannot be a single PL or CL club running today that is honestly a viable business, without being propped up by sponsorship and subsidy every season. Unless there is a sudden resurgence in crowd levels to that of 20 years ago - nothing will change.