mikebv

Speedway in the World Games? What an oportunity for some mainstream media coverage over here, there's nothing like a National Teams success at World level to boost a Sports profile.... Now, who is the ONLY person involved in Speedway the wider general public recognise due to his appearances on National TV and Radio?.. Who is the No1 rider in the British team, the one rider who can compete against and regularly beat the World's elite? Which British rider competing today has won not One but Two World Titles as proof of his ability at the highest level of the Sport?... Well... We don't want him representing the nation do we?... 😩😲😈

Seem to remember Belle Vue winning at Lakeside not too long ago with just three of their own riders.. I say 'Belle Vue', but it obviously wasn't really... Still, nothing wrong with that, because it's in the rules isn't it? So perfectly acceptable.... I think the issue was caused by the meeting being arranged on the same night as the 'Azerbaijani Masters' which took priority......😁

Which is basically saying "I give up on League racing ever being fit for purpose in Britain so I will just watch the Speedway itself'!... And you are most probably 100% right... Speedway can be truly great when you get four riders per heat of similar ability, yet this proves almost impossible to deliver consistently in League racing, therefore maybe the sport should just face up to reality and go 'individual' only? Tracks could run say 16 meetings a year with the sixteen riders earning a an average of £750 a night each as a basic (more for 'top riders', less for 'lower grades') then put up say an extra £10k prize pot for the top four finalists...? £22k a night in total, charge £17 admission and after VAT you need circa 1500 adults to break even without sponsorship.. No guests, no RR, no Mickey Mouse rules, a fixture list to encourage regular visits, and plenty of track time and income for British riders which can only help the National team (and deliver the increased media coverage a successful sporting National team brings). Any rider riding five nights a week could earn well over £3k a week and thats without ever reaching a final... Bang in the odd heavily promoted and marketed 'annual special' at each track where only the 'top riders' are invited, and the prize fund increases accordingly, and maybe both promoters and riders will start to make money...? Bottom line with 'team speedway' is, (like anything that relies on a repeated loyal customer base and their income to succeed), "if you can't do it properly, then don't do it at all"!... As quite simply in the long run, you will be 100% bound to fail..

Which makes it even more frustrating HT.. The racing at Scunthorpe is superb and those 'aficionados' watching will undoubtedly put this first, and turn up every week. . Sadly, the rest of the bollox that British Speedway self inflicts on its competitions will undoubtedly take away from what Scunny has to offer... Credibility and integrity of the competition should be the minimum expectation of a Speedway fan. .... A superb race track with great racing on it then should be the icing on the cake...

Three 'self inflicted' main issues which decimate crowds.. 'Select Teams' can never engender the emotional loyalty needed to follow 'your local team' which is so important in team sports, therefore fans will often give these far too numerous 'contrived' meetings with zero credibilty a wide swerve.. Teams losing at home quickly sees crowds drop. All supposedly start relatively equal but very quickly one maybe two get cut completely adrift and damage not only their own business but the business of the other teams in the league when they ride away... However, instead of being able to strengthen up properly to match the top teams of that season that have emerged, they have to use a half arsed system to try and improve themselves, and invariably replace riders to do nothing but effectively stand still, staying both cut adrift and a continuing 'brand' liability.. And finally running a disjointed fixture list for the benefit of the riders rather than running meetings at opportune times to maximise the crowd levels is a killer if you want to run British Speedway successfully.. Entertainment level and VFM is very subjective so may or may not impact crowd levels dependent on what your view is, however.... These three self inflicted issues definitely do 100% effect attendances negatively, but surely it's not beyond the capability of those in charge to undo the nonsense that has led to these issues going a long way in ruining the sport..? Fix them I would suggest and it can only make a positive difference to attendances..

Basically sign up the low average.... The name of the rider fitting that average will be irrelevant as all won't be available for every meeting.. Let them all ride once then use a choice of good guests for every 'double up/down' fixture clash (and there will be loads).. Surely that won't be allowed to happen though, I am sure those in charge will have another fool proof system devised to ensure the sport doesn't look ridiculous... Just like they always do.. (Bless them)😁 Got to have planned in a conversion rate surely? Wasn't it x1.4 in the past..?

And of course as more than 99.9% of the country don't attend Speedway and they wont know who Holder, Lindgren and Doyle are anyway, it wouldn't preclude them from attending if those three are not there.. Four riders of similar ability, from the teams they are contracted to, in every race. Is the mantra fans want more than anything. Someone winning a race in 58 seconds miles in front of the rest isn't as good as a race on the same track over 62 seconds where winning is still up for grabs going into lap four.. If top riders put 500 on the gate then have them. Zagar this year isn't at BV. Gates don't seem to have dropped any, but I bet the wage bill has...

But do we need the top boys? Only three of them now anyway... There is simply far too much messing around with fixtures to accommodate too many riders' other commitments... Time for British Speedway to bite the bullet and decide it's future path.. It's simply nonsense the way it has been ran for years.... Surely those in charge realise this..? And if they do, have they got the resolve to change things?

Always appears to be the away side that misses the most riders too.. Very rarely, if ever, do you see a home team agree to a meeting with three or four of their own riders (their star man usually being one of them) missing. Wonder why?...😮 A meeting like this has zero credibilty yet the result incredibly will impact a professional sports national league! You could be forgiven to assume one team suggests the fixture thinking they could steal a march on their rivals knowing riders are unavailable, whilst the other agrees to the fixture due to the potential they see of bringing track specialist ringers in... The only loses are of course the fans that will, once again, fail to see a Premiership meeting worthy of the name. If they turn up to it obviously...

Thought it was the tide that is the issue?😆

Excellent way of looking at it. Nearly a 9% saving. Hope it's a success .

