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It wasn't a "televised fixture" though was it? It was streamed by a streaming service that pretty much only Speedway fans know about... Non Speedway fans watching would be as rare as hens teeth... A crap meeting, or a great meeting, neither would "destroy" or "save" Speedway, as only Speedway fans, who will have seen thousands of gate and go races at their own tracks, or on TV, will be watching... Poole won, (again), and that seems to be the main problem for many non Poole followers... However. Their fans went home happy, so their promotion did their jobs well... It is their business to run how they see fit to bring the punters in... And, given their crowd numbers appear as good as any in the country, they seem to do it pretty well..

The only thing Neil cares about is winning. He doesn't care about passing or pleasing the neutrals. He's had this mentality for years and its the reason why his teams are always so successful. I don't think Neil or any Poole fans would swap any of those trophies for better racing. I certainly wouldn't. Poole have an elite winning mentality and quite frankly they laugh at everyone moaning about the track, they do not care one bit.

Well that was dire to watch. Scorpions may have come bottom of the league, but we have some great racing week in week out.To have a track that is wide with so many racing lines, is a massive plus for passing and entertainment. I'm not saying I like seeing us bottom of the league, on the contrary, but I go to watch to see good racing and feel I've had value for money.

Even though Warner/Discovery/TNT are bigger than all the competition! Personally I'm not sure that full, live speedway meetings on any channel - mainstream or others - is the way to go in order to attract more people to actually attend meetings? A Well-produced highlights package once a week, including a regular 'where-to-watch next week' slot would surely generate more interest.

Have you ever been to Buxton ?, if you have you will know it is basic and in a very beutiful part of the world, no worries about development out where they are unless you want to develop a new breed of sheep, as for being viable I think it will be providing the NDL stays as it has been for the past few years, which is primarily a development league, it was only when teams such as Cradley, Birmingham, Eastbourne used the National league as a competitive league and paid much more than the old £10 per point and mileage that forced teams such as Buxton to have to pay over the odds to entice any rider that had above average ability, prior to that Buxton was a very good nursery for young riders and Buxton generally more than held there own when silverware was up for grabs. If you have never been to Buxton I suggest you take a drive out you may be pleasantly surprised, I have NO doubts Buxton will last the season.

I disagree, one of the best ran clubs in the UK and certainly the most successful and well supported one will NOT be the reason speedway dies in this country.

Not for us Poole fans, who were the paying customers last night. As I said earlier, I doubt a Poole fan left the stadium last night disappointed in the racing. It’s a final. It’s all about winning.

😉

Rewatched the stream this morning hoping for a different outcome but unfortunately the result was the same.

I'm no fan of Poole's, and it's hardly controversial to say the track is far from what it used to be, but there have been way more boring meetings than that last night. There was still at least a handful of passes and that is a handful more than you'd get at some other places. It also gets a bit tiring listening to Harris whinge on about tracks being "diabolical" because they aren't 2ft deep in dirt. He's done it before on BSN with Leicester. You're a former GP rider in the Championship, a slick track shouldn't prevent you from beating Tobias Thomsen. It's a PO final, the track is set-up to win a meeting, not an exhbition to watch Harris flying around the outside of reserves. Overall, I think Poole will have enough. Kerr and Cook at 3/4 will probably see to that. Neither are very exciting, but they'll find their way to 7-9 each and that will probably be enough.

Is this goodbye to Abi? There’s always a silver lining.

🚨 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧! The Tiger's Academy Open will be streamed live from Ipswich for free on BSN's Facebook page, plus BSN's and Ipswich Witches' YouTube channels tonight from 7.25pm. ℹ️ The event will feature a 22 heat individual with a pairs race rounding off the evening's action. 📺 BSN YouTube: bit.ly/tigersopen1 📺 Ipswich YouTube: bit.ly/tigersopen2 📺 Facebook: bit.ly/tigersopen3 🧙‍♀️ Ipswich Witches | 🇬🇧 British Speedway

How many casual newcomers were watching last night? On a stream only Speedway fans would know existed..? And any newbies in the stadium would have been impressed I am sure by the crowd size and feel good factor of winning, (if a Poole fan).. Years ago, even at Hyde Rd, many races were often spread out and "done" by the end of lap one, yet the large crowds, with plenty of away fans in attendance, kept the atmosphere at a level where going back the next week was almost a given... Similar racing now takes place in front of hundreds, not thousands, with almost no away fans, which is why the atmosphere at tracks doesn't make it a given you will return the next meeting.... Edit... And I would suggest the many thousands of lapsed fans who follow the sport closely but don't attend their local track regularly are the target market that should be prioritised in getting to attend .. Listening to them and fixing the reasons why they no longer attend would deliver a far greater return than hoping casual newcomers become regulars...

