ouch Posted yesterday at 10:08 AM Report Share Posted yesterday at 10:08 AM 1 hour ago, mikebv said: A no brainer .. If you top the league then choose home for the semi first leg, and away for the final, (if you get there)... If you don't reach the final at least you had a decent semi final crowd.. Losing, or winning, an away leg first, by a large margin, just hits the second leg crowd numbers... Great to see two decent crowds for both the final legs... (Again)... I wonder if the promoters ever wonder why nowhere near the same number of their own followers turn up regularly through the season.. Belle Vue’s crowd for the 2nd leg semi was very good and any additional numbers had we rode the 1st leg wouldn’t have been massive. Giving Ipswich the 1st leg helped them achieve a far better crowd than if they had taken a dead rubber 2nd leg. It’s been seen through the history of the club the fickle nature of their fan base with even keen beans on here saying they are picking and choosing this season. The bigger picture here is that more money came into British Speedway with us having the 2nd leg. Richard seems like a strong ally to the cause so to assist him for the good of his business seems a no brainier. I know there is an everyone for themselves attitude but that simply won’t work due to the precarious nature of our sport in this country. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavan Posted 22 hours ago Report Share Posted 22 hours ago 2 hours ago, ouch said: Belle Vue’s crowd for the 2nd leg semi was very good and any additional numbers had we rode the 1st leg wouldn’t have been massive. Giving Ipswich the 1st leg helped them achieve a far better crowd than if they had taken a dead rubber 2nd leg. It’s been seen through the history of the club the fickle nature of their fan base with even keen beans on here saying they are picking and choosing this season. The bigger picture here is that more money came into British Speedway with us having the 2nd leg. Richard seems like a strong ally to the cause so to assist him for the good of his business seems a no brainier. I know there is an everyone for themselves attitude but that simply won’t work due to the precarious nature of our sport in this country. Haha what a ridiculous comment Even when we was in the second division we had bigger crowds than most teams in the top flight every week Do some research buddy before posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neila Posted 20 hours ago Report Share Posted 20 hours ago So it's looking very near a sell out, good news, BUT capacity only around 3000 , so imo not a massive crowd, as last year Ipswich was around 5-6000 and Tai got 5000 . Thoughts 🤔 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 19 hours ago Report Share Posted 19 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, Neila said: So it's looking very near a sell out, good news, BUT capacity only around 3000 , so imo not a massive crowd, as last year Ipswich was around 5-6000 and Tai got 5000 . Thoughts 🤔 Last year at Ipswich it was a perfect storm, with the result from the away leg, and they not winning the title for decades.. If they had got hammered in the first leg then the crowd would have been nowhere near the same I would suggest, and they certainly haven't got anywhere near that figure this season off the back of their title win.. And Tai was a three time World Champion and is the only British rider to do it, hence many were there to pay their respects to someone who has delivered something unique in GB Speedway... For UK Speedway 3,000 is a very decent crowd and possibly double what a run of the mill domestic meeting would have... All of the above shows though, that there is still a very healthy amount of followers of the sport in the UK, they just need some engagement to watch the qualifiers throughout the season, as well as the play off finals... Over to the UK Promoters to sort out the reasons why they don't... Edited 19 hours ago by mikebv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neila Posted 19 hours ago Report Share Posted 19 hours ago 1 minute ago, mikebv said: Last year at Ipswich it was a perfect storm, with the result from the away leg, and they not winning the title for decades.. If they had got hammered in the first leg then the crowd would have been nowhere near the same I would suggest, and they certainly haven't got anywhere near that figure this season off the back of their title win.. And Tai was a three time World Champion and is the only British rider to do it, hence many were there to pay their respects to someone who has delivered something unique in GB Speedway... For UK Speedway 3,000 is a very decent crowd and possibly double what a run of the mill domestic meeting would have... Speedway Merchandise All ofl the above shows that there is still a very healthy amount of followers of the sport in the UK, they just need some engagement to watch the qualifiers as well as the play off finals... Over to the UK Promoters to sort out the reasons why they don't... Also the streams seem to be selling well, saves me a drive from worky 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 17 hours ago Report Share Posted 17 hours ago 4 hours ago, Gavan said: Haha what a ridiculous comment Even when we was in the second division we had bigger crowds than most teams in the top flight every week Do some research buddy before posting Maybe do some research yourself, paying particular attention to the year you closed down mid season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 17 hours ago Report Share Posted 17 hours ago 2 hours ago, Neila said: So it's looking very near a sell out, good news, BUT capacity only around 3000 , so imo not a massive crowd, as last year Ipswich was around 5-6000 and Tai got 5000 . Thoughts 🤔 It’s a shame the south stand never got finished which keeps the capacity low. It’s even more of a shame that when the owns took issue with the situation, the cartel seized the opportunity to oust them rather than back them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin Jason 72 Posted 16 hours ago Report Share Posted 16 hours ago 45 minutes ago, ouch said: Maybe do some research yourself, paying particular attention to the year you closed down mid season. When was that. I’ve been going for 41 years and can’t recall that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob B Posted 16 hours ago Report Share Posted 16 hours ago 7 minutes ago, Racin Jason 72 said: When was that. I’ve been going for 41 years and can’t recall that. Year: 1962 Reason: Financial issues, compounded by the loss of new signing Olle Nygren to ill-health and the fatal crash of rider Jack Unstead early in the season 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk127 Posted 15 hours ago Report Share Posted 15 hours ago I know this might seem a daft question but is any local radio station doing a live commentary of the meeting. It has happened in the past with other final meetings but I suspect that old technology has been superseded by pay to view. Shame really when many a local stations still cover football live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreverblue Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 14 hours ago, ouch said: It’s a shame the south stand never got finished which keeps the capacity low. It’s even more of a shame that when the owns took issue with the situation, the cartel seized the opportunity to oust them rather than back them. Haha cartel is to blame, the cartel is to blame!