Well done the Rebels... Maybe BV should plan in more matches when Bjerre is somewhere else again? Seems to keep the meetings close when he isn't there... And after all, it's all about entertainment... Isn't it?.. 😁😩

😊 No chance of either of us being inducted into the 'super fan' group I would suggest..!!! Enjoying the sunshine in the local park... 😁😉

Really WG? A true fan would be there today regardless of the Mickey Mouse situation caused by yet more administrative nonsense... It's all about four riders going round don't forget, it isn't important for the sport to have any integrity or credibility. A true fan would realise this too... You get great racing at the NSS regardless of who the riders are, and what standard they may be, so everyone should be very pleased with that and ignore the names in the programme. Who they are and what team or division they are from isn't relevant... Never forget also, true fans know that these riders only do it for our entertainment so therefore we should be expected to pay top dollar regardless of riders there, in fact true fans would happily pay double to watch any Speedway regardless of standard.. Remember if you don't attend, Speedway will cease to exist and that would destroy people's lives (or something like that), and even by saying why your not attending on here will mean thousands now won't attend todays match.. FFS don't put any weather forecasts out as well WG.... (Unless of course it says, 'its dead sunny in Longsight' or 'its lovely here in Ardwick').. Remember, it's not those who run the sports' responsibility to provide a 'Professional' sport worthy of the phrase, it's simply down to YOU to attend any old bullshine they serve up... And be bloody grateful about it too I might add!!.... If people don't like what is being offered up then they simply should just stay away, (and join the many tens of thousands in Britain who have already done this).. Now, as a true fan I am off to the track... Hang on, is that a large dark cloud I see over Mcvities on the A6?... 😁

Stock Cars at 4pm at the old track the reason for the early start... Not an ideal start time to maximise income for the Club I would have thought...

Poland get rid of riders probably faster than anywhere else as they have a supply line that exceeds demand... Two bad rides in a meeting and you can be out not just for the rest of that match but every match as you may never get back in if your replacement does the business. .. What Britain needs to do is exactly that. Make sure the supply of riders exceeds its required demand, which makes it all the more ludicrous to keep running three leagues with seven man teams in each, as to deliver this number they all have to 'share' riders... Absolute Crackers.... You simply will never deliver credibilty when riders have to be in two places at once so they end up getting covered with a guest from either the same league or the one below... As for paying more? Even in the halcyon days of the sport in the 70's it was often only the First Division heat leaders who were 'fully professional' (and not all of them by any means) and most only rode in one league, 40 or so matches a season tops... So maybe the 'fully professional' non GP, non international class, non 'top league heat leaders' of today need to top up there Speedway earnings elsewhere doing a 'day job' and the sport become what it really should be for most, (in this country) ie semi pro...

I think its more of a shame they can't just adopt a policy to sort the sport out and have the riders who should be there actually turn up...... The added bonus to making the sport look like it's run properly and not Mickey Mouse, will be no requirement for 100's of daft regulations needing writing, re-writing, re-writing again, and then, from time to time, ultimately completely ignored!... (Which ironically makes the sport then look even more Mickey Mouse!) Lets make it really, really simple... Riders sign a contract for a Speedway team, and injuries or illness aside, they ride for them in every match, and Clubs don't arrange matches when their riders are already booked elsewhere. .. Guess what, I reckon if you do that crowds will start to increase, or at the very least, not drop in the numbers they have over the years as total incredulity and disillusionment with British Speedway has set in....

Sad news... Best wishes to his family and friends.. RIP Alan..

Bjerre and Hougaard missing to be replaced by ???? No doubt a couple of hundred fans now missing this nonsense too... To be replaced by ???? 😨

Wonder if Lasse's Danish team would ever consider replacing him with Josh? 😲

Indeed, it was always 'amazing' that Sky could decide which matches to cover to the season end half way through the season (when they could much easier predict the play off teams). And those teams 'all of a sudden' (with about four weeks notice at best), could put out full strength teams more often than not on a Monday and Wednesday. And those who rented their stadiums with Monday/Wednesday as an off race night, managed to get their landlords to let them use the stadiums at such short notice... Spooky...😉

Often wondered why more isn't done to attract away fans... Fuel costs are ridiculous which I am sure will keep many from travelling, therefore why not have an away fans admission to help offset some of these costs?... Premier League football's maximum for away fans is £30 so maybe Speedway could do say a tenner for away fans? Let's be honest, hardly any teams' fans travel in large numbers away unless it's a 'local derby' on a Bank Holiday or a play off/final (so these matches could be exempt from the offer).... Sell the tickets direct from the away teams' stadium as home fans are very unlikely to travel to purchase them, (unless of course some think driving four hours and spending £50 in fuel to save £7 is a good idea).. 50 visiting fans paying a tenner each is significantly better than the odd 'car load' paying £17 and also will considerably add to the overall atmosphere. Something often lacking at a Speedway match... I wonder if Somerset could have filled a coach for BH Monday at BV if they had been able to sell tickets at £10 to their fans?

Agreed, or in management...? Always seemed to put the team performance high on his list of priorities as a Captain....

FIM Europe have been given more political clout by the FIM as there was a danger with SEC (and whatever that pairs thing is called this week), of there being a split which would have impacted the GP's. (The FIM Holy Grail).. So to appease the Polish Company who run it, and prevent a possible rider exodus to the SEC rather than the GP, (eg Emil) The SEC has been granted what could be described as 'unofficial official'😁 status, by the FIM.. The BSPA though can and do have the right to not recognise it, unlike 'official official'😁 FIM meetings, which they must bow down to and give priority...

All that way as well😁! Don't see so many on a normal Friday night at BV😜!