pandorum

Fair enough then. Glad you can confirm everything is alright. Dunno what we have to moan about with the sport in such good hands. Thankfully there are people like you to put us all right when we commit such errors. Speedway will go on from strength to strength as it has done for decade after decade and all us moaning nitwits will be firmly put in our places.

We dodged a bullet there as Harris would have grabbed that chance to bore us like a drowning man reaching for a slab of concrete. Hopefully Gollop will be OK too as he is the only thing standing between the SGP and Chris Harris a bulwark against dullness so to speak.

I don't know what you actually expect after decades of these people running our sport so far into the ground it's nearly in the Permian Era. Of course we hope for something good from this new deal but we know who will get the money and are not confident they will do anything but what they always do. Squander it. We fans are obviously hoping that they have learnt a lesson from the last 15 years when a goldmine was p#ssed away on rubbish that was flown in and out and that regardless of the reasons for it the investment in young Brit riders will help as long as the promoters work together and do it right for the sport rather than thier selfish gain. But we have seen one team already dissapear because of the attitude of these people. We know this because the bloke who just bailed out said so. So to start with we have no idea of how many teams will line up in March never mind the format for the top league. They have got to learn and work together. Invest in a decent racing surface, work with SKY to bring the TV audience a well matched meeting between 2 teams that can ride the track. The result, daft as it sounds, comes secondary to trying to bring new interest to the sport by showcasing it on TV. Other sports can afford rubbish matches on TV as they have a following and money from sponsors and investors. Speedway has nothing really except a bloody good sport when it is allowed to be done right. Promotion, track, investment in home talent, try to build up some kind of atmosphere so it looks like a sport when it's on TV rather than a funeral. Lots can be done with little outlay if the will is there to make speedway look like a good night out. The fans need to play a part and the promotions should work with supporters clubs and fans on social media to get the best out of a TV showcase. Fans need to make some noise and promoters need to give fans something to make some noise about. But will it happen? #### knows

Jesus wept man that would be insane

Got to agree. I did not believe for a second the conversation took place but would not call the bloke a liar. It was a silly way to make a point that for me was not even valid as talking about sports you don't like seems silly as we don't have enough time in life to discuss everything we do like. All sports have bizarre rules not just our but to call the guy a liar was a bit mad .

That would depend on WHICH half you had

Perhaps all this has been a fiendish plot to get Chris Harris into the SGP. Very sad and very stupid behaviour by a sport that needs every bit of coverage and every friend it can find.

Exactly Hump! Speedway is not football so comparing it to that sport is frankly as ridiculous as the guys mate thought speedway was. And he must be a pretty dull bloke if he then went and bothered to explain a sport he did not give a toss about to others who did not give a toss about it. I would avoid someone like that like a plague victim If someone started explaining golf to me I would tell them to stop and not bother as it is of no interest to me so dunno why the guy seemed keen to get tot he bit where who rides for who. Speedway is 4 guys going round a track for 4 laps at speed. The rest for a non fan is superfluous. If you find it attractive then worry about it's idiosyncrasies later, if not just forget it exists and don't bore people about it It's called trying to make a living and I don't begrudge one of those lads (or lasses) a penny they make.

Great idea but of those 7000 invites you may get a couple of dozen people actually turn up as these riders 1000 'friends' are not likely to actually BE the riders friends simply the inevitable bunch of hangers on one picks up on FaceBook that never exchange a word with you after becoming your 'friend'. One would presume the riders friends already go to see him. So these 24 newcomers arrive at Belle Vue or Lakeside or wherever and find the place is a rubbish tip with a track in the middle. The presentation is zero, the atmosphere is worse than most funerals and the entertainment again on a par with most funerals but drags on for hours. Those 24 people return to FB and report 'what a bunch of crap that was' and you simply do more damage than good. If you don't have something at the end to keep those '7000' interested it's a waste of time and effort. The sport needs investment in track surfaces to create good racing and at the same time investment in riders to create this 'local talent' for these babes to drape themselves about, that may well promote an atmosphere that may well keep newcomers interested. A bit of work on facilities would not go amiss either. The power of the Internet is mind boggling and much of what has been said here about websites and building up data bases makes a lot of sense. I am an old man but I understand and use new technology every day to plan my affairs and keep in touch with people. I would be lost without it. But if you are going to sell something it helps if you have something to SELL! Speedway in the UK falls very short in that department sadly.

My agenda The 1-5 will cover for each other Even Hougaard racing has never come out with anything that crackpot. So what you are saying is a format will be produced where tape exclusions, injuries to riders which cause them to be withdrawn and any other unforseen circumstance which makes a rider miss a ride will be covered by the 1-5 rather than the reserves. I can't wait to see that one 2 milliseconds later and it still sounds bonkers but please as I am sure you have thought it out longer than me. Enlighten us to this magic format where reserves no longer cover for the ups and downs of the main body during a meeting.