As much as everyone loves to criticise Poole - and Mr Shovlar 😃 - he has hit the veritable nail on the head. Very few, if any, Poole fans would have left the stadium last night thinking it was a poor meeting - the Pirates won, and have given themselves a great opportunity to claim another trophy. If Glasgow win by 14 points on Friday night and it's all from the gate, will their fans care about the quality of the racing? Do whatever you need to do to send the home fans happy. And that really is all that matters.

I was at both, and Ipswich had more people in a much bigger stadium. However, many of the Ipswich fans around me were "questioning" where these people were for the rest of the season. One thing that impressed me was the amount of Lions fans at the fixture, which had you believed the media was all done and dusted. I thought it was standard Poole fodder last night. Slick track, set up to suit the home riders and supporters. Poole always strikes me as a club where from a fans perspective winning is more important than the quality of racing. I think this is different to other clubs including Belle Vue, Leicester, Scunthorpe and Redcar where the fans are more than happy with a meeting with lots of passing rather than the result. What cannot be questioned is Poole's business model, are they possibly the only track in the top two divisions to turn in a profit?

just woke up, fell asleep at heat 7. what was the score in the end 🥱

Do Poole have the wrong mindset here though?. Speedway shouldn't be all about winning right?. Speedway is about excitement from which comes entertainment, that entertainment is created from a number of variables the biggest by far being the excitement generated by riders racing and passing each other over 4 laps. Preparing tracks with the sole intention of quite simply outgating the opposition knowing races will be all over after lap 1 turn 2 just reinforces the view shared by many people that in speedway you know who is going to win after the second corner. This is just one of the reasons detrimental to more fans wanting to watch. Beware self interest and shortsightedness.

It was clear when I arrived that all the dirt had been taken off as per instructions. It was obvious that we didn’t want Bomber blasting around the outside. Why would us Pirates fans want to see that last night? Seriously? Armchair fans in Bognor Regis or Cleethorpes might be wanting it but not the fans in the big crowd at Wimborne Road. We want to see Poole rides crossing the line in heat advantages. The Poole management made the call to give themselves the maximum opportunity to come away with the biggest lead possible. In that they were successful. Let me say this. The crowd were up for it and I doubt any left frustrated over poor racing and no entertainment. They left buzzing after pulling out a decent lead. And that’s all that matters.

Riders moaning about the track, regardless of whether it is bad or not, comes across as sour grapes. Especially if it’s one of the most experienced riders out there and in a meeting of this magnitude too. Smacks of excuses. Doesn’t sound like there was much racing to speak of but it’s Poole’s prerogative how they set their track up. Remember the objective of sport is to win, entertainment is a by product. Frustrating for fans if there is no entertainment and bad for the sport overall, these crunch meetings are the ones you’d expect this to happen in though when there is the big prize on the line. Win at all costs. Perhaps in future finals are raced at neutral venues over 15 heats. The sport probably isn’t popular enough to justify that now though sadly.

I'm all for a bit of home advantage but do we really want to be preparing tracks which make overtaking virtually impossible? That's a very slippery slope. And a real shame for a showpiece meeting.

Oh good, I do love a good meltdown and boy you guys do not disappoint! Also who cares what Bomber thinks? Why are we going to prepare a track for him? Don't be stupid. Sorry Bomber but good riders can ride anything remember? It's no different to teams making it extra grippy when we turn up. Anyway it's always prepared ultra slick for Glasgow, they don't do it like that for Redcar btw 😁 Still slick but not as much as that! Anyway back to your meltdown, let me just grab the popcorn first.. Oh, good to meet you @NormskiAnother forum member ticked off the list 😁👍

