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That's the problem it's ended up as a semi pro sport just the riders have not realised that yet ,even in the 70's Gulf league ( now PL ) riders except for the Mauger & Co had part/full time jobs !

I'm not sure why some posters appear to think that Hook would've been such a risk in the top 5. He's improved every year as a reserve, 2022: 2.78 (Edinburgh) 2023: 3.71 (Edinburgh), 3.74 (Berwick) 2024: 4.19 (Plymouth) 2025: 5.61 (Workington) He obviously improved an awful lot in 2025 putting almost 1.5 points on his average, yes that was at reserve, but so was his previous average. If he was a 4 point rider in a top 5, but dropped to reserve & scored 5.5, then I'd understand the concern more. If Hook carries on his seasonal improvement, I'd suggest there's no reason he can't match his 2025 figure when moving into the top 5. My other point is, if every rider was dropped once they moved up from reserve, where would the future heat leaders come from lol! Every single British heat leader must have started at reserve (plus some Aussies), I guess most improving riders move up during the season, rather than between seasons, that didn't happen for Hook cause Workington had a very solid team. Certainly seems a big difference compared to say Luke Harrison, I don't remember any Scunthorpe fans being reluctant to sign him up as a second string even through his away average was far below his home?

I know a fair few people who have given up on the forum because of what’s written above. Speedway has enough problems, it doesn’t need all us fighting each other. We should ALL be doing our best to bring people to the sport, not name calling and insulting each other. As a Poole fan who’s attended for as long as I can remember, I enjoy being able to post on various pages, it’s what makes the forum enjoyable, enlightening and most importantly SPEEDWAY!

But that's the trouble isn't it? Where did that get us? One of the things that blights the sport for many people is doubling up and guests, but all we've done is pay silly money to someone to come over for a year and sod off again. I know I'm likely alone in this, but I personally don't see losing GP riders as a disaster, but what is a disaster is not having a good enough production line of young riders coming through to fill team places. It should be an embarrassment of riches rather than a desperate scrabble to scratch teams together.

UK Speedway is still sat in a Leadership Bubble akin to other sports in the seventies, and early eighties ... That is to say, self made business people running their local sports team... My football team in the 70's had a man running it who owned several local butchers shops and the other team within the city had a chairman who sold TV's... Then Sky came along and these football teams brought in people from outside of the "Football Bubble"... I remember going to Old Trafford and the "club shop" was a pre fab building behind the Stretford End... In the 90's, proper retailers, and merchandisers, were brought in and a "Megastore" was designed which now turns over tens of millions.. The "Match Day Experience" became the buzz phrase, and experts in event management and customer relationships were brought in to organise and deliver it .. Marketing and Advertising experts were hired to create interest and awareness.. Speedway still has the equivalent of the local butcher and TV man running teams, well meaning people who obviously love the sport but cannot countenance bringing anyone else in from "outside" to advise them into the required directional journey for growth in the 21st Century... In particular, Rugby Union, Cricket and Football, all used to "self police" and keep everything "in house", then they realised the world was changing and they had to stop doing the same thing over and over again, and bring in people with different skill sets to help them move forward.. UK Speedway had a different idea...

Speedway Futures Limited? An apostrophe missing somewhere maybe?

So what if he is? Maybe he’s new to the sport. Common courtesy and helping somebody doesn’t cost anything.

Be great to bring this post up when Osborne has his way with Poole. You really are a first class w@nchor aren't you. You and Shovlar are two of the biggest parasites on this forum.

Fits well with it's semi-professional image as well. It's quite mad that we're expected to treat it as a professional sport when it's clearly run by amateurs!

He has the right credentials for speedway then

Only time he did.

100% correct Look around the pits and see many a 3 point rider / Junior with a van that has "international Speedway rider" plastered over it, which means they rode a grass track or two in France when the van should really say "racing with the aid of Mum, Dad and family savings" Being semi professional is the only way forward to save speedway in this country

Use it to go over to Poland for a weekend of two, or take in a few GP's from around Europe... Proper Speedway, with relevance, resonance, consequence and jeopardy... And not the contrived, make it up as you go along nonsense, that the UK sadly has seemed quite content in delivering, for far too long..

