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Not sure I'd have Ludde back. His performances have dropped right off (even at home on occasions) since he moved back to Sweden. Also his late withdrawal from the last away match at Workington let the supporters, management, and team mates down disgracefully, when he knew, several hours before he informed George, that he wouldn't be there. Final straw for me.

Not just the promoters - some of the fans who post on here should be avoided at all costs too

And don't forget my nan, she's a excellent trapper and dead cert she won't be taken from behind.

You are wrong on 2 counts !! firstly 2 Extraleague matches have always been shown live on Sunday’s - and in 2019 that doesn’t change plus 2 Nice Polska have also been shown live - the Uk times have been 12pm and 1.45pm for the Nice Polska and 4pm and 6.30pm for the Extraleague. the Extraleague no 8’s in 2019 can now guest for LOWER league clubs. There are NO guests in the Extraleague. If there is one thing i know about it’s Polish speedway !!

Judging from the numbers blocked by Speedway GB on Twitter, Unless they change their attitude to negative comments it's a fruitless exercise.

Sounds good. But all you will have to do is give some constructive criticism and you will be banned from attending again All they want is a yes men to give there egos a message

Racing can be good at any level when the majority of the riders are evenly matched...........

Warriors named Community Club of the Year at last night’s WSRA annual awards. Massive achievement for everyone who work so hard under the guidance of Barry and Martin. Very well deserved.

Probably the most sensible post you've ever made :-)

Its time to tell these 2nd raters where to go,if they are going to miss UK fixtures for the odd meeting Poland let them sit in the house waiting for the Polish telephone call.

This seems to be the case although a large number of Speedway fans I know are not attached to any particular club (often because a club they once followed has long since folded) but they regularly attend a number of different tracks.

If Drew Kemp turns out in the Kings Lynn line up Id say there would be a significant number of Witches fans that would boycott Foxhall in protest as it would be obvious that the new set up is skewed and corrupt

Having read last weeks Speedway Star devoting a whole issue to 'speedway in crisis' you read the statement from the BSPA after the AGM and it seems they don't think there is that much wrong and a few tweaks will suffice. To have only 7 teams in the top division is embarrassing, particularly when the top 4 will contest the play offs .I look at a club like Belle Vue, I can't see how they can improve their financial position when they are still riding on a Monday night. The fixed race nights didn't work for some clubs last year and they won't work this. Unfortunately until the promoters admit to themselves that the core product at most tracks is not good enough, often enough, the sport is a busted flush . You can promote all you want, improve your presentation, but if the stuff on the track is not exciting enough people will continue to stay away. I can't believe that Peter Oakes whose column I like reading thinks the racing is better than ever. In the top division Belle Vue being the obvious exception I am just not seeing it, at my local track or on TV. Over the years there have been rules that I probably didn't like, riders have come and gone, 2 leagues, 1 big league, double points , tactical subs etc etc etc but never has any of the rules provoked me to stop going every week for 30 years because the at the core speedway was still good. I no longer attend solely because the core product I deem is not good enough, Looking at the terraces these days I am presuming many others may think the same.

Well, Blueherb777. One thing you never hear from Kent is what we are hearing from all over the country at higher levels. Tracks up for sale because they cannot make it pay. Glasgow , with all the money at their disposal are now suggesting that 2019 will be their final year and the Kings Lynn promoter buying up all the tracks around him to keep the top league afloat. I have never heard any comments from the Kent management which suggest they might want to move upwards, so by staying where they are, and keeping the track alive, they are not going back on any promises. Anyway, for me it's great and NL is best.

NL racing at the NSS is very good (but then again most matches there are).. However, it only costs £10 for me and my 15 yr old son for us both so is fantastic value for money. Just a shame it isn't advertised better (or should that be 'at all') as the crowds they get (whilst good for NL), don't do justice to the entertainment value on offer or the admission cost...

bankrupt by may day too

Of course there have never been any complaints about riders not getting paid in the UK?

Well apparently Morris is owed £28000 and Hancock I think was said to be £300 000 it's a joke. Surely common sense says ride in England for two clubs and get paid I have no sympathy for any rider riding for a promise in this day and age when they know the likelihood of getting no money.

Why? Not one person's opinion is of more value than another's. Just because the opinion may not be to your liking, doesn't make theirs wrong. Even the most stupid person can come up with an ingenious idea. If the BSPA wants to be open, every opinion should be shared, zero cherry picking.

I agree Aces51, Team Speedway will carry on for a good time yet... It sadly will need to be the cobbled together variety rather than 'proper teams' but maybe changes will be made to sort this.. The possible light at the end of the enormous tunnel is that there does seem to be a recognition that sharing riders between leagues simply adds too much pressure to the fixture list, and generates guest riders, which do nothing to aid the sports standing in the wider sporting fan base, so steps seem to have been taken.. They also have recognised the need to have aspirational improvements so making the three leagues clearly of differing levels can only be a positive thing... The Sport has effectively tried to kill itself by self administrating a 1000 cuts, so finding plasters to stem the flow of blood for all of them in one go won't be achievable.. Tentatively, it does look like they may actually have some ideas on how to undo some of the self inflicted nonsense that has been allowed to pass itself off, for far too long, as a 'proper team sport'.. A long, long way to go but let's hope it works... It seems to be a long term plan at least, which is more than we have had for some time,..

