Ben91

Don't think they got as far as laying the pitch at Rye House. The track has been ripped up beyond recognition though I believe. Can't bring myself to venture over there to see what the state of the place is. Will mar some wonderful memories. A demise that was wholly avoidable too.

Competitiveness comes from teams of equal(ish) strength of course, not having a smattering of "world class" riders in the league. There's a "not enough riders" agenda whenever anyone mentions one league. The reality is that there are not enough riders of a suitable quality. It's not the same as there not being enough full stop. There are also not enough of these "world class" names to go around the top league in its current form. Hence having whipping boys like Birmingham and Oxford last season. The sport here wants to operate at a standard it can't sustain ultimately. A five team league is a horrible idea. It would be far, far too repetitive if the sides were to race a meaningful number of fixtures and then they'd probably still want to have play offs. Regardless of the quality of riders who might compete it would still be over exposure. Variety versus competitiveness has a sweet spot that it is probably impossible for British Speedway to meet in 2026, for me variety is more likely to make me go to meetings than seeing slightly better opposition but knowing they'll be coming to town again in a couple of weeks. And then again a couple of weeks after that. I suspect I'm not in the minority by having that opinion.

Looks an exciting side for Glasgow and two newcomers to British Speedway to boot. Goes to show there are other riders out there willing to come ride here. Applaud the promotion for sticking to their guns and not taking a bullet for the top tier.

Gone out of business then. But really at this point we’re splitting hairs. Businesses can operate at a loss of course, but they’re badly run businesses. They can’t run at a loss forever. You know that of course. Losing money hand over fist is a stupid business model. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work that out.

Wanting the best isn’t wrong. Living beyond your means to achieve it is. And eventually you’ll just go bust. Sound familiar? The sport cannot sustain having the best riders here. You must surely see that. All this “not enough riders,” stuff is nonsense. There are plenty but because of self-created circumstances over a number of years they’re not at the level they once were. There’s not an overnight fix but the situation can be rectified over time. The answer is to cut cloth accordingly now to ensure the possibility of one day being able to have a thriving sport here again, including the best riders in the world hopefully. It might not happen, but it might. Carry on as we are and it is a certainty to not happen. Sometimes you have to go backwards before you can go forwards. Being solvent is a pretty good first step.

Reaping what they sow by having the backbone to stand by their more sustainable model and not sacrificing one of their number to hold up the unsustainable top level for another year. The Premiership is the division killing off clubs, not the Championship.

I haven’t got a clue. Wouldn’t even know where to start. But just as I can’t show you’re wrong (if you are), you can’t show your figures are right. Nil points for either of us sadly.

Where are you getting your figures from? Appreciate your post and explanation don’t get me wrong, but unless the figures are facts then it’s just conjecture. I think the ultimate issue is that the sport can’t justify being professional/full time here. Riders need to get on board with that. Either ride where you can for what you’re offered, make it work, go part-time or get a proper job. All of us fans have to cut our cloth accordingly in life. But the promoters and riders seemingly don’t have to do that.

In fairness most sports are governed by a third party. The issue with speedway is the third party happens to be your competitors and not an independent body.

It’s been brought about by decades of self-interest and mismanagement across the board. The top league wasn’t sustainable, it was a money pit and that has been evident for longer than the last month or so. It’s not a knee jerk implosion. Let’s not kid ourselves that it is.

Fair play if he can afford to buy Poland just by pulling his sponsorship of Sheffield.

Shame the sport can't stockpile riders like Chelsea have with players.

The people who have left the sport in this mess ought to hang their heads in shame. Self-interest and letting the tail wag the dog have ruined what is one of the purest forms of entertainment out there. There will be excuses. There probably won’t be any accountability. It’s easier to blame external factors than acknowledge they could and should have done so much more.

It depends on the guise it takes. If riders sign up for a draft system knowing they have to go where they’re drafted then it’s not unfair in the slightest.

When Poole decided they couldn’t sustain top tier racing that should have been a huge red flag to the rest of the sport. For the best part of the last couple of decades they’ve been the standard bearers of British Speedway.

TNT has plenty of content. They operated (as BT) pre-European football. They’re now also part of the same family as Eurosport I believe, which is what led to Speedway being back on TNT. They already binned off British Speedway once, the sport is in a worse position now so why would they have it back at a cost? The GPs maybe as an outlier but the domestic game is not appealing to them. It’s barely appealing to speedway fans.

I can just imagine the big wigs at TNT heaving a sigh of relief that they can plug a European football gap with British Speedway. Give over.

I appreciate that but there's also option 4, racing part-time rather than expecting a living from British Speedway when the sport cannot sustain giving them that.

I don’t think that’s true. They pick up two wages. It’s not a top up. If the Premiership teams are cast out into the cold then there won’t be a top league for those riders to ride in. It’ll be Championship or no job here. The Championship needing the Premiership and vice versa is a falsity. The Championship is in a stronger position.

I wonder if there’s something of a mutiny going on at present. The Championship teams hold the aces as the Premiership needs at least one to step up. If those nine Championship clubs dig their heels in then there’s not much the Premiership sides can do beside coming into line. The Championship sides may be in agreement already over their rules for 2026 team building hence signings being made and announced. The Pickering to Scunthorpe signing could be more telling than at surface level. In theory he’s far too good for that level but perhaps he’s signed on there to be guaranteed a ride in Britain considering the uncertainty of Sheffield and the top flight in general. There aren’t enough riders of sufficient standard to populate a 14 team Championship. If the existing nine get their teams sorted and it transpires the five Premiership clubs have no choice but to drop down we could see those five clubs scrabbling to put together competitive teams with the odds and ends left.

The novelty value wore off with Cardiff. It was originally a showpiece event, it just became the same thing year on year. Particularly off the track. It’s an overexposure issue, similar to what we get in league Speedway now with the same riders having multiple teams and multiple meetings against the same opponents making up the calendar. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. People miss things when they’re not constantly there, they take them for granted when they are.

A thriving sport? It’s behind you.

Fans want their sport to stop being a circus. Not too much to ask really.

Probably bad business for Oxford speedway to let someone else run a team named Oxford out of their track. Could split the fan base.

I think right now with the sport in turmoil it’s more important than ever that those running the sport are transparent. Let fans know when they can expect to find out the rules for next season. It isn’t hurting anyone, stops a lot of speculation too.