mikebv

Costs? If Edwards has double the average then it won't be far off double the money surely? Let's face it, Birmingham's season ended the moment it declared its team, so no point throwing any more money at it... Tolley has spent enough flogging the dead horse and keeping Birmingham going, so whatever he doesnt spend between now and season end no one can surely begrudge...

Maybe something clubs over here should do on "TV nights"? A tenner in and SS holders bring a friend to offset them already paying... A reasonably full stadium delivers a much better advert for the sport...

Did some riders already know? 😉

Should have done it when the internet and social media started... Running their own "closed shop" with scant regard for sporting authenticity, and putting their employees needs forward, before the fans, was never going to get a free pass in the modern digital age... "Oh, for the 1970's eh?"☺️ One league will just mean guestfest after guestfest, particularly on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday due to the inevitable clashes with Sweden, Denmark and Poland,, so it still won't be taken seriously by the media. Or . They don't sign riders from those nations... And that leaves (?) to fill the 70 places, (if they run it with five riders teams)... Personally, if it is one league, then run with guestfest after guestfest but do it on the best night for each club to deliver the best crowd . They simply cannot bring credibility to the sport, as they would have surely done it by now, as they must know the adverse impact it has had to crowds over the past decade or so, as riders went missing time and time again.. Sell the night out at the Speedway on the best night for you individually ,rather than try and sell any importance in the league itself.. As that (as we have all seen for a long time, and still continue to see today), would be a tough sell...

How long have they got for that to happen?

Or the leagues that hold their licences dictate they must prioritise their own league...? Many riders now won't ride here due to actually not wanting the travel for possible several meetings per week, and having to have kit over here.... One meeting each weekend in Poland and Scandinavia on Tues and Wed seems to be enough for those many "top and middle order" riders that currently give the UK a miss... One league with even more meetings per week won't attract too many more than come now, and may even mean some current ones dropping out..

The bikes deliver some fantastic racing, which, in my opinion has never been better at the highest level... Many of the tracks sadly are the issue with many of them still the same shape as they have been for decades... There was considerably more dirt down years ago, so more throttle control was needed, and bend entry speeds were less. Plus, riders entered them less sideways than they do now at full gas... Meaning that many of the bend entry lines that used to exist are taken away by the rider actioning a full on broadside... Hence. The tracks more circular, wider, and slicker, deliver some, regular, fantastic entertainment, with "too much grip" resulting in almost "riding on rails" at these tracks, as the dirt berm builds up.. Hoping to get to Worky this weekend to watch at one of them...

Duplicate post..

Monkey masks too.... Boiler suits worn and saw dust down when it is peeing down... And a full second half to win a "canteen of cutlery"... It would pack 'em in... Give us an A Give us a C Give us an E... Etc, etc etc... Maybe a three day week too? It would help with fixed race nights....

Back in the 70's was fifty years ago... Lifestyles and challenges to disposable income have moved on considerably since then... As have massively inflation busting admission costs... A major part of Speedways problem is thinking what was fit for purpose 50 years ago, is still going to work today... A unique idea in modern days sports administration....

For me, a six team, five man team league would work... You would end up with far too many "wobblers" for one league, even with five rider teams... A "knockout cup" of two x three team groups with the top two of each league riding a semi final (1st of one group v 2nd in the other)... Home and Away twice in the league would mean a total of 12 guaranteed home matches without the KO Cup Semi's and Final and the play offs.. Any team going all the way in both comps get 16 home meetings.. People talk about "more variety" but watching completely out of their depth riders each week wouldn't deliver much entertainment I would suggest...

The Danish model has 14 heats with several riders taking six rides..... Five man teams can work over here, just as long as the fifth best riders in the teams are competitive, and not out of their depth makeweights to fit a team average... Keep the development aspect in Div 2 and Div 3, and only let "juniors" ride in the top tier if they are clearly good enough to do so...

I had you down as more a Hai Karate man...

Did you use body wash? ... I like your high opinion of yourself too...

He won't be racing against Kurtz, Bewley and a Jaimon Lindsey on his Polish kit....

