cowboy cookie returns?

However with all the cost cutting & watering down of the product has done nothing to improve the sport. The fundamentals are broken & until the foundations on which the sport are changed nothing will work. In fairness some of the best racing I’ve seen at Foxhall was in the old NL days 80/90 With out the super stars of the day. There is so much wrong doubling up, guests, poorly prepared tracks, lack of investment, self interest, rocket ship equipment. All this detracts from the product & the credibility.

It’s somewhere between 2 & 4 quid some not massive. The problem is that any big league would be weaker than the championship because of the current doubling up.

One big league has been tried before, watering down the product to cut costs has been in action since the late 80s neither have worked. Unfortunately money should have been spent in raising the profile & making it a better show & rider development when the Sky money was flowing in. If it goes one big league what will happen, the championship clubs will raise their admission prices because as sure as eggs are eggs the premiership teams won’t reduce theirs. You’ll end up the the championship supporters paying out more for a lesser product while the premiership supports pay out the same for less. That doesn’t sound like a great marketing strategy. Real change needs to start with the equipment to make it not only more reliable & cheaper to run but also to provide a better spectacle. The sport is on its ass everywhere expect Poland. The FIM need to lead from the front to make equipment changes mandatory to reduce rider costs. The bottom line is that in its current guise Speedway isn’t something that appeals to the masses & one big league severing up a lesser product UK wide isn’t going to address that. The really annoying thing & it was proven at Ipswich on Thursday with a group of first timers in the sponsor lounge is that if you can get new comers in they do find it a great spectacle & want to attend again. The issue comes later when the operating model of doubling up rampant guest fest & the many other things that eat credibility start to become apparent.

I was stood on the first bend & because of the air fence I couldn’t see the gap. After watching the clip on line it’s clear the referee got it 100% correct. The terraces given Kerr a hard time & booing was totally understandable given what was a stake. If it had been the other way round & at Saddlebow Road the Lynn fans would have done the same. It shows passion from the supporters, adds atmosphere & provided a massive talking point.

Speedway must be one of the few things in life where the goal is to become weaker & not improve.

The Golden egg was laid in the early days of Sky TV. It’s a real shame that the promoters & everyone involved didn’t embrace it & use it as a relaunch pad. That money spent correctly to improve the product with the viewing figures at the time could have been transformative. Also don’t forget at the time the sport had Column inches in the national tabloids & featured on the back page several times. In terms of race day if the product was want people wanted & was desirable it wouldn’t matter what day the racing was on.

That’s a good signing

No if anything I think he got a nudge from Doyle. Agreed first bend bunching so should have been all 4 back.

I said earlier in the week that this wasn’t going to be easy & so it proved. Heat 14 will be the talking point, from where we were standing on the 1st bend I couldn’t honestly see if there was contact or not . Dan had done well to get passed Kerr at that point it looked good. To be honest we should never have been in the position that heat 14 call be the referee makes or breaks the tie. I can’t say if Lynn wanted it more than Ipswich but they were certainly the better team over the 2 legs & deserved to make the final. Congratulations you pesky Stars you deserved it!

I never knew it was Louis who was interested in Northampton. I guess it would make sense as he already has a working relationship with the stadium owners as they hold the lease at Foxhall.

I don’t think one league would sit well with Chris. When you see how far he has brought the club from being on the verge of of selling to Buster to getting the backing & the right riders in to make it a success. For Emil & Jason who knows what is going on. Perhaps injures have finally caught up with Jason & Emil is having engine issues. Or maybe there is some average reduction going on. If it’s one league with only one rider above 8 permitted next year Emil on a sub 8 could be a master stroke.

Ipswich are fortunate as the area is truly a hotbed for the sport. It’s always difficult to put a figure on there attendance levels because Foxhall is so big. The capacity is 12000 so way above anything else in UK speedway. Last week v Belle Vue I would suggest circa 2000 were there & probably an average of 1700. One thing is for certain Jason & Emil has been a big draw myself & a few others have returned as regulars, old school friends who used to take the pee out of speedway now attend. Louis also seems to be extremely good at attracting sponsorship, a very good business man.

After last night this isn’t going to be as easy as some think. Lynn have a team full of riders who go well at Foxhall. Harris, Lawson & Kerr all former Witches while Klint & Kevch both seem to love the place.

That’s the thing there aren’t new fans coming along in great numbers. When new ones do come along once the ‘issues’ like doubling up & guests pops up they tend to lose interest. Now I know the defence will be that guests have always been used but that doesn’t make it right. Which is another issue the sport has is that it doesn’t evolve.

I wonder who Lynn will use on Thursday?