mikebv

The race to the bottom began a fair few years ago but, sadly, no one would recognise and accept this, therefore fudging and making do and mending became "the only plan", with zero clear direction and growth strategy... It comes across as each season ends then the next season is then planned in, which is probably down to tracks only confirming then that they will run... Which will be no doubt down to the costs incurred, something which has never been focused on and driven down to levels that don't risk the clubs' future.. Big, tough, and probably unpopular decisions, should have been taken a long time ago, resetting the sport to hopefully take several steps back to move several more forwards, however Promoters decided to keep doing the same old, same old, until we (inevitably), have ended up where we are today...

All conjecture... Maybe he did have a solution and that, for whatever reason didn't happen? Hence he then had to call later in the day?... When my wife was ill the night before I was at work, I always waited till the next morning before making a decision given she may have improved... I don't get fans almost taking a rider missing a meeting personally, no one will lose out more than the rider himself, both on the night and possibly whilst serving a ban...

Why would anyone link it to taking drugs???.. His baby needed looking after and he had to do it due to nobody else being available... A very common occurance when I worked, several times myself I had to do it, and I went in work later once I had found someone to look after my kids.. Hard to go in later if there isn't the opportunity to do so.... These lads simply ride Speedway to earn money, it isn't some kind of emotional tie in for them, eg Kyle Howarth said he didn't miss not riding in the Final of one of only two competitions when he stopped riding before the second leg... Some people seem to take UK Speedway very seriously, which baffles me...

UK Speedway is getting like my lads Sunday League Football team... ie. You wait to see who turns up before naming the side... I was having a bet on 365 then read about Lawson, lord knows what a multi billion pound business like B365 must think of UK Speedway, laying odds must be a nightmare... Still, as John Campbell said in the Speedway Star... Doubling up (which is self inflicted),, and laydowns have ruined UK Speedway.. Really?.... Finger on the pulse!!!!

Has he got some bonding that hasn't dried?...

Riders with Polish contracts, as it stands, cannot DU next season... And not too many of them will decide DUing over here is better than accepting a Polish contract I would suggest. Especially as the signing on fee helps them fund their racing outside of Poland too...

Whatever it is can it be any worse than the current "Donald Ducked", unaffordable system?... In the Speedway Star John Campbell also mentioned more teams want to go to Fridays... Don't let a certain Promoter know!!!... The bottom line is what we have simply doesn't work, and, given where we are now hasn't for years.... No matter how many times the dead horse gets flogged by certain Promoters... The UK version of Speedway is almost in a position to just forget what has gone before and completely start again, with affordability and ultimately growth being the sole initial aim. Ipswich v Belle Vue v Northampton would make a good tri team tournament, but 10 times each per season, with all reaching the final, and I am not sure it would be a grower, and TV might not be interested......

The money, which used to be circa double the UK, also isn't the same now... Jason Doyle said a couple of years ago that it wasn't worth the hassle of getting out there for what the difference was, and that season chose the UK instead. And he only went to Sweden this year I would think due to the delay in setting up the top tier over here... One league, home and away once would give 28 matches, plus KO Cup, plus Play Offs.... And maybe use something similar to the Danish Play Off system where each team in the top four holds a round and use the SWC format. Meaning more meetings and maybe bigger crowds given three sets of away fans can attend..? Many more meetings than Sweden and Denmark would offer currently.. Might need five rider teams, might mean no GP riders, will mean a reduction in talent levels on show... Might also mean a max salary cap paid centrally by the BSP to ensure it is stuck to. (I am sure it will be)..😗.. Eg. £1.5k for No1, £1.25k for No2, £1k for No3, £500 for No4, and £250 for No 5.. £9k for two meetings home and away.. John Campbell mentioned Dan T virtually sitting it out in Poland this season but having to travel there, and suggested some may not take the risk next season out there, however, Dan T, and the others, would still have got a decent signing on fee, which, as he said in his Vlog, was much more than the two combined he got over here.. And one race win over there would get him more than a 15 max in the Championship over here given the £700/£800 per point quoted by him over there, and the £90/£100 a point on offer over here he quoted for a No1 in the Championship.. Therefore, can't see too many turning down a Polish place... Some pride might need swallowing by some promoters to ensure 15 teams come to the tapes next year... But the same old/same old simply won't cut it, and clearly hasn't for the past decade, especially post COVID.. The optics of a 15 team league at least make the sport look like a "national" one, with relevance, and also look reasonably sized, which just might be easier to sell to sponsors and TV?..

