ouch

Freight Island would be good near Piccadilly, only 24 min on public transport or less if they lay on shuttle buses or a 50min walk. The problem there is the cost to use it and the fact it would likely be just fans there. The alternative is Piccadilly Gardens (27 or 63 mins). The problem with Manchester as opposed to Cardiff is the crowd wouldn’t make a dent in the city, even with a Cardiff sized crowd of tens of thousands. Lastly would be the area a the rear of the hotel near the old bingo hall. Setting up many marquees for food and drink plus entertainment would give an area for fans to mingle nearby. For me they have never thought about the greater experience as the fanzone just doesn’t cut it from my experience at any of them. Ok for a bit of a wander but nothing to occupy any great length of time. There are many screen around the city some with seating either temporary or permanent. These have been used for football, tennis, F1 etc. It would be good to get the whole meeting live up onto those screen as a Manchester event. I’ve had pubs up and down the country put speedway on for me whilst away and the response from customers has always been positive considering I was the only fan there.

For me, he’s gone about it the right way. Hey boss, we’re signing Eddie. Great, let everyone know. Problem with Eddie so I’ll have to sort a replacement. Great, let everyone know. Great news, Phillip is back. Great, let everyone know. Alternatively at every of the above stages just keep the customers in the dark, I mean they will know when they arrive. Poor. One time, we had to make a change and the staging (cartel) promoter vetoed us putting any information out. We did leak it on social media outlets such as this though.

Guests were introduced in the 60’s as fans were sick of seeing walkovers when injury hit teams took to the track and there was a lot of unrest about the system from the get go and that continues to this day. I’ve always said if more than two members are missing from one team or a total of four from both teams then the meeting should not go ahead. The problem there is rearranging in the age where riders jet her there and everywhere. The other solution would have been to use riders from the second division and even better, buddy up with a team from that division. You are then seeing riders you wouldn’t normally see and not using riders from your direct opposition. The problem now though is double up/down is rife so it can’t work. Another solution is a squad system but there isn’t enough money in the sport to have riders sat in the bench awaiting a call. Lastly, with so few fixtures we shouldn’t be having ANY clashes where our riders are known to be required elsewhere. For us in the UK, guests are here to stay but they must be the absolute last resort and not the go to solution so currently overused.

I’d recommend the Longsite Sports & Social club down the road. There’s a collectors fare on and Lynn & Co will ply you with cheap booze. Plenty of banter with our Polish friends as well plus lots of speedway memorabilia to idle the time away with (mostly Aces based).

We think it is important too. Andy has done a fine job at Glasgow since he first started helping them out a while back.

You missed a trick then as you could have made a bob or two out of it but then it would have diverted your attention away from posting negatively about someone that did.

You missed a trick then as you could have made a bob or two out of it but then it would have diverted your attention away from posting negatively about someone that did.

And if we had had this forum back then there would be some having a pop at him for missing domestic fixtures. 😡

And if we had had this forum back then there would be some having a pop at him for missing domestic fixtures. 😡

Manchester is always cited as the rainiest of cities time and time again so Belle Vue should be the benchmark when setting an acceptable amount of rain offs per season. The five seasons between 21-25, we had to cancel eight league meetings whereas the stars cancelled 18. I think a fair figure would be two per season and anything above this sanctions or investigations need to be in place to get to the root cause of these persistent call offs. EVERYTHING needs to be done to ensure these meetings go ahead on an acceptable surface.

A few years ago in the top flight you had Belle Vue as a lone voice against the old guard of Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Leicester, Sheffield & Wolves with the lower division sides supporting an as you were policy as the top flight is where their big hitters come from. This set up saw Adrian Smith jump/pushed and be lost to the sport due to the cartel’s reluctance for change. We now have the best chance to make a difference as there are only Kings Lynn & Sheffield left of the old cartel. With regards promotions, Northampton & Ipswich are in their first year and Leicester have two under their belts so this added to Belle Vues ongoing crusade sees the balance of power shift. Don’t get me wrong it’s not going to happen overnight (though we pretty much did that with Northampton) but with these new alliances and Colman in particular I can see change for the good happening. Also even though Rob Lyon wears his Stars hat on match days, he is another who wants speedway as a whole to alter despite his paymaster, so he is another valuable ally in the quest for change. One thing for certain, if it doesn’t happen now, it never will.

Mike, we had loads of guests back in the heyday as the excellent Speedway Researcher will testify. The percentage was lower as we had way more fixtures back then. Teams did ride on their preferred racenight but they do now. Sheffield & Ipswich did/do run on a Thursday. Northampton are new, Kings Lynn changed from the weekend but Leicester moved from a Tuesday! Belle Vue needed to change as there is now such competition for a Saturday night in Manchester that speedway would always lose out. Most of the top league teams we have lost has been due to planners/developers and not the race nights or competition value. If I’m being honest I see little difference in the credibility and reward in winning stuff now and back then. One of the big “rewards” was when Dave Lanning took out an insurance policy on the Racers winning the league and when they did, it was duly paid out. This was more a publicity stunt which we do not get now as promoters are not in the same mould as Lanning, Mawdsley, Thomas & Berry, sadly. Back then there were meetings like the Golden Apple or Warburtons Trophy that had no consequences or rewards but were dam fine meetings as there was thousands there. Halifax always won the Warburtons trophy against us (usually on a last heat decider) as it was good for their business, no matter how contrived. Promoters realised back then that we were a sports entertainment business where’s now they just think we are a proper sport. Doubling up/down is a mess - no question. That is a result of a lack of investment in the next generation and the fact it is way more expensive to throw your leg over a bike than back then.

