Halifaxtiger

In truth I thought there were fewer in 2016 than 2015. Doesn't affect just how fantastic the racing on Sundays is, though.

Someone who hasn't been to Scunthorpe. Yes it is. A great speedway is a great speedway race and it doesn't need music, others around or anything else to be just fantastic. Having said that, you are absolutely right about creating an atmosphere with the right music and effects. It makes a difference for certain.

Championship released tomorrow according to Ipswich.

Spot on. When he left it went from being one of the best racing tracks in the country to one of the worst and has never really recovered.

I think the key to success when dropping down is to have an impressive team line up and be right up there. That means that the sceptics are more likely to go, because they will be watching a winning team. Both Birmingham and Eastbourne, to their credit, did that. While the late entry really didn't help, I am not certain that the named Hammers side will be able to achieve the sort of performances required.

I hope you're right. I have to say it doesn't look like that to me. There is a chance, though, that it will work out to everyone's advantage in the end - rider, club and supporters.

They haven't voiced it. They have shouted it from the rooftops. The difference between the remarks made about the rest of the team and Dugard is clear. The former are full of praise, encouragement and anticipation. The latter is full of criticism, negativity and a grudging acceptance that he is back at Eastbourne. I could make a very good case that he is being singled out there, which suggests to me that the hearsay is likely to be true. They could have said : 'We are delighted to have him back. He's my brother so he is going to have prove himself that bit more, but we think he had a good season last year with Isle of Wight. His average dropped, but he matured as a rider in a tougher league and in a tougher position. We're expecting big things from him'. They didn't.

I think Kong is right about making a comparison between Roynon and Campton and Campton getting all the flak is unfair. I totally agree that it id remarkable that Roynon still rides but, in picking a successful team, that cannot be a relevant factor. A club that chooses its team members on a sympathy vote is headed for the bottom of the league. Not that Workington have done that. However, in my view, there is as much pressure on Roynon to perform as Campton and, indeed, I think they hold the key to Comets success or failure this season.

If Weymouth were open - and the ground for the track is still there - would those Poole fans travel ? I don't think its the venue at all. I think it is the distance to a degree but more so the fact that Brandon Stadium is still there. June has put the supporters position excellently in her post above and, indeed, I am struggling to think of an occasion when track sharing has worked when the interlopers stadium was still in existence.

If only that were true. Sadly, it isn't. If the council are as culpable as some are making out those responsible will go a very long way to stop everyone finding out. We are talking about politicians here. I think SS are right. It might (sadly) tone down the article a bit, but unless they can categorically prove anything they print they may risk the very existence of the magazine.

I really do not know how it can be stated that the meetings throughout the season are 'irrelevant' when almost every single one counts towards getting into a play off position and there are unquestionably far more dead rubbers at the end of the year under a league winner system. There's no question that tactical changes are a contrivance - not so much to ensure away wins, but to make meetings more interesting. The very fact that speedway has had them for 50 years must say something about why they are felt to be necessary. I will say, though, that watching NL speedway last year I did not miss them. It seems to me of those who are critical of tactical changes most have an issue with tactical rides but are happy with tactical substitutes. They entirely miss the point that the latter affect scores more and could cost thousands of pounds more to a sport that most certainly does not need that.

I was going to post but you have done it for me The only comment is Scunthorpe is anything but alone in that. That hasn't changed. Its still 4 blokes on bikes without brakes. Seems to me that they didn't love it that much. Every single 'qualifying' league match is as important as in a league winner situation. In fact, more of them are.

I wonder if Poole fans suggesting that Coventry should run at Leicester would be quite happy if in the same situation others told them to go Somerset, Plymouth or Isle of Wight

Yes, it is. It certainly isn't in Rugby League, for example. I might suggest that for a Championship club gaining entry to the riches of the FA Premiership via a play off system far, far outweighs winning that league. But that misses the point. Speedway can have the play offs and £200k additional income or it can have league winners and lose out on that. Are you really willing to deprive the cash strapped, loss making sport we love of that money ?

I'd say that Belle Vue probably made in the region of £100k ticket receipts from that one play off meeting and, if their break even was 1,500 and there were 4,000 there (which I think is about right), at £25 a ticket that's over £60,000 in clear profit from just one meeting. If Wolverhampton were the same, that £120k from two meetings. That doesn't take into account the semi finals or the PL or NL meetings or the significant reduction in the number of loss making dead meetings after a league title is won. Shall we say £200k in additional revenue across the board ? Ditch the play offs and you would deprive an unquestionably cash strapped, loss making sport of that income and at £20 a go, it would take 10,000 additional entries to make it up or 500 TWK and Barney Rabbits going 20 times a year. As to newbies, Belle Vue had a fair few of them on play off night attracted by the nature of the one off, sudden death final. There's a reason why the NL reverted to play offs after just one season and why they are common place in other sports. Its a reason that, whatever we might think about them, speedway simply cannot ignore and I find it very difficult to believe that it would be in a better place financially without them.

