mikebv

Gerhard did well....

So where are the bikes? Must be useful for something... And Jon Cook did a pretty good job in targeting MX... I remember a Speedway Star interview with him where he basically was targeting MX riders with his selling point being that a "decent" Speedway rider could (at that time), ride three or four times a week and earn over four grand..

It was (and still is), a tiny sport, so why there was this obsession to ensure "the stars" stayed riding over here was beyond me... I can only presume it was more "promoter ego" that wanted the best in the world working for them.. There is no "pot of gold" in winning any UK competition, and hardly anyone out of 80 million people will even know who won what, so I can only think rubbing shoulders with the worlds best must be what many Div 1 promoters were in it for.. Many, many, millions given to them, and all to regress... Absolutely barmy...

It was discussed a few years ago... The plan, if I remember correctly, was for any rider in two or three teams to ride for the team in his own nation. Eg if he was Danish he rode for his Danish team, with the other teams he rode for bringing in a guest... Riders such as Aussies would ride for the team in the country they first appeared in... It never got past the discussion stage it appears....

An Acca.....

You could bet on how many guests turn up in a play off semi final.,. My money is on three.... Japan's version of the sport is set up just for betting.... #justsaying.....

Didnt the BSP buy a load of those GTR bikes? If so, why not just use them for dozens of practice days and see if anyone with ability turns up... MX seems to be a decent breeding ground as it appears Grasstrack no longer looks like the pathway...

According to one promoter... "The No 1's".... Who all then pretty much effed off to Poland and Sweden as soon as the UK gravy train ended for them.. Personally I wasnt ever convinced bringing "the top stars" back a few years ago was going to be a "Golden Ticket" given the fact that when pretty much every single top rider (maybe apart from Tomaz Gollob), rode over here week in, week out, during the "Sky years", the crowds didn't grow, in fact, they kept declining overall... Which suggested the "top names" were not deal breakers as to whether fans were attending or not... Plymouth is a perfect example of where "the cast of the production" hasn't changed, yet the number of people now watching them has increased considerably, just by changing their "opening hours", which are now obviously more aligned to people's leisure time...

The UK had over TWENTY MILLION quid from Sky alone... That's a fair old "subsidy".... Yet, here we are with the current situation...

Are those people waiting for the usual Free Palestine demonstration?

It would be interesting to see what would happen if they said, as of tomorrow, everyone rides for the same money as the UK pay out.... The riders would be in meltdown and asking for much more from the UK and Sweden..!!! Imagine the UK promoters reaction then? And it isn't really their fault that the UK and Sweden haven't developed their own leagues and riders.... Both leagues have set race nights, with the Swedes still using the same night they ran on when they got many more punters in the Trick era... And, the UK initially used Monday, Wednesday and Thursday as their TWO nights where they had priority.... .. The fact is both the UK and Sweden have brought in journeymen after journeymen from abroad which took away many hundreds of chances for their own riders to race... Whilst the Poles ensured they developed their own riders by ring fencing positions for them.. I would actually think the Poles may have looked at how the UK has ran the sport since the early 80's and used that as template NOT to follow under any circumstances whatsoever... In fact. Doing exactly the opposite would become their operating model....

Its clear from the interview that the FIM are not held in any regard whatsoever by the Poles.. They do believe that they subsidise the rest of world speedway... Which, to be fair to them, they certainly do to a large extent... The £400k (and quite often much more) that the top riders get does enable them to ride for much less in other leagues, and put together their GP set ups...

It would be just like watching Justin Elkins all over again....

When they pay out six figure signing on fees, and then two grand a point, I can see their view....

An interview with Rafal Dobrucki in this weeks excellent Speedway Star tells you all you need to know about the psyche of those who run Speedway in Poland... "Poland provides the livelihood of the sport" being just one of his comments... "Poland speedway effectively sponsors the entire World Championship" being another... Got to say, the Speedway Star, whilst always being a good read, has really dialled up the levels in the past 12 months or so with it's features....

