mikebv

Matt's just sent invites out for the end of season party,.. Its next Thursday....!😂😂

No surprises really are there?.. Like signing KK.... You pretty much know what you are going to get so, as a fan, why be surprised when they do what they do..?

Another good night of Speedway at the NSS.. Dan Bewley certainly coming of age.. Top marks to Ellis Perks too who also looks a fair prospect, always on the pace (fire permitting).. £10 Speedway gets a crowd in....? Who would have thought...? Shame BV didnt try and flog some more discount tickets for the Pirates next week to the captured market.. As we get nearer the play offs the more people pick and choose what becomes effectively 'dead rubbers' so anything to get crowds to attend more frequently should be considered.. Once again some very good racing, not always passing in every heat, but to have great Speedway there doesnt always have to be... Watching the likes of KB taking different lines to block two riders of Lindgren and Masters stature inside and outside is certainly something to appreciate and enjoy..

Just another 'normal night' then in British Speedway....☺

Next year if (when) Poland goes to 'Poland plus one League' then that is exactly what will happen.. For most it will be GB or Sweden as their 'plus one'... And money talks.... If it stops ridiculous situations like tonight's with Thorsell and brings some credibility to the Sport in this country, then it also may be a blessing in disguise.. But the job you didn't attend would then have the right to 'Contractually' dismiss you as you would have broken your side of the terms and conditions of your employment... (Unless of course your employer is a bit meek and mild and endorses you working elsewhere when you should be working for them)...

That's twice in two minutes she would have felt let down....

Thats his issue at this level. Gets passed far too easily and is in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' far too often to be just 'unlucky'.. Very good domestic rider but you need a ruthless edge at GP level that I don't think Craig possesses.. Seems to ride defensively when in front (same inside line) almost waiting for an attack rather than dictating the race from the front, disrupting those behind by changing lines etc.. The top guys are used to throwing the bikes at each other and obviously save their best for the GP's.... Another level from what Craig is used to and a level he may never reach.... As so many before him so he isn't alone.. The top level is frighteningly good nowadays..

And if the other way round Nicki would have left his leg out, took the impact, and slid nice and slowly into the fence...😁

There is of course a bit of a flaw in the cunning plan if, as many seem to want, it becomes 'one big league' next year... The League strengths have only become closer because two teams in two divisions share the same bloody riders.. Perfectly equal team strength when it's the same person! He will find it hard to do the same thing in one League though... Half an Half Kevlars maybe for when his current two teams meet each other?...☺

The ultra slick tracks of today mean riders keep the throttle on 'full' for the whole of the race... Which means that when they hit some rare 'deep stuff' (or touch an opponents back wheel and straighten up) it can catapult them into 'orbit'.... Years ago the deeper tracks allowed for more passing through control of the throttle as it wasn't always the rider with the back wheel spinning the fastest that got the drive out of the track required to win.. Riders of today have, in the main, learned their craft on slick tracks hence they know no different which also means anything less than a 'perfect/smooth' track is a major challenge to a lot of them.. You only have to look at the 'blue groove National League' to see the situation of riders not being able to handle grip will continue as simply they are not opened up to these conditions... Hence high impact crashes will continue to increase as today's 'rocket ships' suddenly take off leaving riders with almost zero time to react and evade impact..

The Broadband service on the South Coast has certainly seemed a bit 'iffy' on a few occasions recently... Something to do with the tides maybe? 😉

Amongst all the doom and gloom around the Sport.... Tonight I paid just a tenner for both me and my fourteen year old lad to attend... I witnessed two of the best races at the track all season by two lads riding as if it were a SWC Final... Take a bow Dan Bewley and Danny Ayres... It can still be breathtaking this Sport with the right ingredients...

No.... A brilliant sport, ran awfully....

What's tonight's 'weather warning'? Tsunami coming down The Wash?.!😂😉

Neil Collins, a proper master in the rain.. Never had the machinery to match the top riders but on a wet track where technique, bravery, natural talent and throttle control were the key determinants rather than horsepower he could be fantastic..

So many seem to see Woffinden in a less than favourable light... Therefore letting him run Team GB means if he fails the same people can get on his back even more.... For them, what's not to like? The Sport (in this Country) in its current guise, is going down the toilet after years of inept administration, leadership and vision.... Why not let someone run at least part of it who is big enough to put their money and time where their mouth is..? It's knackered anyway so got to be worth a go... Edit: Read an article recently about Mens Tennis in this country and how several have improved their ranking considerably over the past two or three years. Many within the game don't put it down to anything the authorities have delivered through inept training and development plans but more simply down to them seeing what Andy Murray did at close quarters.. They had a clear role model as to what you needed to do re the dedication to put in the hours to train, the sacrifice needed to become No1 in the World and the single minded determination to succeed at the highest level.... Maybe tapping into Woffindens similar traits wouldn't be a bad idea..