The team structure therefore is the issue that needs resolving... Last year, the top tier could have ran with six man teams and made seven third heat leader level riders available to replace missing riders... Two "top riders", two second strings, and two reserves (without RS's), could be the model to follow... Most third HL's either ride in Poland/Sweden or DU (or both), so it wouldn't be like you are expecting them to buy kit in the off chance they get a place... Some argue that "what happens if a rider gets injured and a team is one rider down?"... The counter argument is, how many times does that actually happen? Less than 5% of meetings? And a fit for purpose RR/IRR facility would also mean you wouldn't need guests, or be seriously disadvantaged by losing a rider during the meeting.. "Guests were around when Speedway was popular" is something some use as a reason for keeping them or "there is no other way", and in the old 13 heat formula, when you had No1's running 10 and 11 point averages, regularly scoring between 25-30% of a teams points, then you can understand why that scoring needed replacing.. Nowadays there is less reliance on the No1 to score such a high percentage of points per match.. Any sport that wants to be taken seriously needs credibility, and also needs jeopardy... UK Speedway seems to always want to remove jeopardy by making up rules to try and negate it... The recent final had a Birmingham rider in it, to replace a second string, when a fit for purpose RR facility would have meant it not required... eg Danny King takes two rides, Dan T takes two rides.. The same last year with NKI riding for the Aces to replace a second string... Both finals pretty much being ignored by the national media, with minimum recognition from a wider public base, outside of the local community of the winners.. The sport is crying out for mainstream media acceptance and coverage, as this would send it skywards overnight in relation to where it is now.. Just an extra 500 at some tracks would double the attendances, and mainstream media coverage would surely deliver that...? And mainstream media coverage would bring in much bigger sponsors from outside the sport... To get that they have to find à way to stop using "Ahh, you see, this is Speedway" as their reason for having rules that impact the sports' credibility and start to see the sport as it should be.... An exciting, high octane, adrenaline fuelled sport, ran by and for professionals, with credibility, jeopardy, consequence and integrity... It has so much going for it, with the racing as good as ever for me, so getting it right "off track" has to be the overriding priority ..

TNT will certainly not lose any sleep if dropping Speedway.They are well into British BSB,World BSB and Moto GP. Which is run very professionally compared to their Speedway.

So in every sport you’ve gotta be entertaining and forget about winning you all make me laugh,sport is about winning which naturally brings in the fans,oh hang on a sec who won the entertainment trophy this season anyone know… As for Gavan bit rich considering ur dump of a track produces next to nothing but you won the league don’t think all of the 6000 people were complaining about the racing were they when you lifted the title.

A final in a pro sport is about WINNING.... Not entertaining... Cinema's do that.... If you get an exciting meeting as well then (for the neutral), it's a bonus.. I had a conversation with a promoter in the 90's who I was potentially going to get involved in some sponsorship with, and mentioned that the racing wasn't always up to much and when I attended Sheffield and Stoke, (which I did each week), the racing there was more entertaining... His answer was along the lines of it was all about winning as that held the home crowd levels up, and that a few meetings of entertaining racing, but losing, was a recipe for closing down.... He certainly wasnt the only promoter then, or now, with those views...

I spoke to him this morning and he said he had planned on riding in the UK next season, but changed his mind after last night. He said he’s not flying thousands of miles to play follow the leader. He said he wants to entertain fans. He also said tell LisaColette to stop talking rubbish in the Poole v Glasgow topic. He then said Ben Cook buys his race suits from Build-A-Bear.

'Entertainment' is not just about 'passing' is it? There was plenty of close races which had many in the grandstand - me included - on their feet at times! The presentation itself was quite slick I thought (except for the 1st time DJ getting his music out of sync!), all 15 heats over in 1.5 hours with only one stoppage; flashing coloured lights at the finish line, coloured smoke (blue and red) for the team introductions; crowd chants, Mexican waves, rider interviews, dedication 'shout-outs' and a Pirates win! plus a post-meeting chance for photos with the KO Cup trophy! Whats not to like? and I bet those crowds will be back to be entertained again next week for the BSN Final.😇

Would agree slick tracks suit modern machinery,the track was perfectly race able,no alarming crashes with rider picking up unexpected grip one crash all night.We can all agree or disagree on entertainment value.Should be cracking 2nd Leg.Still difficult to predict. IMO

Depends what level of football. A squad player in League 1 for example could be loaned out to a non-league side but still play for his parent club in reserve level matches. And sadly that's probably a more relevant comparison for speedway than Manchester United or Real Madrid. If you dig deep enough into any sport you'll find rules and regulations that look odd or stupid to anyone else. Again with football, we have one of the worst countries in the world in San Marino who are potentially 2 play-off games away from qualifying for the World Cup despite being bottom of their qualifying group with 0 points. Depending on other results, it might even be in their best interests to lose heavily in their last match of the group! Cricket's county championship in this country is decided by a league where teams randomly play some sides twice and others once. Several rounds of games in recent years have been played with a completely different ball which in speedway terms would be something like having to use a 250cc in some meetings. Overseas players can be brought in for one match only which could be seen as guesting. Similarly it's also becoming more common for players to play in one competition for their county side and be loaned elsewhere for another, effectively doubling-up.

Just popped on to see what my fellow Glasgow fans are saying about last night. Apart from numerous posts from one person there seems to few posts from other tigers fans. Lots of comments from other fans from other clubs. Can only assume BSN did really well from last night's stream. My thoughts, the Tigers riders tried their best, they haven't gated well all season, apart from Dan, so unlikely things would change last night. Can they win on Friday, yes. Can they win on aggregate, unlikely, but I'll be there to watch good racing in a good stadium with friendly, passionate fans. Also good to see the ref making the right call to exclude Tobias.

