Leaderboard

They have to get a job then like they used to

I was told by delaying the team announcement it creates added interest, It my mind it does exactly the opposite, fans get fed up waiting and lose interest altogether...

Why not announce it then? bizarre really, there could be a percentage of fans thinking of maybe doing something else or picking and choosing there meeting's.Or does the owner just presume or take for granted that fans will turn up.This episode is exactly how British speedway is being run secretive things being decided behind closed doors and no transparency.

Imagine talking to someone about the coming season and someone asks you who is in your team and you reply i dont know yet.I cannot see any logic in it, i cant get my head around it.

The saddest thing is that it illustrates how set in his ways Buster really is. Like it or Lump it customer relations.

If only the Clubs paid standard rates,maybe the Sport would be in a healthier state.

Quite a lot of sponsorship today comes from social media. Without saying what team they ride for they miss out on local support.

There certainly hasn't been a queue But now that he has family and friends (and a sponsor) as co-promoters it will allow him to pursue his new business abroad whilst still having the trust and confidence in the day-to-day running of the club. As he's said he can and will fly back in for match days - similar to what many riders do. That arrangement will at least be in place for the next couple of years unless he does get a decent offer. Any potential new owner or co-owner will still need to have at least one licensed co-promoter on board.

How about Chapman addressing Panthers fans , the very people he will be relying on for support , rather than just a staged managed press conference. I won't hold my breath though .

Sidney, whether or not you think it’s the best way of doing it surely you can see the logic in drip feeding the team through the winter months in order to keep speedway relevant in the media in the lead up to the beginning of the season? Surely it will keep King’s Lynn Stars on the back pages of the local papers and on radio and social media with actual news and therefore in people’s minds at a time when there is no racing going on? We all know the team anyway, it’s been sorted since well before Christmas. And I’m pretty sure they all have their sponsorship sorted seeing as they all ride for the club at some point last year.

Is there one named Buster taking part? I wouldnae be putting any money on it winning.

I would imagine the riders know exactly who is in the team - especially as 6 of them have been on the training regime - so the fact they have not yet been announced should have no bearing on individual sponsorship.

The two fastest will be announced as your reserves.

Thing is, North Norfolk's a real hotbed of top sports and so it's a very tough task to get the timing of any announcement right, such is the competition for media attention. We have much the same problem in the Outer Hebrides. Try finding the right time for announcing the new line up for the Stornaway over 65's Curling team, it's a nightmare.

I think it is a bit much to refer to it as a team given that it is no more than a bunch of individuals with no loyalty or local knowledge or upbringing riding under the Ipswich Witches banner. Even Harris whinges that he had to start finding new sponsors having lined up a few around Peterborough and is possibly in transit. Most witches fans were able to support and follow local home grown talent and more recently rely on the Louis family to be the back bone of Ipswich speedway. That last remaining foundation has gone so expect criticism from here on in given that someone north of the border has got his hands on Suffolk’s number one team. Sad to say that the frequency of home meetings has not improved and the golden days of weekly speedway at the Heath are just history and will be no more as long as the farce of two leagues carries on.

April 19th: https://www.younglionsspeedway.co.uk/2019-dates/

Gavan will be back soon to spice things up

so announcing the team is IN the supporters hands?

Or may-be someone keen to stop U.K.s most promising prospect scoring 3 points?

I remember going to Scunny for the winter meeting and standing between the tapes and first bend wondering why nobody was standing by me. Heat 1 tapes up and 3 seconds later I could have auditioned for the black and white minstrels

https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/work-permit-issues-prevented-lionel-messi-becoming-arsenal-player But ironically he would have needed a work permit for the UK which he would have failed to obtain I have edited my question above for clarity

Does this count? https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiL7Pu5y5DgAhVGblAKHTAmDc4QzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportskeeda.com%2Ffootball%2Fwhat-are-the-contents-of-messi-s-first-contract-with-barcelona-which-was-written-on-a-napkin&psig=AOvVaw1suFhb1WQsqUpNpASKfup9&ust=1548768781958026

I'm sure that using UK version last year in an FIM QR abroad, cost Dan Bewley a race win?

