DC2

Jolly good. You’ve learnt and improved yourself. So job done.

That’s my point. Some of the tracks have been rubbish. You can normally discount the first twelve heats in most GPS as rubbish racing with one line on the inside and as speedway’s showcase they should be the best prepared tracks in the world.

It doesn’t matter if it’s old fans coming back or new fans coming for the first time; if the racing is rubbish they won’t come again. Swindon bit the bullet, redesigned their track and the racing has improved. Every track that currently doesn’t work needs to do that.

I appear to have misunderstood you. I am using the current proposed fixtures, and in that case one league table is better than two conference tables. I assume you are saying that it would be better if there were two separate conferences with no meetings with a team in the other conference? Even that would be no better as the teams in one conference could all be better than those in the other. The only fair way is for the teams to be in one league and ride against each other the same number of times. Fairness has been sacrificed for less travelling/more “derbies”.

A converted PL one from this year.

His converted average would be 3.39, but I assume he would be given the 4 point minimum like Broc Nicol? Do all Americans and Australians have a 4 point minimum? It seems strange that Aussies come into the CL on a 4 but Europeans come in on a 5 and that Europeans like Jan Graversen can go below 4 in both the CL and the PL but Aussies and Americans can’t. Weird.

Why would you want Todd Kurtz in the PL?

That makes the problem worse. If all of the northern teams best all of the southern teams, home and away, you’d still have three southern teams in the play offs. At least with one league table there would be a chance for four or five northern teams to make the playoffs.

Who’s he? Can’t see that he rode in the NL this year.

I think you’ll find there are plenty of former fans on this forum who don’t go to speedway anymore and who have vociferous opinions about its ills, but they tinker around the edges as much as the promoters. “It’s all over by the first bend” and “Follow the leader” processional heats are the biggest ills. If the racing really were “thrill a minute” with passing and re-passing, more people would go.

Sponsorship I can answer your question quite easily by saying that there are about 50 doubling up riders all of whom have sponsors. So sponsorship isn’t an issue. Exclusivity of riders Regarding the 7 riders being “yours”, I’m not bothered at all. I suspect Billy McNeil, Norman Hunter, Mike Kean, Geoff Bouchard, David Ashby and Jan Andersen might have ridden for other teams, doubling down or abroad, in the 1970s, but I wasn’t aware of it when I watched them riding for Swindon and wouldn’t have cared if they did. I presume you have no problem with our foreign riders riding for clubs abroad, or even our British riders riding abroad, so why does it matter if they ride for clubs in a different division here? A sense of ownership would far better be achieved by allowing clubs to keep their seven riders rather than have to rebuild due to a new team building average limit for the new season. Fixed race nights Fixed race nights might have been a problem for Poole and Sheffield (although I think poor performances early in the season contributed more to lower attendances), but they have now moved to their preferred race nights, so that’s not a problem now. Some Belle Vue fans complain about FRN but again they didn’t make the play offs; let’s see if their crowds improve this season.

Actually it just occurred to me that all of the northern teams could beat all of the southern ones but some southern ones could finish in the top six by beating their southern counterparts.

Good. Thanks, Neil.

Except it’s still a bit of a lottery: you could have the six worst clubs in one half of the draw and yet the top three of them will qualify for the play offs!

Think you’re right. By June a lot of CL fans at other clubs will be clamouring for a move up to the PL!

Could you tell me why doubling up is a problem?

Not you too, Lisa. It’s “those reserves”.

LOL quite the opposite. A few said they would still support a CL team so Poole took that as an endorsement!

Not bothered at all. I quite like seeing what Swindon’s riders can do in other leagues. Can’t see the slightest problem as long as the turn up for Swindon and do their best. Fixed race nights removed any clashes.

Doubling up is not an issue.

Good spot.

His last average that I can see is 5.43 from 2015. One month contracts should not be allowed at the start of the season.

Disgusting.

.... when riding for Swindon! Although didn’t he do that in the 2017 final?

I’m sure Poole will find their level, whether that’s first or sixth in the Southern Conference of the Second Division. Is that the same league as Poole Town FC?