Jye done better than a lot are giving him credit for How many times did he come under away riders on 2nd bend allowing his team mate space to pass or keep position Even putting in good performances late on in season when injured enough he could hardly walk

Communication is dreadful and imo shows total contempt for fans, the little bits I know is only because of people I know and not even they know what the hell is going on

Loyalty works both ways. Are riders supposed to sit around waiting for the UK to pull its fingers out of its derrière ? it’s their job, not a hobby.

Who are the idiots still fighting for a Premiership? Lemon, Chapman and Dickson? It's done, all over Get on with one league and adapting the race format. Get rid of the nonsense of riders riding for multiple clubs, race on a night of the clubs choosing and start again. The current model is finished.

This may be of interest from almost 50 years ago, a passage from an Ivan Mauger book first published in 1976 which attributes the piece to George Barclay; "If 1976 was the year that saw a comparative explosion of press and television coverage, I hope '77 will be a year that sees speedway being accepted by the media nationally. To establish this we must put our house in order and lose the incidents that make us seem a joke sport. After all,what other sport has it's rules and regulations drawn up only to see them over-ruled by "special dispensation" on so many issues? In what other league competition can a competitor appear for teams other than his own, and by doing so jeopardise his own teams chance of championship honours? Walk outs! Either by individuals or by whole teams. These and many other silly facets can only cause harm to speedway, and the circumstances leading to them must be eradicated once and for all. For surely they prevent our sport being respected as a serious one and worthy of "press" attention even though it is so largely supported. The time is long overdue for the relative ruling bodies to get together in amending the rules with speedway the consideration. We know it would benefit us all eventually." Oaksey was the editor so I dare say there's a bit of his own agenda in there.

Swings & roundabouts. Since Speedways inception the UK had the stranglehold over everyone. Raced every day of the week, asset system etc. From the mid 2000's Poland came in to some serious money and have built a product and rocketed past the UK, Sweden & Denmark & left them all for dead. For me, as the Ekstraliga has all the 💰 available, it has every right to dictate. BUT........... The UK just needs to sit tight for a bit, as the bubble is slowly deflating in Poland too. Some clubs are really struggling with their numbers over the last couple of years

As so many of us say... It needs a root and branch review and complete reset.. But not by anyone in the "UK Speedway Echo Chamber".. And, (most importantly) for any business, include customer Market Research... My old company would spend millions on refitting stores but not ever without me as the Store Manager previously holding several "Customer Focus Groups" with up to 200 of them in attendance.. They had the chance to tell us what they wanted, from after up to six months of disruption, and I got the chance to tell them if their wish list was feasible or not.. We also had many a "brutal" session where I got told what my store was like for shopping in.. However, again, I was able to explain some of the rationale why things were the way they were, and why some things couldn't get done.. I held forums every quarter so any comments I could resolve had a 13 week timeline to deliver before we met again... It certainly focused my attention... But also certainly improved my stores performance and growth... White Middle Aged Men running something for mainly White Middle Aged Men, simply cannot survive... Sometimes humble pie has to be eaten, and you accept that, no matter how good you are, more diverse age groups and genders can improve your business.. Two teams, 15 Heats, Seven riders per team, Four Laps per race, Guestfests and Sharing riders, etc etc etc obviously isn't cutting it... So. Find out why and do something about it... NB. As and aside I was looking at how much Sky put into the sport earlier, and the Oxford Mail covered the 2001 deal... Five years, Five Million and an added £150,000 a season to sponsor the league.. They also showed the admission fees for the then Elite League Oxford for the coming season.. £10 for an adult, which in 2025 is just under £19 allowing for inflation.. The second tier charge more than that don't they?

