mikebv

Limiting guarantees will be very hard to "self" police... When a standard points limit was introduced, probably 30 years or so ago, riders got sponsored by various companies, (some bought off the shelf), to make up the "huge differential" that the very top riders (who all rode here), would have had.. You only have to see how easy it is for "state owned" football clubs to get "legitimately" around FFP by having huge sponsorship from relatively unknown small, and medium sized businesses, to realise controlling it will be difficult... Even with an independent regulator in place, which obviously Speedway doesnt have, it is hard to administer... Fair play for trying to reduce costs, and make it a more level playing field but it will be difficult to implement...

They have thought of that.. Hence, the season starts next Monday....

Someone went to Glossop and found themselves back in 1970, before PC rode for the Aces, and no book had been written... Tubbs and Edward were not happy.. "Can I help you at all?"....

It's not just the level of crowds who attend though is it that Poland gets judged on..? TV companies are still out bidding each other to show their racing, putting record money into the sport.. Blue Chip companies still want to sponsor clubs, doing likewise with ever increasing packages.. One thing you can guarantee from Poland is that any longer term downturn will be attempted to be reversed using a joined up, modern approach, marketing plan, and if it doesnt work, then costs will be cut accordingly... And operating model adjusted to suit...

Well done Poole... Being the only team out of the two to ride at their home track in a two legged final, with Kings Lynn's No1 riding for you, (at Kings Lynn), must have put you at a huge disadvantage, but you came through magnificently.. Yet another trophy for the very successful outfit from the South Coast... That's trophy153 in the past decade isnt it? Be great to see you in the Premiership next season after your deserved promotion... Hang On. Apologies... Congratulations to Poole on your 85th title, but even greater congratulations to the runners up, Leicseter, on your "promotion" to the Premiership.. All very confusing this... Lets hope next season the Leicester area has lots of warm dry summer evenings, (unlike obviously it suffered this year if appears), meaning they can complete their home fixtures, (and this time at their own track)... Seriously though, with a crowd mentioned at circa 600 (for the "flagship final" in the 2nd tier), it was probably a very fitting "epitaph" to another season of Speedway in the UK.. You only had to see the lack of anger from Leicester's fans to the loss of home advantage in the final, which meant basically fighting with one broken arm, and the other tied behind your back, given how fundamental to a result home track advantage is in Speedway, to see the abject "indifference" that so many have for the actual competitions themselves and the results they deliver... Which is sad, but down to nothing more than the way the sport is ran in the UK unfortunately... With that lack of "emotional involvement" always holding the sport back if it wants to continue in a "Team Concept"... (Imagjne in Poland the reaction from fans if something similar happened?) Congratulations to Poole, who do get a fair amount of stick, but you cannot knock the professionalism and success of the business they run, and their fans on here are always good value (and provide plenty of ammo for the rest to fire back at them).. Let's hope the lessons learned will be heeded, but... That does seem to be the "mantra" at the end of most seasons sadly doesnt it? Hopefully next season, the least that happens, is that the play off finals get held at the actual tracks of the finalists and all the other competitions ran actually get completed... Surely not too much to ask, and expect, that is it? Goodbye 2022... Roll on 2023... A bright new dawn maybe? Let's hope so... It would be great to finally see such an incredibly exciting spectacle get the infrastructure around it, that it so deserves, to make it more popular and look more professional...

I think Richard Lawson, (the Stars No1), may have a higher average at Kings Lynn than the Leicester Heat Leaders...

But.... Apart from that... I think they did really well...

You will still be able to attend when you wake up... Double header with the Jubilee Trophy...

Mark 2..... Or is it 3? Or 4, 5 6 etc etc etc, ad nauseam..

In the interests of Speedway...

I fink he meant throw...

Sadly one of very few though Steve... The end of this season shows why some real talent comes into the sport, then leave rather too soon after becoming disillusioned by the operating model they find they have to work with... A model that so many apparently deem to be "fine" and no doubt wonder what any criticism of it is about.. Poole under Matt Ford should have been a benchmark for others to attain, and then beat.. Sadly "it's not fair this" became the mantra... Many of the issues are not money related, contrary to what some use as a defence for the malaise of the sport.. Eg Running all the other comps early October instead of the "main prize" and hoping late October would (for once), not be wet and cold so tracks wont dry.. That isn't down to money, just organisation and common sense... Let's hope some of the "new brooms" dont hark back 40 years to justify why such things are allowed to happen..

