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It is a moment all Panthers and Speedway supporters should take great pride in. We’re not there yet, but a foot is in the door.

Great news to see both planning applications being rejected this morning. Back to square one for the developers. They 2 parties involved in the application have had a major fallout over the viability of the land sale price and S106. One refused to sign it and 3 deadlines passed. The Showground lives on!

The interview with Matt Ford in the SS details the thought process for Poole.. And it is hard not to agree with him... The considerable cost increases for the top league won't get covered by extra admission numbers, or extra sponsors, for a business that is "stand alone" and not some "plaything" for some who can afford an expensive hobby.. The bottom line is hardly anyone who doesn't follow the sport could tell you who the fop tier champions are this year, or last, or, indeed, any particular year for decades.. And Poole, in Div 2, will have plenty of finals to generate big crowds, and will gain as much publicity winning 2nd tier trophies as they would top tier ones.. The top tier need the second tier to try and then justify why they are "different" and the "highest level" and more expensive to watch... The second tier need the top tier as those who double up can then afford to ride for them for 2nd tier money... The likes of Poole and Glasgow could be seen as being happy to be "big fishes in a small pond".. However. The whole of UK Speedway is more of a "big puddle" when compared to pretty much every other professional team sport in the UK.. When there is such very little financial reward, nor national publicity, for any success at any level, and crowds get hit by so many meetings running with zero jeopardy and consequence as to who qualifies for the play offs, you can understand why running your own business, at the level you can make it profitable, has to be the best idea..

Was going to say something similar! What a weird take. You get your points limit and then every club then builds the best team that they can within that limit and within their budget. It’s not the fault of those three clubs mentioned that the budget of some clubs doesn’t enable them to secure the signatures of certain riders. If those three clubs each don’t sign one of their heatleaders, that doesn’t necessarily mean that an Oxford or Kings Lynn would suddenly be able to afford to pick them up! The reality is that those riders would likely give UK a miss and our league would be worse for it. I’m afraid you’re always going to have the have’s and have not’s which is why I’m not convinced on the rumour of one rider per team over 8.00. If Belle Vue for example have to choose between Kurtz or Bewley, would the one who didn’t get a place at the NSS next year just accept a lesser deal elsewhere because that’s the only offer in town?? I’m not sure they would.

Well thats a load of crap. Why don't Ipswich get the same crowd at every home meeting that they did for the playoff final then?

Spot on apart from "if" one team gets tailed off, as it is "when"... Every season the team everyone on here says have "no chance" before a wheel is turned, invariably have their season over by the end of May and become a team with small appeal to watch either home or away... The biggest frustration for the fans is that where we are today has been predicted by us for the last two decades... As we could see the glaring obvious flaws in "Baldrick's cunning plan", yet those insulated within their own echo chamber/Speedway Bubble either couldn't, or chose not to... There should have been radical change to the operating model when the GP's started to impact UK Speedway. And they chose to not to do anything different.. There should have been radical change to the operating model when Poland started to impact UK Speedway. And they chose not to do anything different... There should have been radical change to the operating model for the return of the sport post Covid, when a year out gave them huge opportunity to reset the sport, and unpick all the nonsense that has held the sport back over the years, and disillusioned so many fans, who still follow the sport but attend either never or infrequently. And they chose not to do anything different.. Many of the same people who have led two decades of negative fan attendance, plus reduced TV viewership and media profile, are still running the sport... The sport desperately needs outside influence to drive it forward, from marketing, to adminstration, to operating model planning... People not within the Speedway Bubble.. The past two seasons of the play offs, in the flagship competition, have actually been ran by NOT following the very rules the competition was set up with, which from an outside optics view, is both amateurish and ludicrous... The sport won't move forwards until the promoters realise that they are the custodians of ALL OF IT, and not just their own clubs, and also realise that they may not have the right set of skills to lead it, and be open to get some clear direction from people who do possess those leadership skills...

