mikebv

And you would have added the Aces to this list as well if it wasnt for Messrs Gordon and Morton.. Who truly pulled out something quite extraordinary to get the NSS funded and built by Mcr Council..

Should have gone into the Premiership... Same riders to watch and would only need one team to pull out..

Now isn't that just typical of Poole...? They lose just one point whilst others lose up to seven.... How do they manage to get away with it?.... One rule for them, one rule for the rest.... Etc etc etc

Well said.. Physical illness/disability is often visible.. Mental illness/disability often isn't.. Best wishes to Craig... And to you..

The list maybe not quite endless, but it is very, very long.. And the IOW in particular seem to make a decent fist of using some of these techniques.. Ultimately giving your punter a good value for money night out, with no self inflicted nonsense taking place that dissuades them from returning, is usually a good starter for ten.. And if you can add actively seeking out, and then reacting to feedback from your customers as to what they thought of their night out, then you are well on your way....

Its truly a race to the bottom isnt it? And Eastbourne have won it this year.. With Newcastle and Birmingham pushing them close.. What a shambles of sporting administration from those who supposedly "lead" it... NDL level pre Covid seemed to be the way forward for so many.. So lets close that down and increase costs for tracks by letting them have second teams.... Whilst at the same time making these tracks need heat leaders from the top tier to be competitive, which they then have to find the money to pay.. What a plan....

Have the club or fans not got a Facebook page? Either official of unofficial? If so, that must be good for a couple of thousand people or more to email off and start the ball rolling.. Acquiescence is no tactic in this situation...

There is actually some mileage in this I would suggest HH.. Maybe there should actually be some kind of "minimum standard" checklist that needs completing.. Businesses in the retail and entertainment sector have "mystery shoppers" so why shouldn't Speedway..? Your list covered pretty much the "day to day" stuff that most expect to see and receive and maybe some "independent feedback" would help their overall offering? Seeking and then reacting to feedback, both good and bad, (but especially the bad), is one of the priorities of any forward looking modern business as without this information it wont move forward..

Used to go into his bike spares shop on Hyde Rd as a kid... Looking in awe at the complete bikes and bike parts.. Remember him going over the safety fence once too, bike and all... Sad news... R.I.P. Taffy...

Pretty sure you are correct, if one rider to be replaced you can replace him on a lesser average but more than one requires a reset back to the original start of season figure.. Not too sure if you have changed RS level riders eg from a 3* to a 2* if you can then use that extra point to reset the team.. And you never know quite know what will be "in the interest of Speedway" do you? A more ironic phrase than any I possibly have ever heard, as when it is used, the decision invariably is anything but in the interest of Speedway from a credibility stand point..

Break even is 1000 people..? Really? Wow... Optimistic to say the least I think.. Not many 2nd Div clubs get that amount as an average every week do they?...

"I believe you've been working as a ring master for PT Barnum, so I am banning you from working for me next Monday"... - Billy Smart....

At Kirky Lane the Stox ran circa 10 meetings per year and had crowds of between three and four thousand, depending on what Formula was running and if a BH or not.. The Aces ran around 18 to 20 meetings and had average crowds of (tops) 1200. And I might be being optimistic.. Hence over the year, the Stox ran to more people, with each meeting pretty much filling the stadium, thus, by definition, raising the profile of the sport positively to anyone new attending.. Rather than going along and standing in a two thirds empty stadium, which can only lower the sports' profile and negatively impact it.. But to be fair, they did advertise their events via local Mcr newspapers, taking out a full page, (people who read papers are working class, middle aged and older, the Stox/Speedway followers' key demographic). Maybe 10 to 12 Speedway meetings made up of various ages of rider, juniors, seniors etc, for a decent individual prize pot just maybe the way forward for some tracks? Different disciplines too rather than just 500cc Solos.. Properly advertised and marketed though and not just request that everyone "brings a friend".. 12 meetings would be two every month for six months which for me is ideal as weekly Speedway, four times a month, can hit a monthly salaries worth of disposal income hard, hence so many pick and choose when to attend.. The IOW model might not work for everyone but tracks that have access all hours and could run a "Festival Of Speed" type thing over a full afternoon and early evening, on a Saturday, Sunday or a BH Monday, may see it actually could work.. Even if they only give it a go once to test the water and advertise their "team" off the back of it.. And let's be brutally honest, even if it doesnt work, the current offering sadly doesnt seem to inspire too many to attend it, does it? Doing nothing doesnt appear to be any kind of option that's for sure.. (Again)...

Stock Cars seem to work at Eastbourne... A proper "circus act"... Have you seen the bangers? The same track that is in exactly the same place, ie still miles away from the town, when either Stock Car racing or Speedway is there.. Yet one sport pays for itself and one obviously doesnt.. You can only therefore presume it's down to what's on offer, rather than how far from town it is.. Maybe that IOW "Circus" could work too given Eastbourne through this summer in particular will be packed with holiday makers..? I suppose sadly we will never know...