But to win what? Competition's that have a self inflicted operating model even wrestling would be amazed by.. It goes back to a lack of vision, and a lack of communication to the fans... And is still prevalent today... There should be at least an update as to where the whole thing currently stands, as a minimum, to its "customers".. And, if the plan is (once again for the umpteenth season), "make do and mend", then let your customers know the reasons why, but also, at the same time, tell them what your long term plan and vision for the sport is to stop living "hand to mouth" each year.. Let your customers in on your plans and they may accept a short term plan for longer term success, hell, who knows, maybe even canvas their opinions before making up your plans so they are truly engaged...? Market Research? Heaven forbid...

Indeed. It should have been invested in new stadia so as to provide punters with a better race-night experience, and moving away from the whim of a landlord. Then moving forward, invest in junior development that might have seen us unearth some medal winning Brits. The list goes on but sadly nobody grasped the bigger picture.

It would be ironic (and rather funny) if the the investment was so big that those refusing now want to be a part of it but are turned away......

Yes he shows the same loyalty in Poland too, keeps Częstochowa in the extraleague, celebrates like they won the extraleague them next day signs for someone else,don’t kid yourself as much as Jason has some loyalty to Ipswich and it would probably be his preference, he would ride elsewhere if the money was there

i think the premiership promoters have managed the majority of the downfall by themselves

I’m assuming that 40.00 is the limit this year as Glasgow have announced there team. Only Official Announcements to be put on here please. Can this also be pinned thanks Mods. Berwick Bandits - Complete 1. Peter Kildemand 8.05 2. Jye Etheridge 5.45 3. Victor Palovaara 7.35 4. Lasse Fredrikssen 5.49 5. Nick Morris 6.86 6. Reid Battye 4.00 7. Jack Smith 2.61 Total 39.81 Remaining 0.19 Edinburgh Monarchs 🤴 - Complete 1. Dan Thompson 8.50 2. Jonathan Grahn 5.30 3. Paco Castagna 7.05 4. Kye Thomson 5.93 5. Justin Sedgmen 7.34 6. Mitchell Cluff 3.00 7. Jordy Loftus 2.13 Total 39.25 Remaining 0.75 Glasgow Tigers 🐯 - Complete 1. Chris Harris 8.90 2. Mario Hausl 5.00 3. Leon Flint 6.95 4. Kevin Juhl Pedersen 5.00 5. Kyle Howarth 7.91 6. Sam Hagon 3.48 7. Freddy Hodder 2.63 Total 39.87 Remaining 0.13 Oxford Cheetahs 🐆 - Complete 1. Sam Masters 10.09 2. Luke Killeen 5.15 3. Erik Riss 7.12 4. Mitchell McDiarmid 5.18 5. Anders Rowe 7.38 6. Dayle Wood 2.18 7. Darryl Ritchings 2.29 Total 39.39 Remaining 0.61 Plymouth Gladiators - Complete 1. Danny King 8.58 2. Tobias Thomsen 4.81 3. Ben Barker 6.12 4. Joe Thompson 5.87 5. Scott Nicholls 7.88 6. Daniel Klima 4.00 7. Tom Spencer 2.00 Total 39.26 Remaining 0.74 Poole Pirates 🏴‍☠️ - Complete 1. Richard Lawson 9.58 2. Dan Gilkes 4.59 3. Lewis Kerr 6.77 4. Fraser Bowes 5.63 5. Zach Cook 7.34 6. William Cairns 3.81 7. Cooper Rushen 2.00 Total 39.73 Remaining 0.28 Redcar Bears 🐻 - Complete 1. Charles Wright 8.88 2. Jake Mulford 4.26 3. Jason Edwards 6.44 4. Jordan Jenkins 6.00 5. Jake Allen 6.53 6. Ace Pijper 4.04 7. Jody Scott 3.82 Total 39.97 Remaining 0.03 Scunthorpe Scorpions 🦂 1. Josh Pickering 11.64 2. Nathan Ablitt 4.86 3. Luke Harrison 4.97 4. Connor Mountain 5.96 5. Michael Palm Toft 6.10 6. 7. Ryan Ingram 2.00 Total 35.53 Remaining 4.47 Workington Comets ☄️ - Complete 1. Jonas Jeppesen 8.20 2. Nicklas Holm Jakobsen 5.00 3. Troy Batchelor 7.10 4. Tate Zischke 5.76 5. Craig Cook 7.99 6. Vinnie Foord 3.68 7. Jamie Etherington 2.00 Total 39.73 Remaining 0.27