The Sheffield promotion stated on Thursday that will not sign any rider who has a contract to ride in Poland, so none of them will be riding for us Would be good if the only facility for a rider missing a meeting in England was a NL guest as well

Good luck to any rider who wants to ride in Poland, but its time for our BSPA to stand firm and rule that no facility will be given when the inevitable fixture clash comes along. For most riders Poland will always be first choice but there`s a number of riders who find out the hard way that its not always sweetness and light.

Jack Holder would be the first name on my list, closely followed by Jake Allen...

Amongst all the to my mind stupid imaginary team building is no body concerned that the whole of British Speedway is effectively now in the hands of one man?

Robbo and Howe retired Others like Klindt strongly tipped to not be in Championship So 10+ new riders on a mix of 2 and 4 averages will make it much easier to hit 38

With the extra team the reduction is not as dramatic as first seems From the same pool of riders the average team total reduces from the 42.5 to around 40 anyway

“The Championship division next season will boast 12 teams including Leicester and Somerset, who have dropped down from the Premiership and will be joined by Eastbourne and Birmingham, who move up from the National League.” That is a quote off the BSPA President Alex Harkess

On the unofficial Lakeside Twitter account it also said J Cook will be Promotor at Eastbourne

Unless people like you are prepared to put the covers out and take them up when the rain stops forget that idea.

Just listened to Cook on the radio who said they are still fighting to stay on the Arena Essex site due to half of the land not being suitable for houses anyway, he also said the cost of moving to Rye House cost him and Stuart a fortune and if any third party wants to help it would purely be as a fan as they would lose lots of money just to keep the hammers name going. He did say the BSPA wouldn’t let them run at Rye even if they could due to the way they fell out regarding Rye House closing. He didn’t say where but said him and Stuart will be moving onto other projects but there is two people dedicated to continuing the fight to get Lakeside back on track. Iam pretty sure he also said there is no chance of the club running for at least the next two seasons. Lastly he said what happened with Swindon was a big positive and the local Thurrock MP is good friends with the Swindon MP so hopefully that can be a big help to the hammers.

There was no such rule making GP riders 8+ - it was like one of those urban myths

2 up to premiership and 2 down to championship cancel each other out.2 new from national league minus arena essex surely means only 1 extra in championship (minus us at Berwick might end up same as last year yet)

Good that the BSPA see the value of a five year plan. Anybody have any idea what it is? Would be good to see a vision statement made public that reflects the 5 year plan and who knows may help the BSPA customers (fans &supporters who are the ones who collectively pump the most money into keeping speedway going) understand the progress being made of the 5 year plan

Hope you got the brushes out.....paint and sweeping...therefore helping with the RL's appeal to clean up Derwent Park...I would assist but for medical reasons it's not poss....cough cough..

Making a profit and publicly admitting to it are two very different things - unless you are trying to sell the club!

Not really!

Only if Poole want him.

Do what's right fo GB speedway,fans want to see their riders every week,that is a major gripe among a lot of fans.

contracted meetings for the full season, with DU a possibility or the chance of the odd match in Poland. If they were forced to make the choice I know which they would choose.

That was certainly the reg in 2018 but I havent seen it confirmed anywhere as to which figure applies in 2019 If the new conversion isnt applied then reducing doubling will be less effective as the increasing conversion rate will never apply to any rider remaining in both leagues every year It would then mean they are not affected until they retire which surely defeats the object

It is just plain wrong that two or more clubs in the same league are under the influence of the same person/company/promoters. No other self respecting sport allows this and casts massive doubt on the integrity of speedway, the independence of teams and indeed its long term survival. Yes it would be good to have an overall supremo - but that person must have no ties to an individual club/team/league.

Alfie's trump card is that he is a pretty good gater, and as he gained experience over the season, a lot ofsecond strings found him very difficult to pass . I think he will,increase hi s average over the season but his ragged style will limit how far he improves. A good bloke and good team man though, is Alfie. Worth a place at reserve in any Championship side.

I think it's more likely the start of a franchising business model

Yes I am, Top or champs ,not bothered , we are still running , plus Ged and Neil are staying, that is a bonus for me JimG

The big issue for me is, I've lost two of my Local tracks, Lakeside and Rye House in the last couple of months. I wished someone with a few bob could have come in and saved both venues.

Buster so desperate for the top title he's had to buy Panthers.

Got to be positive ....panthers have a top class track and the best riders in the country should be riding it

Funny really as I did not want to go down in the first place. Having said that I did enjoy the chamionship once I adapted, especially the Northern tours. I am sure that I will soon get back to this league. Really looking forward to the East Anglian derbies.

Finally managed to catch up with Blair`s appearance and my thoughts are this, firstly I hope Blair gets and completes the treatment he was off to start at the end of the show which helps to heal at least some of the rifts that clearly remain within his family and sees him remain clean. Unfortunately I have zero sympathy for him, he has put himself in the situation he is in, and dragged his family down with him, he has lied to and stolen from his close family and split his family asunder right up to the point where his mother has lied to her husband. Whether he can be reconciled with all of his family remains to be seen but hopefully his appearance on tv the other day is his turning point in his life.

THE legendary Trevor Redmond used to promote stock cars at St Austell. En route to the track from his London home he would more often than not call in to see Barry Briggs and "borrow" one of Briggo's magnificent trophies that he had acquired during his career. TR would place it in full view on the centre green at St A and the drivers would assume that it was up for grabs that evening. At the meeting's conclusion, TR would present the winner with a cheap little trophy he had bought in somewhere like Woolworth and drop Briggo's back to him on the way home. Loved that man ... could tell stories all night long.