No worries.. No rain in Manchester in October... However, they have left 17 days at the end of October just in case...

100%.. With the added issue of these lads needing their UK tracks to change fixture lists to accommodate them, (regardless of whether a good night to run or not), or decide to run without them and use "credibility destroying guests" instead.. (And ultimately lots of them)... Either way, not a great plan to follow, yet it seemed to be the "only" one year in year out, for some unfathomable reason..

In the top two leagues I would imagine they will want to protect their own assets.. However they may do it by having stronger riders at six and seven in the top league and keeping their juniors in the 2nd and 3rd Divs? The extra contract money would probably pay now for a Musielak, Walasek, Miesiac, etc etc at the lower end of a top league team.. With any future Kubera, or Smektala who come through, just taking a top league six or seven berth because they can handle it.. It would be truly a phenomenal standard, with a clear demarcation from Divs 2 and 3... With Div 3 becoming a league for aspiring young riders rather than a home for ex internationals earning a fair few quid at the back end of their careers.

No, not at all... But when the tipping point came and guests galore took over replacing missing No1 riders... Thus destroying the credibility of the leagues... I would have expected those running the sport to take over their own destiny rather than let it be delivered by others..

Saturday tracks didn't lose their race night due to the GP's.. They chose to lose those race nights themselves... To accommodate riders who had their own agendas to meet... Riders who a few years later dropped the UK without a second glance.. Employees dictating opening hours.. Just like we still have today.... And it will never work...

The loss of weekend racing undoubtedly was a blow, but to not then do something about it was simply hari kiri.. It was the usual lack of clear, decisive, leadership, and instead, a cobbled together, make do and mend, halfway house, half arsed plan, of appeasement was delivered... (And continues to thlis day).. I truly believe many Promoters thought that the GP's were a 'fad' and that when it "inevitably disappeared" everything would go back to normal... What it should have done then, and subsequently many times since, is plough it's own furrow, and be in charge of it's own destiny.. Instead promoters have spent 20 years or so, bending over backwards to accommodate riders who have become friends rather than employees in a lot of cases, and changing fixtures all over the place to allow them to follow their own individual ambitions... It needed then (and still does today), some hard nosed business leadership that ensured tracks ran on the best nights to get their best crowd and their employees understood that they needed to be there... Or ultimately decide to ply their trade elsewhere.. I can imagine there are still some in UK Speedway who blame the GP's for its demise, even around 25 years after it was launched.. I dont imagine Polish Speedway hold the same views, nor Sweden.. Both if which have done "more than ok" in the "GP Years"...

Rather than learn to just gate and go, and do just enough to stay in front of faster and better riders on slick, tight, narrow tracks in the UK? Tracks that haven't evolved at any where near the same rate as the bikes now ridden have...? As lots of the top GP and Polish lLeague riders prove, long gone are the days of having to do many years riding in the UK as part of your "apprenticeship in Speedway"... If some of our lads can find that "Polish Speed" through getting the backing needed, and land very good contracts, then good luck to them....

Which is exactly why they are actively recruiting I would say... They will no doubt want to keep four Poles per team... Maybe some of our lads will suddenly find some Polish ancestors...?

After their last huge TV contract, Polish Speedway stated their plans to increase the amount of teams in the top leagues... So, presuming they are not going to decide to allow 90% of their riders to ride in both the top two divisions.. Nor allow 'guests' to destroy their leagues' credibility (as well as the huge TV deal, national sponsors who put in hundreds of thousands, and obviously decimate its fanbase).. You have to think that using "more foreign riders" may be part of their overall plan? However, if so, I can pretty much guarantee it will be controlled, and it wont be allowed to impact the flow of Polish talent coming through, as they know that a successful national team is paramount to keeping the sport in the wider general public eye...

I think the "Rising Star" moniker does them few favours.. It gives the impression that they will become top level riders.. When the actuality, based on history, is that most will never reach tier one HL status (unless of course it continues to be diluted and they may then get a chance).... At their age the truly World Class GB riders of the past 20 years or so, were beating the best in the world who were all riding in the UK at the time... Eg Screen, Loram, Louis, and Havelock, all of whom were well ahead of these lads at a similar age.. Bomber and Nicholls can be added to that list too a little more recent.. With Woffinden, Lambert and Bewley the three most recent examples of riders at a very young age beating some of the best in the world in their formative Speedway years.. These lads within the RS schemes are more likely to be 'solid' riders who take places in teams that previously would be taken by foreign journeymen I would suggest looking at their current level of performance.. And that's not a bad thing for the future of the sport at UK domestic level I would say..

And they all should invest in some track covers...