Big Al

Have to say that Josh Bates is beginning to cause me some concern. Yesterday at Ipswich he didn't look fully able to control the bike and there was a comment by Tatum (I think) about him not walking properly. Have his falls so far this season caused his back injury to re-emerge? He began the season in such fine style but its looking as if things might not be so good now. If the injury is causing problems again, surely its a matter of time before he needs to go back to rehab? Let's hope that isn't the case and that his recent misadventures are a blip, and that more track time, with Peterborough, will be a help rather than a hindrance.

On the track he's matured beyond recognition. Can't comment about off-track but would like to think he's improving in that area.

Apologies for asking the bleeping obvious, but how come, after the Cook business, the Peterborough team picture ( with 6 riders) has 5 riders in their rule-compliant team kevlars, plus Charles Wright who is clearly not in them but is wearing his own set?

But, with Swedish leagues having their problems, just maybe a combined top tier league including 3 (at a guess) UK clubs could salvage something to derive sufficient income from TV and investment. The UK clubs would need to be stadium-owning or at least non-greyhound tenants. Belle Vue, Kings Lynn and Glasgow for instance.

Another move this winter, and another one probably done far too late, was the creation of the BSPA as a limited company. How many current venues are either owned by the speedway club (rare, probably) or ones where the club is its main tenant/user (possibly a few more). If you were a potential investor, interested in taking a significant stake in the sport overall, looking to develop it, the lack of current clubs within those categories would be a substantial deterrent I'd think. Alternatively an investor might say - ok I'll put money into running speedway only at the venues that meet my criteria, with exclusive rights, and maybe look at one-offs at other venues, and I want to be the controlling shareholder of the BSPA as well. But the chances of that happening could be slim of course.

It's a bit of a soft target, isn't it? Journalists are good at picking on them, when they need some column inches to fill. For me, the bikes are too quiet now (but my hearing's also not what it used to be) and that addictive aroma isn't all that addictive now. These take away a lot of the dramatic effect. The material that's needed to produce good racing tracks doesn't seem to available any more, or if it is, it's too expensive. So many other sports have upped their game massively when it comes to venues and their facilities, but speedway operates with hands tied behind the back for the most part with no source of capital to tap into, anyway. What was done this winter with regards to the second tier, should have been done a long time ago, and I fear it's a case of too late. If the promoters had been enlightened enough to have done it 6 or 7 years ago, you could now be seeing the benefits. Instead they pratted around with the reserves draft experiment in the top tier. I think that may turn out in hindsight to be the last chance to save the show, which sadly wasn't taken when it was crying out for it.

Sam Ermolenko coming to Beaumont Park for the BenFund meeting then. I wonder if him and the landlord will be reminiscing about old times?

So yes of course there are cases of good work at present, but in these times it has to be a collective effort too. It's crying out for the BSPA to appoint someone suitable to be the catalyst. If it does end in failure, well at least they've tried. A good national sponsor would help to fund it, of course, but the promoters would need to make the first move. The difference with Bill Veeck is that he had big potential markets to draw in, but he still had to bring them in. Speedway's potential new markets are probably much more limited.

I'm reading a Biography of Bill Veeck. He's widely regarded as Baseball's greatest showman, never a player but from an early age involved in managing and then owning clubs. Clubs like Milwaukee and Cleveland, and later Chicago White Sox, which when he bought them were on sharp declines but he breathed new life into them, in tough times too, and turned them into successful businesses. The guy was phenomenal, with his energy, bravado, self-belief but most importantly mingling with the fans during games, meeting and greeting when they arrived, and being at the exit to thank them for their custom. He pulled numerous publicity stunts, created controversy, engineered spats between himself and other team owners. There was nobody who taught him all of that, he just had the spirit in him to try things. He made a priority of providing better spectator facilities - toilets, food, entertainment, improved lighting - and was a genius when it came to courting and pleasing the media. I suppose you could truly call Bill Veeck a Promoter, in every sense of the word. (his name's pronounced Vek - as in wreck, as he used to say). And he did it mostly with only one leg, legacy of a stint with the Marines in WW2. Reading it. you just couldn't help but draw comparisons with current Speedway promoters, and how so many of them could do with some of the Veeck approach. You also think that Speedway is crying out for someone like Veeck to inspire and encourage the current promoters to innovate and to develop, who the BSPA could appoint to such a role.

Stewart Dickson in Speedway Star talking about having some work done to the track this month, getting rid of the bumps that he says had got quite bad last season. There was also an item about a 35-rider practice session having took place recently. Surprised there wasn't carnage!

Would not be surprised if Harris is on the same deal as he had with Boro, and Tungates deal is similar. Rider control, East Anglia style! If the BSPA was properly governed with an independent Executive in control, it would impose strong limitations and conditions on all proposed team changes during the season by Chapman's three clubs where riders would be moving from one club to another. For consistency the same should apply to Leicester and Sheffield, by the way!

Maybe more like a bit of re-distribution of riders among the three teams. Iversen's decision, Tungate's destination, Ipswich struggling to put a side together...... If Chapman had not bought out the two clubs, and put them into the PL thereby keeping it in existence, would anyone else have? So I'm not too convinced it's about trying to dominate the league. Out of the 21 riders which eventually comprise the 3 teams, how many of them will actually be Chapman "assets"? Again, that's still to be known.

So it's Rider Control back again then? But just for 3 clubs of course. And if there has been no response by Harris, then more likely he has been fixed-up with a team place elsewhere already? The stuff about financial operating model causing the change has the strong whiff of smokescreen.

Nothing by BSPA today in the way of the daily news updates. Is there a meeting going on? Could this be one of the subjects under discussion......??

Form and confidence seemed to fall off a cliff after looking like a potential heat leader early doors. Started to be a bit of a hazard to team mates. Probably true that cost-cutting was also a factor. But he does really need to work on his English.

Surely, the land and stadium owners can just play the long game now, as long as the developers have sold enough houses to satisfy their shareholders for the time being. Is the local council under pressure from Central government to build more homes in the area? - it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case. If the council does pass a requirement for the developer to carry out the work on the stadium ( track included) until further houses can be built, could the landowners & developers then decide to just take their own sweet time and focus their efforts on other projects ( not in Swindon) and hinder the council's hitting their targets?

Yes, I should have added "in 2011"

Fully agree. Just interested in seeing what, for example, Wolves fans think about their team, but it turns into scrolls of Donald Trump impersonators. Never mind.

Well fair enough, when you know it's futile, then you stop - that's about making an intelligent choice. Part of the problem seems to be that some don't know when to stop!

It's just a bit sad really, dragging down the sport

Yes but it would take me all day

Arguing requires skill and intelligence!!

It seems as if a few threads have been taken over (more than is normally the case) by contributirs whose sole aim is to wind-up and throw personal abuse around. Its become ridiculous. Are you going to take some decisive action??

This is sounding all too reminiscent of Leicester's recent dabble in the top flight. At least your promotors are not telling you whoppers about supposedly having world class stars queueing up to sign (and I don't mean Damien Bates). Hope it turns out better for you and that all of the fears prove to be groundless.

I agree, the three of Perks Mountain and Thomas between them have good experience at the level required and if you stack them against other teams' lowest 3 they do seem stronger, and the double spearhead has plenty of scoring ability to let the middle two have some "license to thrill"! If Scott Nicholas can emulate the job Joe Screen very ably did for Stewart Dickson at Glasgow, it should go well. At last.