mikebv

For me the core product is very good, it is just the nonsense rules that prevent the actual leagues from ever being taken seriously... How the hell can anyone take seriously Peterborough's Bomber helping Ipswich to beat Belle Vue in the Semi, and then helping Sheffield beat Ipswich in the Final? You simply cannot market that.... Less riders per team would mean more riders to replace injured ones, so guests could be eradicated if the will was there .. A fit for purpose RR facility would also mean no need for guests... Development should be the 2nd Divs priority not Div 1, and clear demarcation within the leagues should always exist so the top league can be marketed as "Elite"... Every sport needs a "flagship" league that sells the sport with the other leagues feeding off it.. National generic marketing has to be the biggest opportunity. Huge amounts are spent on riders, very few of which bring a big crowd in, yet very, very little is spent on marketeers who may be able to put some bums on seats... Being able to take league racing seriously first though is needed before any money is spent hiring any marketing companies...

100%, however what we have is pretty much all there will be.. Some tracks are "playthings" of the promoters who choose to spend big amounts on it.. This means that winning or losing doesnt make much difference to them as they will keep subsidising their "hobby".. Some tracks are the actual business of the promoter so they need to make money.. Meaning getting a "winning team" is paramount regardless of what entertainment value is on offer, or what integrity impacting rules some may need to try and circumnavigate to get that winning team.. The bottom line issue is very much a chicken and egg situation in that the sport needs big outside money to come into it, either via league or club sponsorship, or via a bigger TV deal... However, given the often "Mickey Mouse" way the sport is ran, you haven't a hope in hell of any major nationally well known businesses wanting to tie their brand to it... Hence, those well meaning, but ultimately bereft of the required skill set, "amateurs" will continue to try and run a professional sport... Doing "their best" i am sure, but with the inevitable outcome...

The reality is that there is no clear direction, hence teams can pick and choose what level to race in, as and when it suits them.. Those in the top flight deserve the TV money as they are the ones that get covered.. Unfortunately, more teams in the top league would dilute that money, therefore it isn't viable for many teams to even consider it.. What we have is hanging on by a thread if you use the last ten years worth of track closures and defections as a barometer of the next decade to come... Maybe now Phil Morris has a full season (and pre season), he can make a fundamental difference.. Without a clear generic growth plan for the sport as a whole though, it will not work.. Sheffield and Glasgow won their respective leagues but it has hardly raised a ripple of publicity nationally... But, next year, if nothing changes, every track will no doubt, once again, try and ensure they can manipulate success by using some ill conceived, ambiguously written regulation that let's them have some success.. Whilst, all the while, diluting any kudos in winning, and preventing wider mainstream coverage, by their very insular focused actions.. UK Speedway sadly thinks small time, insular, and short term, and that isn't ever going to grow it organically, generically and nationally... Putting an extra 200 on one tracks gate due to their "success" really isn't progress.. Putting 200 on every track, however small that still may be, is... And may start some momentum for further growth..

I attended the NSS last year specifically to watch Laguta, and Sayfutdinov... And attended the PCMM to watch Lambert and Tai... Wouldn't have been the only ones either...

When meetings are rearranged, like both are, I am pretty sure that the rules say that the "senior league" of the two takes priority... Just a shame the rearranged Cup Final was arranged on a day that everyone knew that the NDL flagship meeting was taking place... No surprise though as it is in keeping with the usual genric national marketing and planning strategy that they demonstrate so vividly each season...

NDL+ is the most affordable level for the majority... Has been that way for many years but has been avoided, hence teams have been able to pick and choose which league to race in regardless of size and income.. Just like you had stand alone teams in the NDL with a "different agenda" you had Poole and Glasgow (and now Oxford), with a "different level" in the Championship.... For the majority of Championship teams they won't ever compete with the "bigger clubs" who have much larger fan bases and/or sponsors... And, given the issues facing the likes of Kent and Mildenhall, maybe a less expensive product to put out will help them join in? (The IOW too possibly?).. Or at least mean tracks don't move over to NORA, which would be "game over" for the BSPL.. Clear demarcation between the leagues was mentioned last year as one of the aims going forwards, which, given the NDL probably won't exist, only means a clear difference between Divs 1 and 2.. Those "bigger clubs", with Div 1 level attendance's, may have a decision to make...

Bomber would be delighted with that... He could be eligible for winners AND losers medals most seasons whether he actually rides in the final or not....

