moxey63

Truth is... we, as speedway fans, often compare the sport to the more professional game of football, when trying to make a point. Well, football wouldn't allow players to partake in several other leagues. We are forever trying to think of ideas to attract new fans. But other sports fans, the football ones, for an example, they would laugh at speedway and its travelling circus of top stars. Football fans have been brought up on there players playing for their club. Full stop. Speedway will never be taken seriously... not when men are dashing here, there and every blooming where, trying to make a living... at the same time, to the detriment of the sport as a whole and when trying to attract new fans and needed media coverage. It makes me cringe when Nige Pearson forever provides the knowledge... that this rider rides in England on a Monday; Sweden, Tuesday... Alright, you can't stop riders from earning a living... but, as the likes of Tai Woffinden recently, they are burnt out and cannot be giving their all... in every meeting, never mind every race. It is robbing speedway, its few remaining die hards... but as long as the riders are earning a living. Perhaps British speedway isn't as attractive to top riders anymore. So it should look at ways of making itself a better proposition. The Elite League is about five years passed its sell by date. A restructure is needed, not some bright ideas of giving a team extra points, should it turn up with at least two guys who were in the press day photo. We need to be serious... to be taken serious. If Britain can't afford to pay top stars, then so be it. Plan for a future and make new top stars. But get the structure right. I know people on this forum will get all pinicky and come back with smart mouthed replies. But it is frustrating, watching something you know has the makings of a decent sport... drifting along, as not in control of where it may end.

I think what Britain needs to do, is to make it almost impossible for riders to race other leagues. I know one league has been discussed, but, as Britain is supposedly the lowest payers to its riders, surely the time is about right, almost 20 years since it was last tried, to give an 18-strong league another go. Make it so that almost half the week, riders are racing and therefore can't be elsewhere in Europe. Allowing riders the chance to earn their living how they wish.. well, that swayed all the power into their corner and look where British speedway is right now. I mean, when was the last time the Poles or Swedes discovered a talent from overseas? For example, did Chris Holder ply his early years in Poland and then was courted by Poole? Did Darcy Ward learn his apprenticeship in Sweden? No, usually they arrive on these shores first. I know it has probably happened, the so-called more lucrative leagues in Europe finding overseas (to them) talent. Usually, though, it is soft-old Britain that firstly entertains them, then trains them.. eventually, other countries simply drain them.

And by getting riders who are loyal to Britain, who may even decide to ride in he league that pays the least (Britain?)... because they care... and... dare I say... just a tad bit loyal? On one hand, British riders are willing, threatening even, to skip the Elite League... and yet, little Englanders (fans with painted faces, used-once flags) roll out in numbers to support some of the same crew, that are threatening to bid farewel, for a watered down meeting in Norfolk on a Saturday night. The Elite League has lost most of its big names anyway. Will it miss the remaining two? Is it more important to have a credible league, with riders committed to it... or a league that's being held together, in the hope that its two remaining stars may up and leave. It does make you think why SKY have suddenly concentrated on Premier racing. My views... SKY exist to transmit entertainment. The Elite League (and all its starnames - not) is about as appealing as a kiss off your grannie.

That's ok then. Just strengthens my case, that riders, dashing all over the globe, are facing burn out and simply cannot give their best effort every meeting, for whatever team they are riding for, Britain or Europe. Time to cut down the globetrotting.

How can Tai Woffinden (or any rider who does likewise) escape a ban after having decided to withhold his services (or take a break) from meetings in recent weeks?

Didn't really take notice of the track on Saturday. But asking the question, why the World Champion couldn't pass Manzares... I believe Tai has been struggling on various British tracks all year, as his disappointing average suggests.

Lewis Bridger, or any rider, having to pay to watch speedway... well, it could be classed as wrong. But... maybe... just maybe... and this isn't aimed at Lewis (he's quite entertaining and a trier), it will provide them opportunity to see what folks hard earned cash is going on, what it's like to spend something on a product that isn't really that interesting. Perhaps it will give riders (and, if it comes to it, officials) the other side's story... and why crowds are dropping. When you don't pay to watch speedway (and I did it for years), you lose track of what is wrong with it and whether it's really worth admission fee. In short... it could be an education for the people who run and partake in the sport. Make them pay... maybe then, promoters and riders will get to understand what they aren't doing - putting on a show. Just an idea.

