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I was at Salford City fc at the weekend, they had close to 3k in there, 5th tier of English football. Speedway just doesn't have the pull. No matter how good it is, to show anything like growth it has to be at its very best every single time, without fail. In this country. The sport is a minority and has to work harder for its punters, and even harder to keep them.

If it was done like tonight everywhere the sport would eventually start to grow. It has a bad rep. The tracks are a major issue.

First half wasn't great but that's generally case at the NSS. Takes 7 to 8 races for the track to come to the riders. When it does, it is the best race track on the planet and its as simple as that. Absolutely privileged to have watched heat 13 in the flesh from right on top of turn 3. Incredible racing and I still don't know how max did that, I'll have to watch the TV coverage. Hope Jason is okay. Somerset were through so in hindsight using him in 3 of 4 races was potentially a bit silly but fair cop to Somerset for contributing to a top quality spectacle. When speedway is done like that, wow.

Jack has stagnated somewhat. His old man was a slow burner and I see a lot of him in Jack. I think you'll see very gradual yoy improvements. He's not gifted with a natural ability like Kemp or Bewley, he has to work harder for his points. He will get there, but someone in the championship needs to sign him, realise the actual expectation and let him develop. That's the only way he will learn and become a better rider imo. Next season I'd focus on the national league, and becoming a genuine number 1, and then add a championship berth with a club that will commit to him, focus on a 3 to 4 point average in that league. See how that works, if there is enough development then step up to top league season after. Of course this is assuming the leagues don't join.

This is so bad. In fact it's not speedway. It feels amateur. The bikes just don't work on this type of track.

Mid morning is actually 6am. There is a clear and vast difference between that and the actual start time. About 6 hours. Just watched heat 15. An absolute disgrace of a track. Its like a f%%%%g roller coaster.

He may give VFM but he doesn't give many points, certainly at the top level, and that has been statistically proven throughout his career. My grandmother is a really nice lady. I'm sure she'd also be a trier on the bike. Means f%%k all though, doesn't it?

Statistically. Factually. You are wrong. So crack on, and come back when your intelligent enough. Cheers.

Poole vs Swindon is a concern to me. We have had an excellent couple of meetings, let's see what happens.

I would suspect not given the meetings raced. We are owed a point from our trip to Lynn. Literally. I'd be interested to see what happens if we miss out by that single point.

Obviously the team have downed tools but I'd just like to go on record to say cook is a full on bottle job. Absolutely crap. Thinks he's a lot better than he is, just a bang average rider.

The more I dissect this post the more each paragraph becomes utter nonsense. The issue with BV is promoting. They haven't attracted any new supporters because nobody knows we are here. They are not on their own in this regard. You don't just 'pack the crowds in', business isn't that easy. You have to make the product saleable and then build. That takes time. BV have an excellent product but they are not marketing it. They are not driving it. They are not selling it. I'm grateful for what they've done in terms of saving us but they are not speedway people. They have no clue how to grow it. Oh and Hyde Road was garbage. It was a family day out after the zoo. That's where this whole family nonsense in speedway comes from, Belle Vue made it that way. This is 2018 though. We ain't in the 70s anymore.

We don't want the old man and his dog showing up. That's the guy I'm turning over. We agree that speedway is declining but at what stage are we going to address it and change what we do? I'm tired of seeing 'well speedway has never been that entertaining'. Well you know in my crap restaurant the food has 'always been rubbish'. Yep that makes it okay then! Wow! You know what I do when someone tells me that? I fix it! Same principle here. If speedway is not 'that entertaining' then make it entertaining!!!!! And before anyone bleats on, yes it can be entertaining on the RIGHT TRACKS.

What the idiot doesn't get is that Cardiff is declining YOY. You can literally see it. Speedway needs to turn over its fan base. I'm getting sick and tired of the same old school posters posting the same old tripe post after post. They live in the past. Whatever happened to the sport, whatever it did, it doesn't matter TODAY. It doesn't matter in the future.

Down from the mid 50s. That is called YOY decline and if it continues it will not be viable in 10 years. Which leads nicely to your 2nd claim because thats precisely the proof needed. There is a reason I don't employ people like you. I'd be shut within a year.

