mikebv Posted 21 hours ago Report Share Posted 21 hours ago (edited) 8 minutes ago, M.D said: Never thought of that, but would it be such a bad thing? Poland would employ riders, some would be on a wage and not ride. Would riders be happy with that, most want to ride and yes get paid well, would they just be happy practising and not riding competivly? As for the UK, we could structure a new league with the same riders we have, guys like Rushan would learn a trade over here then move to Poland. Not what we would want to see but would it end up with a business model that could keep the sport going in this country? And should have been done years ago, when the GP's and Poland took over. Edited 21 hours ago by mikebv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy cookie returns? Posted 21 hours ago Report Share Posted 21 hours ago I think it’s quite clear now. Mayfield want to try & move the sport forward both domestically in the UK & at gp level. They seem aware that they need to bring some of what Poland do to the uk but also that they need to work with the poles. The question is can they drag the BSPA with them or do Mayfield end up walking away in 5 years. I get the feeling this is really last chance saloon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 21 hours ago Report Share Posted 21 hours ago 5 minutes ago, M.D said: Never thought of that, but would it be such a bad thing? Poland would employ riders, some would be on a wage and not ride. Would riders be happy with that, most want to ride and yes get paid well, would they just be happy practising and not riding competivly? As for the UK, we could structure a new league with the same riders we have, guys like Rushan would learn a trade over here then move to Poland. Not what we would want to see but would it end up with a business model that could keep the sport going in this country? They may have to initially cut their squad size down but they can't be affording to lose their top stars due to injuries sustained abroad. It's the only thing missing from the Polish model to make it a real professional sport and it surely must be what they're working towards and they're probably only one big tv deal away from achieving it... Having said that I've just watched the ZG Leszno match, ran in front of a big, young crowd... but they didn't even have a children's race during the interval (with the obligatory rabid dog chasing them all around)... think how much that would add to the gate, they've definitely missed a trick there 😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teromaafan Posted 19 hours ago Report Share Posted 19 hours ago Seventies music played over the PA……surrounded by pensioners with programme boards…..ah, takes me back…..to the meeting I attended last week! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 14 hours ago Report Share Posted 14 hours ago 7 hours ago, IainB said: They may have to initially cut their squad size down but they can't be affording to lose their top stars due to injuries sustained abroad. It's the only thing missing from the Polish model to make it a real professional sport and it surely must be what they're working towards and they're probably only one big tv deal away from achieving it... Having said that I've just watched the ZG Leszno match, ran in front of a big, young crowd... but they didn't even have a children's race during the interval (with the obligatory rabid dog chasing them all around)... think how much that would add to the gate, they've definitely missed a trick there 😉 Plus, riding on Mondays, using 200 Guests, the majority of ridsrs Doubling Up and Pit Gates being unable to be fixed due to absolutely no one in fhe whole of fhe country being available to do it that day.... All missed opportunities... These Poles really don't have a clue do they?... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 12 hours ago Report Share Posted 12 hours ago 9 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said: I think it’s quite clear now. Mayfield want to try & move the sport forward both domestically in the UK & at gp level. They seem aware that they need to bring some of what Poland do to the uk but also that they need to work with the poles. The question is can they drag the BSPA with them or do Mayfield end up walking away in 5 years. I get the feeling this is really last chance saloon. A few years ago in the top flight you had Belle Vue as a lone voice against the old guard of Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Leicester, Sheffield & Wolves with the lower division sides supporting an as you were policy as the top flight is where their big hitters come from. This set up saw Adrian Smith jump/pushed and be lost to the sport due to the cartel’s reluctance for change. We now have the best chance to make a difference as there are only Kings Lynn & Sheffield left of the old cartel. With regards promotions, Northampton & Ipswich are in their first year and Leicester have two under their belts so this added to Belle Vues ongoing crusade sees the balance of power shift. Don’t get me wrong it’s not going to happen overnight (though we pretty much did that with Northampton) but with these new alliances and Colman in particular I can see change for the good happening. Also even though Rob Lyon wears his Stars hat on match days, he is another who wants speedway as a whole to alter despite his paymaster, so he is another valuable ally in the quest for change. One thing for certain, if it doesn’t happen now, it never will. