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Uncomfortable truth, but a truth nevertheless, is that there are too many tracks running at an unsustainable level... And when I say unsustainable I also include impact to its credibility and reputation, as well as financial considerations.. You cannot run a team sport with 3 Divisions and all share each others competitors, therefore, if you decide to do so then it simply isnt a sustainable model to follow if you want fans to buy into it.. And if they dont buy into it, and it doesnt look like they do in many places, then the brand itself is damaged.. And with a damaged brand you will always suffer.. Poland, Sweden and Denmark have it right (not perfect, but right), in that they focus on their top league and everything else feeds off it... Some fans in the UK often complain about Poland and the GP's "ruining British Speedway", yet the ONLY nation wanting to run its Speedway operating model from Monday to Sunday is the UK... Not one other league does it and they seem to cope well enough with Poland and the GP's impact.. With Poland, dont forget, actually running the vast majority of their meetings at the weekends, (but AROUND the wide and various FIM calender)... Bottom line is trying to run two leagues using a huge % of the same riders cannot work if you want to have flexibility to attract the best crowds on the best nights for you, and if you want credibility for the sport.. We have so many guests for example because one injury often impacts two teams... With that rider possibly being due to ride all seven nights of the week, meaning seven replacements for him!! Less teams per league, with clear demarcation between them, with controlled DU's using only those not riding overseas as well, has to be a consideration.. Or one large league with controlled spread of HL talent, six man teams, with the number six slot being an "RS role" for each team, being another.. The current operating model will never deliver growth for the sport, and it has clearly shown that for the past couple of decades at least, therefore you can only presume to keep using it must mean what currently exists is all that will ever exist.. (In the UK)....

50 years ago nearly every rider had a full time job somewhere so a bike in the boot a set of leathers and a box of spanner’s was their major outlay. Nowadays riders have huge outlays so riding in one league doesn’t pay the bills. Promotions limited income plus a rider shortage and you have the scenario we have now. Sadly I don’t see things getting any better so enjoy it while it’s still here!

Quite happy to be proved wrong and I wish Smith all the best, but there is nothing, from his previous attempts at Championship speedway, that would suggest he is the answer to Newcastle`s problems.

Aye ya not the only one Ruff... WAFJ... what I was suggesting was to try and strengthen the team and push Max and James into reserve to... as @bigred correctly pointed out... give a couple of strong reserves that would give the team a fighting chance.... only "Johnny English Reborn" would bring in another rider who has previously stated publicity his dislike for Brough... the names I suggested were credible options who were potentially available.... however what's going on beggars belief... Sad to say but I am not missing it and find my alternative Sunday routine is definitely more pleasurable than watching my team getting pumped by 60 plus points at home.... Johnny English Reborn needs a reality check... he had the opportunity to take the club forward but his hubris got the better of him... Real shame and no pleasure whatsoever in seeing the club in this mess... Regards T HJ

Looking thru' last week's Speedway Star I saw that the list of top averages for Premiership and Championship. Top of Premiership: Steve Masters (Wolves) Top of Champoonship: Steve Masters (Edinburgh) Are they related???? Should the Leagues be renamed; Monday & Thursday League and the Rest Of the Week League??? Finally should Chris Harris represent every team at the League Riders Final??? Team sport has certainly been wrecked in Britain.

Sad day when a topic is deleted when the home team gets beat, Poole fans unable to take a home defeat and they wonder why they get so much angst from other fans.

But 11 points from 3 away fixtures in 8 days, one of which was at Poole, looks pretty good by anybody's standards.

To replace the missing/ corrupted thread.

And that ladies and gentlemen is what happens when you have a real number 1. And good on Barker for yet again proving his worth

For me, the lack of credibility is THE key issue and one that, if fixed, would at least start to encourage and engender that vital emotional attachment to a team that any fan of a team sport must have for it to have any purpose or merit.. When you can pick and choose what league you want to race in as "it suits you better" then all it sends out is a message that the leagues have no real worth in winning and should be treated accordingly.. Without aspiration to grow, any entity will stagnate then ultimately regress.. There is no doubt that within the sport there are clubs who are clearly at a certain level, yet choose to ply their trade in leagues either above or below their "natural position", which ultimately then renders the leagues uncompetitive as some teams are too strong for the league they compete in, or wildy out of their depth, and it also then means the supposed "flagship league" is nothing of the sort... Therefore. What should be seen as the aspirational pinnacle of the sport becomes almost an irrelevance given there isnt the will for many to want to compete for it... And when the "top league's" reputation carries such llittle kudos it then permeates down into the other leagues who subsequently then have even less kudos... The current set of Promoters are not responsible for all Speedways ills obviously, but their lack of innovation and desire for radical change to try and do something different, is definitely down to them.. Covid being a huge opportunity for a reset and relaunch that they chose to not take... What's that definition of insanity? UK Speedway is unfortunatley on rinse and repeat to do the same thing ad Infinitum... Yet. Frustratingly, the 'raw product' can still attract very decent crowds when the infrastructure around it is fit for purpose.. Something we often see, as an example, regularly, whenever an FIM meeting is held over here.... Proving that there is definitely many who still have an appetite for Speedway in the UK, and will willingly pay "top dollar" to attend it.. It's just not an appetite for domestic UK Speedway... As to why that is, is what the Promoters should be finding out, fixing the reasons why, and then hopefully reaping the reward of their enquiries by having fuller stadiums, and wider media coverage of their competitions due to their renewed level of kudos in winning..

