mikebv

As Mark Lemon said... "We need the sixth team for credibility"... If any of the Monty Python team has said it, we would be quoting it for the next fifty years!!!!

Should have gone it alone at least a decade ago... I was bored the other day, (retirement can do this to you), and found myself looking at the British U21 Final Results from around a decade ago, as I was curious to see how many riders are left in the sport... As "there are not enough riders to have one league".... Very, very few from around 2014 - 2018 (I didn't check any further), are still riding.. Some of the names, quite high up in the scoring, were unknown to me, and had beaten some of the riders still riding, and doing "OK" today... These lads would now be 28 - 33 ... Surely a fair % of them would have developed to the required level (they definitely weren't " wobblers"), if they had been given team places, rather than giving those places to journeyman foreigner after journeyman foreigner, who have ridden over here using a "revolving door" system... The GP lads are great to watch, but even that can get boring, and certainly are not cost neutral over a season when you measure the revenue they bring in.. UK Speedway should simply have cut its cloth accordingly and opened their businesses on days that their potential highest amount of punters would come through the doors.. Probably too late to sort it now, ssdly...

Me, my mate, and mine and his lad, will be there next season.. Helping the local pub economy... Always loved visits to Portman Rd... A bit of "old school" proper football stadium feel about it... Unlike that monstrosity in London that hopefully will see West Ham playing Championship football next season.. Good to have Ipswich back....

Sounds like pretty much every town in England... #moneylaundering... #jobsforillegals... #cashinhand... #notaxpaid....

It is UK Speedway, so maybe it's both?

I presume the shops, pubs and cafes in the town wouldn't agree... It will be worth tens of thousands to the local economy...

Great, positive marketing..... No negative thoughts, just opportunity to be taken... Some can do it, it seems...

With the nearest club being chosen if two want to borrow you...

That's fifteen quid of diesel saved both ways....

Let's be fair... There isn't any real rewards for winning any UK Competition, therefore promoters see their role as just putting out a Speedway meeting.... There are only three boxes that UK Speedway feel need ticking... Riders getting the chance to earn money... Fans getting to see Speedway racing... Promoters, Referees, and the Track Volunteers, all getting to enjoy their main hobby... To measure UK Speedway against other "professional" team sports is pretty much like measuring chalk to cheese.. The irony, of course, is that the money needed to be brought in to the sport to make it "relevant" and to give it some "prestige" will never happen, as no major brands would ever associate themselves with UK Speedway given the "erratic" way it is ran, hence Competition Sponsors are usually always "in-house" and connected to the sport in some way.. What we have, is pretty much all there is, which, let's be brutally honest, isn't going to last too much longer when all the "veteran" Double Uppers start to wain or retire... (And should Poland make riders pick only one league extra to ride in, it could bring the end quicker)... Ironically, when these things happen, it actually may mean those who run the UK version of the sport do eventually, through necessity, realise that "something new" just could be required.. Edit. I will add a fourth box to be ticked.. Winning at home, with winning away not a priority box to be ticked, as it can cost too much...

There must be more individual regs attached to "Guesting" then any other individual facet of the Sport... - An Away meeting average Reg... - A Home meeting average Reg... - An 8 Day Rule Reg... - An 8 Day Rule, for a No1, Reg - An assessed average Reg.. (Or has now that gone?) - A Play Off Suitability Reg... - A reason from missing/75% Reg... ; A left handed or right handed rider Reg (alright I made that one up)..... Have I missed any? Incredible they have to spend so much time making up Regulations for something no Pro Team Sport should ever countenance using in the first place...

Brilliant Woryna.... Kelvin's knowledge of world speedway is so poor... It is almost like Woryna is unheard of... He has been one of the few who more than has held his own v Zmarzlik in Poland, for several years... Similar to Kurtz, he has been someone easily at GP level for a few years, but just couldn't qualify...

Great ride from Lambert... Too nice on turn 2 but made up for it...

Phil certainly knows how to prepare a track doesn't he? ... Usually some decent racing from Landshut in the Polish league... They mustn't have "sunshine" those weekends....

They just need to drop the number of riders per team... Use the Danish model and have plenty of riders on standby to fill holes as the season progresses... Crackers to keep saying "their isn't enough riders", and still keep using a model that was fine when there was...

It's a hobby, so meetings get made up to suit, as required...

With Poland having the final... Maybe Bewley and Lambert were a pair that they were "very pleased" to see qualify?... With potentially still adding Woffy being the icing on the cake..?

100% success rate....

Always amusing to watch... Can't remember which Leicester rider it was in the PO Final who got told by Abi that there was six points in it. (One of the Aussies I think).. "To us?" He asked. "To them" she replied... "Crikey! We need to get our fingers out then don't we?" he said laughing...

Robert not aware of the score.... He knows what he has got though... The Team Manager obviously isn't too bothered about letting them know how the match s going...

Sounds like a big success all round... One promoter once told me that crowds usually settle to around a quarter and a third of opening night, however that was for tracks that had "come back" so already had a following until they closed.. Not many will remember Brafield I would think, so it is more like starting from scratch in this venture so it will be interesting to see how crowd levels move... Last nights crowd would have seen plenty of "generic" fans so, hopefully, those attending from the local area will spread the word, and the consortium also have a strong promotion package in place to build on last nights positive occasion... Were any discount vouchers given out last night?.. The next five meetings for, say, twenty pound a throw could help get people used to attending and build some emotional attachment to "their team".. In such a short time, the consortium have certainly done a fantastic job in getting the place open... Let's hope healthy crowds are the norm, and the "novelty factor" remains through the season as more and more people from Northampton, and sponsors, gradually latch on to their new sport, and team...

TNT 9 for tonight, and TNT 2 for tomorrow... That's according to "Wheres the match on TV" Website

Brennan five off four rides... His opposite nunber, Lidsey, thirteen off six.... At Foxhall..

To be fair, one is an individual event, so he only impacts himself, and the other is representing your country.... He is hugely better than young Cairns at this moment in time... If GB have an injury tomorrow, early (ish), in the meeting, they may not qualify...

"Vintage Kyle Howarth"....