dontforgetthefueltapsbruv

You would expect Ipswich,Belle Vue,Sheffield,Leicester and Kings Lynn to automatically be in the top league given they all actually want be in an even stronger league than you propose here You may imagine that the next 3 may be Glasgow,Poole and Redcar That then doesn't solve Glasgow's local rival issue - would they really want to be at NDL+ level which is your 2nd level For that matter how would Oxford,Berwick,Scunthorpe,Edinburgh, Workington and Plymouth feel about being at that same NDL+ level Doubling up could not work as they would be a significant number of clashes every week

See its always Poole's fault

It was stated on one of the multitude of 2026/agm threads by I think In the Deep Stuff (apologies if I have misremembered the poster) It said (paraphrasing) " I heard that Chris Louis is dead against going with just 5 teams and if attracting a 6 th club doesn't happen Ipswich will sit out 2026"

Perhaps the efforts are to persuade one of then to temporarily run from Northampton.....

Track prep looks like nothing much has changed

100% agree - there is no way to force any club to move up even if it would potentially be in the best interests of the sport There is simply no way you can expect clubs like Poole and Glasgow to take on the financial risk of a switch even though both would be ideal top flight set ups The sad fact is that there is simply not the required financial incentive to be at the top level and unless/until that changes the current struggle will continue

Impossible to have promotion and relegation as NONE of the clubs would find it to their liking under anything close to the current set up How could you run a top league with a points limit for example and have relegation - its completely counter intuitive No team would want to win the 2nd tier and be forced to change race night and double their rider costs The scenario you set out could only work if there was sufficient financial incentive to want to achieve top flight status - and if that was the case we wouldn't be in this position anyway as there would be a queue asking to join!!

Add Poole to that scenario too When they dropped down did they pick up the dregs? Nope! Laswon, King, the Cook brothers etc and proposed for next year the premium rated newcomers - Cairns, Rushen and Bailey - not really sharing is it.....

I think Aston Martin is in a worse state than speedway at the moment too. Although the guy behind it still has a few bob!

Only in British Speedway would having a truly professional outlook, the best sponsors, the largest crowds and access to the world's very best riders be considered as having nothing to offer!!

To have one league would surely need all clubs to accept running on the basis of Monday/Thursday if it was to have any chance of attracting enough riders

I think it was known at that time that he had been made a 2026 offer elsewhere which would be hard to match....

Going by the rumours on other threads around the potential of an AGM delay perhaps the worry should be for a reduced or absent British League season......

Amazes me that you manage to stand up given the giant size of that chip on your shoulder .....

Can you join border force - that's a better effort than the current lot

The promise that if they attended that they didn't have to sit next to Ouch all night

I'll play devil's advocate As you and your team have no interest in being a part of it what the f@c£ has your opinion got to do with it

Playing devil's advocate They have all the targets and obligations for standard day to day Mail but have had all the lucrative parcel deliveries deregulated and offered out to the market The rest of the market don't want the expense of the promise of UK wide guaranteed delivery for standard mail day in day out Effectively they have been tied to providing the 'loss leader' without the accompanying profitable additional lines

And what some clubs have indicated in the interim meetings during the year hasn't always matched their internal intentions...

Never a good time for something like this but if it does happen this time of year is best from a recovery point of view Fingers crossed it is all straight forward for Tom

Uninhibited certainly! One time that backs up your point is when he broke the track record by about a second and in his next ride was flying and I reckon had he stayed on would've broken it again by another - but he binned it That meeting could also be used on another recently started thread as he was in full camouflage leathers Quite a character - that could be another thread!

John Cook

But also short arms.....

Quoted as it highlights the financial position of the sport Here's a stark comparison which shows the gulf with football 10 miles from Ipswich is Needham Market. They play in the Southern League - effectively the 7th tier in the English game Yesterday they opened a new stand which cost £358,000 to build funded primarily by grants provided by the Premier League (£150k) and Southern League (£100k) and other agencies including £10k from local councils The stand apparently holds under 300 fans but would accommodate most of the average attendance. The game last night attracted their record attendance at 1105

Sad news - RIP