Just gonna get my tinfoil helmet...

Yes... but speedway didn't take a week off for everyone of them.

Let's face it... the SWC isn't the competition it once was.. riders pulling out... some can't be arsed, even when riding. Perhaps the top stars would be encouraged to wanna race it... if the SWC week wasn't giving them the opportunity to swan off with their families for a mid-season break. Time to go back to a one-off event... just maybe?

A great documentary, fronted by Warren Pole. Think he also did another on Ice Speedway. This is quite a few years old but well worth a watch.

Speedway is close to relying on foodbanks but has enough money to buy a top of the range mobile. I am sure them there Kevlars won't make our beloved Team GB go any faster... but, if it makes us look good on TV, then I'm up for a bit of wasting cash. A track has already ceased this season, one almost there...and they wonder why.

Off topic, I know, but anyone else read Rossiter's comments regarding his urgency to contact Cook regarding his selection. Rosco said he needed to get the Kevlars prepared, and so that's why he had to go for Kings (when Cook was 1471-ing it). Surely, speedway cannot afford such luxuries as kevlars (at £500 a chuck). It also can't prepare for World Cup battle by deciding a line-up based on preparing costume before team strength. It is a total waste, spending over two-grand on a team of kevlars, that won't be used (possibly after one meeting) for longer than a week. Then again, who am I to ask... is this why speedway is failing - too much cash going out of the sport?

I have just scanned through the current week's Speedway Star, focused my attentions for perhaps the first time this year on the Elite League averages. Although riders like Tai Woffinden are star names, his current sub-eight average isn't really doing his threat of quitting Britain much good. Looking down the names, this EL has to be the weakest in its entire history. I am not going to name names, but there are riders in the top 30 list that would struggle to score much more in the Premier League. Some are being hoodwinked into believing they are paying their hard-earned cash for a quality product, containing top stars. One poster has even stated, if the top stars were forced out of the EL, they wouldn't attend. But, after a brief study, I can see, apart from a few names, both EL and PL aren't that far apart in terms of quality. In my opinion, as Tai Woffinden has intimated, perhaps the lesser likes of PL racing aren't burning themselves out... and are fresh to wanna race and put on a show. We all know, even when fatigued, fed-up with something... we just don't perform the same as when we are bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

Come on guys... this is a serious subject. Would you make jokes while sitting round your grannies bed, waiting for her to pop her clogs? Have a bit of respect for our hailing sport. Serious thoughts only, please. No more jokes about promoters actually promoting; and the suggestion of no more It's A KnockOut rules is out of the question. I support the promoters all the way, even defend them... I'll bet, at the time, that whacky-backy stuff round the conference table doesn't half make them ideas seem brilliant.

I am a speedway fan first and just wish the sport would get itself back in order. Call me a big softy, but I really do prefer men that love speedway and wish to race... not tootle their way round, knowing a play-safe strategy will get them enough points, as long as they are airport bound by a certain time, Sweden or Poland beckoning. Compared to several years ago, when the likes of Rickardsson and Adams were in the same line-up; and Gollob, Louis and Rickardsson, you are unwittingly watching a lower-standard product, but paying more than you ever have.. I am sorry... but you have been dime-barred. Perhaps without you knowing, this year's Elite League is riddled with more "lower standard" riders than ever it has. In fact, 2014 Elite League top names only exist... simply because the real top names don't. They have already sought pastures better suited to their earning potential and lifestyle balance. I would rather have a league of, say 17 teams full of riders who are prepared to feel part of the fabric of the team they ride for, someone fans can relate to. New names will make their own way to the top of the scoring list, somebody has to... as, at the same time, there has to be a lowest scorer.

