mikebv

1000% what should have happened.. It was clearly the plan that should have been followed... But that wouldn't have allowed teams who should be in Div 1 due to their size and infrastructure, to try and win Div 2 would it?

Riders of a certain level will always want to keep that Polish option open.. Hence riding Div 1 Mon and Thu and Div 2 Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday is ideal.. Signing up for a Sunday track effectively means "No Poland", as they wont be available to replace injured or out of form riders.. It wasnt a problem when Div 2 only had riders who didnt ride anywhere else but Sweden on a Tuesday, and Denmark on a Wednesday, and that was mainly Swedes and Danes only, riding in their own leagues.. Those days though are now long gone with every GB, Aussie, Swede, Dane, French, German etc etc all wanting Div 2 and Div 3 Polish places..

No Sunday track could nowadays given so much double upping takes place with riders that ride in Poland on a weekend afternoon.. Hence they need to double up Monday to Saturday... If these Div 1 HL's only rode in Div 1 then the Div 2 teams would be much nearer each others standard, as they would just use riders who didint ride in Poland every Sunday.. For any Sunday team to ride and be competitive in the current format they would need to take "first pick" of those Div 1 HL's who ride in Poland and then build their fixture list around the Saturday/Sunday Polish fixtures...

Obvious.. But not to some it would appear.. When you can pick and choose your leagues to compete in then it seems crackers to not have some kind of quality control by those in charge.. When teams decide that the pinnacle of the sport in the UK isnt worth competing for, and for them they feel better off competing in a lower league, then it speaks volumes as to the low amount of merit which winning any league has in their eyes.. Therefore, at least make every league competitive... And if that is by some contrived system which allows a fair spread of HL talent across every team then so be it.. We have contrived teams happen virtually every night so it's not as if it would be a unique situation for the sport.. No surprise Newcastle are uncompetitive given everyone said at the start that they were uncompetitive... A hard task for the Promoters trying to sell the least competitive team in the least competitive league I would suspect... And that is both home and away promoters. With many away teams having the double whammy of scoring big away and suffering lower crowds when poor teams visit.. But... It isnt like this wasnt pointed out well before a wheel was turned is it?

Another cracking race... Take a bow Robert Lambert...

Freddie back in the good books of his fans.. What a great ride....

Max slowing the race down brilliantly then to help his young team mate who was all over the two opponents.. Max just winning the race by about 60 metres... He doesnt quite seem to get this team riding lark...

Lovely last bend dive bomb from Zagar on Fricke.. "Get out of the way"..

Good to have two GB riders who now go into these meetings being feared by opponents rather than "hoping they can do well", which has been the case for too long in this country when riders reached this level.. They both now seem very comfortable at the "top table" suggesting they both truly now believe that they are "naturally" in their rightful position... Which can only bring further confidence and reward...

Of course it is These lads spend tens of thousands on kit... Hence the facility to ride for everyone and anyone exists.. They have to make money..

You have a major sponsor.. And you dont share riders, so still have a credible offering.. The one glaring problem is that you need to ring fence your number 6 and 7's to be Swedish only... GB from circa 1980 trained every other nation to the detriment of their own riders.. Sweden is going down the same path.. Get a strong national team, or individuals, and national media will take notice... As was proved when Trick was the main man... Dont make the mistakes the UK made by not seeing "the bleeding obvious"...

Fair comment...

You would think Discovery would be the ideal partner.. The only concern would be that they would be used to dealing with fellow ultra professional organisations, who have individuals well versed in dealing with people of the same standard.. The GP's will have that given the level of organisations that have been behind them.. And you also have to have the concern that the Promoter's fierce desire to completely control the sport would ultimately scupper any company coming in to partner it/take over.. It would be game changer though if a huge global organisation got the opportunity, and autonomy, to lead the domestic sport out of it's current malaise, and into a bright new future.. Hope springs eternal...

