Cockney Rebel

From what can be seen above some people do just go off the sport for a variety of reasons and that will always be the case. People stopped going in their masses in the fifties I bet there wasn't a specific reason there, just that people found something else to do so you won't stop people from stopping, if that make sense, but the problem is finding new customers. If I knew how to do that I wouldn't have to pay to see a meeting again as the promoters would be letting me in for free. As someone mentioned when the youngsters get to a certain age they don't want to be seen to be enjoying what their parents enjoy, it's just not cool. So do you keep things as they are and keep the oldies happy or do you jazz things up and hope the the younger generation will flood in but risk alienating the long standing loyal oldies. Not an easy decision to make. What would you do if you were a promoter?

Thank you for answering my question Moxey63. I to long for the days when a rider rode for your club only and not two or three other clubs dotted around Europe but riders nowadays are professionals not part time pros as they were back in the 60/70s and as such they need to earn a living. They do this by riding as often as possible you can't blame them for that. Unfortunately we can't turn the clock back or we'd have one off World Finals at Wembley every year.Ohh Yes! And the riders mate doing the oil and dope for him instead of a team of mechanics, psychologist, Physios etc, that would keep the cost down. Then the Elite league teams could afford the best riders but sadly those times are gone. Having got all nostalgic and looking back through rose tinted glasses I still enjoy the racing so I'll keep going for as long as I can. I do think however that the Elite League needs a shake up somehow as the gulf between the top riders Holder, Ward, Woffy, Lindgren etc and the bottom riders, sometime a National Leaguer is too great. As seen on TV the Premier League doesn't have such a huge gulf and the reult is better racing(generally).

Moxey63 you make some good points in your post particularly about the fans who no longer attend are not going so they can't tell us why they're not going. But yourself and Oldace who both no longer go haven't said exactly why you stopped going, all we've got is a vague "I was fed up with what was on offer", What was it you were fed up with, the racing, the lack of world class riders, the food, the music, tactical rides? It would help if you were more specific. I'm not connected to the sport in any way so can't do anything about it but there just may be some promoters reading this who might think "ahh so that's what they didn't like" and it might just give them food for thought. We read so many different opinions on here that it's difficult to know why the decline started. Some people say the racing isn't good enough some moan about the delays others complain about the cost some don't like the music played but most of these are just personal things. When I go Speedway it's for the racing I don't really care what the food is like or the type of music that's played. I'm sure most fans are like that so what was it that made you stop going?

Don't particularly like any type of tactical substitute whatever you call it, tac sub, tactical ride, joker etc. If a team works hard to get itself a lead why should the oposition be given a chance to pull it back by using a better rider, double points etc. All these tactical rides favour the top heavy teams. If a team like Birmingham, strength in depth but no star rider, manage to build a lead over a team like Wolves or Poole ( Prior to Holder's injury) then all credit to them. In my opinion it's wrong for said opposition to get an extra three points in one race just because they're behind. Promoters have a choice at the beggining of the season to build a top heavy side or a side with strength in depth. It isn't right to say "our top two are better than yours so we can have extra points". Having said that I doesn't put me off from going, coz I like watching the racing. Just to be pedantic all teams have three heat leaders they just may not be the same quality.

So the general idea is get the current fans more engaged with your club but obviously not spend too much extra dosh. This would the hopefully lead to them telling their friends what a great nightout Speedway is. Interval attractions don't really work long time so there has to be something else that relates to the sport and the club. At Cardiff there is a fan zone where the riders sign autographs and have their photos taken with fans etc, so why can't each track have a fan zone. There could be a bike on show so you can see one close up and not just whizzing round the track. A couple of riders one home and possibly the away number one, fans could ask them question have their photo taken maybe even on the bike. This wouldn't cost any extra and would only need the co-operation of the riders. When the riders need to get ready to race and warm up the bike etc, perhaps half an hour before the start why not have junior racing before the main event, I'm not talking 16/17old National Leaguers but 10/12 year olds. The kids would then think it's possible to be speedway rider they would have spoken to and had their photos taken with their heroes and had a sit on a speedway bike. Also if each track had one of those starting gate things that have done the rounds occasionally and could compete against their heroes that would be brilliant for them, iwould have loved that when I was 10 year old and first started going to speedway. Not a lot of cost just some co-operation from the riders. Any thoughts?