Its exactly the problem. Stop basing your argument on the foundations that have propped speedway up for the last 50 years. It's no longer relevant. If I was to canvas new potential fan bases, in local areas across the UK with a general age group of 18 to 30, the answer will be the same. It's boring. That is the new audience speeedway needs. Your making the classic mistake that all current speedway fans make. Your stuck in the f&&&&&&g past.

And speaking of track prep it would seem troy aint to impressed with Swindon tonight.

So even without the ruts or a bit too much dirt, the power at the low to mid range is still going to hurt you on a track like Rye for example. Your having to lose so much speed going into that corner and your essentially at a right angle, the thing just straightens out if you overcook it even it a little bit. I get where your coming from. The bikes make it hard and I certainly wouldn't fancy trying to keep it on the kerb on these smaller tracks. I'd be out by the boards and make the track as big as I could to keep the bike at its optimum momentum. What gets me there is the silencer. I know it plays such a huge roll but that is going to be hard to redevelop. Especially in the UK where the noise pisses off a lot of the locals. I also don't get how Greg would struggle if the engines were toned down a bit. If that's what you meant. He's straight outta calafornia on super tight tracks. He grew up with those machines 30 years ago. Surely he'd appreciate some better development

So explain a bit more about the mechanics to me then. The bikes now are clearly more volatile and have higher revs, there is less throttle control so a bigger track is surely safer where there is more banking and run off to scrub your speed. I'm guessing the current lay down is always turning over a lot faster so even with the tap off your still revving high as f%%k in a race. Its the control of the motorbike at the lower end that has been lost, which in your opinion makes the bike dangerous? So on a smaller track its harder to get the back end out than it used to be because there is too much power in those moments. Is that what you mean?

Yep. And shiny bikes with neon colours. Its the 21st century. That's how we roll now.

But they are fit for purpose everywhere else dean. Panama doesn't have the same footballing infrastructure as England, but they haven't reinvented the game. They still played us at a game of football in the world cup. They aspire to be like us and thats a great attitude. By changing the equipment you are cost cutting and corner cutting. It's got to be implemented across the sport for it to work. You can't just do it in one nation. The only way to start competing is to stabilise the product by providing better entertainment then you can market and drive revenue. And we will go round in circles all night mate, because imo to improve the entertainment we need to sort out the tracks to accommodate the bikes.

Absolutely. The team element still works there so their product doesn't need changing. In fact it's only getting stronger. As a consequence of that costs have risen because riders are earning more and so invest more. Supply and demand. That is my argument. As speedway shares the same basic principle it means the equipment over here is no longer relative to what they earn. But that's just how it is. We don't cut corners or dilute we market a better product so the riders over here can invest like they do over there because they are earning more, and they are earning more because there are bums on seats because we have a better product.

It costs what it costs. That's the value. If they can't afford it then they need to step off the saddle. I hear you. I get why you'd want to help, but the sport is moving in the direction it's moving in because of Poland and the big bucks. That's just too big a fight imo.

Then perhaps it needs to start selling its self as a motorsport? That's the obvious answer to this isn't it? I keep talking about the word decline. Its really important. Just because the few remaining fans are telling us that it's a team sport, just because some people think it's always been for the family and the freind etc, doesn't mean it is or that it has to be. I'll use the analogy I did earlier. If my restaurant was declining I wouldn't be listening to the remaining customers who were telling me its great because it isn't, I'm declining. I have an issue that needs addressing. Its the same here. Speedway might have always attracted a certain crowd, but that crowd is gone and we are not recycling it. That instantly tells me that all the things you think are right, are actually wrong because it's not increasing footfall. All the things you are raising, like the team element, the argument it's not a motorsport, those things are still here and we STILL DECLINING. Your twitter poll proves nothing. You have a captured audience dean, who like you, are stuck in a time warp 30 years ago. If you don't change what you do you will continue to get the same results.

It's a nice sentiment but this is 2018. In days gone by the sport was cheaper and essentially amateur. Its trying to be professional over here and imo that's where it needs to be. Costs will rise, that's life. It happens everywhere and is a consequence of the sport being much more refined than it ever was. The youngsters want the bling. They want they shiny sockets. The gold front chain. The carbon fibre exhaust. The old guard don't like it and want to cut costs but that's evolution. People change. Things change. Life changes. Adapt