Pinny

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.

Think its a bit harsh to slate the lad for riding his BMX. In all honesty, speedway barely scrapes through as a semi professional sport. Particularly in the UK. Can't really expect him not to partake in other hobbies.

Part and parcel of being self employed I am afraid. Id suggest right now that minor sports like speedway are at the bottom of the ladder... more important businesses than speedway teams will be going broke and putting lots of people out of work.

Considering what he will be earning working on the mines in Australia , his homeland , i dont blame him for staying here. Probably wont be as much as Poland AND the uk speedway but then he will have less outgoings here , no catching flights multiple times a week and a very good wage to boot. its only the top riders who make a lucrative living through speedway.

Well I guess nobody could of seen KK coming second that year but he did. i dont like this new speedway of nations , much preferred World Cup to be honest. But Poland were dominant at that and would be now. Zmarzlik, Dudek, Janowski, Drabik, Smektala, Hampel, KK, Pawlickis.... take 4 of them against any four of another country and id back them to win. Of course they wont win every meeting , but 9/10 they would.

Agree , been watching a bit and its ruthless. Pedersen, despite his age and recent injuries , still goes for it 100 percent . The day he stops doing that will be the day he retires. Hes still got plenty to give in my opinion.

Lambert completely at fault... intentional?! No.

I used to enjoy my trips to Reading , such a shame Reading, Exeter, Trelawny, Newport , Oxford all gone now.