mikebv

Something definitely to consider.. You do feel that it's only a matter of time before greyhound racing is 'hounded out' of existence given it's poor PR... Definitely feels like an orchestrated agenda gathering momentum against the greyhound fraternity.. Not to mention the falling crowds it suffers.. Housing development is much sought after politically too by local MP's so they won't be too favourable towards the greyhound followers I would suggest..

You wouldn't be an 'away fan' just because you live 80 miles away as that is your team.. You would only be an 'away fan' if you purchase your ticket from the 'away club'.. Now in your case as you live 80 miles away from your own teams circuit that might mean you have another team closer? I suppose therefore if that is the case you could buy a ticket from them and attend as an 'away fan' when the teams meet, but that would be very much an isolated scenario I would suggest. . To 'police it' tickets would only be sold in person at the away venue, no post, no emails etc.. Maybe more than just 'one fan' would be encourged to attend all season if they had some savings to be made to motivate them? Oe maybe just let them in for free? Then the restrictive travel costs, and any expenditure on the night, is the only outlay.. As can be seen from your example, hardly any away fans are there now so clubs would hardly lose any significant revenue.. And just maybe it will grow the overall experience to encourage more locals to attend more regularly?

I doubt touting would be a problem in a domestic Speedway meeting. . Fair play though if someone wants to travel to pick them all up and travel back and stand outside a venue and try and sell them... Maybe like the Poles do there could be an 'away end' (or a bench as it would probably only need) so the tickets marked 'away fans only' can only be used there.. I am sure this would put off any 'sharp practice' because as everyone knows 'your place is your place' week in week out and no one would want to lose 'their place'.. Bottom line is hardly any away fans travel now and the atmosphere is crap at most Speedway meetings.. Manchester Library will have more atmosphere and noise on a daily basis than the NSS does on a race night, (and that's a track that delivers great racing to be excited about!).. As a kid in the 70's I remember the Aces v Sheffield matches in particular and they stand out because hundreds of tigers fans came to watch. Cant remember much about the racing but do remember the noise created and the atmosphere generated by those followers.. Similar the Aces v Wolves matches of the early to mid nineties at the Dog Bowl, again the racing was secondary to what I remember about the 'banter' and the fact the result actually meant something given the passion of both sets of supporters.. Poland is a perfect Speedway example of how away fans generate that tribal atmosphere so important at a 'team sport event'. All in their teams colours replica T shirts.. And obviously many other team sports rely on the away following to generate atmosphere in their grounds, hence 'twenty is plenty' was adopted even by the 'God is Money' Football administration, as away numbers were dropping at some clubs... Hardly any away fans go now so nothing will change atmosphere wise until they do.. Time to think a bit more radically on how you can get them there..

Exactly. .. So charge away fans a tenner... Who knows maybe the club could help with a subsidised coach hire or two? 100 away fans cheering on their team might inspire their riders a bit more.. But more importantly it would make the meeting an 'event' (like other 'proper' team sports have), giving it meaning, purpose and relevance, (not to mention atmosphere), which some might find worth in attending again..

Not saying it would cover all costs but would go some way to help pay for them... Maybe also give 200 tickets to the away club for each match, to sell only from their ticket office at a tenner a pop? Even if only 100 get taken up its another grand, and 100 away fans stood together would bring a bit of tribalism and atmosphere to the sport which is sadly lacking at present.. Local derbies against traditional rivals would get a good couple of hundred I would think most times if charged a tenner which would deliver a real intense atmosphere that other team sports generate..

Five man teams, (you only need two riders each per race).. Salary capped to £5k a match, regardless of number of rides, £1500 to No1 down to £500 for No5 at intervals of £250 a position... Meaning No3 (Mr Average) gets a grand a night.. Total cost for both home and away matches is £10k.. Try a 12 team league first up (expand as and when more riders are available), meaning 60 riders needed which would then also mean a good few 'subs on the bench' for replacements.. (No guests!) Home and away twice each team means 44 league matches, 22 home and 22 away,.. Charge £15 per adult, kids free (U18) and 1000 punters would give you £15k pay the £12k needed for riders for both meetings, and VAT, and leave £3k over towards your home meeting costs... Maybe run a 'pay to ride' second half to help offset some of these meeting costs and give budding riders track time, (plenty of motorsports do "pay to compete" days).. Team strength would need to be Championship No1/Premiership Second or Third Heat Leader level, down to NL No1/Championship reserve I would suggest.. 44 matches (ex play offs) equals £66k for No1 down to £22k for No5... Not a fortune but as a job for just six months of the year not too bad, and nothing stops you getting a job during the winter..

Which is actually quite apt for a forum thats about Speedway.. Manys an unwritten rule is used during the season... Nike Superfly 6

Wow.... The trailer looks great.... Edit: just shown it my 16 year old lad and his official comment was "it looks alright that Dad, when's it on?".. High praise indeed....

British Speedway is crying out for a leading major well known Sponsor... Therefore. Surely Disney can see the obvious synergy between the two brands and would come on board..? The 'Mickey Mouse British League' would be perfect....