Plans to smuggle more dirt into Poole next year... 😉

Most of the comments defending the track seems to be suggesting Poole could either have a track that allows passing or a track that allows them to win easier. Is it not possible to have both, do the Poole promotion not think their riders are good enough to win on a track that allows passing? I'm not saying make the track designed for Bomber, but if Poole riders can't pass either, what if Glasgow gated better? I would've thought a track that allows for no passing takes away the home advantage cause anyone can win? Were Poole just extremely confident they had the best gaters / knew the best set-up to get round the first bend in front?

Even though he lowered Lawson's colours in H13. He didn't really put in a No1's performance tonight did he? He got 5-1 twice, Should have beat cook in heat 15. All in All not a good couple of days for Bomber if you take in he only scored 5pts at Redcar the other night in the semi final of the cup.

Exactly. He thinks every track should be prepared for him and if it isn't just has a paddy these days. Probably an age thing ( which i can say as born in the same year lol.)

And Bomber will moan about any track not set up for his liking, moaned about Kings Lynn track earlier in the season.

Same story as last time, kept them close then dropped it in the last 5 heats where a top heavy team is supposed to be strongest but I think it's still very doable on Friday. Impossible to pass and not that exciting to watch unfortunatly, our riders like sending it wide and pulling their arms out in some grip which you can't quite do here, they're also not gaters aside from Dan which doesn't help but that's home track advantage for you and it's up to our guys to work it out. I can imagine actually being there is a different story entertainment wise, the riders are close together and there was always threats of a pass. Add on a large crowd giving some atmosphere and it could be a great night, it just doesn't come across on stream well.

The meeting was abandoned due to curfew. The pairs race does not officially stand, although Kev on the centre green said Ipswich will recognise the result. Cooper was who most people went tonight to watch let’s be honest and he didn’t disappoint, best moves made by him and best bike control when he almost ended up on the stock car track. To finish 2nd only to a Premiership rider isn’t a bad nights work. I’m sure Mr Louis will have his eye on him. Probably a crowd of 200/300? The back straight stand was almost empty with everyone choosing to stand on bends one and two which is normally underneath the cameras, or in the smaller start line stand, I was there so can’t say how it looked on TV. Ipswich held the best 2025 crowd last week (including Manchester SGP), tonight was more like our equivalent crowd for SoN 😂

Can’t say I’m really sad about TNT, imo they have done nothing to better the sport

A Wembley football final is a neutral venue. In a 2-legged speedway final, the 2nd leg track has an advantage if it goes to a Superheat so the 1st leg track will do what is best for its riders to gain as big a points advantage as it can.!

A lot of GPs are gate and go, and the all the riders turn up and just have to get on and deal with it.

Really I doubt Tony R had any issues with any track, he loved riding at Poole and we all loved having him.

Same as Plymouth did to the comets 😁

Do they? Better check your facts. Lions v Witches Final. No price increase!

Speedway has always been about "winning at home" to maintain crowd levels. So much so, you can even bring in riders on higher averages at home to replace any of your missing riders.... And, teams will regularly be happy to ride away on nights their best riders are missing as it doesn't impact their home income... You get very little financial reward, nor any major national publicity, for winning any UK Speedway competition, therefore, having a winning team at home, and hopefully turning a profit by doing so, is the No1 aim for the promoters. And being able to "filli your programme in" after turn two, lap one, is something that has happened the majority of time in the thousands and thousands of races I have watched in the past five decades...

That they quite rightly deserve to win the play offs. It's not a criticism of the well balanced Poole team but more an observation that winning is not the be all and end all over the course of a season. Pay £20 expect decent entertainment.

Please, no. He'll just dump SeaWorld on the track. That won't help.

Honestly is laughable some of the comments on here, complaining about the track. The home team can do whatever they want. Embarrassing to complain about it. 12 points will be close, I’m not confident in holding on but it’s certainly possible. Fantastic Heat 15 from Richard and Zach.

But.... If the Tigers had won, would it have been a good meeting? And? Would the many fans, not just Glasgow fans, moaning about the racing still come on and say they were disappointed? Or.. Would Speedway have been the winner? So many have said that they never have seen a good meeting from Poole, yet paid for a stream covering a meeting from Poole....?

The gauling thing is Poole have riders who can handle a bit of dirt. To sacrifice putting on a more entertaining spectacle for supporters and paying public in the wider interest of a sport that is in accelerated decline is hard to fathom. If Glasgow had gated better that result could easily have been reversed.