mikebv

They have a much more joined up system (as you say professional), which to be honest I've always thought British Speedway should have followed.. An elected commission with no allegiances running a trade organisation of franchises.. All collectively marketing, all collectively sharing the pie that their plan delivers.. No relegation means no threat to any long term business plan and guarantees a certain amount to be budgeted for each season.. Obviously this comes with severe sanction if you let the 'brand' down and if you don't cut it then you could find yourself out of a franchise.. This aspirational business plan though obviously delivers overall organic growth.. If UK Speedway tried it, it would take a year of arguments and meetings to just agree on the name for the organisation, never mind the operating model and business plan..

Never in a million years.. It's their money and they don't want anyone involved who they need to report to.. You are right by the way... No "proper" competition would ever dream about letting its own competitors make the rules up, changing them like the wind as and when it suits/doesnt suit individuals.. What we have now is all there is... Crowds are pretty much stable(ish) I would say, all be it at a low base, so it won't lose too many more fans (unless through natural causes), as they are all mainly die hards now I would suggest.. To paraphrase an old adage, "If it can't be fixed, don't try".... Rinse and repeat ad infinitum...

Agreed, The only negative thing to come out of watching Polands coverage every weeked is then watching the coverage of domestic UK speedway on the Monday.. Sadly it really highlights the huge differences across every single facet of the sport in both countries.. Been some great racing this year, and when a team with Doyle, Holder, Holder and NKI get relegated well adrift of the top teams you have an exceptional overall competition standard..

Every team can draft pick riders from all the others teams in the league every week of the season now so no need to bring in any extra rules.. It ensures a competitive league...

Think BT might be a bit peed off.. Apart from Swindon this year the other tracks in the play offs havent offered up great racing from what I've seen on TV.. Lets hope they can all prepare great racetracks for their semis and final and good luck to all of them... Be good to get six cracking TV meetings to end the season... Presuming BT can be bothered showing them all obviously..

So is the extra point for the draw in Speedway ie they got within six points so earned a bonus point on top of the one they got for the draw..

Rugby Union and Cricket.. In Rugby the away team can score more tries and gain bonus points over and above their point for the draw.. In Cricket the away team can score the same as their opponents but take more wickets so get bowling bonus points over and above the points for the draw.. And Duckworth - Lewis - Stern can award a win for a draw, (and even if scoring less than the other team)..!

And in European Football, including the biggest club tournament in the world, you can draw and at the same time win for scoring more goals at your opponents place than your opponent did at your place.. !! One of the things UK Speedway has definitely got right is the scoring. Maybe we should give Duckworth, Lewis and Stern a call?

Attendances have been dropping for the past 40 years, well before live Speedway was beamed regularly into UK homes. Other sports though in that time have grown their attendances (and brand), on the back of much increased live coverage of sport in the past 20 years in particular.. Domestic sports such as Rugby, (both codes), Cricket with its 20/20 coverage, BSB, and Darts in particular have all benefitted tremendously by live coverage.. Darts being the PDC variation rather than the BDO.. Which I think is very relevant.. Live coverage of the BDO is terrible. Often played out in front of a black curtain backdrop to hide the lack of a crowd. Whilst the PDC sells out 10000+ arenas.. One prospers and grows year on year, whilst one hands out leaflets for their 'majors' to local milk men and taxi drivers in the town where the event is held to hand out to anyone who accepts one.. Same sport, two different ways to have used the coverage they have been given.. Similar to Poland and British Speedways use of their coverage maybe? In short, if what you put out to the watching masses is poor, uninteresting, and devoid of relevance, played out in front of empty stands alluding to its worth, then it will severely damage your brand, resulting in an inevitable vicious circle of decline... That's then your fault for letting this happen, not TV's for showing it...

Spot on... Without Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola has won as many Champions Leagues as David Moyes has..

I seem to remember he pulled wheelies down every straight to keep the crowd entertained as they watched the less than edge of the seat spectacle of one rider completing four laps all alone.. Obviously the ref didn't appreciate his efforts.. Or lack of them as he saw it... You have to remember though that the crowd were primarily there to watch him referee, not to be entertained by the show the riders were putting on for them...

From reading about the withdrawals, the quality of racing, the state of the track and the length of time it took to run the meeting.. It looks like a few were 'unprofessional'.. It's a great sport when done well.. Sadly for far too many times in this country it isn't done well.. A 'showpiece event' too which should be a standard bearer for the domestic league.. ? Surely someone in authority must see what they presently deliver is no where near good enough to ever be a success?

