mikebv

As, dont forget, every new club in whatever league is a threat to the teams already there.. They might even use some of the riders currently contracted to other teams.. And. Heaven forbid, they go on to win one of the leagues.. Leagues rendered almost worthless by the very operating model that those incumbent "custodians of the sport" utilise, but they will never see that... The phrase "you couldnt make it up" was never so apt as it is for UK Speedway.. Best of luck with your plans, the more teams out there "spreading the word" has to be more beneficial for the sport as a whole long term, than having old Speedway clubs with decades of running the sport successfully lying idle...

Shame it isnt on a Friday or Saturday night.. 3000 crowd I would think guaranteed on either of those nights, regardless of live TV... Must be a Friday when all the Polish lads are available, one where Dan rides on the Sunday?

Get to the NSS around an hour before the start to get a parking place on the street... Then use the excellent Burger Van outside the stadium on the same street.. Watch the bikes getting warmed up for a while then go in.. Usually get in about 10 mins before start time as always order tickets on line.. Liam Neeson to play me if a movie gets made of my night out at the Speedway escapades...

Fans of a fair few teams could say that about him....

Same could be said for Australia Sweden and Denmark's current situation.. None have too many outstanding youngsters coming through to usurp the old guard.. Some of the UK lads are getting exposure in the Polish U24 league which will help them hugely given how much importance and investment the Poles have given it.. The British Final should be a good meeting with many of the riders being of a similar level... Not a "top class" level granted, but a decent one...

R/R for Starke? Or a Guest?

Then change the operating model.. Arguably 3 out of the best 10 riders in the world for the first time in decades..? So use it.. Dont blame the players, blame the game..

They know only too well that the second Bartek dons a set of Wroclaw kevlars to stand in for a missing Majic then the sport is truly "Donald Ducked" ... Passionate Tribal Fans. National Media fighting each other for contracts to show the sport. And National Company Sponsors willing to be associated with a huge sport in Poland, will all be gone in a flash quicker than it took Bartek to put the Wroclaw colours on... Hence we have the U24 League... Protecting their asset and brand...

Next one on the rank... Level headed kid too... Glide path spot on at the moment. .. HL in the Prem next year the next phase,.. Needs to be a bit harder I would say... Lambert has learned that, Bewley slowly getting there the same but needs to speed it up a tad... The future looks good given the excellent talent of those three... Let's hope the UK Speedway promoters can utilise their talents to promote their own sector of the sport.. Bewley and Lambert now Ht 15 regulars in the toughest league in the world.. Not bad that is it?

Great meeting to watch... Atmosphere seemed brilliant. .. Riders giving absolutely everything. .. And a young Brit leading the charge regularly now for his team against world class opponents.. If only we could bottle some of that and bring it over here one day.... Speedway. ...

Maybe Ed should go and spend some time in Poland...? I believe the air over there can heal Speedway riders in particular very quickly...

Might be able to get Andrew to do it... His diary won't be too full I would think.... And in true Speedway fashion he could cry off and send some random Earl as a guest to replace him...

Who said that?

Much later as they get almost an extra day...

Shades of Eric, Ernie, and Andre 'Preview'... The ref said... "I am pressing all the right buttons, just not necessarily in the right order"..

Charlie Brown.. AKA Giuseppe Marzotto.. (Wonder what happened to him?)..

I am sure they will too.. But it does help them get to know potential riders, how professional they are, what their personalities are like etc.. Even if they extend to a 10 team top league there is still only a maximum 30 places available to overseas riders therefore knowing who is capable, and who isnt, will assist the ongoing succes of their brand.. With the young riders getting to sample what it is like to ride in a professional organisation which look after you well, but put huge expectations on you to succeed given the size of the prizes on offer..

Bomber was riding as normal, but this time for one of his own clubs?

Can't remember which thread it was in but the proposed pay rates were on there.. Considerably more than over here I seem to remember. The Poles are using the league to develop young talent of all nations so they have enough riders for the long term to keep their leagues the ones to be in, and therefore keep the massive sponsorships and TV coverage.. No doubt though they will still keep rules to protect Polish places in the septets.. Dont sit on their laurels the Poles.. Thinking everything will stay the same forever was a clear failing of the UK in the early 80's by reducing team spaces for British riders, and towards the end of the 90's as the GP's came along and they failed to react to them..

In 1977 though the promoters were paying most of the riders "good second job money", which was usually more than their main job... And most riders (the vast majority who were, just like today, 'non superstar" status), didnt expect to earn enough to have six months off each year... The majority classing themselves for example, as a "Wagon driver who rode Speedway" not "A Professional Speedway rider"... The sport as a collective takes in millions, and pays out millions.. "To achieve exactly what precisely?" would be a question worth asking themselves when they next meet..

