g13webb

Having read quite a lot about the tight financial restraints of the sport, Why do the BSPA keep persisting with this idea of a top league. Like you say take Iversen out of that side and it wouldn't win the Championship league. If the sole reason of the Premiership relates to only one rider per team, then I fail to see the sensibility of it all. It appears the BSPA made decisions at the AGM based purely on the idea of providing riders with 2 incomes, at the expense of everything else...... Brilliant...

Old habits die hard.......... Where once I put the club before everything, (So the wife said ) now its the Sport I look too, taking in the bigger picture. But, neither fills me with much optimism

Nothing Buster does will surprise me. Sometimes his ideas deny all logic or reasoning. But please tell me the advantage gained from with-holding information from the fans. These past 2 years the Stars fans have been treated like Mushrooms. I would've thought Buster would have moved heaven and earth to repair the damage he has done, but it appears he hasn't learnt a thing. Most of the clubs are drip feeding information to their supporters, helping to generate some interest during these winter months, But not Buster, He hasn't the decency to announce when one of our few assets, has agreed terms to ride somewhere else. Me, I'm past caring. I've seen so much contempt for the fans, these past few years, I'm not yet convinced whether I'll go or stay away...... NB The sad part about all this, is if they can make a fan of 50+ yrs, feel this way, what chance do they have of appealing to new supporters......

I wish I was more confident , but we have heard it so many times in the past. I'll wait and see what January brings, but it cant to hard to make improvements on last year.. As for being more open, It appear again the Fans are the last to know anything, and that in itself, isn't good...

No doubt some riders are already agreed, But you can be assured the full team isn't assembled yet. There would be no sense having your team signed up and keeping it a secret. You want to have as much time as possible to promote the coming year and get the area and people interested. The fact Buster said he wouldn't be making any announcements till after Christmas tells me he's hanging around till all other teams have their squads, hoping to sign riders that don't have a place, on the cheap. It don't fill me with much confidence, but I suppose having a team to support is more than lot of people have....

Doubling up, does nothing for our sport. All it does is provide another pay packet for the riders, who basically think only of themselves. It makes the sport unsustainable. We need strong leaders with strong ideas. We must forget about competing with the likes of Poland, Sweden and Denmark . We once ruled the roost but have lost out to our neighbours through bad habits. We need to concentrate on survival. We need to forget about 'Fixed Race nights', forget about this '1 over 8' rubbish, forget about having different leagues,, We want one solidary league where all teams race against each other , on any day that suits each club. Only then will we be able to start rebuilding the sport to a existence we can afford. It that means we lose all the top rides than so be it....

Brilliant find, a wonderful trip down memory lane. I remember standing there watching Steve Rider doing that interview and when the camera takes a different shot I catch a glimpse of myself. Thanks.... There was never any love lost between Michael and Martin Rogers. I always felt he resented the adulation Michael received and the power it gave him. But in the situation above, I appreciated Martin's view having laid on a special plane to ferry Michael home. But again it was the BSPA being non-corporative by arranging a nothing meeting on the same weekend as the World Pairs, that created the problem. As soon as the original day was rained off, there was always going to be a clash. After riding and celebrating the re-arranged World Pairs, Michael failed to appear the following day for the nothing meeting, as did 6 other riders, but it was only Michael that was fined. It was Martin's way of telling Lee that it was him who was in charge..... Thankfully, it was eventually squashed...

It wonderful to go back in time to our glorious Golden Helmut memories when this sport really was that good. It's such a shame the people in charge didn't understand, or appreciate just how good it really was. They imagined it was always going to be like this, and therefore done nothing positive to safeguard it. Fans would flock up in their thousands to be excited and entertained for the full evening, at a price most could afford. How things have changed..... Knowing Terry Betts, like I did, he would purchase a new bike each year and use the previous years bike as a second. He would transport his bikes to each of the 60 meetings he raced. After each meeting he would hose the bikes down, oil the chain and it was ready to go again. he would probably have a new Chain and Tyres once a month. Dressed in his black leathers, he always looked the part and seldom did he let anyone down. Mr Reliable he was called and always figured in the scores... A true Captain who was forever smiling, always shaking hands and having his picture taken, never complaining of his adulation he received. The race times were much slower then, but the races were just as exciting How the sport has changed. Now the top riders want 20 bikes, all highly expensively tuned, they have a entourage of full time mechanics and helpers with brand new vans to ferry the bikes to the next meeting. Riders use high quality cars to the many countries they ride. The travel more air miles in a month than most of us do in a year. , and it all comes at a cost. Where once the 'Terry Betts' was seen as the bread and butter of our sport, now we can't finance their existence. Once the Promoter was the be-all of everything within the sport, Now its the riders that hold all the aces. Place on a pedestal by their TV exposure. The sport is being blackmailed by their excessive demands. Those glory days of the 70's and 80's will never return, all we have left is a few die hard fans stubborn in their resistance to let go, watching ultra fast bikes on gate and go tracks. The races today may be super fast, but as far as excitement and the atmosphere go, they are worlds apart......

