Aces51

I am sorry that you cannot understand what I said. It seems from the many many posts on here that it is generally accepted that there is a shortage of suitable riders wanting to ride in the EL. I never mentioned a list, that is a figment of your imagination. My point about the reserves was not Leicester specific. Again, most fans seem to agree that the draft system was not equitable or fair because they used PL averages when EL averages were available for virtually everyone. Most agree that wrongly skewed the selection process in favour of Poole. Similarly, most seem to agree that the heat leader list is not equitable or fair because some riders are wrongly categorised. If you genuinely believe that despite those issues every team had the same opportunities then you are wrong.

Of course Leicester bear some responsibility but it was the BSPA that set a points limit that is too high for the riders available,that decided to use PL averages for the draft that enabled Poole to sign the strongest reserve pairing and for the flawed heat leader list. If Leicester had, as you say, worked it out, some other team would have suffered because there are insufficient riders available. It is the BSPA that has decided there should be a system to equalise team strengths so it is their responsibility to devise a workable system. Other than that you make your usual well thought out valid points.

Pleased with the result, another good away performance from the Aces. However, you have to feel for the Leicester fans and as an Aces supporter I know what it feels like to be propping up the rest of the league. The disparity between the top and bottom teams this year isn't good for Leicester or the EL. The BSPA must come up with a workable system to equalise the team strengths next year. Let's hope is not too late for some of of this year's teams.

Except that you at least had a chance of replacing an underperformIng reserve with someone better. Now if you're screwed in the draft because they use PL averages you're screwed for the season.

Why, has Aaron had previous experience as a team manager?

No water pipe under the new track but a magic hole that can appear whenever necessary. I heard they got the idea from someone in Dorset.

There are two relatively simple answers which have already been mentioned. Revert to the old race format with no protected heats or, stop reserves moving up this year. I prefer the former solution but the difficulty now is changing the rules after some matches have been raced. The second option doesn't affect anything at the moment because no reserve has yet moved into the 1-5.

The track came through two extensive practice sessions, the most recent being on Wednesday. This shows that there was no question of taking money and knowing meetings would not go ahead. As explained it was following the recent inclement weather that the problems reappeared on Thursday. As for the press statement on Thursday, they had to give a reason for the postponement but would have had to be very careful about what they said. They could not day anything which might prejudice any action the Council may have wanted to take. What they said was neutral and not untrue but clearly not the whole truth. The problems were related to the inclement weather and forecasts for Friday were inconsistent, some forecasting rain between 4 and 5pm and one forecasting rain from 11am to 5pm.

We all live and learn. I very rarely use my PC or laptop these days, usually my tablet or phone, so I didn't know that facility exists.

According to the Belle Vue press release the question of whether Zagar should ride for the Aces on Friday or in Poland was referred to the FIM, they decided Poland. I don't think we will get 60.Leicester have strong reserves and their Polish riders should feel at home on the new track. I think it might be 52-38.

There will certainly be very little home track advantage and as a pairing your reserves should be stronger. However, I can't see your 1-5 doing well whether we have a guest for Zagar or use r/r. In their favour, jobs are on the line, the new track should suit your Polish riders and Hougaard is better on the bigger tracks. I wasn't being disrespectful to Leicester, it's simply that one of the bigger teams in the EL were more likely to draw new fans and those who stopped going after Hyde Road closed. Teams like Poole, Coventry or Swindon I hope Hougaard, a Belle Vue asset, has a good night but not too good.

To open against Leicester is bonkers but that's the way it has worked out. In the circumstances I don't think the absence of Zagar will have much affect on the crowd level.

Grachan, wasn't it only a a few seasons ago that Swindon couldn't pay their riders and had to rely on sponsors to pay off their debts. I think some people are confusing standards with top riders. A genuine equalisation of team strengths and fair implementation of the rules will result in a more competitive league,the standard of racing will be better because there will be more riders of similar standard and that's what will encourage newcomers to return. Just as in 1965 fans will have riders they can identify with season after season and over time the overall standard will improve and again become comparable with Poland and Sweden. Hopefully, this time, with a sensible financial structure in place clubs will not again allow themselves to commit to more expenditure than they can afford.

No team can survive if expenditure significantly exceeds income unless the promoter can afford to write off the losses. Arguments about whether the loss of top riders has contributed to the drop in attendance or, whether they pay for themselves by attracting sufficient extra people through the gate, are irrelevant. The fact is that there is not sufficient money in the sport to afford them. Crowds have been falling since the 1980's, long before the top riders left. Riders like Darcy and Emil will attract extra fans in the short term but not once the novelty has worn off. My experience is that the absence of Zagar makes little, if any, difference to the crowds at Belle Vue, far more significant is the strength and current form of the visiting team. Clubs literally cannot afford to speculate to accumulate, the risks are too great when many are already making a loss. The only way forward is to live within their means. They must create a genuine and workable system of team equalisation, do everything possible to encourage British talent, improve presentation and the timely completion of meetings, make the sport more credible by getting rid of the absurd tactical ride, doubling up and minimising the use of guests and rewrite the rule book and enforce it fairly and consistently, no more in the best interests of the sport exceptions. They must find affordable ways of making the public at large aware that the sport still exists.

