Pinny

The blokes always been a bell to be honest.

Didn't you actually post an email on here first? So in affect, you made it public first. The whole season ticket thing is something that baffles me. Over a season, how much do you actually save? Just pay for the meetings you attend, so what if a season ticket saves you 50 quid a season. Stinks of tightness to me.

I have thought for a long time that online streaming would be nothing other than a positive for speedway clubs. It can''t cost all that much to set up, and I seriously don't think it would hamper crowds that much either. Even if it did, you would have plenty of neutrals tuning in to watch. I know i would watch a couple of meetings a week. Put it this way, I struggle to believe all incomings for a home meeting would be less than if they didn't stream them. Even if you only got 2-300 people streaming, at a tenner a meeting thats an extra 3 grand. I have just used random figures before anyone jumps on that. Times are changing, the world is moving on. Get with the times and provide online streaming. Lets be honest, a proper Swindon fan for example wouldn't not go to a home meeting just because he can watch it at home for a few quid cheaper. For the ones who do go, 99 percent attend for the company, the presence, the smell and the part of a night or afternoon out. Many people can't afford to attend with their two kids, mrs and mate. And thats why they arent going anymore. But they can sure as hell afford to stream it in their living room for the five of them for about a tenner. It would obviously take some work to plan, price and launch but if done properly and not by a few buffoons then it can only be a success.

Zmarzlik is head and shoulders above, who cares if he has the fastest bikes, the same could be said for Woffy numerous times he won it. His straight line speed was way faster than anyone else. Rickardsson looked his bike was 1000cc at times. It happens. Zmarzlik without a doubt the best rider in the world right now, absolutely superb.

They should just go back to old school and as long as you dont touch the tapes, its all good.

Im not one for saying the Cardiff racing is superb, but even on its bad days its better than that lastnight. Plus a massively bigger crowd etc. No comparison IMO.

Jesus, i stopped watching before this but did Madsen really get excluded for that?! The one thing speedway lets itself down on is if you don’t touch the tapes, you shouldn't be excluded. Its always done my head in. People acting surprised , Prague is always dross. Its the attraction of the city that keeps it here. Always rubbish racing.

Your hatred for him is borderline pathetic , he is the real deal.

He was very highly rated back in 03/04 and many rated him as a future world champ. And not just Poole fans either. So much skill on a bike , shame to see him so poor .

What a rebel taking it off for eating and drinking.

Double headers would be great if you cut out a few of the crap rounds. sadly one of them would be Cardiff - and none of us want that to happen despite the racing being poor at times.

Of course he deserved it. He was the best rider over the course of the series. And was pretty damn good in the leagues that season as well

Same could be said for you i suppose

Are premier sports covering both meetings tonight? EDIT: Just seen Najjer state they are , most useful thanks

Someone was listening

Better off being blocked. The guy wants the violins to come out every time he writes a post.

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.