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 49 minutes ago, foreverblue said: Haha cartel is to blame, the cartel is to blame!! He must be a citeh fan as well.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago Can't agree with Simon Stead saying the pressure is on Belle Vue, even though they're highly expected to win. If they were 20 points down maybe, one bad heat & you can panic. But as it is, riders should be as relaxed as you can be for a grand final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 17 hours ago, mikebv said: Last year at Ipswich it was a perfect storm, with the result from the away leg, and they not winning the title for decades.. If they had got hammered in the first leg then the crowd would have been nowhere near the same I would suggest, and they certainly haven't got anywhere near that figure this season off the back of their title win.. And Tai was a three time World Champion and is the only British rider to do it, hence many were there to pay their respects to someone who has delivered something unique in GB Speedway... For UK Speedway 3,000 is a very decent crowd and possibly double what a run of the mill domestic meeting would have... Speedway Merchandise All of the above shows though, that there is still a very healthy amount of followers of the sport in the UK, they just need some engagement to watch the qualifiers throughout the season, as well as the play off finals... Over to the UK Promoters to sort out the reasons why they don't... One of the problems is they keep admitting throughout the season that the league matches are just qualifiers & finishing top isn't a necessity. So if fans are in two minds, they may as well just wait for the play-offs. Of course in Poland they manage decent crowds all year, maybe meeting opposition teams once a season would help (if there was enough teams in the league)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldPitGate Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 3 minutes ago, szkocjasid said: Can't agree with Simon Stead saying the pressure is on Belle Vue, even though they're highly expected to win. If they were 20 points down maybe, one bad heat & you can panic. But as it is, riders should be as relaxed as you can be for a grand final. To be fair the alternative is for to come out and say "we are utterly fooked, abandon ship, everyman for himself" but as you say bar losing Kurtz and Doyle to injury in the first four heats it should be a shoe in result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago, foreverblue said: Haha cartel is to blame, the cartel is to blame!! A reply well worth reading. I happen to think it would be good for the sport to have two people involved who are well versed in dealing with (one of the biggest) councils successfully enough to have a new dedicated speedway stadium in a built up area near to the city centre. By all means though, keep posting your insightful comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreverblue Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 47 minutes ago, mikebv said: He must be a citeh fan as well.... I take it you are not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 36 minutes ago, szkocjasid said: One of the problems is they keep admitting throughout the season that the league matches are just qualifiers & finishing top isn't a necessity. So if fans are in two minds, they may as well just wait for the play-offs. Of course in Poland they manage decent crowds all year, maybe meeting opposition teams once a season would help (if there was enough teams in the league)? That’s one of the many problems with the play offs and one I went into chapter and verse when they first came into the sport. Once the perception is planted that a fixture is less important, fans will think twice about attending. The repetitive nature of fixtures doesn’t help though as it was back in the day, you can ride local teams many times over with little impact on the gate. This was evidenced by Glasgow and Edinburgh successfully meeting ten times recently. The ONLY benefit of the play offs is the gate money two teams get (four at a push) but it’s now robbing Peter to pay Paul as all we are doing is clawing back what’s been lacking in the qualifiers. The original reason for them may come back into play if a tv deal is forthcoming as the broadcaster absolutely demands to screen the deciding fixture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 25 minutes ago, szkocjasid said: One of the problems is they keep admitting throughout the season that the league matches are just qualifiers & finishing top isn't a necessity. So if fans are in two minds, they may as well just wait for the play-offs. Of course in Poland they manage decent crowds all year, maybe meeting opposition teams once a season would help (if there was enough teams in the league)? For me, the actual credibility of what's on offer will always be the key issue that holds the sport back.. Jason Doyle and Max Fricke both played major roles in Sheffield qualifying, for Max, to the detriment of his own team who finished fifth, and if Sheffield win on aggregate tonight, then Jason will have assisted them to do so... You simply cannot take that seriously and invest yourself emotionally into it, therefore the play off qualifiers can be very much "take it or leave it" with a clear high number choosing to "leave it".. However, it can still be a very good night out, watching the racing when surrounded by a decent amount of people, hence the play off final in particular brings out those, like me, who don't have enough interest to attend throughout the season due to low crowd numbers, and the inevitable lack of atmosphere brought by them, and the lack of any feeling of real importance to a run of the mill meeting... As I say, if fhe promoters sorted the clear and obvious barriers to attending, then there wouldn't be such disproportionate crowds from qualifiers to finals... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreverblue Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago Always good to read your insightful comments too. Always good for a giggle with your usual Belle Vue are the best at everything posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.