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Just as well Gospeed didnt need to be asked......

But leave a cherry too long and it goes mouldy. By the 3rd bite the taste isnt that attractive I can understand every few days over a period of time or even week by week til around Christmas Once a month from November and less than half the team announced by February though doesnt do it for me

My club Ipswich has gone from being one of the first to announce the team in one go in November to being the last to sort the team. Social media interaction was very good previously and that’s changed for the worse. Its 2019 not 1978. People can access information instantly and expect to so why drag out announcements on riders. I could accept one per day for a week but this is crazy. You are alienating your regular customers for what ??

its heartbreaking reading that from the local paper . everything that could have been done to save the club , has been done , you can now see just why every young gun thats decent on a bike wants to ride speedway . free vans and stuff are making this glorious sport extinct . the sport cant and will not survive much longer and thats not just in workington .. so who is to blame ? the fans that dont come anymore , the entrance fee too high , or has boredom really set into our great sport . the new ish thumb brigade get their excitement from moving buttons about now and sucking fizzy drink that gives you wings ! i , like many others will lose our Saturday speedway fix and if the costs keep going up and up . we will never see speedway at workington again . but if its not to be , then so be it . but we said goodbye in the best way . . anyone that has promoted or had dealings with running a speedway circus deserves more than . a pat on the back . it shows how the sport is being run by the goonies when they lose the shield trophy and cant/wont even pay for a few medals for the riders competing in the finals . remember , just support your team till the bitter end, because one day it might be . (i have not spell checked or read this , so there will be mistakes )

What do Kings Lynn as a club gain from keeping the names of Jorgensen, Kerr, Palm Toft and Riss from the fans? What do the 4 riders gain from it? What do the fans gain from it?

The whole secret philosophy is so offensive to their supporters integrity. To Pi55 someone off, who has supported them for 50odd years takes some doing, but they seem to make a habit of it. As far as I'm concerned, the main reason the fans don't go any more is in respect in the way they are treated.. They say you reap what you sow...

I'd suggest lazy parenting also comes into it. Far more parents these days instead of engaging with their kids and taking them to places like speedway, just let them sit on their consoles/phones etc and do their own thing binge watching Netflix.

Had a bad day acef? To be fair cannot argue with the sentiments of your last three posts.... The racing standard nowadays is largely irrelevant to the level of crowds watching in so much that the only people who can see any decline (if there actually is any) are those who go regularly... And as they are very much the diehards of the sport, who still attend regardless of what is put in front of them, they are obviously content with what they see.... I would suggest anyone new to the sport would still be initially 'wowed' by the sport at any track with any standard of racing.. It would only be over a matter of time that they could then become opinionated as to whether the racing was as good as they first went or not and decide to continue paying to watch... The initial 'wow factor' is there at every track, the bigger problem is that not enough of the local conurbations know about the sport to attend, or plenty of them have tried the sport regularly previously, and given it up due to its Mickey Mouse operating model.. The NSS delivers racing far superior to most and infinitely more so than the 'dog bowl' ever did.. So why isn't it full every week? 2.5 Million people live in Grt Manchester, all within 45 mins drive from the NSS. Which is 5 mins out of Mcr City Centre for those who use public transport.. I would suggest 2.4 Million of them have no clue (or at best very little clue) who the Belle Vue Aces are, or indeed, what Speedway is.. Thats the biggest problem the Aces have.. And that situation is I would say replicated around the country.. The standard of racing is irrelevant if hardly anyone knows it's happening in the first place..

Point taking rider power wins the day i know am old school but remember the good old days of trailors and bikes on car racks and riders with day jobs !

You can still have 7 separate press pieces by having follow up stories about each rider That could help build a team identity and promote a growing sense of club identity

Chapman speaks when he has something to say. Unlike a lot of people on hear who speak because they like to be heard.

So every other team is doing it wrong then....

At the end of the day the club can’t control who listens to Radio Norfolk and KLFM or reads the EDP and Lynn News but they have to cover those angles. However they could and probably should be doing more to increase followers on social media, that is where young supporters ie future punters will come from in all likliehood.

So good to see Darcy Ward getting wed to the lovely Lizzie on Friday. Congratulations to them both. So many speedway friends in attendance in Oz, including Middlo, the Holders and the Kurtzs, Leigh Adams plus Aussie Team Manager Mark Lemon and many more..

WE were approached by the producers of Grantchester some time ago about using the magazines and to ensure there were no copyright issues, which of course there were not.

