mikebv

Rosco being deliberately level headed and polite.......

Killer goes down without anyone knocking his knee.... Looked in real anguish there, so much so he couldnt get his working bike off the track.... Think Nicki Pedersen must have just nudged him....

But there is "no other way to run the sport" don't forget..... (Shhhh.....No one mention the way Sweden and Poland do it)....

Doyle certainly takes no prisoners does he??

Come on... If all 8 teams ran on the same day where would they get the 24 guests needed from?? . .

Sadly a clear indication as to the way the sport has gone.... For many promotions the less meetings you have, by definition, the less loss you make.... You also have the fact that any opponents you bring in for 'extra meetings' may also have no home meetings left themselves so paying their own riders is an issue.. Makes economic sense, but sends out another very clear message as to the state of the sport in this country...

Great Post Rob.... Bottom line is that before 'the net' people just simply didnt have a 'voice' that forums like this has brought.... Therefore they just 'drifted away in silence'.... The decline in the sport in this country was well under way before the advent of the 'world wide web' the difference now is that people have a medium to give their opinions and contribute to any debate... The biggest surprise for me is that all the unsolicited feedback that those who run the sport can get from here and other social media, as to why people have 'drifted away' is, it seems, roundly ignored... If my business was lurching so badly and my loyal customers felt the need to tell me why they no longer frequented my establishment in as many numbers, I'd like to think I would use this information to improve things for them and re-engage them with my business... Obviously everything is so rosy in the speedway garden it can afford to ignore its previously loyal clientele and carry on with its 'ultra successful business plan'

in summary for those who havent purchased a copy.... "The sport has many, many problems"... "Many of which we know are self inflicted as we have made decisions to solve other issues which have left bigger issues in their wake".. "Promoters constantly argue with each other, seeking to gain an advantage which the MC then try and resolve" "We know what is happening isn't right if you want to run a professional sport with integrity and expect to generate a crowd that believes in what you do" "Ultimately we cannot fix all the problems as we don't have a magic wand"... And one more... "The weather has been really bad this year which has been a major reason crowds are down....." Suppose the last one is better than saying that the World Athletic Champs in Beijing or The Tour De France are effecting the crowds.... The again, the Boat Race being run on a Saturday must effect some tracks surely??

Freddie has done well... Wolves' fans must be delighted.....

or alternatively how can Garrity get excluded for something that technically didnt happen as the race should have been stopped before sarjeant reached the tapes!!!? is it the same ref who was at bv last night..? rules?? speedway??? hee hee....

A great nights entertainment.... Darcy Ward and Stefan Nielsen 'men of the match'.... Speedway when done this well certainly delivers a great night out... Well done to both teams, full on 100% commitment all night....

Sometimes, but not always... Agree with the wider the better but for me it's more the shape of the track that delivers the racing... You can have an almost circular 'small track' like Gustrow that can deliver great racing as straight line speed isnt the 'be all and end all'... Sometimes the longer the riders are sliding the more the rider with real talent can use it to get the drive he needs Could Swindon fit that type of 'footprint' inside the confines of the greyhound track?

Two major things are required for the EL... 1. Integrity...... no matter how you try and justify it, (and by no means an isolated example) Coventry's Chris Harris scoring 11 points for Swindon in a 14 point win at Wolverhampton on Monday thus improving Swindon's chances of qualifying for the play offs so they can then possibly knock Chris Harris' team out of the competition is simply ludicrous and unacceptable in a sport desperate for credibility and acceptance in a wider sporting context... and when a good many 'loyal' supporters simply don't care who wins the league due to the final by preceded by a series of non stop 'select meetings' it cannot make selling the sport as 'professional' easy can it? 2. Costs reductions which allow admission fees that deliver value for money in the eyes of the fans.. as we see when the lower admission 'specials' are done, the track ends up with their 'best gate of the season', not a co-incidence surely? therefore it proves without any doubt that at the 'right price' there still is (sometimes significant) demand for the sport. now the sport just needs to deliver costs that allow that 'right price' every week... Neither points easy to deliver given the current (often self inflicted) malaise, but I would suggest crucial to the EL's survival never mind growth. Some tough decisions need to be taken for the good of the sport in the close season, is there enough will to do it though??

and the irony is that in lots of cases the guests that come in can earn much more than the rider they are replacing, yet squads are too expensive? supply and demand rules dictate that the 'track specialist' (aka a ringer) brought in as a guest can often earn his best pay night of the year.... crackers....

and I may be wrong, however it doesn't appear that any marketing gets done on the night when the BIG crowd turns up... captive audiences should go away with at least their details in the database of the business visited for further marketing enticements.... free car stickers, flyers with the fixture list, money off coupons etc etc could also be handed out... the free/low admission meeting should be the start of a sustained plan to attract regulars to the sport not just a standalone 'one off' that leaves promoters amazingly wondering why the following week they didnt all come back!

