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A bit late to the party but wanted to add some observations to my first visit to Blunsdon for a while due to moving from the area and work commitments. I make no apology for the self indulgent post either! Thursday was my first ever experience of the Robins winning a trophy on home soil. It was tremendous. I saw a group of grown men dancing together, plastic cups of lager spilling as they danced their Dad dances in a circle. The atmosphere was terrific. Chanting at speedway? Never have I heard that before. Jeff Beck’s Hi ho Silver Lining was belted out several times. Another group of young lads (teenagers this time) all singing together, laughing and smiling) Before the meeting began, dark clouds circled overhead, looking menacing and threatening. Worryingly , one massive cloud began to empty its cargo. At the time, I was stood inside having a cheeky beer. I watched as the home straight crowd staring anxiously at the sky. Fortunately, the clouds passed over and although the track looked wet, it certainly looked raceable. I watched the first 3 heats from the grass bank entering turn 3: I must admit, I felt nervous as Ipswich edged ahead. Even after The Iversen exclusion. They looked sharp from the starts, and Chris Harris ( for the first two laps in heat 3) looked hungry and committed. But then I witnessed an absolute steam roller of a side. Jensen was aggressive and fast Musielak, smooth and slick. Doyle was as expected. He’s a terrific leader and a real winner. Batchelor ( who I have criticised many times, mainly for when he opens his mouth) really does look high class these days. His pass of Doyle in heat 13, ( yes it was a pass too rather than any kind of team riding between the two) was superb. Ipswich were simply annihilated. Jake Allen gave a gutsy performance, but tired after Hawkins threw him into as many early races as he could in an attempt to contain the rampant Robins. This was the best Swindon team I have ever seen. And, in my opinion would beat any of the other 3 championship winning teams. There seemed genuine affection for the team from the packed crowd, and a pleasing team spirit. I liked the blend of orange/tangerine, ( I’ve never seen so many reflective orange highway maintenance jackets worn by supporters!!) Finally, I’ve supported the Robins from the days of Martin Ashby, Killer, Bouchard and Jan Andersson. I would have given anything for one of the mid seventies Robins teams to win the league, or even win an away match! I followed them everywhere on the coach, only to see them get a hammering at places like Cradley, Halifax and Wimbledon. The Blunsdon track in those days was excellent. Always passing, always good racing. These days, I like the shorter version. Huge compliment to the track staff who have worked wonders with it. In order to get a quick get away to travel back to my home in Cornwall, I left straight after heat 15. As I reached my car in the car park, I heard another rendition of Hi ho silver lining (Hi ho Swindon Robins!,) I sat in the drivers seat and caught a glimpse of my face in the mirror.......I was absolutely beaming!!! As I reached the M4, it was pouring with rain.. But the sun was shining on another triumphant season for a super speedway team.

BEEN banging that drum for years...

Love a lot of what TR said .. quite clearly and quite rightly we can't keep the same 7 thou . What I don't like is rules that stop you tracking the riders you like with only one rider over 8 etc . Make a limit and let all sides work to that in any way they feel fit .

Well said. The likes of Kilby (Swindon/Birmingham) and Bishop (IOW) are doing a proper job of promoting. Thank god for these 2 who continue to show the dinosaurs how to promote. If every club had one of these involved at your club the sport would be dragging itself up by its laces. Kilby in particular (as I’ve worked under him at Brum) is about the most enthusiastic and nicest people you could meet.

Several reasons why teams request to drop.. With financial being the obvious one. With the underlying reasons of there being absolutely no kudos by winning any Speedway title nor any attainment levels to aspire too from the lowest league to the top.. No disrespect but a Grand Final in Speedway (UK), is akin to two bald men fighting over a comb.. Therefore what difference does it make to the clubs what league they race in? Hardly anyone cares who wins. There is almost zero National coverage.. And there is no financial reward worth speaking of, in fact, as we see, successful clubs can actually lose money and go bust by winning!! Therefore you might as well decide amongst yourselves where you want to compete, and at the end of the day you can watch pretty much the same set of riders anyway so no loss there.. As you say, it sends out all the wrong messages, but that's where the sport is in the UK, and I suppose the overall thoughts are better to have clubs still in existence than not.. An ever decreasing circle though isn't it?

