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I'll put my old record on again ( sorry for the umpteenth time ) but we had the perfect NL back in 2015/18 and was some where near the true level of middling British speedway, certainly for the likes of Birmingham and Eastbourne, ideal for Newcastle/Workington/ IOW etc as well, need to get back to that level, whether it's current NL+ or Championship lite.

I think it depends who/how is funding it. Oxford are doing phenominally well but seem to have a significant budget behind them over a few years and it will be interesting to see how those figues stack up in year 2 if the team sn't delivering better results on the Track. I think too that they are pulling in some support from Swindon, Reading , even Coventry when I was there , that have been starved of Speedway for so long. A far bigger catchment area than Workington as an example. The scenarios of the last few Clubs to either move up or change hands and be in CL, Brummies / Eastbourne / Newcastle seems to be a case of good intentions on limited budgets and possibly a nievity in terms of the costs involved and the cost to build competitive Teams and of course Covid did no one any favours. Hearts ruling heads and the resultant struggles. It may be better to have a low budget and lower breakeven in the NDL for a year, and get everything set up and working before making that move up with some proven indication of the level of support and level of sponsorship. The other plain fact is that it's easier to be a big fish in a small pond especially with a competitive team than it is a little fish in a big pond with a team that's not competitive or good enough to win trophies where fans who mostly want success over the spectacle of the product can quickly drift away and Workington lets not forget WON everything going in 2018 yet still folded as the support had drfted away for whatever reason. The set up at Workington looks fantastic but as someone has said will need to bed in and be gradually improved. Imagine the foundations they could build with 1000 fans in NDL for a year; as opposed to 1000 in CL and just surviving probably.

I think Nl first which is much more affordable to start with walk before you can run comes to mind with practice day, armature meetings hire days to recoup monies to reinvest to make it even better

You were saying Fabulous result lads

It would be somewhat crass to put actual figures on a public forum but trust me, the BSPL costs alone are not exactly welcoming for a new promotion at either level..

Jack Holder

Best post you have put on here.

It's stopped the production line of talent too. Eastbourne had 4/5 good kids coming through from one track alone. Now looking at NDL whose a really top prospect? Sam hagon maybe? At that time were 10-15 now riding CL or EL. It felt like a help to CL as they were ready for step up whereas now the jump is huge again

Is that Ricky Kling's brother? Is Nathan Dale's son?

be interesting if they have to spell arse or is it ass?, and is it one word or is the a comma or is it commer before the hole or i it whole?...

Saw on Twitter that the Brummies announced he is out for the season. So for remainder of '22 Birmingham will have more guests than a Premier Inn.

Teams Poole - 1. Steve Worrall; 2. Drew Kemp; 3.Danny King (Capt); 4. Zach Cook; 5. Richard Lawson; 6. Ben Cook; 7. Nathan Ablitt TM: Neil MiddleditchScunthorpe - 1. Ryan Douglas; 2. Simon Lambert (Capt); 3. Jason Edwards (Guest); 4. James Wright; 5. Rider Replacement for Jake Allen; 6. Adam Roynon; 7. Zaine Kennedy TM: Rob Godfrey Pirates looking to secure 3 points to keep their chance of reaching 2nd place alive while the Scorpions are chasing after 6th place to reach the play offs. Scorpions missing Palin & Allen due to injury with Roynon making his debut at reserve. Jordan now out for the season with his head injury, I sincerely hope he is able/allowed to race again in the future as I personally know what it's like having a seizure(s) After last week's stunning home win over Glasgow we Pirates will be taking plenty of positives and confidence into this meeting against the Scorpions who shouldn't pose any threat against a full strength Pirates team. But never take anything for granted because if we do the Scorpions may just sting us! C'MON THE PIRATES #piratepride See you trackside

Nah..... " Vegemite"

Nice to see the ref wasn’t watching the tapes in the final. Either way well done witches

Oh yes what a terrible error.

Leave him alone. He's an OK guy and he still has the enthusiasm.

Very, Scott had every right to expect all 4 back imo.

I do apologise, I didn't wish to come over as being superior to anybody. I wish the best of luck to Workington and any new club trying to get the sport back.on track

The unpalatable truth for some was that the level in those days was "the perfect one" for UK Speedway.. Hardly anyone really takes any of the competitions seriously anyway so watching young lads of a similar ability level, making their way in the sport, augmented by a few seasoned riders, at a price point that delivered excellent value for money, was an excellent product.. That level of Speedway, with a true "top league" being clearly of a significantly higher standard, would have been the model to follow.. That though would have had Championship promoters frothing at the mouth...

If riders start looking at club websites Richard Lawson may well refuse future guest requests from Plymouth!!

Sad news that Roger has passed away. Roger gave significant financial support to the Leicester Lion Cubs and was a proper speedway fan. Often seen at away fixtures despite his advancing years. Thanks, on behalf of many young, upcoming riders.

