mikebv

Correct. . Played right into Wolves' hands now this.... They have to start favourites I would think... Their's to lose now.. Especially if the tide is in taking away the home teams advantage. . Oh, hang on... Sorry, just realised its not Poole they are against..... Come on Swindon fans, spend the next ten pages telling everyone how you really are the underdogs..

A strange idea... Must have a huge belief in Perks.. We will see if his belief is justified....

Dreadful... Any casual viewer must watch the GP's on a Saturday and wonder how exactly the same sport can be so different time and time again just a few days later virtually every week..

Isn't it policy that Bomber, Scott and Rory get first dibs on the guest slots?

Having done countless disciplinary hearings I have always found that there are usually THREE sides to every story... With my job trying to find the third one...

One league next year if Poole drop down? Wouldn't think TV would be too interested in a deal without the most successful modern day club.. Or maybe a top league of around 10, but heavily watered down to Championship level (at best), which maintains 'big hitters' like Poole? With a second tier of slightly higher than current NL level..? Good to see them seeking fans' feedback.. Be interesting to see the questions and the results...

Unfortunately running on the same night would need some riders to be in two places at once... At the meeting their own team is in, and the meeting that another team has borrowed them for.... Maybe though these two teams could get drawn to race against each other and certain riders then ride for both? The likes of Scott, Bomber and Rory could have a good week considering how many teams they represent over a season... They could get knocked out in the first round, and the second round, and then go on to be a runner up and a winner in the final.... Setting off for Poole in a minute, don't want to be at the back of the queue to get in.. Although I don't want to get there too early either... As I may end up riding for one of the teams.!!!

Does anyone (the Clerk of the Course?) have to keep an official log of these requests does anyone know? I am sure the EHO would be very interested in what dialogue took place previously should anything serious (or heaven forbid) tragic happen to a rider.. In my business I have to show plenty of due diligence when it comes to the welfare of staff and customers so I would imagine in a sport as dangerous as Speedway, this due diligence must be several times my requirements of running a store.. Who risks prosecution should they be found to be negligent in their undertakings? Today litigious society must focus the mind I would think on not taking any undue risks with the riders? Getting that fine line correct between a meeting being on, or not, must be a very difficult one on occasions for all concerned.. Damned if you do and damned if you don't I would imagine from a safety perspective, but I would think the entertainment factor also needs to have a very high priority when deciding whether to run or not..

But it happens every year doesn't it? What should be money spinners for successful teams become much diluted due to fans picking and choosing which 'Play off/Final' to attend.. Look how Workington suffered last year cramming in so many meetings.. Riding in October on the old machinery was also somewhat different too I would suggest, as the modern bike seems to struggle getting around heavy wet tracks much more than it's predecessors.. Other sports with different leagues run their finals seperately to ensure all get a good level of media coverage without anything to take away the limelight.. Whereas Speedway seem to have all three divisions ending at the same time.. And as Speedway shares competitors, unlike the other sports, it makes it even more ridiculous I would suggest to try and cram them all in if you want to maintain some credibility and avoid inevitable guestfests as the 'one size fits all' deadline day looms..

I don't think that this is as prevalent in Speedway (UK) as it is in other sports. I think most fans realise (given the way that they are ran) that the competitions are very much secondary to the entertainment that's delivered on track.. Most fans would, I suggest, take a great meeting, and a defeat, over a win delivered via extremely poor racing, ten seconds slower than normal.. I think the majority of fans are now very much "Speedway First" and "Team Second" in their list of priorities such is the way that emotional attachment has been eroded over the years due to the often contrived way the comps are ran.. I think promoters need to respect those views and keep these people loyal as lose these die hards and the sport is really on it's backside..

Sadly it does itself few favours this sport does it? A whole seasons work from the riders.. And a whole seasons support from the fans.. All treated with complete disregard and disrespect, just to deliver a deadline.. A deadline that could, and should, be moved to much earlier in the year given how many weeks no Speedway takes place, which would then provide plenty of reserved nights for rain offs/fixture clashes etc.. Thus giving the showpiece events (and the riders) the platform they deserve.. When those who run the sport treat their showpiece events so poorly, then why really should the fans bother? Rinse and repeat again next season too no doubt..

A 'summer sport' that depends on the weather so much to deliver a crowd, runs well into Autumn..! The League and play offs could easily be done by September 1st.. Maybe then the KO Cup could take place, as well as maybe a one day four team tournament, and a best pairs to bring an end of season finale?. All ran in the months of September and October if there is a fanbase for it? It's crackers to have so many gaps between meetings when the weather is at its best, so if you insist on running it like this then have the gaps on the colder evenings...

Now Poland and the GP's are done and dusted why not run the Playoffs on Sunday's? 5pm ish start would deliver a meeting under lights and bigger crowds I would think.. Oe even, if you can, run your home leg on a Saturday evening..

That's what I meant...

A worthy winner as all are when you win a season long Championship. . Fair play to Madsen, gave it a real go but I suspect maybe he just rides so much better under no pressure so something for him to work on for next year.. Truly an outstanding first go at it though and next year I am sure he won't have such a mid season dip if he finds himself leading... Yet again another very good GP.... Amazing how good the calibre of rider is at this level.. Roll on 2020... (Let's have one at the NSS)...

