waytogo28

I agree 100% Mr webb. And THAT is a major part of the problem " never seems any connection ( with the fans ) from the management." And Buster is at the heart of that, his philosophy is what drives the club and probably at least part of his being "shut off from the world" of those that don't see it his way, comes from his earlier years within the BSPA, when he was the noisy rebel. Lucky him that he could play that role at the time. Having said he could run things better for many years the other promoters, in desperation, let him do it. And it has crumbled to sand in his hands ( not that he would ever admit it ). Now with three votes out of seven in the "top" league, he can carry almost any decision quite easily. Others have criticised that state of affairs in UK speedway ( notably Gordon Pairman ). Oh No, you won't unless I have a problem with my voice. L A M B O.....

But as you know Buster is adamant that this marketing tool will add at least a couple of hundred to the regular crowd at matches next season. It could be even more and that will be the big Christmas present for the club. Be a patient supporter and try not to salivate excessively while you wait.

After losing another £100,000 plus. Probably so.

It's merely Buster's Magic Marketing Method. He believes that the Big Build-Up increases the desire of fans old & news to be there next season. When his mind is made up nothing will ever change it.

You could post this on every thread in every league because who rides where is of no interest to people in the real world ( outside of the speedway "bubble" ) who have never heard of the sport. And yes, if a free-spending, well-financed club like Glasgow can't pull in 2 - 3,000 fans to every match, certainly no-one else can anywhere in the UK.

Oh Yes he did! I watched him set the track record.

More than likely - Yes! What Buster wants, Buster gets. History tells us that.

They are not even looking for answers of any kind as we can see from the "decisions" they made at the 2018 AGM. No change and seemingly no plan as to how to market the sport to attract new supporters ( who might fall in love with it ). Fans have been walking away year on year with what is on offer now for several years. Nothing that seems to be in the pipeline for 2019 will halt that slide or reverse it ( even if it were possible ). It truly is "managed decline" and nothing else.

Get used to Buster's little ways of doing things. He certainly is very unlikely to change his style of doing them.

Not mad, delusional that things will get better re crowds and the attractiveness of speedway racing in the UK.

I wonder what position that held on the AGM Agenda? Did they get around to it?

If Buster runs his group of clubs (nor indeed takes over all the PL clubs ) in the same way as he has King's Lynn - where average crowds have fallen away year on year the end will be very predictable. Whoever owns several or all of them and fails to pull in and develop a new crowd base, it will still all collapse.

So, will enlightenment reach the promoters this week? Time to hold your breath and hope it seems. Cross your fingers too or even pray as I do.

I bet you're right. Those currently "in charge" rate it as a £20 sport - with a better class of younger supporters. Quite how they get those hordes of people with money to spend, no one within the BSPA knows. As a masterplan, well it's almost time to write to Santa.

My hope pre-AGM is that some, many, all promoters have read this thread if nothing else on here. I do not expect them to comment but I pray that they have read fans feedback. They are so fortunate to have it on hand, free of charge. We will see if they want to improve the UK sport or their own clubs winning chances.

That really is true. Only vastly better marketing, different marketing is going to make any difference as is making the product in the stadium far better and more attractive to watch than it comes across at the moment. Relying on Twitter and Facebook is not going to work, Speedway GB has 25.000 followers that needs at least two more zeros to have much effect.

I hope that the AGM does not take too much notice of the opinions of Bomber Harris. If that is how the majority of British riders feel then speedway has no chance of rebuilding itself. "Can't go on" without doubling up. "Not worth the risk" without doubling up. Bomber is a terrific speedway racer but outside of his own backyard no-one in the outside world has heard of him and many of the 25,000 UK fans of speedway do not want doubling up. He needs to talk to more of them. If there were 250,000 UK fans prepared to pay to get in and were baying for Chris Harris then he might get the rewards he deserves for his racing skills. What he did or didn't do at school is not the responsibility of supporters and he needs to really think about the day which comes to all riders ( except it seems Greg Hancock ) when they have to retire ( or want to retire or no-one wants to employ them ) life after speedway for all riders needs careful preparation and thinking about at a deep personal level.

So be it if we are stuck with fixed race nights - likely Monday. If it also turns out that supporters don't want meetings on Mondays, the BSPA and clubs will have a clear, definite answer. No Thank You. Promoters can then decide on what is really their lowest crowd numbers that are viable or go on the hunt for more sponsors prepared to run in front of sub 1,000 or even sub 500 crowds ( at whatever level ).

Only way forward. The same old, same old, league structure with a handful of "the top boys" popping up here there and merrily everywhere in team winning photos is doomed to crumble further. Managed decline continues.

Likely to be able to score about the same as Simon Lambert, even at 59. One good gate in four ( or five ) and Bingo a very similar average. Coax Michael Lee back and you have a good basis for a team at Championship level.

Even with the headline in this week's Speedway Star " Listen to fans" ( Thank You Neil Machin ) I wonder how many of the other promoters gathered around the table will heed his call? Of course, they all should put the fan's views reasonably high up on the Agenda, as crowds continue to dwindle. The best suggestion is for Promoters like Neil to persuade the others to get their heads around the concept that feedback does not mean the same as complaints. Fans collectively also want speedway in the UK to be an attractive, well presented, exciting motorcycle racing sport that they can continue to offer their support to and spread the word to other would-be fans knowing that that is what they are going to see on a consistent basis. Fingers crossed hey!

Accolades galore to go along with the gongs. Many Congratulations Workington Comets riders. promotion and fans. You definitely deserve it!

Yes, you could but I think what you mean is that my ( and others ) views about "how speedway is organised" are merely different to yours. I have no intention of arguing about it and I realise that you have a much more intimate knowledge of how it has been organised in the past. However it is clear that much of how that was done has turned out badly for speedway in the UK,

Because the field is not far from the main road.

Another nail in the coffin of UK speedway, that quite a lot of people prefer to ignore. Including the majority of the BSPA who believe things can go on and on as they are now. The closure this winter of three or four clubs, as seems likely, may make them wake up and smell the coffee that their valuable assets ( as they see them ) are almost worthless. Any clubs that are "saved" will be by fan coalitions and they need to understand that their financial input is really a gift to eke out nostalgic daydreams.