Isn't this because Poland decided to rearrange some Sunday fixtures to Friday so they can be televised. I can't remember for sure now but wasn't the change made after our fixtures were announced.

No,if we look at how Lynn has been run for the last 12/18 months. The poor PR and lack of information coming out of the club, a track that has gone from one of the best to gate and go and the poor team put together this year. He has been in post for about 5 months, I accept he inherited what has happened this year but he has certainly had more than enough time to introduce some initiatives and to implement the openness and transparency he promised. Instead we're not even getting it from his own club. I hope I am wrong but there is no evidence so far to make me think he is going to be the sports saviour, in fact the opposite.

I don't think there is anything I would disagree with. My only additional thoughts are that a lot of emphasis has to be put on training to attract and develop British youngsters to get them to a stage where they can compete for NL places and then to ensure a structured development thereafter. Hopefully, the standard and numbers of British riders would improve year on year and eventually, as more get to a top international level, we can again open up the league to top foreign riders, rather than constantly lose Brits who have got to that level to Poland and Sweden. However, only if they ride for affordable rates. Lessons would have to be learnt so that we don't repeat present mistakes.

If the reasons are as simple as not wanting to race on a Monday after Sky pulled out or, not being able to get on track today then why haven't Kings Lynn just said so? Isn't this the new Chairman of the BSPA with a self professed desire for openness and transparency.

I think the attitude of the riders and current machinery has also played a part in this Sky decision. It appears that unless Sky are already set up at the track modern bikes can't cope with anything but a near snooker table surface, hard packed and with little dirt. This all creates extra uncertainty for Sky and supporters when considering whether a meeting is likely to be on. Of course it has also diminished the excitement and spectacle of the sport. If only we could go back to the days when skill and throttle control played a much bigger part in determining who were the better riders and when riders and machinery could cope with difficult track conditions. The days when a wet track meant riders donning overalls and getting on with it. It meant the racing wasn't as good but at least you knew that barring almost monsoon conditions and if it wasn't raining hard at start time, a match would be on. Of course it wouldn't be easy and would require planning but we could get rid of the super tuned missiles many ride today and have standardised machinery which would produce better racing and fewer postponements.

A good result for the Aces but I'm not going to get too excited about one early season result and if I were a Stars fan I wouldn't be too despondent. As we all know, things can soon change in speedway. I can't believe that Schein and Lambert will be as poor all season and many teams will make changes to try to strengthen.

Don't become disillusioned. You're as entitled to your views and opinions just as much as anyone else. The sport needs to attract younger fans and those of us who have followed the sport for many years should be encouraging and helpful.

I've missed this new rule. Do all riders have to play solitaire or does the team manager nominate someone, can you have guests and what about the EDR's, do they only play each other. Presumably it's a time trial to see who finishes first. I hope the games take place on the centre green so we can all see the excitement. I always had faith that the BSPA would come up with something to rejuvenate the sport. Can't wait for the first Sky match with close ups of the action.

It's good to see that he is with Edinburgh in the PL, a professionally run club that will give him the support he needs. It is also going to help him to have two completely different home tracks. However, he is 16 and if reports are to be believed, only had his first ride on a 500cc in September last year. We mustn't put too much weight on his shoulders with our expectations but allow him the time to develop his undoubted skills.

Good news that Belle Vue have signed exciting prospect Dan Bewley on a full contract. Starting to build a British asset base for the future. The Worrall's, Kyle Bickley and now Dan.

I think you may be getting paranoid. My impression is that virtuality nobody has said that the Poole team this year is not built within the rules. It's not necessarily true that everyone had access to every available rider, they first have to get permission from whoever holds their contact and we don't know if that permission has been given to every promoter that asked. It may have been but we don't know. A number of teams have built poorly but the obvious difficulty this year has been that the points limit was set too high because of a lack of quality riders willing to race here. The main complaint and it is generally aimed at the BSPA, not Poole, is that the grading of the draft riders should have been based on their EL averages with an assessed average for the few riders who did not have an EL average. It is plain to see that basing them on PL averages was nonsensical and has given Poole an advantage. I have seen numerous posts from Poole fans claiming that Newman was the best or second best draft rider last year and most fans of other clubs would agree with that. Placing him sixth on the list has given Poole an unfair advantage because it gave them a chance to make a better second pick. That was not Poole's fault but it has created an uneven playing field.