It would take some leg work but you could pretty much bench mark every rider in the world against their peers.. Maybe therefore they should be graded similar to the way Stock Cars do? There are that many variables due to the various leagues they race in that there will always be an anomaly or two if we go down to the 'nth' degree decimal point, yet most fans could link riders of similar ability just by watching them ride frequently, so use the average's they get as a starting point to determine their grade. A three person committee (independent) could decide on any borderline decisions...

Far too sensible, obvious, and simple, to ever happen....

You think it should be less? Could we say £99 a point? Save another £78 if we could...

Well over 60 riders rode this season and delivered an average of over 4.00 in the Premiership or 6.00 in the Championship.. (Individual riders that is, not the same rider doing both)! Therefore, how about six man teams with eight clubs in the League? 48 riders needed with plenty of riders to come in for injury and poor performance. And no need for GUESTS!.. Maybe also use the Test Match formula of the first nine heats where all pairs race against each other.. Then three races of lowest scorers to highest.. Then one final nominated heat.. Run on a 39 point average so the average rider would be a 6.5 point man (decent level) leaving scope to include some of the higher average riders without needing to bring in 'makeweights' at the bottom of the team to accommodate them.. £100 a point average per rider would mean £7800 in total paid to the riders over the two matches your home meetings cover.. Due to less races than at present maybe charge £15? 1100 adult punters would mean £16500 so £13200 approx ex VAT. Leaving enough headroom to pay all the other bills with programme profit and sponsorship? Maybe run a six heat 3 a side 'junior meeting' each night after the main event too? Or just some junior races? Expenses covered (at best) to give some track time to new riders? That would deliver 19 races for £15... It could even be promoted as "less than a pound a race"!!

Was it? If so, no surprises there then.. I also seem to remember the Aces having two absolute cracking meetings against Messrs Rickardsson, Gollob, Nicholls et al that season.. Played out in front of comfortably the two biggest crowds of the season.. Sometimes having 'the team to beat' arriving at your venue can be truly money in the bank... As a Man United fan who regularly used to go watching them all over, we used to sing to the home fans "you've only come to see United". A reference to the fact that when we played them a sudden 10000 or so above the average crowd level would turn up, (for one week only it seemed).. Speedway needs a level of aspiration be it beating the best to be the best, or moving up the leagues through organic growth based on performance, rather than having "what league do you want to be in this year?" as the measure.. The same for riders too... Too good for the NL? Then you move up to the Championship. Get too good for that and you then move up to the Premiership.. Become one of your countries best riders in the Premiership then you get picked to ride for your country in Test Matches.. Perform well in those and you then get nominated for GP qualification and SEC rounds at individual level and SON/SWC at team level... The bar getting raised through constantly improving, not standing still, or even worse, constant regression..

No disrespect but Poles are highly unlikely to tune in to Eurosports possible UK coverage in great numbers given the amount of top level Speedway they get bombarded with each week, so I don't see how Polish companies will see a positive brand message for themselves by attaching their businesses to UK Speedway.. Bomber Harris v Charles Wright (for example) might mean something to us British fans but won't I would suggest inspire too many Poles to look in on match night.. I would think that Eurosports coverage in Poland would get a similar following like the saturated football coverage does over here for non league football.. eg Torquay v Chorley will get watched as you flick through for a while if nothing else is on, but not many other than the fans of those two teams will watch the whole match with any degree of interest as non league football is dwarfed by the Premiership and Champions League saturation.. And, as quoted often, the scheduling and production of Eurosport is often a shambles at times..

No, if that happens you could still decide it's 42.5 for the League so Ippo could decide to keep their seven or use the extra points available... If though another team over 42.5 wins the league they should be allowed to keep their seven too if they so wish, and that figure becomes the maximum figure.. It's ridiculous that fans become attached to riders who win leagues (especially younger fans who you want to engage more than ever) only for them to be often left out the year after... That simply doesn't equate to a sensible business model... You also have the nonsense of TV mentioning that a meeting involves "last year's Champions" when maybe only four of them are actually in attendance... British Speedway desperately needs some aspirational attainments, and dumbing down the leagues means no team has to aspire to "beat the best" because "the best" invariably gets diluted...

Wasn't it rumoured a couple of years ago that a club got over £20k to let 'their rider' miss a meeting on a Sunday to ride in Poland? If true, that suggests serious, serious money is coming in to Polish Speedway which will inevitably get reflected in salaries.. When TV and Radio Companies out do each other for rights to broadcast your product, then that suggests you have got a very solid operational and marketable model that is very much in demand..

I fear it may be even longer than that.. I believe he is currently in Poole General holding a bed side vigil for Jack Holder... The diagnosis isn't good either.. A specialist was heard to say to one of the nurses that one of Jack's toes had "gone to market", whilst one had "stayed at home", another had seemingly had "roast beef", whilst another toe sadly "had none"... Most worrying though was that it is believed that the smallest of Jack's toes had gone "wee, wee, wee, wee, all the way home"!!!!

Seven man effort from Ippo.. Three man effort from Poole..