mikebv

There is no "new youth generation" to talk of... Mainly kids go with parents and grandparents until around 11 years old and then sack it off as video games and sports clubs training nights kick in, and then "hanging out" with mates when becoming a teenager is the usual evening time agenda... And any kid who still attends football matches mid week, or weekends, will need to catch up on homework, with not too many prioritising Speedway over Football .. The main opportunity for the sport is to get more "gone aways" back... Those thousands of 40+ something's who "used to go" but got dissilusioned by the sport and simply "gave up" on it... (But still watch pretty much every Speedway meeting on the TV)... Maybe start to listen to those who complain about the Mickey Mouse rules, lack of entertainment, and admission costs, and some may come back..? Much easier to get them older ex fans, with more disposable income, to attend, than expect a 12 to 16 year old attend each week... Anyhow, got my Star today from Tesco's and it again had a barcode issue.. The assistant took a photo of the barcode on her phone and it scanned using that photo... A great read again, what a tremendous production for such a small sport...

The domestic competition's definitely piggy backed off the very regular success at international level.. Watching PC thrill the nation on a Saturday afternoon riding for England, certainly aided crowd numbers for league speedway across the country... And then the UK decided to train up riders from the USA, Denmark and "everywhere else" instead of developing riders to replace PC, Louis, Simmons, Jessup etc etc etc.. Meaning less UK riders to watch, and inevitably, less success, as the USA and Denmark in particular cleaned up... And TV then decided to give it a wide swerve as watching non UK riders win pretty much every major honour, year in year out, became something viewers decided wasn't worth doing.. Nowadays barely 20,000 will attend Speedway every week... Mainstream media wouldn't be interested in such a tiny sport... Particularly with it's weather impact issues and, domestically, its ludicrous operating model... The GP's maybe have a chance of MSM coverage now Lambert and Bewley are challenging? But the organisers seem happy with Satellite and running behind pay walls...

In so many races at the NSS, the Aces are being outscored coming out of turn two, lap one .. They then pass their opponents over the remaining laps.. The early season damp, cold, with a more heavy track, seems to give their faster starting opponents an advantage, as the heavy track provides too much grip, and it is when the warmer evenings, with a slicker circuit, arrive, that the Aces then start to give their opponents some poundings, with many points being earned from behind...

The most despised person at Borussia Monchengladbach? The one who shouts... "Give us a B!".... The sport is tiny, with no major sponsors, an ageing white middle aged, and above demographic fanbase, hardly any competitor's, and an operating model ran with a credibility rating akin to pro Wrestling... A credibility rating which reduces any silverware success to fhe level of "Sunday League" sports who have a similar "lets bring in ringers" philosophy... Eg Thank you NKI for playing a significant role in Belle Vue becoming Champions, but Boool!!! For Bomber for helping Ipswich beat the Aces in the semi the year before... Before he then helped Sheffield beat Ipswich in the final.. . All played out in a wide ranging level of stadium standards and comfort, often miles away from what a 1995 audience, let alone a 2025 audience, would expect... Good luck with selling that product... Cannot see anyone pitching it on Dragons Den..

Here! Here! I agree.... "We Are The Champions" etc etc etc..😁 PS (It doesn't really matter who wins, just enjoy the Speedway, whilst it lasts)... I am a Speedway fan... "Dribble, Dribble, Where's me tartan rug for me knees"

Baffling why they don't do this.... Goes back to their lack of marketing capability I would think.. You could even run it early and help launch the season with a "bang".. The top 15 GB riders from last year, plus a wildcard in Lambert... The winner of the GP place then gets to plan for the GP's much earlier, and spends the whole of the season selling himself to sponsors, and being referred to at every meeting, as the British Champion...

And gets me there every year... Tickets booked.... Looks like I will miss the GP's as on holiday, sadly... Next visit will be the play offs....😗

Janowski getting "punished"?

I run a supermarket and the answer is "Yes" unfortunately.. We don't even report shoplifters to the police as absolutely nothing gets done... They only attend if over £500 and we have clear CCTV coverage of the thief.. However, as we no longer are allowed to apprehend, unless physically threatened, there is no one to arrest even if the Police do ever turn up.. There are plenty of apps available via YouTube from around the globe that can get you the sports channels... A VPN can have you watching from anywhere in the world...

Sky paid British Speedway to get out of what was left of their contract to show Speedway... I presume it was much cheaper to do so than cover the remaining meetings in the agreement...

Very true... Private Eye may be a better call though... They know how to say everything without saying anything...😀 They love a good council/developer story...

You could easily do a 3 match Test Series against the Aussies before Poland starts . Glasgow, The NSS and Poole (or Ipswich), would guarantee very decent crowds.. And start the domestic season off with a bit of publicity off the back of it .

Only "In the interests of Speedway" though obviously...😁

Hated, Adored, But Never Ignored..... Just like Poole...

If Speedway is on TNT, and you need to subscribe, cancel Sky, telling them why... (Watching the Speedway, can't afford both).. You will get offered the sports package by Sky for less than £20 a month.. "If" Speedway is being shown obviously...

I wonder if when the TNT execs heard that they also had speedway, they said... "Speedway? Is that still going?" 😀 Just like, it seems, about half the UK population...

Kabaddi....😀. With Bomber guesting for the Punjab Panthers .

But who is now going to take on the mantle of just switching programme channels at the drop of a hat, completely screwing up your recording of it? Or joining a meeting 3 heats in because the tennis over ran? Or even not showing the speedway meeting at all live but putting it on later, (when the Kabaddi has finished)... Add to this who are now going to consistently show the wrong captions for riders, teams, tac subs, scores, rising stars etc? Big shoes to fill...

I am always impressed that both the teams get to the final each year...

He would definitely get me and my lad there... The six rider final with Doyle in it is great....

BV at the dog bowl used to have a betting hut... Lasted a couple of years but never really took off...

They were closer last year to the limit simply through made up averages for their top two... The reality was somewhat different.. This team looks stronger, and has more potential to improve... Sixth for me, depending on whether Oxford can pull a rabbit out of the hat.. There is probably one team too many in the top league for all to be competitive given the lack of interest from those one and two tier riders who are not interested in riding over here.. And the second division fans bemoan their lack of meetings.. A shame a compromise couldn't be achieved for Birmingham to ride on Monday in the second division, especially as it wouldn't be too difficult to work around so few fixture clashes... Or maybe Oxford just ran in the second division for a season to see how Birmingham unfolds track wise? Six teams would have delivered a very competitive league with decent riders on standby for injuries...

The issue will be the EAN (barcode number), not being loaded into their POS system.. The buyer usually sorts this by setting up the EAN, and price, on the central pricing system that each major retailer uses... If a barcode number changes then the change can sometimes get missed by the retailer... The retailer should flag up any "not on File" products (those that won't scan), to their central control teams to sort...

Get hold of Private Eye and let them loose on the story..... They love council decision making, and highlight plenty of "questions" around why decisions got made, after initially a completely different decision was announced.. Rotten Borough's is the title .

Had to wait till dinner break to get access to their phone.....😀