Leaderboard

Given the current circumstances surrounding Oxford, I think getting the meeting on was the top priority. A rain-off could have been disastrous. Yes, the track was pretty awful, but let's just be glad Oxford are actually coming to the tapes at the moment. Some perspective is needed I feel.

Who the hell does this fella think he is? Transparency, and Accountability, indeed.... He will be seeking Credibility and Integrity next.... Then, before you know it, he will be after meetings being ran with Jeopardy and Consequences, which could even end up givng the competitions Prestige and some larger financial backing... A slippery slope, this.....

I’d sit this one out Lisa. A Poole fan criticising someone else’s track is like a homeless person criticising your curtains.

Spoke to him at Poole last week, has had it with this forum

And he is quite "scathing" in his comments around the "PR" and "Lack of leadership" on the issue... The Speedway Star is certainly delivering some quality publications, consistently....

Rain was guaranteed so the track was prepared slick it’s what all teams do these days. It was a poor watch but given the current conditions at the club I think supporters are happy they have a team. I don’t think a Poole fan can really talk about preparing a track for racing after the track that was deliberately prepared slick in the playoff final match against Glasgow. Racing that night was shocking on purpose and not due to iffy weather.

Ashfield, tomorrow night. 7:30PM (UK time)/10PM (Tehran time). The forecast does not look good. Prediction, should this go ahead: Glasgow 49, Berwick 41, me to cringe at least four times when the presenter says ”Lively Leon Flint” and the announcer to give the wrong time twice, incorrectly confirm the score four times and say the wrong rider won the last race six times. All of which will be supplemented by music more suited to an 80s gay disco than a sporting event.

It ultimately depends on what the landlords want if Boothby goes under. All we can do is keep turning up and supporting the team.

I really don't get what all the moaning is about. It's surely up to Poole how they prepare their track isn't it? If it's boring for everybody else, what do they care? A home track should have home advantage, if it doesn't, that club is missing a trick. The racing might not usually be great at Poole, but they get good crowds for most home meetings and win more than most - surely what every promotion strives for. Same story for Oxford. Track wasn't great last night, but bet there aren't too many Oxford fans that are bothered today. The racing was dull, but the atmosphere inside the stadium was superb. It hasn't been that noisy (in a good way) for a while.

The Poole track is nowhere near as bad as some make out. If it was, then the place would be empty. Seen plenty of passing this season alone. It’s smooth and constant. Remember that Poole are always strong, so the opposition have to outgate home riders. It’s difficult to pass a home rider who is likely faster and on a track he knows.

Not quite the point the Lisa. You can talk about anything. You can talk about how many five years olds it would take to beat you in a fight, for example. The point is that a Poole fan criticising someone else’s track is similar to Donald Trump suggesting you should watch what you eat or Stevie Wonder questioning your vision.

BLOODY HELL! Did not see that coming 👏

This article fully tells you all about the bspl, putting aside the actual issue of the insurance which is shocking it’s the lack of reply’s the lack of solutions and just sheer incompetence of the bspl, I have said it many times speedway faces many threats of extinction from all different quarters, money, planners, greyhounds and everything else but when you scratch away at the surface at all these issues it comes back to a sport that is run so badly it doesn’t know how to defend itself and has nobody who can fight for speedway’s corner and no ideas to take the sport forward and when challenged disappears into a corner not to found,”if I put my fingers in my ears I can’t here the phone ringing then I don’t have to answer it “ that is speedway mentality, I hope Richard Coleman is the man to take on the BSPL and finally break down the barrier that many have failed at, time will tell, he has already taken the first step and rubbed them up the wrong way and they will be seething at him but we will see what happens next

Reading the article, he is not a happy chap and rightly so. If things do not change I cannot see him sticking around too long. Someone wants it to be professionally run and proper lines of communication while the top table are not listening and pissing off a new promoter almost before a wheel has turned. Welcome Richard Coleman to the farce that is UK speedway.

Just out of curiosity, does that mean if you prepare a boring race track on purpose it's acceptable then?

What are you talking about? The track should be prepared for racing. It’s not black and white; prepare it for us or them. Poole came to Ashfield twice last season and won (once on aggregate); an emphasis that 1. We do not prepare the track purely for ourselves and 2. You build strong, entertaining sides that deserve so much better than they get at Wimborne Road.

