Hawk127

Perhaps it should be like American Football, the Poles grace us with a league match in this country and show the BSPA how it is done. Imagine two top clubs from Poland racing in Manchester or Ipswich or Poole and have it televised live on a Sunday afternoon. I guess we just have to dream on but the sport in the U.K. is nowhere near the level that will generate enthusiasm amongst the punters that it does in Poland. Sadly it is past its best in this country.

Sorry but it just does not compete with Poland at all levels. They have more queuing up for the toilet in a Polish meeting than are on the terraces and excitement is as good as paint drying. U K speedway needs to take a look at how you get people interested, this will not do it.

Maybe with a few hundred supporters and naff all in atmosphere. The U K simply cannot compete at this level. Also rans comes to mind

In the U K some moan about day time racing, some moan about Sunday meetings but look what you can do with the right riders, an enthusiastic group of supporters and even with the earlier abandoned meeting, the Poles know how to put on a show. U K speedway is so far behind and anyone who has not dropped in on a live stream from Poland should give it a go. You wonder why anyone bothers with speedway U.K.

Back to reality tomorrow on Eurosport

What a final race. That sums up what great sport it can be in the right conditions with a superb crowd. Well done to both teams

I thought only the U.K. was capable of this type of shenanigans. Fans very vocal, brave or foolhardy decision, we will never know but I would not want to be an official at the stadium.

Maybe it was a system issue. When I posted those were the numbers quoted. Thank goodness it was not that bad.

If speedway updates is correct, 99 viewing. What does that say about the meeting? If it is correct it is sad really that the sport has fallen from being a spectacle to an event followed by a fickle bunch of supporters and one has to say is it any wonder that clubs run solely league meetings and dare not risk putting on anything else. Unfortunately the sport is dead in the water and it will take something special to get it back to the halcyon days of league, cup, 4TT and individual classics. If this does not send a message to promoters nothing will. For those still loyal to the sport, it may be that the days are numbered in terms of the current league set up in the U.K. if GP riders cannot not bums on seats such as Poole last evening then it really is time to go back to grass roots.

It is criminal that the stadium has been allowed to fall into such a state and as sad as it is well done to the two lads who put together the video. Fingers crossed something positive will come from all the efforts being put in to revive the sport at this venue.

No that was inevitable given the closed ranks of a governing body that is more crooked than the great train robbers. It would be interesting to see what would happen if enough clubs banded together and said they would race under the Nora banner. Seven or more clubs and you have possibly forty nine riders who would have to make a choice to stick with the crooks or go with an organisation who wants to entertain the punters rather than treat the paying public as fools and mugs. The sport needs to be removed from the clutches of the current management set up if it is to have a future.

Sheffield v Ipswich is now allegedly put back because of a football play off. So speedway just bends over and is shafted by every other outdoor activity. It is a joke given that the speedway stops in October and all other potential events are well known ahead of scheduling speedway meetings. Here you are today with six man teams because of injuries, overseas meetings taking priority over U K meetings, promoters who do not give a rubbishe about the punters, clubs under threat of closure and riders who think that they have some god given right to be paid over the top for mediocre performances and those trying to break into the sport are frustrated at every level and ultimately outgunned by those riders who have some serious sponsors with deeper pockets. It really is time to go back to grass roots and make it part time sport in this country and have standardised machines so that the rider skills come into play rather than the gate and go power machines which do not match the rider’s capability. Not sure how it reinvents itself but time is running out

No one cares what the punters think. Chapman’s stance is it is my money invested and I do what I like when I like which is an admiral attitude providing it applies across the entire U.K. speedway world which everyone on here knows is not the case. The speedway mafia like to bully many clubs and hate anyone breaking ranks but despite that the main thing is let’s screw the public, it has nothing to do with them what we as promoters decide all we the speedway promoters want is the gate money. It seems so early in the new season but already you have guests galore, six man reams with lucky old R/R making up the numbers, overseas meetings causing issues in the U.K. and yet no one gives a toss about the punters or has the balls to stand up and say it cannot continue to be run this way. No wonder so few attend these days and no one outside the group of diehard supporters takes speedway seriously. If it was a credible sport, where are the major sponsors without whom you still have the current attitude that prevails amongst most promoters of it’s my way or no way.