2ng leg set up nicely in the ZG v Wroclaw match... Advantage Wroclaw though for me ..

So in this modern age of instant 24/7 media coverage it can stand its operating model up to scrutiny against those of every other sport and be measured positively against them on credibility and integrity can it? And Speedways popularity which you describe has been on a steep year on year decline for the past 40 years using the current operating model.. Therefore I suggest they try something different to try and halt this slide because doing the same thing time and time again, and expecting different results, is widely regarded as a mark of insanity... And that's no myth..

Probably not wrong.. Incredible how this sport (in the UK), still allows ringers to come in on a seemingly ad hoc basis, and some fans are still genuinely surprised that it isn't taken seriously by the wider mainstream media...

Let's be honest. . It's all a bit Mickey Mouse isn't it? They are very lucky to even have a TV company showing the racing over here, and I would think it's only due to the SGP coverage that they already have that BT bothered to come on board.. Imagine if the sport went out on mainstream TV and someone trying to explain last weeks Peterborough team to the watching millions? Or last year's Grand Final where two riders who ride for neither team were initially planned to represent both finalists, swap at 'half time', and change teams..? And then explaining how riders can swap teams every week of the season, effectively destroying their own season, their own teams' season, and, incredibly, their own fans' season, by scoring points for rivals who are competing for the same competition title.. Sometimes it's for the best that no one seems too bothered.. Speedway, (in the UK) should be grateful it gets any coverage at all..

Well done Rybnik.. Hopefully will now go on and win promotion.. Good to see Dan Bewley have a decent match too..

It really is chalk and cheese when compared to the Mickey Mouse Sport we have over here isn't it? Superb entertainment and real pressure on the riders to perform.. No wonder tens of thousands go an watch it..

Loving this... If only the UK could engender the same passions of its fans.. 2nd Div too.. Fajfer superb in the last one.. What a bend.. Fantastic..

But is it in the 'interests of British Speedway''? I love the way Speedway over here always throws that little caveat in at the end.. Basically, "We do have rules. It's just that we might not always want to implement them"

That's good... Maybe next week they could start with a blank piece of paper and let the fans pick two septets? Foxhall specialists obviously.. Do it to a 42.5 point total team average and you would have some great racing I would suggest, never mind decent.. Maybe call one team 'Ipswich' and the other team 'Poole' and the winners can get either three points or four points towards a National Title.. You know, thinking about it in more detail... 14 track specialists at every meeting in the UK, and lots of rides for the riders to earn as much as they can before enjoying their winter, ticks two major boxes there.. The only down side could be seeing the same 14 track specialists time and time again at your track but that could be spiced up a bit by swapping them around and mixing them up between the two teams each week.. Which to be fair, isn't a million miles away from what happens now so shouldn't pose too much of a problem.. Could catch on this..

Then no one in authority within British Speedway can ever moan about a lack of mainstream media coverage Neil.. Nor can they complain about a lack of blue chip company sponsorship for their teams and the league as a whole.. Imagine, for example, Tesco sponsoring the Panthers? Their brand will be linked to such nonsense that is allowed to pervade week in week out within Speedway and therefore could become damaged by its association.. Ultimately this means there is no way these major companies would get involved with something so devoid of any credibility in the context of a bona fide National Sporting Championship.. In fact it probably is good news to a large degree that it is constantly ignored by the wider media given its so open to ridicule. Imagine Poland running Speedway like this with the exposure they get every week? Believe me, it wouldn't get anywhere near the same wall to wall coverage, fan base or sponsorship from national companies if they did.. Two months of what we accept over here would see a collapse of their Leagues and crowds akin to the GB levels as TV companies and sponsors would drop it like a stone.. If you can't do something properly then probably best not to do it at all as, with all things, you are only as good as your weakest link.. And Speedway in the UK have more weak links due to its operating model than is good for the brand..

For many who have started watching the sport over the past decade, Rider Replacement could be their favourite....

The meeting shouldn't have taken place.. It did the sport zero favours and renders the whole competition completely irrelevant if it is held in such disregard and contempt by those who organise it. The riders got the chance of another pay cheque though and I suppose that's the Number One reason the sport exists (in the UK) these days..

And more than BV got at KL...