Probably in the Kings Bible, or your Lord Matt Ford's biography. In the plight of everyone trying to make the sport more sustainably, having this asset scenario is against everybody's idea of reality, and a cost that nobody wants to pay. Riders are their own person and will do as they think fit. Any control of these assets is for person financial gain and has no relevance to the Sport. Years ago when riders rode for one club, having a control of that rider was beneficial. But today, when riders race for numerous clubs, it breaks every law of the land, and only remains in place because the sport's governing body is made up of those people with them assets and others too weak to contest the rules........ Again the survival of the sport is of secondary importance to personal gain.......

Where once the list was long, now in retirement years, I have only a few requests; Firstly, I would to take this opportunity to wish fellow friends and foes a wonderful time and hope, for a short period at least, arguments can be put to one side and a glass raised with the best intentions.... Next, Many times I have asked that common sense takes over most rules, Sometimes the intentions is good but the implication leaves a lot to be desired. I'm sure if the sport was foremost in promoter's mind the sport could prosper... And lastly, because the number of fans have dropped alarmingly, would it be too much to ask, for those who are left to be valued as a important commodity. Where once our sport was the second most popular in this country, now we struggle to survive. Probably had those fans had been treated with more respect, probably some might still be there..... I know I'm asking a lot, but any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time, You take care....

Probably the most constructive idea I've read... When we have teams dictating their chose of leagues and specific race nights, it time to have a massive rethink....

God !!! What a mess

That don't surprise me one little bit.

Yes it is a brilliant idea...... you know what they say about Sarcasm ...... A Grading Committee with representatives from each club would find it very difficult to manipulate any grading of riders, and those who tried would stick out like a sore thumb.... How embarrassing.... If you cannot see the fiddles that has gone on with averages these past years , I suggest you visit the Opticians

These grading's would be set for the whole year, regardless of his form being good or bad, the grading remains the same. At the end of each season all riders are regarded, keeping in context of the form he has shown throughout the year. Of cause his scores has to be noted for obvious reasons, but his grading wont be altered every month. Riders will not be chopped and change to suit the averages. It would create more settled teams and a more even playing field. Riders who perform badly to doctor the averages would only hurt himself and still not get a low grading... There are so many advantages using this simple idea. It has been most successful in Denmark... Our levels of quality covers a much wider spectrum than there's, so our grading would need to accommodate all levels of our expertise, but 5 groups should be sufficient . When Managers select their teams, it will be for the whole year. Obviously changes can be made but it is done like for like basis only. Supporters and Fans will be able to connect with the same team each meeting and that has to be good for the sport.......

I've always believed the riders averages create more arguments than any other area. Bearing in minds the frequency of changes to our racing program, it just proves how inaccurate these averages have become. Because of this, they become out of date the moment the season finishes..... Sooner, rather than later the BSPA will realise the benefits of using the grading of all riders to assemble equal teams..... This could be done using current form and/comparative date from other leagues prior to the AGM, so everybody would be aware of all the possibilities available, when discussing the following season... It would do away with, this '1over8s' ruling and allow manager to permutate their own ideas. The numerous calculations, the relentless arguments surrounding the strength of the league when riders last rode here, and the Ringers will become ghosts from the past. All it would needs to set it up is one meeting to grade all the riders, which each would retain for the whole year, whence they again become regarded... . Injuries and replacements become so simple. Replace a grade 3 with another grade 3, This simple idea would solve so many issues and create a new understanding for moving the sport forward...

Whilst it is imperative that we get TV covering our sport, I can understand why the BSPA are questioning BT's offer. (assuming the above is correct). It would appear from the conditions, that BT have issued, the SGP riders are more important than the sport itself. The negotiators, in stipulating, a minimum of 7 GP riders, obviously believe the sport is only worth watching when these top riders are involved, and therefore have scant regard for the basic excitement, for what the sport is all about. I am pleased the BSPA haven't sold this sport down the river. It appears the BT want to pull all the strings with little or no cost to themselves. Apart from the GP riders, they are dictating the admission costs, with little regard for problems this would create for the Promoter, They will be picking their meetings to broadcast, and all for a measly £3k a time. No, we want a TV contract that will benefit the sport, One that would give vital opportunity for non- followers to watch, hoping it generates an interest. One that would get more Sponsors on board giving them more air time, One that would work with our sport to make it great again.. What we don't want is a contract that is all take and no give.....

