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THIS week's Speedway Star is its usual 48 pages plus a 24 page section from Travel Plus. How are you losing out?

I think BT coverage is far better especially with the after meeting interviews and chit chat much better than the rushed finishes with sky . Natalie is quality and whilst I admit Nigel and Kevin are too shouty, you can’t knock the enthusiasm. we should start a petition to get Floppy back I thought he was really good.

Phil you have nothing that needs defending , like you state you need the extra revenue these days to exist every publication does really can’t see where Semion is coming from as like you say the 24 page ad is an extra that doesn’t cost the customer any more! I actually find the brochure quite good toilet material once I’ve read the actual magazine content lol Despite social media and the internet in general I still enjoy my fix of my speedway star as does my son...as you know! Keep it going more of us appreciate it than those that do not

Bit of a generalisation SCB, there's plenty of pensioners on basic pension and maybe a small personal pension .....

...trouble is SCB has a fixation about ageism and raises the issue over and over again. Gets a bit tiresome after awhile.

This is the uk not poland seen it all before with polish riders!!

BUT 33% of the usual 48 pages are not devoted to adverts. It is hard enough making SS viable these days without turning away what little advertising is available.

Easy to say that but I doubt anyone would have expected KK to be so pathetic. Looking at the lineups Swindon are nowhere near strong enough to retain next season. No big improvers and no big hitting reserves. Looks like last year was a blip and its back to mediocrity for the Robins. While normal service resumed for Pirates? Looking possible.

Lakeside wanted him (and Kennett) Dont feel too sorry for them though as they simply gamzumped Berwick and Sheffield for Morris and Lawson instead and have brought in 2 reserves on out of date low averages....

I doubt that there are many rich pensioners that include speedway as an interest.. The OAP concession should remain

Here you go again SCB. You really must be a very bitter person. You are right when you say that a hell of a lot of Pensioners are well of, some of them very well off. However the obverse is also true. There are also a hell of a lot of Pensioners who are not very well off, are indeed very, very poor. Some can afford Speedway every week, but others will inevitably not be able to, and it seems that you want to make them even worse off. I doubt if there are many very well off Pensioners who attend Speedway that often so you are actually having a go at the poorer ones. Shame on you!!! You are either very bitter, very jealous or very selfish or maybe a combination of all three. Shame on you!!!

Below are Brady's scores in the Aussie Championship you claim he should be dominating, while insinuating he isn't... r1 = 3 3 DNF 3 3 FEX r2 = 3 3 3 3 3 FEX r3 = 3 3 3 3 3 2 So, he's only been beaten once in three rounds when he has completed the race. Your post on this subject is EXACTLY why people hate you on here Gavan. You are a troll and t*sser.

It's free for him to watch the Colts. A good way to get him and his mates interested.

Time to get some long trousers then !

First of all we are discussing a CL club here and no one is advocating that the NL should allow overseas riders to participate in their league. At Edinburgh, the supporters have had very few problems with the overseas guys recruited in terms of commitment. Indeed in 2016 when we ran our final home match, due to previous postponements, on 21st October , a break of 3 weeks since our last actual race meeting, our 3 Germans traveled back to honour their commitment. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of a certain English team member who threw a sickie, but was well enough to attend a social function at his EL club on the same night! Unlike the overseas riders who are prepared to commute here, we have great difficulty in attracting decent English prospects to sign on for us, usually citing our base as being too far for them to travel. So what are we supposed to do, just employ any Brit who is willing to come, irrespective of their ability? Well current & potential local supporters up here would soon lose interest if we were compelled to track cannon fodder in the name of keeping all British riders in a job. Oh and btw, our foreign guys do socialise after the meeting and our promising Aussie, Josh Pickering, stayed within a couple hundred yards of the Stadium with a local family.

A very sad and touching film that many of us ex fans of defunct clubs can relate to.

This thread is ok until gavan comes back on it then it goes into lets dig at every poole rider,you don't see any poole fans go on the Ipswich thread bleating on about how he's got beatan by him,he shudnt be beat by him hes a no1 and the other guy is a 2nd string blah blah blah why dont you focus ur attention on how ipswich are going to massive chumps again next season and win nothing again LMAO

Makes a change from you being reported eh Gavan. Considering all the abusive language and name calling you have used in the past, you really don't have a leg to stand on.