Are the costs really too high for a 2nd tier professional sports team? An attendance of just 750 would see a break even position There are other clubs with higher crowds and we hear few if any clubs are making profits. This must mean those clubs have even higher costs

Don't sign them then. I'm quite sure other riders would have signed without the extra cost to the promotion.

Riders dont have to buy a van though, Rentruck have 45 available for hire. I have huge sympathy for Laura Morgan and the position Workington Speedway finds itself in, but reading this article it seems Workington were paying money for riders living costs. https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/17404834.taking-a-season-out-will-give-us-time-to-save-the-comets/?ref=fbshr&fbclid=IwAR0SEKtkCelP3wH-0NtVGWmSrWGKvzfYrPL8LGICNIwwjJ6g778T6HNVhZY

THINK it was 1954 ... before my time but not yours John

Pretty obvious really. Four rider places left, four names not told to fans. Basically that's all fans want to know in the close season. Don't say fans are told about fitness training cos be honest who the hell cares that they are training in a gym, unless you follow gymnastics. just my opinion

i wouldn't describe myself thusly. Obviously they need props that reflect the times and i merely reflected. Sorry to spoil your day

Absolutely spot on - we got more information back in the day when all we had was the local press and the Speedway Star - a lot of people blamed Marc Gent when he was in charge of press release and social media for lack of information and I was one of them but clearly it wasn’t his fault - I’ve never known any business to take its customers for granted in this way and it’s a very dangerous game to play in my view .

All those media outlets and the fans are told nothing. That just illustrates the shear incompetence of the Promotions of Lynn Speedway.... Back in time, before we had all these media outlets, we knew far more news then we do now... and that takes a bit of believing...

Every premiership club is to stage a gb youth round. First few dates already published on young lions site: ROUND 1 @ Peterborough Monday April 22, 2019 ROUND 2 @ Ipswich Monday May 6, 2019 ROUND 3 @ Glasgow Sunday June 15, 2019 ROUND 4 @ Belle Vue Sunday June 22, 2019 Dates for additional rounds at KING'S LYNN, POOLE, SWINDON andWOLVERHAMPTON to follow in due course.

Thanks for making the position clear. While Campton is an exception, it is extremely difficult not have a great deal of sympathy for him and it is possible that he will have to give up racing. I can only hope that sanity prevails and that he is allowed to stay anyway given the almost unique circumstances.

KLFM no sane under 40 listens to that cack. Radio Norfolk is the only place for Norwich fans to vent, apart from the football it's then just the blue rinse brigade listening. Twitter = 4055 followers, lucky to have a 3rd of that turn up on race night. Also down just under 2000 followers from 2016. Instagram = 603 followers, abysmal for a professional sports club. So, clearly the current media stance of drip feeding is delivering F-all except frustration and turning off the supporters.

Nothing against Simon but you couldn't risk him with the two reserves Somerset have it would put too much pressure on them if he wasn't scoring many points in the main body of the side. Also you want people who will improve there average and i'm not sure Simon will.

*different

Along with a terrific race track which, ultimately, is what really matters.

I'm not but aren't they targeted at your personal search history and interests etc.

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

Going by the posters on his wall, it seems the vicar of Grantchester is a speedway fan

Hope it all goes well. I enjoyed being part of the last supporters club,which raised vital funds.

I'm sure you've seen another... The Plough Lane legend, Phil Vance! Steve

It’s not a Chapman thing anyway. Buster used to tell the fans at a press conference style meeting every December. It may not have been a full team but it was certainly everything that had been inked. This drip feeding has started since robin brundle has joined. He’s got a lot right but the drip feeding and the stars “anthem” are 2 things that do annoy me. I think his intentions are good. With the uni link up and fitness regime thing as a moving forward of the sport in the uk. I also think buster cops a lot of harsh stick. But isn’t that always the way in any form of anything that holds a leader/chairman. I think the difference over the last ten years is social media and the view that every bodies oppinion matters. . . It doesn’t. We all have platforms now to talk crap when we don’t hold positions to do so. Like it or not. Buster is a doer. Not a talker. And they are the people who make things happen. Us drips on forums don’t.