Does anyone seriously think the overall product on offer in the PL is better? Yes, there are (an ever decreasing number of) better riders but there's about four teams in the league ffs. The Championship has greater competition, individuals events, the pairs, the fours, local derbies. There's just much more going on. Oh and you don't have to put up with Kelvin Tatum and Nigel Pearson visiting your stadium every now and again. Poole will be a good addition and very much look forward to welcoming them to Armadale.

if domestic speedway is to be shown then surely it would make sense to have a highlights show instead of live. with all the moaning and compaints about the live meetings it has to be better to compile the best races from various meetings and show what the sport CAN offer, rather than letting people sit through 2 hours of boredom. if that encourages people to go watch a live meeting there is always the chance they will stay as regulars, any sport is better live

In other words, the promoter failed to promote, told everyone the club was for sale, and has now thrown it under a bus. A sad day for both Poole speedway and for British speedway. I'm sure there are people who will happily support Poole in the lower league but there are an awful lot who won't. Out of interest, what was the actual result of the Echo vote? I couldn't see it when I looked.

Is that a fine or an offer for Poole Speedway

I did not attend the OTA at all this year, after regular attendance in 2018. Reason? Dropped a league, got rid of the world champion and (for me a pensioner) put up prices. Try selling something under the banner of "less for more" and you will be in trouble sooner or later. I am interested in the sport and watch it on TV but the ritual clearing out of riders for a whole new set up for the next season is the height of madness. Can you imagine the uproar if football tried that? Develop a fan loyalty base, bin the points limit, and let promoter build the team they want and their supporters can relate to over time and can support commercially.

Don't ask me I don't have 2020 vision

If ever a team should be allowed to keep the same septet its Swindon.. 1) To give the rest of the League something to aspire to conquer, as all proper Sport's should.. And 2) More importantly, as you say, keep that feel good factor around the place to deliver the strong crowds that may influence stadium developments.. These riders will have made emotional connections with Swindon's fans this year, so that invaluable connection should be used to full effect next year to support the clubs overall future.. The bigger picture of course is that the Sport as a whole benefits by keeping Swindon at the forefront of the sport.. (All of which means they will be narrow mindedly tasked to shed three or four riders obviously)!...

I don't think Matt is particularly bothered any more. If he did he wouldn't be doing this. For a lot of Pole fans, I'm sure competing to be the 8th best side in the country isn't their idea of honours. I apreciate they had a problem with the sponsor this year, but if he still had enthusiasm for the club he would be out and about trying to get a new sponsor rather than doing this. I think it's a terrible thing to do considering the success Poole fans are used to.

You just have to look at the size of crowds for individual meetings compared to team fixtures. Team racing is far more popular...

A great night to be at Blunsdon last night. The place was rammed. Just reward for the promotion team for doing a great job this season. From the very start in getting the new track sorted out of their own pocket so quickly for the season (which has buoyed the mood at the abbey alone), to lifting the league trophy in front of thousands last night. Superb. It wouldn’t have mattered who we were against, We’d have blown away anyone over two legs. It’s as if everyone in the team has been riding with an extra 2 points on their average since mid August, just fuelled by confidence alone. People can blather on about Ipswich riders not wanting it or showing no effort, but no amount of passion or effort matters when the team you’re up against is just faster in nearly every department. Well done to the Witches fans there for making the journey last night. Can’t have been much fun watching that, but to be honest that semi final performance at home was their great crowning moment, which they deserved to enjoy. It would have been a bit more exciting and more memorable if it was a tighter score line and having that moment of sheer relief when you squeak a result near the end of the meeting, but we’ve had plenty of those earlier in the season at blunsdon anyway. Watching back on BT, it certainly wasn’t much of a spectacle for the TV viewer, especially as the cameras were barely pointing in the right place half the time, but there was some enjoyable action on track being there in person. Vissing being particularly entertaining. It was great to have all the lads scoring well over most if not all the play off matches. Massive shame to have to ditch a couple of them next year. I Wonder where all the comments about not winning anything with a team lacking a free scoring reserve have gone? Not the right time to say who should be binned, but in terms of keeping riders, Tobiasz on a 6 average, if he can be persuaded to stay in the UK next year is no-brainer. Injury free he should be making a mockery of that average. The crowd and success of last night should be used to put more pressure on sorting this bloody stadium out. Clearly loads of people around the town care enough about speedway still to turn up and pack the place out and even more will be royaly pissed off if further development of the site was to finally bring an end to having speedway at Blunsdon. We need to make the site an immovable object by keeping crowds healthy and general good will about the place, rather than the life just being sucked out of it gradually, as I’m sure Osbourne/SBC/other shady characters with vested interests, are rather hoping will happen. Sounds like a well deserved piss up at Rosco’s last night. He was bloody insufferable 10 minutes after heat 15 last night, so god knows what what he’s like at 2 in the morning after a few bottles of babycham . Great stuff.