Along with his sons runs a very successful electrical business despite the awful injuries he suffered during his brilliant career which very nearly crippled him.

but he usually doesn't come back to you.

I don't think parents would be shocked at that for a one off night out. Getting them to pay it every week, however, is a different matter. But if my son was taken somewhere by his friends' parents and I was told it was 20 quid to see a live sporting event I'd pretty much expect it. I don't see why people factor food into the cost though. Just eat before you go. What's the issue? And you don't need to get a programme for every one either.

As many said, a tad dear for families, else nail hit on head. Put on more races, juniors, anything, after main 15ht match....

I see that Brady went through the card again in the latest round of the Aussie Championship. He really is a cut above the opposition in this event. Got pipped by a fast gating Holder in the final but virtually unbeatable. In fact Holder is the first rider to beat him over 4 laps this championship. The only points Brady has dropped is for an exclusion and EF. Let’s hope he comes into the speedway season over here in similar devastating form and battles to retain his number one berth.

The speedway star in my opinion is excellent value look at the prices of other sporting magazines or papers the Racing post as a example for me it should be more than 3 pound.Also the 2018 teams line up edition is a terrific read great value that certainly should be a higher price.

Sadly the same can be said about everything leisure costs a fortune these days.A few years later as an apprentice my take home pay was £10.06 a week a pint of beer was 10p so I could(not that I did) buy 100 pints with my wage.Now a pint is approx £3.00 how many apprentices take home £300.00 pounds a week. Again a few years later on full money married buying a house etc I went to football on Saturday afternoon and speedway at night and could afford both no problem.As the years have passed and my money became worthless I could not afford to do both so I had to choose I picked speedway it would seem most others stayed with football. And there lies the problem people can't afford to spend as much on leisure because it and everything else cost so bloody much and your wage goes nowhere these days.As with me a lot of people cannot do everything they want to do and have to pick and choose and it would seem speedway is lower down on peoples list than other things and in my opinion is a big reason why speedway is struggling these days.

Have you finished wiping that egg off your face from last season, Steve?

What on earth are you expecting for £3 a Book! I find the SS excellent value for money!!!

Please, please, please say it's Bridger

Because if the Brits don’t come first and we lose our British riders the national team with disappear, the profile of the sport will sink even lower, the sport won’t be able to afford the extra costs of flying in riders, our league will be at the beck and call of the foreign leagues, just like last season with Poland dictating where riders should ride, there will be less interaction between riders and potential local supporters because they will rarely be in the country, there will be less interest in a sport in which only foreigners participate, all us families who support NL riders and give our time to clubs for free will be lost to the sport ....

I think they do a good job myself.

Robbo for me. He is a great Team man, if not him then Nichols. That's it from me. I won't hold my breath. Even if he did he would probably only pick up two or three in the next Away Match. I'm sorry if folk don't like that - but history suggests that I am right.

Fricke is quality, it's pretty plain to see. I wouldn't use Aussie championships as much of a barometer, averages from the Polish, Swedish and British top divisions are a better indication. World U21 results where applicable are also a good gauge. If you can beat the cream of the Polish youngsters on their missile bikes then you have got something about you.

Problem is as stated by some already Speedway is neither family friendly or extreme for the modern generation. Family friendly means clean well kept stadiums, good viewing for adults and children alike and toilets that do not disgust people. You then need a team that is prepared to interact with the fans, be around pre-meeting and not rush off after like all do now. For the extreme side things are just not that dramatic to the instant generation. They want to see the thrills & spills, ideally in a 2 minute clip max and then move onto something else. Attention spans are short, anticipation is unnecessary technology has created an instant society and minority sports will continue to struggle. There are plenty of grand ideas that could be used to promote the sport, demo's that could be put on with almost rehearsed racing which will have short term gains but all the while everyone is focused on saving the immediate the future is slipping further away.

I can go to watch a British superbike round Friday Saturday and Sunday...all the practice, qualifying races and all the support races from 8 am to 6 pm all 3 days for 37 quid. Speedway isn't expensive..but value for money it's poor.

