Halifaxtiger

To my knowledge, they weren't lies. Laura Morgan genuinely believed that she had the additional backing to enable the Comets to run, only for that backing to pull out. What happened wasn't her fault.

When I went to Rye House for one of their first meetings in the Premiership, I was astonished at how many people were there - the place was packed, and I was told that some had been locked out the week before. Knowing just how unwilling speedway fans are to switch support to another team - Coventry to Wolverhampton is the same distance as Purfleet to Hoddesdon, for example - I don't think that huge increase could be even partly explained by Lakeside dropping into the NL. That's also highlighted by just how poor Lakeside's gates at Hoddesdon were - if you're not going to travel to watch your own team, you're surely not going to do it to watch another. What did Rye House - as you have pointed out - was the need to move away from their established race night to midweek meetings (its hit Poole and Sheffield hard too). If they could ride on a Saturday, I'd say its entirely possible the track could support an NL side. After all, it supported a Championship one for years.

I'd agree. NL racing was better there. At Belle Vue, Premiership is definitely better but the NL racing is still better than most other tracks regardless of the league they are in. From what I have seen, its likely that the attendances that the Colts get enable them to cover their expenses better than the Aces.

I stand to be corrected, but with that team Pickering wouldn't fit. Etheridge, however, would.

Agreed Two point increase in the Championship and finished second in the averages in that league. I think he's come up on the rails a bit but also believe he can go higher. Added to the fact that he lives only a short distance away and with his family connection to the Aces signing him is a no brainer.

I am pretty certain Redcar had said that Fridays were a success last season.

Kurtz 7.54 Lidsey 5.16 Wright 6.68 Bewley 6.31 Holder 7.49 Pickering 4.65 Ayres 3.67 Exchanged Sedgman for Pickering - I cannot believe this lad does not have a Premiership place and he'd be fantastic at the NSS - otherwise the same. Ayres would be a brilliant signing and its surprising no one else has mentioned him. Best of all ? 41.5 on the nail (not including reductions for Wright, Bewley and Ayres).

Its not precisely clear from Gambo's post above whether 140 days racing is enough to support a rider for an entire year (or whether he thinks it should be) but if it is, that is a stark contrast with what you are putting forward. Truth is that speedway has always been for the overwhelming number of riders a part time occupation even during the season. I have said this before but Mick Bell, a three time British League winner and a decent reserve/second string in the 1970's, once described it as a 'good paying hobby'. I'll be honest and say that my knowledge of rider pay is minimal, but to repeat again I'll be surprised - very surprised - if most those doubling up between the top two leagues are struggling to survive. The teams that pay them, however, most certainly are and what we cannot have is a situation where clubs are put at risk simply so that riders can use the sport as a full time occupation.

Who cares ?

Some of them - Chris Harris, Scott Nicholls spring to mind - were able to ride speedway for years without doubling up. The only thing that has changed is that they have seen a way to substantially increase earnings.

Seeing him sweeping water off the track (in his shirtsleeves while it was still raining) at a Colts meeting hugely impressed me. I can certainly think of one other who would do that but many who most certainly wouldn't. I am reasonably sure that he and Barry Bishop very much see eye to eye. No surprise there.

Put one club (Rye House) out of business, another (Sheffield) up for sale and forced another (Poole) to change leagues. It should not be the case that we risk the very existence of our teams for no reason other than riders doubling their pay and they all seemed to manage before we had it so why not now ?

If truth were told, the more ridiculous complaints are made the better because it destroys the case against speedway. Best one I ever heard was about Kent, with someone saying they couldn't sleep for the noise on a particular night. Unfortunately for them, there was no meeting that night.

On the first point, you are absolutely right. But there are so many on here who think they have all the ideas, only they don't. And as I said, the crucial point is that while they are very happy to speculate with others money they won't risk a penny of their own. On the second point, I can't be certain of how much money riders make or don't make although be very surprised if any rider doubling up between the Premiership and the Championship 'barely makes a profit'. Very surprised indeed. I consider that uncontrolled doubling up is a blight on the sport in this country and we only have it so that riders can double their earnings. Because of that we have fixed race nights, and that has closed one club (Rye House) put another up for sale (Sheffield) and meant that a third (Poole) has had to drop out of a league which they have pretty much dominated. Riders demand that tracks are prepared how they want them, not what is best for the spectator and thus the sport itself. Its little wonder that in a facebook post recently Gordon Pairman said that while fans point fingers at promoters for the sports financial difficulties, riders are to blame. I don't totally agree, but he has a point.

I certainly believe that more could be done to make the racing better, but once again it seems to me rider interests are put above those of fans. I once complained about the dust at a track and asked for watering, only to be told that the riders don't like it so it wasn't going to happen. If the sport continually puts the needs of paid employees above paying spectators attendances will go down - that's pretty obvious, and it has to change. I have always believed that trying to get people back is a waste of time and speedway should concentrate more on new fans. Those who used to go tend to complain about matters that have been in force for decades, trying to give the impression that they only came in two or three seasons ago. They are overwhelmingly - and occasionally bizarrely - negative in an attempt to justify why they don't go, and make unreasonable demands as conditions to return. Why on earth chuck money at such people ?

