mikebv

And Zagar might get 4 points by beating his team mate to third, meaning 20 - 4 in his races.. Or 8 points in four 3-3's so no "swing" to the Aces... They will undoubtedly be better with Zagar and I do have a sneaking feeling for them to reach the Final..

Starts today in Poland..

The issue is they have to "get in early", as many riders get fixed up well before the season ends.. So, any teams being "not sure if they will run" wont be attracting any riders of a bona fide HL level.. And the UK only DU's of a certain level will always want to keep their options open towards Poland, as the inevitable injuries or poor performances will impact the Polish Div Two and Three teams, meaning potential jobs for them as the season progresses.. Basically. Sign for Newcastle and you cant then ride in Poland.. They have a rich history of spotting talent and bringing it over. Talent which then moves on to bigger things.. However. That was in the days when Poland on a Sunday didnt dominate the Speedway landscape.. If you are a talented young Scandiniavian, European, or Aussie now, you can go straight to Poland and earn a fair few quid more than the UK can shell out... And as the GP shows, no longer do you need to race over here regularly to become World Class...

Well done young man.... They would have taken that before tapes up... Great atmosphere being generated....

Majic.... If only his GP season didn't always end in July...

Looking forward to this one..... Wroclaw away is (famous last words), usually well worth a watch... Track seems to be a bit of an issue though, work being done on it... Ostrow seem to have decided to "take the money and run" looking at their team assembled....

Maybe the answer is that Bomber goes around and rides for every club in the first couple of weeks? He will probably achieve this feat as the season goes by anyway, so, instead, make it part of the "launch plan" in those important few meetings for each team...

But Brum dont ride on Sunday's... A massive disadvantage when trying to negotiate with "decent riders" I would suggest... If the "UK only" DU's are already signed up, (and they will be in great demand), you have to go down the foreign rider front who invariably will have a place in Polands Div 2 and 3.. Maybe they should have just signed a rider who couldn't turn up most weeks and ran with Guests..? Seem to remember Robert Lambert filling that particular role a few years ago... A very small pool of riders of sufficient standard to pick from when you race on Sundays, regardless of what budget you have.... As, invariably, even the biggest budgets wont out do what Poland would pay..

Let's be fair... Newcastle were set up to fail just by being in the 2nd Div... They came to the party far too late and ended up getting what they could, which included those surplus to requirements elsewhere, or on assessed averages, or a rider that hadnt ridden for ten years.. All in all, what they have is all what they could have expected when riders are not capable of riding to the level of their specific position in the team.. Second Strings as Heat Leaders simply doesn't work, but given the lack of riders available, I am not sure Newcastle could have done more... Saying "We need a No1 rider to take pressure off the rest of the team", is frankly, stating the "bleedin' obvious"... The more difficult issue is who that No1 rider is and how he can be convinced to drop other countries and come and ride in the UK..

But could get a winners medal.... And a runners up one too...

Maybe the plan is to go down to ten teams...? Meaning plenty of riders to even the teams up... There would also be a few on standby too.... Could be just what the sport needs.. Top 8 into the playoffs....

So sad... One of the very best promoters of the sport you could wish for... Condolences to his family and friends... He will be sorely missed and leaves a huge void to be filled... RIP....

Exactly... One or the other these days....

Presume "not their race night", with it being a Friday? Only six clubs would be easily out voted too if they wanted to run...

They are going to use "ex Rider Replacement" for him all season... One for the historians there....

Looks like both Allen and Etheridge are tonight making it very difficult for Lemon to decide who to keep... Maybe he will just decide neither....

But is a good way of dissuading supporters I would suggest... Even regulars..

All spot on 100%... The issue to prevent this though is that UK Speedway is now designed, as its key priority, to provide circa 30 to 35 riders with enough rides to make them a full time living... Which also means that promoters can then afford them as they dont pay all the riders wages but share the cost with the riders other team.. Hence we keep a guest system, regardless of the wider damage it does, as it is a nice little earner to top up the salaries, and an easy fix for the promoters to put a team out on the track.. Less riders of a certain level should, common sense would dictate, mean less riders per team, or less teams in a league... But it wont happen, as the current situation is now pretty much custom and practice... Riders wont ride for just one team given the money drop, and promoters of 2nd Div clubs wont want to only use riders of a "lesser standard" again, given they can use Div One riders now whilst delivering a second level product..

I am sure UK Speedway could find a way....

I was talking about putting them on standby for EVERY meeting... Not just Newcastle's....

A good idea, however... Something much simpler.... Just put Bomber, Scott and Ben Barker on standby for every meeting.... Oh hang on... I think that is already the plan. ..

It shouldn't need anyone guesting to make a meeting entertaining... If that was the case then why not have every meeting with 14 blank spaces in the programme and track specialists get selected to represent each team..? Mickey Mouse rules kill the sport, so using its biggest one just to provide entertainment can never be good... Other sports with no promotion and relegation have minimum standards to adhere to, as they know that collectively the "brand" suffers if they have significantly disparate levels between top and bottom. However these sports have money behind them so being bottom doesnt mean a risk to survival.. UK Speedway doesnt have that luxury so needs the team/teams at the bottom to at least have a fighting chance..

Put the top 3 in each team as a collective, rather than any individual figure.. Then the riders who run 9 or 10 point averages can still get places, and be probably the most important signing the ciub makes given their status.. There will be those I am sure though who think "tough", and that some clubs will just have to make do with what they have.. And if any of the titles in UK League Speedway carried any great kudos, or financial return, I would 100% agree.. But sadly due to the way the sport is operated, they dont, so the thing that sells the sport the most is the entertainment value on offer, or at least a close meeting score wise.. Having such disparate difference from top to bottom does no one any favours from a business perspective..

Young Kowalski looks very promising... Some big names struggled to beat him...

UK Speedway is unique in that you basically choose your own level to compete in... You get hardly any publicity for winning anything and there is no major financial reward for victory... In fact. Success can (and has), helped close tracks down... There is no promotion or relegation meaning that many meetings become pretty much 'dead rubbers' as we hit mid season, given it is often clear by then who will qualify for the play offs and who won't... And. Getting beat regularly at home can dissuade home fans from attending but similarly, hammering teams regularly at home can also have the same negative impact to crowd levels,, especially when play off positions are virtually assured months out, and weak opposition are in town... Therefore. Having close racing throughout a meeting, and keeping scores close enough to remain "interesting" has to be the major priority, and the only way to do that is equally share out those riders who make the main difference to both the racing standard and the score line, ie. The Heat Leaders.. And if that means a deadline in place of say December for each team to say they will run then so be it, and should they come to the table after that then they run NDL...