I agree 100% Im certain that teams were effectively forced to move up after 2018 as the NDL was too strong for some in charge of the sport, and the bigger NDL clubs were threatened with a 35 point limit for 2019 so clubs like mine and Eastbourne would have been decimated. They then made the entry for us both and others later on subsequently ridiculously expensive and from memory only approved both in to the League relatively late, certainly Brummies were late to be approved. Like Plymouth in 2021 only after Somerset pulled out and Kent too in 2021.

It does for the stadium, more beer sales !

It's like Arkwright's store, "You don't spell special with an O" in reference to the painted advert in the window

Genuine question... What was stunning about it?

The start up costs to go straight into championship level are eye watering..

In the early 70’s I was there before the turnstiles opened at 6:30. Once opened, bought my programme and ran off to the 1 st floor seating in the Resteraunt/bar area to get our seats opposite the starting gate. Read the programme and then off to the track shop to purchase the Speedway Star and the Mail, check out the away programmes and badges on offer and purchase a favourite riders photograph or even rosette hoping to get it autographed in the bar after the meeting. Now, get to the track earlyish so I can get a cuppa . Oh how times have changed.

He seems to ride better when busy. What a season he's had tbf

Yes , NL first, as for day, Sunday afternoon maybe.

Why? If you can pick any of top 4 riders? They don't have to pick him even if he is 100% fit.

I can't see any reference to Newcastle, am I missing something.? A very simple explanation of how RR works on the night is a positive for the newcomer or occasional fan. Says temp going to be quite cool 23 degrees. Well done Plymouth.

I am afraid you have broken a cardinal rule of the forum there is never, ever any good racing at Monmore. Do 100 lines and go to bed without any supper.

Doyle getting away with his usual jump at the start

Just when things were going so well and look who's turned up.

YES! Sudden Sam comes to BSN! It's like Christmas Day!

BSN Coverage pretty chaotic so far. Bike noise drowning out the commentary and the caption writer must be drunk, he hasn't got anything right yet. They should surely have it sussed by now?

Get to the NSS around an hour before the start to get a parking place on the street... Then use the excellent Burger Van outside the stadium on the same street.. Watch the bikes getting warmed up for a while then go in.. Usually get in about 10 mins before start time as always order tickets on line.. Liam Neeson to play me if a movie gets made of my night out at the Speedway escapades...

Yes, the good old days when a number of NL clubs paid certain riders Championship wages , yes, that’s the way forward , get rid of the likes of Buxton , the only club paying their riders the agreed rates but could not compete with the Birminghams, Eastbourne’s, Cradleys etc. There needs to be a balance. There wasn’t one then, there isn’t one now. It’s gone from one end of the spectrum to the other. Will it ever change?

Going by our recent form at home prob just winning it!

Andersen - predictive text didn't change it for me but Anderson was next option

Probably need to tern there productive next off

It has been updated, it was there previously

The strong top 4 didn't do us much good at Kings Lynn !

I'm fine thank you ch958. I don't get to Whitley Bay any more, or the Speedway. Very sad it closed at Newcastle though. I hope everyone is OK with you..

I'd go watch it on a weekend .....

Batchelor should definitely be doing better, averaged over 9 for Kent last season, but I'd have him back next year on a 7.20'ish average. He was popping wheelies in ht15 last wk, was a long last at the time and the meeting was won, seen other riders do the same. Could barely score a point on Wednesday for Oxford then paid 16 for Ipswich against Belle Vue the following night, you just have to accept that sort of thing when you sign him.

Don’t know why they can’t get the league fixtures finished before we start the Mickey Mouse Cup fixtures .Just going to run into the usual fixture chaos in October.

It was a season of two halves for the Hammers. Unbeatable after the middle of August, a bit vulnerable before. Incidentally, I saw Dick Bradley a few times. Once for Southampton against a "Provincial League Select" at New Cross in 1961. That was the only time I ever saw Southampton.

I can thoroughly recommend watching the hour long highlights programme on Eurosport. The meeting cracks on at a pace, no interviews, no full race replays, no Sam. If I watched this as a first timer on TV, I would have been very impressed.

I praise you for trying, and it's not my intention to belittle your efforts. I wish you all the best in trying to get speedway to return to Swindon. I just have an issue with the fact that you're just creating numbers to support your argument, and felt I had to take it to task. You can't create a 7,000 figure by combining stats from England and Ireland (and adding in some guess work) and then have the audacity to question if the GBGB's figures are truthfully reported. To me, it just looks like somebody who has got their own agenda. The reality is that Swindon is unlikely to return without greyhounds, and that's probably why people are not being receptive. I'm sure we all care about 'animal abuse', but a lot of us probably don't have views as extreme as yours and really don't want to see our beloved clubs die. Having been an Oxford Cheetahs supporter it was fantastic to see them return this year, but it simply wouldn't have happened without greyhound racing.