Leaderboard

Purely by chance due to work and getting stuck behind an accident on the m6 I ended up at Belle Vue last night, so I thought I would share my fan experience, I brought a ticket in the grandstand which was £21, now to me that is way over priced for league speedway, so I took to my seat a read the programme, around 7pm the crowd which was a good size crowd filled the stadium, the announcer said we will interview the team managers around 7.10 however belle vues team manager was working on the first bend with a rake while we were treated to 40 mins of tractor racing, no interviews, there were a family next to me with 2 very young lads who had never been to speedway before but thought they would try it, around 7.20 there was an announcement that the meeting would be delayed to let the que’s that were still outside in, however that turned out to be a bit of a lie as some rides equipment hadn’t turned up,think they were caught in the same motorway problem as me ,but by 7.40 the kids next to me had got a bit bored and quite frankly so had I, chase the ace works very well in raising some excitement in the crowd, finally what felt like forever we get what I thought was a very well thought out parade and then the racing started, 2 heats and then the tractor is back out, apparently the track was to grippy, another 2 heats then more tractor racing, at around 8.30 i had seen 4 heats and 50 mins of tractor racing, the first half the meeting was pretty much gate and go stuff with nothing happening after the first corner, the match being close kept the interest up ,we had a couple of jumped starts and riders going back to pit gate to fiddle with their bikes, more delays (make it so no mechanic allowed on track in between restarts ) then the racing livened up so they had an interval,the second half the meeting was excellent and Kings Lynn deserved their win but I just felt like a few little things added up to spoil the entertainment, the racing, chase the ace and the presentation was all great but it’s just those little things that drag it down and kill the buzz and as I said it’s too expensive, the family next to me didn’t seem that taken in by it left before the end, this is not just about Belle Vue but speedway in general

I think you’ve completely missed the subtlety of the discussion which for clarity goes like this: 1/Noddy fails to rock up possibly because he got his visa application wrong and picked up a big black mark with the BA. 2/The promoter failed to grasp the situation and allowed the debacle to run for the first 3 months of the season. 3/ Eventually Noddy comes clean. 4/ Promoter thinks “oh sh..e I should have done something about this back in March and instead of falling in love with Noddy, I should have been courting Hansi. 5/Promoter panics and releases a press statement that says “nobody loves me anymore so I’m thinking of jumping the pirate ship”. 6/Rye House goes bust and “floods the market” with a couple of useful riders. 7/Promoter thinks thank god for that, all those nasty poles who I thought loved me so much have let me down and now, I’m my hour of need, 2 Englishmen (who previously I wouldn’t have given the time of day for), have thrown themselves at my feet. 8/Superstar Bomber arrives, crashes his bike and there is much wailing and bucket jangling to fix his bike. But, tough luck to the less fortunate rider who crashed earlier in the season broke his bones. 9/ Discussion on forum about the fairness of how the club supports all riders (or not). 10/Comparison between 2017 and 2018 riders crash costs and why one rider gets money and other doesn’t. 11/And then to the crux, if Noddy had played with a straight bat, Hans would have been in the team and Bomber wouldn’t have crashed because there wouldn’t have been a slot available. The essence of my posts on this subject is, we should be a club that looks after all riders signed up for a campaign. We should be a fair club and at the present it appears we only look after those whose faces fit....

Every time a Scorpions rider gets injured the rest of the clubs start to wonder if their fixture list is safe.

And meaning most of the time heats are won from the gate. Poole’s track over Saddlebow 365 days a year.

Dire as a racetrack maybe but smooth, consistent and free of holes, ruts and bumps. Meaning all four riders can go flat out with confidence rather than worrying about being thrown off course.

It’s not Len Silver’s fault or Kent’s fault that they were without a number 1. That blame lies solely with Boxall for acting so irresponsible.

From the sounds of things Heeps wipes out Mcdonalds most weeks

He didn't care about his rules. He just wanted another reason to slate Bellego and Smith so the other 12 names didn't matter!

You not seen much of col's posting icicle? That one was one of the more eloquent

I’ll be honest and say the damage has already been done. I banged the drum many many years ago to no avail. The play off debate in terms of speedway can be quite complex and many of the intricacies are lost on some. We are now at the point where we need to attract new fans as the anorak wearing, board waving fans have been pretty much forced out. The sad thing is their money is just as good as anyone’s yet it’s been almost literally thrown away.

Pedersen had a bit of his own medicine then. twice as nuts as his brother Nicki, with not even a tenth as much talent.

