PHILIPRISING

ALL been released from their contracts and are free to go elsewhere. If this was Britain they would stay as assets for eternity...

GOOD story on Bewley's efforts to get fit in SS this week

HE has that person in Steve Lawson ... top man

THEY didn't have to. Been banging this drum for decades. Assets are illegal. Cook didn't have a valid contract with Edinburgh so could do as he pleased. If BV paid Edinburgh money then more fool them.

DIV 2 always did race on a Thursday and there won't be many Thursdays for Div 1 tracks. Given the paucity of fixtures in the UK should't be difficult to avoid clashes. And, of course, British teams have priority over any riders needed in Sweden.

RUGBY is in Japan ... big time difference

WHY should it not work in Britain if administerred properly. Thing of the future rather than the past.

BEHIND the scenes, as it were, moves are afoot to standardise equipment and reduce cost for riders, from the top to the bottom.

WHICH is exactly why riders and promoters need to work together, at least as far as British speedway is concerned, to reduce costs for both parties.

THINGS were very different then. Lots of riders were part time mechanics, often with their own small businesses servicing cars etc. They barely exist now. And the basic costs for riders is off the scale compared to 40 plus years ago.

AND what other job outside of speedway would allow them the variable time off required to get to and from tracks let alone actually race? It is hard enough as it is to see why any one would want to be a speedway rider these days without making it even more unviable than it already is. The way to stop doubling up is to ensure that riders can make a living riding from just one team and that will only come about with more and regular meetings for the track they are actually attached to.

LOWERING costs for promoters and riders is a chicken and egg situation. Both should be tackled in harmony.

AMAZING that this wasn't done before. Provides protection (limited liability) for promoters who could otherwise have been in danger of having to contribute financial support to the Association in the case of debts, etc. No doubt the Gerhard fiasco sharpened some minds! Many other potential benefits, too, but ultimately will not bring additional people through the gates.

WHY pay for a rider you can get for nothing?

DEPENDS what tickets you want

WHAT won't change is that speedway will be the prime sporting activity in towns across even parts of the country without a professional soccer club and become synonymous with that town or city as it is in Poland and may have been in the UK after the war. That is what I was saying. Or trying to ...

EVEN if speedway in Norwich was a huge success it would never rival soccer in the shape of Norwich City. Places like Torun, Gorzow, Leszno, and Zielona Gora are towns where speedway is the undisputed number one sport, it is what they are synonymous with, and the fans that attend are doing so in support of not just the club but the town itself. The whole culture is different and is reflected in the media at all levels including TV.

THAT'S not what I said and as someone who has visited Polish speedway towns no doubt you know that. Of course there is a place for team speedway in the UK. It is the only type that can possibly work.

THE biggest difference and the greatest advantage for Polish clubs is that they are representative of the towns and cities in which they are situated. That has not been the case with speedway in the UK for generations and will not change. Polish speedway clubs are akin to soccer teams in the UK.

THIS week's edition of Speedway Star will be something we have never done on this scale before.

CANNOT compare British speedway with what takes place in Poland. We are lucky that BT have continued to provide a TV platform for speedway in this country.

Amazing article in this week’s Speedway Star special by Tomasz Lorek on how Polish speedway has TV companies fighting for rights with mind-boggling figures. It’s a must-read for every British promoter and fan.

SPECIAL pre-AGM edition of Speedway Star next week ... plenty of fans voicing their opinions about the way ahead for British speedway.

BUT they must also adhere to the terms of their various contracts

ASSETS have no legal basis. A rider without a contract is a free agent. In Poland if a club wants to sign a rider under contract to another track a transfer fee could be involved. But if he has no contract then he can sign for who he wants.