I am far from convinced that fans do either. They suggest that points limits, tactical rides, rider replacement and guests cause people to walk away, ignoring the fact that all have been in existence in the sport for half a century. Cut the prices they say, ignoring the fact that when that has been done clubs have usually sustained heavy financial losses. Its too expensive. Belle Vue costs £18 and I see at least one world class rider (usually two) every week. Halifax Town costs £20, and they aren't even in the Football League. By that comparison, speedway is cheap. They criticise the play off system, disregarding the fact that it is a huge success in terms of revenue and that it is now common practice elsewhere. They compare speedway to other sports, ridiculing its rules, its practices, its procedures. Speedway is about as similar to football as an elephant is to a haddock and any comparison is just as valid. I am sure I have even read that speedway should be marketed as a sport for those aged 40 or over, a bit like crown green bowling. Total nonsense. Speedway is for all ages, and should be promoted that way. As to the ageing attendance, I think that's a myth. Barry Bishop told me that less than 15% of his crowds are of pensionable age. But the most telling fact is that while some claim to have all the answers, ask them to put their money where their mouth is and they are running for the hills. Quite willing to gamble others funds, they won't stake a single penny on their - occasionally hare brained - schemes, which shows just how confident they are about their success. While I deplore the utter contempt that most - but not all - members of the BSPA have for this forum, they can justifiably point to that in describing us as 'keyboard commandos'. All I know is that speedway has to start treating its paying customers as paying customers and not run the sport for the benefit of the riders, because that's how it is at the moment. Even with things as desperate as they are, clubs still find time to treat its fanbase like dirt. Sheffield's Damian Bates, faced with huge criticism over an underperforming team and a dreadful track, found time to slag off the clubs fans last season. Faced with similar criticism over an equally dreadful track, instead of listening Plymouth's Mark Phillips chose to ban those who were being critical. When you choose to treat the lifeblood of the sport that way, you get all you deserve.

I think its more about ensuring even numbers in the Championship. If Newcastle drop out, they'll be in (or at least there will be a place for them).

Fixed race nights. To ensure that riders can double up, leagues have to ride on different nights and that has meant that some have had to change the traditional one for racing. It genuinely does surprise just how much that affects attendances, but Rye House closed down as a result, Sheffield went up for sale and Poole dropped out of a league that have graced for decades.

Goalposts moved it seems ; 'THE MANAGEMENT OF PLYMOUTH GLADIATORS SPEEDWAY ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THEIR APPLICATION TO JOIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE IN 2020 HAS PROVED UNSUCCESSFUL ON THIS OCCASION; BUT THE CLUB IS DETERMINED TO BUILD TOWARDS A FURTHER APPLICATION IN 12 MONTHS TIME.HAVING BEEN GRANTED PERMISSION TO PUT ITS CREDENTIALS TO THE SPORTS GENERAL COUNCIL AT THE AGM HELD IN COVENTRY THIS WEEK, THE REQUIREMENT OF NEW AND PREVIOUSLY UNFORESEEN CONDITIONS OF ENTRY; WHICH WOULD HAVE MEANT INCREASED FINANCIAL ASSURANCES AND BONDS HAVING TO BE PAID IMMEDIATELY, MEANT THAT THE PROMOTION HAD NO ALTERNATIVE BUT TO WITHDRAW THE APPLICATION ON THE GROUNDS OF THE MEDIUM AND LONG TERM FINANCIAL SECURITY OF THE CLUB.PLYMOUTH GLADIATORS WILL NOW FOCUS ON BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL TEAM FOR THE 2020 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE, WHILST STRENGTHENING ITS COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS MODEL AND INCREASING ITS BRAND, MEDIA AND MARKETING AWARENESS AND EXPLORING OTHER SPEEDWAY AND COMMUNITY RELATED AVENUES TO INCREASE IT'S SUPPORTER BASE AND TO FURTHER EVIDENCE AND DELIVER THE LONG TERM PROFITABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY, IT HAS SHOWN IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS.THE CLUBS MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL FULLY UPDATE ALL SUPPORTERS ATTENDING THE FORTHCOMING END OF SEASON PRESENTATION EVENING ON SATURDAY 30TH NOVEMBER AT KINGS TAMERTON COMMUNITY HALL'.

Barry Bishop does that every week and I have seen Adrian Smith do it, too

I would have said that about 99% of comment on here is opinion, and about 50% of that opinion is speculation. But if Newcastle don't run, the northern teams will have two less league fixtures than the southern ones and that's in the same league. That can be remedied overnight by allowing Plymouth in and changing the groupings slightly. My own view of the enforced change of race nights in 2018 - after the season had started and after fixtures had not only been published but run - is that it was one of the worst examples of self interest that I have ever seen in speedway, and that's in a sport where self interest is nigh on all encompassing. Personally, I think the regional split is a good idea even if that means a lopsided number of times that teams will race against each other. 22 fixtures - it would be 24 if Plymouth were accepted - is too many, even if all other competitions were dropped. It allows more meetings as a whole, more local meetings creating more revenue and does not substantially increase travelling costs.

In truth, yes. But if you have such a split, then this is what happens and it cannot be avoided. As I have said above, the regional split relies on having even numbers in each group so I think its not even a question of whether Plymouth will replace Newcastle, I am pretty sure they will.

We'll have to disagree on that one. Newcastle aren't the first and won't be the last to be allowed more time. I think the interests of the sport must overrule the needs of an individual club. Having the north-south split means they have to have an even number of teams - if you had an odd number, one section would be running more 2 more home league meetings than the other. I also think that a club dropping down should be given preference over one coming up, and I'd point out Kent were successful in their attempt. Although I am all too aware of speedway's appalling decision making, you have to ask yourself why they were selected over Plymouth.

The thing is if Newcastle were forced to make a commitment now they may well throw in the towel and we'd lose another club - and, believe me, if Newcastle lost planning permission at Brough Park there's a good chance they'd never get it back. I do take your point here but given the choice I'd do exactly the same as the BSPA have done and allow them more time. That amount of time, though, has to be fair on Plymouth if (and it is an if) they are in line to replace Newcastle.

To be fair, in Scunny's case you're right. Trouble is they are in the middle of the country so its either Glasgow or Poole. Blame the BSPA chairman