Simply not the money in the sport now to pay for what they have, hence distress flares going up around the country... You only have to see the 'great crowds' that turn up when teams do £5/£10 admission to see that the current admission costs are too high... Paying more 'Top Riders' and increasing team strengths will mean circa £30 - £40 admission fees... Crowds will dwindle to nothing if they try that... Bottom line is you cannot pay around 9k a night for three GP riders (and then spend around a further 3k on the other four riders) on crowds that would give most non league football team owners sleepless nights (and the part time ones pay their whole squad of 18 players collectively around 3k a week tops)... Speedway needs to very quickly cut its cloth accordingly, reduce its costs dramatically and set an admission fee that the punters feels delivers value for money and meets their stretched disposable income... If not then it simply wont move forwards, and any entity which doesnt evolve simply becomes extinct...

A radical approach is what the EL needs... Team numbers? Seven man, six man, five man, four man, three man two man one man and his dog went to mow? etc etc etc... Bottom line is promoters need to reduce costs for themselves and the riders so admission can be reduced... Maybe a salary cap? Six man teams salaried with say 6k per team the limit? No1 and 2 getting 1.5k a match each? Riders 3+4 getting 1k each and fast track reserves picking up 500 quid a night ? That would mean 12k per home meeting to pay two home and away matches? £15 quid admission ex vat would need 1000 punters per match to pay the rider bills. (surely achievable)? .. Sponsorship/Sky money can be used to pay the rent and running costs as needed ... Ten teams in the EL would mean 36 meetings per season if home and away twice, meaning top two could earn 54k, (without personal sponsorship) not a fortune but 'not bad' for a little over six months work, and certainly a damn sight more than most other 'good' motor sport competitors earn in other sports... Maybe the GP riders wouldn't ride for this money but maybe other 'good' riders would? Six man teams with two Brits at reserve and at least one Brit minimum per team could be the answer...? And lets be honest does paying 3k a night to a GP rider really impact the gate that much in cash return from 'extra attendance'? (or would each track lose 3k if no GP riders are there)? I would say not.. Run the EL Monday/Wednesday when no PL meetings, letting all Brits 'double up/down' (like sweden does for its own riders)... Running six man teams should ensure 'middle order' riders are 'more plentiful' thus injuries can be covered by 'free agents' rather than 'guests' (good luck with that!)... We know we don't need world class talent to have a great speedway meeting, just four riders in every race with commensurate ability is what is required, a great race is just that regardless of what the riders earn and who they are.. Maybe a step backwards or two, to take several forward is the way to go?

Reading this thread with so many arguments and opinions put forward pretty much covers every reason why the sport is in such decline so should in theory provide a good 'starter for ten' for anyone involved in the sport when they are looking to target improvements.... Most appear valid, fair, very relevant and constructive, with the contributors passion for the sport clearly demonstrated...... As has been said so many times, Speedway when done well is a great night out and is truly one of the few sports with a genuine 'wow factor'... However, the bottom line is that any business that is struggling to bring in any new custom, whilst alienating and eroding its hard core customer base through its ill advised business, and poorly administered operational plans, can only go one way..... And sadly its not up is it?

Not sure about that.. Some close matches this year between the two with Jason Garrity being the obvious difference between the two.. His paid 35 points including three DNF's at BV in the four matches has had a big impact.. Should he be missing for any reason and I would suggest Cov wouldnt be too keen on taking on the Aces...

Pkoc??? Play Knockout Off Cup???? Never catch on that name....

Take a bow Scott Nicholls.... Heat 13, inches from the safety fence, the match virtually won with Zagar in front and he produces 'the pass of the season'....! (Don't need him involved with Team GB though, no young Brit could learn from him)... Good crowd at BV tonight, very solid team performance, if they reach the play offs and can deliver a team effort like that, not many would fancy taking them on home and away...

The lack of 'one night' speedway is one of the main reasons 'guests' exist... If all the EL matches took place on the same night then riders in the EL couldnt ride for anyone but their own team.. Look at Poland on a Sunday and Sweden on a Tuesday.... However just because you CAN do it, shouldnt mean you do.... No one can really take seriously a sport that is only one step below the WWE in relation to contriving the outcome of matches.... Maybe watching any four riders racing four laps in the name of 'sports entertainment' rather than it masquerading as a professional team sport is the answer? In fact, thinking out loud, you could have someone like Jason Garrity shouting into the camera before a race "I'm mad for it me!", "Get outta my way Noddy coz I'm comin' through!!!".... Could catch on....

And the biggest irony is the way promoters completely dismiss the notion of 'squads' as they are too expensive.... Yet every week they must pay out thousands in 'guest' fees.....!! Effectively using the whole of British Speedway as a huge squad system.. Surely having a squad where 'no ride/no pay' costs the same as employing guests every week? (If not more as the old 'supply and demand' kicks in)... Oh, hang on, just remembered, only using riders within your 'squad' will prevent teams 'cherry picking' track specialists as guests through the season.... That won't be 'in the best interests of speedway' will it...?

To paraphrase and apologies to 'The Drifters'.... Saturday Night At The Speedway.. Who Cares What Riders You'll See... The Way The Sport Is Run These Days.. Will P1ss You Off Inevitably...........

But not in some other countries.....