Are we getting into this? Really? In the return leg at Ashfield, your riders - and ours - put on an absolute show of speedway. It was a pleasure to witness it. That is what speedway is all about. Don’t insult me or any other paying fan with at least half a brain with the ”we prepared it for ourselves”. Did you see Lawson and Cook in the play-off race at Ashfield? They smoked Harris and Howarth. Give them a racers track and they’ll entertain. We lost, but that is what speedway is all about. Utter brain damage, trying to justify two passes after the second bend across fifteen heats of speedway at Wimborne Road as preparing it for yourself.

Interesting comments from Charles Wright in the Speedway Star... He said he wouldn't have ridden if he had known that the insurance coverage had changed.. Basically he gets nothing given he wasnt in hospital for three nights as per the new policy... He revealed that personal insurance would cost him £1200 a month which would mean no point in riding... The BEN Fund is helping both him and the two Danish lads currently injured, given they had no UK insurance cover, as they don't ride on ACU licenses... Any changes to Retail and Employment Laws were emailed to me, almost daily given slight changes are often, when I worked, so as to ensure I didn't leave the company facing any tribunals or litigation for decisions I made... Such a fundamental change to the riders should have been a huge, direct, prioritised communication to them individually, you would have thought...

Horrible situation for Swindon. A new company can be created on Companies House for around £20, but the fact the last entity to run speedway in Swindon has collapsed doesn’t exactly scream positivity. Do we have any Swindon fans on here? If so, do you still attend the likes of Oxford, or are you lost to the sport? Many years ago, I enjoyed visiting Reading, Oxford and Swindon. Cornerstone clubs of British speedway. It’s a travesty, what’s happening to UK speedway. I’m an optimist, but also a realist and without significant intervention, we’ll lose this fine sport one day in this country.

Upwards I hope! The truth is the BSPA/L as it is now have no-one capable of handling Richard. His logical approach will be seen as threatening and disruptive. They will make allowances for his relative naivety then try and get him into line and wear him down just as they have done with others before him. Some great and capable individuals have been lost from the Promoters ranks because of this, RFG is so insular and just doesn't get any bigger picture at all. It's bobble hats and foot stamping all the way.

Richard Coleman has called out the bspl for full transparency and accountability on this subject in today’s speedway star

Enjoyed tonight, good to see some action after all that’s gone on recently. The crowd wasn't that bad, but obviously the weather played a part. The Unipart car park situation was a bit embarrassing, but hopefully sorted for next week. The highlight for me was the Poole reaction when Killeen was excluded and then Wood replacing him for a 5-1 with Masters. I will say for all those complaining about the track, for us to even have any Speedway to watch is something to be thankful for.

Thought Woffy was quite refrained for him - think he only swore twice! Doesn’t bother me either way, he is what he is. Nice to hear/see that he is getting back on form Not an exciting meeting, track looked very dry and dusty with no grip - hence the times were all 3 seconds off the normal pace I’m guessing. Fair play to Leicester and a deserved win

Was just looking at the race times tonight against Leicester and it seems bikes are going even slower this season compared to last couple of years, times around the 64 second mark tonight which was the Sheffield track record in 1982 on a weslake, progress eh

Hilarious result for Sheffield!

Not sticking up for Osbourne but he has already has a long history in speedway and stock cars but he is a business man and is in business to make money and if speedway was in a better financial position then I’m sure he would be on speedways side

The star has sat on the fence far too long so it’s refreshing to see a change. Richard Coleman was eloquent and damning in his view of the situation. It’s going to be very interesting to see how this pans out. imo rob godfreys time as chairperson is up. He certainly isn’t the man to take the sport forward however well meaning he is trouble is who would want the job ?

Swindon fans (in the main) don't see this as a material change. Swindon Speedway 2013 LTD wasn't operating and no longer had any association with running speedway in Swindon (BSPL have the licence). This move was entirely predictable with Terry passing away and Park now being Osborne's puppet in Swindon Motorsports and their pretend new track.

Good to see the speedway star having a bite. Echoing the feeling of the fans

I'm definitely going along now.... Are you the UK Speedway Marketing Director?....