"One or two teams" was his quote, apologies, although he goes on later to say "there might be one or two Premiership teams who would like a big league", so how many actually isn't clear... He doesn't name those who want a top tier, but you would think it was those three you name wouldn't you, given two have the same person in charge.... Richard Coleman wants greater demarcation between the leagues, so you presume Ipswich would be one, and Mark Lemon ensured a top tier due to playing a major part in delivering Northampton... He also said one or two Championship clubs are not in a "perfect situation" but the aim is to bring all nine to the tapes in 2027.. Edinburgh ran to a crowd of just over 350 during the World Cup and he said several clubs ran similar numbers.. Not sure where this is all going, given its August and there still doesnt appear to be any sort of plan yet for 2027... Another excellent Speedway Star with a very inciteful interview with Kyle Howarth as to why he has taken a break, which is linked to the current set up...

The piece in the Speedway Star with John Campbell suggests the penny, finally, may well have dropped.. Hiowever his comments about the Championship being "stable" are somewhat relying on how tier one teams subsidies tier two riders, and came two days before Workington mentioned that they may not run.. The meeting they held highlighted that no team want to "move up' next season, however, if DUing is no longer an option for the "better riders", that may change I would suggest, given plenty of NDL lads would need to come in... Would fans pay the same, or more, for a lesser product?... Two or three teams still wanting a "top tier" was also something mentioned, therefore, it looks like the "let's plan 2027 early" vision is still nowhere near... No surprise there then eh?..

They will just play the long game... In a sport with such an ageing demographic, the more the years go by the older those who attended become, and the less likely they remain in such health to attend once more... Plus, you also have to ask, where are the riders going to come from? 15 teams share riders now and struggle when replacements are needed.. Will riders be allowed to sign for two teams in the same division? It is UK Speedway so you never know... !!! If the sport was thriving then you would imagine it would be much easier to fight off developers, as there would be a clear demand for it, unfortunately, there isn't quite that currently... You have to wish them all the best in their endeavours, a huge challenge, but they have come this far, which is, in itself, a fair achievement...

To live over here, I presume the Aussies would need to work over here too?... That might keep a few decent riders if so... Riders like Pickering, Masters, Z Cook, Cairns, McDiarmid, Wright, Flint, D Thompson, and a fair few others, also won't be able to DU if they ride in Poland... A very different landscape next season if Poland have their way... I can see the top league over here going towards the Danish model, ie less riders per team but more rides each so earnings can be maximised. Maybe two home and two away too to give riders more meetings than Sweden and Denmark..

Whereas, last year's SEVEN team league, with the four play off teams pretty much known in June, was captivating....😁

Doesn't work... 10,000, randomly sent out freebies would get circa 1100 responses (tops). 11% is the uptake for such things. And out of that 1100, approx 10% to 15% go on to become regulars... Mostly people take up the offer and never become loyal customers.. Spent many years marketing such things when I opened Supermarkets.. 1000 targeted people, with continuous engagement would deliver a much greater longer term response... 28 days of doing something changes your life for good or bad, hence we targeted people heavily over the first 28 days of a new store.. It really isn't difficult to engage people if you know what you are doing...

There will be 200+'Guests this season in the two top leagues.. Imagine trying to sell such a sh*tshow to TV??.. "So, any of your riders can ride for any of your competitor's and score points that will prevent you from getting into the Play Offs?... "We will pass, thankyou".... Edit. Obviously I mean that guesting has been around for decades and no one doesn't attend UK Speedway just because of this.... And that using a regulation from 60 years ago, is perfect for a modern day 24/7 digital social media age....

I would have agreed, but Adam Ellis could make the GB team, so I am sure he would want to show what he can do... Particularly head to head against those who maybe are currently ahead of him given his absence from the UK...

Surprised Batch has gone.... Been decent recently... Does Mike need him, or Matej, at BV come play off time..?. Fair play to make the changes though, Matej just phones it in nowadays...

Isn't the bulk kf the build money coming from the "Stock Car side"...? If so, very clever of the developers to not incorporate it into their plans... And a 1500 capacity (if it ever got built), wouldn't be enough for Stox..

