mikebv

They won't grow if they don't market themselves collectively as a "National Sport", and they won't have money to market themselves as such if they keep paying out a seven figure amount to riders.. Riders who, with all due respect to them, if they rode down a local high street near to their tracks on their bikes, wouldn't be recognised by the vast majority of onlookers.. Two steps back to, ultimately, make five forward wouldn't be the worst idea in the world given the current situation...

Betting has been mentioned several times, as a possible revenue stream, however.. Having guests who can impact league positions, and scores on the night, to the detriment, or enhancement, of their own contracted clubs, could look a tad suspicious to a wider audience.. As could having managers running two teams. Eg A rider from one of your teams is racing against you one night, and does badly, and then goes through the card the next night riding for you.. Again, the optics maybe wouldn't look too good.. And then you can add in riders switching off to let a team mate passed, so they get paid the same, but keep their average lower, and you have a fair few "issues" any betting company could feel "uncomfortable" getting involved with.. Particularly when they are doing individual points scored, head to heads, final league positions, etc.. It would, no doubt, be totally all genuine and above board from the riders and team managers perspective... But. Would a betting company want to get involved with such situations being such an integral part of the operating model?

But .. Apart from that. ? Comparing Chalk and Cheese isn't it? Yet, it appears, some UK promoters seem to think what the UK produces has some similarities.. Baffling... Just deliver the sport you can afford to, with the minimal outlay..

As so many of us say... It needs a root and branch review and complete reset.. But not by anyone in the "UK Speedway Echo Chamber".. And, (most importantly) for any business, include customer Market Research... My old company would spend millions on refitting stores but not ever without me as the Store Manager previously holding several "Customer Focus Groups" with up to 200 of them in attendance.. They had the chance to tell us what they wanted, from after up to six months of disruption, and I got the chance to tell them if their wish list was feasible or not.. We also had many a "brutal" session where I got told what my store was like for shopping in.. However, again, I was able to explain some of the rationale why things were the way they were, and why some things couldn't get done.. I held forums every quarter so any comments I could resolve had a 13 week timeline to deliver before we met again... It certainly focused my attention... But also certainly improved my stores performance and growth... White Middle Aged Men running something for mainly White Middle Aged Men, simply cannot survive... Sometimes humble pie has to be eaten, and you accept that, no matter how good you are, more diverse age groups and genders can improve your business.. Two teams, 15 Heats, Seven riders per team, Four Laps per race, Guestfests and Sharing riders, etc etc etc obviously isn't cutting it... So. Find out why and do something about it... NB. As and aside I was looking at how much Sky put into the sport earlier, and the Oxford Mail covered the 2001 deal... Five years, Five Million and an added £150,000 a season to sponsor the league.. They also showed the admission fees for the then Elite League Oxford for the coming season.. £10 for an adult, which in 2025 is just under £19 allowing for inflation.. The second tier charge more than that don't they?

But to win what? Competition's that have a self inflicted operating model even wrestling would be amazed by.. It goes back to a lack of vision, and a lack of communication to the fans... And is still prevalent today... There should be at least an update as to where the whole thing currently stands, as a minimum, to its "customers".. And, if the plan is (once again for the umpteenth season), "make do and mend", then let your customers know the reasons why, but also, at the same time, tell them what your long term plan and vision for the sport is to stop living "hand to mouth" each year.. Let your customers in on your plans and they may accept a short term plan for longer term success, hell, who knows, maybe even canvas their opinions before making up your plans so they are truly engaged...? Market Research? Heaven forbid...

UK Speedway is still sat in a Leadership Bubble akin to other sports in the seventies, and early eighties ... That is to say, self made business people running their local sports team... My football team in the 70's had a man running it who owned several local butchers shops and the other team within the city had a chairman who sold TV's... Then Sky came along and these football teams brought in people from outside of the "Football Bubble"... I remember going to Old Trafford and the "club shop" was a pre fab building behind the Stretford End... In the 90's, proper retailers, and merchandisers, were brought in and a "Megastore" was designed which now turns over tens of millions.. The "Match Day Experience" became the buzz phrase, and experts in event management and customer relationships were brought in to organise and deliver it .. Marketing and Advertising experts were hired to create interest and awareness.. Speedway still has the equivalent of the local butcher and TV man running teams, well meaning people who obviously love the sport but cannot countenance bringing anyone else in from "outside" to advise them into the required directional journey for growth in the 21st Century... In particular, Rugby Union, Cricket and Football, all used to "self police" and keep everything "in house", then they realised the world was changing and they had to stop doing the same thing over and over again, and bring in people with different skill sets to help them move forward.. UK Speedway had a different idea...