Jack Smith may well be a heat leader in the National League and he should be able to score a few more points then George but you can't compare him to other heat leaders in that League, he won't score the points that Edwards, Jenkins and the Thompson twins will score that's for sure.

Double R/R and Bomber guesting.....feels much more like a British league fixture now.

I think the policy is for guidance only. Personally I think there should be a minimum number of heats completed before the policy kicks in. Effectively charging £10 for 2 heats cannot be defended.

The problem started 20 years ago when clubs were allowed to operate double up and down riders, who had no link with the other club. It has got to the point now where riders are getting more out of the sport than the fans by having a team at every port. The supporter needs to feel the rider is part of them, their team, not some fly-by-night who is clock watching or afraid of being injured because he has another race date later on. It has got to the point now where riders choose the track based on its race day and not the club. It is no way for a team sport to exist. Speedway has reached fourth division short -termism.

Drew Kemp seems to be getting a bit of a hard time on this thread - even including last night's poor return his average ( official fixtures inc bonus) for 2022 is 6.40. Just what do you expect from a reserve?

I completely disagree, signing BWD on an 8+ ave has allowed Newcastle to get a high averaged guest every week.

Don’t be ridiculous the loss of the topic has nothing to do with Poole fans. Looked like the server went down and for some reason the thread got corrupted.

But the same could be said of a pain in the neck child. Personally if I knew I had a dog that didn't behave I would have left it at home so that was the owners being inconsiderate. I can 100% guarantee that Lucy my Border Collie will just lie down and not be any trouble to anyone wherever she is so I regularly take her to a Tea Room next to the canal where we walk every day. Dogs are welcome there.

It is not just the Guest and rider replacement facility that has killed the sport so far this season. Petrol prices and cost of living go part way, but the whole package as it stands is a bag of she ite. Even if the 15 races are brilliant, who wants to watch a tractor on a Monday night at Belle Vue race round 9 times and not even grade the track, every 4 races!!!!!!!! Fortunately I watched on Eurosport where it was just drivel from ill informed pundits and piss poor presentation. But wait a minute you say, racing was superb (Which it was) but 1 hour 45 minutes of clap trap is not worth the 15 minutes. Overhaul is not required, autopsy is

Followed by "super tight bendywendys at the end of all the straightaways"

Just imagine how good our team could be had we built it to the limit

Amazes me that folk can't/won't/don't ignore the wind up merchants. Response is the only reason they carry on!

What a great result Harris scored as much as NKI has been doing and R/R scored as well as Jorgensen add in the fact that Worrall got 7 rides and R/R for Starke only got 4 then the witches were superb Written off by many but we are proving people wrong

I never post much these days, but being a loyal Aces fan, I could see sat in the grandstand on Monday that it was poorly attended but when I watched the recording last night, Jesus. Are people like me really the last fans standing. My 2 eldest kids have found better things to do (teenagers) while my youngest is still Aces mad. Chase the Ace is great and the white line challenge is a good idea. What I’d like to see is a faster show. 15 heats in an hour or just over. Most of the time I don’t think the NSS needs grading every 4 heats. Speedway needs to be exciting, which it is but dragging it out makes it dull, even for 37 year veterans like me. Make it fast, punchy and loud.

To be fair it wasn't Diamondboy who called them 'clowns', it was Bigred.

Sorry but I don't see how Jack Smith strengthens the Diamonds, not unless they bring in two top performers along side. Question is who.

Hopefully whilst down on the coast, has taken a long walk off a short pier!

Why not let other team members take more than one r/r ride.Say if your number one was missing,let your numbers 3and5 take two of his rides each.

There was quite a rivalry between the Witches and the Pirates back in 89-90 in the National League. They were the days of the one-lane-motorway that was the big track at Wimborne Road. I recall seeing the Witches get absolutely thrashed there one Wednesday night, and the Pirates fans just loved it - despite it being a tediously boring gate-fest. We ended up nicknaming them the Poole SASCC ... which stood for either: "Speedway And Side Car Club" ... or: "Smug Arrogant South Coast Consultants" Definitely never any hate - that's an awful word, which is misused far too often, entirely out of context.

