waytogo28

Last people to be told are the supporters.

Absolutely so! And it is sad as I spent years ( years ago ) telling all and sundry that "it's not all about first away wins" and Lo & Behold especially the last ten years it has become so. The standards of promoting seems to have nosedived this century, as anything goes seems the rule and rules exist only until they are quickly overturned " in the best interests of the sport".

I'm confused. I thought "first away wins" in speedway. It's the ballsiest never give up ride I have seen.

No one would be surprised at that. Keeping up is not his best skill, hence acting as if he never has and never will.

So it's not Harris ( but likely Cook ?) Connections magically mended if that turns out to be the case. The master puppeteer pulls the strings again.

Another master marketing stroke in the offing then?

Buster is very concerned with cost-cutting ( which is natural ) so perhaps this manure is very cheap or even free, hence this clever move. The fact that it appears to ruin the racing at his three tracks ( or further reduce the thrill of it at least ) fits in well with the " fan's what fans" attitude to feedback. But is he about to surprise the KL faithful by splurging the savings on manure on an exciting new team member ( who can gate 75% of the time )?

Certainly what has happened to me and a small group of fellow fans. When Buster Chapman owns all of the "top" league clubs ( perhaps only five of them in a league then ), it is likely that only a couple of hundred vetted fans will be allowed to attend matches having sworn an oath that " all is well and nothing could ever be improved". Not as far fetched as you might think.

That is the saddest part is that Heeps amazing, from the back efforts, showed that racing is possible if riders are prepared to have a go and genuinely try to race. There does seem to be a prevalent attitude on track that half way round, on the first lap, are the positions that the vast majority of riders will settle for, knowing they will have another chance to gate in their next race. Even riders as experienced as Schlein decided that when stuck at the back knowing that they can gate or fight their way through within 100 metres next time out, 75% of the time. Let's have 50 one lap races with grading only every ten races, which may be more exciting overall. And of course, concrete starting grids which permit no gardening.

I don't like it for sure. Some of the poorest racing ever seen. And on a regular basis. As the hosts do pay good money to stage it they should make more of an effort to make it attractive.

For me too. I like the idea of a "guided" experience ( if wanted ) and free entry for genuine newbies. Who does that now? Is there a promoter who wants to get it off the ground? Or a supporters club? But I am still in favour of leaflets in supermarkets as they remind people that speedway is still there and alert newbies to the idea of trying it.

They are twins so how can you be sure that the one you get is the one you want?

As we do not appear to be sure who the owner is at Ipswich ( last night it seemed to be Chris Louis according to T&P ), if it's Buster how will he get over the "sponsorship spat " with Cook ( IF that is what it was ).

Nicholls now safely in at Pboro.

Hawkins came across as, well it would be impolite to say it as it appeared to me. Hopefully, he has a better relationship with his riders and an understanding of the sport than he has with the media. At the very least some help with that seems necessary. And sadly this meeting I can only rate as 5/10 and was a poor advert for UK speedway. Even Tatum & Pearson fell far below their usual almost impeccable selves. Not just with the errors but with downright lies replacing their usual spin on how wonderful it all was. They seemed quite disinterested at times, perhaps they were suffering from post G.P. blues? If the Live matches are not going to rise about the Swindon match and this one it certainly wasn't worth Buster "saving" the PL for TV. The sport looked completely moribund and was raced in front of a crowd that looked like less than a 1,000 ( maybe far less ). Cannot see how any casual non-speedway fan who stumbled across the broadcast would consider rushing to their nearest track.

Hawkins came across as, well it would be impolite to say it as it appeared to me. Hopefully, he has a better relationship with his riders and an understanding of the sport than he has with the media. At the very least some help with that seems necessary. My apologies this should be in the Ipswich V Wolves thread.

The Josh Bates who just proved forgetful and fall prone at Ipswich tonight? Bjerre more accomplished and more likely to turn around poor form than Bates has shown in CL.

Essential if it is not all going to end in tears and before the season's end.

Of course you aren't "real fans" they buy a season ticket AND pay in cash every home match because they bleed for their club and Buster adores "real fans" like that. Sadly "real fans" are an endangered species in UK speedway, in fact, they are on the way to being extinct.

The problem is not that promoters / the BSPA / Buster Chapman miss so many opportunities, the problem is that they don't see those opportunities.

They have put it on social media so potentially millions could turn up as they all know about it ( or could do if they clicked pn the right link ). In fact, it reaches more than a billion. Staggeringly awesome marketing when you think about it.

Thankfully no ( or very, very few ) outsiders look at the UK speedway results. If they did they would be confused as to how riders such as Harris etc pop up top scoring here there and everywhere. Confused hardly covers it!

The BSPA under the influence of Buster and his family have put their whole faith in social media as the vehicle to bring back the missing thousands and hordes more of newbies to every UK track. I read it on Twitter " Speedway GB, Great Racing, Alive and Kicking" . SO it must be true and millions of social media users are panting to join us on the terraces. Soon the queues for the burgers, chips, beer and loos will be much longer. Supporters everywhere, be ready. Your regular spot on the terraces is already under threat. Promoters are rubbing their hands with glee dreaming of when crowds DID number in the thousands and not the hundreds.

Riding the esky. Too slippery to slide.

Although the competition is an unofficial one - we must continue to hope that one or two riders in each side hope to provide some entertainment in the match to the paying customers. Someone should.