mikebv

Speedway as far as I know, is the only other "Professional" sport in Ipswich... With the other not being "too successful" since the early 80's, indeed, it ended up in "Div 3" quite recently... Therefore, it is a huge opportunity to gain sponsors, and attract fans if successful, and Ipswich, traditionally, even when not winning anything for decades, could deliver the UK's largest crowd of the season on Easter GF, with over 4,000 in attendance, so historically there has always been a much more than average following.. Many other UK tracks have many much popular and larger pro sports on their doorstep... Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, Belle Vue, and Leicester in particular are places who face massive competition for the "sports dollar" local media coverage and publicity.... Poole is similar to Ipswich with a decent conurbation and not much in the way of pro sports fighting for the same followers.. With the other common denomination being that both Promotions have pro actively taken every advantage to maximise their opportunity.. Some other promoters, but not all, who don't have Pro Basketball, Netball, Ice Hockey, Rugby Union and League and top two tier Football Mens and Womens teams around them, obviously are not doing what the likes of Ipswich and Poole do so well.. Plymouth and Workington, in particular, last season seemed to improve their business just by changing when they opened their business, which meant they could attract more families... Who would have thought such "whichcraft" would work for tracks?

Given the amount to "unpick" I would be amazed if we now get one league at such a late stage.. If it were any other year, by now, pretty much all discussions and negotiations with riders would have been completed, and I cannot believe that this hasn't already been done this year. With each Championship team pretty much ready to announce their septet.. They won't be able to accommodate so many teams into their division at this late stage I would think, (even if they were happy to do so), especially as so many riders "dropping down" are already there!!!

Of maybe running a season with 14 teams and then deciding if it works or not is worth doing? The top tier, in its current guise, as is proven by all the evidence of the last decade, clearly doesn't work... From eleven teams down to seven teams, it hasn't worked.. So five has zero chance, and two more teams added in 2027 will have the same zero chance.. So. How many times are they going to try and revive that dead horse by keeping flogging it?

They have some jeopardy, and you feel that you are at least attending a "proper sporting event" given the size of the crowd delivers atmosphere.... Maybe the play off semi not so much as the crowds are only a "bit better" than the normal meetings, but at least the meeting has some consequence... One league would have seen me attend a fair few times, home and away, given the novelty factor.. I will still get plenty of Speedway though as planning a few trips to Poland, and some other GP's.. Sport without jeopardy or consequence isn't really sport, but more of a pastime...

Because they exepct riders to have at least two good bikes, a mechanic, and a van.. And turn up ready to race regardless of how many meetings they have had in the same week.. Often even at NDL level... Hence the riders expect renumeration to buy and maintain (minimum), two good bikes, pay a mechanic and run a van... All so one promoter in each league can end the season basking in the glory of winning such incredibly prestigious competitions...

A five team top tier definitely won't generate extra interest, and, I would suggest, actually reduce attendance's at those five tracks... Whereby, given nothing else but just using the novelty value alone, a fourteen team "British League" just may get some extra punters through the doors .. With a perfect world being many of them being competitive enough to make a play off challenge, rather than it being pretty much set in stone by the end of May.. Even with five riders per team, there will probably still need to be guestsfests every week, just like now, and the race format, depending on the breadth of capability levels, may need to be rewritten.. A five team top tier just says that the sport is solely being ran for riders to Double Up, rather than being ran as something to be taken seriously under a team sport concept...

For the weekend away legs the clubs can just use guests to replace their missing riders, just as they do now, and have done for pretty much ever... Does it look a "bit Mickey Mouse" and "contrived"? Of course it does, but no different from now, as it is an integral part of the current chosen operating model, hence teams riding, for example, on a Wednesday, sign Danish riders knowing they will most likely miss some of their meetings.. The optics of a five team top league wont bring anyone extra in to watch it, as it will look ridiculous.. It is getting to the levels of those football leagues on the more remote islands dotted around the UK, where the same two teams play each other every week in their "Island League".. They also share players. If one team doesn't have eleven players due to work commitments, injuries, holidays etc then the other team lends them players.. (Maybe that is where UK Speedway got the idea from?) A 14 team league running from Scotland to the South Coast will at least look like a it's a "National Sport" that is being ran... And, with 14 teams, you would hope, that eight or nine at least would remain in play off contention to late into the season, meaning some jeopardy and consequence to a good many meetings..

It is summising, (due to the lack of transparency from those who run the sport), if it was £60k they got last year from TV... Over 13 guaranteed home matches that worked out at just over £4600 a match... Meaning, at £25 a pop, the same as 184 paying punters.. I would suggest the lack of teams in the league, therefore meaning a lack of jeopardy and variety, (even last year with seven), kept more than 184 punters from their track very regularly... They will need a hell of a TV deal this year I would suggest, as I reckon you can add another 100 minimum to that 184 who will give plenty of meetings a miss with just four different teams.. And if they don't get a TV deal...? Then heaven help them... Get the prayer mat out!!!!

It certainly won't interest all the considerable amount of punters who used to go regularly and now either attend "now and again", or not at all... I will stick to the PCMM, the two GP's and (maybe), a Play Off meeting... And not bother going anywhere else to watch, as I have been to the other four tracks several times... Just imagine the euphoria though in the town or city of whoever wins the prestigious title of "Speedway GB Premiership Champion"?..... (Be like winning the Meat Raffle in the local Legion)...

Unlucky Kings Lynn... So close to the play offs again...