Absolute bullrubbish! from the mid-eighties to 1999 Poole had one of the sports wealthiest owners in the late Mervyn Stewkesbury, together with an experienced back-up team including the old National League Administrators. The Fords took over in 1999 and spent 20years in the Premiership (Elite) winning it several times over, much to the chagrin of some of the more established owners/promoters. Of course crowds dropped a little when the team wasn't doing well - as is the case with ALL teams. PS> There's nothing wrong with being at the top of any sport - as long as the club remains profitable.

Premier Sports have an estimated 300k subscribers, can't see that helping to grow the sport. Sky by comparison had 6m from the last figures I can find, and 26.7m people watched content across all their platforms in the last year. One of the worst things about TNT's coverage is that a big deal was made about it including the free-to-air highlights, only for them to be shown once a week at 2am or something ridiculous. I doubt that it attracted even a single new fan.

I’m sorry but I disagree. Money clearly IS an issue, otherwise you wouldn’t be left picking up the scraps every single year. Chris Louis won’t be dictated by unreasonable demands either and Kenyan Rew is a perfect example. Rew was in the plans last winter, But Rew got a better offer from Birmingham which Louis wasn’t prepared to match. That’s common knowledge. Fair play to Rew, every rider will go where the best deals are. There’s a very small pool of riders that ride here that are genuine world class. Forget all the noise that comes from riders about “this is the only place I wanted to come to” nonsense. Fact is every meeting could be a riders last and they’ll go where the best deal is, quite rightly. Chapman clearly won’t get involved in competing for the world class riders that others are prepared to do. You’re a Lynn fan so maybe you see it from a biased point of view, but from an outsider, Chapman does the bare minimum every year to get through another season. So my point still stands. If the top three are forced not to sign one of their big hitters, what will be Chapman’s strategy? Will he suddenly decide to pay what the riders are looking for (if he is why doesn’t he do that to begin with?) or will he sit and wait for the riders to lower their demands and just accept what he’s prepared to pay as it’s their only option? If he’s banking on the latter, he’ll be disappointed. Those riders will just concentrate on Poland and Sweden.

No he isn’t, and yes it is. I’m sorry Bagpuss I’m not trying to be argumentative here for the sake of it, but of course it’s to do with Money! Chapman could have more money than Elon Musk, I never said Chapman wasn’t wealthy. But his personal wealth is completely irrelevant to the point I was making. Does Jason Doyle still live in Norfolk? The fact of the matter is that if Lynn offered a better deal to Doyle than Ipswich then Doyle would be riding for Kings Lynn. It’s quite clear that no matter how much money Keith Chapman has, it means very little if he isn’t prepared to compete for the top riders. That of course is his prerogative, he sets a budget to build a team every year and that budget doesn’t seem to stretch to paying for a Doyle/Bewley/Emil etc. Now that IS all financially relative isn’t it? We’re in danger of veering away from my original point here which wasn’t to do with Keith Chapman’s personal wealth. If the top three are going to be forced in to not re-signing one of their heatleaders to allow Lynn and others the opportunity to sign them, are those clubs going to offer the top money that these riders will still demand? I personally have my doubts but time will tell on that one. In an ideal world, every club would have the same financial clout OR, willing to invest more of their personal wealth to compete but unfortunately that’s just not reality. As I said before, there will always be the have’s and have not’s and that’s not restricted to Speedway, it’s all sports. The Championship is no different. Would you bet against next years play off final being contested by Poole and Glasgow again? I wouldn’t. You can bring in points limits and different rules to try and make things as equal as possible, but there will always be in demand riders on bargain averages that will always be snapped up by those with better resources who will stay one step ahead of the competition. With all due respect to them, the likes of Scunthorpe under Godfrey who builds his teams to a tight budget, are just there to make up the numbers. It’s just the way it is I’m afraid. ALL the heatleaders have now been “freed up” Bagpuss. Every top heatleader that rode here this year, and want to ride here next year, are now available to Keith Chapman and anyone else who wants to sign them. If finance isn’t an issue as you and StarBoy have said, then Lynn don’t have any excuse not to sign one of them do they? Outbid the top three and you’ll bag one of them. We’re going around in circles here. It’s not so much “freeing” up riders for others, it’s a question of if those other clubs can afford them and/or are willing to pay for them. If they can, then fair enough I’m not against bringing in rules to help spread the top riders around. My concern is that they bring in a rule that prevents the clubs that CAN afford to sign them, from doing so, and those riders are then lost to British speedway because they’re not happy with the lower terms offered by others.

