T.N.T.

Almost right but in 2017 there will be an Elite League still but run on the fixed race night running alongside the fixtures in the two groups. Elite League teams will be the top five of the regular team plus two star\squad riders and teams will only run one home and one away against each other. So Wolverhampton for example would run 7 Elite League meetings on the set race night and 10 British League meetings on a Monday. Rye House for example would run 10 British League meetings and also 13 Premier League meetings although this could be cut down to 6 if teams in the Premier League ran their British League meetings against each other as fixtures in both leagues when they race against teams in their own BL group. Wolverhampton (example) Tai Woffinden Piotr Pawlicki Peter Karlsson Tobiasz Musielak Any two from above ride in the Elite fixtures while Karlsson and Musielak can be used in the British League fixtures if required to cover for the top four. Jacob Thorssell RIcky Wells Ty Proctor Nicolai Klindt Ashley Morris Max Clegg NL draft Matt Williamson NL draft

Wozniak ever improving ? - he has had one season and while he has done quite well, he is not the next Pawlicki or Zmarzlik and if he can maintain his average he would do well especially if he has a spell as a heat leader. Walasek can win races - He scored 78 points from 52 races for Zielona Gora and while he won 15 races he also failed to score in 15 and he does better there than here so I can't see him improving his average. Ulamek - Doesn't even race in the top League in Poland and not the rider he was. Yes he will have some good days but he will do well to average six as a heat leader. Hougaard and Klindt - Klindt may be the better signing as Hougaard is on a increased average due to reserve races last time he was here. Auty will no doubt move up and Starke is a great number seven but they are without doubt the weakest of the eight teams and all will be inconsistent and lack points away from home. If they can win 10 meetings they will surprise me.

Good article in the Star but a few things were missed out and I felt that they are pushing too much towards the standardised engines with the attitude we will do it even if the other countries don't. They said that they started the day with one idea but finished with different ideas after hearing the views of Oliver Allen and Daniel King. One retired and both based here and mainly doubling up and not venturing out into the foreign leagues at the top level. If Britain push this forward and others don't (and I can't see it ever happening world wide) then we will lose the best riders we have as they will have no choice but to stick with Sweden and Poland for regular racing and better pay using their normal bikes. For me the main priority is to get the Elite League sorted out and either make it a strong but reduced fixtures or forget it and all work together in a bigger league. Trouble is that doing that will also risk losing the top British riders wanting to compete against the best and more money.

I started this thread as it was said at the Bspa forum how GB had a great chance of winning on home soil (Rob Godfrey) However I can't see anyone stopping Poland with Hampel, Janowski, Pawlicki, Zmarzlik, Dudek, Przedpelski etc and a battle for Silver with Denmark and Australia with Sweden missing out in the race off with USA.

Yes Building a team of her own

Josh Auty is a good reserve but no better in my opinion than Kyle Newman, Kyle Howarth or Steve Worrall and of the number 7 riders I would say Josh Bates and Adam Ellis are two of the best but Paul Starke is very good. The trouble is that Leicester are going in with Ulamek and Hougaard who haven't been here under this format and little says that they are anything like the riders they were when they last rode here and Hougaard only has a six plus average due to a long spell at reserve when he was here and nearly lost his team place when he was averaging under four points a match. Walasek is hit and miss while Wozniak and Klindt are inconsistent and may struggle. Even if they do drop to reserve, there could be riders like Thorssell or Bridger dropping down and at Poole you could easily see one of the heat leaders slipping down to reserve so unlikely to be trembling at Wozniak or Klindt possibly moving down. Virtually everyone thinks Leicester are by far the weakest to start the season, surely that shows you what the true prospect is.

Since making my post I have switched a few around as I don't think Swindon have enough now to get into the play offs and think they now fall down the order with Kings Lynn and Lakeside moving up and maybe even Wolverhampton with a more potential team that is more balanced. Poole - By far the strongest in all departments and can't see them not picking up points in many meetings. Belle Vue - Kings Lynn and Coventry to fill the play off places and will all make changes along the way but Bees could have been much stronger with Garrity starting at reserve. Lakeside - Home form will be decent but they look unpredictable and poor away but on their day could be dangerous. Bridger the key. Wolverhampton - A few on modest averages and a good reserve should make them solid but not sure if they can win away. Swindon - Thought they would have more back up to Doyle but not convinced they are that strong and expected Zengota to be included when they released Batchelor. Leicester - Somerset look stronger

With the Speedway World Team Cup being held in Britain at the new National Stadium is this the best chance for Team GB to lift the title ahead of the powerful Danes and Poles. We have a double World Champion in Tai Woffinden leading the team with Chris Harris finishing last season on fire and now we also have Scott Nicholls and Craig Cook having home track advantage. Then we have the great talent of Robert Lambert and back from injury Simon Stead with also the return of the potential in Lewis Bridger, therefore we have seven riders capable of holding down a team place and certainly a real good test team that would benefit from a series before the finals. Can Team GB over come the big guns ?