Somebody suggested someone going around giving sweets out to kids during meetings.. He would be perfect ..

Yer Barred!!!!!

Yes.... Because that is the only outcome isn't it? UK Speedway couldn't possibly be in charge of it's own destiny (ever), could it....? Or indeed, have been in charge of it's own destiny for the past 20 years or so using the millions put into it off Sky...? The current issues are not down to Poland, The GP's, Developers, or Landlords... Hell, let's even blame Covid too...

Use it to go over to Poland for a weekend of two, or take in a few GP's from around Europe... Proper Speedway, with relevance, resonance, consequence and jeopardy... And not the contrived, make it up as you go along nonsense, that the UK sadly has seemed quite content in delivering, for far too long..

Maybe Oxford will give it another go, and swap leagues again, if "big investment" comes in?

Speedway Futures Limited? An apostrophe missing somewhere maybe?

Now.... You know that... I know that .. And most on here know that, and have all said it for well over a decade .. However....

With a max five teams, there never was...

Last one out, turn the lights off please... Don't bother locking up though... It's not as if anyone will want to break in....

It's little more than an expensive hobby for most, and one that they, and those who regularly attend, happily collude to make out it has some relevance, and resonance. All cobbled together so the riders get a chance to be "professional" for six months of a year... The operating model clearly doesn't work, (as we see each season that it gets used), however, the skill set required to maximise what is very much a unique product in its most raw form, simply doesn't exist.... And those who run the sport show no signs of ever bringing anyone in who maybe could maximise its potential... Yet, will quite happily pay well over seven figures collectively to all the riders who, in the main, put hardly one extra person through the turnstiles... (Quite baffling)...

The music's the same...

This could have been written 25 years ago when the GP's started to impact UK domestic Speedway.. Then when Poland did the same a decade or so later.... Instead, we had the top riders taking the largest portion of the TV millions, and weekend meetings made up of guestfests as they were elsewhere. With these meetings still being planned in knowing some top riders wouldn't be there... And, all the while, due to the lack of UK talent being developed with, instead, dozens of journeymen foreigners taking up spots, they then had to make the top league Monday and Thursday so doubling up could enable one rider to cover two team spots in two leagues... And a few top riders could earn a few extra quid, and, again, hoover up most of the TV money... Does anyone really have any faith that 2027 will see the radical change needed after we (once again), cobble something together, and "make do and mend" for 2026..?

He said he used to go and watch the Glasgow Tigers and Edinburrow Monarchs in the 70's when staying at one of his properties in the Scottish part of England... His favourite riders were Bernie Hawkins and Brian Collings, plus, of course, Barry Briggs, who he used to go out to dinner with regularly... He used to take his sons too, and they adored Bryce Penhall... He is quoted as saying... "We love Speedway, we really do. Speedway is great, and everyone should go to Speedway and Make Speedway Great Again".. He then adapted that slogan to base his Presidential campaign on...

I always think that it is fantastic that after each AGM they are all on the same page... Sadly, it's always from the wrong effing book!!!

I had something called "pseudo gout" which the docs couldn't pinpoint was the reason.. I suggested, given the timeline, that maybe it was due to Iron Tablets that I started to take, and they thought it could indeed be linked. So, I started to take Grapefruit Juice to see if it helped.. I drank a litre a day... Unfortunately, it has had zero effect.. I am suspicious though that it might be down to the litre of vodka a day I drink it with...

My lad used to ride there for Stockport...

Seriously?...

So.... Full Steam ahead for the Premiership in trying to revive that dead horse for 2026.... So it can be flogged to death again in time for 2027... Basically.... Just keep on doing exactly the same thing, and each time you do it, expecting a completely different result... Truly Genius... Should be a roaring success... Just like it is currently...

The Speedway Bubble Echo Chamber. .