Following on from Somerset and now, apparently Poole, in what other sport do the participants seek to be relegated to a lower division than stay in the top division. What message does that send to T.V. and sponsors generally. The Grand Final is the SUPER BOWL of GB speedway.....really...what a complete bore fest that was. Without change this “sport” is dead.

Heat 15 was a killer, and it will probably prove to be when the final was won and lost

Just read the match report on the club website. Is our team manager always going to blame bad luck and poor refereeing desicions, it is not very gracious in defeat and not the first time. He should congratulate his opponent on there victory then get the boy's fired up with his comments in private. Just my opinion.

Rumours saying we're definitely dropping down to the Premiership, while Broc is off to Wolves on a full transfer.

I think the racing isnt as good since clay was put on tracks go back to shale only

Sorry DC you are wrong. Fans are fed up with the ever increasing gaps in the fixtures which will not get better. The fans have no problem with dropping down. Regular fixtures a northern tour two local derbies and still see the majority of riders who ride in the so called top league. No brainer really. The powers that be ballsed up the knockout cup by calling it the suppoters cup, what buffoon came up with that birdbrained idea. How to kill a good competition stone dead.

I’m not too disappointed Harris has departed, he’s been a brilliant servant to British Speedway but I think his best days are behind him and I’m guessing he is costly. I’d love to see Covatti and Rowe back, and build from there. I’d also love to see Charles Wright return but on a 9+ average there isn’t any value there. I’d take Jake Allen back but I’m not sure if he’s burnt his bridges with the promotion.

Last night at the end of season party Chris Louis confirmed they will be adding additional banking on the bends to try and improve the racing.

I can remember Bruce Semmens riding for Sheffield but unfortunately I can't provide much information about his career. I can though, relate a story told to me by his son Mike in 1985/86. Mike was riding for Exeter in a match against the Brummies at Bordesley Green and I was curious to see his name spelt as "Semmends" and asked him why this was the case, and he told me that his father had changed the family name by deed poll because he had had 11 brothers and four of them had the initial "B" and were pinching his speedway prize money cheques. Because the four were all "B.Semmens" he had no way of finding out which of them were the culprit, so this was the only way he could put a stop to it!

Ok. I see the result now. 33% of those who voted will not support Poole in division 2. So a crowd that has dropped 40% will drop another 33%. And this is being sold as Poole fans voting to join the Second Division. Good luck to those who want this. I don't believe that many people who have supported Poole as the most succesful club in recent times truly want Championship level racing. Who was Poole's most popular rider last year? Klindt, probably. And he has already ruled himself out.

Swindon ‘nailed’ it...53-37

We will cope regardless. Britain existed long before the European Union and will do so long after leaving it. I wouldnt doubt there would be a deal with Australia and New Zealand to allow certain trades to come here and work. Time will tell.

Think we all agree the weather can’t be altered ,but why EVERY season are we running the Finals in October and having to run on off nights just to complete before end of season.Surely the Main Competitions and KOCup should be run first and local Competitions run at end of season.Find it incredible the inability to sort things out to a more satisfactory conclusion.

Back in the seventies we had pretty much the same team at workington for 6 seasons just an odd change, all the old fans who get on the bug red bus still talk about those riders? Taffy lou mal mackay etc, that was our team not anymore these days , no disrespect to harris but he changes team every year now how can fans get a bond with him.

Public Service Announcement That was a party broadcast on behalf of the Newcastle branch of the whodoyothinkyouarekiddinglet'smakeoutlikeRedcarareevenstrongerwithaweakerridersoNewcastlestillookliketheunderdogseventhoughthisevensthingsupquitealot Party Honestly.

I would say 3000 - 3500 would be the shout, maybe a little more. I was on the back straight, which was the busiest I’ve seen this season but went round for the presentations and the home straight was rammed from top to bottom. My sister left Nythe at a similar time and got in on time. I left Park at just on 7 hence why I struggled a bit more.