HULTSFRED is a one-horse town when even getting a cup of coffee can be a problem ... Vimmerby a much better bet.

Yes today's racing at various tracks do produce as good and sometimes better racing than the era the clip is from, however back then there was more and I'm pleased that I had the pleasure to live through it.

Also from a riders point of view it will have an effect on possible sponsorship which if I were a rider wouldnt be happy about....

I would have thought, and I'm no expert, that getting the base right was the most important factor. We all remember the nonsense that was Bristol and I recall that when Peterborough's track was first laid they dug down a number of feet to lay a decent foundation so as the track wouldn't cut up and also drain satisfactorily.

He didn't used to be, back in the day.. People still remember him for that, but it was years ago now. How slime flies. I'll get me coat

I really doubt that there is any video footage, but there is a good chance that Wally Loak may have covered them on audio cassette. Not sure if anyone else knows, or perhaps even has the recordings. Steve

It takes a while. They drag it out a bit.

Great news! the BSPA have started the ball rolling how to get G.B. speedway back on it's feet: Replace the easily recognised Yellow & Black helmet colour with the less obvious solid Yellow.

I noticed the other day that following Sky dropping our sport they are now showing that high action, gripping, dangerous and exciting game of Netball !!!!! No wonder they stopped showing Speedway. Nice to see our uber dictator moving riders around the premiership, how kind of him to share his riders with other teams in the league - Oh! hang on ! He owns them doesn't he. One thing that doesn't change is the thought provoking contributions of some on this forum - particularly in the Poole threads. Surprisingly, I am finding it a little difficult to grow any enthusiasm for the forthcoming season

I don't think I'm missing the point, with the current scenario with fixtures (Prem & Champ) you get 2 things: 1. Riders not having enough meetings with ONE TEAM & therefore having to double up or down. 2. Supporters without their regular weekly speedway fix - loose interest, find other things to do or simply get out of the habit! What I think we can all agree on is Speedway in the U.K. needs a major overhaul........... I have been watching Aston Villa for 30 years, never been every week, on average it alternates. I am a Member at Warwickshire for 5 years, it alternates home and away I like to go Horse Racing at Cheltenham, there are 6-8 Fixtures a season. i dont walk away from those because they dont run every week; encourages me more! Why then should we expect a Speedway Team to only thrive if it runs weekly. I agree with what Buttons says in many ways. If Team have a stable Home / Away Ratio, min 2 max 3 meetings per month the fans will soon get used to it and accommodate it. as Buttons says better than nothing. In any sport if you can't make a full time living out of it, you have to be more flexible. In our sport riders need to be flexible but also need help with costs. I do agree about Adult Admission Rates, I think £15-£16 is as much as you can charge but as an OAP now any Club that gives me even a few bob off will have my support. I also like to see Clubs encouraging young fans too so more that do zero or low rate entry for children the better.

When the football pitch was widened all of the speedway track had to be moved out. The only things not to be moved were the Floodlights. When Poole Town FC were booted out then the speedway track was brought back to a similar size which you see now with the Greyhound track being reinstated.

that's the bspa for you or just general state of british speedway

This is laughable if true,Bspa to Jacko,any trophy shops in worky?couldn't pick us a shield up of some description, it's only been going since March and we haven't had time to sort one out,while you're at it sort out some winners/losers medals,don't go overboard incase the kitty doesn't cover it,oh and by the way you've been fined 3 grand for not completing the outstanding fixture take it out of that and send us the balance,it would be comedy gold if it wasn't serious

when speedway was flourishing .although it was only 15 minutes of racing , it was 2 or more hours of an event , the anticiptaion of your top rider taking on theirs , the atmosphere from the minute you arrived at the stadium , banter on the terraces , local rivalry , and of course characters , go back to the days of Sean Wilsion Roman Matousek , anything could happen before during or after a race . speedway now is a clincal expeerience . get them in ,dole out the minimum in the shortest time to take their money , and hope they may come back next week , provided of course theres enough roders in the country to provide some speedway or they find out about it through connections , because they sure wont be seeing any fixtures in the local paper , my guess is 90% of people on the terraces go out of habit , a habit that is broken with a disjointed fixture list , and as In my own experience an easy one to break ,it only took 1 week and I wouldn't have bothered if I never went again ,thats after being a regular for 55 years