From what I have heard the site of the new stadium is just behind the TGI Fridays. Don't know how long this will take to get going but if this is the end of Brandon at the end of the season, they have the back up of possibly sharing the Leicester track in 2017 which hopefully will be better now changes have been made to the track. The fact that Swindon, Coventry and Belle Vue are all looking at brand new stadiums gives the sport a lift in the middle of so much doom and gloom and with a few others possibly moving, it is good to see clubs fighting it. Now all we need is find Cradley Heath a new venue so Wolves can have Monmore Green back

Had Coventry persuaded Garrity to start as the fast track number 6 they could have signed two other riders for the main body like another six point rider (RIcky Wells sharing with Barker maybe) while Woryna could have been the number 8 or bought in another untried rider as the number 8 if Woryna isn't suited for the Elite League. Once Garrity had moved up they would have had a more solid top five and a stronger reserve pairing. As it is Coventry still have potential and if the real KK shows up they should be play off contenders and I hope to pop down a few times to see some matches.

These were put forward at the AGM but not introduced because one track said they had already signed riders before this was an option but it can be used if you want. Firstly it serves clubs right for signing riders before the limits and rules have been set and secondly it seems that the AGM is done in the wrong order as the first business in an AGM is to appoint the board and positions. It appears these are done towards the end of the meeting as we have heard from Buster Chapman that issues at the meeting were bought in by the former regime. I think it's a step in the right direction and have been on about a squad type format being used for years as the way forward. If they can get the Elite League to run on one night (plus Monday Sky meeting) next season and the Premier League to run on the other nights it will be even better. This needs to be done in a three year plan and by 2018 we should see a more detailed programme for teams in both leagues with or without the top names but hopefully with in a shortened fixture list.

Maybe the top riders won't be included in the team construction and two places can be filled by any of the 5 squad riders. These would be one rider being eligible to ride at reserve, two being able to cover for injuries or clashes of fixtures and two star riders. Examples only .... Zagar and Zmarzlik = Belle Vue Hampel and Pawlicki = Coventry Iversen and Batchelor = Kings Lynn Jonsson and Bech = Lakeside Pedersen and Kasprzak = Leicester Janowski and Holder = Poole Doyle and Sayfutdinov = Swindon Woffinden and Pawlicki = Wolverhampton That is a one off two leg event and they did the same with the play offs but want Monday's as their regular night.

It was accidentally told at the Bspa forum on Sunday that teams can name a number 9 who will be eligible to cover the number seven position if required. As it appears the plan was to allow riders to share a position in the main body of the team but this was to be held back until 2017 but obviously Lakeside have been allowed to let two English riders share a second string role in Kennett and Lawson.

The new stadium in 2017 would allow them to race on a Wednesday it appears but if it went to a Thursday night we could see Sheffield move up under certain circumstances and Ipswich either change night or move up under the same conditions like Sheffield if it was just 8-9 home meetings and still compete in a British League in the South group. ? ? ?

There is also a number 9 position that hasn't been announced yet but I would think Wolves would go with Matt Williamson. As Lakeside are now using a shared role with Edward Kennett and Richard Lawson, would it not be a good idea to name RIcky Wells as sharing the position with Sam Masters to help with any fixture clashes with the Premier League. Sam may get the majority of the meetings but at least with RIcky we are getting a rider suitable to cover when there are fixture clashes or injuries. Lakeside now have 9 named riders with the new number eight and if there is a number nine it would take them to 10 riders. .... Who said a squad system would never happen !

