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Surely doing the right thing is ensuring league Speedway in GB continues for the next decade. Not ensuring GP riders can race over here?

well run clubs don't call off a fixture cos the pit gate needs fixing!

Louis has failed to enter in to the spirit though and people are backing his right to do that. Why shouldn't the championship teams do what suits them?

I think for the nine Championship teams it is probably "business as usual", and they will have their teams sorted... Anyone they allow in later, (should they even do that), will just have to put together who they can...

Aside from various forumer opinions about Poole's rider signings and those that reckon Promoters don't 'promote' - the Fraser Bowes signing was featured in the local Echo (full back page with photo; plus sports page interview with Danny Ford, in print and online); BBC Radio Solent; BBC South Today (including racing footage); Meridian TV; Dorset Magazine; plus Tik Tok reels, Instagram, X and Facebook, as well as the traditional speedway media, plus undoubtedly some that I've not seen. Not bad in the 'off-season'!!

definitely NOT the case, but they DO pay on time, and that goes a long way these days

Well, we could have them executed by firing squad or force them on a dinner date with Rachel Reeves or force them to listen to Keir Starmer reading war and peace. It really depends on what the warring majority of speedway supporters wish to vote through at the next rally in Trafalgar Square during the lobbying of Parliament for free speedway admission for all benefit claimants.

But it isn't a weaker league! The points limit is still 40.00, same as we started with last season. It is up to the clubs, the team managers, etc, to construct their side up to this limit. But it won't be weaker.

For me, it was when England stopped dominating... You could watch PC winning races for England in incredible fashion on regular Saturday afternoons, and the country was the best on the world... A good news story... Then the Yanks and the Danes were trained up by the UK, and took over, and much wider public interest was lost... And then World Of Sport disappeared... The domestic leagues backed onto the England teams success hugely at the time... Then they started to import journeymen after journeymen, short term, instead of developing UK riders for the longer term team place requirements.. And, sadly, it has been a constant stream of "no plans, no vision, no strategy" other than "the next season will be like this, (hopefully)"...

Ipswich "Tolley Badges" Witches? 😱

Nothing wrong with Nora despite the lies the speedway control board tell you

If there is no 6th team of which I believe to be the case at this point, then make it one keague and crack on with the issues surrounding the 1 keague set up

Lets just wait and see about Rushen!

Three cheers for the dog. 👍🤣

The rules are set... Hence the Championship are planning for next season... If the Premiership cannot come to the tapes then those clubs will need to put out teams together from riders who haven't yet got a team place, "if" the Championship let them in...

If one big league, with a rider like Foord in a second string position was the only way for league Speedway to survive over here, then I'd support it.

You have to be in the ‘know ‘ to understand that lol

Nora here we come!

My fear is the premier 5 are not going to let the championship be business as usual,?we have already seen a plan for 7premier and 6 championship with 1 team missing out, sadly I can see this mess ending badly for speedway

As a Glasgow fan, I think that is a very good team

Which comments?

If a rider wants £200 a point, but a club will only pay him £180 a point. He can either find another club, or if there's no-one wanting him retire & get a "normal job". I'm sure every rider would want to be paid more & every promotion would want to pay less.

A weaker league, doesn’t matter if he’s in the main body he’ll still get the points needed. I’d have him back, in fact, he’d have been the first on my team sheet. People were itching to sign Pedersen after 1 meeting, in atrocious conditions on a track that isn’t like the usual track. I’d rather have Jacob back due to his experience on the tracks over here and he is good at home. If we’re talking about not having riders back, one I would swerve now is Vuolas. Yes he’s brilliant at northside, but so inconsistent away. That’s what cost us valuable points last season, he’s supposed to be one of the big hitters in the team and he looked more like a number 8 at times.

Last week we had all sorts of sound issues especially with Simon lamberts feed you get to see the edited version and that wasn’t good,so imagine what the recording was like,last night was good with no sound issues although you may here my dog farting at one point

If Ipswich do compete in One Big League then we'll just take King back off Plymouth.....Possibly Nicholls as well.

Great edition today i hear lol

Even if they did pay what they want, they still turn a profit. Theyre doing something right.

No idea why you think that, it is not true, we do not pay what the riders want.

It is indeed, a pickle and no mistake. The voice of reason. I'd put him in charge TBH.

Through my involvement with a few different riders over the years I have had an opportunity to witness at first hand how well some clubs are run. I have helped riders to manage their finances through completing their accounts, Tax Returns, VAT Returns etc. and in addition I often assisted them in the pits as well so I got to see a lot of the Speedway world at close quarters. One rider I helped rode for the Witches and unlike some other clubs he rode for, he was always paid on time and the paperwork was always spot on. Without doubt it was one of the best run clubs we had dealings with. I have nothing but admiration for the Witches promotion although I really hope the announcement last week will not result in the loss of Speedway at Foxhall.