British speedway will never be able to race on one night a week. There are too many obstacles. For all these Here, There and Everywhere riders, I would say... if you don't like it, leave British speedway and earn your crust elsewhere. I think it is about time British Speedway got some rollocks and began the first step on the rung of reclaiming its lost identity and muscle. Begin by limiting the likes of riders who dash off to foreign shores straight after a disappointing meeting in Britain, only to regain their lost scoring ability 24 hours later (or earlier, wherever they are racing, Poland or Sweden). British speedway has always been an everyday being, from March through to October, and why should some request it changing... just to suit their hectic lifestyles? One big league, rid itself of those riders who feel the Swedish, Polish and Danish leagues are more attuned to their diary, and let's build from scratch. Britain has become boring for speedway. We need a bigger league, with riders racing for one team only (not abroad, doubling up or down), where teams race on average thrice a week. A rider wearing his jacket with pride, not feeling a bad night for so-and-so will be forgotten 24 hours later with a big-score posting in Sweden. Reading Jon Armstrong in the Star, I am impressed what he says. a 13-year-old motor in his set up, an old banger van. He is doing it for enjoyment. Can we ask whether the like of our World Champion, for example, is feeling the same? I heard Tai say recently, that he looks forward to the start of a season but by mid-point can't wait for its conclusion. My impression of that... I think... Tai, you are putting all your chocolate eggs down your mouth on Easter morning, and spending the rest of your day whining about not touching another. It takes away your hunger and need for choccie eggs when you have too many positioned at you. British speedway shouldn't be scared of losing its star riders (what is left of them). Middle-order men of today would become the new top men of a one-big league, as long as you stick to the rule that makes it difficult for them to ride outside of Britain for another club. If they have too many fixture in Britain, why would they want to venture abroad? Ban the thoughts that speedway wouldn't survive without its star riders. They are so full of themselves most of the time, chasing individual glory. I think league, domestic matters... bread and butter stuff, well, that is nowadays best served by men with hunger and passion for a simple diet - not one of bellyaching after scoffing all those chocolate eggs. Promoters and supporters would say, "Ooh, you couldn't by law ban anyone from earning a living." What I'd say, is you aren't forced to offer one to those with other commitments. Let this law, if one exist, prove a speedway team would have offered a Wandering Star a team place, the reason being because he raced for another club etc. Can't expect fans to remain loyal and support a club, when the riders they are supposed to be attending and supporting, can't wait to whizz off the first opportunity... and pull on someone else's colours. They are human TomCats.

Who's in the line-up? Bit far for me to travel but would still like to know...

Now... it's just four fans, rowing!

Promoters, let's face it, haven't got time to promote - they have proper businesses to run or jobs to do. I suspect speedway is just a carboot hobby, once a week sort of thing. We all have our own ideas but, when it all comes down to serving up, the promoters have the money involved and will play whatever tune they want on the jukebox. The market research they carry out is minimal... indeed, the Speedway Memories book by Retro Speedway is the most comprehensive bit of research the sport has ever seen, why fans no longer go, what attracted them and the age they first went (which I think is about 13). As well as trying to introduce new fans, we must also try to find an answer to why so many have stopped attending. Where I do my weekly shop, I often get online questionnaires, obviously the store wanting more info about how content I was with my shop and an opportunity to leave questions I may have or comments about service etc. Speedway, bless it, feels it doesn't need the to take such measures. It has mislaid so many of its hardcore support through the years, but has for much of that time had this "If you don't like it..." attitude. The Birmingham fiasco at the moment is also reflection of what the sport is, running on a behind-the- bar slate that just builds up and more often than not results in what we have today. Their "Promoter," bless him, has even criticised his stay-away fans for not attending instead of asking why they are staying away. There must be reasons, but sadly the men in charge of the operation have no idea how to save the life. It shows, If I read correctly, how far speedway fans trust the men that run the clubs, in that Birmingham secured just three backers from their remaining support for another one of those save our speedway campaign (because, we, the promoters... well, we've continually messed it up). But, being honest, the way speedway is right now, I wouldn't even buy a season ticket, much rather give cash knowing at least the most I can be robbed of is the next 15 heats I'm at. There are answers out there to resolve speedway's demise... I feel there are anyway.

