pandorum

It's a fair comment from MF. I doubt Ward will have any trouble getting back here as we let in worse people. It's a shame as the lad is probably the most exciting speedway rider since Tomas Gollob. He does need to be policed here by the speedway authorities as drugs and speedway don't mix. Fame is a two edged sword and looks like ward is having a bit of trouble. Let's hope he gets a bit of help and gets this silliness out of him before he ends up speedways version of Gazza.

Sayfutdinov has been better than Nicki on loads of occasions as have many people. Hell I like Nicki P but your comment is utterly stupid.

Steve seems to have hit the nail right on the head with post #166. They are still blathering on about the opening round being at Liecester when it clearly isn't and seem to be under the delusion that the events will be happening when plainly they won't. That says these people could not be called competent whatever they supposedly do elsewhere. It's a shame that this will not probably happen as it could have been of benefit to the sport by virtue of some wider promotion it would not normally get. Instead it's a farce of Kenneth Williams proportion when all it needed was some communication and perhaps co-operation between the two parties and something that benefitted both may well have been sorted out. Instead it makes speedway look stupid and for once this is not speedways fault.

Yes but that's not really an increase is it? How on earth can one possibly say that when the only regular live speedway here in the UK has been during the SKY era. Speedway has seen many dips in popularity during it's existence when there was NO live TV coverage. The word ALWAYS cannot surely apply as that implies speedway has been successful since it's inception which is not the case. Various factors have impacted on it during it's history and Live TV is a very new concept for the sport. TV has been both good and bad for speedway giving it a higher profile but affecting crowd levels as people prefer to watch at home than in the cold and wet. But it's most successful periods were obviously at times when even football was not shown live with any regularity. Would speedway have received a boost with live coverage in the 60s and 70s? It was a lot cheaper to go so maybe crowd levels would have been maintained or even increased, even when the home match was on TV. There was a lot less to occupy peoples time then and live sport was a draw. So who knows if SKY coverage has damaged a sport that was dying due to more than one factor before SKY came along. Maybe SKY have kept the sport going a bit longer. Maybe without SKY we would have half the clubs with even less interest in the sport. Perhaps modern speedways woes come from it's poor administration rather than SKY giving the lifeline of regular TV coverage.

It's a fair point as I once attended a cribbage match and there were less than 10 people there. But I would wager than more people KNOW what Snooker,Badminton,Squash, Ice Hockey, Darts and even cribbage is than have heard of speedway nowadays. Let alone where to actually go and watch it The point being that sadly speedway is a minority sport even among minority sports and nobody is going to put any decent effort money wise into covering it once SKY ride off into the sunset. Another good point that works against speedway

It's been one of the best ideas the sport has ever had so hopefully the answer is YES! The loss of SKY is a blow but hopefully it will find some new outlets to compensate. Crowds are a problem as is really decent sponsorship but the actual product is excellent and provides an absorbing and most times exciting couple of hours. Last season was one of the best ever and this years line up is frighteningly good. SKY sadly seem to have picked a rather awesome year to bail out. The Luddites who infest forums like this would have us go back to the one off final and hugely boring qualifying rounds starting in the PL level with riders who will never get near the final. The same one off final that NEVER contained the top 16 speedway riders and never produced the excitement that SGP does in spades. And don't wheel out the 1981 final as I was there and most of the racing was pretty dull and it was the atmosphere from the crowd that created the legend that it was some kind of fantastic speedway final NOT the racing. Yes SGP has problems but Monster is a step in the right direction. It needs to attract more people and houshold name sponsors and get more media coverage. But SGP and SWC need to survive as they provide the sport with a bit of gravitas which is something our EL never could.

No wonder the sport of speedway is dying on it's feet.

