AndyM

Me, I say the only way to prove who is worthwhile is on the track and not at the behest of some back room selection process known only to those involved. That way lies corruption and evil doing. Speedway has a fine tradition of being equal and above board, and so it should stay for GP qualification. All four of those riders should demonstrate their right to take part in a qualification meeting, fair and square.

...transfers, conflicts with GP and other leagues, governance and independent administration of rules...the list is endless.

Agree totally on your first point. On the second, I'd agree with one proviso - that clubs start with the 7 they intend to use at the end of the first month, rather than going through the charade of naming a side including no-hopers (forget 'chancers'!), dropping lots of suspicious points then redeclaring a month later.

Gemini, I wasn't complaining that it was a fix, only that the levels of competition haven't enabled other riders to overtake the existing "best in the world" - in other words, that the problem lies with the next level down, those who should be developing faster than they are. Looking at the riders concerned, we seem to have quite a few veterans in the top bracket so the next generation ought by rights to be overtaking them very soon. But would you bet against another TR triumph at this stage?

Is Juha Hautamaki any relation to the great Pekka Hautamaki, once of Belle Vue and Cradley Heath? Could easily be his son. If so, what's Pekka up to, these days?

Couldn't have put it better myself, Subedei. Time for a change or the GP will stagnate - much as the competition in F1 has been much improved through breaking the Ferrari monopoly. But how....?

Your average promoter would sooner saw off his own leg than give fans any say over the way speedway is run - and therefore his means of earning a living. It won't happen, but as I said in my previous post the promoters do need to take the views of fans as the paying public more seriously into account. Of course, you could always buy shares in the company running your club...but then again, what are promoters but fans who became shareholders and/or entrepreneurs? They certainly didn't enter speedway to become multi-millionaires (with the possible exception of Stuart Bamforth!)

Credit to him, the guy has towered over the series this year. But I hope it's much more open next year - which might require the rest to use a little industrial espionage to find out what he's doing to end up 50% faster!

If Crump had fallen, he'd probably have got a US4 restart. He was handicapped by his own honesty. Still made it up in the next heat to qualify for the semis with ease, so he probably figured it didn't matter that much.

Fans are key stakeholders who have been ignored or certainly taken for granted by the vast majority of promoters in recent years. If our views aren't taken into account you can hardly blame us for voting with our feet and taking our hard-earned cash elsewhere, can you? Fans may not appear very grateful for what you do right, but they're very quick to complain if things aren't right, so it's pretty important for the clubs to respond to constructive criticism (remembering the disdain if not contempt with which we were held by the Perrin regime?) Most good companies spend a great deal of time and trouble listening to the views of their customers before launching new products or changing existing ones, for the very good reason that the success or failure of the product can have a critical impact on the success or failure of the company. How come speedway clubs haven't cottoned on to this yet? However, rather than adopt tokenism it would be good if the promoters can think hard about how best to achieve effective fan representation so - even if decisions are ultimately taken with a complete disregard to our views.

Entrenched? Well, maybe so - all the more reason for their needing a fresh and independent set of eyes to look over the circumstances. This is why business makes extensive use of management consultants! I'll happily do an excellent job for the promoters, if called upon!!

Problem is that the BSPA will have a stack of occasionally conflicting proposals designed to resolve the known issues, some relevant and many not; they will argue the toss and end up with a package which has not been thought through and but will be votied in by consensus. If they continue to bury their heads in the sand and think 5 minutes ahead, league speedway will have all but died within 5 years under the pressure of rising costs and reducing attendances. |Stark but true! I really hope that what they choose to do this year is break the habits of a lifetime, appoint a subcommittee comprising management and speedway experts (eg. ex-riders), and give these people two or three months to conduct a complete review of all current circumstances in UK league speedway, including a vision of what the future will look like with and without change. They must make a programme of recommendations for the short- and long-term (at least 10 years) to propose how league speedway can be made to continue, grow and flourish. Only then should the BSPA make decisions about where to go next and who should be responsible for its governance and strategic direction.

All the more reason to conduct an effective strategic development exercise to prevent this humble day-to-day existence! That's what I help clients do, so they can map out a future for themselves. Simple but chilling truth: those that don't plan for the future don't have one!

Another good question, Green Man. Of the major stakeholders in the success of speedway, the fan seems to have come bottom of the pile for many years now, with sponsors not much higher. TV seems to dominate most of the time, but very few of our key stakeholders seem to have the future of the sport at heart as much as they should. Agreed that we need to reduce the quantity and improve the quality and timing of meetings so every team isn't handicapped through one absence or another. Having said that, predicting the weather makes that a bit of a lottery. I'll be very unpopular for saying so, but having strong and financially healthy clubs with the right facilities is more important than keeping every last one going - you need to consolidate to advance. And as I've said on many occasions before, we need a professional and centralised marketing function to revolutionise relationships with sponsors. Do it right and the revenues could and should be many times higher than we currently get for EL clubs. Ideally, we need to combine this thread with the other one on the future! Can we do that please, mods?