Being honest, who ever takes notice of flyers, newspaper ads, or even those leaflets they post through your door for a takeaway or pizza? We all were introduced to speedway, more times than not, by a family member of friend. Because there are leaflets in motorway cafes, advertising different things, how many of you have actually attended the event advertised? There has got to be an interest. For example, if you know a family member or friend is off to the speedway, you are more likely to cadge a night out with them. A flyer or newspaper advert usually ends in the bin (flyer) or the newspaper is turned another page. Speedway's best form of advertising is fans bringing prospective fans along. But then there lies the problem... will the new people actually put up with what long-time supporters have? Can you imagine a 17 year-old, say, putting up with standing there for hours while trackstaff try to prepare a track after heat 1, when it was found the track hadn't been prepared properly since the last meeting? I don't think so. You have to have a love for something to be messed about by it so much. Youngsters of today won't give it another opportunity to impress, especially when they, too, notice the stadium is full (well, sprinkled) with doddering old blokes. Speedway's future lies with the current fans, who must try to inflict on their younger associates the meaning of speedway. We all think, being speedway fans, that anyone who hasn't attended a meeting are missing something. One example is this. How many of you have tried to get someone to watch a TV programme on our recommendation? We like it, so everyone else will. The same with music, food, and even books. It's our taste, and so everyone else must like it. But there has to be an attraction for anyone who hasn't tried something before. We have all done the classic thing... taking a bit of someone else's order from the end-of-week takeaway,a bit of sauce for example, after being offered a try. We didn't fancy it by just reading it was number 23 on the flyer, instead going with what we know. But after sampling just a little, you decide to yourself plump for that particular meal the next week. And that's it... hooked! That is what speedway has to do. Free tickets don't work, I feel, and just make the product appear cheap. You know there's a reason when someone offers you something for nowt. How many of us went along after seeing some ad or flyer? There is too much of a world out there since we first went, too many other attractions, and so the sport has to be just right, no cock-ups on the first date. It is getting the newbie long for the first match that is the problem. The second task.. is keeping them.

September 1975: The second half of the Exeter v. Halifax match was abandoned, when a bike careered into the crowd and injured four spectators. Home rider Scott Autrey was leading the fourth heat of the scratch programme when Graham Plant and Bob Spelta touched and crashed. Both parted company with their machines, Plant’s slithered on its side and formed a ramp for Spelta’s machine to clear the 5 feet high safety fence. The rider-less machine landed four rows back in the crowd, injuring four spectators. They were taken to hospital, three being released with minor injuries. The fourth - 15 year-old Caroline James - was detained with a fractured skull.

Your last statement is true. I for one used to sit through three or four hours of GPs, watching them live, and sometime s three hours for a league macth on SKY. I honestly don't know how I survived that, and now, when I feel like watching speedway, I record the match and just can through the needless waffle, watch the races, and I'm done in about half an hours, not waiting for Chris Louis' version on showing me what I've just seen, or Nigel and Kelv trying to sell me something. Speedway doesn't have to be live, it is best perhaps being editied into a one hour programme and shown later in the week perhaps, give people the hunger to get back to their local tracks and deny them live speedway in their homes. But, with internet, there are more avenues than before. There are always live matches on there.

Very true... Gary Peterson had been on the cover of the Speedway Star earlier that year (1975) and I had used it to "back" my maths book at school (backing was a way of protecting the book, kids used wallpaper off-cuts etc). It was strange, seeing Gary's picture everytime I pulled my book from my case. Things like this at an early age help form us into how we think in future, i feel.

It is alway difficult when a speedway rider passes through an accident... like losing a family member, a friend... the strange feeling at the enxt match you attend, especially if it's soon after the death. Remember the 1975 BLRC, 24 hours after Gary Peterson's death, the weird feeling I had, actually experiencing my first fatality, it dawning on me that this sport of ours, though thrilling, can be quite cruel. My first six months of watching, I had seen many fall, as a kid it was new and thrilling to witness... but to actually discover that soemone could die. That was different. Although I am much older now, a speedway death caused by an accident still gets me. You always remember what you were doing at the time you hear of a rider's passing.