Not paying his electric bill? I remember one night at Kirky Lane v Coventry when Colin Pratt and several of his riders complained about the track being "too heavy' which ended up with a track inspection and work done on it, which seemed to be lasting forever. Pratt and a few of his riders were on bend one, pointing out various issues to the track team as they made changes, and whilst pointing this out, John Perrin emerged from the adjacent pits with a bucket full of shale, and presented it to Pratt.. When interviewed by the centre green presenter Perrin told him that he had told Pratt that he could take it back to Coventry with him to use on his track, given his track didnt ever have any shale on it... In an interview with the Speedway Star the week after, Pratt got asked what his response was... He said that he told Perrin that he would never tell him how many onions to put on the burgers that John sold from his many burger vans, so Perrin shouldn't tell him how to prepare a Speedway track...

Not sure Gorzow's issue... There always has been different payments to run a GP event.. The bigger venues always had more to pay due to the obvious fact that they had more seats to make, (if they could sell these seats), more money for themselves.. More restricted venues therefore pay less to host the event... The NSS, it has been said, needs two nights to make it viable, presuming therefore, that they pay more to host it, than the income possible from just one GP... Some venues, eg Cardiff, were ran by the GP owners themselves given 40,000 paying circa £35 to £40 on average, made them plenty of profit .. Hence they bailed out when 20,000 and less became the numbers..

Dont waste your time mate.... The last time I went to see him I asked for a real 12ft Dragon, one that flew as high as the clouds, and could breatlhe fire... He told me that there were certain things that even Father Christmas couldn't promise to deliver so, just in case he couldn't get me a real, flying, fire breathing Dragon, he asked me what my second wish was... So I asked him if he could make UK Speedway affordable, popular, exciting, ran with integrity and credibility and relevant as a sport in the 21st Century... He pondered this for a while, looked away, and thought intensely for a few moments, then looked me straight in the eye and said... "What colour would you like that Dragon lad?"...

I, personally, cannot wait for one league... Loads of new tracks to visit, several weekends away... My concern is we end up with two leagues of Mickey Mouse, contrived, same old/same old, bollox.. Like we have had for 20 Years and more... What an opportunity for the sport to reset itself, relaunch itself, and make a UK Speedway Brand...

I would if the play off four weren't set in stone by the end of March...... Your promoter has thrown his toys right out of the pram by the looks of things.. I had huge respect for him but he has shown he is as inward looking as the rest of them, when I had high hopes for him to lead the sport... Cometh the hour. Cometh the man... He, seemingly, has "ran off".... Which. Is a huge shame for the sport, given that Chris was genuinely one of the few who could see the potential of it, if it could be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century... A sad loss...

Just put some Popcorn in the Microwave mate...

A K-Tel Hits of the 70's Album?

From Edinburgh/Glasgow, down to Poole/Plymouth, the league would cover a fair few conurbations, with several million people living in them, and look like it fully covered the country, pretty much from top to bottom.. "Northern Tours" for all last seasons Premiership teams' fans on Friday and Saturday may even get coaches and hotels booked and "supporter's clubs" could maybe rear their head again... Sheffield on a Thursday, the NSS on a Friday and "further up north" on Saturday would give the more southern based clubs' fans, even more of a "Northern Tour".. With the clubs in the further north all riding Friday and Saturday it would be perfect in getting a fair few away fans there from teams who haven't even been there in some cases, and not been there for a good while in others... Who knows, maybe clubs could package special offer reduced price deals to the away fans to encourage their attendance..? Ipswich on a Thursday and maybe KIngs Lynn on a Friday could also deliver some "East Anglian Tours"... Sheffield/Scunthorpe on Thursday and Friday could also get some away fan traction... And there will be many other "mixing" which could take place to "get an away crowd" there... There would be a big novelty factor which should be rode to the max, until it came to its inevitable end.. By which time, you would hope that the sport was on a clear upturn and big momentum was in place to keep it growing...

"I say. First Officer".... "Move around those deck chairs will you, there's a good chap".....

That's why I didn't use that... This is very different...

If there are more than 70 riders want to ride over here then it is very doable... Depending on capability levels, you might be required to set up the heats formula so those with similar levels of capability race against each other more often.. Similar to what they did a few years ago when the HL's met more often during the meeting.. And five rider teams, 14 heats, will ensure plenty of rides for those who still wish to be "full time".. A New Dawn.....

I cannot understand why he would bluff... What's to be gained? A seven team Premiership last year was crap with four teams a shoe in for the Play Offs from before a wheel was turned... A six team Premiership team this year will be even more crap... Anyone channel hopping whilst watching on TV last year would see the league table and think there was just seven teams in the UK.. And if they get a TV deal for next season, just six teams was deemed acceptable... Dreadful optics to put out to anyone watching.. At least with a 14 team league table the channel hoppers may notice their own town mentioned, or maybe a town nearby, and, for the first time, find out a Speedway Team exists near to them.. And a 14 team league table makes the sport look like it's "National", not a tiny entity ran in just six or seven places..

A strange hill to die on for Louis... And Lemon too, if he decides that the Aces won't ride in what will still be, the top tier... Strange... I can only think it is a sponsorship "thing" maybe? Anyhow... Too much doom and gloom on here... So, to redress the issue,... We usually have to wait till, at least, around the end of May, (sometimes even stretched to the first week of June), to know which teams will be in the Premiership Play Offs... But. As it currently stands, we will know who has qualified next season from March!!!! Something to sell to your sponsors.... See. Positive News.....

Let's hope he comes out with the reasons and maybe it can help shape the future...

Run on a Friday or Saturday... Easily, considerably more than 500 there on those nights ..