cowboy cookie returns?

If the sport offered value for money & had respect from outside I think things might change remember the crowds were dropping while times were good, The big problem is not what has happen over the past couple of years the problems go way back to the 1980's.

Looks like Speedway Star could well be an interesting read next week. I just hope that the powers that be take onboard now that things need to change & start the planning for that to happen from next season. Is it time for another Lord Shawcross type of thing as was done in the 1960's?

It would be interesting to hear Mr Rising from the speedway star thinks about all this & if he thinks the sport will sort its self out in this country.

The post about Speedway in Poland being 'cool' I would think is spot on. I'm not sure if the racing is any better or worse than the Uk but the sport has a high regard & is respected. That Is the main problem we have in this country the sport is not respected by those outside the sport & it would appear by some of those who run it. Change is needed.

Well it would appear the cost to watch top flight speedway in Poland is about £12 & seems to be a much better product than over here.

£17 would not be too much if the sport was run in a better way & your team of 7 were most of the time on track however to turn up & have 2 or 3 missing is just bonkers! As for the reason I don't go much is down to the rules the final straw being when the el changed the playoffs from the top 6 to top 4 half way through the season. To survive the sport first of all needs to scrap the rule book & start again & I would run league matches over 16 heats & have a junior league programme with matches over 6 heats for the second half. In terms of guests these would be banned & cover would come from r/r & your junior team members just like the old nl days. In terms of how the leagues would work I think a 18-20 team top league & the rest would form a 2nd division. This would have a fixed for ever points limit of 48 if using 16 heats or 45 if using 15 as this is what is required to draw a match. Having a big league would mean no gp riders but this is about rebuilding the sport from ground up in the uk. On the otherhand if you want to keep the el then you still need to re write the rule book go to a home match every 2 weeks & get someone like monster on board to fund it on a long term deal while also having a longterm eurosport or free to air tv deal to get it out in the public domain as muh a possible. Am I crazy i'll let you decide! But I am someone who won't go week in week out in its present form. £17 would not be too much if the sport was run in a better way & your team of 7 were most of the time on track however to turn up & have 2 or 3 missing is just bonkers! As for the reason I don't go much is down to the rules the final straw being when the el changed the playoffs from the top 6 to top 4 half way through the season. To survive the sport first of all needs to scrap the rule book & start again & I would run league matches over 16 heats & have a junior league programme with matches over 6 heats for the second half. In terms of guests these would be banned & cover would come from r/r & your junior team members just like the old nl days. In terms of how the leagues would work I think a 18-20 team top league & the rest would form a 2nd division. This would have a fixed for ever points limit of 48 if using 16 heats or 45 if using 15 as this is what is required to draw a match. Having a big league would mean no gp riders but this is about rebuilding the sport from ground up in the uk. On the otherhand if you want to keep the el then you still need to re write the rule book go to a home match every 2 weeks & get someone like monster on board to fund it on a long term deal while also having a longterm eurosport or free to air tv deal to get it out in the public domain as muh a possible. Am I crazy i'll let you decide! But I am someone who won't go week in week out in its present form.

I work with some Poles & bearing in mind the Polish riders we have had at Ipswich over the years they would love to go but its too expensive! The problem is when the sport in the country should have been developed in the 70's & 80's is wasn't so we then come up with the years late 80's to now with cost cutting crap rules & nothing done to try & attract outside support. Maybe now is the time to start over in the uk. I have got back in to Speedway this year through the gp on Euro sport & I think a lot more people will see it now its on Euro sport. The gp's this year have been good & tonights has been fantastic & shows what a great sport it can be. We in the uk need to start rebuilding on the back of this move from Sky as it maybe the last chance we get. As I said I have got back into it I watch the gp's buy the speedway star but do I go up to Foxhall every week? The answer is no & that is down to the micky mouse way the sport in this country is run nothing to do with cost to get in or which league the Witches are in. I think I am not alone!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a look at Eurosport tonight. Speedway from a stadium built for speedway & what a fab arena it is. Shows what can happen if the sport is run as a sport & not a micky mouse side show as it has been in the UK for years.

The question is would the sports 'big names' coming back to UK speedway put bums on seats? They are big names to the current followers but outside of the support base would the non speedway follower know any different? The aim has to be to make the sport more affordable & better to watch as well as giving value for money. I was a regular at Foxhall for 20 odd years but have only been a dozen times in the last few seasons & that has nothing to do with the drop to the PL. At the end of the day £15 is too much buck for what you get. On the other hand if the big names are the answer then the only way to get them back is too have a shorter season & pay the money after all that what the IPL have done in Cricket paying big bucks for a 2 month season. But to do that I guess a call to monster would be required!

Going back to the Elite league would not temp me back to Foxhall every week the only thing that would do that is a total shake up of this once great sport!