There is no doubt Chris Louis is/was, one of the most forward , modern thinking promoters... However, you have to say that the bar is very, very low... What did Ipswich average last year for a basic POQ against the likes of Oxford and Birmingham? 1700? 1800 maybe? In UK Speedway terms, undoubtedly very, very good, but, again, as the bar is set so low, it is hardly "Barnum and Bailey" promoting levels is it? (One for the teenagers there) The Hawkins comments come across as almost blaming others for not doing what Ipswich do, however, for many, they don't need to, as their other businesses bankroll their team, or, they own tracks with other revenue streams that can subsidise their teams.. Clubs getting, (and quite happily surviving), on crowds of 600 or so could spend plenty of money increasing their attendances, however even if they got a 25% increase (a huge actual % in reality), it would still only be 750 a night, and nowhere near enough to compete with other clubs getting double... As we have seen, some teams go bankrupt by winning Speedway Championships and close, therefore why would clubs attempt to compete with those who can sustain the costs of more expensive riders, and put their own existence at risk? It isn't the fault, nor incumbent of, the Championship Teams to take (the very, very clear) risks by "moving up" just because a small minority of clubs won't deviate from their own inflexible business plans.. Fair play to Chris Louis for getting out if his expectations and aspirations can no longer be met, and good luck to him, he will definitely be missed by UK Speedway, however, it isn't the fault of any other club that Chris didn't want to ride in a five team league or one "big league".. That was, in his opinion, a business decision he felt wasnt right for him and Ipswich, and he will know his business model better than anyone.. Let's hope he finds a buyer and Ipswich come to the tapes next season..

Cyril Crane was mad back in the day, but a very genuine person with the fans that I knew.

But what can they do if they want a 6 team Premiership & not enough teams want to join them? They can't just make Poole or Glasgow move up.

It is doomed whatever they do, given the lack of teams, the high average age of the HL level of riders, and the lack of riders of the required level being developed... Keeping the patient on life support in the hope a miracle cure is found over the next two or three years is probably the best all can hope for.. It shows just how much the sport in the UK is just set up for the riders to earn as much as they possibly can, rather than being set up to be seen as bona fide team sport championships..

Quote from Jamie Swales in the Star The AGM hold up is to do with the Premiership the championship will go ahead as planned If it is decided that there will be one league then effectively the Premiership will come to us

We haven't got a new generation of fans coming through.

There is a piece about air fences on the end of last nights episode from Gordon Pairman

In my case I use a head microphone on a laptop where I think everyone else use their phones, I will mention it to Derek

To be honest, every one I've listened to so far which has only really been since the play offs episodes there's been some sort of sound issues with at least one of the contributors, yours always seems okay actually. I'm sure the guy that runs it has the best of intentions but you've got to be able to hear what's being said or what's the point? The Talk Speedway podcast also had similar issues with that Australian ex rider guy, can't think of his name at the moment constantly dropping out and you often just get the guy that presents it talking to himself for minutes on end! If people are going to publish these things to the public it really needs to be better quality in 2025 like the Ian Brannan podcasts, I know he's a pro but surely it can't be that difficult to check sound levels of all participants before starting and if somebody's isn't up to scratch don't just continue like everything's okay. ... just saying

Maybe the current championship teams will resist that and if necessary form their own league under a different authority if required?

Yes we always get good coverage in the local press despite Bournemouth being in the premier league. What have the Comets got for competition locally in the press?

I'm talking about a Champ team for 2026. If there is one big league, then would need to know points limit & how many riders are in a team to have a clue what his team position would likely be.

Can't wait to read the Alun Rossiter interview 😉

So with Rushen appearing to be going to Oxford according to some confident people on the forum, could Ritchings be lining up at 7? lawson 9.58 Beau 4 Kerr 6.74 Bowes 5.63 Zach 7.34 Cairns 3.81 Ritchings 2.29 total 39.39 Although the reserves are not as strong as we would perhaps want, if Beau is signed it could give us the strongest 1-5 in the league? Although Glasgow did prove last year that a good 1-5 doesn’t win trophies

In a recent interview with Speedway Star he said he wants to return.

Anywhere other than being involved in s/way track prep !

If you know you know!

No it's for a new swimming pool and sports centre. Of course, Phil Morris might consider it as a possible venue…

The Budget has announced a whooping 4.80% increase in the State Pension. That means clubs should be able to increase admission prices, as pensioners have more disposable income.

I have a lot of respect for the late Tim Stone - he was definitely marmite to a lot of people, but he was always very nice, welcoming and respectful to us during my (short) time riding for the Mavericks. You always knew where you stood with him and he never minced his words. Plus the man lived and breathed Newport and it's such a shame things went the way they did there. I'll never forget we used to go down there every Sunday in the winter to practice, and planned to sleep in the van the night before, he offered us the option of putting our van in the pits (there was a lot of travellers in the area and often targeted Newport as a place to pitch up) and letting us sleep in a VIP box with heating - to which we gratiously accepted. He said "under no conditions are you to go outside before I get here in the morning though, the guard dog will have your pants down" - one night someone tried to break in and we found a pair of absolutely shredded jeans in the pits the morning after 😂😂😂