old bob at herne bay

Where would the supporters come from ? Tracks down here in London and the South East have been closed down for so long the vast majority of the original supporters have moved on .... and will not be returning to watch speedway ever again. 😞 There's always rumblings of old defunct tracks being reopened , but with 1,500,000 homes to be built in the next 4 years , I dont see a speedway track fitting in the mix. We have just the brave venture of the 3rd division Kent "Eagles" who seem to be making a go of speedway on the old Iwade training track for just a handful of meetings a season, and the amateur speedway at Lydd. Both sites are currently out of the reach of housing developers ....... Now the West Midlands has lost its last track, and despite the embers of Brandon being regularly raked over, that seems to be the end in that part of the UK.

Well here we are barely at the end of august and the speedway season for many clubs is over ..........due to the "p.offs." Tonight's meeting Oxford College boys vs Kings Lynn stars is being billed as a "nothing fixture" just because they aren't in the "p.offs" The entire season is meaningless unless you reach the "p.offs" There really ought to be some better way of getting the TV luvvies their "TV trophy " meetings without runing the season for the majority of clubs who have not qualified for the "p.offs."

Oxford did well to succesfully run in all 3 leagues last season. 2026 ?

Well I have had a gale of gusts before, but Plymouth now have a hurricane of gusts. I knew Ben Barker injured a shoulder but he has ridden since. Klindt doesnt turn up for Plymouth only KL, what's the other problems ?? Even Redcar have a gust , the ever inconsistent Lou Kerr, who is he replacing.

Workington a 2 man side. Very disappointing forh te fans in attendance.

Sad to see yet another club closedown, this time extinguishing all signs of speedway in the West Midlands, which once boasted 4 clubs (CH, COV, Wolves and BM) Like London and the South East speedway is finished for good. What has become of Dudley Wood and Wolves old stadia ? We all know the never ending saga of Brandon... but have these other stadia succumbed to housing developments ?

Clearly a not fully fit Barker showed great determination. The gust of the evening astounded everyone including me...... Lewis Kerr once again showed his inconsistency perfectly tonight. Given another opportunity he'll probably score 0 at Saddlebow Road 🙂 Sadly another British rider who seems to have suffered severe injury and never quite fulfilled his potential. Another who I regularly saw as a very young lad at Lakeside juniors was Sammy Hagon. Showed great promise in junior race always bringing up the rear against the likes of Jason Edwards, but despite an awful lot of track time never settled at Poole and finds himself struggling in the upper tier at reserve.

Its been a whil since I last saw live action at the speedway (7years and counting) ... but the same old names keep cropping up and some don't seem to have improved at all. There's at least 2 in this Poole side, and one in the Plymouth team. Guess they just ride for fun. They cannot be making any money !

OK ..... Ben Barker is prone to accidents. Hope he's OK and not badly hurt.

"intense pressure " mmmm - pushed then ?

Good Lord, yet another team tun up at Poole full of guests , shorn of their top riders. Surely they cannot fail to beat the patched up Plymouth side? Nice move to pitch Darren Ritchings against the poor Poole pair at 6and 7. Puts t hen under some serious scrutiny, especially if Starkers fails to deliver. Depite being harbourmaster champignon he must be in danger of being another discarded Poole rider if he doesnt pick up his performances ?? Let battle commence 🙂

Gate Artist .... like so many modern day riders. The tracks today are so slick its gate and go 90% of the time ... especially in the Circus.

I see the Circus is still running in all weathers, with the performers able to gate and go whatever the condtions apart from one performer from Poland 🙂 Like F1 cars and Moto GP motorcycles classes absolutely astounded how much guff and hype and money GBP£ CH$ is generated by the processional stuff. The ruination of league speedway is almost complete now we have Circus 1 2 and 3. Some people are clearly making a lot of money ?

I always thought Poole set the standards of running a professional club.... shame they cannot maintain their starting gate .

I always thought Poole set the standards of running a professional club.... shame they cannot maintain their starting gate .

Oh! After hearing gust was riding thought pools luck had run out. I stand corrected another weakened side turn up at Wimborne Road.

watch out Pirates, you have a full strength side heading your way for a change !

As always, meeting decided by the random "form" of guests. 😞 Thomas Brennan after a stinking display for Ippo against Kings Lynn, now turns in an outstanding performance against the same opposition ! Lewis Kerr ... the less said the better. Off to Leicester and I wonder whether the guests will once again decide the meeting ?

Oh like they do at Poole 🙂

Young Chris must be raking in loads of ££ with all this local derby stuff .... shouldn't think he will be too bothered by a KO Cup exit. Might be more upset if his sesaon is cut short by not making the p off final. Tim Brennan and Adam Ellis well poor tonight. Cost Ippo the tie.

Some of the replies on here make me chuckle. Being an old bob, I recall some of the conversations in 1963 whe nspeedway was in decline. The then old traditional " National " League was running with fewer and fewer sides, with a new "Provincial " league running a bunch of clubs all of whom wanted nothing to do with the "National " League. they all joined one big league in 1964 and rejuvenated speedway in the 60's. So to say it cannot be done - well it can.

What about Northampton ? 🤣 Struggling to find enough support for the ever decreasing number of clubs today. You ould have thought that with the closure of Coventry , Cradley Heath and Wolverhampton that htere woudl be bumper crowds at the one remaining midlands track? Oh no speedway supporters area fickle lot ( and I include myself in that group) Never really could transfer my support bewteen clubs in he London area. As I posted on another thread, the only solution is to close the whole lot down , wind up BSPL Ltd and start again.

Do they have stock cars at Wimborne Road that cause the bumpy track ?

Could Hawkins have gifted the win to KL last night to set up a bumper crowd for Thursdays meeting ? Will make little difference to Ippo's p off qualification ... but boost the crowd at the Foxhole ?

Time for some honesty from the current bunch of Promoters. 🙂 1. How many clubs currently run at break even (or a profit) If they are telling supporters the truth - that they are all making a loss then Close the whole show down in its present form.