mikebv

Has he announced Terry Betts as the 'rising star'?

Welcome to the Redcar thread - You may never leave..

A multi million pound indoor leisure facility planned? Sounds promising... A Speedway track with a roof, just what is needed... Maybe they will base it on the one Bradford had planned?.. "The Superdome" wasnt it?

Ricky Kling it is then....

FWIW as a neutral observer... I like watching Starke ride as he one of those riders who seem to give 100% in every race, and certainly at reserve would be "useful" to have... However, it is noticeable that it isnt often for first place that he is often "busting a gut" to get to, but more likely trying to go from third to second or last to third.. Both him and Heeps will end up riding in a position above their true level I would think through the season, (given their historical performances), which leaves very little 'wriggle room' for the team if anyone else doesnt ride to their designated position level in the team...

Even on "mates rates" I would imagine any top 10 rider will be looking at a minimum £100k for 20 matches.. Sweden will be offering less matches so maybe a few could be enticed over with that level of contract? They do though have a league sponsor so presumably bump up their payments using this money so maybe not a huge overall difference for riding less matches? So many top riders seem pleased to just run three times a week in Poland, Sweden and Denmark, and have four days off.. Presumably happy with their lot, with it being heavily funded by their Polish contract..

Easy mistake to make as both so similar...

The perfect scenario for a sport at this level, and ran like Speedway is.. And has been that way for many, many years.. Due to the way it is ran, winning a title gains very little reward of any distinction in regards to financial attainment, wider publicity, and kudos... And that isnt going to change anytime soon... So just ensure all tracks are supported to be viable and competitive and then, hopefully, as the sport gains stability, other tracks can be attracted as and when opportunity arises... With each of them being given support to hit the ground running... You can have "poor teams" in major sports as there will always be a 'Manchester United' or a 'New York Yankees' to keep the sport at the forefront of peoples awareness.. Teams whose own millions of followers will always keep the sponsors and media flooding in to follow it.. Speedway should just concentrate on building every teams' core supporter base by working together.. 18 teams all getting 500 more a week is 9000 extra punters following the sport.. No individual team will grow their business by anywhere near that number, even if going unbeaten all year...

I have it on good authority that getting more money didnt enter in to it... I believe it was solely down to him wishing to sample the different Covid regulations in Scotland..

Add in bringing over regularly the next global 'four point superstar' who would invariably go on to heat leader standard very quickly... What Matt Ford knew though was that if not challenging for honours then crowds dipped quite significantly, and sponsor's deals became less valued, hence speculated to accumulate, but with a fair degree of calculated 'certainty' of success given the teams he put together.. However he also realised that when the 'global brands' stopped riding over here he would be better served dropping down a division, being successful which provided 'decent crowds' and happy sponsors, and paying out top league riders 2nd Div pay scales, (and maybe a bit more?), but no longer paying out full Div One money... He has always ran Poole as a stand alone business which has had to make money and fair play to the guy for doing so.. You could argue that when you throw over a couple of hundred thousand of 'disposable cash' at your hobby, in such a tiny sport, it really isnt any sort of achievement even when you win something...

Not sending him a Christmas Card this year then ST?

Fantastic place to watch Speedway, either sat in your car or stood just a few feet from the action... So close in fact, I remember one meeting where Jason Garrity fell off and one of the track marshals came over and asked "Are you alright Jason?" To which came the reply from under the helmet in his best Mancunian.. "Course I am, just 'elp me get this f*#@&n' bike of ma f*#@&n' leg".... Loved going up there on a pleasant Sunday afternoon... Worth always taking a 'big coat' though just in case it wasn't quite so pleasant when you actually got there....

Could have, and should have for me, gone for Craig Cook... A balanced potential title winning septet if the other six mentioned previously were signed....

Hopefully me and the lad are going to take in four or five weekends in Poland next year, covering the Friday, Saturday and Sunday league meetings... Must admit, not sure if we should go now given I have had explained to me how good the Premiership is in comparison..... Just because all the Worlds best riders are riding over there, often in front of big crowds which generate a fantastic atmosphere, racing for titles that have some respectability, credibility, kudos and financial gain.. Doesn't necessarily mean it's better than what the UK offers up (ie none of the above), does it?

