cowboy cookie returns?

Not often I agree with you but that is spot on. Louis in the main keeps his home support happy. Ipswich are massively restricted to what they can do with the circuit. The track has improved as the year has gone on after the winter changes. Louis runs a well run club that is attracting first time sponsors onboard while also maintaining crowds that every other uk track would love. Last night would have been somewhere around the 2k mark & i would expect next week to be higher still.

Listening to the latest pod cast I’m not sure he is

I hope it does! However at the moment I can’t see it.

A complete bottom to top overhaul there isn’t a silver bullet that will solve the sports issues. That’s why it needs someone independent to conduct a routes & branches review. Combining the leagues won’t reduce costs & wont increase income either though attendance levels, tv or sponsorship income. 1 league to attempt to cut costs has been tried before & failed.

One big isn’t going to solve the issue. The sport needs a radical overhaul overseen from someone independent. one big league would see the admission cost frozen at the current premiership clubs & an increase at the championship clubs to watch a weaker product. That’s something I wouldn’t pay for. Any tweaks like one league, 6 man teams all of those things are way too late. If they want to save the sport in the uk as a team event it needs radical change now in how it’s ran, administrated & and end to the Micky mouse feel factor.

50p they can because as you said they are incompetent 😃

I think it is shouldn’t someone in authority know that the Workington riders are banned from taking guest booking?

And keep the ones they have.

I complete disagree Poland aren’t at fault for any of British Speedway ills. They have a product that has consistently over decades drawn crowds in big numbers no boom or bust for them. Poland have a product that people want to be involved in, and increasingly since the collapse of communism business has any to invest in. Why the Poles look at moving the product forward & innovate in their country we dither around with half baked crack pot ideas. The Poles have got Extralega 2 up & running alongside with the under 24 league. Britain can’t even make the premiership a success. All of this brings us to a point where the Poles can dictate what happens if they wish too though growing their league structure while we mismanage ours. From a selfish point of view at Ipswich it’s been great having Doyle & Emil after years of dodgy heatleaders. To have Emil don the witch for 3 seasons has been magic I think a fare few thought it might have been a 1 season wonder. The guy is pure class & id love to see him back on the heath in 26. However I think the uk is head for 1 big league or a very watered down premiership while keeping the admissions costs high. In short there are plenty of people who could be blamed for the current situation. The promotions of the 70s & 80s who didn’t reinvest in the sport. The promotions of the early 90s who though infighting threw away the opportunity that was amalgamation. Finally those involved in the early days of Sky. or maybe just the British public because they just don’t want speedway on a mass basis, one thing is for sure you can’t blame the poles!

I don’t think the league structure will allow the likes Kurtz, Bewley, Doyle & Emil to all ride over here next year. I do agree this is our best chance in years.

It’s all cool nothing is won until September…..so not to despondent.

Never really understood why it’s in the regulations that the top rider in the averages has to ride at 1. Should be down to the team managers choice.

I don’t know last time around Becker was superb for Leicester. A lot depends on who they have in his place.

By the time of the Mauger away guest facility of 1984 the decline had well & truly set in. Crowds were big compared to today’s levels but had dropped since the 1970s & track closures & those facing closure were increasing. The whole reason for the Mauger ruling was to get Exeter to move up from the NL to boost the top flight & try to at least make them competitive. The Mickey Mouse rules had started to erode credibility by 84 & that process has only increased since then, 43 years on & non of the warnings have been heeded & the sport now faces total collapse in the uk. One or two promoters on the 70s/80s could see the issues coming John Berry was one as is clearly outlined in his books. The other Stewkesbury who wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea fan the NL in the late 80s & ran the league without guests & some of the other daft rules that operated at the time in the BL. In addition the NL circuits had dirt on them which helped to improve the spectacle while offering lower running costs. The NL at the time boasted more tracks than the BL a more credible competition & better crowd levels. It ultimately met its demise with the amalgamation of the BL & NL prior to 1991. This brave new world was then doomed to fail because of the infighting by the former BL promotions not liking promotion & relegation. 30-40 years on nothing has really changed has it, apart from ever declining attendances.

Should have been isn’t

Let’s be honest no one is going to replace Thompson, if Hume beats his opposing number he has done his job. At the moment R/R for Doyle & having a weaker number 6 isn’t working. It’s a shame Nicholls is still sidelined as he would be a shoe in for Doyle at home. We really need Brennan to hit double figures & Ellis to have his gating gloves on. I believe we can sneak past Lynn overall but it’s going to be tight. Kevach seems to love Foxhall & conditions will also be much more to Harris’ liking than on bank holiday Monday. The only good thing is that if they are more to suited to Harris it will make Klint less effective. in truth we could do with the rain winning on Thursday.

Six points to make up from the first leg at the AFA on Monday……thoughts?

An up hill battle this for the Witches. However it could still go either way. To be on the safe side we could do with Buter running out of pit gate spares on Monday morning. 😂

Very true Ippo spoken to Dudek & Zmarzlik last year amongst others no takers

To be honest the best team won last night. Becker is the best visiting rider I’ve seen this year so far & it’s probably the best I’ve ever seen him go. The same could be said of Kemp. The Lions had more in the tank than the Witches, fair play to them. For Ipswich we move on, however unlike last year when the local track specialist was available week in week out to cover Doyle we might need a temporary replacement. You simply cannot replace Dan Thompson so were going to struggle in that department too.

The idea is all well & good but we all know that a weaker product won’t reflect in lower admission prices. At best they will be held at 2025 levels for a couple of years. Has having some top riders back in the uk improved the attendance levels I can’t comment to much as I don’t travel to away fixtures. the crowds at Ipswich certainly appear higher since the Jason/Emil double act have been in town they have certainly brought myself & a few others that I know back to regular attendees not missing a meeting from attending the odd one or two a year. The radical overhaul should have happen after Covid, the promoters had an entire season written off where they could have used the time to come up with a blue print. The sport has been on a steady decline since the late 80s. The Stewksbury plan of the early 90s to revive the sport failed because of infighting. One big league failed because of infighting in 95/96. The last chance salon of the elite league with sky tv money failed again due to in fighting & lack of vision. I’m not sure the majority of promoters want radical change that might stop the rot & improve things.

I can’t see how that would work. Not enough riders to cover the required spaces especially if the likes of Brennan Masters & Rew decided to quit the uk. On top of that for such a watered down product the admission fees would need to be vastly reduced. unfortunately I think it’s now clear that the writing is on the wall for uk league speedway & with it the majority of tracks.

Possibly, however at the moment I can’t possibly see how the top flight can carry on. Brum going we’re down to 6 possibly 5 if the rumours about Sheffield are true. Enjoy this year because I can’t see a league set up next year that allows for the likes of Emil to grace these shores.

Possibly or watching the averages for next season 🤣

I’d have taken a 2 point defeat before the start, especially with Emil & Tom having off nights.