mikebv

To be fair to Matt... He is so philanthropic... He kindly gave up a chance of a bumper return in money from a final against Plymouth, and, instead, agreed to run both meetings knowing 100% that two of his absolute key riders would be missing.. Not many would have sacrificed so much money to give other teams a chance.... A part of me hopes the rules allow both Lawson and Cairns to guest for both teams in the final, should either team need them...

And in a Semi Final of the Knockout Cup too... You would think they would at least try when they get to this stage to give it some kind of respect.. Anyhow, good luck to both teams in the final, hopefully both can run with their own riders and give UK Speedway a Cup Final worthy of the name... It would be great to see Plymouth absolutely rammed full, which I think it could well be....

Some encouraging signs for Poole?...

A fair call... I don't remember PC needing leading link forks, a lay down engine, electric ignition timings, nor a lap top in the pits, to make a Speedway bike "sing".. If BZ got some "Pride" coloured handlebars with matching mudguards, every NDL rider in the land would buy the same, thinking that was "the secret" to his success... It is too small a sport to move onwards and onwards with technology, to gain a (whatever?), as it can only restrict participation due to costs... Dan T's VLOG is fantastic (clubs please take note), and his workshop must have thousands of pounds of spares in it... Hence clubs then need to pay riders enough to afford all this equipment... And, in the UK, to achieve what exactly?....

Sharing out the Polish top league riders, and Doyle, would possibly mean two second div teams could be enticed to join the top league... Flexibility will be needed with race nights to accommodate the two obvious ones... Personally, I would run five rider teams in the top tier, all riders over four points, one home and one away, and then run another competition that all the top tier teams take part in but at a significantly lower standard without the top names... An "Elite League", (no guests), and (like we have two of now), a "Make it up as you go along" big league, with one home and one away, with some Cup Competition, BSN? that the tier one clubs won't be in due to their own league being ran.. And try then to sell the Elite League to TV...

A very pertinent comment on this evenings Polish coverage from @TTT Where he mentions how injuries have made this Polish season interesting as the big guns have been impacted by injuries, so other teams can compete... That is sport.... In the UK, Wroclaw, and Gorzow, as an example, would have brought in guests from other teams to cover... If Poland did that, they know they are finished as fans, sponsors, and TV would walk away.. A few years ago Wroclaw, the best team overall, got hammered in the final due to their injuries... Sh*t Hapoens... That is sport...

Of course it won't, and that's the point... Such a deterrent would stop so much nonsense being accepted... Similar to one point each and no rearrangement for called off meetings... That would ensure far more meetings that currently get called off would take place.. The nonsense has to stop...

What is this new fangled sorcery that you speak of?.. Easy to see why they call themselves Witches!!!

Next seasons' top tier points limit has just been announced... 24 (including the Rising Star at 2.00).... Voted in 5 to 1.....

Heavily depleted throttle jockey's....

In response, Kyle said "I wish I could have been sat in the pits at a track in Poland, watching the racing for nothing, and actually being paid for being there"..... "I'll see if I can get myself a piece of that next time", he continued...

The 105 team places in the top two tiers must earn what? An average of £30k a rider? Given the standard runs from GP Superstar to NDL level... If so, that's over £3 Million paid out... Any troubleshooter coming into the sport, would immediately say... "Restructure your operating model to find a way to knock a million off your payroll and stick it into prize money and marketing"....

Having something tangibly worth winning is the breakthrough the sport needs above anything else... Other sports show that the bigger the prize, the bigger the interest, and it then becomes a self fulfilling prophecy... A top league with a seven figure prize fund, would give each meeting some relevance and also give the tier two teams something to aspire to be in.. With a big prize up for grabs, winning then means something, with the potential result of the meeting being the engagement, regardless of the racing.. And if you deliver great racing too, then even better.. There must have been over 3,000 Aces fans in attendance at the recent GP's, (like last year), yet crowds for UK Speedway at the NSS are not even half that.. The reason? The lack of engagement that UK Speedway has... Same track, same great racing, even some of the same riders in view... The key differences being the size of the prize on offer, the credibility of the occasion, and the nights the events are ran on.. If any "new blood" coming into the sport could secure some major sponsorship for it, then that truly would be a game changer for UK Speedways future... They would though, firstly, have to do a huge job on the brands image and reputation, and unpick so much of what is currently seen as acceptable... The fans are still out there, in much greater numbers than currently physically attend.. UK Speedway just needs to find a way to engage them again... Something worth winning would be a huge start...

And then add in competitions with little credibility, publicity, and reward, and you have a real problem... At least if there were even a million quid on the table for winning the league then it would stimulate some awareness and interest, and give meetings some reason to take place, other than to just let riders earn money...

Fair play to Chris Louis, he did make several amendments to the track after seeing the racing at the NSS... Widening the entrances and exits of the bends.. However, there is only so much he could have done within the confines of the Stock Car track... Not everyone can build an NSS replica...

K-Tels Hits Of The Seventies... Not half mate ...

Bomber in the style of something contemporary... Freddie and the Dreamers...

Karlito's output is pretty decent...

Spot on.... And a few bonus points keeps the average down and the pay packet good.. Fair play to him... Hate the game not the player...

Didn't Bomber do well guesting for Ipswich against BV in the PO semi a few years ago to help them get to the final?... Then guested for Sheffield to help them beat Ipswich in the final?...

Of course they would... As we suspect, based on past issues, many are called off not for weather reasons but "something else"... The Chairman of Lancs Cricket can't call off a match the day before as it might be a bit iffy on the weather front, (and he has, coincidentally, Jimmy Anderson missing)... No. An independent arbiter, the umpires, decide if a Cricket match can be played due to the weather conditions... 80% of all rain offs would also take place if each team just got one point with no rearrangement too, I would suggest... Just yet another Mickey Mouse contrived nonsense that, without any independent governance, is allowed to happen, and does nothing but damage the sport, which, in turn, negatively impacts its future... Edit. Maybe the sport now has someone who can start to stop such nonsense happening?.. I wish him the best of luck in turning the rusty, archaic, oil tanker around...

Said EVERY team in the country...

Is this a rearranged first round meeting?... Mondays fixture was the second round of matches so the Aces have only a 12 point advantage tonight... Confused? You will be... However. In any case. Wasn't Thursday's, as a priority night, given up by Phil Morris and the top table?.....

Phew... Lucky Bomber was available to take a guest booking...

After 39 years of running supermarkets, and regions... There's a long queue mate....