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Indeed. It should have been invested in new stadia so as to provide punters with a better race-night experience, and moving away from the whim of a landlord. Then moving forward, invest in junior development that might have seen us unearth some medal winning Brits. The list goes on but sadly nobody grasped the bigger picture.

You make a few good points there. It would be worth looking at a way to keep the bulk of the side over many seasons, even hopefully ending up with a one club man’s testimonial. This would give the fans something to get behind. Dropping RS riders Willy nilly needs to stop and clubs need to persevere with these youngsters. Injuries can get in the way but apart from that we need to look to keep them on. Your other point about guests needs more input from clubs. Maybe look to limit them as much as possible say over a five year period to see how it might work. The rules can be a nuisance as sometimes there is no other option than using guest but if clubs could find a way to limit them, all the better. This fad of top league clubs dropping down when things get tough needs to stop. It’s an easy get out and doesn’t make these clubs pull their socks up and improve things. The whole league is guilty of this I think.

As we limp through the 2026 season, there should be putting a plan set in place to improve the sport and hopefully put it on a firmer footing. Ideas to look at include building relationships with the local councils to help secure a new fit for purpose stadium or improvements to the current location. Build or improve tracks to provide the level of entertainment demanded by modern audiences with the Glasgow ethos of racing being the key. Meetings need to be run on a tighter timeline with 9.00 as the finishing target. Grading breaks need to be short and at standard times every meeting. In the down time have something to engage the fans with rider interviews ( preferably on a big screen with replays and scores throughout), games for the kids and a mascot to provide some fun and free sweets. A chance to hear from and meet the riders after the meeting would be good to help build relationships. Running a junior team and U16 meetings should be mandatory to help bring on the next generation. We might even unearth some GB FIM medal winners. Engaging with the local community via youth groups plus attracting families via social media is something to look at and bringing in sponsors, the kind who would look beyond the local and possibly back a UK Grand Prix. Lastly riders need to be looked after by being paid on time and backed when times are tough to help build that bond between rider and club/fans. All not easy to do I know but with the right people it could be achieved. Chris Louis would be the ideal choice to push this through or Stewart Dickson at Leicester. Bates would have been good before deciding to move on and of course Buster could get things done as he has done in the past. There could even be candidates from the lower division with the drive to see this done.

The problem with the BSPL committee members is they’re not looking to take speedway forward or even protect it’s position. They join the committee purely to protect their own interest and get a favourable decision when dodgy dealings raise their heads. It’s no surprise to me to see two jump ship once the waves get choppier. We nearly lost the TV deal that has just lapsed but thankfully Adrian came in at the eleventh hour to save at least something. The gratitude show to him by the committee was to continually sideline him on his many proposals (independent body, junior development, streamlined rule book and competition structure to name a few) so in the end he turned his attention to other business avenues. As a none speedway man he, as is always the case, couldn’t join the old pals club that have presided over the demise of our wonderful sport.

We are already, partly.

That’s not been the case for our team as we always have to make our side weaker over winter. The number of riders we have signed, improved and see move on would fill a new 1-7 with a very decent line up. Over the last two seasons three riders who have had to leave Belle Vue have lined up at number one for their new team. There needs to be more balance in these posts as remaining “one note” only leads to the more impressionable on here believing it all.

Whilst I’m not condoning the system, guests have always been with us. On Saturday 18th of May 1974 there were six top flight meetings and four of them had guests. Thousands attended those meetings as the sport was riding high in people’s consciousness and nobody seemed to bother about it. I had it in my head that we hardly used guests back then but by using the excellent Speedway Researcher website I was able to check that wasn’t true. It’s ironic that MikeBV bangs the drum the loudest about this subject when for the last 4/5 seasons his team have hardly used any guests, in fact way less than during the sports halcyon days.

Hobson choice, which is an annual occurrence for us. If it wasn’t Max it would have been another of our Aces made top liners that would have lined up against us for a new member of the top division. ‘Twas ever this.

https://www.fimspeedway.com/news/frickes-exciting-opportunity-with-lions

I put this together for what I anticipate our fixture list will look like in not to distant future. Belle Vue fixtures 2028 Easter. PCMT Colts May BH. GB v Australia test match Colts May BH. Challenge v Sheffield select Colts June. GP June. GP Colts July. British Final Colts August. Speedway centenary August BH. GB v Rest of the world test match Colts September. Challenge v UK Select Colts September. Challenge v Glasgow select Play off final. Belle Vue v Aces 😂

So it’s the jeopardy and not the participants that is the draw. For PCMT see BV junior championship (when it ran) for play offs see NDL play offs (when they ran) for GPs see the British Junior Championship which we also run two rounds. All have jeopardy. Doesn’t the visit of Edinburgh, Scunthorpe or Middlesbrough provide any kind of novelty? I don’t believe you’d attend these fixtures as they don’t have the top stars. They are no doubt a draw.

Bang on. It’s mainly due to slick PR by Henry, ably backed up by the trolls on here and no doubt other social media. A good example of this was the annual AGM statement we are all eagerly waiting on. This years included a large section on Ipswich running a junior meeting, painting Louis as some kind of saviour on the junior front. I urge you to read it again and compare it to the damp squib it turned out to be. Don’t get me wrong it was a worthy venture and I’m always pleased to see top level clubs help us with the task of bringing on the next generation, no matter how small. It was not worthy of the being included in the AGM statement. https://britishspeedway.co.uk/miscellaneous/british-speedway-agm-statement-2/

Aarrghh! You quoted him and I read it. I cannot believe he referenced the junior meeting as an innovative act, unbelievable. Run a junior team if you want to bring on youngsters. It’s completely lost on him that an ex Colt (having graduated out of our team) won the event. Sign young English riders when they are 16 and help build them up (no mention of the compulsory RS riders please) don’t wait until they are world number three before you come sniffing round. What has Louis actually done? Ran speedway at the same venue it’s been at for decades? Let lifelong Ipswich fan Guy bankroll the club? Signed Doyle, so innovative that nine teams had done that before them? Signed Emil when the Ukraine war hit Russian sportsmen? Moved up to the top league six seasons ago? Nobody puts any meat on the bones of him being a standout promoter, well now is your chance but don’t mention the junior meeting again.

You do realise you’ve picked meetings that contain the top stars. Even the play offs have top stars as generally their inclusion makes for top teams. What made you choose these meetings?

I wouldn’t use the word trust but there is little to no respect for Belle Vue or their staff amongst the BSPL committee and many of its members. Adrian was too vocal about the need for an independent body and that did not go down well and this has been mirrored with Mark. To have a business man who basically fell into speedway but could see the direction it should be going, move on due to the shenanigans of those at the top table said it all much more and much earlier than Louis latest stunt.