George Dodds

nothing fortunate - we were good, you were not

Think you and Grand Central underestimate how much advertisers pay to appear in a programme but don't forget, unlike the magazine you contributed to, it's a one-off payment up front at the start of the season rather than a weekly/monthly scramble for advertising. There's also the ability to offer a programme as part of a package including banners, website ads, meeting sponsorship. I'm sure it varies from club to club but even a small profit is better than the proposed racecards which would still have to be produced at a cost by the promotion but with no supporting advertising revenue.

but deprive clubs of much needed advertising revenue

??????

... but without fans those riders are amateurs

To state the blatantly obvious: Newcastle and Sunderland in Championship and say Norwich and Burnley in top flight then Premier League average attendance is 10/15,000 different because of size of grounds and fanbase, promote one or both of those two and replace Bournemouth with Leeds or one of the Sheffield clubs and a massive change in the average ... and the opportunity for some to say that crowds in the Championship have plummeted . "There's lies, damn lies ... and then statistics "

suppose that would be the equivalent of 1,000 £10 tickets.

Maybe BT could buy 1,000 tickets per match at face value for clubs to give away free in the local area. Help to pay the costs of clubs to stage a meeting which they are paying nothing for and then charging those at home to watch.

but surely no more bizarre than what could happen under what you are suggesting: ie Rider wins 5 races, loses final to rider who only lost to him in qualifying heats and finishes second .. or rider who wins final but isn't the champion. Under the old 20 heat system there were enough blowouts - including world finals and GPs - due to one rider being unbeatable and the rest taking points off each other. Often the run-offs for minor places - or in the old British Finals at Coventry for the final qualifying spots for the next world champs round - were the best races of the night. Individual meetings rarely has the cut and thrust excitement of team racing, whatever the format

Kids are free

better to have tried and failed ... typical of our promotion that they put so much effort into getting the meeting on. Annoying that for the first time they have failed to beat the weather. Would still say that six meetings saved and one lost is a damned good justification for investing in cover ... but feel free to smugly mock.

stand corrected - although how much sponsorship would you say is individually gernerated by the riders and how much by the club (ie the promoters)? Would like to see your figures and accept I went high but I still maintain that the huge majority of a rider's income will come in signing-on fees, insurance, tyres and points' money - all of which comes from the promotion.

from which 99% (or more) of the rider's income comes.

Well according to the club website and twitter accounts it's Scott Courtney. It's a well nommmmmmmmmmmm fact

It's hard to believe but there was a time when football was the poor relation at Wembley so there were only a handful of internationals and the FA Cup final staged there so after May the speedway could be left in situ - although the Lions had to race away in 1948 to accommodate the Olympics. During the 1966 football World Cup one game was played at White City because Wembley's owners weren't prepared to cancel the lucrative Saturday night greyhound meeting for a mere World Cup qualifier - how times have changed!

Surely all the Wembley finals after the mid-50s were on a man-made track as only the base of the bends at Wembley were permanent, the rest was dug out and relaid for each meeting - with varied results; disastrous in 1975, smooth but slick as hell in 1978 and surprisingly good for racing in 1981

probably have to get a taxi to Ruff Park

well he says he's running to home meetings - maybe he's getting the 254 bus to away fixtures

Sheesh ... fancy trying to please the fans - whatever next!

They say it is a return to the old rule which was one tactical substitution per rider if a team was six points or more behind after heat six. So theoretically there could be seven tactical substitutions but only one per rider.

Comparing potatoes with scaffolding poles rarely gives a satisfactory result but ... if you had been a chef who had attracted thousands of diners into the restaurant, thereby making lots of money for the owner, you might feel you were a little bit entitled to some recognition later in life - at the very least a free drink or two.

Only for those who only watch on TV. Any TV deal must see the company pay a substantial amount of money. Don't forget BT paid big bucks for Moto GP, Australian Cricket and £8 million per match for football. They charge viewers to watch. They want speedway because they have no other live evening sport to show during the summer. No cash ... no deal. It is about bringing money into the sport, not making it easier for those who don't put money into speedway to watch from their armchairs.

And it's only used in cup competitions to avoid the need for a replay. Ironically speedway doesn't allow the Tac in cup competitions but does in league matches.

Disagree. I would say it's all about entertainment on the track for those who have paid at the turnstiles.

What was you event?