After attending the Bspa forum and talking to Buster after I see it that speedway has a few directions it could go in and depending on what changes will determine which direction it goes. As I see it in 2017 the Plan A will be to have the Elite League on Wednesday nights with Sky having one of those meetings switched to the Monday night. The hope is that each track will be able to call on the services of at least TWO top riders which will make it an Elite League worthy of the name. Belle Vue, Kings Lynn and Leicester can ride on any night they wish and Poole already ride on a Wednesday. Swindon and Coventry will be in new stadiums and should be able to run on a Wednesday and Wolverhampton can do Wednesday night as it is the alternative night at present. Lakeside have to see where they will be but they too should be able to switch so that shouldn't be a problem. With Premier League already operating Thursday to Sunday it would mean no clashes of dates for riders doubling up. Elite League teams may have two places that are shared so for example Wolverhampton could have Tai Woffinden and Piotr Pawlicki sharing the number one position and Peter Karlsson and Joel Andersson sharing a second string role. Add to that two places could be doubling up riders and two fast track reserves, each team will have a ten man squad including the number eight position. This should eliminate the use of guests and make the Elite League much stronger. Plan B would be to reduce the Elite League to less fixtures on the set nights as in Plan A above and each Elite League track would have a list of four squad riders they can call on for two places in each meeting and one of these would be the number eight so he can cover for injuries to other riders. With less fixtures, every track enters into a British League splitting into two equal groups of 12. With all teams set to the same limit, the clubs riding in the Elite League they could for example use six of their team plus two of the four squad riders to form an 8 man team riding in a format involving 16 scheduled races and two nominated races giving more value for money as the entrance fee could be a few pounds more. Plan C would be forget the Elite League if tracks can't agree on set nights but while this sounds fine to some, it would cause more harm than good. Firstly those willing to ride here must commit to the league and not be allowed to miss meetings to ride in other leagues which would not only mean no big names but also force many others to leave British speedway. It would also mean any British rider looking at becoming the best he can be would be forced out of the league if they are prevented from riding in other countries to earn considerably more money than Britain can offer. Also the Sky deal would be finished and remember that this is the only real income into the league apart from attendance's and most tracks depend on that money to stay afloat. It's going to take a lot of changes but one way or another it has to change

Hey to differ but Buster said it would be a great move forward for the sport and possibly the only way forward for the Elite League.

I attended the meeting with the panel being the SCB Chairman, Tony Villas, GED Rathbone Peterborough, Buster Chapman Kings Lynn and Chairman, Rob Godfrey Scunthorpe and Vice Chairman, Martin Wilding Isle of Wight and Neil Watson Coventry. First issue was on safety and the things being done like fences, engines etc. They are very keen on getting standardised equipment but this can only be done with the cooperation of other countries especially Denmark, Sweden and Poland. This in my opinion will never come through as you won't get them all to agree and without them all in riders would have to have different bikes to ride elsewhere which only increases costs. Also the plan is for these engines only to be tuned by three set tuners and I can't see all those engines being done by just three people. Plus there are so many tuners being used, they won't all want to drop them. One race night was discussed and Buster agrees it is the only way forward for the Elite League which at present isn't a real Elite League in his opinion. Questions were asked about track preparation, rain offs, the number 8 and 9 roles which some tracks won't use like Kings Lynn. This was to try and introduce new riders to the league but as it was pointed out, why can't clubs just use a rider of their choice from the Premier League like Ben Barker instead of using an untried foreigner. It was said that the SCB oversee all matters but as it was pointed out from the floor the Bspa set their own rules and having the Elite League in one room and the Premier League in another isn't helping as people are voting what is good for them rather than the sport in general. In my opinion these matters voted on at the AGM should be put to the SCB and an independent board to agree them or refuse them but as it is, it is like Turkeys voting for Christmas. Talk of Team GB was approached and they said how good the youth policy is going and so many are coming through. Rob Godfrey believes they have a great chance of winning the SWC ...... Maybe Poland, Australia and Denmark are being blocked from entering !! Overall it was a good day and not so cloak and dagger now that it is no longer a Dad's Army type board and hopefully more will attend the next one as only 41 were there at the start and I was the first one there at 12.30, just thirty minutes before the start. A few more turned up but at most there was about 50 and loads of empty seats.