Sums up today’s generation. Take the cash, screw the fans and bemoan that the supporters show no respect. Is it any wonder that the sport is in on its arse. The riders have no respect for the paying punter, the promoters continue to track six man teams and the seven rider side is unlikely with R/R seemingly common place and a sport that rarely can make ends meet takes the piss and yet in any other form of entertainment, the punter would walk. Not in speedway because the diehards accept what is dished up yet new punters take one look and think it is a joke and those in charge are blind to this. Why do those in charge, the promoters and the riders think they have some god given gift which demands support. The sooner all wake up and realise that they are instrumental in the decline of a once great form of entertainment, the easier it will be to rebuild but until then watch six man teams, 28 day replacements, interference from overseas leagues and riders who will never make the grade as long as the sport is run the way it is and it sums up what dire situation it faces. It needs some serious change but those in charge are as blind as those who do not want to see.

Always hope. Look what Workington have achieved.

It is difficult to pinpoint what is and who are to blame for the decline. Could it be riders earning expectations are too high, promoters who do not promote, a rule book that is overly complicated, the British public who want more, for their buck than fifteen minutes of racing over two plus hours for something like circa £20. Sad to seem the momentum in terms of the demise of the sport and it may not have reached its nadir yet but for it to survive drastic changes are needed to encourage more participants. Standard bikes to start with to reduce costs, a push for lower c c classes and not just the 500 cc guided missile that go around every track, yet are probably unsuitable for most race venues.. Many on here will have great ideas and some credible options and the IOW have made a start but those running the sport who put up the money for each club are not interested and it is akin to the masons in the way it is run. I guess it is a case of watch it now for as long as it lasts and hope that someone somewhere has the vision to reinvent the sport and can create interest from a wider audience. I won’t hold my breath.

I totally agree. Weak tail and far too much reliance on the top end. The compromise has been to spend lavishly on a few and hope that it reaps rewards but in reality you need a cohesive one to seven that all chip in. Hawkins spin will be bull.hit and for Louis it has been the last throw of the dice given the years of lack of success. They need to act now or they will rue the day that they gambled on the current set up. Only a few weeks into the season and across the league it is same old same old despite the inclusion of some European stars. Says it all really that GB speedway is not a major attraction for the top names except that a few see it as easy money and the mugs pay top dollar with the fans left to pick up the bill with no say and the promoters taking the pee from the paying punter.

Also good piece on Anglia News on ITV this evening. Great that some interest is being generated and good luck to the East Anglian teams and hopefully with the names on the team sheets at Ipswich, Peterborough and Kings Lynn this will generate some good local news coverage on both t v and radio and see a few more through the turnstiles.

I believe that p and p and entrance is restricted due to local council regulations and nothing to do with spedeworth. The only time it would affect Spedeworth would be the seven day rule regarding the frequency of meetings at the venue. Happy to be corrected on the foregoing.

With all that he has been through in his personal life, hopefully the role will in a strange way provide some sort of therapy and help him and the rest of the family cope with the loss last year. Cannot be easy but wish him much success in the role and that he can take the sport to another level without undue influence or interference.

Will Tapes Up TV be streaming the Berlin meeting this weekend?

It was probably only made today thanks to the Polish media making it known and no malice was intended in announcing it on the anniversary of the incursion but that said it all started some time before with Crimea. It is a good signing for U.K. speedway but we are an island with an awful lot of small minded individuals who look for a cause to rise up against whatever, irrespective of the facts. Most clubs will see some benefit and hopefully add to punters to the throughput on the gate. Woe betide the authorities if they veto the signing. It will certainly be an interesting season and Chris deserves some support for having the vision to go beyond the run of mill signings and shake up the sport with an out and out rider whose has an appetite to chase the glory. Hopefully speedway U.K. will benefit from this move.

Agree with what you say. What I do not understand is that the majority of teams rent the stadiums from landlords. If the landlord is prepared to also rent the stadium to another party what has it got to do with the BSPL or SCB. Do the authorities currently licence a club to run on a certain track or do they have a say in the agreement between the promoter and the stadium owner as well. Looking at some of the arguments used in the Star why do they not apply in the same way to Flat Track and sidecars who race on these tracks? All very confusing and you have to ask why they just cannot live together and let each get on with entertaining the public.

We were lucky we had a garden called the central reservation albeit the hgv drivers use to rain something on us as they passed by but my parents use to say be thankful that the government were not pissing on us. Not sure I followed the logic but when I got a job I went up market and had a round about which we share with chickens.

The base income from the state pension would be around £800 per month or £9600 per annum if you receive the full benefit. This is less than an employee earning the basic minimum wage if they work forty hours per week. Why is it unfair if the state pension is your only income?Take your local rates of say £175 per month and the current fuel prices of say £300 per month that leaves £325 to live on for four weeks to cover food, house insurance etc. and other day to day expenses and if you rent who knows what that cost would be. Not everyone is in the privileged position of having a private pension and other income on top of the state pension. If you rent your accommodation try covering all your overheads on just the state pension. It is not unfair but it depends on your personal circumstances.