No one with any sense would move up to the Prem. We'll just watch it fall apart from the sidelines. 👍

Pay any losses Poole end up with then I'm sure we'd move up. Also sort out any issues with the stadium. That should keep you busy for a while. Thanks 👍 Easy for @Bagpuss and the @therefused make constant digs about Poole all the time but Poole is run way better than KL. Poole aren't stupid enough to accept running at a loss. They know the Championship is the more stable league.

Would love to see Nicholls back for the Gladiators for 2026. Seemed to really enjoy his time in Devon where the pressure was off for him and he was able to just enjoy being back on his bike. Feel like Joe T is likely to return along with the hugely exciting Klima. Think Barker did enough in the Poole fixture alone to earn himself a spot back in the team. Would be open to seeing Tobias race for the Gladiators next season, he was excellent when guesting for the club. I think what we will see is plenty of people have had their opinions on Plymouth changed within the sport over the last 6 months with how things have played out for the club. This is very much a club who are trying to beat the curve and sail forward with the wind behind them. Crowds through the roof, atmosphere at home fixtures unlike any other, fantastic racing on the track too. Plenty of riders spoke very highly of appearing for/at Plymouth last year and I think Garry will be very happy with the options he'll have available to him when building the team.

Might have attracted insomniacs who then went to a meeting and solved their issue by watching tractors spending more time on the track than the bikes.

I don’t think Will is going to be riding for BV on Friday or for that matter Leicester on Sunday as he is due to be riding in California on Saturday!

Fricke , Lawson , Douglas build around those 3

League winners straight to the final, 2nd and 3rd in a play off...

One big watered down league all on BSN. Premiership collapses next season if it's a 5 team league imo, Basically facing the same team every other week and what happens if one team gets tailed off? The Play-Offs would be sorted in no time and I doubt punters would turn up to see the same fixture that they've already just seen a couple of weeks ago. Need to force Glasgow or Poole to move up as neither of them should be allowed to race in the Championship because they've got a Premiership business model in operation.

Buster has probably fell out with half of them so they wont be at Lynn 😅

All riders are free agents. Ipswich, Belle Vue and Sheffield don't own anyone to 'share out'...

He pretty much single handedly ruined our 2024 season. Can't see the promotion touching this druggie with a barge pole

Are we still going on about the track? After 15 races at pooles track. And 16 races at Glasgows track, can we not agree that the team that won deserved to win? Poole prepared their track to help them win. Glasgow prepared their track to try and help them win.

Quite happy to lose the TNT coverage as I wasn't planning to pay £30.99 pcm to watch the speedway and the saturday lunchtime PL football by half price deal ends on 26th october whereuon I will cancel it. Premier Sport would be an interesting option - i used to subscribe to them a few years back wehn they covered Polish (reruns) and Swedish speedway matches.

Without knowing the ins and outs of any proposed points limit changes/other rule changes i'd be happy enough to see a good few of the 2025 team return with the exception of MPT. Also don't see Palovaara returning on that high an average. Could we persuade Sam up the road for one last hurrah? Mr Riss fancy a return? I'd keep Loftus and maybe add Wood alongside him at reserve. That could be quite a powerful pairing on a fairly modest average.

If the top 9 averaged riders get shared amongst the 9 Champ clubs, that's not watering down the league at all (unless multiple 8+ riders were planning to return).