Phil, that's a fine post. I've long believed the lack of willingness of British speedway to invest in its own future is a major reason for the long-term downturn in the sport's fortunes, though it's not just time that hinders the development. All regular motorcycling venues, even where they're open for use, need permission from the owner of the land, who must in turn ensure that the land usage does not exclude regular use without planning permission - as I recently found out when some neighbours complained about lads using a nearby gravel pit facility nearby to practice on moto-cross bikes. The other major factor is that very few clubs own or control their own facilities to be able to open on other days or out of season. Most would have to pay rent and wouldn't be gaining any gate money to fund that. Different story in the days of Hyde Road, when Bammy used to open the track for kids very regularly at all times of the year, including junior fixtures open to the public. Where can we do that nowadays?

Not just the riders, to be fair. The costs of running speedway as a sport, particularly but not exclusively the machinery, have far outstripped any rise in gate revenues. Without the safety net of Sky TV money EL tracks would be struggling to employ top riders unless there were a drastic cut in the costs and/or the riders accepted lower rates. Since they are mostly contracted for one season only (or less than that in some cases), riders have no security and would inevitably choose to go where the most money is.

Yes, Deano, looking at my two scenarios at the top of the post, that was a key component of the worst case in no (1). It's a very real threat and the promoters must plan contingencies for our stadia dropping like dominos. This is why advanced planning is critical. OK, fair comment - I was a bit harsh on your suggestion, Subedei, and you are of course quite right about the need to learn. My reply was really aimed at people who don't like what the promoters come up with but are quick with knee-jerk solutions of their own.

This is in any case a diversion. Learning what has been done elsewhere may be helpful, but what is needed here is an effective review of the unique position of UK league speedway, its goals for the next 10-15 years and to develop solutions that might help achieve them. In another thread, I proposed a list of strategic objectives centred on revolutionising the governance of the sport, lowering costs, increasing revenues, attracting long-term improvement in attendances, attracting more clubs and, yes, encouraging young riders to succeed. Blindly copying anybody else is a sure guarantee of making all their mistakes, and I say this with my professional management consultant's hat on - I see companies following whatever happens to be the current trend all the time, regardless of whether it's effective or relevant for their company.

I know you say this at every opportunity, Subedei, but I've yet to see any evidence that Poland has got its house in order. They have a few innovations that have worked well, and by gum they've certainly succeeded in farming out their young riders to gain experience everywhere else, but have they met the two common measures of success: a healthy profit and World Champions? Neither, yet!

Two scenarios: 1) Costs spiral without a commensurate rise in sponsorship or agreement among the promoters about cost-cutting measures as Sky terminate their contract. Top riders gradually filter out of the UK, crowds dwindle as the price of admission rises and clubs close until we're left with one top league of about 10-15 clubs with continuous infighting among the remaining promoters. League speedway dies a death after 100 glorious years. 2) A new chief executive buzzing with energy and ideas is appointed by the BSPA. Consensus is found on a new constitution for UK league speedway, with a single, stable set of rules, platform for teambuilding and cheaper specification for engines and frames. Promoters agree a dynamic new marketing strategy and start improving the entertainment at tracks. Sky are impressed and increase coverage. Top line sponsors start pouring money, helping to fund an expansion of the Academy. Talented young motorcyclists flood into speedway and young Brits are guaranteed reserve places. UK wins 6 world titles in a row, crowds return to 1960s levels, and speedway returns to its rightful place as the no 2 UK spectator sport. OK, would you put your money on either of these? If you fancy the second, who has the leadership ability to drag the sport and its promoters, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century?

Prompts a lot more questions than it actually answers, Scorpio, but congratulations for having a go. To do this successfully needs a very cohesive strategic perspective, thinking about what will happen in the coming 5-10 years and trying to imagine what a stronger UK League Speedway set-up must look like after this period. Rather than solutionising first - and potentially introducing a stack more unintended consequences - it might be better for us to focus on the key objectives and what we're actually trying to achieve. For example, I reckon these must be the goals for the promoters this winter: How to attract top-line commercial sponsorship Sustaining attendances in the light of other attractions and Sky coverage Other ways to improve revenue Improving entertainment values without increasing costs Reducing costs of machinery and team costs (not just rider earnings) Finding a teambuilding system that rewards loyalty, success and long-term planning Preventing foreign riders having an unfair advantage in team building Replacing the ridiculous and outmoded transfer system Developing the good work of the Academy to bring on lots of top British talent Resolving conflicts with GPs and other leagues May be that some of these might well be relevant, but only if we place them in the context of the overall vision.

This sort of fixture was not uncommon at one time. I recall other instances where gaps in the calendar were filled by assorted challenges between riders from various sources. And as I remember it the fans were usually delighted to see riders trying hard despite the apparently arbitrary nature of the fixtures, too. Perhaps they would not put in the same effort nowadays, given the schedule of most leading riders.

Refs appear to make a habit of giving certain riders the benefit of the doubt in GPs, don't they? Pressure from BSI?

Sounds a little like that infamous match race at Belle Vue in 1973 between PC and Anders Michanek. Sure they'll repeat it!

Well, I was right - although this was so close that any result could have materialised. The final will have a lot to live up to! Shame I won't be around to see it (holiday beckons)