TB1

Captain Mainwearing!

I know the government wants us to do more recycling, but this is taking the p1ss!

If this starts to go wrong does the new promoter get picked on by the other 5 playground bullies?

I accept the good words from the new Ipswich promoters and the hopes for Northampton and the sport in general. However, whilst there is clearly a monopoly or cartel (However you wish to describe it) on equipment such as Tyres and other equipment. How on earth do these people think they are going to attract new competitors into this sport. Deluded I'm afraid!

If a 'consortium' of different people are running it, does that qualify as a clusterf#ck?

Be sensible Iain we are talking about speedway here.

Last year we paid £24 and got a Ferrari, this year we'll pay £25 and get a TR7!

We all talk about PR disasters but if they don't make it then the PR disaster could be terminal for the sport or indeed the Premiership.

Or 'cobbled' together! Pardon the pun.

I actually think it's quite a solid if not spectacular line up. Yes I know some will complain that there's no cream on top in terms of top riders but let's be honest the whole league is crap. And with the whole league being poorer we may have closer meetings overall.

I think we all know what the Dragons or Lord Sugar would make of it!

From what I remember of Elfield Park and going there was that although the viewing areas around the track were elevated, the track itself was pants!

Can anyone remember back to Skegness and the timescales for when they got the go ahead and team etc?

A lesson from history although a different sport. If you look at MK Dons they have never really hit the highs with their crowds. Although of course their move was deeply unpopular at the time their average crowd in league 2 is around 7 to 8k. Yes bigger in the championship of course. They took a freebie hit on a grand scale and got a 23k crowd against Harrogate. Does anyone know if at the time if the owners carried out any market research on their potential supporters or crowd? Because clearly it doesn't appear to have worked.

Went to Foxhall for the Bank Holiday meeting last August. It was absolutely packed, I ordered my tickets in advance with 2 free kids tickets which saved 16 quid. Excellent organisation on arrival to collect the tickets. And afterwards was still able to buy hot food nearly an hour after the last race. Hats off to Spedeworth as the proof is in the pudding.

A top bloke and the number 1 DJ and all round music bod in this area by some distance. However, from a presenting perspective he sounds like he's at a village fete.

A question regarding the racing surface at Northampton. Will the surface getting carved up by stockcars cause an issue for speedway or will they have enough time to turn it around between cars and speedway?

I've watched the videos with a tinge of sadness but I guess we all have to move on. It just seemed from some of the comments that this was an inevitable moment given the state of the sport in this country. I only hope the new owners respect the heritage and never ever forget it. It would be great for example either at the stadium or indeed somewhere in the town if we could have a montage or painted mural of some of the legends that have served the club from the 50s to the present day as a shrine to the clubs history.

Steady on Iain! The BSPL will be discombobulating with reckless comments like that.

It's called realism.

Whoever he or she is a can't see it being a hit in the Dragons Den! Sorry but this smacks of desperation surrounded by a failing sport! Filling half baked Premiership teams with riders that have been round the track more times than a runner bean is not going to have punters flocking to the gates. A perfect opportunity to create something new and give advancement to NDL riders has been sorely and wilfully missed for the greed of the top flight clubs ( including my own)!

Pardon the pun but are the new owners ' sweeping a broom' through the place? I seem to remember in 1989 the late great John Earrey replacing Rob Chandler on the mic and various other personnel changes from the Shears era. In summary we all have to accept that UK Speedway has a terminal diagnosis and it's patients are in denial!

Northampton gone? Sounds like a post apocalypse movie!

Spot on as always Iain. They have clearly realised that you have to cut the cloth accordingly. One thing I will say with the race nights is at Ipswich which are somewhat rather fortunate in that Thursday has been our race night for all eternity and I have always thought that the media coverage in this area for speedway has in fairness always been top notch. Even back in the late nineties Tomasz Gollob used to do a weekly column for the local rag.

'Potential Northampton side' does that include Lord Lucan and Captain Oates? With Shergar as the mascot?