A different time now though.... Not as many options for riders these days... It would take some negotiations if anyone particularly doesn't want to move, but it definitely could work... They could follow a system similar to the draft system in the US, whereby if a player doesn't want to go where he gets picked then that team can negotiate with the one he does want to go to... With the end result always being that the team in need of improving always get either money or players off the team wanting him, thus they either have money to purchase better players, or have an improved team from the ones taken in exchange... The player too being happy he gets to play where he wants.. However, as I say, nowadays there isn't any 'elite' riders who should ever be able to dictate where they ride, and all seem desperate to double up to earn as much as they can, so maybe now is exactly the time to introduce some such a system? There are though other systems that could be used... Maybe it could be as simple as setting a 'top 3' maximum average within the overall team figure? The mean average of all the heat leaders combined from last year times three becomes the figure....? Or having a set figure based on averages that teams can only have two riders over that figure. Eg top two max 15 points...? Having more money to spend in such a minority sport shouldn't be such an advantage, neither should team building late be such a disadvantage... Many fans go along just to watch the speedway rather than care too much who wins on the night, given the way the sport is ran, therefore, you need these people to look at every fixture and think each is worth going to.. If they see a potential hammering against some weak septet then that is hardly likely to get them along to watch... And it only takes a couple of those type of meetings on the bounce for maybe a month to pass since they attended and that then becomes a threat as they get out of the attending habit... Speedway can't afford "weak teams" as those at the top don't get attendances large enough to carry it forward themselves..

The domestic sport in the 70's did as much marketing as it does today... (ie. Virtually nothing).. However, it didnt need to, as many of the riders mentioned got beamed into homes regularly during the summer months via one of only three TV channels.. (Well two really as BBC2 wasn't watched till Spike Milligan or Monty Python came on in the evening)... Nowadays, that marketing of your product is key, Gulf Oil and many other big name brands came on board on the back of England's and English riders' successes shown on the World Of Sport and, less often, Grandstand, in many Saturday afternoons.. The product itself doesnt even have to be great, just passable will do, however, if the marketing of it bites into the consciousness of the populace you are on to a winner... F1 is about watching 200mph mobile advertising boards which sit still at the start and end, and in the pits for tyre changes to maximise that advertisement... Their marketing and hype far outweight the actual entertainment value put on track, and their target market attracts upmarket brand sponsors who wish to sell to that market.. Contrived 'Mickey Mouse' rules prevail in most sports and F1 clearly is one of them, unfortunately UK Speedway has too many to hide away so they stand out and almost take over the narrative.. UK Speedway will pay out for 200 or so meetings next season at what?. Around £10k a night for 14 riders and the other costs of running the meeting? (Or maybe more than £10k a night?) However, if it is around £10k per meeting to run one, then that is circa £2 Million which is being spent collectively... A HUGE amount being shelled out considering the return on it through fan numbers and the lack of wider knowledge of it around the country.. The sport, given its "raw materials" should be much more well known and followed, however unfortunately with such a poor amount of marketing being done, it will never be..

1000% it is needed.. There are enough contrived rules anyway so one more (that is currently so desperately required), wont be an issue.. As, in the past, some riders may decide not to ride where allocated but I would suggest that there isnt an "Ole Olsen" level of rider anymore who could hold away... And all seem keen to ride as much as possible these days, including taking as many guest bookings as they can, so none would have too many issues getting a guaranteed seasons racing I would think.. Maximum pay rates would certainly help deliver this too, with a maximum meeting payment for every club being the same for all.. There is no point saving teams without fixing the underlying issues why they needed saving in the first place.. As all you do there is prolong the inevitable for "whoever" is next..

I am sure over the years plenty of riders have "loved" to be riding for certain teams.. Right up until the moment they get replaced by someone else in a decision taken by the owners to remove them from the team.. Riders are self employed so quite rightly go where the money is best.. Let's be honest, the way the sport is ran that "emotional attachment" is hard for fans to get, so you cannot expect riders to feel too "attached" to any given club.. Especially when they usually ride for a couple around Europe, two over here, and can guest for anyone who needs them if their average allows.. Loyalty goes both ways and clubs have the system they deserve due to the way they choose to run the sport. And what a coincidence it was when the Sky money ran out, and the Polish money rocketed, how many riders suddenly realised that they had too much of a racing schedule to remain riding over here as well... Riders (quite rightly), look after No1... If you are doing the same job then go who pays the most, especially in a career that could be ended in a split second..

