Shale Searcher

Why do speedway fans seem to prefer to watch domestic team speedway on the TV, rather than go and support their team live?? Doesn't seem to happen in other domestic team sports like Football, Cricket, Rugby etc.....? I just don't get it? It surely cannot be all down to admission prices, even when clubs do offers, the crowds always seem to be down. Why?

So.... Is Kings Lynn primarily a speedway circuit, that has stocks/banger racing as the second sport? or Is Kings Lynn primarily a stocks/banger racing circuit with speedway as it's second sport?

Team spirit, team affiliation to its City/Town, fans passion for its clubs riders, fans being able to mix with the clubs riders after meetings, is all but lost now as it is (guests/riders with multiple teams/missing matches) is probably at its worst now than its ever been.... Bringing in squads will kill that off completely.. That's one of the things that made speedway great.. You could watch your heroes on track, have a beer with them after the match, see them in the local chip shop on the way home!!! Riders today, especially in the EL, once they've had their last ride, are showered, changed and in their van on the way to the airport to ride for Rybnik/Smederna/Gorzow or whoever... Squad riders will just about kill-off fan/rider bonding. Crikey, it could be that a rider might fly in, get given race jacket, ride, fly out and you'll not see that rider for another month!! As a squad rider, he will still want to ride for his other Euro team, before his UK EL team... Since the rise of the GP series, the upsurge of speedway in Poland, the UK has continually in error, in my opinion, watered down the sport to artificially spread the best riders around the league, the less top riders, the more they've been spread, leading to where we are now... Earnings in the UK Elite League, not a patch on Poland's and possibly Swedens rider wages.. This continual watering down of the EL, has gradually erroded the number of supporters attending, its now at a dangerous level, and squads will worsen it because it will effectively weaken and water down the teams on track yet again, as well as diminish fan/rider affiliation even further.. Can you imagine how difficult it will be to get a FULL SQUAD photo? Some riders will get more meetings than others, what will happen to these others....?

According to Blitzortung lightning maps, Thunderstorms heading for Prague....

Yes, I have... I also don't care much for Coventrys tarmaced centre green either..

If the thunder showers turn into full blown torrential thunderstorms in Prague, does anyone know what sort of track equipment they have available on GP days to quickly relay the track?

To be honest, from the tv viewing, the place did look unkempt, the whole place looks like an empty scrapyard, just all shades of mud and grey.... The safety fence looked like it had been thrown up, rubber kickboards were all turned under and not cleaned, and the safety fence panels looked like they were held together with grotty, dirty tarpaulins. It does not look like the place you'd take your family to!! Oh for a grassed centregreen, white painted fence, and a nice white line. I thought my tv had gone black/white!!

Surely, it's madness to run against the England match?? Say you were gonna get 950-1100 for this meeting, if only 100 adults stay away, add the wives, girlfriends, friends and suddenly you're down to 600, maybe 750 tops die hards....

Hi, how has the track been altered? You're really constrained by the pitch in the middle aren't you, serious question though, what's been done....?

Again, the weather could intervene.. Will be a tad "plumey" sticky, humid, and thundery due to an advected plume of A moist Continental (unstable) airmass over mainland Britain, if it stears east, Sheffield could be ok, but even on the edge of this plume will be thunderstorms/thundery showers, convective rain.... You will know by Noon Thursday if you're likely to be affected by this weather issue........

No fault, I just seem to be unlucky, as nobody else seems to!!!!

Woffinden Cook Harris Lambert Bates (Reserve)

You missed my point... Perhaps that's my fault. To cut it short.. League of maybe 12 teams Top 4 play offs for title Bottom 2 or 3 play off against maybe top 1, 2, or 3 of League 2 My point was, who would want to end up in the mid-table 5 clubs..... Safe, but nowt to play for, no additional meaningful meetings.. Would a team in that mid table group of 5, maybe throw a match or 2 to drop into the relegation battle, they'd be must watch matches, rather than be in the group of 5 mid tablers....

This will be the first home meeting I will have missed, Inc old Blackbird Rd track for around 10 years!! Missed a home meeting in 1979 due to Chicken Pox!! My partner is having a operation at the Leicester Royal Infirmary on one of her eyes.... Was still hopefull of being able to make it, but the operation isn't scheduled until 16:15, don't think there's much chance of it being completed and home by 19:00, or I might just make it.......... Oh well, can't be helped. ------------¤¤¤⊙⊙⊙¤¤¤------------ Surely the BSPA/SCB, Leicester Speedway and Coventry Speedway can come to a compromise and re-arrange this fixture for the good of Speedway? Oh... Maybe not, because Leicester are involved. If it were Poole, it would have been re-arranged after England's 0-0 draw yesterday...

Hmmmmmmmmmm.... Potential weather issues... A plume of moist, warm air from the continent will be advected over south east, and east UK starting tomorrow afternoon.. severe Thunderstorms, and heavy rain are a distinct possibility for tomorrow evening... All depends how far east it all kicks off tomorrow, it it shifts slightly east, Kings Lynn will be safe.. should be predictable around noon tomorrow...

A must win confrontation, lose top flight status, be first club to be relegated? Wouldn't you go to watch that??

Yes, I did manage it ok!! The flags a quite heavy, and probably not good to hang on to or grab if you've got "arm pump" I am going to see if I can find some lighter sticks for the flags, perhaps a bit of poly pipe, rather than broom handle.... Also, the riders can only accept the flags in their left hands, the right hands are throttle bound and attached to the cut-outs...

Wonder if a card type game could be converted to a phone game? Cards dealt by Bluetooth? Any mileage in that?

Chris "Bomber" Harris.... Agree, he had a shocker in the British Final, hasn't scored particularly well at the NSS yet, and has had a very iffy start in the GP series this year.... But, he does know the opposition well, rides against most in the GP's and Poland, when picked.. But... When he rides with the Union Flag on his chest, he always rides out of his skin, and has never let us down in the SWC.. Scotty self exiled himself for whatever reason, and Danny Kings win was in extreme conditions, unlikely to be replicated in the SWC Final... I would go with Chris Harris.

Just as a matter of interest, when did Tai unsign his Wolverhampton contract? Or do contracts only last for one season? He is still a Wolves asset, isn't he?

I just think that the way money goes around in an economy, 2018 will be a really tough year for Polish Speedway. Paying big money, with sliding attendances, eventually catches up.... -----------:::::--------------- And on the promotion/relegation idea.... Something that worries me about promotion and relegation in UK speedway.. Getting this right is crucial.. if you have 2 divisions of say 12 teams, the top league will I assume have playoffs for the title, yes? Probably the top 4.. they will also have relegation playoffs, again, involving possibly the bottom 2, maybe 3? So that would be say 7 of the 12 teams involved after the main league fixtures have ended.... Who'd want to be in mid table mediocrity? 5 teams with no meaningful extra cash generating meetings at the end of the season, it's VERY important that this area is looked at... Otherwise, teams lower down in the league, could throw a match or two near the end of the season, to drop into the relegation playoffs places, to get themselves some additional meaningful cash generating meetings...... What do you think??

Passing them flags to the Lions race winning, moving and adrenaline fuelled riders is easier said than done!! Just saying....😃

The Polish speedway bubble is stretched beyond its true capacity, and soon it will pop, not this yr or next, but season 2018 will be the defining season......

So what's the point in assets? That needs addressing asap... Not that I'm trying to change the subject!!

The only thing I will say, is when checking cut-outs, I try to avoid doing Bombers, and get another examiner to check his.... I always end up getting an electric shock from his cut-outs!!!!!