But shirley that's not true at all. They will ride against #2 and #4 one would presume which in a team say like Poole might be someone of the calibre of Thomas H Jonason or Maciej Janowski. Also they are reserves and will cover for injuries during meetings, R/R, tape exclusions and riders who can't be bothered to come out because thier bike is crap that night.

Yes but my point being Hougaard racing would not get such consideration

That is sadly a very fair point

What an absolutely stupid comment. If Hougaard Racing had said that he would have gotten a torrent of criticism. Only an idiot compares the richest sport in the world to a very minor motorsport. And you can't blame them. It's thier living. They are not registered charities.

But they can still throw money at flying in Europes garbage when it suits them. The sport has wasted a fortune on foreign rubbish instead of investing in its own. Now they want the kids they never gave a toss about to prop up the dying EL because that money for useless foreigners is drying up. How can those kids become anywhere near competetive when they are fed peanuts compared to what was wasted on other countries dross. They can still find cash to fly in the Michael Bech's of this world but insult thier own by expecting them to ride for handouts. 600 quid a week sounds great but how much do the riders really end up with out of that after riding in say 2 leagues and trying to be competetive and also learning something from the experience.

To be fair they have to do a lot of work to be able to do those 10 minutes and have a lot of expense. Not many jobs cost you a fortune to do like speedway. I used to have to buy a donkey jacket and a pair of boots and usually got my money back fromt he firm I worked for. These lads would have to pay a lot up front to be competetive in the EL. I bet the promoters paid a lot more to those nuggets they used to fly back and forward so why not invest in the NL guys a bit. It seems as if the promoters just want 2 kids to ride around for 4 laps between each other over 2 races and come last in a couple of others with stiffer opposition so they can brag about how much effort they are putting into the next generation. They wasted a fortune on foreign garbage but won't seriously invest in our own kids. Pretty much says it all. This will fail even before the first hurdle. Damn shame as it is the only way to really bring our kids on.

Gin and Tonic for me I could not tell a Bordeaux and a Claret from the arceend of Jupiter.

Comparing Poundland to British Speedway is a bit of an insult don't you think To Poundland.

Very sad and very fair point

True but Ireland is part of the British Isles so whether they want it or not Ireland is British. It's just become complicated that England being the dominant force in the British Isles is associated with Britain when we are actually simply one part of The British Isles. Great Britain is the largest of the two islands in the archipelago that makes up the British Isles. But the smaller one Ireland is still part of that British Isles so technically we are ALL British. Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain because it is not connected and a seperate Island but is still British wether it wants to be or not.

Sad part is when clubs do close it's a hard road to reopen them. Hopefully Boro can sort out a buyer and join a league for 2014 as it's nothing short of a disaster to lose such a valuable assett. But if not 2014 it will then become harder to get them back. We have seen this happen so many times in the sport sadly. Speedway is hardly brimming with money and prospective saviours.

TWK you should know by now that the BSPA are contractually obliged to introduce one insane idea per year to offset any good they may have inadvertently done. It's probably the fault of you PL fans who have been saying for years how sensiblely run the PL is. The EL promoters will now be able to say 'how do you like them apples' to the PL after lumbering you with such a silly format.

That's just getting daft now Skidder. You know as well as I do what I meant and know that it stands as an argument. Sky Sports no more 'sponsored' the EL than I did. They simply filled in a void that with any other sport would have been filled by a named company. And the idea that the media did not give speedway any exposure because Sky Sports 'sponsored' it is frankly silly. The media did not give speedway any coverage because it is a minor sport even among minor sports which has hardly any supporters, has not a clue how to push itself forward even with the brilliant coverage SKY gave it and is pretty much dying and irrelevant here sadly.

That is indeed a fair point but thats Britons for you. Three things we love to do. Queue, moan and moan about queuing What a team Torun have. Looking at the signings at the top the rest are not just gonna lie down for Torun there should be some cracking matches on Polish TV for us to enjoy. Tarnow and Gorzow look strong and Zielona Gora have a handy top 5. I guess a lot will depend on the reserves as Dudek has moved up but there are still a lot of good Polish kids on the way up to fill in the #6 and #7 berths. Przedpelski proved that a rider can go from scoring 1 point a meeting to rattling up double figures and beating GP riders and former world champions from the back. Of course Torun are a disgrace and should have been thrown out the league but that did not happen and for us armchair viewers there will be some great Sunday viewing to compensate us for our righteous anger