IainB Posted Wednesday at 03:32 PM Author Report Share Posted Wednesday at 03:32 PM (edited) 1 hour ago, WookieboyDon said: Agreed. Support through thick and thin. Plus, 2026 is very much a consolidation year given how late they started. I'm not sure what some people expected?! They're doing better than I expected actually, with some close(ish) scores away without them ever really threatening to win a match. What hasn't helped them is the fragility of the league and a club's inability to cover adequately for injury, this has been shown over the last few years with the loss of Doyle x 2, Sayfutdinov, DJ Woffy etc. etc. the strength in depth of the league is just not there when one of the "big" points scorers gets injured. Edited Wednesday at 03:51 PM by IainB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtf Posted Wednesday at 04:28 PM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 04:28 PM 2 hours ago, mikebv said: I thought so to, and also thought it would be a great idea... World No2, pretty much guaranteed to hit you 12 and over at home, so would "protect" races, thus keeping the score close at worst, and do it from the back if needed... A "new hero", for the kids in particular, to latch onto... I thought, given it was a "collective", who made it clear how important it was to launch a sixth team, that they would have sorted them out a very competitive team.. They seem to have settled on two number 3's, three second strings, and two reserves... To have a sixth team, yes, but the thought of it being better than any of the existing teams, I think they coughed at that one. 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamish McRaker Posted Wednesday at 04:31 PM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 04:31 PM Yes i thought that Kurtz was earmarked for "Northampton" but i suspect the longer that things dragged on over the winter, then Kurtz would have run out of patience and needed to get his 2026 calendar sorted out, so had to stick with BV. As for the current predicament, perhaps as Peter Oakes suggested recently, Northampton could be helped-out, by way of being granted "special dispensation". For instance, being allowed to try and sign a rider (of suffiently good standard) who is only required to ride in home matches. Whilst this wouldnt solve the problem of being vulnerable to heavy away defeats and a poor attraction, maybe a little flexibility with guest rider averages could be allowed with the proviso that those riders do not appear in heat 15? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adonis Posted Wednesday at 05:05 PM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 05:05 PM 7 hours ago, paulnolan said: I would absolutely disagree that success or failure on track is a moot point. No-one wants to support a losing team. And while I'm a speedway fan first and foremost and can get enjoyment from meetings even as a neutral, I'm not the 1,000 new fans they'll need to make this a success. At the very least, the league table at the end of the season should show 10 wins if you want this to be more than a one-season thing, and this isn't a team capable of 10 wins. As for who could come in, I'm sure there's riders out there who would welcome another 20 meetings, especially if they're already based in the UK like Jason Doyle, Tai Woffinden, or even Robert Lambert. And then there's Rohan Tungate, Keynan Rew, Luke Becker, or some promising young Danes? I don't know, I've not followed things closely for a few years so I might just be being unrealistic. the failures at Northampton began long before a wheel was turned ,, it was almost a secret except to speedway fans ,that Northampton were opening . lots of potential fans not even aware there was going to be speedway ,,it was a massive investment to get Northampton up and running , and IMHO some of that money would have been better placed elsewhere , bribing a current championship team to step up . and investing in Northampton to start in accordance with the bspa rules and run in the championship , A championship season would give newbies a good few new teams to watch ,not the same 5 over and over , and championship fans a new venue to see , seems like a winner to me , a successful first season ,building and retaining their own fanbase ,and revenue from away team supporters while a home fanbase built up ,,season 2 a step up a league allowing the bribed team to step back down 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therefused Posted Thursday at 08:27 AM Report Share Posted Thursday at 08:27 AM 15 hours ago, adonis said: the failures at Northampton began long before a wheel was turned ,, it was almost a secret except to speedway fans ,that Northampton were opening . lots of potential fans not even aware there was going to be speedway ,,it was a massive investment to get Northampton up and running , and IMHO some of that money would have been better placed elsewhere , bribing a current championship team to step up . and investing in Northampton to start in accordance with the bspa rules and run in the championship , A championship season would give newbies a good few new teams to watch ,not the same 5 over and over , and championship fans a new venue to see , seems like a winner to me , a successful first season ,building and retaining their own fanbase ,and revenue from away team supporters while a home fanbase built up ,,season 2 a step up a league allowing the bribed team to step back down much to sensible 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpyloser Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago On 5/6/2026 at 10:09 AM, paulnolan said: Disillusioned is the wrong word. It was always going to be this way. I've been through this before, at Elfield Park with a Milton Keynes team that was never competitive and crowds drifted away as a result. A winning side is paramount for a successful endeavour, especially with newer fans yet to see the intricacies of good racing whatever the result. 5 meetings is almost 1/4 of the season. I get it, it is what it was always going to be, but it needs more to be worth £25 a ticket. Was also at Elfield until it closed. So you will know, the biggest problems were - The Speedway board seemingly doing their damndest to make sure it was unsuccessful (begining to sound familiar), with fines etc. Coventry, who seemed to think MK were a threat to their gates!!!! 🤷♂️ The local council always upholding the local residents complaints (noise etc). Local scumbags who kept vandalising the stadium. Causing Terry Cheney to spend money on security & repairs. Rather than improving the facilities. The facilities at Brafield, Terry would have given both arms for. It has great potential. The trouble is Speedways Rulers are no better than all our politicians. They're the reason British speedway is in such a mess. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpyloser Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago On 5/6/2026 at 3:33 PM, WookieboyDon said: Agreed. Support through thick and thin. Plus, 2026 is very much a consolidation year given how late they started. I'm not sure what some people expected?! Went again last night. Last Heat decider, from 12 down. So reasonable excitement until the end. Wonderful display by Kye Thompson, taking the scalps of Fricke & Bomber. 18+1 from 7. Did his job and MORE. Thoroughly deserves any plaudits he's getting today. Scored as many as Cook & Kerr combined. Who I think were admirable stand-ins (wouldn't see Zagar getting Cooks points) The disappointing thing for me, was Lidney, Klindt (after a 6 ride max the night before) & Batchelor. They're not world beaters, but would expect them to collect around 20 points at home. They totalled 5!!!!!! I know there may well be reasons for some of it, but come on. Will be going to the next meeting & we're already talking about the trip to Leicester in July. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LagutaRacingFan Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago Northampton need a big hitting number 1. I would suggest they get on the phone to Artem Laguta or Michael Jepsen Jensen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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