The Aces wouldn't have allowed it... You would have had a Twitter photo of Brady Kurtz with the trophy five days before the meeting took place.....

Not really the same though is it? The atmoshpere at Sheffield was amazing and if 300 Aces fans had watched it on TV rather than going in person, the "event" just wouldn't have been anywhere near the same... (And Sheffield would have been a few grand light too).. Maybe everyone could be let in for a tenner at KL to help reduce the extra cost impact of travel for the fans who attend? A nice gesture of goodwill, recognising the situation that the authorities have painted themselves into... Sadly, as even a fair few Poole fans have mentioned, it doesnt mean too much now... Which is a shame given the whole season builds up to it... So. If the competition is devalued somewhat then let's devalue the admission fee... Only fair maybe?

Surely they were facts? Not sure facts can be caustic and derogatory.... You must think that this is good for the sport I presume, given your unwavering support for those who plan in such things..? Coaches cancelled so local businesses lose out.... Fans maybe have booked hotels to attend who now have to cancel, hopefully getting a refund... One team now cannot have any home advantage in a two leg final of a sport where home advantage is fundamental... One team now doesn't get the "bumper payday" a final brings, which often offsets losses received through the year.. Some Leicester fans will have attended every home meeting this season, loyally supporting a sport who needs absolutely everyone it can find to attend, yet will now miss out on the very final that they have paid out hundreds of pounds to watch the qualifying process of... And. As has been said from even Poole's most loyal follower, getting to East Anglia is never easy at the best of times but now needs to be done on a Friday which is traditionally the busiest time of the week for the road network... Also. Several Poole fans (again passionate followers of their team and sport), have also suggested that it is now a "farce"... Now.You may say such negative comments from these loyal followers of the sport, about what should have been the flagship competition, are "caustic and derogatory"... I would suggest, some others would say they are talking facts.... Enjoy the final, hopefully a couple of thousand of fans from both teams can make it, and plenty of East Anglians are interested to go along too... Who knows, having a final at a "neutral venue" could become a roaring success, with both sets of fans there in big numbers and plenty of local speedway fans in attendance too... If so, even by default, it may become a blue print for the future...

Planning to have the Premiership Pairs Final ran at a Championship track... Planning to have the Championship Final ran at a Premiership track... And having plenty of the same Premiership and Championship Riders competing in both the Premiership and Championship leagues... Great to see both leagues working together for the good of the sport..... The spirit of cooperation has never been so high has it? We have had nearly as many changes to finals venues as Prime Ministers over the past few weeks...

Sometimes, the way the sport is ran in the UK, it is probably a good thing so relatively few attend it, and it gets minor wider media coverage... But, on the flip side... Do relatively so few attend it, and it gets minor wider media coverage, due to the way it is ran?

Aren't the two promoters involved in this part of the "top table"? If so, heaven help the sport.... Fans will have spent literally millions across the country paying to watch the "qualifiers" of this competition and, now, all for what? How hard can it be to run a sport properly? Many, many others do seem to able to do so, and even do it well... Just two nights needed to run a final at their own tracks and they couldn't do it... Both had their semi final meetings done by the end of September and Instead of running the "flagship competition", other matches have taken place of a lesser level..... That isn't "being unlucky with the weather"... That is simply poor organisation... If those who run the sport don't take it seriously enough to organise and prioritise their biggest competition, then why should the fans? As for next year? Does anyone seriously think it will be any different? There does seem to always be an "insurmountable something" to overcome doesn't there...? Lets hope they run the final as a one off and they get enough fans from East Anglia who may want a "final fix" of the season to go...

Great call... Could help advertise the meeting too to get some KL fans interested... Winner Takes All... Neutral track, no home advantage skewing the results... Best team wins....

Haven't they already got one running now? This is year 21 of it.....

Has that been bumped from any season's thread from when this forum started? ..

To be fair... No one could have predicted such unusually wet inclement weather in late October and early November.... I am 55 and can never remember those months being anything other than dry, sunny and warm... Perfect in other words to run finals of a summer sport... I am only amazed that you dont see more advertising of UK seaside resorts, and see more ice cream men on the streets during these months... They don't have a crystal ball do they...?

Given its Bonfire Weekend. Maybe they could set fire to the track to dry it out...? Using those scraps of paper and the cardboard boxes usually used for deciding meeting results would do the trick nicely.. Anyone got any kindling?...

Yep... We didnt have any issue designing a track which directly faced the post 7pm sunset...

But about 97 of them have just been about the weather.....