Hackett

So team limits 38 points if you take 3pt for each reserve. Now a scramble for the best NL riders.

Or most likely a wind up.

In sales ; you need combine looking after your existing clients, as well as targeting new clients. Speedway on the most part has failed to do both. The product is getting worse yet more expensive and people are voting with their feet - hence the declining numbers. Targeting a new audience is mostly forgotten. Speedway cant afford to neglect its current audience - as word of mouth is and always will be its most cost effective sales tool.

With TV dictating sport, it is the modern way in most sports, bar Premier League football. For the tv networks it guarantees an increased interest and audience. The clubs like them because it draws in the crowds in droves. Poole have relatively decent crowds in comparison to most if not all EL teams but I am sure the Play-offs were up in numbers to the usual Wimborne Road attendance.. Its actually good to see a crowd on televised British Speedway. In general the only team that dislikes the play-offs if unsuccessful is the winners of the league (Birmingham Brummies). Although I believe in Rugby League now they award a League Winners Shield/Trophy.

Whether Sky Sports are involved or not some significant changes to the sport need to be made. Will be interesting to see if the Promoters stick there head in the sand again (or pint) come the AGM ...

Worrall has impressed me this season on the couple of occasions that he has been to Arlington. Birks can hold his head up high following his season in the Elite League. There is certainly the talent there , it is just a case of whether they can attract enough finance and sponsors. Remember reading an interview with Lewis Bridger in SS when he was at Coventry and he said when they reached the Grand Final , Kasprzak was offering engines ,equipment etc to a number of the riders and that KKs backing was unbelievable. Sponsorship seems to be a major hurdle. Woffinden has knuckled down with fitness and nutrition and deserves the recognition this year but his kevlars still lack advertisers. He seems very professional with the way he handles his sponsors following his feature in the SS but no doubt could do with more. Whether the Young Brits can get the funding to make the step up to international level , time will tell but certainly Worrall, Ellis, Garrity , Howarth , Birks and the likes can certainly look to a future in the sport.

Last nights meeting was not too bad. I feared the worst after heats 1 and 2 but despite the scoreline a couple of Hammers rode their nuts off trying to get a point. The SEC has been slightly disappointing and the last meeting was average but then again how bad was the Italian SGP dull as dish water. Certainly the best meetings on TV this season were the Premier League meetings at somerset and Scunthorpe even berwick was better than the majority of Elite League race meets.

Kennett will ride in the GP Challenge even if he gets 0,0,0,0,0 .... The FIM have decided that a GB rider will get a wildcard for the GP Challenge at Poole.

Shambolic ... switched it off after 3 heats. Having waited from over an hour from 6pm to 7.20pm because of Polish Eurosport covering a two bob tennis match and then jumping into the speedway at heat 5/6 was a complete shambles. This was only enhanced when they broke for ads only to come back halfway through ht 9 .. From those few heats the meeting didnt look great so I switched off. Generally been fairly impressed with Eurosport coverage but last night was utter gash.

Harris must be gutted he would of had a decent chance at Poole as he can ride Wimborne road well on occasions. Great effort by Dakota North to progress to the next round.

Jeff Scott's books are an excellent read. Most of the autobiographies are a decent read. It's just good to be able to get some insight into the sport and riders : Crump, Hamill, Ermolenko, Wiggo, Simmo, and tommy Jansson all are decent reads. Normally Cardiff is the time of new launches , any planned this year ???

It makes no sense to prevent riders earning a living from the European Championship or Pairs meeting unless the BSPA is in cahoots with BSI / IMG. Simple negotiation with British riders for this season would of been as long as it doesn't coincide with your Elite League fixtures you can ride. Speedway on tv can only be good for the sport and the for riders in terms of sponsorship. The article in the speedway star from Nicholls seems as though there is a lot of bad feeling bubbling between the riders and the BSPA. Perhaps the likes of Kennett, Harris, Stead etc should of done the same as Nicholls and withheld there services too.

Really enjoyed that meeting. Both Scunthorpe and Workington served up a thriller. One meeting doesn't make a summer but wish the Scunthorpe track was my nearest track rather than Eastbourne. That meeting surpassed any of the Elite League racing I have seen this season on Sky Sports or at Arlington. Scunthorpe should take a bow for that meeting. So many race lines riders were moaning they didn't know where to ride. The banter between Rosco , Pearson and Woffinden was good value too.

Worrall and Cook ..... Need to keep tapping the MotoX route .... Worrall has one quality a lot of current Brits haven't - he can gate. Considering only his 2nd year in the sport I've been impressed when I've seen him ride.

Inside Speedway is a lovely looking magazine. Good design and use of photography. However for a quarterly magazine to survive the editorial content has to be far better than the 1st issue. Need to get some informative , controversial content to create debate.

Nobody worries too much when football clubs get foreign managers. Rosco is well respected by many of the riders and has links with plenty of the young Aussies already so makes sense. Good luck to him.

The floating camera good idea but for those watching in HD the quality is woeful then it snaps into HD as they change the camera angle. The change simply highlights how poor the floating camera is. Like helmet cam , what a waste of time to continue using every race.

Speedway Star needs to get more of this in the magazine. That and the Ashley Birks column should be increased. Give a real insight into a riders week.

Lets hope with the Baltic temperatures and weather forecast for this weekend that Eastbourne vs Belle Vue waste no time getting the meeting done. 2hrs max ...

Never took this Champions League concept seriously , it was never going to work ... Farcical.

Wish Havvy well on his road to recovery and hope that he can give something back to the sport. End of an era !

There is a Havelock Road close to the Millenium Stadium. Named in the former World Champions honour after a spectacular drunken fanzone with Sean Wilson on Sky Sports one year ;-)

Looking at the SGP series was going to have a punt on Darcy Ward but with Skybet was 7/2 joint favourite with Chris Holder.

Interesting article in last weeks Speedway Star with Peter Johns about the silencers and titanium. As we know the titanium is far more expensive and weighs less. BUT not a huge advantage , if riders tend to change carburettors regularly and don't know what they are doing with regards to the titanium valves - you could ruin them in one meeting. Mentioned that where you can shave the steel valves and use again once titanium dirty they are basically no good.

Pedersern at 10s seems decent value ... If you can get 12s would be worth an e/w shout. Has put together a new team behind the scenes + would be most unlike the Dane to have another season like 2011.