mikebv

And Eastbourne are building to 30....😯😁

One of the most frustrating aspects of UK Speedway is the lack of these "engine room" type of riders.. Years of not developing UK riders has left many leaving the sport who now could be at this Second String/No6 level.. The very top level riders are a breed apart, but those in what I would describe as the "third level" ie "the average rider" make up the largest individual sector, and this country should have had many more riders of that level, which would have helped the sport in the UK enormously... Hopefully enough is being done to encourage that potential level of young rider to keep going...

Good for selling season tickets and to make a team not look like cannon fodder... Which they then invariably become.. "Look at our league, isn't it competitive?".. Whilst many followers of the sport will already know it clearly isn't, and be proven right, usually around the end of May....

Top tier teams are usually the ones with the regular four figure fan base... With some obvious outliers in tier two.. Hence they can afford to change nights and still, hopefully, keep enough people attending for the Speedway to remain at leasf affordable if not profitable. Eastbourne were not one of those regular four figure attendance teams, hence the Dugard family would put tens of thousands in some seasons, and running at weekend would bring in around 700-800, tops, I would think, (after an initial novelty period that may bring a few more)... Moving to a Monday or Thursday, from a weekend would then be a big risk, especially given the 30% and more increase in rider costs...

Assessed averages often just make a team look competitive on paper.. Everyone knows the reality will be very much different...

If the 40 point Championship level is true, then maybe its been done to get more "mid level" overseas riders to come over??. If they double up, (solving a top tier rider issue), they would ride around 70 meetings a year, if they did the UK, Poland and one other league of Sweden or Denmark.. Doing Poland, Sweden and Denmark would only deliver around 40 something meetings.. The top level riders may be able to pick and choose how often they ride, but maybe enough lower level riders still exist who are happy to earn as much as they can by riding as much as they can??

If no extra riders want to come over and ride... And some from last season might decide to miss the UK.. You could end up with a lower level of rider in the top tier!! Charles Wright would get a top tier spot next season surely?.. Can't think of too many more of a sufficient level to move into the top tier from the second..

I was going to also mention something about "the cartel" but decided not to bother..

Chequebook clubs!!! The Aces certainly are not one of them... What they are though, is almost like a charity given they take huge gambles on riders who may not have made it, like Bewley, Fricke, Ben Cook, Lidsey, Kurtz, etc and then single handedly nurture them into the riders they become later in their careers .. Then, for the greater good, they allow riders to leave so other teams can be competitive.. (Or something like that)...

It is strange that they pay so much when other leagues pay nowhere near the same.. As you say, it must be to outbid other Polish teams.. You would think they would just get together and agree on a maximum figure, meaning a more stable financial footing for the sport.. Lublin's new stadium is costing £48.2m which is being covered by the city council... You need to ensure TV and major sponsors remain interested to keep paying out what they do, and, of course, the fans to keep attending in the numbers they do..

Matt Ford in a Speedway Star interview a while back said something like it would help UK Speedway if Poland paid less to their riders, (and also help Poland I would presume), as their expectations would be much lower when speaking with them to come over... Unfortunately, they do get those huge salaries and also expect the same level of infrastructure around them kit wise, mechanic wise, transport wise etc, that they have in Poland... Phil Morris also alluded to the logistical challenges in riding over here re visas, flights, etc. Where once riders needed to ride in several leagues to make themselves "wealthy", with a "have bike, will travel" mentality, it is no longer the case...

Looking like a "strength in depth" team again next season... Presumably they are hoping that riders are now more dialled in to the track, and that they have now got the consistency needed in its prep... Musielak should suit the track given it's shape and size, but ideally should be a No5 rather than a No1.. If other teams put out two big hitters at one and five then a strength in depth team could struggle in Ht13 and 15.. The Aces in the season just gone delivered several victories by their 13 and 15 exploits.... The No5 for Northampton will be key to their season I would think..

Sweden and Denmark are filling up U21 spaces... And we know the Poles prefer to just "nip over" to Scandinavia rather than fly in an out of GB possibly twice a week.. Therefore, the UK need to get the U21 positions sorted... Presume some of the lesser ranked Poles will fill some places, with the better ones going to, or staying in, Scandinavia?.. Those teams who end up with two UK U21 riders could struggle getting two of the required level... A good time financially to be a decent U21 rider though you would think given the demand for your services .

Hopefully, for Northampton, not at No1....

Would be great for UK Speedway to have Woryna riding over here.. Plenty of "bums on seats" when he visits. .

