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What has this topic got to do with Newcastle?

I think Leicester should be congratulated for their use of social media in the last few weeks. They were the first, if not only club to update their supporters on what their plans were, then they announce the departure of their best rider (with Max confirming this 15 minutes later) but within 12 hours announce the signing of Thompson. Anyone would think they actually have put some thought into how they use social media & have a strategy. If this is the case can other clubs please take note....

It's surely the other way around... all these riders have been signed up to CL clubs for weeks

To be fair, Tolley's not perfect by any means but at least he's passionate about British Speedway. The same can't be said for certain CHAMP Promoters and Owners.

Like when certain Ipswich fans were demanding teams moved up and were going to lose tons of money just to keep the failing premiership going? Were those Ipswich fans going to cover the costs of that team? I don’t think so, so it’s a stupid thing to say about an individual covering costs. I agree it’s his right to do but would he have been selling up if he got what he wanted? He would have been happy if we had another sacrificial lamb in the top flight. Last year’s premiership was basically a 5 team league as Oxford and Birmingham were so uncompetitive it’s not really changed that much. We even had an Ipswich fan on here having a pop at Plymouth because they didn’t win a trophy so the season was unsuccessful. That club had a great season imo as they got bigger crowds and the feel good factor returned.

Nor was Vic Huxley, Tom Farndon, Bluey Wilkinson, Vic Duggan, Jack Young, Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger....it's just impossible to compare riders from different eras and although it gives us fans hours of endless fun speculating, it really is an impossible task to say who was the greatest rider ever. The greatest you've actually seen maybe, but not of all time.

http://sheffield-speedway.com/news.php?extend.3769&fbclid=IwY2xjawOxQeJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFKTHBCNVlZamRNTVFRRjJrc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHunOm4zFqbfHUiW6ZDpVcyCkaaKa4T9ePhurhI_oqx2L-5SU4PI4tODp4N9E_aem_eFfMT6JnqG9Nuux-2VtGLg

I'd like to know what is being put in place to ensure we're not in the exact same situation (but worse) in twelve months time. The number of clubs left makes one league more sensible. Clubs racing on a night that suits them also makes sense. What needs to be done is something to make that viable. The stumbling blocks all revolve around riders. Be it the international race nights which take preference and the lack of riders of a good enough standard to fill 14 teams without doubling up (impossible in one league). So there should be a big focus next season on getting British riders to a competitive standard at Championship level at least. A good pool of domestic talent will be important to mean sides can have carte blanche over their race nights (not a complete solution I'm aware). But, as we know the Championship teams are full speed ahead at building teams and there are no rules in place (rising star scheme for example) to promote British youngsters at that level. The Premiership isn't sustainable. The Championship sides haven't helped matters by not implementing a rising star scheme or similar. It needs to be changed for next season regardless of what has been signed already, or we're putting off change for good for at least another year. That's valuable time. Everyone needs to pull together in one direction for the good and future of British Speedway.

Seems to be an annual topic this, is Craig Cook worth the risk? He's just about as good as anyone in this league on his day. But I've lost count how many last chances he's had, how many times he's gone AWOL and let people down. Ability - yes. Reliability - no.

Or premiership promoters who throw out the toys when they don’t get there way.

Still way behind Nielsen in my view.

Dan Thompson signs for Leicester. very sad to see him move on but it’s a great career move for him as he rides the track so well. been great to see him blossom from rising star to where he is now It was dans improvement which gained us the league title imo hope we get a chance to see you at foxhall

Well that’s good news coming out of tonight’s STAARS meeting, hopefully we start to hear some team news in the coming days and weeks 😄

It is no different to prior years when certain promoters did not get what they wanted but then you have look deeper and see what the Louis family have done for Ipswich speedway and Suffolk and understand that speedway at the top level is shot to sh..e and most astute business people would walk away given the proposed set up. The proposed Premiership is a bastardised version of the Championship with double uppers simply lining their pockets to try and maintain a living from a sport which is on it knees. The mainland European scene makes it easier for riders to ply their trade in different countries without the hassle of riding in the UK. Speedway in this country is out on a limb for so many reasons and needs to reinvent itself and stop thinking it is something it is not. Regroup and enter the international stage in five years or so but until then accept most riders are also rans and the UK needs to develop its own talent. Fans and promoters need to bite the bullet and support what is available to build for the future. Allow those who do rise to the top in British speedway ply the trade overseas where they can make an impact and if they wish to take advantage of the technical tracks in the UK let them ride but at a cost that clubs can realistically afford. No more supplementing the pension fund.

Maybe you would like to provide the £95,000 deficit out of your own pocket ? Chris hasn’t thrown out the toys imo. No threats of closure etc. purely I require a 6 team league for my business to be sustainable. That’s not possible so he is selling up as is his right to do so

I think they should be. Speedway dying on its feet elsewhere. Do they really want to be the last country standing running Speedway? No international tournaments, no foreign riders, isolation or what?

And providing full formal apprenticeship schemes for riders and mechanics

Think you've got to put faith in Cookie. Vuolas just can't seem to adapt to the majority of British tracks but Cookie is a proven No.1 in this League, It's just his mindset that's the problem.

I understood the asset system - along with loan fees - had been dispensed with? And testimonials were considered for riders that have been in British speedway for 10 years?

360 podcast is doing live episode on FB at 8pm on Sunday, Derek ,myself, Simon lambert,Stuart Robson and Ben barker, take part, submit your live questions and comments, what could possibly go wrong with that 😂

Doyle has a finite time left in the sport ,therefore needs to make the best financial decisions he can to maximise his income .