Fricke should be the best rider, what's the matter with him, we are always being told how good he is and will be a regular in the gp's in the future yet he can't win races in his own country.

I guess your glasses are failing you. Round One, engine failure then excluded for falling on his own Round Two, excluded for taking off Holder Round Three, beaten by Jack Holder. Brady Kurtz is Pooles number one rider. He is riding against teams second or third heat leaders (Fricke, Masters) ans other teams second strings ( Tungate, Holder) He should be totally dominant but as like heat 13 in the second leg of the play off final he sort of messes it up when it matters. If you class beating second strings (and being beaten by one in Holder in the final) as devastating form then you are very easily pleased.

James Shanes is a local lad with Poole in his heart why would he ride elsewhere if he could ride for Poole.

I know you are a fan of Hans but he really is a journeyman nowdays, cramming in as many meetings as possible so he doesn’t need to average high. At times last year he was poor, being beaten easily by the worst rider in the league, Smith, at Belle Vue. younger, more hungry riders needed with the desire to try and win every heat. The time was right for Hans to move on.

If they change the two over eight rule or the assessed average for GP riders that is clearly wrong and should not be allowed.

stevie deserves his place in the team and is making good progress... riding regularly in Poland will further benefit his move up the Speedway ladder. i am well pleased with his signing.

More a case of DC being extremely bothered about the look of the Poole team that's so far been assembled and hoping against all hope for a chink of light for his beloved Robins. With Leicester already looking stronger than Swindon and Poole likely to match, Swindon might scrape into the playoffs with their current team. But that's about it.

Zdenek did they used to call him Kermit? he was one exciting rider i can remember on a cold i think it was a November? night at the Abbey 1979 the track was dodgy but he gave it everything he was great value.

Over and done with, my memories of watching almost every match at Brandon from 1973 - 1997 ( when I lived in Northampton ). I was a biker for all of that time and loved the ride there ( although there were very few other bikers ). Some fantastic racing and controversies Thank you lads, Big Names or not but I remember vividly Andy Smith's amazing on track efforts among so many others. And oddly, the first race win Peter Lloyd ever had there ( maybe the only one? ).All consigned to the archive now and never to be replaced with new on track clashes and rivalries.

So it was 58% of your weekly spends on Speedway.. Nowadays for my 14 year old lad it would be £8 to get in, £3 for the prog and £2 for the bus... £13... To deliver the same ratio I would have to give him £22 a week spends! In his dreams... Not only that but getting 11 of his mates' parents to cough up £13 a night for Speedway might also be a 'tad' difficult.. "Dad, can I go to watch Speedway with James at Belle Vue?" "Blimey, Speedway? Is that still going? I used to go to Belle Vue myself when I was your age, Peter Collins was the best one, he was brilliant. Course you can, how much is it?" "To get in, buy a programme and bus fare its £13 so with some food I'll need about £20" "How @#£×÷¥₩ much? Just to watch Speedway? You're having a laugh lad!"...

I am not a Coventry fan....but I AM a Speedway fan and in that respect I want to see Speedway promoted at as many venues as possible. I do not actually care WHO the promoter is, just that Speedway takes place. For that reason I welcome the news that Mick Horton has been granted a licence to run a Coventry Bees team in the National League using Leicester as a base. 7 more riders in work is just one of the many good side effects.

It is strange how the two have rarely mixed. Peterborough BMF weekends attracted thousands of bikers (and I do mean thousands, back in the day) - very few watched the Friday night Speedway, even though they were already in the stadium.

Forgive me for my feelings towards Lambert, but to harp on about sponsors and equipment shows a lack of professionalism . When the season ends all top riders make the sponsorship business their first concern. They all want to be assured the deals are in place to cover most of the expected expenses. If someone like Lambert, who is regarded as the best English hope, is struggling for support, something is drastically amiss. However, probably it was my up-bringing , but airing ones washing in public is not the behaviour, you expect from a member of the exclusive top earners in the sport, and I feel this information should be kept private. Pleading poverty doesn't do the sport or anybody any good..

7.32 I believe.

Well he hasn’t ridden here for a couple of seasons so there’s some discount there. 7.85 sounds about right.

There is no crossover between speedway and the bikes you can ride on the road, unlike MotoGP, WSB and even motocross.