I am hoping for Emil as I am a big fan of the man. Maybe this will be his year! Chris will not hand the title over easily. Darcy will be a dark horse and is more than capable of doing something pretty impressive this year. The old guard will be there or thereabouts and Greg, Nicki and Tomas can not be ruled out. There will be a lot of spoilers this year which will make it hard to take a commanding lead so I think we will see the title still up for grabs at the last meeting. My top 4. Emil Greg Chris Nicki

For TV match crowds obviously 'yes' as the couple of dozen who go to Arena when SKY is there can't possibly be the actual weekly attendance. So the matches covered by SKY would see increased attendance. But would crowds actually INCREASE above those who go normally? I can't see any reason why they would. The price is too high. The sport is rarely promoted. If SKY goes then the sport loses it's only form of actual promotion and biggest supporter. Most likely attendance will fall in 2013 because of the effects of the failing economy. If SKY is lost then the EL will not be able to survive and we will see the PL being asked to bail out a failed product. And I can't see the PL falling for that this time around. Maybe this reality check might result in the sport looking inward and trying to find British talent and give it a chance to show what it can do. For the sport overall the loss of SKY will more than likely be a disaster. But sadly the sport can't say it hasn't earned this fate.

There's the rub. Whoever takes over EL coverage has to take on the expense of filming the matches and as we saw last year the weather causes a few to be called off causing SKY, and whomsoever takes over, a headache in lost outlay. To even approach SKY coverage would involve a lot of investment and Eurosport, The BBC, ITV or even Disney surely would not invest that much in a sport which attracts hundreds to live matches and has a viewing figure in thousands. Except NZ surely?

British speedway is being RUN?

I think the most worrying thing for the sport is that the 'decline' is still ongoing and not slowing down. Once the SKY deal goes (which seems likely after this year) then the EL will finally be allowed to breathe it's last as nobody is going to spend any real money on taking over the excellent coverage SKY have given the sport. Speedway may even have trouble giving itself away to someone as it's not cheap covering the sport and there are a lot more indoor alternatives that will fill schedules a lot cheaper. And whomsoever takes over from SKY will have to stump up for the cost of covering matches as unlike Sweden there won't be any footage to commentate on unless they do it themselves. Perhaps the sport will have to become insular and as someone suggested on another thread drop down a notch to somewhere around PL level. Maybe at last try to bring on our own riders rather than everyone elses. The excitement in the sport comes from racing not having someone on a big wage who has a nice van and really smart equipment who wins every race by half a lap. Big names don't equate to exciting racing so maybe the idiots that run the sport might be forced come to up with a long term plan that would benefit the sport rather than just keep Poole's top two together every year.

That is interesting! Danish league is free to watch on Danish TV. Or at least it was last year. Some interesting meetings including some top riders. On the debit side the meetings tend to drag pretty much. Perhaps if they have an association with SKY they might tighten up a bit. Will this mean an end to the free live broadcasts? I do hope not as I enjoyed watching Danish league last year.

Will it involve lingerie?

Have you ever been there They speak a very strange dialect

That's a sensible thing to do from Harris. He might rediscover himself. Nice signing for Tarnow too. I like that kid.

don't show the togliatti start girls or people here will have a heart attack

He is one of the best reserves in Poland and if he stays at #6 or #7 then you may well be right

A British rider of that calibre should have both.

Thats a shame for the lad as he is a very talented rider. Sad part is that if he does not do well it might scupper his chances of having a good campaign if he had waited a year or two. I hope the lad does well and the GP lives up to the thread title. Obviously it's missing Crump so probably not as good as it could have been but nevertheless a very good line up.

The clue is on the BSPA site where it says Scunthorpe Win PL

You would make a great team manager

After his woeful contribution towards his Polish team in the recent play off he should be thankful if he was sponsored by Toilet Duck

It's not just the youngsters guys like Stead and Bridger finding it hard to make a living is a ridiculous situation. In Sweden AJ rides in 2 leagues so why deny Stead and Bridger the same in their own league set up. The BSPA are truly one of the most useless organisations on earth after the UN and Torchwood.

Seems utterly stupid that a foreign rider can double up and earn a living but one of our own riders is not allowed to double down and do the same. Bridger is not the first Brit rider to quit because he cannot make the sport pay. and won't be the last if this stupidity continues. Let our lads earn a living FFS. Doubling up and down for Brit PL and EL riders only. Allow trebling up for Brit NL riders. Make reserves Brit only in PL and EL. Weigh team building in favour of Brit riders and have a minimum of one Brit in each main 5 man body of a team.