iris123

Think there are many reasons including prices.No-one has put forward fans boycotting the games as a reason though apart from the lunatic fringe on here who don't go to anything anyway. http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/news/a62491/rio-olympic-areas-are-empty/ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/rio-2016-half-empty-stadiums-as-angry-fans-forced-to-miss-events-due-to-massive-queues-a7177106.html http://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/rio-2016-olympics-plagued-by-empty-seats-at-major-venues/news-story/1023e94184000811b195c259feee31d9

Put the news on here a few hours before....... Smoli wants a whole curve to be full of German fans and he is willing to donate 1000 flags http://www.speedweek.com/speedwaygp/news/96853/Martin-Smolinski-(31)-beschwoert-die-deutschen-Fans.html

Probably captioned by that bloke from Penge,who seems to get the year wrong on a lot of his picture posts!!!! I remember on the Wimbledon forum he was posting photos where the year was stated on the pic and still getting the year wrong

Smoli will get another chance to match himself against the best.He has the wildcard for Teterow it seems

Depends on when you used to go there,but do you remember the woman who used to stand on the bench down Trinity Road and lift her dress up and show off herself to the passing traffic? And no,i don't know her personally

Sure if you asked Martin he would think that was at the very least his position in the worlds best He did beat Jonsson and Holder in the SWC,so i guess around their position is about right.maybe just behind rather than just in front though,as i am not sure he could really be so consistent.On the other hand,you look at most of the top riders and they are quite inconsistent now

Think Tobi said a year or two ago that he is now just a part time rider.His career outside the sport(whatever it is)takes priority and he won't sign up for league speedway,apart from the Bundesliga

There was me thinking that was the case on the Nordic Gorzow GP thread.......

Neither is Hampel.That is where people are getting confused.........albeit on purpose,apart from the original space cadet!!!

Something about him and his family i have never liked........would rather have seen anyone else tbh

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/sadiq-khan-accused-over-afc-wimbledon-stadium-plan-a3314206.html

We talking Gerry Humble again or Jones 'cool' MacCockney here?

I actually agree that there should be more opportunities.They have been drastically reduced around Europe by those riders who ride in 2,3 or more leagues. Anders Michanek a decade or so said in Backtrack that there were hundreds less just in Sweden than in his day.I was also quite astonished to see that the amount of junior riders in Denmark had dropped by 50% in just a few years.I hope this is a temporary blip,but it is a fact

Think our member Bavarian asked the question on the german forum,"Is Austrian speedway dead?" this year.Seems the speedway season consists of just 1 Ice Speedway meeting and 1 or 2 speedway meetings.Only found the 1 at Murek,not sure what has happened to Wiener Neustadt and St.Johann.....

Best years behind him i think.Little more than a part time rider over the past few seasons.Mainly speedway on ice series in the east of Germany.Can't see it working,but shows how little choice there is out there now

A utopian view of things The sport is based now on the European league week,far far more than it ever was.We have lost an incredible number of riders from the days of the 70s.There really aren't enough riders to go round,which means more and more guests. As you state fans are having enough problems with the time it takes to run 15 heats.To then say they should be able to run 20 heats in the time they can hardly run 15 is not living in the real world.What we shouldn't be doing is driving out even more riders by saying you have to do 20 heats,not 15.Quite incredible to then say we replace those riders with more locally based ones!! Which ones?????There aren't many locally based riders anymore.What we certainly don't need is a system that means even more guests than we have had in recent years.Friday tracks for instance would be severely hit by your idea.We have in the past had some riders(not all) that have ridden on a friday before an important continental meeting.With even more heats i think they would be less likely to stay.That is one instance,but we would be hit by the same situation almost every race night Sorry,but you seem to be going from bad to worse on this to try and justify your first crazy idea......

I understand what you mean.On the continent,certainly in Germany, it is slightly different in that it isn't so much club based,but sport based fans.So the same fans, to say 80% ,go to most meetings in the south and likewise in the north.You'll also get a good number who travel fom other countries like Austria .It isn't so easy to just call off a meeting and rearrange it for another weekend,because often those weekends are booked by another club in the region.And like i said i think Martin was considering the years and years of problems with the local authorities and the hoops the club had to jump through just to be able to host 1 meeting and a few practice days per season.Other riders of course wouldn't be expected to know this.....