I remember Josh Auty saying on the centre Green at the old dog bowl a fair few years ago, when he was "on then way up" as a potential star of the future that he would "love to ride for the Aces next season".... Must have meant as a guest.....

It did certainly feel as if there could be a "new dawn" during those first couple of Sky seasons... I seem to remember a lot of TV meetings having some "entertainment plan" included to try and make an "event" out of the evening, with, on quite a few occasions I attended, a reduced entrance fee using the 'extra money' Sky gave them for showing the meeting from their track... Then it all stopped and fell back into the usual stuff we still have today.. I hadn't seen that doc so was interested to hear Chris Louis' earnings from around that time, (almost six figures). So you can only wonder what the likes of Tony R were on then? And Danny Kelly's views on Speedway and where it could go to if marketed correctly were particularly interesting given his background.. £9 to get in at KL too, which is on par today when you add in inflation.. Of course post that doc, Sky subsequently put well over a million in a season for circa 20 years which sadly was the golden opportunity to leave a great legacy for the sport.. Probably the biggest mistake made ever was how the Sky money was used, and sadly, that lost opportunity to truly develop the sport to any where near its potential may never come again.. (In the UK)...

There are more than enough quality riders if they were shared around better.. The issue is that a few clubs will have 3 heat leaders of Div 1 heat leader standard and some clubs will have one at best, and some maybe none whatsoever.. There really is no point in "saving" tracks and then leaving them to face another year of struggle due to not being supported in team building.. Running the sport like they do really doesnt help anyone either, as these teams with a poor side will struggle at home so their own fans will stop going, and struggle away so their opponents then get low crowds when they visit, and then invariably pay out loads in points money for a hammering.. With ironically the team with the poor side who get hammered away getting a 'positive' as they dont pay out much... Still.... Winning that UK Speedway title is so important isnt it? Much more important than the collective growth of the sport... I mean. You may get your results in the weekly local paper, (just above the darts and crib leagues updates), and, if successful at the end of the season, be invited to a buffet with the local mayor. (Covid rules allowing obviously)... A completely avoidable race to the bottom once again for some...

But typically have ploughed on with the same unfit for purpose operating model, regardless of the obvious negative impact to the sport in the UK that it brings...

Millions of pounds given to the teams by Sky since then too... Quite an incredible "achievement" to deliver what we have today...

Spot on.. Always enjoyed my trips to Poole.. People seen to forget that others can only wind you up if you allow yourself to be wound up in the first place... And I must admit, if you keep getting bites then often the most fun thing to do is to keep fishing.....

A rudderless ship without a suitable Captain, John, for far, far, too many years.. Crying out for someone to properly lead it... You only have to look at the threads for teams struggling to get a decent team together next year to see how ridiculous the whole operating model is.. The "collective" are desperate to keep as many clubs going as possible, (any Speedway must be seen as better than no Speedway), yet they dont ensure as a "collective" that every team has a fair chance of being successful. Yet they will use a supposed "team equality" mechanic which we all know to be far too subjective when it comes to previous riding numbers in the teams rode for, home track advantage of previous tracks, amount of meetings done, assessed averages depending on where you are from etc to be of any tangible accurate use.. Some teams next season in Division Two will, once again, have three heat leaders of a high level, (on a par with some in Div One given they will be the same riders), and other teams will end up with second strings having to take heat leader positions. The result? Well, we know that dont we? The teams using second strings as heat leaders will struggle at home and be dreadful away. However all will come to the tapes "relatively equal" and no doubt every team will talk up their side. "Strength in depth, always have a good reserve, all can put two points on their averages", etc etc etc.. What the "collective" (still after all these years of doing the same thing year in, year out), fail to grasp, is that unless EVERY track can be competitive then you will never move the sport organically forward... Getting visited by teams who are "cannon fodder" simply cannot be good for the host clubs business, yet they happily allow such things to happen... With the ultimate irony being that a few will throw hundreds of thousands of pounds into their teams to try and win something with only marginally more kudos than winning a meat raffle at the local British Legion. With the lack of kudos, financial rewards and publicity, all down to their very own operating model.. In short mate. No. The sport hasnt moved on.. (Over here).. In fact you would have to say that it has regressed a long, long way..