JamesHarris

Have you ridden a speedway bike before?

Fair enough if that's how you feel. I would suggest though that you put yourself forward, make an offer to the promotion and put your money where your mouth is.

Have you been to any speedway meetings in the last 10 years? There was this thing called the Midland Development League

Maybe Hans Nielsen has been approached about a comeback?

Well it's a bold signing that's for sure but one can't help think the owners are throwing their money around with more focus on winning a trophy than focusing on managing the finances. As someone else has pointed out Workington comes to mind. Very risky for a track that has been operating in the National League and still would be if it had not been for Somerset deciding not to run. I wish them luck but I really hope this doesn't end up being a reckless move that will bankrupt the club. British speedway has lost enough tracks over the last decade without losing any more.

Its Crazy isn't it. Can you imagine if in Rugby Union they said Wasps and Leicester Tigers couldn't play their respective home games on a Saturday because Leicester were the senior team and had priority. Or Even in football. It would never happen. Each team has its own support base. If Plymouth ran on a Friday night it would have no effect whatsoever on Scunthorpe's attendance.

Simple answer. The BSPA does not like what they refer to as "Ghost Teams" unless it suits them of cause. There have been a few such teams using such names operating in the junior leagues over the last few years but prior to the 2020 season the powers that be banned them. I think Cradley not running was finally the excuse they needed to remove this thorn from their sides. I think it got to a case where some of the people (not all I may add) running the ghost teams were nothing more than a bunch of glory hunters using defunct names to play real life fantasy speedway. The BSPA gave them a criteria that they had to show concrete proof that they had acquired land to build a new track in the catchment areas of the said defunct clubs but the reality of that happening is like Donald Trump becoming the president of Greenpeace. Things can change though and if Rob Godfrey ever decided it may be good business to run a second team in the National League as either Halifax Dukes or Hull Vikings the ghost team rule would change overnight.

It comes under Rugby council

You say it as it is and it is very true. Unfortunately British speedway will never change whilst it is run as a personal fiefdom by two promoters who only have their own interests at mind. This type of governance was ok back in the 1960's when we had competent businessmen running the show like Mr Ochiltree but it does not work in 2020. British speedway needs to move with the times. It needs to be run by an independent third party who has no financial or commercial interest in any club. Promoters could still have a say and voting rights of course but not the power that a select few individuals enjoy at the present.

I've said it once before and I'll say it again. Now is the perfect time to create one or two British franchise teams to race in the Polish League. Any smart business minded promoter would realise this. If Poland are going to call the shots (and who can blame them) it's better to co-operate than fight against it.

I bet his cell mate will be riding him into the dirt.

He's got plenty of years ahead of him. I don't think he's in the same class yet as the greats but we'll see

It would be the perfect time to start a British franchise team to race in the Polish League.

Newcastle have re-opened more times than Katie Price's legs

Spot on mate.

And still is. You will see it everywhere in most Hindu and Buddhist countries.

What utter nonsense. You have fallen for the leftie propaganda by the sound of it. Old Dixie is a part of Southern heritage. To compare it to the Nazi swastika is both pathetic and ignorant. The only people the flag offends is snowflakes. I once talked to a black American on holiday who was from Alabama. I asked him about the Confederate flag and his reply was it was part of southern heritage and he even had one on his porch (the BBC would never tell you that). I was actually amazed at that but he told me the only people who have an issue with it are Liberals with an agenda.

Thats a carbon copy of the 1977 White City race jacket. Way back in 2000 I always thought the "rebels" nickname was a reference to the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion and the following battle of Sedgemoor in 1688 but if you look into the rebellion and what happened to the Duke and his followers you would hardly want to celebrate it. I don't have any issue with the Confederate flag or "Old Dixie". Anyone that takes offence at it or thinks that it is racist needs to get back to the holes they came from.

I realise that some people will not like Poole. As a Coventry fan I understand that. In football depending on who you support you may not like Man Utd or Liverpool. But I will say this, I have been disgusted by the comments I have read on here and social media from so called fans who seem to be gloating at the fact Poole may close. Poole have been the best team for years. Love em' or hate em' hats off to Matt Ford. If Poole go under any true speedway fan should take heed.

One thing the powers that be who run speedway have to decide in the future is do you market it as a team sport or an individual sport because you can't have both.

Good point to be fair. Off the top of my head though there is Sheffield, Swindon, Wolves, Birmingham, Kent, Newcastle & Poole so 31.8% of all operational tracks in the UK

We can go on all day about the state of British Speedway. In my opinion I don't think it will ever be the same again in this country after effectively being closed down this year. I think possibly having Nicki Pedersen and Jason Crump back in the league plus being on Eurosport would have re-generated interest to the outsider but we will never know. I do think the biggest threat now to British speedway though is not the donkeys who run the sport but the lucrative price of land for housing and political correctness. Does speedway really make money? With regards to housing you may have noticed in the news this week the Government has pushed through policy making it easier to obtain planning permission for housing. If a stadium owners is offered big bucks by a housing developer for his land will he or her take it? If you were offered millions of pounds it would be hard to turn down. As for political correctness this refers to Greyhound racing which obviously affects most speedway tracks in the UK. The leftie brigade want Greyhound racing abolished. The way things are going its only a matter of time before they get their way. With no income from that and the lucrative bookmaker streaming services the owners will cut their losses and sell. British speedway needs to re-invent itself as a team sport and fast. The die hard fans in their 60's and 70's will not be here forever and I don't see any way of attracting the instagram generation to take their places the way things stand. I've said this before and been laughed at but how about setting up two "franchise" teams to compete in the Polish League? Manchester Aces, Sheffield Steel, Glasgow Tigers?? Could be marketed to a whole new audience. Has worked in Super League and other sports.

I've not gone all through this thread but one thing I was wondering today is what if most of the riders who race in the British Leagues have now found themselves decent paid jobs this year to make a living. Come 2021 (if we are back to normal then) Will the same riders think "you know what, I'm quite enjoying having a steady income and not have to worry about the expense of running 2 bikes". Will the occasional spin in a Amateur meeting at Scunny be enough to satisfy their desire to race? Of cause I am only talking about the bread and butter riders here and not the top international one's who have lucrative deals in Poland or Sweden. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Look all you need to do with Boris is shout loud enough and he'll change his mind. What we need to do is start a campaign "we want to attend our sport stadiums", get it all over social media, get some mediocre premeirship footballer to vocally back it, have a segment on the Jeremy Vine show and within 30 minutes Boris will put out a release that he has done a U turn on attending sports stadia

Does anyone have a spare programme from Newport 2008 they could sell me please? It was the year they closed down mid-May due to the death of Tim Stone. It's the only track I can't get one for for that year. Thanks.