Berwick ‘buy a brick’ Bandits 2025

[Bandit59]

1 hour ago, SteelShoe said:

One British League next season please. 

If only 

[tyler42]

1 hour ago, SteelShoe said:

One British League next season please. 

Common sense says so, but the promotors seem to be happy with the status quo or the riders are holding a gun to there heads. Either way speedway is dying a slow death in this country. There is a combine total of 16 teams. The fans deserve to see all those teams at their local track, not Edinburgh six times a year! If the riders can't make it pay, then they should go and do what most riders did in 70s/80s get a job. Speedway gets far lower attendances than non league football. The lowest attendance team in the Vanarama National League this season was Braintree Town FC, average 1.147 per match. The top team in that league was Southend United FC average 7.339 per match!!  I know football is a different sport, but this is semi pro football we're talking about.

Who is the best attended team in speedway? Maybe Poole. They might match the lowest clubs attendance, but are miles behind the top team in that league. Yet the riders expect full time professional wages! It's crazy they either become semi pro or the sport will give them no choice but to.  

 

[MD]

6 hours ago, SteelShoe said:

One British League next season please. 

You won't get it as the Premiership isn't struggling which is the only time you hear serious chatter of amalgamating leagues.

Allegedly the 1H/1A was preserved for Oxford. Not accommodating them would've meant one less Championship team making 2H/2A easier to manage. If thats the case I know what I'd have told them, politely of course! The Championship can only go on for so long like this.

[Catch Me If You Can]

8 hours ago, Bandit59 said:

If only 

Yes dream on

Going on recent results from around it could be three way fight for wooden spoon in championship 

The three , Berwick Workington, Plymouth 

 

[screm]

1 hour ago, Catch Me If You Can said:

Yes dream on

Going on recent results from around it could be three way fight for wooden spoon in championship 

The three , Berwick Workington, Plymouth 

 

You can add Edinburgh to your list.

[Fromafar]

26 minutes ago, screm said:

You can add Edinburgh to your list.

Then your getting into the Top 5👍

Think Redcar are the Team to beat.
 

Edited yesterday at 06:37 PM by Fromafar

[SteelShoe]

6 hours ago, MD said:

You won't get it as the Premiership isn't struggling which is the only time you hear serious chatter of amalgamating leagues.

Allegedly the 1H/1A was preserved for Oxford. Not accommodating them would've meant one less Championship team making 2H/2A easier to manage. If thats the case I know what I'd have told them, politely of course! The Championship can only go on for so long like this.

you sure certain teams in the Premiership aren't struggling.

[SteelShoe]

3 hours ago, Catch Me If You Can said:

Yes dream on

Going on recent results from around it could be three way fight for wooden spoon in championship 

The three , Berwick Workington, Plymouth 

 

Worky don't start their league campaign until 7th June , anything can happen in a month.

[Fromafar]

2 hours ago, SteelShoe said:

Worky don't start their league campaign until 7th June , anything can happen in a month.

Something will have to happen

[szkocjasid]

6 hours ago, Catch Me If You Can said:

Yes dream on

Going on recent results from around it could be three way fight for wooden spoon in championship 

The three , Berwick Workington, Plymouth 

 

I think Plymouth appear odds on for the wooden spoon. Don't see Berwick, Edinburgh or Workington being in any danger of finishing below them.

[szkocjasid]

9 hours ago, MD said:

You won't get it as the Premiership isn't struggling which is the only time you hear serious chatter of amalgamating leagues.

Allegedly the 1H/1A was preserved for Oxford. Not accommodating them would've meant one less Championship team making 2H/2A easier to manage. If thats the case I know what I'd have told them, politely of course! The Championship can only go on for so long like this.

If 8 clubs wanted 2H/2A then that's what they would have voted for. I can't believe they'd stick to 1H/1A just to keep Oxford trebling up.

More likely the Friday clubs Edinburgh, Glasgow, Redcar & Scunthorpe want to race 99% of their home fixtures on a Friday, 2H/2A would mean more chance of having to race on an off race night.

[MD]

7 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

If 8 clubs wanted 2H/2A then that's what they would have voted for. I can't believe they'd stick to 1H/1A just to keep Oxford trebling up.