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 11 hours ago Report Share Posted 11 hours ago 8 minutes ago, ouch said: A few years ago in the top flight you had Belle Vue as a lone voice against the old guard of Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Leicester, Sheffield & Wolves with the lower division sides supporting an as you were policy as the top flight is where their big hitters come from. This set up saw Adrian Smith jump/pushed and be lost to the sport due to the cartel’s reluctance for change. We now have the best chance to make a difference as there are only Kings Lynn & Sheffield left of the old cartel. With regards promotions, Northampton & Ipswich are in their first year and Leicester have two under their belts so this added to Belle Vues ongoing crusade sees the balance of power shift. Don’t get me wrong it’s not going to happen overnight (though we pretty much did that with Northampton) but with these new alliances and Colman in particular I can see change for the good happening. Also even though Rob Lyon wears his Stars hat on match days, he is another who wants speedway as a whole to alter despite his paymaster, so he is another valuable ally in the quest for change. One thing for certain, if it doesn’t happen now, it never will. Adrian Smith, as a newcomer to the sport, was truly "blown away" by the on track action, and couldn't believe the huge potential the sport had for strong growth given its "raw materials" and its current crowd size starting point .. Unfortunately, he was also "blown away" (but not in a good way), by the capabilities of many of those who ran the sport.. Eventually realising that their skill set, and lack of any ambition for change and growth, meant he was wasting his time, and considerable business acumen, dealing with them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phannan Posted 10 hours ago Report Share Posted 10 hours ago 1970’s all day long . Crowds, amazing smells ,splattered with shale , average riders putting their heart and soul into every race, leathers without sponsors names all over them . Basically the sport ran properly. 2020’s are a joke in comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldPitGate Posted 8 hours ago Report Share Posted 8 hours ago 13 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said: I think it’s quite clear now. Mayfield want to try & move the sport forward both domestically in the UK & at gp level. They seem aware that they need to bring some of what Poland do to the uk but also that they need to work with the poles. The question is can they drag the BSPA with them or do Mayfield end up walking away in 5 years. I get the feeling this is really last chance saloon. 13 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said: I think it’s quite clear now. Mayfield want to try & move the sport forward both domestically in the UK & at gp level. They seem aware that they need to bring some of what Poland do to the uk but also that they need to work with the poles. The question is can they drag the BSPA with them or do Mayfield end up walking away in 5 years. I get the feeling this is really last chance saloon. I wish them all the best as we know they have a huge task on their hands that sadly beat the likes of John Berry, Chris Louis, Jonathon Chapman and Adrian Smith etc. To be honest the sport was starting to struggle when I started going in 1984 it had lost Penhall and shortly after lost Carter and Sanders every year in winter 2-3 tracks were in trouble but there were normally 2-3 people ready to step in and take over the track/s where now days there is minimal interest from new outside promoters. Buster does take a lot of flak (a lot of which is fair) but he has kept Lynn running when he doesn't really want to be involved, he also wants to keep losses to a minimum now he's getting on a bit and as far as I'm aware there's been near zero interest in anyone taking the team off his hands. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago (edited) 17 hours ago, IainB said: Poland really need to break the model and make their riders employees, it's the only thing missing from their business model and the day that happens all other professional leagues become amateur. Given the amount of injuries to "top, top riders" currently, I can see Poland going down that route... TV companies, National businesses who sponsor the league and teams, and even companies who use riders to advertise their products on national TV, will all be feeling frustrated that some of the worlds best are missing due to being injured elsewhere, meaning the product quality has dropped... With the clubs and their fans the most frustrated of all... There will surely soon be a clamor from all the stakeholders to ensure "their riders" only ride one league.. I don't knows what the top riders get collectively for their other two leagues, (£200k?), but I can see a day, soon, when all the stakeholders get together and pay that differential to ensure "exclusivity"... You wouldn't need to ensure everyone is tied down to these contracts either, just the "box office elite" that RR doesn't cover adequately... Similar to the way central contracts work in cricket, you only "play" for us... Edited 5 hours ago by mikebv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinh88 Posted 4 hours ago Report Share Posted 4 hours ago 1981 ... what a rift Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 50 minutes ago, Robinh88 said: 1981 ... what a rift What do you mean, "what a rift"?? In the 70s of course we had weekly meetings, much better in my view as it kept fans engaged and enabled relationships to be built with your team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinh88 Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 8 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said: What do you mean, "what a rift"?? In the 70s of course we had weekly meetings, much better in my view as it kept fans engaged and enabled relationships to be built with your team. Abs correct! Wrong use of the word. What a strong Top10 for the master to be 10th. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, Robinh88 said: Abs correct! Wrong use of the word. What a strong Top10 for the master to be 10th. Think he was top of the averages in 1980 so 81 must have been a bad year for the 21 year old😁. He's my GOAT. Edited 2 hours ago by SPEEDY69 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveWayne Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 3 hours ago, mikebv said: Given the amount of injuries to "top, top riders" currently, I can see Poland going down that route... TV companies, National businesses who sponsor the league and teams, and even companies who use riders to advertise their products on national TV, will all be feeling frustrated that some of the worlds best are missing due to being injured elsewhere, meaning the product quality has dropped... With the clubs and their fans the most frustrated of all... There will surely soon be a clamor from all the stakeholders to ensure "their riders" only ride one league.. I don't knows what the top riders get collectively for their other two leagues, (£200k?), but I can see a day, soon, when all the stakeholders get together and pay that differential to ensure "exclusivity"... You wouldn't need to ensure everyone is tied down to these contracts either, just the "box office elite" that RR doesn't cover adequately... Similar to the way central contracts work in cricket, you only "play" for us... In this future world you predict, would the Polish paymasters ban them from riding in GPs as well ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 2 minutes ago, DaveWayne said: In this future world you predict, would the Polish paymasters ban them from riding in GPs as well ? If the Poles could get away it they definitely would... They are paying £500k plus to some riders therefore I can 100% see why they would want to ensure "their riders" only ride for them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 3 minutes ago, mikebv said: If the Poles could get away it they definitely would... They are paying £500k plus to some riders therefore I can 100% see why they would want to ensure "their riders" only ride for them... It's either an individual sport or a team sport, can't be both, you can't have Haarland going off every other weekend to try and be Individual World Football Champion. Other sports like F1 for example pretend to be a team sport but the fans don't really care who the constructors champions are, they're only interested in the drivers. I can see Poland breaking away from the FIM and going it alone with Ekstraliga, there's too much money involved not to... Sorry, not really relevant to this thread, hey ho 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitelinehugger Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago Just now, IainB said: It's either an individual sport or a team sport, can't be both, you can't have Haarland going off every other weekend to try and be Individual World Football Champion. Other sports like F1 for example pretend to be a team sport but the fans don't really care who the constructors champions are, they're only interested in the drivers. I can see Poland breaking away from the FIM and going it alone with Ekstraliga, there's too much money involved not to... Sorry, not really relevant to this thread, hey ho Hey ho hey ho it’s off to speedway we go. At lynn,not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago Would have loved to have been in my 20s in the 70s and known about speedway, all those tracks I could potentially visit, I would have loved to have been able to go to White City, Custom House, Rayleigh and Romford to name four off the top of my head. Lots of of teams, lots of riders, high in quality too, what’s not to love? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion Posted 54 minutes ago Report Share Posted 54 minutes ago On 5/31/2026 at 3:28 PM, mikebv said: All fair points, however.... The ultimate issue over the last two decades in particular has been the lack of a joined up development plan for UK riders... That has resulted in almost 200 guests being used per season, restricted race nights so riders can double up, resulting in contrived competitions with little credibility, and with hardly any rewards... To unpick all the self inflicted issues, and gain back all those fans who have left the sport behind is, I would say, sadly beyond achievable now... Even if those running the sport over here had the skill set to do it... The ultimate issue was Poland becoming top dog simple as that ,, Hardly any guests are used now in the Top flight these days due to fixed race nights and but it has little effect of improving crowds . So going on about guests is a myth and always has been . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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