Just got back from STAARS meeting. It's going to be a tough year but we are going to be in good hands. I think we will have a good team, but time will tell on that one. Let's just get through this year then hopefully a better solution can be sorted for 2027

No thanks 👎🏻 A half decent CL team 👍🏻

2027 is the ONE other team rule that is coming in...

His "team", think it was his mechanic, let us know how serious his illness was but many seem to have forgotten or ignore the fact. He came back, still not fully recovered, from his illness, and many negative comments have been made about his lower scores. I believe now that he is recovered Berwick has made an excellent signing and that we, the Monarchs, may regret not including him. It is always difficult to come within the 40 point limit or perhaps travelling costs were a factor. Who knows but most Monarchs fans wish him well.

Maybe he has learnt from it, hope so for his own sake because he wont last long at Poole if not.

Surely after all the effort put in to getting them back on track last year and with Glasgow on board, Cook is a no no. The risk of peeing off the fans feels much higher than the reward with Cook these days

As Ipswich trade at a profit the initial asking price would be based on the value of that profit with any interest and tax paid added back. This provides an Ebit (Earnings before interest & tax) figure which a multiplier is used to create a selling price. Example an Ebit of 10 with a multiplier of 6 would give a sales price of 60. Goodwill would be the difference between asset value and the sales price. Then comes negotiations where future forecasts and opinion on the likelihood of the business delivering same, higher or lower earnings in years to come. It’s fair to say that with Speedway being in an apparent perilous state, potential buyers would be looking at a possible purchase with a high level of risk attached thus a lower offer (valuation of goodwill) could be expected.

Me too Dean !

What makes you both think that? On pure 2025 averages (across all meetings) alone, Mitch was higher... 6.18 - Mitchell McDiarmid 5.68 - Fraser Bowes Do you think Bowes will improve more than McDiarmid in 2026 - at a new home track, whereas Mitch is at the same track as in 2025? I can't it even see it being close in Mitch's favour. Each to their own though.

Yes we have been couple of times and love going to Zielona Gora, unfortunately we were there when Darcy got injured. Atmosphere always sensational. Just wondered for wroclaw how hard it was for league match as normally seems practically full.

Thanks for that ArnieG, but what a farce!

Full fixtures for 2026 here: https://ekstraliga.pl/en/2se/fixtures-and-results/m2e/2026

Worky's is open this Saturday if you want to pop up and buy various merchandise and season tickets 😁

About a 55 point average CL team I'd guess

A very good question. 😵

they barely support international tournaments anyway, im not sure if they would be too concerned if they were the last nation left.

Did someone mention that over 70 riders were contesting the Polish U21 Championship? When you are laying out £1000 a point, and upwards, you will never be short of riders...

Indeed such a shame the Championship have to steal Premiership second strings to use as their No1s

Just a guess R. Douglas 8.12 D. Thompson 5.87 N. Morris 5.89 K. Howarth 5.00 S.Masters 7.28 D.Kemp 4.72 RS 36.88 /37.00

The lads looked after himself and you can't blame him - huge talen and i have enjoyed watching his progress at Foxhall

Assuming the six named are true/accurate then personally I'd rather use two local youngsters with links to the club than Gusts who has a three point average for a reason and was unavailable an awful lot last year. To me the idea of using Cooper and Jody straight from the Young Stars is even more exciting than the arrival of Fricke (again if accurate). Also I'd suggest somebody with a bit more experience at 2 would be better than a new foreign rider assuming the six named have been signed.

Finally announced what was agreed and has been an open secret sincere about August then I think the vast majority of Ipswich fans will be hugely disappointed to see him go but delighted if Dan can keep progressing I feel having the comfortable surroundings of what he obviously sees as home will help him make the next steps on the international stage A decent talent with a determined attitude and a solid professional approach so should continue to do well

Are you speaking from experience? or presuming what some people say is correct??

Because Bartoz Zmarzlik is by quite a long way the most naturally talented exciting speedway rider that has ever to set foot on a speedway bike and soon to become the greatest rider of all time too, he rides the bike like nobody past or present does and that’s where I stand, him being the ONE rider, quite simple really, I am in no way saying any British club should sign him even if the got him cheap ,I shall go to Poland to watch him if I want to see him race, I’m merely making the point he is the one rider who I would happily pay to see race multiple times a season

If he chooses not to run in 2026 then the company he is selling will be liable for the contracted rent of the stadium. A good indication of what that cost would be is to allocate a significant portion of what is stated in the 2024 accounts as due to creditors within one year. so something between £30k/£50k. It is highly unlikely that there is not already a rental agreement in place for 2026 in which case should Chris choose not to run in 2026 if faces the decision of either paying the lease/rent or putting the company into receivership. The consequence being two fold. 1. No business to sell and 2. The need for a new promoter to start up a new speedway club. Maybe there is a mid-ground to this but nothing really favors Chris deciding the Witches sit out 2026.

To do a deal with which Ipswich? Louis' Ipswich? Mystery buyer's Ipswich? or former mystery buyer's Ipswich?

shall I put it this way... ...the Premiership only had 6 riders who were too good for the Championship, I know there were more who didn't tide in the championship but the likes of Becker, Brennan, Douglas and Pickering are hardly world stars. Excellent but not in the top 20 riders in the world. If you want a premium product it has to be that. This season at least two of those 6 won't be riding. Personally I don't think you can offer a premium product in this country because the infrastructure, apart from the NSS, isn't conducive to it. In terms of either the tracks or stadia. But if you do need a premium product find a format in which you can at least see a high % of those top 20 riders in the world.

You are judging these riders by their current reputation in a pretty tough Championship league. Might the meeting be entertaining as purely racing spectacle - isn’t that why people go?

Personally I think Kemp's the better rider, but have obviously heard of his temperament issues. In a slightly weaker league, Sedgmen should be a pretty decent reserve.