At least her was good to watch!! He did beat some big name riders not sure about Crump. I know he was leading him in one heat & then done a massive 360 in front of Crump!! In fact bring back the Baron!!!! LOL

More dirt on the tracks passing was easier. There you go 8 little words that sums it all up.

Virgin is fantastic i would never go back to sky & the funny thing is it would cost me £15.00 a month more to have the same package as i have with Virgin & of course the equipment is repaired/replaced free of charge at anytime of it goes wrong as you rent the equipment :-)))) So when my 2 year old box went ** up i had a new one in my lounge within 24 hours & all covered foc!! no need for insurance.

Virgin Media far better than Sky & customer service first class!!!

Having seen the 13 heat format for the first time last season at Foxhall when it was used for John Berry's meeting i have to say i enjoyed alot more than the current 15 heats. However was that down to the number of races or that no fixed gates & a proper tac sub rule ment that the team manager had to manage & tatics came in to play alot more. For what its worth i think that the bottom 2 riders in the averages should always ride at 6&7 but the top five can ride in whatever postion the team manager thinks will work best for his team. Take last season at Ipswich you had Leigh riding at number 1 clearly not emjoying it if the managers could manage he could have been moved to any other position. So bring back a proper tac sub rule do away with fixed gate positions & allow thw team managers the freedom to put there top 5 in any order they like. As for the heat format i guess we are stuck with 15 but i always liked the 16 heat NL format form 89/90 with a proper junior league.

Eurosport do a fine job with the winter sports which I have watched for the last 5 winters if they take the gp that would be great. As for EL speedway who in there right mind would take it. Elite League Speedway must be the only sport to have had Skys involvement for over 10 years & got worse!!

I ment from the day to day running of the sport

I like the idea of a min of 3 British riders per team but can it be done under eu law??

Sack the bspa

Well Saturday night speedway can't wait & it should happen more often! The weather looks good for Saturday dry but cold so get your winter warmers out!! The perfect result would be a big Ipswich lead to take to Newcastle on Sunday & me meeting a young lady to take for a drink after the match on Saturday.

The crowds have dropped like a stone everywhere & not just Ipswich. To be honest it makes no odds what league the club are in people are walking away from the sport. The main problem being crap rules far to expensive to attend.

The short answer is yes. As a speedway fan i don't agree that you are paying a pound a minute as for most who go these days it is a full evening out walking around the pits watching the warm up etc. But that is the hard core support who do that & nothing is being done to bring in new supporters & for anyone coming for the first time then to them £15 is far too much to watch league speedway in the uk. So yes the cost of admission needs to be cut but too do that you need to reduce costs. Its no good reducing the standard of the leagues anymore as that will just drive more support away & as most if not all the stadia is rented then that is a cost of which the clubs have little control. I think the only way of reducing costs is to bring in some form of standard equipment that would deduce costs for the riders & would also make i think for closer racing which in turn would be good news. However the cost of admission is only part of the problem when trying to attract new support. Speedway needs to have a massive shake up otherwise i fear the sport in the uk will die out maybe not in 5 or 10 years but it will. The league set up needs sorting out aswell the two leagues need to work closer together. The Elite league is a joke but it should be a place that every club & rider wants to be part of. Having seen the old 13 Heat format & second half for the first time the other week at Ipswich for the John Berry meeting I have to say i found it so much better than the 15 heat's of today & no double points jokers it seemed like proper speedway. If i was in charge i would bring back the 13 heat format with second half & allow the the team managers freedom with gate selection for the riders the old tac sub rule no double point rides. The two riders with the lowest aveages would ride at 6 & 7 & the top 5 could ride in any postion as the team manager saw fit. So 13 heats a second half do away with the micky mouse rules standard equipment going back to the 70's/80's? Yes maybe but lets not forget the 1980's are trendy again rightnow & does the sport have anything to lose i don't think so as nothing that has been done in the last 20/30 years seems to have made it any better. My first meeting was in 1989 so I am not looking at the old days with rose tinted specs the sport can still be a great night out but i fear if nothing is done it won't be around for too much longer & sorry for going off topic.

The non fixed gate positions & the old tac sub rule seemed to work much better & the old tac sub rule is much less micky mouse. I also feel i had better value for money with 13 heats & a second half.

After watching last nights meeting i think i would still with the present line up as Taylor looks better each time he rides & needs to race to build up the fitness. On the subject of last night i have to say the 13 heat & second half was much better than the current 15 heat format & also seems to allow the team managers alot more input into a meeting. Anyone think that the 13 heat format should return? I should point out that it was the first time i have seen 13 heats as it was 1989 before i went to speedway i'm not just thinking the old days were better!

He is still not the man to bring in when you are trying to rebuild the club & build your asset base. In any case i can't understand why everyone seems to be pressing the panic button with the number of rain offs the season is still young.