mikebv

Good meeting that.. Lambert again showing his progression to the very top level.. Be good for the young UK lads to watch him and how much you need that 'forceful' style of riding at the very top level to be successful.. You cant wait for mistakes in Poland to pass, or hope the track has an outside line to help you.. As the very top riders show, sometimes you have to force the issue at the highest level..

100%.. And gone are the days of No1's picking their own gate, and if on gate 4 nowadays, then their opposite number can pretty much screw up their whole race at the first turn, given there is a far narrower difference in level between No1 riders to second strings now... In years gone by a poor first couple of turns could see the No1 rider finding himself at the back however he could, on many occasions, comfortably pass both his second string and the opposition's to finish second.. Not as easy nowadays given the No1 invariably isnt a 10/11 point average man..

They weren't all going to get round there..

I would bet if they all got a £10,000 per match fine for running with guests, or an equal fine for putting out a weakend team due to missing riders, then they would "find a way" to run every meeting without guests and with teams of a sufficient standard.. Either through a common sense approach to fixture planning, a fit for purpose rider replacement facility, or even have less team places up for grabs so it creates surplus across the two top leagues to replace injured or underperforming riders.. Let's face it, it is just "easier" to use guests isnt it? And that is why daft fixture clashes will not even be seen an issue.. And also why a truly exciting sport will never reach its wider potential in this country, as, sadly it cant be taken seriously..

I remember that... I think though that it is now banned as part of the Covid regulations.. Boris got wind of it and issued strict instructions to the local council that KL must never use it whilst the pandemic is on.. The last thing you need is 1300 KL fans shouting at the top of their voices and jumping up and down to this magnificent 'war cry' potentially spreading the virus.. In fact, it was so good, even the away fans will start joining in..... I saw the footage because my then 16 year old lad came flying down the stairs with his phone in his hand saying "You've got to see this!".. At then end of it, he just said laughing.. "And WE go to Speedway"....

It is barmy isnt it? A sport whose leagues run with so little credibility and kudos, actually plan in to make it even less credible and give it even less kudos in winning.. And if anyone says "shortened season due to covid" then why run junior teams if fitting in first team meetings would be an issue this season.. Or.. Plenty of double headers with the junior team could have been replaced with two teams from their own league visiting.. What you often get when these meetings are planned in is "Team A" wanting the match on due to a 'weaker' "Team B", and "Team B" agreeing to it because they have lined up a track specialist ringer which actually can improve their chances. "Please take us seriously"...

Yes, and quite rightly too... As it's their job, and their job alone, to make the sport look bad...

One of Len Silvers targets seems to always have been to try and do everything to have 'weekly speedway'... Which has no doubt helped him when deciding to call off meetings, as he knows there is (usually), "always next week". Meaning dissapointed fans won't have to wait long to be back at the stadium, and he won't be 'peeing off' his customers by putting on either a very poor meeting or calling one off after it has started... For many other tracks it may be their only meeting for a month so try everything they know to get 'dodgy weather' meetings on, with often the obvious disastrous consequences for the entertainment value provided and dissatisfaction to their 'customers'... Fair play to the guy, his longevity in the sport suggests that he more than "knows his stuff"...

Take it Troy isnt on your Xmas card list then?

The Newcastle thread said it was a '6 block'.. (?).. With THJ going into great detail as to why it was thus.. Maybe the council have agreed another plan? If so, sounds much more fan friendly.. (Either that or you are going to have 5 new friends sat with you)..

Haven't Newcastle got the same structure? ie blocks of six being sold.. The bottom line is that such low capacities need to have their returns maximised... And to be fair to the teams faced with these reductions, many actually have a much less supply of tickets available than the demand from the fans. (For once). Therefore they could have gone down the route of increasing admission by a more higher amount than they have.. In a block of six if only one person wants a ticket would they be prepared to pay the £108 that the block should deliver? I wouldnt think so.. You can rent an 8 bedroom villa in Spain for £4000 which could cost £500 each or £4000 for one.. Either way the owner needs £4000 for it.. Not ideal granted and it may mean some regulars dont get to go to every meeting, but much worse is a track closing due to being unable to financially keep going.. And if that happened no one would be able to buy tickets even in 'blocks of one'...

Wont make too much difference to them I would think as virtually guaranteed to be play off contenders.. Might be saving them a few quid too if Batchelor doesnt score too heavily in the first month given he will be one of the top earners.. Having their 'perfect septet' for play off time will be their aim.. Holder at 1 and the rest can get moved around as and when..

It was really noticable how many times the riders just turned and went back to the pits.. So obvious in fact that I presumed they must have been on notice to do so.. Some great racing which deserved the chance of acknowledgement.. Was it down to part of getting their 'Covid licence'? By that I mean were they instructed not to get everyone shouting at the same time..? Daft I know, but given celebrating each race is such a 'bleeding obvious' thing to do, then why not do it?

And by the middle of June the Govt will be able to see the impact the May 17th restriction easing has had on the Covid infection rate... If it has gone up then it would be unlikely to see June 21 going back to 'normal'...

With only six teams every match won't be far off being a top of the table clash...

And Steradent..

It does look a bit like a SAGA or Darby and Joan outing when they pan around the crowd doesnt it? And lets be honest, no self respecting late teenager/twenty something would be seen dead going somewhere where not even your dad, but your grandad, attends, so looking at so many "crustys" as my lad describes anyone my age and over (53), wont mean too many under 40 I would say would look on thinking "I might go there".. And the sub 30 somethings definitely wont be racing to attend.. Let's hope post Covid the clubs on TV plan in a few organised trips for local schools, kids sports leagues, scouts, guides etc etc etc.. If it looks worth visiting it might inspire more of the same peer group to mither their parents to attend.. It is really noticable when you see the demographic of the crowd in Poland, that Speedway over there must be seen as "much cooler" than it is seen as over here.. It's exactly the same sport, therefore, UK Speedway needs to find a way to make it "much cooler" over here..

Cricket has plenty of stats thrown at the viewer so maybe Speedway could do overall rider averages, home and away averages, their averages at individual tracks, % of race wins to races competed in etc etc. It could add another dimension to the viewer watching.. And provide discussion points in the breaks between races.. Poland now show how far and how fast the riders have rode and their reaction times... Anything that pricks interest has to be considered I would say..

Or... "Do you think you could still win this"? "I don't know, what's the score?"..

Watching Speedway without 'Hinge and Bracket' just wouldn't be the same... Great to have them and the Speedway back... Excellent meeting as a starter for Eurosport, let's hope Monmore Green can deliver a similar standard of racing next week... Very good overall presentation from Eurosport too, with quite a few various camera angles... Took a while to get the levels of commentary right given the noise of the bikes when passing the commentary position, (never thought I would think that with Nigel and Kelvin)!! Maybe get Abi and Scott off the centre green sat in front of some sponsors boards? Like they do in Poland.. Three hours of coverage for some company wanting it? The only sponsor boards were behind Steve Brandon who was on screen much less than Abi and Scott... Lots to be optimistic about regarding the Eurosport coverage of the sport I would say.. And with only six teams the NSS should be shown quite a few times which is never a bad thing to promote the sport..

Spot on... They risk their lives commentating for our entertainment....

Well Rory is British Champion..

Presumably (like tonight), so you can rustle up a last heat decider when ordinarily it could be "game over"..?

And Josh Bates too..

When they show close ups of the crowd you can really see the challenge UK Speedway has... Watching Polish Speedway the crowds average age must be a good 30 years lower... If I was at the NSS tonight I would bring the average age down (at 53)...