mikebv

Looks like both Allen and Etheridge are tonight making it very difficult for Lemon to decide who to keep... Maybe he will just decide neither....

But is a good way of dissuading supporters I would suggest... Even regulars..

All spot on 100%... The issue to prevent this though is that UK Speedway is now designed, as its key priority, to provide circa 30 to 35 riders with enough rides to make them a full time living... Which also means that promoters can then afford them as they dont pay all the riders wages but share the cost with the riders other team.. Hence we keep a guest system, regardless of the wider damage it does, as it is a nice little earner to top up the salaries, and an easy fix for the promoters to put a team out on the track.. Less riders of a certain level should, common sense would dictate, mean less riders per team, or less teams in a league... But it wont happen, as the current situation is now pretty much custom and practice... Riders wont ride for just one team given the money drop, and promoters of 2nd Div clubs wont want to only use riders of a "lesser standard" again, given they can use Div One riders now whilst delivering a second level product..

I am sure UK Speedway could find a way....

I was talking about putting them on standby for EVERY meeting... Not just Newcastle's....

A good idea, however... Something much simpler.... Just put Bomber, Scott and Ben Barker on standby for every meeting.... Oh hang on... I think that is already the plan. ..

It shouldn't need anyone guesting to make a meeting entertaining... If that was the case then why not have every meeting with 14 blank spaces in the programme and track specialists get selected to represent each team..? Mickey Mouse rules kill the sport, so using its biggest one just to provide entertainment can never be good... Other sports with no promotion and relegation have minimum standards to adhere to, as they know that collectively the "brand" suffers if they have significantly disparate levels between top and bottom. However these sports have money behind them so being bottom doesnt mean a risk to survival.. UK Speedway doesnt have that luxury so needs the team/teams at the bottom to at least have a fighting chance..

Put the top 3 in each team as a collective, rather than any individual figure.. Then the riders who run 9 or 10 point averages can still get places, and be probably the most important signing the ciub makes given their status.. There will be those I am sure though who think "tough", and that some clubs will just have to make do with what they have.. And if any of the titles in UK League Speedway carried any great kudos, or financial return, I would 100% agree.. But sadly due to the way the sport is operated, they dont, so the thing that sells the sport the most is the entertainment value on offer, or at least a close meeting score wise.. Having such disparate difference from top to bottom does no one any favours from a business perspective..

Young Kowalski looks very promising... Some big names struggled to beat him...

UK Speedway is unique in that you basically choose your own level to compete in... You get hardly any publicity for winning anything and there is no major financial reward for victory... In fact. Success can (and has), helped close tracks down... There is no promotion or relegation meaning that many meetings become pretty much 'dead rubbers' as we hit mid season, given it is often clear by then who will qualify for the play offs and who won't... And. Getting beat regularly at home can dissuade home fans from attending but similarly, hammering teams regularly at home can also have the same negative impact to crowd levels,, especially when play off positions are virtually assured months out, and weak opposition are in town... Therefore. Having close racing throughout a meeting, and keeping scores close enough to remain "interesting" has to be the major priority, and the only way to do that is equally share out those riders who make the main difference to both the racing standard and the score line, ie. The Heat Leaders.. And if that means a deadline in place of say December for each team to say they will run then so be it, and should they come to the table after that then they run NDL...

Proper marker thrown down by Wroclaw tonight.. Juniors look very strong too....

Looking from the head on camera, not sure Holder could see too well... Seemed to have quite dusty goggles and tear off....

Fair call, didn't touch him... Jack bailed out.... 50/50... Chuganuv lifted but controlled it and Holder still had room... Did a Nicki P... Majic showing his usual early season form... Best rider in the world till June every year....

Dan gating!!!!! What is going on?

Kowalski seems more than decent....

Good recovery from "Tai Bewley" there...

6-0 to GB in Ht 1... Two good races to start..

I know... Wheres the fun? My lad from U14 had photo registration on the FA website... It does though mean any transfers he has had move over at a click of a button... He now plays semi pro and got registered Friday and played the Monday after, earlier this season... No "guests" anymore....

Great ride from Holder... One man team unfortunately..

Thanks R and R... Maybe Ostrow using this season as one to earn a few quid to help build up for a longer stay in the top league a few years down the line.. Getting a few young lads in will help down the road maybe... NB. Got a bit lucky in the last one, but on the pace...

Takes me back to my Sunday League playing days in the mid 80's and early 90's... Used to get a tenner a game to replace some under performing, or "injured" players in big games... Obviously no internet then so my registration was not quite up to speed, and no photo identification either... Never an issue as long as I remembered who I was if (usually when), I got booked... Always wondered why the refs never got suspicious when they booked me and I said my name was "Steve such and such", or "Paul somebody", when for the previous hour all the players were shouting "Mike"... A mate of mine used to do the same and sometimes we were against each other and sometimes on the same side.. Looking back now, we were like the "Scotty and Bomber" of the Stockport and District Sunday League....

Matias Nielsen? This level? Never heard of him to be honest..

Indeed .. Common sense isnt it? But whilst UK Speedway ludicrously allows clubs to "pick and choose" which league they want to race in then it simply will carry on with out of their depth teams...

The problem with any minimum limit is that you can still be over it but full of riders with assessed averages based on "heaven knows"... All very subjective and, invariably, inaccurate... For me, the HL's being as close as possible collectively is key, given the amount of rides they have, both to keep the score "interesting" but (far more importantly), keeping the 14 or so races they contribute to a match, worth watching.... In a sport that has no real financial reward in winning for the teams, nor any relegation or promotion to keep things interesting as the season goes by, then having as many competitive meetings (and as many competitive races within those meetings as possible), must be the over riding No1 priority for the sport...

The root cause of course being the lack of a "proper" team levelling system... Each year it happens that the teams start "pretty equal" on paper, but each season one or two clearly stand out as being not good enough from the very outset and live up to that billing by ending dozens of league points behind the leading teams, and hundreds of race points behind too... Given the lack of riders of HL level there really does need to be some kind of maximum figure for the top three, within an overall team average.. Given the HL's will invariably most weeks ride in 14 of the 30 races each team has, more if Tac Sub, having each team with a "similar level" of top three has to be the way forward if you want to have competitive meetings, and keep the entertainment value up to the standard which attracts people back.. Having teams out of their depth is simply no good for anyone's business, so why do they allow it to consistently happen?