Pinny

It is what it is I guess and it is probably pointless complaining about it, I just don't see why they feel the need to change the points scoring system again. Was fine as it was, just leave it at that. It is the fact that there are forever changes in the sport as a whole that are just not needed, the things that do need changing are never addressed. After two rounds it is hard to judge who will win it this season, I think whoever does win it will not get too much credit, its ridiculous to even attempt a GP season how they are. Should of just binned the lot and hopefully started again in 2021 with the same field.

Lots of young Danes seem to shoot through the ranks then fall back just as quickly. Be interesting to see how Jeppesen does. Kildemand, Jepsen Jensen, Bech are three I can think of who all looked set for the top.

Ditto

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Newport wasn't too bad a set up as far as a speedway stadium is concerned, but in general it was a dump. A 1/4 finished bar under the grandstand which flooded every time it rained, weeds around the whole perimeter of the stadium, shoddy catering facilities etc. It could of been a lot better, I remember Tim Stone had began turning some of the rooms behind the steel shutters in the main stand into corporate boxers for sponsors etc but before they could be finished he had alienated a lot of potential sponsors and fans and that was that. I have no idea what music they listen to in Poland, OK maybe it is 80s or 90's music at the speedway. There isn't anything wrong with music from that era of course, as long as suits the scene. At certain tracks around the UK, you'd have all sorts of depressing rubbish from all eras. The banks you have listed, whilst not being my type of music, certainly aren't depressing and are quite heavy, pump you up style bands that suits speedway meetings. I think its widely agreed UK speedway presentation is ancient and awful in general. If your getting value for money, you wouldn't mind drinking out of a plastic cup for a bit extra. Everyone does it at a festival or concert. Difference is there you 9.5 times out of 10 have full value for money.

Would depend from memory. You would have some teams coming twice or even three teams . Back in the day of Premier Trophy, Knock Out Cup, Premier League. Plus challenges/friendlies. It was usually the Northern sides who came down South once a season. Agree about there being a buzz when the big guns came to town. As a Newport fan, whenever Workington or Sheffield came, I always used to look forward to heats 1, 13 and 15 most watching the likes of Watson, Henriksson and Smart take on Stoney or Wilson. I suppose back in those days there was loyalty between riders and clubs as well. Would never see the constant club swapping for riders that you do now.

Agree. And it is around the time of doubling up/down that the standard of both leagues started to weaken a lot. When it was first introduced, it was only for Premier League riders to be able to double up in the Elite League. So an Elite League team would use two Premier League riders at 6/7 and use whichever one was available. The doubling up rider would never miss a meeting for his Premier League club and they would always take preference . If Rider A rode for Hull in the Premier League and Kings Lynn in the Elite League, Kings Lynn would of had to use Rider B any time there was a fixture clash. Then I think a season or two later they also introduced doubling down, where two Elite League riders with an average of 6.00 or less could share a place in a Premier League team. Pedersen/Robson I think done it at Newcastle, Kylmakoorpi and Ruud at Arena. It was then when things just turned messy, I think that was 2003. The season after the EL brought in the grading system and scrapped the doubling up. And has just got worse in quality ever since. Have had the debate with a few people on here who say the standard of rider back 20 years ago wasn't as good as it is now. When the Premier League was full of top riders, Stonehewer, Wilson, Carr, Watson, Schott, Topinka, Parker, Bird, Zagar... the list is endless. Fair enough, their averages were all higher as their were more teams in the League but to say the current standard of second tier riders is better than before is barmy. Someone even said Howarth would of averaged 10+ in that company. Lol. I have named a few reasons why I think the sports fallen on its arse in the UK, but in all honesty there is an endless list of reasons. Weakening the product each year is another factor. I wouldn't say its the reason newbies don't attend as they wouldn't know the difference, but a massive number of fans have walked away from the sport. Being treated poorly by a promoter, watering down of the teams etc... it all contributes. So we have an out dated product, terrible stadiums and viewing conditions, over priced catering and entrance prices, a year on year diluted product as four big reasons why the sport is in such a mess. And there will be many more. Add them all up and then try finding a solution to bring the sport back to a modern day, attractive product. It would take a Euro Millions winner with a massive heart for Speedway to even scratch the surface. Not very promising, is it?

The top riders in the world ride in Poland so it is more marketable. The presentation over there seems a lot better than the UK music. The prices are dirt cheap (so I am told) and most clubs are bankrolled by local councils/sponsors. 9 times out of 10 the racing is better. Also, the Poles dont really have a decent football league. Their top player plays in Germany and I would be struggling to find any other top class Polish footballers. They dont follow rugby. So thats two huge sports that the UK is associated with on a large scale that Poland arent. Their stadiums in general are much better. Theres plenty of reasons why it thrives there and not in the UK. I remember Newport (Queensway Meadows) was classed as one of the better stadiums in the UK. Lets be honest, it was a total dump. When Stoney had it and when the Mallets did. It was a dump. I attended Swindon and Reading regular, both of them were dumps. Hadn't been given an upgrade since the 70s/80s at least. Stoke was an absolute toilet. Glasgow and Edinburgh were rubbish holes. As were 99 percent of UK speedway stadiums. You have stadiums that are in the middle of a field. Its fine for speedway fans, and I mean proper speedway fans. They would stand in cow dung watching speedway. But newcomers will not like it. And they wont like standing in a crappy, ancient, damp stadium listening to music from the 60s/70s and 80s. Paying nearly 4 quid for a pint of warm fosters in a plastic cup. And whatever the prices of food are etc. Which were no value for money when I last attended so I cant see that of changing. The sport in the UK has just been neglected, it hasn't moved with the times, the prices are way ahead of the times, is run by a bunch of buffoons, the list goes on. It would take an absolute miracle to get the crowd levels anything like it was even in the early 2000's, let alone the 90's and 80's. Its finished. I am just being realistic. I would love nothing more than it to boom again and my home town and every other club thats lost the sport to get a club again. But it is not going to happen. And the quicker thats accepted, the better.

