pandorum

I would never dream of saying to Nige's face that I think he does an excellent job and I really enjoy him and Kel's commentary so maybe I should stop saying that here. And I wash every day

The Swedish 2nd tier does this on a subscription basis and used to show these matches free on the internet. If it was done well and not too expensive it may appeal to some. Perhaps some sponsors and advertisers could become involved to offset cost especially if they offered sponsor/advertisers some decent coverage at the startline, bends etc and during the meeting with perhaps between racing advertising. For me the first hurdle is the nature of the people who would have to make the effort to do such a thing. Could a shallow bunch of blinkered, self centred, spiteful individuals work together to make something like this a reality? I won't hold my breath but echo the kudos to Mr Shovlar for some food for thought on an intelligent thread.

The Play off system is a great idea which is why other sports use them. Whatever the sport does next year will involve Play offs. They are a success so why dump them. The sport has a hell of a lot wrong with it and this season has been one to forget for many reasons. We will see next March how many teams have survived the winter and will see what brilliant strategy the BSPA have come up with to ensure the sport flourishes I for one won't hold my breath. As to Kel and Nig I am a supporter of them. I like them. But sadly like the Poole v Everyone else saga the haters won't stop hating. Well they should celebrate as apart from SGP and SWC they won't have to listen to either of them next year

I am a big Emil fan and wanted him to win this year. But the pressure got to him and Tai overhauled his lead. Tai is a thouroughly deserved world champion and did it the hard way. Emil may well end up as one of those greats who never win a world title. I do hope that is not the case as he is such a great rider. But to belittle Tai's world championship win is a bit silly. The guy won it fair and square and probably would have done it whoever was there. He had his share of injuries and who is to say he would have not scored more points if fit. For me the world champion deserves to be world champion by virtue of beating those he has to beat. Injuries have always played a part in this sport and always will. Sometimes those deserving of something become injured and fail to get it. Welcome to Speedway And as far as one off finals go. No is my answer. Under the old system we would likely never get a Brit champion. The GP system seperates the men from the boys in a way the one off system never could. Babbling on about qualifiers and some mythical fairness the old system had is pointless. The GP system ensures the best are fighting it out in a way qualifiers never could. I was at Wembley when Penhall won. Great crowd and great atmosphere but OK racing and the field was not the best 16 riders by any means. Forget Wembley and what once was. That crowd no longer exists here and they struggle to get 40000 in Cardiff. History is great and speedway has a great history but living in the past should be left to Jethro Tull.

I would have thought sponsorship would have a little to do with it. Watch an EL match on TV and compare it with a Polish and Swedish and even a Danish TV meeting with regards sponsorships on display.

The Green helmet was a perfect example of the sport moving with the times. As it was done specifically to suit TV. Other than that the sport is still stuck in the flat cap and whippet era. I am an old man. I don't go mainly because my team no longer exists. Other reasons as well but I love the sport of speedway and watch it online as often as I can. To dismiss a demographic because they are 'old' as our friend from Newcastle does shows what tiny minds some in speedway have. I can recall the good old days of Newcastle Speedway and have seen Brough Park full on several occasions but don't live in that era. People here who no longer attend meetings do so for many reasons but that does not mean they cannot contribute. To say different smacks of some kind of elitist nonsense. I have never been into space but can involve myself in a discussion about the Mars Rover if I want to. The sport in Britain is dying on it's feet and needs every friend it can find even those who no longer attend meetings.

Yeah I did not know it was 2 legs so see you next week Have a good day

That certainly does good race by Czaja. Back on Sopcast

Me too I am on PL Sport. Not brilliant but OK. Missed a couple of laps of the 3rd race.

True 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'. But we at least have people in power that know the Earth is not 6000 years old I am back there in May so am hoping it is sorted by then Looks like they have the Danish guy on the graphics this morning Great ride by Loktaev

Pity no Greg Laguta but still might be a decent meeting. Got to be better than the PO Final 2nd Leg. Has the shutdown (slimdown) affected you Alan?