Original date was switched, I believe the stadium is unavailable on the Friday night

As mentioned elsewhere the 24th was a significant day,not only because of the Wall St Crash,but because another German dirt Track Opened in Cologne.It was stated in the British press that the Stratton Troupe were heading for Hamburg and Cologne,but I can't see any evidence that those that rode in the few Cologne meetings ever made it to Lokstedt The next meeting on the 27th saw the qualifying heats for the first German Championships and also saw the last of Ginger Lees for 1929!!Due to the poor weather that would hamper the rest of the season in both Hamburg and Cologne,a poor crowd of 4-5,000 turned up.The favourites,Niss,Stölting,Drews and Kellner all won their heats to qualify for the semi finals along with Schauer(who had a tough fight to beat Strachwitz),Heck,Werner and Steenholt who all came in 2nd in their heats The last round of the Hamburger Wheel to win the brand new Dirt Track bike was won controversially by Bill Kellner.Seems he was given a warning for unfair riding,having cut the first bend very sharp,but still ended up the winner,ahead of Niss,Drews and Stölting Another new rider turned up from the UK,Middlesborough rider,Jack 'Broncho' Dixon.In the press it was questioned as to whether the 'broncho' nickname had anything to do with bronchitis!!Who said germans don't have a sense of humour?In the final for the foreign riders Dixon showed what a rider he was by having a very close battle with Niels Sorensen,just losing out at the end.Lees bike packed up in his heat and didn't make the final.And in the main handicap competition,the situation was reversed and Dixons bike had problems in the quali.Lees in his last race,could only finish 3rd!!!The British press a couple of days later stated Ginger was awarded the State medal of Altona,the equivalent of freedom of the city,due to his popularity and on his return home,Bury and District MC held a charity dinner in his honour!!! The poor continued and the meeting scheduled for the 30th October was cancelled,as were the next 2 staging dates,so the meeting was eventually held on 06.11.1929.Whereas Ginger Lees had gone back home,Dixon had stayed around and was joined by another two arrivals from Britain,namely Gus Kuhn,captain of Stamford Bridge and his team mate Colin Ford. Gus won the competition for the foreign riders ahead of Dixon and Sorensen with Ford having bike problems.Dixon also had a best of 3 match race against Sörensen,which he lost in the deciding 3rd heat,all in very quick times. The battle for the German Championship continued,with the next round of heats.Heck + Niss as expected got through their heat untroubled.The surprise came in the other heat when Drews fell whilst in the lead and so Kellner and Werner made it to the race offs.Heck beat Niss in the first and Kellner was untroubled in beating Werner to qualify for the final of the first ever German Championship.Drews had slight compensation in continuing his run to with the last Golden Helmet final,but second placed Niss was certain of the title with a total of 42 pts followed by Wunder on 27 and Heinrichs with 26 pts.The main handicap final was won by Stamford Bridge rider,Colin Ford It was announced that the next meeting for the German Championship would be the last for 1929,and not everyone was pleased with that!!!!

Genuine question GRW, and I say this without agenda or taking sides particularly other than being interested in everyone’s viewpoint, why are you so keen to know information which in theory doesn’t really need to be confirmed for a few weeks yet and isn’t really a secret anyway as it can be worked out through the process of elimination? Why do you think we should know three months before the season starts rather than being drip fed to keep the club in the news? Genuinely interested and not saying you are right or wrong or having a go.

I very much doubt there is a next generation of speedway fans. I still go to meetings ,but most of them are boring. Speedway isn't what it was, no atmosphere ,no characters the the crowd love to hate.

Timo Lahti got a swedish passport a few years ago. Yes a dual citizen.

That was just a term,rather than a nationality.Both sides thought they were the real Germany,but the DDR(East Germany )didn’t exist any more In the other cases it was a big country that split into smaller territories,but in East Germany’s case it was a smaller country that joined another

Here we go something nice is turned into a negative by the usual suspects

this really isn't a cause for celebration: it merely underlines that the sport is seen as an historical activity.

On another site someone has actually confirmed the dates of the magazines on the wall, and they actually match the year the latest series is set.

I saw this and was very surprised, in a nice way. I watch Grantchester religiously (if you'll pardon the pun) every week. Great Programme enhanced, for me anyway, by the Speedway pictures on the wall. Let's hope for more of the same.

With the greatest of respect all of the options mentioned so far will make us a lot weaker. As others have mentioned Berge’s reason for quitting seems a bit odd.

1970 to 1980 for me. Tracks galore in London and the South East. The loss of West Ham in 1972 and Tommy in 1976 were the real low points of the decade for me personally.

If Belle Vue can't make a success of things with that race track and those facilities , then the sport in this country really is in trouble ...

Speedway certainly doesn't have 10% of the pull it had a generation ago. The set up within Manchester is perfect as is the stadium and track and if this was Poland it would be copied in 10 -15 places. Speedway in the UK has fallen into a whirlpool of disinterest and may survive after the Big Reshuffle in a semi pro or amateur sport. The NSS was sadly born 15 or 20 years too late.

Not the only reason. There’s simply more on offer these days. There were only 3 TV channels in 1973, now there are hundreds, along with Netflix etc. Many kids would rather stay at home gaming.