That's not true. Masters has a higher GSA, but Lawson had a better average on 2025 meetings alone. Lawson = 10.33 Masters = 10.21

Fair enough. To be fair, you’re one of the more reasonable Poole fans I’ve encountered on here.

That's a fair question, I think it's about egos having more power than the engines so vanity not sanity.

I would be happy with all kinds of match fixing as long as King's Lynn finally manage to break it's top league duck, crowds double, it looks like a well run professional outfit. A bit of fraud & scandal has never really done any other sport harm.

It depends; does it want to run according to the climate it's found itself in? If not then I'm afraid the writing really is on the wall as they just can't do what they have been, it's been proven to fail.

I agree and we can look back with hindsight and say that it wasn’t a long term investment. I had 2 Elite tracks within an hours drive but chose to go to Rye House as I admired Len Silver and what he was trying to do for British speedway. Running 2 teams with investment in the juniors - I don’t recall many others doing that but then Len had other businesses to fall back on. I did venture to Lakeside a few times and can honestly say there was little difference in the racing - maybe Jason Crump winning every race by the length of the straight comes to mind.

I’m sure if Kurtz was being paid the same he wouldn’t worry about the standard - he might even enjoy it like Ivan Mauger did years ago.

Absolutely. The other option would have been investing in training tracks and training schools, employing trainers, bulk buying equipment to get people started, paying for opportunities for young riders to compete abroad. Really they should have been able to do both, but ended up doing neither.

Certainly better than the Dane he replaced.

think he would do a ok job

A perfect fit to go with the tax cheat then!

I agree that mistakes were made in the past and in particular the Sky income. But had the then BSPA taken the view that investing in property rather than riders I’m sure there would have been an almighty outcry. So you can’t have it both ways .

There’s no need to swear😂

In 2024, during the General Election campaign, Davies placed a bet of £8,000 against himself to lose his seat and subsequently became embroiled in the 2024 United Kingdom general election betting scandal

You forgot to blame Brexit as well! 😄

lambert .No thanks

Decent by championship standards, but nothing like we’ve seen in recent years which I guess is to be expected. From a personal point of view, I picked and chose the odd meeting here and there when we were in the second tier, more for the nostalgia to be honest. Things like just being in and around the stadium that I’ve been in since I was a nipper, and to see old friends. When we moved back up, I never missed a meeting, and when Emil signed, I brought a season ticket for the first time ever and have had one for the three seasons he was here. I doubt I’ll go to many next year IF we even run. Some people love the sport so much that they’ll go whatever the level, and good luck to them. I’m certainly not one of those.

Simon lambert had a bad year lat year But id never be surprised to see him hit double figures at any track and speedway runs in his blood great team guy Yes he's getting towards end of his riding days

Out of interest what were the crowds like 2011-18 in the second tier?

Could possibly get him interested in a junior league ?

No thankyou. I want nothing to do with Lambert

See - plenty of riders available for one big league

If there is no Premiership I won't be purchasing a BSN Championship pass No way am I funding the clubs (indirectly - no blame to BSN) partly responsible for its downfall should it happen

British speedway is saved, hurrah 🥳 sir Phillip Davies is appointed by speedway futures Ltd, he loves speedway so much he said the same quote as Harry Redknapp on his appointment, personally I was having my doubts about British speedway surviving but this appointment has restored my hope for the future 😳