I don’t see any grey area - there can be no doubt that riders contracted to British clubs are self employed. So “terms and conditions of employment” are irrelevant. They have, instead, terms and conditions of engagement. And in the vast majority of cases, these cease to operate when a rider stops riding for a club, either because they move on or because the season has ended. I suspect that also applies even when a rider is reported to have signed a multiple year deal as these can easily be cancelled. Further, with the abolition of retained lists, no rider is tied to a club beyond the end of their existing deal. Those signed up to ride in British speedway this year will have signed a contract and it’s reasonable to assume that contract contains details of the insurance cover provided to them. The huge proviso, of course is that something as radical as the change in insurance arrangements, which, of course simply brings British speedway into line with all other national governing bodies should not only have been clearly outlined to all riders, but someone with half a brain would have found and offered to the riders additional insurance which they could choose to pay for individually. In my opinion

Good podcast I enjoy these 👍🏻

Indeed... There is a certain "grey area" when it comes to riders being self employed/employees of clubs, however, there is a valid question to be asked whether this change is a change in the "Terms and Conditions of Employment" for the riders... Given insurance will be a fundamental prerequisite for riding you would presume... And, Customs and Practice, for many, many years, was the riders paid about a fiver per race to be covered, with the cover being "X,Y,Z".... Such a fundamental change to a contract, in the "normal business world" would have seen written communication of the changes to those impacted, with all the "As is" and "To be" details of the changes outlined...

The Pride of the East podcast post mortem:

Unfortunately it will take something quite radical to get the current incumbents to drop the cloth cap thought process and take the sport forward. Not sure if it is possible but someone somewhere who has finally had enough but believes in the sport to investigate the possibility of taking a UK club into one of the European leagues or even the second tier of Polish speedway if that would be allowed. You would get (bar the weather) once a fortnight home meetings and everyone knows where they stand for the season ahead in advance unlike the debacle every year in this country. Oh to see the sport run professionally again. The other issue on the insurance, given the importance why did no one in authority do a press release on the website and in SS in advance notifying riders et al of the impending change? Probably because they simply could not be bothered and with that attitude would you really want to work for people like them.

Looks like there was some justification for Barker and Potty posters comments,still you have never liked Forum Fannie’s having an opinion.Nothing new there.

True you can. I look forward to going on the Poole thread saying how crap the track is. That’s most my Wednesday’s full up to October, thank you.

I can talk about any track, mainly because i have nothing to do with the preparation of the Poole one!

If King's Lynn look to replace Scott (which they absolutely shouldn't), couldn't they just move Rushen to R/S & find someone more experienced at No6?? For me, wait for the 1st/2nd set of averages to come through and if someone is to be replaced, look at the No2 spots. While we're in the KO Cup matches it has to be a stick with what we've got.

That isn’t a bad result for Poole, all things considered. It could have been a lot worse, but they’re capable of winning at home by a greater margin. The irony - arguably karma - in Poole fans criticising the track is astonishing. You produce the absolute worst racing this country has ever seen at Wimborne Road, but you’ve been winning, so can’t see the forest for the trees. I've been victim to a robbery once in my life: when I paid for the Poole versus Glasgow stream last season. It takes an incredibly negative approach to make Chris Harris look boring. A truly remarkable lack of self-awareness.

The only hope is to continue chipping away at the old brigade and ideally move out one or two board members from the 2025 bunch every season. Lone voices never had any traction in the past but if people like Coleman join the cause and the old school/self interest driven can continue to be ousted then there is hope.

Still nothing about being a world beater

Danny Ford .. the Ruben Amorim of the championship

What Neila making things up so he can have another go at Poole how surprising!!

A speedway flag that tells a remarkable Glaswegian Love Story. Watch also on BBC 1 Player.

Why not? If you’re going to put it out there, face the consequences and own it when it turns out to be bullsh!t.

Maybe some within the Echo Chamber are actually now seeing what we the fans have seen for a long, long time, and, maybe, they realise, finally, that the writing is on the wall if they don't adapt, modernise, and change? This close season, maybe, has been the huge wake up call some needed? Some who had previously refused to acknowledge the clear issues by sticking heads firmly in sands, given the sport delivered what they personally wanted out of it . Including journalists who maybe have just gone along with the "there is no other way" narrative peddled, for too long, given many will be "mates" with some of the promoters, and know what they do and how much money they put in.. Speedway desperately needs critical thinkers, who can come in with a fresh pair of eyes and look clinically at the operating model and business plan, without being influenced by historical decisions and close relationships...

Does it?🙂

would be very harsh on Scott but i am surprised Mulford doesnt have a RS slot.

I dont think they do hope to take the sport forward thats the problem.