I’d usually agree, but a move back there might relight his fire. From memory, he was fast around there when he rode for them and would be on a decent average.

Too right. And with tv deal looking unlikely now, even less chance of anyone going up imo.

True, but you'd think he'd be more interested in Ipswich winning than our track! 🤷‍♀️

I watched fans stream out of Wimborne Road on BSN after the 1st leg , 2 things in particular were noticeable : hardly anyone was wearing Pirates merchandise and there was hardly any kids. The age demographic appeared to be mainly 50+. Whether that is representative I don't know.

If the question was asked this week re Who are the current UK Speedway Premiership champs?, on The Chase, I can pretty much guarantee the contestant wouldn't know the answer... But might say Poole....

Glasgow have signed riders like Nagel and Tarasenko in the Championship. Poole and Glasgow basically line-up with a minimum of 4 Heat Leaders every year in the Championship and they'd both line-up with 5 Heat Leaders if Team Building rules allowed them too. Look at the core of the 2024 Poole side for example that consisted of Lawson, Brennan, B. Cook and Z. Cook, It's basically a Premiership side if you add in a Premiership No.1 followed by a reserve and a Rising Star. Constantly allowing these two clubs to compete in the lower league and push clubs like Plymouth around every year while the Premiership is under threat is baffling to me.

Firstly congratulations to the Poole riders for winning the Championship. I've been intrigued over the season with many on here saying speedway's dying, there's no overtaking, only old folk go and every year there's less of them, promoters don't promote, etc, etc. Perhaps Poole fans can advise if their fan base is generally 40+ years old with few youngsters, or not. If it is could this be because kids find it boring for whatever reason which then doesn't bode well for the longer term future. On the other hand Glasgow has hundred of kids most weeks, normally when operating on a Friday night - see link Facebook Also with the kids wanting to go we have more fans in the 20-40 age group, so a potential longer term fan base who like to be entertained.

i expect it to be lower than 40 points personally

Already changed again! (slightly better!)

What state is the stadium/track in? Were the seats taken out the stand? are they in storage somewhere? was the safety fence ruined?

i always am when it comes to kings lynn

if there are only five teams in the league play offs cannot feasibly take place with four teams.

Difficult to disagree with any of that, however @szkocjasid makes a good point, there is no incentive for clubs to move up if there are few/no heatleaders available. If the Premiership WANTS to expand then the only way that can happen is to free up some riders however unfair and unpalatable that might be. If it wants to have 5-6 teams then there is no need to change. Its an almost impossible circle to square.

Excellent post mate that's what happened while it was gate and go at Poole and unless Glasgow riders have been in a cupboard they should have set their bikes up for that it's no secret is it

Cradley heath was known worldwide for 2 things, man hole covers and the speedway and both of those have gone,sadly if you live in cradley and you were born after 1995 you would have no idea just how much they put cradley heath on the map and it’s that level of thinking that speedway is up against

Was just banned for a year, rode for Scunthorpe this year. Would be on a sub 7 average so good chance he could up that.