Fantastic interview with Gerry Facenna in the (ever excellent), Speedway Star... He mentions how successful the "Trust The Fans" mechanic has been in driving up crowds... Many years ago I mentioned to a promoter the very same idea of letting his fans bring someone in for free for three matches to see if they could be enticed to keep attending, with my rationale being "these people are not there now", so "no loss".... Never mind spitting his tea out, he nearly spit his dentures out!!!! His answer was "some will just take the p**s and come in for nothing"... I said that that was obviously a distinct possibility but if you explained it well enough, given the loyalty of Speedway fans, not that many would, and the possible long term rewards far outweighed any short term risk... It didn't happen and his crowds continued to drop....... Nice to see some promoters actually promoting... Best of luck to Glasgow...

They don't spend five figure sums on their "kit".... That is the stumbling block for the sport... And then to recoup that amount (and much more to justify doing this "job"), riders then have to be available seven days a week to travel around Europe and ride, often with minimal notice should a "guest" opportunity suddenly turn up in the UK, or a team spot, or individual meeting invite, abroad.. The promoters pretty much expect the riders to be "fully professional" and then completely undermine this logic, and expectation, by running the sport the way they do... That is to say, running it against all the rudimentary basic principles you would expect from a professional team sport... The sport, in the UK, sadly, has so much now to unpick that it probably never will be able to do it...

And Darts and Snooker.....

What I expect is a post AGM press release, stating... "It was the most harmonious AGM ever"... "The plans for next year, and beyond, are the most exciting ever put together, and were delivered with total collaboration by everyone in attendance".. "All the promoters have come away from the AGM in agreement as to how the sport should move forward, and all share the same vision for it"... "There are challenges, but with the plans put together, we will be able to meet those challenges head on and build a very bright future for Speedway in the UK"... "We have put together a fantastic plan for youth development to build on the magnificent work done over the past few years in particular"... "We are sure the loyal fans of the sport will be delighted with the decisions made, and continue to attend next season in their thousands".... "And hopefully bring a friend" (Sorry, made that one up)... "It was the most harmonious AGM ever.... "(S**t, we've had that one)"

I am sure something similar was written about two decades ago.... Heads unfortunately remained firmly in the sand sadly with the years and years of TV millions simply being squandered on paying top riders to race in front of annually diminishing crowds.... Yet. The same old thing got given "another go" year after year.. Truly amazing....

It at lleast give the promoters 12 months to sort something out... But not sure it changes too much from the current situation as not many Danes or Swedes currently ride over here.. For the "top riders" most who ride here don't ride in Sweden or Denmark so they may stick with the UK...? (If they don't get removed from the UK next year that is!!!)... Is it just Max that rides in Sweden of the GP riders who currently ride over here? The Aussies could also possibly face visa issues to live here if they don't work here.. It will count any Danes out as I believe they must ride in their own league to get a licence, and the Swedes will ride in their own leagues I would think... Most of the Poles and Europeans seem to prefer Sweden now as their alternative league currently, so, for the UK it won't make that much difference I would think... Unless of course the money in Sweden is significantly higher and those who currently do ride over there, here and Poland get their heads turned by it... And that could be a distinct possibility as you will imagine Sweden will be doing everything it can to make their leagues more attractive money wise given it could be a straight choice between the UK and there for many of those mid level riders in particular..

As the saying goes. .. "If it ain't broken, why fix it"....

It ilooks like it will be a ONE year plan at the UK AGM..... (A bit longer than they usually last for though to be fair)...

You can understand if the teams with "top level riders" are reluctant to part with them... Their rents won't drop yet their admission costs will need to, to reflect the significant drop in standard of the riders on view, and crowds wont increase to cover the reduction in admission charge, riders costs may drop but would crowds match the ones delivered with the top riders there? Sponsors also may only want to be involved with the "top riders" and could either pull their money completely or reduce it due to, again, the drop in levels.. So many teams need so many different scenarios... A proper self inflicted cluster eff...

There is no one league that keeps the sport going as both have similar examples of crowd sizes, kudos in winning competitions, and public awareness... Maybe next year we could have a Premiership, but at a reduced level...? Ipswich, for example, could keep Emil (presuming he wants to ride over here), and then release Doyle, Brennan, King and Ellis to spearhead four teams in a much watered down league... You know.... For the good of the sport rather than selfishly looking out for themselves, particularly as they have the financial backing to do that etc, etc, etc... .....