When your clientele is old farts, of course you’re going to attempt to bring in a younger crowd. What you don’t do is implement a system (or systems) that helps drive these old farts away whilst simultaneously failing to attract newbies.

Now this certainly got me thinking - it may not be popular but I think its definitely something that is overlooked a lot by people. Everyone here has an interest in speedway and understands the inner workings to an extent. Because of this, we are all looking deep into the technical details of the sport, which is not where the casual viewer is attracted. Fundamentally, to a casual observer, there are 4 bikes on a track going round in a circle. Now we can change the tactical rule, double points, guest bookings, gate positions, doubling up etc etc and it will make zero difference to what the casual observer sees. There will still be 4 bikes sliding round a track. It's only us "committed supporters" that will notice, and we will just moan about something else instead. Its the same in every walk of life. Now I have become more of a causal supporter these days, I just dont have the time. When I do get visit a track for a meeting, I often pass on a programme and take my seat / position somewhere in the stand / terraces and hover about a bit until something happens on track. I can't understand the tannoy systems (either too echoey / quiet / loud) - but this is a general tanoy system thing, not just poor speedway tracks tanoys - they just arent a great way of getting information over. I see bikes to the right in a fenced off area, this must be the pits - OK got it! Then there is a track - OK thats where they race, got it! - Then what? 4 blokes come out in different helmet colours that I probably havent even noticed and then they race around - 4 laps a race, OK - Got it! 45 minutes later and 8 races down and they are coming out again - are these the same people? different people? who is winning? what is the score? how many races are left? what team am I supporting? are they teams? are they 4 teams? what are points? how do points work? When I have taken someone along for the first time, these are the questions I get asked all the time and spend half the meeting trying to explain - its not difficult, but speedway makes itself that way! A simple scoreboard on the center green can answer most of these questions without them having to ask. Display the thing just like the programme. Riders, Teams, Heats and Helmet colours - just like the programme. Add in a 2 minute timer so people understand what that is about. Suddenly a casual viewer who has turned up randomly to see what all the noise actually is every week, has a vague understanding of what is actually happening, when and why.

Apologies to Starman. TIM = The Invisable Man.

Because of the fixed race nights it's hardly happened this season. Doubt it will make it much more competitive, Poole make just make 60pts now instead of 62!

Andersen probably protecting his average for next season!!

Congratulations to the Stars. When it came to the crunch, hts 13 & 15, Lambert and Iversen delivered. Iversen used all his experience & trackcraft in heat 15 to check Bewley's momentum coming off the fourth bend lap 2 when it looked like Dan was gonna swoop round him again. He's a class act NKI, fair play. Just a mention too for heat 11 involving Fricke, Lambert & Erik Riss - heart in my mouth as they passed & re-passed - not to mention both Fricke & Lambert nearly coming off their bikes at different points, 100% commitment from all three, breathtaking action!

What do you expect with the troll who started it

Haha!!! I will not be getting banned for saying what everyone thinks.

As did Ronni. Howe retired through injury , he was one of the most exciting riders I have seen around Newport when he was in the mood.

Point taken!

Fixed race nights. Can't beat 'em!

I'm not saying anything untoward is going on, but Birmingham are strengthened without Walker as it means a guest can replace Flint instead of r/r (as far as I know the rules)!

Is the "Danish lift" taught in the training schools over there? Even the mild mannered ones like Morten suffer with that

And to keep older fans interested, perhaps keep the race gaps to a few minutes so they don't forget what they're actually there for and don't get confused thinking it's a tractor show.

Swindon line up as follows: Batchelor, Bellego, Ellis, Musielak, Morris, Wajtknecht & Smith. Leicester line up as follows: Andersen, Wells, Wright, Robson, Nicholls, Mountain & Howe (in for Auty who's injured).

Historically most Mondays either in the past via Sky or now via BT the outcome in more or less the same, not many fans in attendance, no atmosphere BUT come the play offs, Still on a Monday night and suddenly the stadiums are alive and buzzing with record numbers of fans for that club, for that season, its great but where were all those fans the previous six months? So the question is, are the league meetings not seen as important enough? and if so, how do they get more people taking an interest in the journey and not just the destination? The play offs work, they generate interest and therefore money, no need to change that, but the play offs on their own will not subsidize everyone's season.

Just seen Ht 11 from the Wolves vs. Leicester match on the SGB site. They are saying how exciting it was. If they want exciting then should put Ht 11 from last night with Fricke, Lambert and E. Riss. Outstanding!