Most if not all the world's top riders have been asked about riding in Britain again and they all would consider returning if it was feasable to fit in with their frantic schedule of racing in Sweden, Poland and other events. It's understandable that British Speedway comes bottom of the list of in priorities due to various race nights, amount of meetings and obviously the lower pay rates. However if Britain wants an Elite League and the exposure to sponsors of the top names they have to reach some kind of deal that will see them return in some sort. Less meetings Regular race night Flexibility of movement to fixtures At present all Premier League tracks operate from Thursday to Sunday while the 8 current Elite League tracks operate on FIVE different race nights with just Poland (Sunday) and Sweden (Tuesday) being kept free. Mondays are the night Sky want for live meetings but the top riders don't want consecutive nights so Wednesday is the most promising night for the Elite League with Sky still showing one meeting on the Monday night. However if Ipswich and Sheffield can be tempted to move up or switch race nights, it could be run on Wednesdays and Thursdays, hopefully with 10 teams. Coventry would be in a new venue and could switch to midweek and the same could be said of Lakeside. Belle Vue and Leicester can ride any night without problem so two race nights can happen. Teams would only meet once home and away giving you 14 or 18 meetings in total. This would mean only 7 or 9 home meetings but at present there are only 14 any way so it could be two home and two away or all tracks enter a British League giving Elite League tracks an extra 6 home meetings (2 groups) and Premier League tracks an extra four home and four away at the Elite League tracks who in British League meetings would not use heat leaders and use their number 8 and National League riders instead. It's not as complicated as you think and gives more variety in the fixtures. The Premier League would remain the same as meetings like Berwick v Newcastle would be both a British League and Premier League meeting.

So who are Wolves going to bring in as the newly appointed number eight squad rider ? Joel Andersson seems to be the most likely as it was hoped to have him in the team this season or next and is clearly on the radar as the next Swedish Wolf to follow in the footsteps of Karlsson, Max, Lindgren etc. Maksim Drabik at Wroclaw is another fast emerging star from Poland and being a team mate of Tai, contact would be easy and if required can fly over Monday morning, but will the Poles want to risk their prized under 21 asset. There are a few more possible riders to introduce but I don't see why you have to at cost fly over a foreign rider when you have riders like Ben Barker or Stuart Robson or even Zach Wajtknecht available over here. Think Zach is a brilliant prospect and if the club can get him it would be a great signing.

I am going as I believe it is a way forward and should really be looked at as being held in October and March in future and hopefully the fans views will be taken onboard as it appears that all is fine by the promoters in the Elite League while fans have very different view's

Wouldn't work unless it's at a time when clubs have ridden all the A fixtures and equal matches. This is one thing that one fixed night would help with and prevent one team having ridden 12 meetings and another just 6 and unable to get new averages.

I find it amusing that people are more worried over the centre green presentation than the clear weakest team in the league who ride on a night most 18-30 year olds go out to other places to enjoy the weekend. Leicester needed a stronger team and moving forward if they want to stay in the Elite League that will move to one fixed race night next season, they should be looking at selling the sport to a wider audience and varied age group. On my visits to Leicester the crowds were poor and noticed the average age of the crowd was the over forties. Ulamek may be a good rider to back up the top man but here is is the top man and while he and Walasek do well in Poland, they are going to struggle here and remember the track has changed since last season. Riding on a Saturday gives clashes of dates with a number of Premier League tracks meaning some riders may be unavailable and also prevents signing a rider like Simon Stead who could have been a good signing for the Elite League. There are a few other things that puts Leicester at a disadvantage like having to park so far away from the stadium and lack of undercover terracing. Add those to what can be an expensive night out and tracking a week team, I feel they really need to look at changing the basics of what the club could be to promote it to a bigger audience at a venue in one of the countries biggest cities.

With Patrick Hougaard filling the final spot it is hardly going to be a team that are going to do much away from home and possibly very little at home too.

If it was 8 teams it would be 28 weeks not 32 It is being aimed at one fixed race night but this would be for six teams (3 matches) with the other two teams riding on the Monday night on Sky Sports. It is likely to be a Thursday night giving a days rest between the three main leagues in Sweden, Poland and England. Wednesday is the second option. Teams will have the option of making two team places in the main body a shared role and most likely to be the number one position that most teams will use this facility so top riders can sign up for 14 of the 28 meetings while another spot can be taken up by other riders not being able to fit in a full season like Leon Madsen or Adam Skornicki as examples only. Fast track reserves would still be doubling up riders while some teams could use the second shared position to accommodate top Premier League riders who won't clash with race nights as the Premier League would mainly be run on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. This should have happened years ago and while the top riders don't come cheap there is another option of running just 14 league meetings which would enable those 8 tracks to also compete in the Premier League with a team very much based on the second strings and reserves who would then be riding at the same track in both leagues. There will be issues and oversights but overall it is the best way forward.