Yes, Poland insisted Daugavpils had to race all their home meetings in Poland which of course completely defeats the object of having a Latvian based club, who by my understanding actually do pretty well for crowds etc. I think people really do need to come to terms with the fact Speedway is finished in the United Kingdom. OK, some clubs still do well enough but over the three leagues, how many? 5 or 6 at a push. Glasgow apparently do well, but their promoters have thrown so much at it and their crowds were starting to shrink. Even going back 20 years, a crowd in the second tier of anything less than 1000 was classed as poor. Now anything over 6-800 is classed as good. Prices in operating the sport have gone up, riders demand more money etc. Add to that ancient promoters who still insist on putting on a 70's style show, it is no wonder crowds are falling rapidly. A night out at speedway simply isn't attractive enough for youngsters. Standing in a clapped out stadium, drinking over priced pints of lager served in plastic cups listening to I shot the sheriff whilst watching tractors going round a track half the night isnt worth what they are paying to get in. No matter how good the racing is, which lets be honest is poor to say the least at times. You can spend the same, or less going to your local boozer with mates for a night out or out for a meal and a few drinks etc. And that is before you try beginning to explain the way the sport runs. Telling them the exciting number 1 rider for the home side wont be there next week as he is riding for his other club. That number 6 who actually over takes? He is a guest rider and wont be here next week. It just sounds like a farce. I loved speedway, it was a big part of my youth but sadly it is a thing of the past in the UK. It is no better supported than a lot of non league football now. And the quicker people accept that and move on, the better.

Ellis and Wolbert were examples. Theres about 10-12 riders in that field who would never of got a sniff a few years back . Standard of rider is alarmingly less these days than years gone by.

Shows how weak the standard is when you have the likes of Ellis and Wolbert 5 rides away from making the GP series.

Course it is. Makes me laugh when people think promoters do it for the love of it. their businessmen (most poor) and are in it to make money. End of.

Its a great service each week , but can I ask why such poor fixture choices sometimes? Surely theres better meetings Vs Newport to choose? the 1999 fixtures , 2003 when we had Iversen , 2010 , 2011?

Hans Andersen well and truly washed up now. Be lucky to get near a 6 point average in the UK nowadays.

The same Jonas Davidsson that Nick Dyer tipped for stardom League quality looks woeful in Sweden...

In all honesty, it was a Poole type move from Coventry. Ford didnt like it at all.

Nonsense. there has been times Woffindens bikes have looked twice as fast as anybody elses. IMO Madsen is an extremely well set up rider , extremely talented and the best in the world atm. he will be a world champion at least once. Bang average my arse

But he will call the likes of Murray, Calzaghe, Thomas etc Brits I expect. Brilliant result for Lambert. Is he on par with Woffy at the moment? I think so.

It was at the time but out of all the draft riders , who has progressed well and not? I dont know the numbers but i would suggest more havent progressed than have.

Not delight at all. Just stating the obvious. Lets hope everyone who has purchased a season ticket is given the option of a full refund.

It is actually quite interesting to read how much clubs are losing. Surely if they lose money hand over fist in each meeting like people say, then 0 meetings will mean less debt come end of season!? Sensible decision as far as I am concerned. Absolutely pointless riding with no fans to watch, season nearly over anyway. Plan for 2021. This decision should of been made weeks ago. And I am no lover of Rory Scheiln, but I read somewhere that he is working as a delivery driver to bring in money. Good on him. You'd hope many others will turn to a full time job now, what with the tweets about earning no money etc going about. Welcome to the real world, where you have to do something you may not enjoy to earn money.

I meant one of the seasons he won it .

Yep , and has undoubtedly pulled off some silly moves over the years but the GPs are worse off without him and the sport as a whole will be when he decides to hang up his kevlars.

You have to feel that Pedersen maybe looking at the future now. His league form has dropped off alarmingly after his first couple of meetings and he is hardly getting younger. Combine that with the Corona Virus and potential uncertainty of the sport for the next few seasons and you can hardly blame him. Shame as after seeing him in his first few meetings he looked as keen and sharp as ever. After all the injuries he has had, it would be good to see him walk away as one of this eras best riders, with a huge bank balance and full health. Like him or hate him, he has been absolutely superb during the last 20 years and his one world title (07?) was as dominant a world title winning season as you'll ever see.

There is absolutely no point in even attempting to run speedway this season, in my opinion. What is the point in starting the season in near August time? Restrictions wont be fully lifted until near the end of the season at the very least. With certain things reopening, it will only be a matter of time before cases spike again like they have done in Australia. In the first week of June, pubs etc re opened, albeit with restrictions, there were no new cases reported at all for days on end then bang, they started to shoot up again and they are talking about a Stage 4 lockdown coming back in at any moment. We are currently in stage 3, and as of Wednesday theres a 200 dollar fine for anybody not wearing a face mask. Write the season off, plan ahead for 2021.