truthsayer

While this is all true, it also goes back to a lack of foresight from the sport's administrators. Riders call the shots because there's such a chronic lack of them, making it a seller's market. While pointing fingers and dealing in blame isn't particularly helpful, we do need to recognise that the lack of talent coming through means there's little competition for places and prices for riders go up. The sport is in such a dire place that only short term thinking is an option for both riders and promotions.

Natalie Quirk and Nigel Pearson were two excellent journalists who put the hours in and were able to explain the sport to their audience. Experts are not there to lead the show but to support the professional presenters, which is why the Americans call them 'color' commentators. The loss of Nat and Nigel alone has led to a massive downturn in the quality to the TV product IMO. There's no excuse for Tatum though. Taking aside the annoying stock phrases, he just seems to phone it in. It's as if he does no research. No insight into form or anything. Commentators should be researching and have a pack of data on that rider's results. If they don't know, they get there early and talk to them in the pits. After all those years, there really is no excuse for such amateurish on screen talent. There's a lot that could be done with speedway as a TV product, but if you don't fix that it will always be a bit rubbish.

Tatum and that stupid screwdriver. It's insulting the intelligence of the viewers... Clearly TNT didn't go to town with the coverage. It was pretty mediocre by British Eurosport's standards and, if anything, regressed on TNT, which is a more premium channel. The talent wasn't brought out and neither was the budget. Tatum is an awful lead commentator and often he was sole commentator. Yes he was thrust into the position after Nigel Pearson's death but he's a (former) professional sportsperson who understands its a results game. Speedway can be boring, we all know that, but the opportunities would have been there for interesting links and three minute features to really bring the sport to life. Not once can I remember seeing any little behind the scenes features: what does a rider do to prepare, follow them for a week, feature an engine tuner building a bike at the workshop... No money was invested in the production and the sport had to stand on its raw product which, frankly, is not good enough for modern tastes.

All things being equal there's logic to this, but losing teams means less employment opportunities anyway and skews the numbers. Trades become redundant and business models change, and so it is here. British speedway's reliance on ready made labour without developing its own talent is just one of the reasons for its inevitable demise as a professional sport. While I don't disagree with the premise of this post, the truth is the that its all just kicking the can down the road for another season at best. Stakeholders have to accept that costs need to be reduced and that means riders based from outside of the UK need to be used more sparingly.

That short term hit would be a major reason not to standardise equipment. There's nothing to suggest the 'product' wouldn't be as good, if not better on lower powered and more durable engines, but the cost of bringing this equipment in and policing it would be high. Add in the objections from those whose equipment would be made obsolete, and whose businesses would suffer, and it feels like something that's just too big right now. But most forms of motorsport have gone through a similar process at some stage and if British speedway survives this would inevitably have to be part of the 'new' sport.

I agree, except a bad product is a bad product and no amount of marketing will convince people otherwise. I do think there really has to be a realisation that the product is junk and there needs to be a reset. There needs to be a vision for 2030 but really there won't be anything more than surviving into next year. TBH, I get why people criticise promotions but I also get why they are how they are. They're fans and want to keep the sport alive. They have to do what they have to do to keep their own clubs alive, and that's not investing in talent that might come good in 2030 or stadium redevelopments that will take three years (and more money than they have).

Fair play to him, he’s going to have to put his best foot forward and do the hard yards. I’ve got to say he’ll be working overtime and coming on strong. Indeed!

'TV money' - LOL

It's good you mentioned this as it's probably not something they would have considered....

Let's be clear, there will be no TV network paying British Speedway for the rights to show the sport. At best, someone will cover production costs and show it for free, or there may be an opportunity for the promoters to pay for the privilege of having the sport shown, which may be a price worth paying in order to bring in sponsors and to give some credibility for the sport. TBH, if TV is important then the sport needs to adapt and create a 'made-for-TV' format, rather than expecting TV to fit around the sport's legacy. This is what has happened with Grand Prix and will need to happen if domestic speedway is to gain coverage.

And this is largely the sport's problem, and in some way a problem the country faces. A local journeyman in his late 20s is a lot cheaper than 'bang average rider from abroad' who needs to 'commute' and have a second structure in the UK (not to mention a wage to secure a visa and/or make it viable). We've spent decades importing labour for instant gratification rather than investing in our future. Replace the word 'speedway rider' with 'plumber' and you have the same issue. The sport can't now afford these riders. If the idea is to continue as a professional team sport, then it needs cheaper personnel and this is the problem as these personnel don't exist.

That's not giving an example, that's just giving an opinion. I was more looking for you to say 'Rider X was a promising youngster but he ended up quitting because he got too big and wasn't competitive' I'm genuinely not convinced that introducing a combined weight limit would bring more riders in. I'm open to you convincing me otherwise, but this sport has a lot of problems and this (if it even is one) belongs far down the list of problems. More venues, lower costs, greater awareness... these are all things to be tackled before bringing weight limits in.

Are there actually any examples you can give to back this statement up?

Nice as many of these ideas are, we're still just kicking the can down the road. Without a grassroots plan to develop more riders and secure more venues, there is no team speedway. There are already nowhere near enough riders, and that's utilising many expensive imports. There needs to be a separation of the sport and the competition. Clubs are (rightly) just trying to do enough to get them to the end of next week. I don't see anyone doing any wider development of the sport. I just can't see a future for speedway as a team sport, or as a professional sport, but I would hope that the base sport can survive and find an appropriate level for the early 21st century.

There is no butter left on the shelves...