The "tipping point" of it being a credible offering in a Team Sport guise went probably a couple if decades ago, when 'Guestfests' started to appear regularly... Usually to accommodate the individual aspirations of the top riders as the FIM grew its competitions.. Then along came Poland and to a lesser degree Sweden, with their "lands of milk and honey" and suddenly there wasnt enough riders of a level that the Promoters steadfastly (or maybe stubbornly?), wanted to run their clubs at.. Hence we jumped into 'Doubleupfests' taking place every night, with the obvious knock on effect of making even more 'Guestfests' when these riders were either needed in two places at once or got injured, meaning two teams (and for a time three teams when 'Trebling Up' was in place), needed covering with riders from other teams.. The answer to this issue was an obvious one.. Realign the leagues into 3 clearly demarcated ones, ensuring that each team had an even share of what "upper level talent" remained, and reduce the numbers in the team to at least six, thus ensuring each team came to the tapes at the "correct level" for their infrastructure with the reduction to six per team meaning enough riders were available to be competitive at thier 'natural level'.. With the number six riders in the top two leagues being "RS' level to ensure development of UK talent existed.. Instead. We had "let's do fixed race nights so the top names will come back"... Which (as anyone with half a brain could foresee), didnt happen, and became "let's do fixed race nights so loads of riders can ride seven nights a week for any team that needs them, restricting clubs to nights on which they may not actually make the most money, and restricting the potential number of fans who attend given what should be a 'weekend sport' has now become an any night one".. When it needed vision and a radical plan for 'stand alone' future growth, it just got more of the same fudge, make do and mend.. Sadly A truly GREAT product, held back by ridiculous infrastructure..

Another example is the England Test team and how they have almost single handedly made five day cricket become a two or three day affair over the past few years... Giving their own fans terrific value for money in a short space of time, as they get to see England have two full innings, while the opposition fans only get to see their team have one...

It is ultimately everyone from Promoters to Riders all racing to the bottom though isnt it? Clubs subsidising their riders own individual aspirations through their salaries... Individual success that will have zero positive impact (or very little at best), to the Promoters own business.. Fans then having to pay increased admission fees to get in to watch riders who have spent £30k and more on machinery.. And all to try and win competitions that, due to the way they are ran, will send hardly a ripple of recognition through the conurbations on their doorsteps, never mind have any impact on a wider national level.. Literally millions will be paid out across the 3 Divisions by riders, promoters and fans... Therefore. You do have to ask "Why?" When the growth of the sport seems to get no forward or upward movement out of such a huge ongoing annual outlay...

100%... And you can also add that the ego of some Promoters impacts far too much on how the sport is ran... eg. If you want to use Div One HL's, then put your team into Div One.. Or. if you cannot put on a show strong enough to compete in Div 2 then drop down to Div 3... You should ride at the level you are "organically" at, and not the one you decide gives you the most chance of (misguided use of the term that it is), "success".... The sport in the UK does come across as nothing more than a whimsical plaything for those who run it, and a way of allowing many of the riders to make as much money as they can so as to not need to work for six months of the year... Regardless of the impact to the overall credibility of the brand, and its competitions, that this clearly has...

For me, the lack of credibility is THE key issue and one that, if fixed, would at least start to encourage and engender that vital emotional attachment to a team that any fan of a team sport must have for it to have any purpose or merit.. When you can pick and choose what league you want to race in as "it suits you better" then all it sends out is a message that the leagues have no real worth in winning and should be treated accordingly.. Without aspiration to grow, any entity will stagnate then ultimately regress.. There is no doubt that within the sport there are clubs who are clearly at a certain level, yet choose to ply their trade in leagues either above or below their "natural position", which ultimately then renders the leagues uncompetitive as some teams are too strong for the league they compete in, or wildy out of their depth, and it also then means the supposed "flagship league" is nothing of the sort... Therefore. What should be seen as the aspirational pinnacle of the sport becomes almost an irrelevance given there isnt the will for many to want to compete for it... And when the "top league's" reputation carries such llittle kudos it then permeates down into the other leagues who subsequently then have even less kudos... The current set of Promoters are not responsible for all Speedways ills obviously, but their lack of innovation and desire for radical change to try and do something different, is definitely down to them.. Covid being a huge opportunity for a reset and relaunch that they chose to not take... What's that definition of insanity? UK Speedway is unfortunatley on rinse and repeat to do the same thing ad Infinitum... Yet. Frustratingly, the 'raw product' can still attract very decent crowds when the infrastructure around it is fit for purpose.. Something we often see, as an example, regularly, whenever an FIM meeting is held over here.... Proving that there is definitely many who still have an appetite for Speedway in the UK, and will willingly pay "top dollar" to attend it.. It's just not an appetite for domestic UK Speedway... As to why that is, is what the Promoters should be finding out, fixing the reasons why, and then hopefully reaping the reward of their enquiries by having fuller stadiums, and wider media coverage of their competitions due to their renewed level of kudos in winning..