Your right no idea where the riders will come from.They aren’t interested about riding in UK for little money.Newcastle probably should have dropped down a league,when they realised the riders weren’t interested for the money on offer.

Now the track has been 'fixed' we shall see. but on the evidence of the meeting against Redcar (fastest times of the season), suggests that is exactly what they have managed to do.

Impressive effort from Steve after not racing since 2005...Unless it was Sam you were meaning? (sorry, couldn't resist) I agree with your main point that the amount of riders in both leagues is a joke and along with the amount of guests used, totally devalues the "team" element

All the best for your op tomorrow Tel. I'll be chuffed with and 8 point win tonight too. Both for you and the Stars I think with Batch, Riss and BB taking Starke's rides , Ippo could get 5-6 points for him, which isn't bad in the 1-5. I wouldn't expect him to get any more riding at 2. With Danny, i thought he looked ok with 8 from at BV on the TV meeting. I did notice his score for you last night. Maybe his new engine was happier at BV, and it might take him a bit of time to get it dialled in for some tracks .I'm expecting around 7 from 4 tonight. I expect JD and Riss in ht 15. We will see soon enough.

Sorry geoff I now think your comments were observed from listening to the podcast and not via a northside visitation ?

How he behaved and performed for Glasgow was disrespectful. Get what you deserve out of life

Maybe a couple of big numbers coming in? What you say makes sense, but if there isn't anyone coming in to 'fill' the team upto strength,,, would it not have worked to keep George at 7 and name Jack at 8, especially with us using r/r on a regular basis and give Jack an opportunity that way?

I don’t see the point in changing George for someone similar unless you had bigger plans in place, we are weaker now by a further 2 points, you might as well have stuck with George so he gets the experience and is our asset the piece in the star by BWD is interesting and it no way says he’s withholding his services……..

Really good that you've come back on this. My first time on BSN too so I didn't know it was your first time. So in that case I can cut you some slack! I think a lot of commentators feel the need to talk/chat constantly rather than think about what to say and then pitch in with words of wisdom. I'm sure nerves are probably the reason for most of that. So spare a few seconds to think about what you're saying and then you're likely to get most things right. I suppose I would compare with how Picko does it with Kelvin on Eurosport. But your regular comments about the lack of water were spot on - pity they didn't listen to you! But all in all I enjoyed the stream - keep it up. But for a first timer you did okay!

Not sure. But i thought it was only fair to Leicester both teams to have one

It is. Personally i think Alex is a very welcome, and much needed breath of fresh air to the club.

Refreshing that Alex Brady wasn't happy with a point and is disappointed we didn't win......that's the kind of winning attitude we need to see and its been missing for quite a while, arguably since Rob Lyon left.

Tbh though you just need to finish top 6 and be the form team going into the playoffs!

Well done Paul for fronting up I don’t think people realise how hard a gig it is. For me I wouldn’t worry to much about your style, you have to do what comes naturally or it’ll sound stilted and you are never gonna please everyone anyway. The one thing I would say though is you can help yourself massively by getting the basics right such as who is in what heat, their names correct and be aware of the score and what’s required by teams. Viewers (particularly when they are partisan to a certain team) will get frustrated and annoyed when those go wrong. Not sure of the studio set up also but I’d also recommend watching the start of the races on the monitor rather than on track if you have one. the view along the start will always give you the best view of if anyone moves etc and allow you to know what’s happening. please take this all as constructive for a first go there is lot to take positives from, Even just stepping up and giving it a go and then not freezing up takes some doing The BSN is adding something needed in British speedway and the first year was always going to be a learning curve, we learned that the hard way at Edinburgh with our stream also

Not just rising fuel costs but some tracks want fans to book tickets in advance, should still be able to pay cash on gate, which would suit some older fans, plus weather considerations. A 6 team league is no good, the season is starting later and later. Poland has got it right.

That’s assuming he can remember to pack his passport for the flight

With fuel costs rising as they are, just on that consideration, could be big loss of tracks at the end of year. Tracks will have to get into streaming quickly if the want to survive, couple with something new to them…… promoting an event well.

Ah but. The real significance of tonight's result is that everyone now knows that Poole can be beaten over two legs. Fortress Wimborne Road is no more.

Jack Smith replace George Congreve

He is getting what he deserves.. having probably one of his best seasons riding for Berwick (and every other tom, dick and Harry before anyone else says it) and is being rewarded for it! We love him.. he’s engaged with our fan base in such a brilliant way!

Leicester Lions already lost it? I'm gonna say no!