Yes Minister!!!!

Has Tarasenko ridden enough meetings to get an average considering the Play Offs don't count...? He could start the season at reserve next year if so.... Imagine the meltdown.....

They make Dorset w(h)ine from them...

That will be some size of order.....

Maybe the TV money only going six ways will help subsidise the move? Wasn't it said at the Brandon hearing that each team got "six figures"... If so, dividing up the seventh teams' money would deliver another £15k to £20k per team... Pays for a GP rider and some change...

Poole have won something tonight.. Their fans have just become the "World Hide and Seek Champions"... Looks like a bit longer before they get found too...

Not defeatist, just realistic... My thoughts on why we are where we are? The bandwidth of the forum wouldnt take it.... FWIW, there are two watershed moments for me... The first, the Sky tens of millions being used to basically pay top GP riders rather using it to invest in the sports' future, (both stadia and UK rider development).... (GP riders who pretty much all 'Foxtrot Oscared' when the money stopped).. And the second being post Covid. A HUGE opportunity to do something radical which would have been a "free hit" given the fans' craving to get back to watching speedway again.. Instead we had "same old, same old", which clearly hadn't been working pre Covid.. For those that still "take it seriously" and "believe it is real" similar to all other sports, I would never criticise their choice, and hope whoever wins any of the cups or titles enjoy the experience.. However, when something is allowed to take place as happened with Bomber in the semi and the final of the Premiership this year, you are asking a lot if you expect your sports' fanbase to regard it as a bona fide sporting championship.. Ultimately the Promoters do their best, but unfortunately many don't have the correct skill set to market and administer it, and, to be fair to them, probably don't need to as their track is often their personal hobby as a fan, so "big global picture" thinking doesn't form part of their overall remit... Unfortunately, that lack of "big global picture" thinking is probably its ultimate downfall... But, on the positive side, it is also its largest opportunity for generic growth should it ever be tried and delivered...

A pipe dream... You cannot run the level that the promoters want without ensuring many riders have to be full time pros.. 2nd Div Promoters want to use Div 1 level HL's, so that Div1 HL needs to be spending plenty and therefore expects a decent return... When £30k (and often well, well above) is the outlay on kit then riders need to ride as much as is possible.. In a perfect world, there would be clear demarcation within the leagues, and organic aspirational growth, with no rider sharing.. That ship sailed many, many years ago (if it had even ever been contemplated that is)... Speedway in the UK is in "survival mode" rather than "growth mode", and has been for a good many years, with promoters doing their level best in their own way to keep it going... If they could "run it properly like other sports" then I am 100% sure they would.. What we have is pretty much all there is, so no point in hoping for any magic wand to come along and change things.. Enjoy the racing, but dont get too bothered about the results, is the best way to look at UK Speedway... It still has the ability to provide huge excitement and a good night out when done well, as a fair few tracks do...

"Enough meetings for riders" is the starting point, and the major objective that must be delivered.. Seconded by "What level of rider can my club afford to have"... The structure chosen then has to reflect those two objectives..

They have to fit in the Jubilee Trophy 2022 as well don't forget...

How many rides is a steel shoe allowed to do when a team runs RR?

2H and 2A? Best start it next Monday then.....

Wow!!! Radical..... Luckily the sport in the UK has too many fans already so doesn't need to put meetings on when more people can get there...

I was running out of bandwidth to send it....

Tai, Tobi, Jack, Kyle, Lewis Jason, Chris, Adam, Richard, Connor Josh, Claus, Jye, Bomber, Robert. Edit- And David (Thanks RS50).. There may be more..

To be fair, those who you mention, especially the first 3, had a much wider public profile which was much larger than Tai's was, is, and ever will be... His racing level now is dropping so fast that maybe he feels he needs to be "street" to remain in the public eye..? But. At 33 it does look a little sad to be honest to try and come across as "hardcore yoof".... Maybe he could do some of that great music he does about it? My 20 year old lad, who has always been a huge fan of Tai given his success coincided with my lads formative Speedway watching years, summed it up quite elequontly when he said... "What a f***ing knob, how old is he?"...

Monster! Monster!!!!!!

Let's be honest, no one should really take it too seriously... How can you when Bomber played a major part in Ipswich reaching the final, then played a major part in their opponents beating Ipswich in that final... Bomber who rides for Peterborough... A last heat decider made for good TV, but given such nonsense is allowed to take place, it is best not to get too worked up about the result...