mikebv

The CEO will be getting hold of Darren Fletcher at this early hour, to give 'Arry a bell... "Get hold of him Darren quickly, I only hope it isn't too late and Prime, Paramount and Sky have all nipped in with offers to them"... "And do you know anyone in the Kabaddi hierarchy? Just in case"....

Football? Is that still going ..😝

Tracks which ride Monday and Thursday don't have to if they feel another night is better. But. It would mean the "superstars" could still ride... But at a Championship Team Average.. When they ride Away then, hopefully, all their riders will be there, however, if they are not then just use Guests... Literally Dozens get used now for the myriad of fixture clashes, so it won't make any difference at all to the credibility of what is being delivered, so you might as well build the system in to support the league structure.. And, as previously mentioned, if a GP star was potentially visiting you then that current Championship team would try everything, fixture date wise, to get him there... Ride at home on the best night for your business, and ensure your home fixtures get all your riders there..

She was. .

Well, to be fair... Doing the same thing each season after season hasn't done it any harm so far has it?..

Of course, it can be a great night out... I can see myself taking in a couple of weekends in Scotland/North England to watch a Friday/Saturday "Northern Tour" with the Aces. And a weekend in Plymouth in summer is always worth a visit.. The operating model is knackered. Self inflicted knackered... So they need to do something different... Four Superstars in a race can be strung out by almost a straight. Four "Paul Starkes and Jack Smiths" can be in a race strung out by almost a straight... The bottom line is... Four "Paul Starkes or Jack Smiths" will be a damn sight more affordable for the sport, than four "Superstars" and be as well known to the hundreds of thousands of potential punters living less than 30 mins away from almost all the tracks in the UK.. Drastic times, means drastic answers... Five rider teams, racing in any days except Tuesday and Sunday and you might just keep the sport going... Keep doing the same old/same old, and, as the evidence shows over the last decade or so, it definitely won't keep going... Apart from the Ipswich v Belle Vue Home and Away 12 times each, "Elite League" obviously.. Plus the Cup Final between the two... Should be a cracker...

Of course CL teams can ride on Mondays and Thursday's... Away from home... They ride on their current normal night at Home. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be the nights of rider clashes with Denmark and Poland, so they just need to do the best they can to avoid as many riders missing as is possible.. I can guarantee though that a Friday night track would do their utmost to get Brady Kurtz, Jason Doyle, Max Fricke, Jack Holder or Dan Bewley there, but, if they are needed in Poland, and that is the only night you can plan in the fixture, then just use a Guest/RR The same with the Thursday and Saturday tracks, ideally any rider visiting who rides in Poland's 2nd or 3rd tier is riding Sunday, however, again, if no chance of arranging the meeting for him to be there, then simply use a Guest/RR.... As long as the home ream ensure esch meeting is planned for them to be at "full strength" their crowds should hold up...

And?

I think most on here seem to want one league, so plenty of variety of visiting teams, ran at current Championship level,, either with or without "World Stars", and done on nights that you can generate the best crowd levels for your business... It seems the fans of just one team want to keep the current operating model...

You should hear how much those skate sharpeners earn!!!

As with any averaging the devil is in the detail... Just like Ipswich and Birmingham, the Steelers and the Storm as a long way apart in attendances and salaries.. However, 27 home matches with an average of 3600 paying around £23 to £25, overall, brings a lot of money into the coffers of the sport.. And none pay out £3k to £5k per match for the 54 they play... They do seem to be well ran though to be fair, even with a lack of mainstream media coverage, and don't seem to have to go through "desperate measures" each season, nor end up owing their players "big money"...

Or they get a job outside Speedway? Like the majority of riders used to do.... Or they get another team place riding in Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany or France?

I think pretty much everyone on here recognises that it is very much a collective. . And pretty much everyone on here also seem to recognise that the top league is an unsustainable, unfit for purpose, busted flush, that not enough people want to support financially by attending in enough numbers, and not enough teams want to join for those very reasons... The time has come, (it actually came around two decades ago) for less full time professionals and more semi pro riders.... One job outside of speedway, should they not want to go overseas once or twice a week, and one job in Speedway.. How it "used to be" before Doubling Up and Guestfests became the operating model so riders could become full time professionals with plenty of meetings.. I always think if is quite telling how that when the sport was popular, the promoters were mainly businessmen and entrepreneur's who did "all sorts" to get a crowd in, and didn't do a deal unless they benefited too... Nowadays many promoters are ex riders, and I just wonder whether some are too close to the riders, and have too much of an affinity to them...

Imagine trying to find riders for all those tracks that have closed in the past decade?!!! The Landlords and Developers may have actually helped!!!!

There is no other way Kieran. Seemingly.... Well, that is what many "die hards" tell me anyway... Although, other Speedway leagues seem to survive, and even thrive, by not sharing riders in the same league... Strange.... You are of course 100% correct, and it is directly aligned to a lack of UK rider development, meaning the same "few" riders keep turning out for Uncle Tom Cobley and All.. And also has meant meetings run regardless of whether the actual team is there or not. Meaning Promoters just put "any Speedway" out as their only objective is to get 14 (utopia), riders there... There is obviously major issues currently, but we cannot be far off having an average age of 40 for a significant portion of riders... With these being the riders who mainly Double Up and take Guest booking after Guest Booking... And that will then be another major problem just a few years down the line....