Indeed, We have on the forum some within the "inner sanctum", who see at first hand some of those who run the sport "doing their best", hence they get very, very defensive... Unfortunately making excuses, justifying poor performance and condoning mistakes doesnt help, as you then become part of the issue yourself, rather than part of the solution.. Speedways greatest opportunity is to market itself as a collective, to sell "the sport" rather than any specific club, and make national team success the over riding priority.. Sadly, you still have some who see winning leagues that hardly anyone cares about, and will have minuscule impact to the sport collectively, as being "the priority".. These narrow minded people, who collude with those who run the sport that it has some relevance, get exactly the contrived nonsense of a sport that they deserve.. Cannot believe Poland doesnt follow the UK operating model to be honest given it works so well, definitely missing a trick the Poles aren't they? ...

Peter Collins et al "thrilling the nation" most Saturday afternoons on one of just three channels brought excitement and patriotic fervour.. And the domestic Speedway fed off the back of it.. (Big time)... Then in the early 80's we stopped the conveyor belt of British talent by training up the Yanks giving them plenty of spaces... Then we trained the Danes and gave them even more spaces.. Then we trained the (fill any nationally in), and we reduced the chances of GB riders even more.. And now we dont even have a Rising Star system in the bridging league that should be the middle one in a three tier system.. We never learn do we? Still.. I am sure whatever two teams win the top two leagues this year will make the national news headlines and earn millions for their success and have major sponsors beating down their door.....

The whole population of the UK, (minus the circa 0.021% of the population who attend now each week) would be my target audience.. Meaning 99.9+ % of an audience to aim at, many of which will live "close" to a track but wont have even heard of the sport.. And you only need 0.1% of the populace to attend to be "very successful" given such a "sea level" low base.. Imagine 70,000 fans per week.. Imagine selling something in heavily populated towns and cities that you have a total monopoly of for a radius of 25 miles or more... Zero competition for what you provide! "Manna from Heaven" to any decent business person I would suggest.. And I sincerely hope Poole win the league this year, get a full page in the "Dorchester Tribune" (or whatever it is called), opposite the local meat raffle results from "The Legion" and the "Sandbanks Dart and Crib League results, and you and the rest of the "in crowd" all go along and enjoy your buffet with the mayor.. Quiche I reckon with a fair selection of various savoury pastries, like those mini pasties and pork pies. Oh. And sausage rolls obviously.. No one else will in the country whether Speedway fans or not, will give a flying "rude word" by the way which pastries make up the buffet, nor will they give a flying "rude word" who won the league, (either of them).... Get yourself along to Cardiff my friend.. A proper experience, which is well marketed, priced competitively, and reflects the glamour, colour, danger and skill of the sport...

Start with running the competitions with credibility, as if you dont, you are just wasting your time and money, as enough prospective new followers of a team sport (and major sponsors and mainstream national media), will simply not be interested. And run those competitions on nights when you get your best crowd in, running when your customers want you to, not when your employees dictate to you they are available... And charge an admission fee that people see as reflecting the actual value for money they get, rather than an admission fee that is set to allow competitors in a tiny minority sport to work six months of the year and have six months off... If all you can afford to remain solvent, and have enough for further growth of your brand and sport is semi pro riders, then only use semi pro riders... In short, have a clear structured development plan for your brand, cut your cloth accordingly when it comes to outlay, and, most importantly, open your business for your customers, not your employees, and listen to what your customers tell you... Plenty more obviously but those are the rudimentary obvious starting points..

Speedway has three main issues which stifle its development and growth.. One. The operating model. Simply it is designed to give the owners something to spend their money on that they enjoy. There is no plan for growth nor development, hence putting out "any adhoc Speedway", regardless of credibility, integrity, or relevance, is the objective, rather than running the sport like other "respected, relevant and succesful" sports' do, with genuine "worth winning" Championships.. Secondly. A complete lack of capability (or maybe desire?) in marketing the sport nationally through a nationally recognised marketing company, instead we have tracks doing "their very best" locally, using well meaning amateurs, (although trying to sell the current operating model would be beyond even the best advertising agencies I would think).. And Thirdly. A lack of a consistently successful national team with which to live off the coat tails of. Ten to Fifteen years from now of GB winning individual and team events, including Test Matches, would paint a very different picture for the sport domestically than it does today. (Yet in the 2nd Div we dont even have Rising Stars which tells us all we need to know about how important growth and development of GB riders is to some).. The whole thing is fragmented and disjointed, and unless it every comes together under one voice leadership then it is never going to be successful.. Succesful sports have successful leaders in charge, making tough decisions for the greater good. Leaders who have contacts in the wider media, marketing and business world.. Should Speedway ever allow itself to have the same, then it has a chance.. If it chooses to persist in following its narrow minded, myopic operating model and business plan then it wont..