My company used to send you vouchers if you hadn't shopped with them for four weeks... It takes 28 days of doing something, or not doing something, to make a tangible change to your life, including attending Speedway!! Yet some clubs go over four weeks without a meeting!!! Utter Madness from a business perspective... The kids are off now and this evening there will be hundreds of empty seats at the NSS, and 2,000 spaces on the back straight... A database, using e-tickets info, would tell you who had been this season and when.. This weekend, or even today, should see hundreds of inboxes of those "infrequent attendees", being filled with £10 tickets and free entry for kids, and an " x" percent off merchandise, (10% off twenty five, 15% off fifty quid?).. (When visiting any attraction someone coming away with some souvenir with the venues name on are more likely to attend again given the constant reminder they took home with fhem). Fridge magnet anyone...! Given they can go so long without meetings, non stop, regular, direct communication is even more important to keep them in the consciousness of their fanbase... During the winter too is just as important, sending Xmas cards, birthday cards etc... 3 million people live less than an hour from the NSS in Grt Manchester, what a resource pool to exploit!!!

100%, however, at least, 10 years too late... When the Sky money went, and most of the worlds best with it, they should have pulled up the drawbridge and set out their own pathway... Instead, they decided to let Poland and the FIM dictate when they could and couldn't run.. And the 2nd tier got used to having tier one level riders getting subsidised by the upper level... With tier one happy, now the Sky money had gone, to use these riders also at a "reduced rate" compared to having to pay out for these riders by themselves... The result? Too many places being taken by too few riders, which then stifled development of UK riders, with a non stop stream of foreign journeymen entering and leaving using the UK Speedway revolving door... And, just to compound things, to ensure riders could DU, race nights were fixed, (not necessarily the best ones), but that was the only way clubs could actually put out a team of seven riders.. (Apologies, I mean it was done so GP riders could ride over here, because if they did the crowds all around the country would boom wouldn't they, and TV companies would fall over themselves to tender to cover it?!!!!) You have to hope that someone can see what not to do (ie the same old, same old), and build a clear strategy for growth... I like Richard Coleman's comments about just 300 extra at every track would be a game changer, as that puts into perspective where the sport actually is, and is surely a tangible realistic attainment given the conurbations so many tracks sit in... 300 x £20 is £6,000 x 15 matches per season = £90k... It must be worth paying someone a grand a week to try and get 300 extra punters through the door, (any random 300, they don't have to revisit), given the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on the doorsteps of UK Speedway tracks, less than 45 mins away... Whatever they do decide, this time they cannot afford to keep getting it wrong..

I think that there appears to, finally, be an acceptance that the sport in the UK is "Donald Ducked" and change has to take place... However. Do the same people, who have brought all the issues, have the required skill set to make the right decisions?.. The evidence of their past lack of capability would say no, but hope springs eternal... Those trying to bring back the sport into closed down venues must despair given the current issues.. It cannot be easy to convince judges and authorities to side with you when you see "distress flares" going up from various places, and even 15 clubs unable to fil their teams with their own seven riders of the required level... Developers can point to a sport in consistent decline, which has been so for far too long, without, it appears, anyone capable of changing its course to better things... And some landlords of current tracks must also, quite naturally, be wondering if their tenants are going to be around in five years or so, especially if they are sat on some land which could deliver some excellent money... So much to unpick in UK Speedway, and, it appears, not too much time in which to do it, even if the capability is there in the first place..

But doesn't need to be.. They just choose to run it that way... Maybe next season will see, by necessity, a more affordable Championship and a clear difference in the Leagues...

Just one race win in Poland can earn you more than double what you get for a 15 point max in the Championship...

Dan T's excellent latest Vlog on YT covers off plenty of fan questions... Including money... In Poland, in his league, 700/800 quid per point is the going rate, with a grand a point for a No1.. Poland also give a very sizeable signing on fee, but over there you pay for tyres, and can use a new one each race... They also expect you to buy two new engines with your signing on fee, and they provide travel costs inc hotels... You can see why riders go over there and prioritise it, with some top league riders rumored to be on £3k a point... Over here, reserves in the Championship get £60 a point, going up to £100 for a No1.... In the Premiership, RS's get £85 a point, number six then gets £100, with the money moving up through the team, he didn't say what a No1 got.. All figures are "circa" as obviously riders get different deals with some having a guarantee and some choosing not to have one, but more per point... As Dan says, if riders didn't have to lay out so much to keep the bikes running then the need to earn so much wouldn't be there.. It will be interesting next season if Poland's contracted riders cannot DU over here, as I presume they won't give up their spot there..

It is an unfathomable system they use. They don't schedule meetings in during some of the months where we get the best weather, due to rider unavailability.... Yet on the majority of the nights they do schedule meetings in, at least one rider, and usually more, are always missing!!! Over 200 guests will be used this season so just schedule meetings in during the best months for the weather, and use even more guests if they need to.. I am pretty sure a "Guestfest" in July will get more people watching than a "Guestfest" for some dead rubber at the back end of September or early October...