The Rowe Motor Oil Premiership and the Cab Ditect Championship are to operate as separate entities. The activists have come to preliminary agreements and at AGM we are to know the final version of the order in the UK for the 2026 season. With each club on British soil that was declining, fans began to wonder about the meaning of the two leagues. The departure of the Birmingham Brummies and Oxford Spires means that next season the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership will not be able to gather more than five teams. Of course, sudden changes in the plans of the promoters and the persuasion of some centers must be taken into account, but the league seems closed. Driving in such a small group is no fight, especially for many clubs in the Cab Direct Championship. There, however, the situation is very different, and most resorts cannot afford to ride in the Premiership. Especially when their current teams rely mainly on players who compete in both leagues. However, the plan to combine the games goes into the background. It will not be without changes If nothing extraordinary happens, the British speedway will remain in the current stage of play. The 2026 season will be played on three levels and, above all, there will be changes in building the squad. Activists work on the transfer market to stay back and build a team worthy of fighting for the championship. We know that the Ipswich Witches, Leicester Lions, Sheffield Tigers, Belle Vue Aces and King's Lynn Stars will remain in the Premiership. Sheffield Tigers are primarily waiting for a new owner, and without it the club will not move next year. The league seems to be cut and even a double basic phase will be of no use. Certainly, the KSM limit is to be changed so that the players can spread out throughout the league. Most likely there will be another reduction, so that the duo of Belle Vue Aces Daniel Bewley and Brady Kurtz may be separated. The Cab Direct Championship does not promise to be many changes, possibly in terms of a greater bet on young Britons. The Mildenhall resort, which is set as the favorite to return to the Championship step, is about to determine its future. Upcoming limits However, there is no denying that the British speedway is facing further regulatory problems. According to the regulations described in the Club Membership Regulations, from the 2027 season, players competing in Poland will be able to choose one foreign league. The question remains, what will the current stars of the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership choose? Will some go to Sweden to race with names, or maybe they will stay in British structures. One thing is known - promoters must start thinking much earlier than a few months before the start of the 2027 season. https://speedwaynews.pl/zuzel/zaskakujace-doniesienia-jednak-nie-dojdzie-do-rewolucji/

One of the nicest fella’s in the sport is Emil. If it’s to be his swansong over here I’m delighted he’s going out happy and with a winners medal. Now won a league winners medal, and a Cup winners medal. Mission accomplished.

That and everyone's been going well on the continent when in fact they're really struggling winds me up no end. It takes 2 minutes to have a read through the Polish results on a Monday morning before a TV meet to throw some colour and insight into things. Unless its Erik Riss and his long track achievements he hasn't a clue what's going on. I've never watched a football match where the commentators don't know anything about a player on the pitch.

Just seen heat 15, that was a fantastic ride from Harris, really amazing what he can do on a well prepared track. So the Poole promotion, realising they'll have their biggest crowd of the season, with one of the most exciting riders in British Speedway visiting, decide the best option is to make a super slick track with no option for passing! Which is what their fans want apparently? I really can't understand that. I'm not saying design it so Harris can have a blinder, but a track where you go backwards if you drift off the line, surely not? Don't really like either team, but I'd rather watch racing at Glasgow each week & finish 2nd, than watch Poole each week & win the league. Also makes me question why Howarth was used in heat 16, don't get that decision by Cami.

It’s been said elsewhere but speedway shown on BSN is a world apart from the one shown on TNT and you would think that would be the case with discovery’s multi billion pound resorces and BSNs small pot but it’s the other way around, BSN capture the essence of the sport and TNT don’t catch anything, I actually find TNT coverage quite mundane and sometimes tedious, it’s not the commentators or presenters it’s the whole package, it just misses completely the soul and passion of the sport and broadcasts it like it’s being forced to, I can’t say I’m sad to see it go and will happily be subscribing to BSN next season

That's a great point, just feel it would be more beneficial for a 17 year old after a season racing in the Champ. As brilliant as Cooper has been this season, he lost to Mulford at Ipswich, lost to Harrison & Scott at Workington, lost to Morley & Foord at Iwade. Now these riders would be the easiest opponents he'd get to meet in the Prem, even as a RS. So my concern would be it could hurt his confidence racing in the Prem so early in his career, I can't see any negatives to waiting till 2027? Now this is no slight on Cooper, there's no reason why a 15 should be expected to beat all these guys in his first season, which is the reason why I wouldn't recommend racing in the Prem, just too big a jump for me. Even if Ipswich said "no pressure, just enjoy yourself" no-one likes to lose each time, plus why wouldn't Ipswich use the best RS possible? Last time they overlooked Kemp & Rowe for Joe T, didn't work out (till they signed Dan). If he does sign, I hope I'm proved wrong & he does well, I just can't help but think would Boughen have been better taking one step at a time & don't want Cooper to follow suit.

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.

While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us