Nobody was more disappointed than I last year with the form of Chris Holder. I had always held him in such high esteem, and thought he was an adequate replacement for Niels, How wrong we were. he portrayed all the attributes of somebody not so genuine as we had always imagined.. Yes, we suffered from his signing, but him to have a GSA of 7 something says more about him than anything else. No I don't think his average should be re-assessed, but given the chance to have him in our team again, would get a big NO. from me, even if he was re-assessed to 5... Anybody who signs him are welcome. As far as I'm concerned he burnt all his bridges here........ .

God you talk such utter crap... No doubt Matt Ford, the man you place on a mantel, is so ashamed of the association you have bestowed with him

My sentiments exactly. I've preached long and hard for the rules to be set in stone, so that every year Riders, Fans and Promoter all knew what is expected. We have this scenario of them and us, and we being the enemy. The fact that the BSPA won't release minutes of their meetings indicate they have so much to hide. and do so en group with the secrecy of it all. . Common sense issues, like riders GSA, should be in place way before the AGM, the fact it wasn't, shows the hideous way the sport is run. You can't make decisions like 1 over 8 rule without knowing the about the number of riders it will effect. That's so amateurism. Your comment about Professional Organisation is so right . Most of us has been asking for that for years.... NB. My first visit to Waterden Road, Hackney was 1968 at the age of 20, Jimmy McMillan, Charlie Monk rode for Hackney . We lost 40-38 with Simmo getting 12 and Bettsy 11... The rest didn't do much.... Them 'Good Ole Days' ....

I'll except your views of a seasoned speedway supporter. You are probably too young to remember when rider control governed team strength. There will always be winners and losers, but the aim of the sport is to be competitive. This is where 'Rider Control' came in We at Lynn won very little, but we were always competitive and most matches were close and exciting. Nobody enjoys winning or losing heavily each week, so having equal teams is important. Now the sport is governed by suspect averages, different racing formats, out of date assessment. Where once every promoter picked a team for the whole season, now its all change as soon as the Promoter thinks fit. Crowds used to come and connect with their riders, but that has also gone. So lets ask yourself one question. Did Ford sign Woryna because he was a good, young, quality, talented rider. Or did he sign him because of his low average. I think we know it was because of the later....... Ford assumed he was getting quality rider on the wrong GSA, and that can't be correct if the sport is to be the winner..

Quite obviously a Poole supporter. You say Ford was shrewd signing Woryna, I say devious hoping to pull a fast one. One of the biggest turn-off in our sport are ringers, and the unfairness it creates, and in that sense Ford is more guilty than most. The issue here is if you want to sign a good rider you do so on a correct and proper average, and let the competition take place on the track, and not by out of date assessments.

Nobody moans about the BSPA more than I , and yes I believe the situation that exists in this country is totally down to the BSPA. for not seeing the sport as their first priority. Too many promoters are so short sighted in only looking after No1. Only recently we saw clubs voting for their self indulgence rather than the benefit of the sport. With this short sightedness, is it little wonder the sport is in such bad health. The massive financial input from TV was used by the Promoters as a safeguard against running meetings at a lost, and therefore hid the obvious conclusions that we were fighting above our weight. Fans and Promoters alike buried their head in the sand believing everything was rosy, but the more sensible ones knew the day of reckoning, would be when the TV money stopped. At last the BSPA at the AGM have realised we need a new beginning. No I don't agree with every decision made, but at last we have some direction. What a pity it wasn't done when the TV money was first offered. We could now be reaping the benefits had it been invested properly....

So you keep saying. There are so many people in this country living above their means, but you still don't seem to grasp the concept that these top riders demand big bucks. In an ideal world when crowds would be flocking to attend the meetings, at an affordable price, probably we could afford these star riders. But until then we need to live within our means...... The sport has become too expensive to ride or to support as it used to be. Swindon won the league last year but still operated at a loss.. There must have been many more struggling to keep their heads above water., and you keep moaning about top riders....

Well I for one think its a great idea. What these riders achieved years ago is of no importance, its the standard they are today that matters. All the four riders you mentioned are all of similar ability so in my book should be of a similar score......