Sad abandoned meeting in Pocking today How can our beautiful sport continue(like this)?Speedway was never a clean sport,but as soon as a small rain shower comes the riders sh+t their pants.The club puts so much into getting a meeting on and then a few clowns from various countries on the other side of the world make the sport kaputt.Only if we work together can the sport survive.I am not the oldest rider,but in the good old days there were real men lined up at the start gate,not good weather riders.The sport needs well respected,but hard officials that say "this is how we do things",not 20 people with opinions,just 1 You the fans are there come rain or snow and then this happens.I can only say a big thanks to you all.Without you we are nothing,the trouble is too few riders understand that It should be remembered that the club officials at Pocking have had years of fighting against a neighbour who has tried all means to close the speedway down due to noise problems,so she say's.And Australia were riding in the meeting,so that is probably who Smoli is refering to,but Bavarians are parochial,so maybe he considers Denmark to be on the other side of the world as well!!!

If UK speedway brings in terms that are unacceptable then the riders will just not accept them.That is what has happened down the years and that is why most of the top and even a lot of other riders don't ride there any more.Like i said, it isn't the 70s and the British leagues don't call the shots any more.The international week is planned out and we have to accomodate that,not try and ignore it And as to the sport being run for the benefit of the riders,this is Martin Smolinski's rant after yesterdays meeting in Germany was called off,obviously because the conditions didn't suit some riders

Joonas is better as a Swede than he was as a Finn.Maybe an idea for Chris Harris there? Speedway isn't rocket science,oh no.It is just run by space cadets

Dolly bird used to mean a good looker back in the old days,when did the definition change??????

I know i was the one to mention the 70s,but what are you on?"Something like the GPs",what is that going to be,because it certainly ain't going to be the GPS!!!!! Fans ain't going to fall for a con job like that nowadays.The second idea seems just about one of the stupidest i have heard.Bonus points for second half performances!!! The main riders want to be off as soon as possible to the next country,not hanging around for a second half If 15 heats equates to poor value for money then maybe it is the money that is wrong,not the number of heats? As for the junior meetings.They are juniors needing and hopefully wanting track time etc.Should they really be payed at all?But even if so,the home juniors should be there any way.....

I very much doubt "a lot of fans are miffed" Depends on what you think "a lot of fans" means,but from the for me good old days back in the 70s,what i would call "a lot of fans" disappered as soon as the main meeting was over.I'd say 60-75% of those in attendance,and back then that was "a lot" just upped and left regardless of there being a few stars in the second half or a junior meeting.As i have said before,i was one of the few who stayed to the end,but i admit i was in a minority.It just isn't going to attract fans in numbers.The main meeting is what needs to be the attraction.If that doesn't work,then nothing will

I have the advantage(as do a few others on here)of an alternative to Kelvin + Nigel,or did have the last few seasons at least,as on German Eurosports we had Norbert Okenga and Egon Müller.Can't honestly say either choice is to my liking.Egon like to get technical and also do what "salty" would like Kelvin to do more,and reminice.Egon though is a bit of an egoist and it often comes over as "it isn't as good as in my day" or even worse when talking about the german riders "they are not as good as i was,and i don't see anyone who will be in the future".Ok he might we right with that second one,but who wants t hear that stuff?.It is a pity we don't have more alternatives and we don't really have a great commentator like a number of other sports do. Wonder what some of our other foreign members think of the comparison between the "home" commentators and the UK pairing? Whatever,i think Ermolenko must be the worst sports commentator ever!!!!!

Maybe not,but Russia could.If Ice Speedway can organise international competitions,i think they can also do speedway.One side gives one answer,the other side, a completely different one.Who do we believe?I personally wouldn't trust either.Think there is a need for differing rules based on which country is hosting the event.Was crazy to put CZ through to the final,but any country should be able to host the meetings if they have the right facilities etc