mikebv

Speedway in Poland isn't as big as football.. It is very big in certain towns and cities, but nationally not on the level of football overall.. Volleyball, Basketball and Handball are all very well supported Polish sports too.. Polish Speedway does well as it doesn't run it's leagues in the ridiculous way that the UK does, hence thousands of fans can emotionally, and tribally, invest into their team, and sponsors and TV support it knowing it is bonus fide sports championship that all teams race for..

Someone (Nicki P?), once put his contract out on line to show the restrictions... Any injuries from "elsewhere", and not in an FIM meeting, would result in the return of some/all of the signing on fee, (which can be six figures for the very best).. Some riders were at the time thinking about contesting the restraint of trade that they felt they had... Don't think too much came of it... You tend to get told what to do in Poland I would suggest, and that is fair enough given the big numbers they pay out...

Nothing wil change.. As, if it was going to, it would clearly have been done by now.. Those involved seem happy "owning a speedway team"... With the infrastructure around it presumably an irrelevance to them based on their "somewhat dysfunctional" () operating model... And there are still some fans that actually still take it seriously, so fair play to the promoters ....

Magic flying at the moment, would go and watch if he was there tomorrow, the form he is in..

Maybe he got a 28 day ban from disclosing the contract info?.. Must admit, I did read the SS interview on, I think, the Sunday, where he couldnt wait to return... And by the Tuesday he wasn't coming back...!! A strange situation.. But, it is UK Speedway where you can get banned for not getting paid and, therefore, "witholding your services" when you (quite understandably), decide, "sod this lark".... It is ran "uniquely" as a team sport (in the UK)...

At least a decade too late... The UK should have set its own agenda up and stook to a plan that reflected its standing in the world of speedway... Instead, we have an organisation living off the meagre crumbs of its Polish master's table... Producing Guestfest after Guestfest and delusionally thinking it is the way forwards.. Poland show that a team sport needs a fanbase to emotionally engage with "their team".. And if you cannot run a team sport like that, then there is zero point in trying to get a fanbase to buy into what you are doing... Well Done Majic... Be a great guest for a play off team....

To be fair to them, they dont even pretend it is... "Any Speedway" is ok in their view... And the few hundred who still attend each track obviously agree with them..

Majic finding his form in Poland...

Why do the commentators sometimes refer to Patryk Dudka? And sometimes Patryk Dudek? A five point lead anyhow for Dudka/Dudek... Is it points or a final race?

Which can be after the final has been ran...

Put Woffy in the team, and,with Magic finding his form, and a final between these two could be close... Kowalski's away form needs to improve massively, but he is definitely moving up into the next level...

Brilliant from Laguta..

We gave up priority on Thursdays so the Poles would let the UK use "their riders"... Eg Tai, Emil, Chris Holder, Kvech etc, (and even some Poles!!)... As the UK knew that getting more top riders back would grow their crowds significantly.... A good plan...

To be fair, what you accurately describe is pretty much "par for the course" .... Quite happy to ride away with a "weakened team" but always want their top riders at each home meeting... Pretty standard practice....

Great News! It could have been so much worse... As for the track? Only saw the incident on TV, but it was clear that the outside resembled a "ploughed field", so surely something should have been done about it? Seen the same thing happen quite a few times at Sheffield, which makes an already narrow track become even narrower as the vast majority of riders wouldn't use that outside line.. You would think that the referee could quite clearly see the massive difference in "slick" to "heavy" from their vantage point wouldn't you and seek some corrective measures... I would be amazed if heat one would be allowed to start with the track in that condition so why is any other heat different? Best Wishes to Emil, a true entertainer, and a great ambassador for the sport...

I sincerely hope that whoever did the press release, stating that running such a meeting would have lacked credibility, was laughing their knackers off as they typed that bit out...

Does Freddie need a certain average for the play offs?

You have a level, so aim to be the best at that level, until you organically can handle going to the next stage... Birmingham for example are not a top flight club fanbase wise, so let them ride on Mondays in the 2nd Division.. Poole are the opposite. Clearly a top level team infrastructure wise, so let them be in the top league riding Wednesdays if they so wish... It might need guests for both the above to happen but (breaking news), most matches use guests each week, so it won't really matter... Clubs over stretching themselves can never be a good thing, and, no disrespect, whoever wins any competition this year will hardly be lauded by thousands locally will they? With almost no impact to the following seasons crowds....

Hard riding there from Vaculik.. Great to watch...

Maybe riding in front of more than 1000 inspired him.... Great crowd, and great support for him from the fans..

Rowe five paid six after three rides.... Doing well...

How did Glasgow do?

F'naaaar, F'naaaar..,... (One for the Viz fans)....

I went to Sheffield with my, then, 19 year old lad, a couple of years ago and he mentioned how many races were "in memory" of someone. And then the next time at the NSS, with those thoughts in our minds, we picked up on the same... The demographic of the fanbase perfectly summed up I would suggest. And it shows the challlenge faced by promoters in replacing those sadly departed very loyal regulars...

The days of testimonials for doing ten years st one club are long, long gone.. "Do I go well there? How much will they pay me? Is the priority criteria I would suggest from many when deciding where to ride.. Averages moving up and down year in year out just means moves for riders to go from one club to another... And tonight in the UK, weekend in Poland, Tuesday in Sweden, and Wednesday in Denmark must dilute the riders "riding for the badge" outlook.. And, as we know when getting interviewed during a meeting, not many know the score, which suggests that they don't feel that "bond" to any great degree...