The Aces are definitely missing that third heat leader.. Dan is riding one position too high in the team as is Steve Worrall.. Their true level is as second strings... Their home form delivering a disproportionate overall average higher than their true capability... Not sure how the Aces sort that conundrum, hence a two man team in the main.. Especially when they have a team manager who struggles to give race winning reserves more than five rides...

Really impressed with the level of ruthless racing they put in too.. Lots of dive bombs under the opposition and rode them (fair and square), right up to the fence which let their second rider come through... Reminded me of watching Polish racing, where it really does matter who wins a Speedway meeting.. It goes to show, put down a decent track and riders will take more risks as they don't have to worry how a bike will react to certain patchy parts of a track, which only can add to the spectacle.. Max Fricke certainly coming of age, both here and overseas. Definitely got a big future... And as for Poole, well I think we already know the outcome come the Play Off Final.. Once again, a great advert for the sport coming over on TV from the NSS..

Him having a one and a half man team didn't help either...

Who cares? It's all bollox isn't it?

Only if its within +/- 5% of the mean temperature average of the last seven days, and he is at home.. Or Something like that....

This thread.... Can he guest? Whats his average? What's his average when it gets converted? Which rider is he guesting for, the one who has left or the one who is injured? Whose got the best guests? Having him as a guest makes their team stronger.. Having him as a guest makes their team weaker.. Do you use an NL reduction in his converted average, on a Monday night, if the match is live on BT, and it is sunny? Alright, I made the last one up.. British Speedway 2019... Some people don't take this sport seriously you know... And some other people seem to wonder why....

Buster had the right idea.. Plenty of local derbies.. Therefore. Use a regional conference system like the NFL does.. Plenty of local derbies but several national matches too to add variety.... Best of both worlds..

Polish Ice Packs.... Best in the World...

Because it does.... And looking at the crowds this year at the meetings the TV companies (and more importantly maybe), the sponsors, will be delighted with their huge investment.. Regular full houses regardless of whether Friday, Saturday or Sunday, top names on view, and hard, intense close racing from first race to last... The hard and intense standard of racing no doubt down to the money that these lads are on, the pressure to keep that position in the team that brings the riches, and the fervent tribal fan base generated in Poland.. The Speedway World now does revolve around Poland... As those who pay the piper, calls the tune....

This to me is where Speedway loses its credibility through having needless guests.. They should just run with six riders, Max Fricke allowed to take one ride and the riders below Bjerre being allowed to take as many of them as Mark Lemon wants up to a maximum of seven rides per rider.. eg Worrall could take all the other three but would need to miss HT 15.. Name a number eight to give cover if any other rider gets injured (eg Kyle Bickely as he is a Colt?), and I am sure the racing wouldn't have suffered, nor the contest be imbalanced. (And let's face it that can happen anyway at anytime)... I can only presume guest riding is now such an integral part of a riders overall package to make the sport pay, it gets used time and time again as the first and only thought..? Be better off giving the extra rides and earning potential to the team mates of the missing rider I would say..

At least 52 - 38... A three man Aces team again I would say.. Fricke, Bjerre and either Worrall or Bewley (but invariably not both)... Four riders took 15 rides between them at KL and got six points.. Can see a similar occurrence tomorrow..

Hope these two teams reach the play off final... Would be a cracking two legs I reckon.. Was great to watch two teams going for it with real intensity at the NSS and the score on the night belied how close some of the races finished... On another night Kent could have been so much closer going into the 2nd leg.. Great to see two evenly matched teams full of young lads giving their all.. From reports, both sets of fans at the two legs went away with nothing but a positive outlook on NL Speedway.

I know what I would do if I had two jobs and one paid me several thousand more than the other.. Especially when one of the jobs is only yours as long as you perform due to the 'waiting list' for the role, whilst the other is pretty much yours until you decide you don't want it any more.. And even if you do lose the lesser paying job, someone else will give you some work on similar money with pretty much an immediate start.. As I say, under those conditions, I know, what I would focus on, even sub consciously...

Most tracks are 'large' in the Premiership now so he really should be used to them having spent plenty of weeks riding in Poland... Get out of the start first, go down the straight and then turn left, is pretty much the same at every track.. Seems to do it in Poland and the U21 World Champs against better opposition quite well.. If he genuinely is 'a talent' he should be doing much better over here.. Really talented riders,over the years have delivered pretty much from the off 6 to 7 a match, regardless of whether they have seen the track before...

It was really. .. Both Shanes and Castagna should have been available for one of the domestic National Titles up for grabs in British Speedway.. The reality is, on the day, Birmingham had FOUR fit riders to take up FOUR places. Good odds that.... Letting riders, and other federations, dictate to British Speedway when it can (and in this case cannot), run a credible offering to the public is a large part of the sports malaise... And shouldn't be accepted..

Anecdotal and subjective evidence obviously, but... The racing in Poland (at all three levels not just the top league), does appear to be closer, with much more aggression shown.. I saw many races yesterday, with many not involving the out and out superstars, which had riders 'throwing bikes at each other'... I can only assume the financial rewards (and the pressure to remain in the team and keep them), must play a huge part in the decision making process of the riders... Doesn't seem to be anywhere near the same intensity in the UK which probably mirrors the racing... Maybe more performance pay would encourage more intensity? And maybe even include crowd numbers within that pay structure? ie double the crowd and double your money...