waytogo28

Now, all we need to hear is RG will follow KC in standing down - Let it be confirmed as the first bit of good news for UK speedway. No eulogies needed, please. However if as is forecast there is little or no change in how UK speedway is to be structured, little progress will be made.

The only chance some tracks have of finding a buyer is a Big Lottery Winner who is already an addicted fan locally and who wants to throw their money away. No sensible investor - outside of speedway - would contemplate burning their fingers with a speedway club.

And what turned out to be misplaced optimism too. I truly fear that we are in for much of the same in 2019. It seems as if there is to be little change, certainly no radical root and branch change that the sport in the UK needs. The same people will be in charge making the same ill-informed and parochial decisions.

It looks as if the BSPA are about to go for the "safe" option. Change nothing and hope that not too many are disappointed and walk away. Managed decline continuing?

Mr May wants to imagine the world of speedway before the internet when unhappy/ disappointed/disillusioned supporters got together in pubs and clubs and workplaces ( even on street corners ) and aired almost the same kind of criticism/complaints at riders and promoters. Of course "back in the day" there were not so many reasons for complaints to be tossed about! But people are no different now than then and harsh things were said ( as now ). And supporters were still "mushrooms" then ( kept in the dark and covered in bullrubbish ). That is the nature of sport and it's fans, Mr May. Nothing has changed.

I agree with that assessment. Not all riders are capable of going on & on at the top level as Greg Hancock has done ( who years ago re-structured his riding schedule ) and perhaps Niels needs to consider doing this quite seriously. His injury has dogged him this year, of that there is no doubt but now with the GPs and Poland , Sweden, Denmark - is England just too much? Only he will know. The Denmark fixed night debacle this year cannot be repeated in 2019 surely? It seemed to be a little-known hurdle which burst into a major fixture problem.

The last two years and the lack of more than a race or two per match at King's Lynn with good racing has killed off my interest in watching speedway in the flesh ( I am unable to watch anywhere other than at King's Lynn ) but I have discovered that speedway racing is alive alive well in Poland, the GPs and sometimes in Sweden too. The only place I have seen more than a couple of exciting races in a match in the UK is at the NSS ( on TV ). The tapes to flag processions ( after the 2nd bend ) at Saddlebow Rd really have made me rarely look forward to thinking I might go to a match there. Throw in the dreadful doubleheaders ( against the same opposition ) and my desire was quenched. Buster controls KLS and how it is run and seemingly still dominates UK speedway. So, Yes! it's about time he realised, fans want excitement, not this follow the leader rubbish.

If there is any truth in that rumour then they are "cut your nose off to spite your face" people and not taking a very kind approach to existing Bears fans ( unless they wish to carry on running it at Redcar ).

I have nothing against doubleheaders, only when it is a match against the same team twice on the night. That is a complete turn-off for me.

Yes, same old , same old BSPA blind belief that " all will be well". Oh Well what will be will be.

Isn't it SO exciting, all that uncertainty? Especially as the final may need to be held over until the start of the 2019 season and that will make a thrilling start to the new season. Fans need to applaud the BSPA for such innovative thinking in order to keep things at boiling point until the very end of the season. Or perhaps even, beyond? See how spin works!

They do not read them, or listen to the ideas and quite honestly prefer not to have them, seeing only negative criticism in feedback.

The interesting thing is that "guest" supporters no longer turn up regularly. Another 10% of the terraces will fade away in 2019 because of the Emperor's New Clothes policy of the BSPA. Clearly many clubs can survive financially on 500 - 1000 crowds.

Indeed, that is sadly the case.

Sadly this most welcome suggestion - crisper run meetings being made the norm - does not seem to interest those who run speedway meetings (referee/clerk of the course/promoters) it is one of the most put forward suggestions AND the most ignored. The longer a meeting takes to run and the longer the delay between races means new supporters ( and the die-hards ) question the Value For Money aspect of the night out. How much exciting on-track action did we get for the money? Those who run speedway believe that we should be satisfied with 2 or 3 exciting races, that is good enough. Hence the leakage of existing supporters and the disinterest of the majority of newcomers, as to returning again ( never mind again and again ),

Ludicrous is the only word I can come up with that fits the situation. Or maybe " That's speedway UK style"?

They are just getting it over with.

It seems that 500 is now a large crowd in UK speedway. All part of the Emperors New Clothes syndrome of evaluating the health of UK racing. And therefore it must be adequate for the promoter's financial needs? If that is at the Vice Chairman's track then I can report that IMO at King's Lynn their average crowd is hovering around the 1,000 mark. Which must also be thought of as sufficient?

The professional promoters have proved what they can really do for the sport of speedway in the UK over the last - let's say 20 years ( this century ) and we can all see the results for ourselves. So yes, let's leave it to them to continue their work. After all, we ( the terrace supporters ) have little choice anyway.

The SCB/BSPA are taking their time to get a statement out.

It seems to me that the BSPA, collectively, have given up on "marketing" or "promoting" other than putting things up on social media. They seem to believe that 50% of people on Facebook are eager to get to a match. And leave it to fate.

Please do keep to your word and let us have "no more from you" unless of course it's sensible comment about real things happening at speedway matches or about how speedway is organised. Show us that you have learnt from the past two seasons and your ups and downs at speedway during them. As you claim to enjoy speedway so much, why not relax and enjoy it.

The two doubleheaders at King's Lynn this year ( both against the same weak opponents ) turned me off so much that I did not go again. No interest in such a thing whatsoever and from what I was told a goodly number of others thought and acted the same as well.

I regret I had not been made aware of their listing. We are always to eager to destroy our heritage.

That sounds perfect because you always get bigger crowds for playoff matches. Simplest way to double the average crowd. 6 teams and every match is a playoff & nail-bitingly exciting. A lot fewer matches but higher crowds! Shorter season, say three months June July August gives plenty of time for rain-offs.