Still think he got you mixed up with the other Chris who constantly critcises but admits he never goes to Rye.

If Shadders doesn't make it will Rockets use fan replacement or will it be a guest fan as he is Rye's number 1 fan?

Can live with the mispronounceations. But the the mistakes he makes are laughable. Twice last night he said Darcy Ward in yellow charging round the outside to take the lead when Darcy was in Red charging up the inside and rider in yellow was at the back. If its the same bloke who was with Scotty Nicholls at Cardiff he did say it was his first live speedway event but really...... Give me Keith Huewen and Uncle Sam any day.Sam may have some annoying Americanisms but he knew what he was talking about.

Mmm? Have to disagree there. The Rockets were written off before the season started, then they ran Ipswich very close at Foxhall beat Plymouth very easily down there and knocked both sets of Tigers out of the cup. many forumers, if that's a word, were saying how surprised they were at how well the Rockets were going. Unfortunately after that the injuries piled up. Bunyan and Lambert both probably came back a week or two too early. I can't see how Uncle Len could be blamed for that. Considering how well they started the season does any body think that the results of the last few matches would have been the same? You can't legislate for your top two riders being injured, how would Somerset be without Doyle and Morris or Newcastle without Robson and Jerome, sorry Worrral.? (Musical flashback there but I'm OK now).

At the meetings you attended last year did you pay to get in or ask the crowd to have a whip round for your entrance fee? I'm sure they would have been happy to if you explained that the Sky subscribers pay for you watch speedway on TV.

That's a good idea, perhaps he could call himself A N Other, I seem to remember Mr Other getting a lot of guest apperances in the past and nobody ever knew who he was.

Don't think they're doing it to push the value down but may be considering sharing the pot more with the PL clubs. The most exciting meetings shown this year have all been PL so it would make sense to show more of them if they intend to renew the contract. I wonder what some of the EL snobs have to say about the EL being a superior product? I am not suggesting thet all EL supporters are snobs but there are a few who have voiced that opinion on here.

The British authorities not letting a foreigner in???? Don't make me laugh we let anybody in. Mind you Masters does have a job lined up and somewhere to live and speaks the language. Blimey no wonder they don't want him here!

As regards last year it wasn't just him that couldn't get a Visa, wasn't Travis McGowan refused permission as well and this year we have Sam Masters and Mason Campton also not being given permission to race here so perhaps it's the Aussie authorities that are at fault?

Agree wholeheartedly with that, the FIM don't give a dam about league Speedway at all but the European countries can cope because of their fixed race nights and close proximity to each other. I believe the FIM would like Speedway to be all individual racing like all the othe bike sports are.The Grands Prix are expanding year by year and we now have the European championship and if it wasn't for Amando Castagna the under 21 title would also be expanding. All this means less and less time for the Leagues especially in Britain. I do sometimes feel Speedway would be better off with out the interference of the FIM. Oh dear I've got myself so worked up I need to lie down in a darkened room for a while.

Did I read last week Charlie Cheddar wants to ride after all seems his head injury has cleared up. Don't have the stats to hand but would he and Ben Morley fit taking Bunyan and Lambert out?

If I remember correctly, the late great Garry Middleton wanted to put Colonel Bogey air horns on his bike so he could play them as he passed his opponents, sadly the idea wasn't approved.

Don't see how two riders entering the first bend 10 metres behind the other two is unsafe while four riders entering the bend together isn't? OK several points well made but it was just a thought,.I'll go back to thinking about Suzy Perry now

No not really but it got your attention didn't it? If I'd have put "Alternative to tac ride/tac sub" you'd have passed it over wouldn't you? As we all know the tac ride is probably the most disliked rule in the book but most of us understand that it's there to make meetings closer and therefore more exciting, so what are the alternatives? I was thinking back to the "good old days" when the likes of Barry Briggs, Ove Fundin and Peter Craven went off of a handicap and I thought, could we use something like that today instead of the dreaded tac/ride. When a team get four points or more in front their heat leaders would go off a ten metre handicap until the score got back down to less than six. Imagine the scenario, the turbo twins get a 5/1 in heat thirteen to put Poole 4 points up with no heat leaders in Heat 14 and therefore no handicap it could be drawn heat, come heat 15 with them both off a ten metre handicap and with both opposition heat leaders off the gate what a scrap would endure to at least get one of them past one of the oppostion to hang on for the win. I haven' trun an imaginary match in my head as it would hurt my brain too much, but I'm sure there's someone out there who will Just a thought! Would there be any promotor out there willing to try it out in a challenge match. I await your comments and if you disagree, as some undoubtedly will, please refrain form using such adjectives as, "moronic", "stupid" and "idiotic" it is after all only a suggestion and my own opinion. Thanks