Spot on about teams wanting a lower level when it suits.. However, there has to be a starting point and with Swindon's stadium issues I suggest this should be it.. Every Sport needs a 'Manchester United', ie a team who pulls in crowds home and away and gets people talking for good or bad, but never indifferent.. When I was a regular away from home we used to taunt the home fans with a rendition of "You've only come to see United". Which was 100% true as crowds at several grounds would go up by 10,000 to play us, then drop again the week after.. Each season Speedway takes away the success of the winning team by diluting them, thus the year after you are not really watching "The Champions" but a pale imitation version of them.. So. Let Swindon be "The Benchmark" for everyone else to try and knock off their perch.. And get some rivalries going amongst the rest of the League as they try to put one over them.. Jason Doyle is an ultra loyal to the UK, GP rider so each club should market his appearance as such, and Swindon have some excellent riders with, what appears, a great attitude so no better time I would suggest to try 'something new'.. And let's face it, the facts are each season each team starts on paper 'level' but very quickly teams become 'miles apart' on track so does the system actually work anyway? Therefore, let Swindon build their business on the back of it (at a crucial time for them), and let the rest of the League benefit by having the 'Real Champions' visit and also give them something to aspire to be..

I understand your point but I can only speak for myself. I have always wanted to see the best product available. Probably like yourself, I’ve followed my club when things haven’t gone so well and I was at both Coventry in 2007 and Wolves in 2009 when we lost in the finals. El Tel, and mine FWIW, has been consistent in his approach and I can assure you having read various comments in the local paper and Star that his standpoint over the years has not changed. The continual weakening of the product does the sport no good. If clubs are not strong enough to compete, unfortunately, it is the survival of the fittest. Dragging clubs down to pander to the weaker clubs who do not have either the fan base or sponsorship means ultimately you will drag the other clubs in to the same position. Sweden is clearly in trouble, so now is the time to change our mindset, and start to build the strength again. Tempt those riders that have given the UK a miss, back again. If each club had the opportunity to get a genuine number 1, get the tv to pay for it. It’s not like it would cost a lot of money, in general terms. There must be something to speedway, otherwise, why would Sky, BT and now Eurosport continue to show it? The crowd on Thursday at Swindon, was huge, I’ve not seen a crowd like that for years( the Coventry 2007 final at Brandon was massive, biggest crowd outside GP and unlikely to be matched and 2009 at home v Wolves was excellent) There were many that didn’t get to the stadium. To put it in to context. At 7.30 I was fully half a mile from the stadium. It had taken me 20 minutes to travel 2 miles. Normally that journey takes 2 minutes. We had to use a bit of nouse (travel down 419 2 miles to turn round and come back) to get in for 7.40. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have got even close. So my point would be, what would the crowd have been like had we had a line ups similar to the 2007 and 2009 finals. I don’t believe the sport will ever get back to 2007 and 2009 levels but you can reverse the trend that for years has seen the quality quietly eroded year on year. It is the perfect time to address speedway in the UK and look to put proper governance and plans in for the future to build the sport rather than look at the cheapest option or keep changing the rules season after season

Tell me about it!! All forecasts I looked at said no rain until after midnight in Glasgow... that's why I set off in full confidence at around 10:30 and foolishly didn't check my phone until 3pm when I was about to cross the border only to find out it had been called off about half an hour after I left home... I was a tad frustrated Still it was a nice drive home through the driving rain in the rush! Perhaps it might be an idea for clubs to setup a WhatsApp group that fans can join to receive alerts about postponements, instead of having to check the website or Twitter, especially difficult when driving. Why on earth we (as a sport) continue this seemingly every season with finals to competitions being crammed in on off nights on dodgy tracks in October is unfathomable. Also In these days of potential golden heats holding the 2nd leg of the semi and/or final is a distinct advantage and yet no consideration seems to be given to this. The league should be wrapped up by the end of September, any clubs not making the play offs can then hold maybe a north/south regional competition to keep their season alive with the knocked out play off contenders joining at a later stage (like the Europa League in Football). ... Anyway I shall probably try again on Tuesday, my weather app says only a 20% chance of rain in Glasgow

