2027 - 8 Team Premiership

[InTheDeepStuff]

Can only assume the pre AGM they had at the end of September ironed out a lot of unknowns as teams in both leagues have been pressing on with team building, with the actual AGM that was scheduled for November being more of a rubber stamp event and possibly (hopefully) clarity on possible TV deal 

[InTheDeepStuff]

Duplicate 

Edited yesterday at 08:56 AM by InTheDeepStuff

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Mid October and every match at all levels has been completed,you can imagine the scene at bspl towers,the members going round giving a high five and whooping each other like it’s their biggest achievement in 30 years 

[1 valve]

On 10/17/2026 at 7:06 PM, SteveLyric2 said:

Just for clarity in your opinion, who are the 'new thinking, ambitious and visionary' promoters?

Rather than by individual, I'll list the clubs because in many cases its down to more than one individual. Also in Alphabetical order and by a few categories. 
1. Definite.
Belle Vue, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ipswich, Leicester, Northampton, 
2. Could be's 
Berwick, Kings Lynn, Redcar, 
3, The rest,
Either happy where they are with an I'm all right jack attitude or carrying doubts over the viability of running a team on a full time basis other than as an affordable hobby. 
 

[SteveLyric2]

2 hours ago, 1 valve said:

Rather than by individual, I'll list the clubs because in many cases its down to more than one individual. Also in Alphabetical order and by a few categories. 
1. Definite.
Belle Vue, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ipswich, Leicester, Northampton, 
2. Could be's 
Berwick, Kings Lynn, Redcar, 
3, The rest,
Either happy where they are with an I'm all right jack attitude or carrying doubts over the viability of running a team on a full time basis other than as an affordable hobby. 
 

Wow! I almost spat my coffee out when reading that!!

[1 valve]

25 minutes ago, SteveLyric2 said:

Wow! I almost spat my coffee out when reading that!!

Why?
if its because of where Poole is placed in the third catagory, well, if they dropped the concept of "race night is Wednesday and if not, then the alternative race night needs to be Wednesday and because of that we're staying where we are". Then that could be a different matter. They just look like a promotion that prefers to to be a big fish in a small pool. 

[SteveLyric2]

56 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

Why?
if its because of where Poole is placed in the third catagory, well, if they dropped the concept of "race night is Wednesday and if not, then the alternative race night needs to be Wednesday and because of that we're staying where we are". Then that could be a different matter. They just look like a promotion that prefers to to be a big fish in a small pool. 

I think they are a responsibly sized fish in whatever league they are, or have been, in. I believe their prime concern is remaining financially viable  with restricted income streams and securing a long term tenure of their stadium. 

What surprised me was your inclusion of the Edinburghs, Berwicks and Redcars in their respective groups, and the likes of Sheffield in 'the rest'?

[1 valve]

49 minutes ago, SteveLyric2 said:

I think they are a responsibly sized fish in whatever league they are, or have been, in. I believe their prime concern is remaining financially viable  with restricted income streams and securing a long term tenure of their stadium. 

What surprised me was your inclusion of the Edinburghs, Berwicks and Redcars in their respective groups, and the likes of Sheffield in 'the rest'?

The reason there is a doubt about Sheffied is that their current promoters have made it clear that although they love the sport and the Tigers in particular, they dont see themselves continuing in the medium term There is also the concern that the stadium is actually quite limited in terms of accommodating any significant growth in attendance due to the back straight being "out of bounds" on safety concerns.
The three northern/north East teams team appear to have less concerns in that direction with management who would appear willing to more than give it a go.
The issue with Poole remains their intransigence to move race nights, I agree they have always put out a decent team to say the least, just not very clear that the promotion is willing to entertain something that would be for the greater good. 

[SteveLyric2]

1 hour ago, 1 valve said:

The reason there is a doubt about Sheffied is that their current promoters have made it clear that although they love the sport and the Tigers in particular, they dont see themselves continuing in the medium term There is also the concern that the stadium is actually quite limited in terms of accommodating any significant growth in attendance due to the back straight being "out of bounds" on safety concerns.
The three northern/north East teams team appear to have less concerns in that direction with management who would appear willing to more than give it a go.
The issue with Poole remains their intransigence to move race nights, I agree they have always put out a decent team to say the least, just not very clear that the promotion is willing to entertain something that would be for the greater good. 

The greater good is surely about clubs being financially sound no matter what level they operate at. Poole have done and won the Elite/Premiership for several seasons  eventually losing money and fans.

Putting themselves at financial risk simply to make up the numbers in a smaller league does not make good business sense. And Poole is a business for the Fords not a hobby!!

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, SteveLyric2 said:

The greater good is surely about clubs being financially sound no matter what level they operate at. Poole have done and won the Elite/Premiership for several seasons  eventually losing money and fans.

Putting themselves at financial risk simply to make up the numbers in a smaller league does not make good business sense. And Poole is a business for the Fords not a hobby!!

It is quite baffling why some would want what appears to be one of the few financially successful clubs to rip up their business plan and operating model to "do something different"...

When that "something different" clearly wasn't working back when there were more teams in the top tier, and the sport appeared more stable and had more going for it, than it currently does...

If I were running Poole I would expect a lot of incentives to move into the top tier to ensure my balance sheet wasn't negatively impacted, and was protected, and, if I didn't get them, then I would be quite happy to stay where I was...

