mikebv

When i used to go I had exactly the same outlook... ie "just watch the racing, the result doesn't matter"... Gradually though I eventually decided I couldn't justify the outlay for me and my lad (and its £37 quid this year)... To be honest, being surrounded by those who happily colluded with promoters that what we were watching was a 'proper sporting contest' also used to wind me up too.. "If they are wearing the Ace of Clubs then they are my team"....

Especially if it's a designated seat with social distancing restrictions around it.. It could be sold again at the next meeting and two people have the same seat.. Add in another rain off and three people might have the same seat.. Be like a circus balancing act... Let's hope all have had both vaccines..

Spot on.... And in reality that is SIX teams racing on Saturday nights.. (Unless any of the above race against each other obviously which lowers it a bit).... I presume the FIM/FIME seem to think that by publishing its calendar well in advance, that this should be sufficient for UK promoters to use common sense and work around it, and not race league meetings needing Guests on the same nights which destroys the credibility of the league?... How very dare they come to such a conclusion, don't they know how Speedway is ran in the UK.. ... NB: Maybe we could run more meetings on Fridays? Oops. Forgot, we once did that and it wasnt 'universally' liked was it?

So the cost of flights and tests were ok last week for Dan Bewley to get to the NSS a day after racing in Poland? And Jack himself after riding in Poland the same weekend.. Amazing isn't it how it worked out ok then? Also amazing is how when a No1 is missing it always seems to be not at his home track but when riding away? I wonder if it was a Tigers v Witches fixture if their number one 'drawcard' would have been missing? Still, I suppose they have that many fans attending that one or two more deciding 'enough is enough' won't be even noticed... Just like those who already have given up over the past decade in particular seemingly haven't been noticed yet...

They had pretty much a 'free pass' this season.. They could have tried some new operating model with six or five man teams based on UK domiciled riders who are not riding overseas... They could have tried a new heat structure, they could have ran with less heats but reintroduced a full 2nd half for juniors... They could have done lots of 'experimenting' to see what worked and what didn't... Instead it's the same old, same old... A gift horse looked fully in the mouth.... Takes some doing to waste a 'free pass'....

No one will complain.. As they know that maybe next week, or the week after, or the week after that etc etc etc... They will eventually also need a made up Mickey Mouse ruling to be given to them 'in the interests of speedway'... Imagine trying to get a major blue chip company sponsor involved with a sport ran like this...?

On another thread I have said that those who go won't complain as they clearly accept it.... It's the 'ex followers' who are not there anymore, and the silence from the spaces that they used to frequent, in the four fifths empty stadiums, that should be 'listened' to.. Wont happen though, we all know that..

When you say hardly anyone takes it seriously, I presume you include promoters in that too? They've basically given up haven't they?

Maybe Jack has been given permission to ride in Poland? Seem to remember him being allowed to do so before.....

Rain off time...? It says he isn't available due to a rearranged fixture in Poland... Surely that means the UK have priority? Isn't that a 28 day ban if he doesn't ride over here?

They do... And sometimes it's even been down to it raining...

The extension lead wasn't long enough...

Have you seen Man Citys figures at the 'Emptihad'? Even during lockdown they announced 60,000 each week.. Even when they were away...

With Mickey Mouse as its jockey..

What happened to the plan for track covers? Didn't Berwick use them quite successfully on several occasions? There are still a great many meetings called off due to 'damage done' well in advance of tapes up time, with the day/night of the meeting completely clear of rain... Wouldn't using the TV money now provided to buy covers be a good way of improving the long term success of the sport? TV companies pay a lot of set up money out to show live sport so would much prefer a higher chance of it taking place I would think. (Especially when covering such sports that can be rain impacted).. Covers may help gain further contracts as well as providing "unsure" fans with more confidence to attend... The last TV contracts didn't appear to produce any tangible lasting improvements to the sport so maybe this one can?

Premier 1 showing it..

But that is 100% the frustrating issue... It clearly isnt an 'impossible situation' to run the sport properly.. Running with three riders you 100% know will be missing is 'self inflicted' nonsense.. As is every meeting they run on nights which mean guests when the FIM already have a meeting in place.. And invariably on 'FIM nights' the missing riders are the better ones who, by definition of being at that qualifier or final, should have been one of the 'main fan attractions' at the league meeting.. The promoters will no doubt argue when in their own 'echo chambers', that... "No one in the stadiums complain about the make up of the teams". And that may be 100% factual, however.. Its the 80% empty terracing at the vast majority of tracks that they should "listen" to.. That "deafening silence" from those who still keep a keen interest in the sport, but are no longer prepared to pay out their hard earned to UK Speedway, is the 'noise' they should be listening to and learning from.. As has already been mentioned, this year was always going to have some 'travel chaos', (you didnt need some superhuman psychic skills to predict that)... So therefore why run with their usual operating model when it was so obvious huge logistical challenges would exist? Why still run with 7 man teams? Why still run with a plethora of overseas riders? And, if running a wider NDL league as they have planned, why not instead do a combined level league using an amalgam of British based Championship/NDL level riders, rather than run the two leagues seperate, (which no doubt will result in even more fixture clashes where riders have to be in 'two places at once').. Not 'impossible situations' at all... Just more of the same self inflicted nonsense which has gone on well before the pandemic, and no doubt, will continue a long time after..

I can't obviously speak for the person concerned but I would be surprised if it was... Because, over the years, my team (or should I say my 'select'), have lost ( and won) in such contrived circumstances, and therefore, the outcome of the meeting didn't matter enough to be disappointed (or pleased).. And when followers of a team sport have an attitude of '"the result doesn't really matter" due to way the teams are contrived, then it really can't be a good thing...

At UK level I don't think it is even supposed to be that anymore.. Lets be honest, this season the promoters can hide behind the pandemic and the fans will cut them lots of slack given how long they have been without speedway.. The reality of course is that much of what will happen this season will have happened pandemic or not.. As that is simply the way they choose to run things..

Certainly seems to have worked for Leicester if the attendances quoted on their thread are accurate.. ie drop down, stop paying out for GP riders and stop having to ride mid week to accommodate them. Net result? Larger crowds at weekends watching (due to the amount of DU's), a great many of exactly the same riders they would have seen riding anyway if they had stayed at the 'top level'..

And then reinstated every year since then... And then removed sometime every year since then.... And then reinstated again.. And then removed again.. Etc etc etc . All in the interest of Speedway obviously...

Agree there... However someone who was once deemed a 'gating tart', and nothing more, has developed into a much more forceful rider over the past few years.. The play off final at BV a few years ago a case in point when he and Lindgren came together.. The Kenny of earlier in his career wouldnt have got involved in that I would think.. Maybe this year he has had the 'Polish persuasion' to buck his ideas up..

Gets a bad press for his passing does Bjerre... The last few years have seen him venture much wider and pass a fair few opponents... Saw him at the NSS regularly go round the opposition riders...

Presume helmets don't count, only front wheels?

It's also noticeable that Jack Holder is now 'nearly there' when it comes to the very close contact stuff where blinking first loses you the race... I think that this year will see him outgrow the UK League, and move on to racing full time just against the very best.. Dropping back a level each week doesn't help as it doesn't provide a true picture of progression, or where you truly are in the pecking order... As you say Dan Bewley is in a similar position I would think.. And as daft as it may sound... Nearly there but with still a long way to go, given the huge level of performances, consistently delivered, that the very top riders can achieve...