To me, its not so much about cost as value for money (to be fair, you do raise that). Halifax Town is £16 entry, Leeds United £25 or so. In cost terms, speedway is comparable. I paid £25 for my ticket for the EL Grand Final at NSS last season and, like me, I doubt if there was anyone who didn't think he got his money's worth. Aside from the lack of a true grandstand finish, it had everything - fantastic atmosphere, a pantomime villain, two totally committed teams and some stunning racing on a world class track. The 4's weekend at Peterborough cost £30-£40 (I forget precisely how much). Again, no-one was complaining about the cost because it was just fantastic. Finally, I regularly attend Scunthorpe. Like many, that's for the quality of the speedway because I don't think I came away once feeling short changed and, on several occasions, dazed at just how amazing it had been. Workington and Isle of Wight are two other places that came under that heading - Isle of Wight more for the overall experience, it must be said. And therein lies the problem because, as a well travelled fan with 80 meetings under his belt last year, I couldn't say that about every one. Indeed, it would be more often than not that the opposite would be true and I firmly believe that there is simply not enough effort made to ensure the fan gets what he wants by putting him first (and last) every single time. Take Sheffield. Owlerton is rightly acknowledged as a very fine racing circuit but over the last couple of years it has been rubbish, with good races rare and good meetings almost non existent. That's apparently because the track was stripped bare at the behest of the riders and/or the management. Sheffield had a decent team last year and reached the PL play off final. Gates should have been up, but I doubt that they were because the speedway was awful. That just has to change, not just there but at a lot of other places too. I don't - or at least I think he has a point. For a start, there's no difference between tactical rides and tactical substitutes apart from the fact that the latter cost a lot more. Even their worst knockers would accept that play off meetings attract bigger gates - the NSS was packed for the EL Final last season. That's something speedway just can't turn down and, indeed, could be the difference between financial success or failure for some teams. Like it or not, speedway just isn't in a position to turn that down.

Pure hearsay. From more than one source, though. Lets see what Connor Dugard has to say about his team members for 2017, shall we ? ''said it was signing “we could not miss out on He said: "Colesy is a great guy on and off the track. He guested for us in 2015 and also in the KO Cup final this year. “He's on a bargain average in my opinion. He could easily put a point and a half on that I reckon". Mark guested for us a couple of times last year and just like Georgie and Colesy he gives 110% every time. “He only rode Arlington twice last year and he showed how good he is round our circuit. "I've built the team very much like last year with three potential number 1s in Mark, Georgie and Colesy.” Baseby rode last year for the Isle of Wight where, Dugard said, he was “near on untouchable”. “He is another rider like Georgie and Connor who put two points on their averages.” Charley comes in on a 4.05 and we believe he can put at least a point on that average. “A couple of clubs approached us wanting to use him including the likes of Cradley." I know Adam had many offers from other clubs and we appreciate that he will be trekking down each week but he says he's up for it and we are willing to give him that chance. “He's definitely got ability and hopefully with the help from Dad and everyone else we can get the most out of Adam.” Georgie put nearly two points on his starting average again this year building the team around him was a no brainer" Wood having a home track average of 9.89 (including bonus points) is 'a steal' explained Connor. Whatever the point limit is Georgie is in all of our plans. If he makes the progress he has I wouldn't be surprised if he is riding in the Championship next year let alone guest bookings in the premiership. .....................and then there's Kelsey: I'll be one of the first to admit I didn't think he was up to it at times. I have told him where he's at as opposed to where he thinks he's at. “In fairness I look at his average and it has gone down, however, the league was harder last year and he did ride at number 2 so that was fair enough and he didn't actually crash as much as he did in the previous year. "We have a deal with Kelsey with regards to his fitness and bike maintenance which has been a major problem in the past. However, he has promised us that will change. “He really has to crack on this year and establish himself at this level as riders that started at the same time as him really have progressed massively in the past two seasons." ​I suppose 'didn't actually crash as much last year' is about as positive as it gets and the contrast between those comments and the remarks made about the rest of the team is a stark one. ​There were one or two remarks about Kelsey's attitude at Isle Of Wight last year (and while that's hearsay, too, what is undoubtedly true is that he was hugely popular there). But if the above comments are made in public, just imagine what is said in private.

Little harsh. The 4's will be factored into the fixtures and they haven't been sorted just yet, quite possibly because of situation at Coventry. I'll be surprised if we don't know by mid February at the latest, which should give a good 4 months notice.

My good friend Tim Allan went to Dorchester Town the other night and the attendance was around the 300 mark. Most speedway tracks attract more than that. So it won't just be speedway stadiums that are targeted for housing, but almost every other minority sport and even semi pro football. Is it a realistic possibility that across the land a majority of our sports stadiums will in the next 10 years be bulldozed to build houses on ? Speedway losing stadiums to housing is hardly new. West Ham, for example, was developed 50 years ago. Leicester, Scunthorpe, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Middlesbrough, Plymouth, Belle Vue - all have lost stadiums to housing, commercial or retail, yet they will all be at the tapes in 2017 (counting Redcar as Middlesbrough). As to ones likely to close it is typical that there has been a far larger threat over Mildenhall than, for instance, Glasgow. One is the middle of nowhere, the other close to a major city centre. I repeat (again) : there will be more speedway tracks in operation in 2017 than there were 30 years ago. True, the standard of rider is lower but there are still more. In addition, maybe you are unaware that two tracks have indeed stepped up leagues in 2017. To suggest that in 10 years the sport will be almost dead in this country is, in my view, nonsense and, as I have said, is usually spouted by those that do not go any more. One final point : Matt Ford doesn't own Poole Stadium. The council does.

I think you might well be right about beggars not being choosers although I'd say Hughes is better. I make no secret of my regard for Plymouth Speedway, its fans and, now, its new promotion. I can only hope that that team performs better than I think it will.

Not at all. Throw in a home win and that's pretty much what everyone wants.

If they are whining about it this article should have a fair bit of poke. That can only be a good thing for the issue at hand, the fans of all clubs and, in particular, Speedy Star. It would be interesting to know whether there is any increase in sales for that edition.

Ever seen Dan Bewley ?

Which bit of that has changed in the last few years ? I was going regularly in the 1980's and it was the same then.

I was doing the updates that day and words started to fail me it was that amazing. Get yourself up. The Ipswich meeting is usually a good one, Auty's fantastic ride to beat King and Sarjeant was as special as anything that I saw last season and the year before had everything. Brilliant racing, punch ups on the pits and on the track and a sit in.