Spookily.... Correct. .😀 Averaging over 3600 a match are numbers that Speedway would kill for.... And would also mean the current situation wouldn't exist.... Imagine getting over £70k in revenue each meeting? You could even pay £15k to £20k out in rent and the landlord might even consider letting you stay then, and not selling up...

Landlords and Developers, Iain..... They are to blame for all the issues the sport faces.... 100%. The Landlords and Developers... All their fault, this ... Booooooooo!!! To all you Landlords and Developers.... Boooooooooo!!!! Alright, maybe not ALL down to them....😀

Isn't Sheffield restricted to Thursdays only? I seem to remember they changed to Sunday for a while but changed it back quite quickly.... Thursday would mean Premiership only wouldn't it? Unless it went to one league...

Only went once, my mate got me a freebie... Didn't take to it so never went again... However, the overall presentation was light years ahead of UK Speedway, use of lighting, music, fans interaction etc, and there were a couple of hundred kids in attendance I would think... (Mind you. It was weekend!)..😉 Edit . Yes, they have an advantage of not ever being rained off... But. They also have never paid £3k to £5k for any on their team for one match, never mind two of their team...

100% When Poole went into Div 2 they were quite open that their fans could still get to watch around 70% of the same riders that they could in Div 1, but they were not paying out the same money.. That only could be done due to these riders still being in Div 1 at the same time.. What we have now is the obvious result of minimal long term planning around rider development, with each year, no one looking further down the line than "getting to October"... With the obvious lack of independent leadership to prevent teams pretty much doing what they wanted, when they wanted, to suit their own agenda and not the overall sports' agenda.... However, given that agenda pretty much didn't exist, you cannot blame them.. Poole, as an example, have certainly shown that Div 2 is profitable, and they even, if memory serves, reduced admission when they went into the 2nd tier.. If it's profitable without riders getting a Div 1 wage is probably the million dollar question, however riders can also get another job (like the majority used to), particularly if they only are riding for one team in the UK, rather than two...

They also have never had "World Stars" so their fans (and maybe more importantly) the owners, don't have any expectations that they need to rub shoulders with the best of the best. My mate plays for the Storm reserves in Manchester and hardly watches NHL but goes everywhere to watch the Storm and can give me chapter and verse on every UK player... He, and all the fanbase,has zero expectation of ever seeing a "World Star" nor have the owners of ever signing one .. I sometimes wonder if it is the fans or the promoters who actually want to have "World Stars" at tracks the most ... Top tier fans, by the lack of big attendances at many tracks when the "World Stars" are there, suggests it isn't them...

With only one foot still nailed to the perch now though, so it is "leaning" a bit..

When you look at other "small sports" in the UK, eg Basketball and Ice Hockey, one getting a similar amount of fans for league matches, (Basketball), (although the Basketball play offs did get 15,000 there), and the other (Ice Hockey), a good number more than UK Speedway gets. (Last season UK Ice Hockey averaged over 3600 per game).. Neither though use "World Stars,", as, simply they couldn't afford them.. Therefore they use "decent" players from overseas and, in the main, UK lads... With both sports knowing that bigger European and Scandinavian teams can offer more money to the best talent as they progress through the UK system, with these lads often moving into Europe and Scandinavia to ultimately try and get an NBA or NHL contract... In short, like BSB do in motorbike racing, they "know their place"... They know they have a product to sell which isn't on the level of other bigger competitions within their own sport, and accept that they pretty much end up as a "feeder system" for these more financially rewarding competitions... So they have plenty of UK lads coming through to replace those who move on to bigger things .. UK Speedway still wants to seemingly use "World Stars", even though their presence has seen a reduction in crowd numbers, and an increase in costs ... And, has spent decades replacing journeymen foreigners with journeymen foreigners... And all done to win something they personally hugely devalue due to a ludicrous set of operating regulations... Meaning any "success" attained resonates amongst very few people, and delivers little in financial rewards... A truly "unique" way of running a business... I presume the AGM has been put back to January so they can have time to unpick all the inherent, obvious flaws in the plan...? And, instead ,put together a plan for the future that is actually fit for purpose..?

But why? Is it down to what sponsorship they will lose if not in the Premiership?... As I truly cannot see any reason why they would want to keep clinging to the edge of the cliff by their fingertips...

Let's be honest... The sport is proper "Donald Ducked" isnt it? Decades of using Guests at the drop of a hat, so riders got more meetings, rather than finding a way NOT to use them, and thus hugely negatively impacting the credibility of its own competitions, and making Doubling Up a fundamental part of the operating model, has resulted in too many ageing riders, with too many jobs, and not enough riders being developed to allow squad systems and "one rider, one team"... Whatever sticking plasters they apply (yet again), will then need to be removed, and something else then applied next year when/if Poland kick in their one extra league rule... The chickens have definitely come home to roost...