 

[1 valve]

2 hours ago, mikebv said:

It is quite baffling why some would want what appears to be one of the few financially successful clubs to rip up their business plan and operating model to "do something different"...

When that "something different" clearly wasn't working back when there were more teams in the top tier, and the sport appeared more stable and had more going for it, than it currently does...

If I were running Poole I would expect a lot of incentives to move into the top tier to ensure my balance sheet wasn't negatively impacted, and was protected, and, if I didn't get them, then I would be quite happy to stay where I was...

 

Agreed. As I said previously. Some promotions need step aside. If one is Poole then so be it. 

[SteveLyric2]

8 hours ago, 1 valve said:

Agreed. As I said previously. Some promotions need step aside. If one is Poole then so be it. 

Step aside from what exactly?

[YeOldPitGate]

9 hours ago, 1 valve said:

Agreed. As I said previously. Some promotions need step aside. If one is Poole then so be it. 

Problem is given the current state of speedway there's not exactly a que of new people arriving to take over tracks the majority of the rescues/take overs in recent years are by people already connected to the sport.

[LisaColette]

22 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Mid October and every match at all levels has been completed,you can imagine the scene at bspl towers,the members going round giving a high five and whooping each other like it’s their biggest achievement in 30 years 

Not every match. Poole still staging the Harbour Masters individual on Weds. 

10 hours ago, 1 valve said:

Agreed. As I said previously. Some promotions need step aside. If one is Poole then so be it. 

They don't need to step aside just because they don't want to lose a lot of money by stepping up to the Prem. It was reported on here by a poster that not one prem club made a profit this season. So why would you? Even though i would quite like to watch prem racing again, i get why they don't. Business wise it makes zero sense. 

17 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Problem is given the current state of speedway there's not exactly a que of new people arriving to take over tracks the majority of the rescues/take overs in recent years are by people already connected to the sport.

Exactly, Sheffield prime example. 

[1 valve]

17 hours ago, SteveLyric2 said:

The greater good is surely about clubs being financially sound no matter what level they operate at. Poole have done and won the Elite/Premiership for several seasons  eventually losing money and fans.

Putting themselves at financial risk simply to make up the numbers in a smaller league does not make good business sense. And Poole is a business for the Fords not a hobby!!

The "greater good" is intended to refer to the success of many rather than "one" In Poole's case I do not argue that they are anything but successful. but their unwillingness to move from Wednesday as a race night is a significant example of them not being willing to comply with the needs of the top league. Hence why my original message on this forum grouped them with "the rest"

[1 valve]

16 hours ago, mikebv said:

It is quite baffling why some would want what appears to be one of the few financially successful clubs to rip up their business plan and operating model to "do something different"...

When that "something different" clearly wasn't working back when there were more teams in the top tier, and the sport appeared more stable and had more going for it, than it currently does...

If I were running Poole I would expect a lot of incentives to move into the top tier to ensure my balance sheet wasn't negatively impacted, and was protected, and, if I didn't get them, then I would be quite happy to stay where I was...

 

They don't have to rip anything up at all and of course they can stay where they are and choose to run their business as they choose. There is no reason why anybody would disagree with that. 
But if they do insists on continuing to do what they are doing in order to be successful both on and off the track in tier 2. then they cannot, and most probably do not want to be, included in plans from a top flight perspective, to move the sport forward if Mondays & Thursday race nights are a prerequisite. 

[1 valve]

5 hours ago, SteveLyric2 said:

Step aside from what exactly?

Read my earlier post, where Poole are grouped with "the rest".

[1 valve]

4 hours ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Problem is given the current state of speedway there's not exactly a que of new people arriving to take over tracks the majority of the rescues/take overs in recent years are by people already connected to the sport.

The sport doesn't really need too many "new promoters/owners", what is required is a fresh set of thinking, taking into account what is possible in the short term and a vision to where this will lead in the more immediate medium term i.e. 1 - 3 years and then grow from there. 
One main issue (and there are a few more) is that the folk in power, albeit with good intention, are actually blocking the prospects of growth, and so first and foremost changes are required within the sport hierarchy that enables those better qualified, connected and vision to step up and lead the way forward.  

[SteveLyric2]

3 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

The sport doesn't really need too many "new promoters/owners", what is required is a fresh set of thinking, taking into account what is possible in the short term and a vision to where this will lead in the more immediate medium term i.e. 1 - 3 years and then grow from there. 
One main issue (and there are a few more) is that the folk in power, albeit with good intention, are actually blocking the prospects of growth, and so first and foremost changes are required within the sport hierarchy that enables those better qualified, connected and vision to step up and lead the way forward.  

The'folk in power' ie the BSPL Management Board are 3 Prem promoters ( plus Phil Morris)  and 2 Championship Promoters, so who is better qualified, connected,a visionary and dare I say, independent?

[1 valve]

55 minutes ago, SteveLyric2 said:

The'folk in power' ie the BSPL Management Board are 3 Prem promoters ( plus Phil Morris)  and 2 Championship Promoters, so who is better qualified, connected,a visionary and dare I say, independent?

As CEO its good that P Morris is independent and for now that's about as much as we can hope for. In the current climate its no use a sport relying on the board to run matters solely by themselves. Sub divisions of proactive promoters looking into wider matters is required and they should report to specific members. Of course as CEO PM should be leading the business and day to day decision making whereas (and I stand to be corrected) it appears matters have to go through the chair for his sanction. 
The good news is that besides the board there are new promoters with strong and refreshing views, hopefully they will not be held back.