Absolutely. Is this really happening? I can't believe they have come up with this. Someone has clearly thought it is about the modern worl, iphones and apps etc, but it's nonsense. As everyone else has noticed, you can vote for the weaker riders in the opposition team. Why do they keep coming up with this stuff?

It's definitely a cunning stunt designed so that by the time all the riders have been announced - no-one will give a monkeys. After all the fixtures have now been released and we know the team has been involved in intensive training, so it follows that it doesn't matter which riders we have. Just let them be clones of Robert Lambert. This media technique will stand alongside the Stars Anthem as a testament to How Not To Do Things if you intend to win the hearts of your supporters.

I’m afraid the ticking time bomb went off long ago. So many clubs have gone by the wayside...and sadly more will follow. My club can not be anywhere close to breaking even , crowds down no new sponsors...it can not go on with the way things are. My second club Belle Vue with a new £8m stadium which I go over as often as my finances allow I’m told are loosing a small fortune and according to mates I sit with say are only going because they are propped up by the council. That can not go on for long. My mates at other clubs say it’s a only a hardcore of older fans that go. The sport has been mismanaged and tampered with for years and it’s been run into the ground by the idiots at the BSPA who are clueless. Speedway is bust and promoters only have themselves to blame. Who in their right mind would want to buy, invest or sponsor a speedway club?

I presume you meant "morale" rather than "morals" !!! Or maybe not ???

What you say is true, but if someone promised to help and then reneged on it I don't think that should merely be swept under the carpet. Based upon what BB has said - and he is usually right - the entire scenario of Workington coming to the tapes in 2019 and riders being signed could have been avoided. That's no small matter and broken promises regarding sponsorship have hit speedway hard over the years. Having said that, the criticism should be kept in context and with 2020 in mind. When a track closes, riders generally move on to another club. Of the Lakeside team from 2018, all are competing in 2019. Lets face it, riders losing their team place - often through no fault of their own - is hardly unusual. In this case, it is the timing of Workington's closure that has hit hard. I must admit I haven't read any article, but I find it most surprising that one team folding means that a riding career is finished. I can't recall another rider like that. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that should the Comets not come to the tapes in 2020 or for years after, many of those who attended in 2018 will never go to speedway again. The overwhelming majority of fans simply do not switch from one club to another - some of the Workington faithful will having been going for 20 years - and that's why a track closure hits them harder.

Unfortunately there are not enough fixtures to ensure regular meetings every month. Overall I think that the balance is better than last year and we've got 3 meetings in July and 4 in August. No matter how the fixture list was compiled it is inevitable that there would be some negative comments. I've been reading through some of the posts from the Premier League and although I was initially disappointed that we dropped down a league, I'm now of the opinion that we're going to have a better season in the Championship. Speedway in the UK is in a mess and as you point out, we have speedway to watch. I'm looking forward to the season starting and I'm optimistic that we will have some good entertainment at the OTA this year.

It seems a bit odd there are only 2 home fixtures in May which are 4 weeks apart. At least we have Speedway to watch I guess considering Workingtons plight.

Glasgow fans reckon they are owed a season worth of heat leader performances. Oh well.

There are 8 teams in action though in the Championship and as it isn't one of the PL's chosen race nights i assume the CL gets preference.I don't know.With what looks like 5 of our riders will be riding in the CL that day and 4 for Ipswich it seems like a good call to me.

Poole report big increase in young fans last season due to some initiatives by the Marketing Agency - now Co-Promoters - Bespoke4Business. www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/speedway

Not this year you won't, it's the year of the Panther

Probably longer than you gave your American last season