TheGuvnor

With regard to the play-offs, a six team league having four play-off places is ridiculous. While the meetings in theory should draw bigger crowds for the qualifying sides having over half the league qualifying for the play-offs makes a mockery of the entire season. Play-offs are good for the TV granted but we should be looking at what’s good for the sport as a whole first and foremost. If we must persist then it should be three teams. 2nd versus 3rd in a semi for the right to a two legged tie against the team that finishes top.

I think averages including bonus points for team building was the norm until 2006/7.

It’s a sport wide issue and a result of bad planning overall. Not just down to Leicester. Edit: This is one of the major flaws of the sport being self governed. Clubs should declare any dates their home stadium is unavailable on their race night for the season then be given a fixture list to adhere to. No fannying about because Rider X is riding in his national championship, that’s the meeting taking place that week end of. The fixture list should contain a few blank weeks to fit in rain offs. The league and cup should be wrapped up by the end of August. September and October can be used for individuals, fillers etc.

While on the surface we can joke about this being a typically Speedway thing, worryingly this slack regard for deadlines is creeping into the sport more and more. The 2021 season overran into November. Once that horse had bolted it then became fine for 2022 to overrun too despite plenty of Speedway free dates in the summer. We’ve now got an AGM overrunning when the entire purpose of the meeting is archaic anyway. The rules and regs should be sorted way in advance and teams can decide where they best fit into that system as opposed to a system that fits a majority of clubs at both levels and the rest then having to slot in where they’re least likely to go bankrupt. If the sport wants to be presented as professional then it has to act that way.

Not the attitude to take in a dangerous sport such as Speedway. More likely to get hurt or hurt someone else if you’re half-assing it.

An interesting suggestion. The sport is probably too long in the tooth for such a radical change though. Promoters aren’t going to want to pay last place money either when cost cutting is what makes the world go round at present.

What a team that was. Six heatleaders in that side. Always think strength in depth trumps top heavy in the long run.

Arguably only the real elite riders (GP level or thereabouts) care about the sport side and success now. For the rest it’s a job, hence all the doubling up. Good for riders and bad for fans. It just so happens that they do their job riding a motorbike in circles in front of ever decreasing fan numbers.