They had plenty of opportunities to not allow what eventually appened to actually take place.. Journeymen after journeymen, coming over and taking up places, using a revolving door and a short term outlook, whilst UK riders, who could have been developed, gave up.. What we have today, ie not enough UK riders, started there, but, even though it was glaringly obvious as to the end result, it never got rectified... Where once riders doubling up was used as a development tool, it is now used to fundamentally keep the sport going in the UK... An amazing lack of leadership and capability shown down the years .

File with King, Brennan, Pickering, Masters, and Lidsey, and possibly others.. Strong at No3 with two top level riders above them.. Ryan Douglas made the "leap" last season to become a No1 ride in name and, more importantly, performance...

That would give Ipswich three of the seasons top eight riders in the averages, inc BP.. Not a bad top three at all..

I presume they would want to keep possibly five from last season, given they will have built up home track knowledge, whereby other teams will still be unsure as to set ups until more visits .. An out and out No1 would be the target you would have to think to try and protect Heats 13 and 15 better.. Finishing bottom in Speedway is an opportunity not to be missed the following season, and "second season syndrome" can make or break a team as the novelty has worn off and fans have less patience if their team struggles again.. Hopefully a top four team at the very least ..

Doyle is very much "old skool" for me... In any era he would be top level simply due to his drive and desire... From UK reserve to World Champ in five years wasn't it?.. No drama, no BS, just 100% commitment to whichever team he rides for... The teams in the UK who get him usually have a very decent season...

You can see this the way Sweden and Denmark are filling up their places.... Get to Sweden on Tuesday, then drive into Denmark on Wednesday.. Home Thursday morning and job done, ready for Poland, SEC, FIM qualifiers, or the GP's at the weekend.. Logistically, much easier, and you are not racing overseas on a Thursday and flying home Friday, which is either a highly pressured raceday or a day you would want free to sort out your highly pressured weekend fixtures... You also have to factor in the money earned by "young lads" these days in Poland... Whereby "veterans" of the sport, (top level riders), had to travel, often doing four leagues, inc UK, to try and earn as much as they could, whilst they could, in what is a dangerous career of maybe 20 to 25 years, (tops), to ensure a "good retirement"... Nowadays, even non "top level" riders can earn some tremendous money riding in Poland, meaning they can top up their earnings by cherry picking which other leagues to do, and do it on their own terms.. A very different landscape than even just 20 years ago...

The AGM used to be where many of the following seasons' rules and regs were actually put together.. "Like a bear pit" was one description from an old promoter.. With horse trading going on to get your wish list through, as you might have lined up a great team if the team average selected could only match it... And the AGM was several days to accommodate the agenda... Now much of the work is done throughout the season and the AGM mirrors what an AGM should be, ie a signing off of the previous year, and an inform session to shareholders as to the vision for the next twelve months and beyond... Not an operating model planning session... "Why don't they then put out info to the public as and when things like points limits are agreed through the season?".. I suppose it would be down to how Speedway in the UK is in somewhat of a "parlous state" where teams can, almost in an instant, pull out of the sport, or need to change leagues to keep operating, or even new teams coming in, hence averages would change too. The U21 ruling will no doubt have impacted an already agreed figure for example... Dan T's vlogs mentioned several times that there were "plans for next season" without going into detail, which shows that the planning process is pretty much ongoing and the AGM is nothing more than a communication of them... A much more professional looking set up than it used to be... Making several fundamental major changes for the following March, in November, certainly didn't used to give that professional impression...

The best part for me was when Neil Vatcher said in the "clarification statement" that what they actually meant by the first statement didnt come across like they intended.. Brilliant!!! There's some fair old reasons for the last two decades of decline in Speedway isn't there??.. And it certainly isn't just down to Poland, the GP's and developers is it?... I am looking forward to next weeks Speedway Star where we might read the "clarification of the clarification statement"... The sport definitely needs an "emotionally intellectual dictator" who signs off, as professional and fit for purpose, pretty much every bit of communication that comes out, and strategises the operating and business plan...

Tate Zischke is looking like a busy lad next year... Riding for about seven teams so far...

It was done for development of riders to ensure plenty of UK ones were available for the top league as riders retired, or dropped down and saw their careers out in the 2nd Div.. Giving them a "taster" as to what the top level was, without putting undue pressure on them by losing their other role... Now it is done simply to share costs of riders who are 20 years and more veterans of the sport... Hence restricted race nights for the top tier.. Hence Poland kept the weekend to themselves... (And now added eight Thursdays, plus rearrangements)..... "How not to run a sport successfully" would make a decent book title...