Not wishing to be nasty but perhaps a decline in Poland might make some riders consider GB as a better option at least they know (hopefully) they will be paid regularly. The problem with riders sharing is, will they want twice the money cos they're only doing half the meetings. I'm not totally against the idea if it means some of the big names coming back to these shores but boy it would need to be worked properly and every loophole looked into.

No not wrong Iris123 but, I did find it amusing that it has been mentioned, quite understandably, that there are no characters in the sport nowadays compared to years ago and years ago they were saying the same thing. I do think that speedway because of it's, for want of a better word "originality" will never have the mass support that us hardcore fans would like and that it will always have good times and bad. Some bikers don't see it as a bike sport because they only go round in circles and not that quickly compared to MotoGP or Superbikes and you can't buy a GM or a Jawa road bike.Before anyone leaps down my throat I know Jawa used to make a road bike but don't know if they still do. Non bike fans see as just a noisy dirty biker sport and always think the stadium will be packed with Hells Angels and their like. Like most on here who have all made valid points in trying to pinpoint the decline I have no idea how to stop the yo-yoing. For what it's worth I don't think there is a decline in Global speedway it's just this country and I think that can be largely put down to two things. The fall of the Iron curtain enabling Polish Speedway to really take off and, I know this is old ground and not every body will agree, the increasing impact of the ever larger Grand Prix. Riders cannot compete in all the leagues and the Grand Prix so they leave out the least profitable, the poor old Elite League. If only I had a magic wand.

Have just read an article about how riders today just treat the sport like a business and there are not so many "characters" about like there were in the "old days" and they forget as well as being sportsmen they are entertainers. Oh by the way this was an article in a January edition of the Speedway Star from 1963 on Speedway Star Xtra online mag. Things don't change much in Speedway do they?

Too much of a nip in the air for that a think

Thought I'd put down some of my hopes for the New Year for those involved in the our great sport. RIDERS No serious injuries please. But also remember a wage rise for you is a price rise for the fans so please be realistic in your demands. Fans don't have bottomless pockets THE TECHNICAL RULE MAKERS. Please think carefully about any new innovations. None of the riders wanted or liked the silencers last year so why bring them in, if the riders can find cheaper ways to reduce noise listen to them. Titanium parts? What's that all about? Just more expense for the riders which ultimately means more expense for the fans. The bikes don't need to be any faster, it doesn't improve the racing so think carefully before any changes and consult with the riders FIRST. PROMOTERS Promote. Get out to the schools, shopping centres, fetes etc. Bombard your local newspaper and TV station. Posters, leaflets all used to be used in the "Old Days" give em a try again. Stick to the spirit and not just the letter of any new ruling. Going over any new rule to find a loophole so you can get a world class foreigner on a three point average may not be technically cheating but to all but your own supporters it is. If the new adjudicator says says the new Polish/Swedish/Danish wonder kid is given a six or seven point average accept it don't go whining and crying that your being hard done by. To use one of your own phrases "It's in the best interest of the sport" THE FANS I wish you many happy hours of enjoyment and that your team are crowned champions come October, unless you are a Premier League follower then may your team finish second to the mighty Rockets. But most importantly be nice to each other just because someone has a different opinion doesn't make them a moron or evil we are all speedway fans remember that. Cut the promoters some slack remember they were supporters before they were promoters and they love the sport as much as we do. and finally THE WEATHER GODS NO MORE RAIN A happy new year to you all

I bowled a cricket ball once doesn't make me an expert at picking next years County Championship winners though. Think this team will do better than some on here are suggesting but what you will get every week is excitement. When the Rockets were winning by 20/30points each week people were complaining that it was boring now that's not going to happen with this team people are saying they're not good enough. Make up your minds please.