It was still very raw back in the 70’s with only Ivan getting scientific about things. Even top lads would stick a bike on the bike of a Citroen with bits on the back seat. You could chat away for ages with your hero’s and a big crowd made even the most mundane meeting an event. I do believe that with the difference in remuneration top riders will “coast” if they don’t make the gate on our notoriously gate’n’go circuits. Exception to this is Dan who just loves to ride his bike and goes for it all the time, showing it can be done with a little desire and application. Back in the 70’s the big bucks were here and you would get an almighty bollocking if you were to coast, much like Poland now. The fact there are no characters can make for a bland evening and of course nostalgia colours our recollection of events from 50+ years ago when (generally) we were all in a happier place. PC was my hero and I can still get tongue tied when chatting with him now whereas Dan is a mate but still provides the level of excitement in me that PC did all those years ago. The on track action can be as good if not better than back then but off track it’s lacking somewhat.

I’d have to say clueless as I assumed Ipswich twice dropped out of our league due to finances negatively impacted by poor attendance. I apologise for my error and would like to know what their motives were for the drops. Tom & Jaimon are exactly good enough to be number ones. This was arrived at by using their averages and the rulebook. You are, as always entitled to your opinion but the fact remains that they have to ride at number one for their respective teams. With regards Jaimon, which is his usual performance at Foxhall, 1 or 13?

History shows how fickle the Ipswich support can be and the last thing we need is them dropping out of our league again due to insufficient support. We really need Mayfield to come to the party and help us push on. What we have done with Northampton in this short space of time and our program of producing number ones for teams to use plus the whole Brits thing is not an easy burden to take on alone. I had high hopes for Mayfield at Ipswich and was looking forward to a GP or two there instead of us carrying the can. I’m still hopeful they will join the party.

Remarkable that we took the bonus to a last heat decider given the cards we’ve been dealt. Whilst the 3 & 5 positions were never going to match the 19 points we got there last time, only 6 points didn’t help the cause. Having a number 1 (world number 2) averaging 5 from his 8 rides is unacceptable. I didn’t see either meeting yesterday as whilst the need for top stars is berated on here, the loss of Dan, who is worth the admission alone in my eyes has dampened my desire to attend. I’m sure it will pass by the time The Aces next take to the track v Leicester.

This is why having a home track in rainy Manchester, we can count the number of Aussie team members over the last decade or so on eight hands.

Inherited. Things will get better, I truly believe that. With regard the attendance, as I have said before no club has the right to call another one out as we are all relatively poor. Despite the banter I honestly do not want to see Ipswich again drop out of our league due to poor support. Being the sole club with the support to stay “up top” and seeing clubs come and go is not good at all and the uncertainty of who we will be up against year on year is a major concern. Up the witches!

Great to hear and as a rider who can compare the old with the new it’s nice to see the changes aren’t going unnoticed. Keep it up. The screen is fabulous for replays and interviews filling the gaps in the action perfectly. The more clubs take this idea on board the better.

I’m still not buying the not trying due to GP line, it’s just lazy reporting on the part of BSF and another tedious attempt to have a go. If you are going to level that accusation then you MUST address the KO Cup earlier and the fact he ran five races in the league campaign without beating an opponent. During all four meetings at Foxhall last year our top two scored 27 each. They got paid 27 between them in the previous play off final away at Leicester so it’s safe to say their performance were poor last year but, it was against a once in a blue moon title winning team. Jason Edwards gated and beat Dan last season. I’m not expecting that now that Coleman is here as looking at updates the racing has improved. The cartels desire for gate’n’go speedway is gradually lessening and it only helps with people like Coleman jumping into our rocking boat. If things continue to improve I can see myself returning for the first time since early 2022.

I’m still not buying the not trying due to GP line, it’s just lazy reporting on the part of BSF and another tedious attempt to have a go. If you are going to level that accusation then you MUST address the KO Cup earlier and the fact he ran five races in the league campaign without beating an opponent. During all four meetings at Foxhall last year our top two scored 27 each. They got paid 27 between them in the previous play off final away at Leicester so it’s safe to say their performance were poor last year but, it was against a once in a blue moon title winning team. Jason Edwards gated and beat Dan last season. I’m not expecting that now that Coleman is here as looking at updates the racing has improved. The cartels desire for gate’n’go speedway is gradually lessening and it only helps with people like Coleman jumping into our rocking boat. If things continue to improve I can see myself returning for the first time since early 2022.

This was our fifth win (in addition to a couple of 44-46 losses) at Saddlebow Rd since Covid. It’s very similar to our record at Foxhall with both these circuits being happy hunting grounds when looking at the records. Since Covid, apart from our wins at these two tracks plus Birmingham, Leicester, Oxford, Peterborough & Sheffield we have been awful away. This is borne out by the fact we have yet to win at Northampton which is probably due to our poor away form. As for this meeting, great gating Aces, well done.

The other thing people aren’t mentioning is the fact it was inexperienced riders behind Cooper. I’ve seen riders with a few years under their belts almost stop down the straight when needed. I don’t know how they do it but that level of skill doesn’t manifest over night. Having said that, my problem with Coopers move yesterday was the looking beforehand. Riders have made moves being unaware of those behind but this was thought about. Negatives can be the best learning platform and I believe this will be for Cooper.

It was gate’n’go against Belle Vue but the difference was that we are worse out of the gate than you. There wasn’t race after race of you guys picking us off over the four laps. Leicester are the best gaters in the league followed by Ipswich, both due to the nature of their home circuits so unless you get your gating gloves on or god forbid prep a racetrack then you will be vulnerable.