More likely the Friday clubs Edinburgh, Glasgow, Redcar & Scunthorpe want to race 99% of their home fixtures on a Friday, 2H/2A would mean more chance of having to race on an off race night.

If speedway was transparent we would know.

[H20]

Speedway is dying especially in the championship, the crowds are poor. Scunthorpe crowd on Friday against Workington can not have been any more than 400 and even the crowd at Workington on Saturday was not what it should have been with lovely weather but I think tha't down to Workington running on a Saturday afternoon.

Workington are forced to ride on a Saturday afternoon really as the Friday teams have that blocked off and Sundays goes up against the rugby team in Workington so that a no go. They do not have floodlights but I certainly think they should look at a 6pm start as they would not need floodlights and could give people the chance to attend who work Saturdays or familys that have things on during the day. The football has finished for Workington Reds but they have been getting crows over 1000 this past season and they had a poor year on the pitch they ended up averaging 760 for the season.

You look at crowds on the TV at other tracks and you do think how are they making this pay. Speedway needs to do something as the fixtures are so spread out fans find other things to do, Workington don't ride for two weeks now would have been longer if they had not put the Edinburgh meting on 24th May.

 

[MD]

6 hours ago, H20 said:

Speedway needs to do something as the fixtures are so spread out fans find other things to do

Thats the bit no one in authority seems to grasp but will act surprised when clubs go to the wall or switch to NDL only. I suspect if the Championship went down to 5 or 6 teams they'd still cling to 1H/1A whatever the cost.

[Fromafar]

40 minutes ago, MD said:

Thats the bit no one in authority seems to grasp but will act surprised when clubs go to the wall or switch to NDL only. I suspect if the Championship went down to 5 or 6 teams they'd still cling to 1H/1A whatever the cost.

Could be a case with some Clubs less meetings mean lower money losses.

[Normski]

3 hours ago, MD said:

Thats the bit no one in authority seems to grasp but will act surprised when clubs go to the wall or switch to NDL only. I suspect if the Championship went down to 5 or 6 teams they'd still cling to 1H/1A whatever the cost.

The clubs say they can't do 2H 2A yet we {Berwick} have 3 blank Saturdays in May

[SteelShoe]

27 minutes ago, Normski said:

The clubs say they can't do 2H 2A yet we {Berwick} have 3 blank Saturdays in May

One of our best months for decent weather too.

[MD]

2 hours ago, Normski said:

The clubs say they can't do 2H 2A yet we {Berwick} have 3 blank Saturdays in May

From memory last year GLA during the season had 2 three week breaks and only rode four home meetings in June and July. 

There are enough dates but perhaps not the will to push the Friday clubs to alternate days. If riders got more meetings in the Championship they may not need to seek racing abroad which is often where the rider availability problems come from IMO.

I accept having fewer meetings lowers the cumulative losses of some clubs but with reports of tiny crowds at some recent meetings perhaps the losses at certain tracks could now be higher than if they ran 2H/2A. After three seasons of more blank weeks than fixtures the customers have spoken and probably lost interest and/or found something else to do. They will only take so much of being taken for granted.

[Bellers101]

On 5/10/2025 at 9:31 AM, tyler42 said:

Common sense says so, but the promotors seem to be happy with the status quo or the riders are holding a gun to there heads. Either way speedway is dying a slow death in this country. There is a combine total of 16 teams. The fans deserve to see all those teams at their local track, not Edinburgh six times a year! If the riders can't make it pay, then they should go and do what most riders did in 70s/80s get a job. Speedway gets far lower attendances than non league football. The lowest attendance team in the Vanarama National League this season was Braintree Town FC, average 1.147 per match. The top team in that league was Southend United FC average 7.339 per match!!  I know football is a different sport, but this is semi pro football we're talking about.

Who is the best attended team in speedway? Maybe Poole. They might match the lowest clubs attendance, but are miles behind the top team in that league. Yet the riders expect full time professional wages! It's crazy they either become semi pro or the sport will give them no choice but to.  

 

I've been saying the same for years. Most 2nd division riders back in the 80's when there were far more clubs had normal jobs outside if the sport.