But, in fairness, they do have a large company sponsoring the league and dont share riders via a guest system so the team that wins has genuinely only won it by themselves, and not an adhoc amalgam of "willing paid helpers"... (Maybe the sponsorship level and credibility level is linked. Who knows? But I would suggest it definitley is linked in Poland.. I am surprised though at how many are published attending some meetings with it often looking like watching a TV meeting over here on screen... Some tracks are getting over 2000 according to the attendance figures..... Which certainly doesnt always look like that on camera.. The UK, Sweden and Denmark do seem to have a similar demographic of follower, and also similarly, seem to struggle to attract different demographics to go along and watch.. You would imagine if Sweden lost their main sponsor that their league would be under considerable pressure..

Polands fault this...

Uncomfortable truth, but a truth nevertheless, is that there are too many tracks running at an unsustainable level... And when I say unsustainable I also include impact to its credibility and reputation, as well as financial considerations.. You cannot run a team sport with 3 Divisions and all share each others competitors, therefore, if you decide to do so then it simply isnt a sustainable model to follow if you want fans to buy into it.. And if they dont buy into it, and it doesnt look like they do in many places, then the brand itself is damaged.. And with a damaged brand you will always suffer.. Poland, Sweden and Denmark have it right (not perfect, but right), in that they focus on their top league and everything else feeds off it... Some fans in the UK often complain about Poland and the GP's "ruining British Speedway", yet the ONLY nation wanting to run its Speedway operating model from Monday to Sunday is the UK... Not one other league does it and they seem to cope well enough with Poland and the GP's impact.. With Poland, dont forget, actually running the vast majority of their meetings at the weekends, (but AROUND the wide and various FIM calender)... Bottom line is trying to run two leagues using a huge % of the same riders cannot work if you want to have flexibility to attract the best crowds on the best nights for you, and if you want credibility for the sport.. We have so many guests for example because one injury often impacts two teams... With that rider possibly being due to ride all seven nights of the week, meaning seven replacements for him!! Less teams per league, with clear demarcation between them, with controlled DU's using only those not riding overseas as well, has to be a consideration.. Or one large league with controlled spread of HL talent, six man teams, with the number six slot being an "RS role" for each team, being another.. The current operating model will never deliver growth for the sport, and it has clearly shown that for the past couple of decades at least, therefore you can only presume to keep using it must mean what currently exists is all that will ever exist.. (In the UK)....

Great to see Chris Holder showing once again what a class rider he still is in both Poland and Sweden.. Had a few years of, for him, pretty average results, but he seems to be once again mixing with (and also beating), the very top level riders.. When on it, he is always good to watch...

Fair play to the director he/she/they, (delete as applicable), did their best where they could to zoom in where 20 or 30 or so were sat together, making it look "full".. Not something they could keep doing but you could tell it was a plan.. Unfortunately at one stage they focused on five or six Aces fans who were sat pretty much isolated, having their tea by the looks of it, looking miserable, with coats fully fastened as if they freezing to death, which made my lad laugh out loud and say to me.... "Speedway fans make even you look young and normal"... Cheeky beggar.. ... "Eeeeeee I'm fifty four you know.."..

Decent meeting, still not quite the level of the last few years at the NSS, but still definitely worth a watch given even a "decent meeting" from there is often a few steps up from many other places... The racing seems to be improving just a little later than it used to... Surprised they used Batch and not King in 15..

Danyon Hume has deserved more tonight...