Especially if they can ensure he gets two extra RR rides over two legs..

And the centre green looks like it has been mown... Unless a load of goats have broke in....

And at the same time, judge the sandcastle building competition....

To cut Speedway's throat with I presume...?

For a TEAM SPORT to be successful, it requires some very basic fundamentals that need to be box ticked... They are, in no particular order of priority... To have a level of prize size that grabs the attention of the public and media... To have jeopardy and consequence in every match that takes place.. To engender a tribal following with a decent number of away fans at every match to create atmosphere... To ensure any followers of a team have a close emotional attachment to their representatives, with, ideally, affinity built up through years of loyalty from their "heroes"... To have credibility, whereby each team stands alone on their own two feet, for good, bad or indifference... To deliver matches to their fans when the fans can, or want, to attend, not when their employees tell them they can hold the events.. To organise events regularly, so the fans have continuity, and don't get out of the habit of attending.. To charge an admission fee that reflects the level of entertainment on offer, organic size and standing of the sport and current cost of living challenges, and not one that just reflects how much their employees want to be paid... To work collaboratively with each other, knowing that the league itself is only as strong as its weakest team... To have a joined up, fit for purpose in 2025, marketing plan that sells "the league(s)" as a collective, rather than each team just going it alone with varying degrees of capability, reach and cut through.. Sadly, UK Speedway currently ticks none of those basic fundamentals, and, until it does, it has zero chance of growth, and, in its current guise, quite probably even threatens its long term survival, in the UK, (as a team sport).... Something akin to moving the deckchairs on the Titanic simply won't work anymore...

Well meaning amateurs don't have a clue about how you market a product... And, instead of using the Sky money to employ a professional marketing company to move the sport as a whole organically forward... They used the money to pay some "Superstars of Speedway" a massive amount of money, who then, almost to a man, all "effed off" when the money ran out.... A level of money which then brought inflated salary expectations for everyone else.... It has been just one "make do and mend" decision after another with zero clear plan for future growth for two decades... Band Aids being applied to severed arteries.. What we have now is surely the very bottom, so, as the song said, the only way is up!... Can they do it right this time and build some clear future with growth? Historical evidence isn't on their side, but let's hope..

Some great racing.... Lots of strength in depth talent.....

The sizes of fhe sports are irrelevant.... There are fundamental basics which any sport should follow... And using your TV contract to make you look a decent popular proposition is one of the key ones... The UK promoters obviously don't give a monkeys how their product comes across when on TV given the lack of a decent crowd being accepted time and time again... People are sheep. (Look at how popular influencers are?). Make something look popular and you have a chance others might go along... Make something look like where your Grandparents go, (and dozens of other Grandparents go), and others probably won't go along... I think it is quite telling how many ex riders promote.. Which inevitably seems to end up with an operating model, and business plan, that seems more set up to suit the riders, rather than the paying public... I would be amazed if doubling up went snd one league would negate that... Meaning if one league did happen I presume home and away twice and five rides a night for those who currently DU? And plenty of guest opportunities given the six day racing structure...

Or in summary... A lineal decline in the UK since 2000 with not much at all done to even slow the decline down, let alone reverse it... Just listened to the R&A CEO talking about fan engagement and how the top stars' tee times go out to balance Europe and USA TV coverage... And that the slow play has meant the afternoon top stars finishing in front of half empty grandstands at 17 and 18 which "isn't a good look" for those non golf fans who they are trying to engage... He also said the the top stars need to be focused on because "every sport needs a shop window", and the best competitors provide that, especially to attract kids to the sport who see the best as being their aspiration... Amazing that UK Speedway believe something the complete opposite is the way forward..

And we keep getting told that "sponsors" pay for them.. So, what's the issue in keeping them? The reality is that there are various ways the top riders get money... Not all get 100% fully paid up for home and away meetings... Some part sponsor, part club payments... I presume the concern is that if "some stay" riding for just a few clubs, then the others won't have top riders as they cannot afford them., One thing is for sure though, if your business is struggling and you need to lower head count... Getting rid of your best people first is a hugely risky strategy....