I think Emil and Tai might have something to say about that He is a fantastic rider but he is just one among a group of young excellent speedway riders. We saw how the pressure got to Emil when he was leading and how Tai coped with the pain barrier. As always lots of factors will determine the 2014 champion. He will be in the mix no doubt

I see they took my advice and put Hans out in that heat

Ah that was a girls race I wondered what was going on We had that at Poole when a bunch of girls rode last Monday

They would be better sticking Hans on the bike

Nescafe involved. That is interesting!

Good crowd Sopcast good stream That's shut me up then Nice bit of speedway history they have there. Hans Nielsen was a hell of a rider. Lucky enough to see him many times. First time he got an 18 point max for Young Denmark

Bit of a moot point but I don't think AJ replaced him as I don't believe for a second he was ever riding. A bit like the SEC carry on. There was only ever going to be ONE meeting he was going to take part in after he rebroke his collar bone. This 'replacement' was annouced 45 minutes ago but Tai was never going to be there . Very sneaky

Don't really see what that has to do with anything and I never mentioned anger He is not riding now anyway! And I don't believe he ever was

I would have thought speedway would be looking to attract anyone with a wallet at the moment. Sad part is it isn't 'attracting' anyone and is hemorrhaging fans due to p#ss poor production values, dilapidated stadia, rubbish racing surfaces, debacles such as the Poole Belle Vue farce, intransigence on behalf of the BSPA and a general malaise that comes from a sport in serious decline.

He would be stupid to risk any further damage in a mickey mouse meeting like this if he is having an operation next week on his collarbone. Also his English fans at Wolverhampton would question why do this but miss thier meeting?

Excellent news. I will tune in for a last fix of Polish speedway and that will be my lot for 2013 as I can't be bothered watching anymore EL as it has pretty much bored me this year. Poland and Sweden have produced some great TV speedway but our stuff has been lamentable sadly.

You are evil Tai seems a very nice lad and did well in his BBC stint. I am not a fan of body art but that is the individuals choice and should not detract from the fact he won the event through guts sheer determination and excellent organisation. But one thing that has to be said he is going to look bloody weird when he is naked as a 70 year old

And people complain the double point rule is Mickey Mouse It's not the length of the races that are a problem as a 4 lap race between four evenly matched riders on a decent racing surface is entertaining. It's the clapped out stadia, the lack of investment in home grown talent, the attitude of the people who run the sport, the lack of investment in the most important part of a promoters business......his track surface. It's competition from other things to do, the expense of a night out watching the sport, the expense to the riders which adds to the expense to the customer, lack of identity between riders and fans which used to be a major factor in 'the good old days'. It's so many little things that have not been learned from the past with a view to looking to the future. Some are easy to fix whilst others are more to do with a society that has moved with the times and demands more for thier pound than speedway is seemingly willing to offer. Speedway is a great sport but needs to change drastically to survive. The basic idea is sound but everything around that needs a revamp in both style and substance. Presentation, promotion, value for money, investment in our own riders. The list is sadly long and it is evident even to a blind man that the BSPA are not up to such a task. Next season will be a watershed for the sport. An English world champion, a new National Stadium, probably no more TV exposure for our failed EL. What will they do with these things? The smart money is they will do what they usually do. Squander it with a few meaningless rule changes and leave the rest to Providence To the idiots that run our sport thier customers are an enemy to be ignored, exploited and insulted. One day they will find themselves with no customers as eventually even the most commited get tired of all the bulls##t and find something else to do.

It certainly not done the top tier of British racing a lot of good but the PL has not been affected as much so it's wrong to say it has destroyed the British league. But SGP is here to stay and it is a great improvement on one off finals. The champion needs to prove himself over a season rather than get a lucky break by virtue of riding on a track he likes for one night. Tai is a good example of a rider really having to work season long to get to the pinacle. I doubt crowds would flock back to speedway here if you had strippers as it's expensive and cold and wet and has rubbish tips for stadia and strippers can be found in a nice warm pub for a lot less. British speedways problem is not the SGP it's simply it's an anachronism stuck in an era of flat caps and pidgeons run by second hand car dealers and people who own scrapyards. By the time it realises that it will have gone the way of the Dodo picked clean and dumped in a ditch. It's a shame as it's a great sport but to blame the progressive attitude of the GP system for the failure of a 50s throwback like our EL/PL is too daft for words.