I have never understood why we have play offs, just copying football I think. Why not, at the end of the season have the KO cup with the top 4 teams automatically going into the quarter finals to meet the 4 surviving teams from a series of qualifying ko rounds. The top 4 would then be drawn against the other 4 and not each other until the semis.

Huge waste of talent. With the right commitment and attitude, he could of gone very far.

Just a small thing, but how about allowing each team two proper practice heats before the match starts? That would help with set ups, identify any track problems and allow the shale to move out a little for better racing.

Surely it’s gotta be a home win against the Championship Select side?

We should just admit it. We fall for the sport because we love it. The novelty then wears off. We then decide there are things about it we don't like and want our own ideas implementing and don't like any new idea. We also think it could be run better and want people who have put their money in to take our ideas on board. When they don't, we gradually stop attending as we don't like most new ideas. But it is simple... we never feel the same way about speedway as we did in our initial years and always want to change it. Bit like being married really.

Now normally I would say witches to hit 60, but with Jakobsen at reserve the bandits should be slightly better, so witches to get 58.

Have Poole collected any money for Stefan Nielsen? Just asking .......... again.

Can’t do that because he’s TIM!!!! Not sure about Hans because as I’m no longer one of his sponsors I’ve not been keeping an eye on him. I’ve not heard of him having a headache, toothache or belly ache issues or, for that matter moaning about tracks and “stuff” in general.

GP star Cook really should be cleaning up in these meetings,is he average watching?.His Continental form is poor and he won't be getting many offers IMO.

In fairness I would'nt count on it. Think they would probably struggle in the Championship at the moment

You've hit the nail on the head. Can you seriously imagine young fans standing on the terraces filling in programs the way we used to (still do)? They want electronic timing, fastest laps, big screen replays, modern looking bikes, manufacturer imputs etc etc

Exactly my thinking and why I am not in favour of him in the team.

Ove fundin fan .... 3 lap races 45 seconds of action riders will know the last lap is lap 3 and sort out their passing attempts accordingly. Most modern results are decided after lap one ( well by bend 2 mostly) . Maybe have more heats in a meeting ? Cut out all the time wasting at the start - if they aren’t up to the tapes let the tapes up .....the riders will soon stop their b gardening antics. There has to be MORE entertainment and less prims Donna rider antics. Appoint a Race Director at every meeting ( Phil Morris) who keeps things moving.

Easier than expected victory. Good debut from Jonas. Leicester look dreadful so will reserve judgement until we face a stronger team. This new Leicester reserve looks good, potential champion I reckon.

Sensible move to fit this in. A spare week after the demise of Rye, and a big holiday crowd. What’s not to like?

I too was very disappointed with the crowd last night, though I realise that it is holiday season. Last night was almost like our season starting over after yet another break in our fixtures, we were up against very good well matched opposition, we were at full strength (though some were struggling with knocks), we have our best 'team' for ages, we are watching a young local star in the making and even the weather was good. What more do the people of West Cumbria want, and what is going to get them back to DP ? Laura and Co. must be wondering the same and be seriously thinking about why they bother. For the loyal few, I feel we are going to have to make the most of the next few hectic weeks.

Wow ! What a fantastic night of racing last night ! It is a LONG time since I saw two absolutely committed teams compete like they did. It is incredulous to see such a low attendance though. Those that chose not to attend, have missed one of the most exciting meetings for a long time. This was one meeting that contained the sort of racing that the "Premiership" would LOVE to see each week I am sure. Not to mention our league ! Dan Bewley was HEART STOPPING in some of his moves..not to mention Ty. Thanks lads, for putting on such a fantastic heart pumping meeting. Here's to a few more !

Sadly Cess couldnt make it to the Derwent Lounge last night. But he had arranged a deputy, that was going to give absolute HELL to Mr Godfrey ! But perhaps wisely, Mr Godfrey chose not to appear in the lounge after the meeting . Good job...as there are no security staff there !

Good match and really enjoyed the close racing, but the reserve tally says it all. Ippo did it with a six man team, just imagine if Drew had been available....he would have just needed one point ! Looking at the gate I recognised loads of Mildenhall supporters (they weren't at home today), and when I'm at Mildenhall I usually see loads of Peterborough supporters... come on Peterborough promoters wake up, ride at a different time than your neighbours and you'll both get more through the gate.

Referring to my idea can you explain where the "gimmick" would encroach on a speedway meeting?

What a stupid topic.

I watched a 20-20 cricket match on television the other night and noticed a full house youngsters families etc why can't speedway come up with something similar cricket was dead until they came up with this?