Incredible to think that in this day and age Social Media is an 'after thought' for so many clubs... They cannot even quote cost as an issue as I have employed several 'website builders' in the past three years who worked part time for me whilst gaining their degrees in whatever 'website building' comes under at Uni.. One of them (to help gain his degree) had to do a 'practical' so he set up a website for my lads football team and kept it updated via what I sent him... The 'look and feel' was refreshed several times a week during the 12 months he worked for me... It looked very professional and at virtually zero cost... 'Shares' on Facebook can access literally millions of people or (more relevant maybe), access thousands on your doorstep within your community. . Virtually every community has some 'closed group' with thousands of locals discussing, as they happen, things going on in their area or advertising what is happening soon.. Every Speedway club should join their local Community Facebook Group. Either via the business Facebook page or via someone connected to the clubs own Facebook page. My business joins the local group wherever I move to as it's a fantastic way of getting your name out locally and you also get unsolicited feedback as to how you are doing via this media and can action any issues that ordinarily you may not know about.. I often am able to sponsor local events that I see advertised on my local community Facebook page... I also via the medium, let the local monthly market traders and customers use my sizeable car park as it also brings me business whilst helping local businesses at the same time.. Local charities email me direct for donations which (however small) are greatly received and publicly thanked!! Every food bank I let collect in my store, photos are taken and put out on the local community page. Great publicity for them and even more so for my Company! I currently sit on a +90% rating on the 'mystery shopper' result of my companies performance measures for the question 'does your local store help your community?'... My sales are +6% Like for Like too... Cannot think how....? Maybe related? (Now there's a thought)....😲😉 There is a HUGE opportunity to get your message out locally for virtually 'sod all' costs... All Clubs should try it...

When Poland next year goes to 'Poland plus one', it will effectively remove the GP riders as well as several current heat leaders... What this country will be left with is the top GB riders (ex Woffy and possibly Lambert), and lots of Championship level heat leaders/second strings from various parts of the globe.. These will then be supplemented by National League level riders filling lower second string/reserve places... For me, to survive, British Speedway needs to live it's life in 'splendid isolation' such is its distance from ever being in line to compete with Sweden and Poland. Not having to be beholding to Poland and Sweden when planning fixtures may assist them in doing that and let GB take charge of its own destiny... Maybe cutting it's cloth accordingly with an operating model based on affordability, credibility and integrity may give it a chance to rebuild from the bottom upwards and this time get it right!!..?

One of Busters most laudable pledges when he took over was his mission to improve the integrity within the Sport, so I am sure riders walking out from meetings will be seen by him, quite correctly, as 100% totally unacceptable and there will be some severe disciplinary action taken against those responsible.. Just like there would be when this situation happens in all properly ran Sports... 😨😂

How very dare you... Don't compare Speedway (in this country) with Sunday League parks Football.. My lads U15 league has photo id cards meaning only affiliated registered players can play, no dodgy ringers can represent our teams.... Fixtures are planned well in advance too meaning plenty of notice for parents who take their kids.. A bit radical and extreme I know, but the system seems to work quite well.. 😁

Going to need a much BIGGER carpet too.. No room left under the old one....😂

But think of all the money they are not losing by not running Phil.....!!😆😕

Don't forget it was the 'best team spirit ever' according to several of the set up... Subtle dig at 'absent friends' perhaps...? I was fortunate to witness my football team win a Champions League Final with two of our forwards not talking to each other for the best part of two years... Nobody mentioned the team spirit... Just the winning...

Same sport... Somewhat different level of participant and track layout to race on... Hadn't seen last night's meeting so watched it simultaneously tonight with the Swedish match... Not a poor meeting at Wolves by any stretch but not a patch on the level of riding in Sweden.. But then again, with Hancock, Woffy, Lindback, Emil, NKI, Shamek, and PK and Kim Nilsson at reserve etc etc you would expect good racing....

In the early Nineties both English Cricket and Rugby internationally were struggling which led to apathy for their respective domestic games.. Both Sports then embarked on following the blueprint of what the Aussies had done several years previously when they too had been struggling at International level.... ie They focused their business plan, development plan and resources on getting the National Teams successful with a belief that domestic Cricket and Rugby would benefit on the coat tails of higher media coverage and public interest... Just, in fact,'spookily' like domestic British League Speedway benefitted in the 1970's by the ITV Saturday coverage of 'England' beating everyone both individually and collectively as a Team.... The Sport didn't 'boom' in those years because of what Belle Vue, Cradley, Wimbledon, Coventry etc etc etc did each week... Incredibly those who have run the Sport over here for the best part of 30 years or so have actually 'trained up' other nations riders to hammer us at International level, thus meaning the mainstream media (who love going overboard in reporting National Sporting success) now have zero interest in following it... I remember in 1976 being nine years of age reading the back page of The Daily Mirror with a picture of PC and a full report of him winning the World Title! The board outside the newsagents (that you had in those days with that days headlines) led with this story, something along the lines of 'PC races to Title'..! That meant that their Editorial team felt this headline would sell papers. Imagine that type of coverage now....? Surely there must be some within the BSPA that can see if they had a successful International team allied to five or six riders individually regularly competing for World honours, then the Countries Media would sit up and take notice of it? History says it works.... So give the British lads the chance and support to make it happen...