BWitcher

Just a quick add on to Moxey's excellent post. Some may be thinking, so they lost a few riders, no big deal. The difference that season was guests were only allowed for your No 1 rider, which of course was Sam Ermolenko. Where the league was really lost was a 2pt home defeat against Ipswich when we had a side of Sam Ermolenko, Peter Karlsson, Neil Evitts (riding injured and woefully out of form and confidence) RR and four juniors. Sam rattled off a 21pt max, PK may have got a max too, or close to it, but it wasn't enough. Shane Parker decided to goad the Wolves crowd after the meeting celebrating wildly and became somewhat unpopular to say the least. That said my opinion of Parker changed a few years later when we held a fund raising event for PK, Parker came along and was brilliant. He's a bit handy at Laserquest! The Ermolenko crash in Heat 1 against Bradford had more ramifications as it meant we didn't get the bonus pt that match which would have won us the league that night if I remember correctly.

I'd suggest lazy parenting also comes into it. Far more parents these days instead of engaging with their kids and taking them to places like speedway, just let them sit on their consoles/phones etc and do their own thing binge watching Netflix.

I know. And when you have to pay to get in, blimey the difference it makes.. for some.

Christ.. if you really want to kill the sport of, the above is a sure fire way to do it. As for the racing, you just simply don't remember all the tapes to flags and strung out racing in years gone by.

Which is why I can't class him (as some do) as one of the very best ever. Certainly up there on tracks that suited.. but for me, the very best rode EVERY track at a very high standard. That's not a knock on Gollob, one of the most entertaining riders of all time.. just that he's a level below the Nielsens, Rickardssons, Olsens, Maugers etc

Hello again DropaCog, FredFlange, FledFlange, Thunderbird2 and others.

That's the entire point. You cut the quality and leave the price the same (or indeed increase it) the result is less customers. That is the case in ANY business, yet that is all speedway has done for a long time now. It's simply a slow death. An attitude of focus only on retaining current customers is also a sure fire way to kill the sport. The current supporters are an aging fan base. ALL sports lose fans as they grow older.. however, they work hard to replace them. I agree with many points in the post, but not focusing on the current fan base.. the current fan base is the biggest killer of the sport.

Yes, cut the costs. It's been working brilliantly.

Correct. Not only the pressure, but when you move from No 4 to No 1 you go from Heat 14 to Heat 13... that alone will have a hit on your average.

The same reason as Thorssell. Riding at 1, compared to 4 is anything from 1-2pts difference on an average. Hence, we have both riders on bargain averages for this season.

You are claiming there is no money to be made from the business of racism? Seriously? Now that would be daft.

Nothing daft about it. Racism is a business. When business is becoming slow, new ways are found to ensure it's continued existence. Gullible folks like you are the perfect promotional vehicles and boy has it been successful. The tweet was in very poor taste. Simply state that and pretty much everyone would agree with you. Instead you try and convert it into something else and create a split.

The post wasn't racist. It doesn't matter how you try and twist it. I understand, you are desperate to ensure racism stays alive and indeed increase and wish to promote it at every available opportunity. I'm not, I abhor racism and want to see the back of it. Perhaps, like many, you have a financial investment in ensuring it stays alive.

Obviously not, we now know where the forum owner stands with such posts.

Past experience shows it only makes him worse. He actually thrives on people saying that because instead of directing their ire at him, his victims are the ones blamed... just as he planned. His most recent sick post has been removed I see. We can only hope he is once again on an enforced holiday from the forum.

There is no semantic argument. His tweet was not racist. In very poor taste yes. Racist no. I have not made any defence of the wording used in his tweet. His stance as regards immigration is a different issue.

It wasn't racist. The tweet wasn't a good one and suggesting let them drown was ill thought out at best, basically in poor taste. However, racist it was not. It's this constant playing of the race card that caused Brexit and Trump.. you'd think some folk would learn.

You 'claimed' that, of course there is no evidence that what you say is indeed true. It has already been pointed out that your claim is indeed false as of the 61 people present, you knew who Woffinden was. Equally, it's irrelevant anyway and is just down to the media coverage given. Had the media not given coverage to Lizzy Yarnold nobody would have recognised her either.. (although only one extra person did).

I'd already checked for it myself as I was wondering why it wasn't there! I've seen the articles about those pastimes/activities..

It falls under Bobsleigh. Click on the link.

Thankyou for admitting I was correct all along. You've spent half the thread arguing a point that was never up for discussion or even relevant, i.e. the state of league speedway in the UK... then further wasted it with this nonsense. Good to see you've now come to your senses.

No they are not. https://www.sportengland.org/our-work/national-governing-bodies/sports-that-we-recognise/ Find me wife carrying or whatever the 'cheese' sport you dug up is listed and I'll admit my mistake.

They are not officially recognised sports in the UK.

Easy to vociferously question after the fact and you are being rounded on by the hyenas. Some laughable comments though, including "Golf never gets a look in at the SPOTY" lol.

To be honest my first thoughts were it reminded me very much of the teams Rye House were putting together.. which some ranked highly, but in fact was an aging team on the decline. Of course, that isn't to say they won't all click and have a cracking season. Certainly has strength in depth.