We are a minority sport and especially with an international break now over, they will always put the footy first, therefore there will be time restraints on what they can show and for how long they can show it. When you have someone interested in the sport (Jeff Brown on BBC) it will help enormously. Tyne Tees have, in recent years, shown a lack of interest in our sport, so, as I say, be thankful they showed it at all.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/17979273.terry-russell-will-wait-agm-outcome-deciding-call-time-reign-swindon-robins-chairman/ Sensible comments from TR re how the sport should go forward by keeping the same septet, which to be honest, is what several fans have said for a long time now. By keeping the same line up builds affinity with the supporters and gives other clubs something to aspire to. The club is run professionally and to a budget, which requires prudence and understanding of your support base and sponsors. As a supporter, knowing the club is in good hands and will not be financially compromised, particularly in the current climate, is good to know. It’s no coincidence that since El Tel has come on board Swindon have virtually, for every season, had a proper number 1. There have been exceptions, but generally there has always been a decent number 1 opening the batting. I’m guessing the promoter he refers to wasn’t Matt from Dorset...

Its what the club as a whole demand You can be sure us dropping down will turn a few heads, and have the Championship promotions running for cover. We wont be going down to make up the numbers thats for sure..

Can't say i'm really that ar$ed about changing the scoring system. The people in charge need to concentrate on the racing. Far too many tracks provide lousy racing this year. That's the bigger issue that needs to be resolved

Your point is valid regarding the gulf in rider differences however the names that lets it down. Yes Danny King, Rory Schlien, Charles Wright and similar are heading to the line with Luke Harris, Danny Phillips etc and that is just daft. There will never be a value product if that is the model. The top tier imposed a standard for the lower riders to achieve and that is needed in the Championship. Watch two teams were lowest ave is 4 and top is 7 and will see plenty of unpredictable racing all night. Sending riders on 10 point ave and 2 point average to the line in the same race and expecting people to pay for it is pure madness.

I've only got one thing to say on the matter...HI HO SWINDON ROBINS!!! Double winners.

Thank you Orion, my concerns about teams preferring to be relegated and the message that sends to TV. and sponsors you chose to ignore, but to call me brain dead is insulting to me and something you should think about why you should feel compelled to say that.

Seeing as Buster scrimped on us last season, maybe we might get some decent riders this coming season: Jensen 7.84 BWD 5.47 Harris 6.16 Kurtz 7.54 Cook 7.78 Douglas 4.66 Mountain 3.00 Would be great to watch around the EOES, and more than likely Harris at reserve at somepoint. Think Bomber on that average at home, is a risk worth taking IMO. Would also need the track in decent shape.

When there was a live meeting televised at Cowley my mate preferred to watch from home although the track was only half a mile away.

So have I - live speedway only keeps spectators away

I wondered about that first point too... As far as your second paragraph, I agree 100%. Similar to my statement earlier about the East End; it's not like things have changed or deteriorated drastically in recent years!

Well it seems all the East Midlands meteorological experts on here got their information about the expected rainfall in the west of Scotland ridiculously wrong last night , as it poured from the heavens all evening . Still I suppose our pact with the rain God, so we could get the second leg at home , has been delivered so far . Whether he stays away from Leicester today is up to him , but at least there wont be the same paranoia aimed at the Lions from us . Granted there was the usual , predictable , rhetoric from the likes of Blobby and Jenga everytime they perceive Glasgow are up to something , that kind of fixation takes years to nurture and develop . So here's hoping we get a meeting tonight , all riders come out of it safe, all fans get royally entertained and it's left in the balance for Tuesday night's decider at the Citadel of Speed .

1. He attended the Calne Bike Meet/Wanborough show 2. He goes to local schools. I might be wrong but I was under the impression he lives(d) in London and has a job. Therefore, to undertake theses additional roles takes some doing.

It means it’s going to be an even bigger joke than it allready is !!!

If Eurosport are covering it next year then hopefully their camera work is better than BT's has been in recent weeks.

I taped the 1990 final at bradford which me and my son went to watch, after standing in a good spot on turns 1 and 2 from 3pm at 6.30 we were all asked to move forward to let the late comers in , a few thousand voices said NO or words to that effect ? When got home went to watch the tape set from 6.55 for 3 hrs an hour of tractor racing and delays as per jonsson and shawn moran drop the clutches in the run off the tape stops , still got it lol.