waytogo28

Thankfully there are people who think much the same as us , just as there those who say " nothing beats being there". The toilets smell cleaner and the beer is cheaper and the access to the exciting bits is sharp and clear - not 100 yards away and if anything goes amiss, such as the riders not liking the track or the weather changing rapidly I can do something else. Best of all for me is that I don't have to endure the interval i.e. " being present for it". A definite no brainer for me. Why is Pay per View ( not at BT / Sky broadcast quality or so multi camera ) impossible in this day and age? I would spend £5 or even £10 to see a match I thought might just be worth it!

I was pleased to see that we have a similar opinion about everyone being entitled to their own point of view. I used "this" in my post because I can't ( sadly ) watch other KL hone matches on TV - I would be happy to pay, if Pay per View facilities existed. I used to think that it was always better to be present at a match but the huge improvement in broadcast quality and camera techniques mean that - for me - I get more pleasure as a speedway fan from watching the broadcast version. If I want to follow the Stars in other home matches, as I have done since they started in KL, I have no choice but to go to the stadium as I invariably do.

Further on - I have been reliably told that TB did not have a certificate and that he was just signed out of the meeting due to damaging his earlier thumb injury. Rules need tightening around this? He approached the medical staff about his concerns and they had not option but to tell him that further damage COULD occur if he continued to ride that night. Does the referee sign someone out of the meeting ( on the medics's advice )?

Is there someone who can give definitive answer about IF Batchelor was issued with a certificate and by whom. Or did he merely complain that his injured thumb was playing up and was signed out of the meeting. There is an important difference about riding the next day. Fans really are kept in the dark whenever possible,

I was there on the night. The track looked good and rode well in the first few races with VERY fast times. Not a crap track but it seems not easy for the chasing riders but we do not pay towards their wages for it to be easy ( I could do it if it was easy ). It was ridiculous well as a farce for the paying public and made me never want to go to KLS again IF Holder & Batchelor were in the team. I applaud Buster's efforts at re-structuring the club as he needs to "win the terraces" if speedway is to be viable in KL.

Great to see that the new recruits DID put in a lot of effort. Much better than putting up with CH & TB. But as Star Lady points out - in well made and soundly constructed observations - which echo the concerns of others ( inc. myself ) that a lot of other things have to change to make it an attractive night out for me at KLS. VFM racing being my No. 1. However I do applaud Buster for his efforts at changing the team in the way he did. The points Greg Hancock made in the SS only this week, that the bikes of today are not suitable for the UK tracks of today, needs to be heeded as I believe that it is one reason why racing at KLS has deteriorated. Anyone in any position in the team can win if they Gate & Go. The skill level of the other riders seems to count for little, especially if there is not much at stake.

I rarely respond to such posters who are unable to read or translate the post into coherent thought, in what passes for their mind. I wrote that I prefer to watch THIS particular televised match on TV because I have a choice, I have attended almost all of the previous home matches and I have posted only a few posts behind this, that I am going on Weds. ( weather permitting ) because Buster's changes appeal to me. There is much better VFM entertainment in my opinion in watching the broadcast, than going there. Should I not watch the other matches on Monday evenings or the playoffs, that I am unable to travel to? I don't use the finger wagging emoji so thoughtlessly or know if there is a one fingered emoji, pointing straight up, which I would have used.

It was talked about for several days, as a possibility, so if the two riders were that concerned about Buster taking such an action, they could have talked to him. All he did was keep his decision to himself until that deadline. Holder & Batchelor knew what they did was unacceptable to Buster and a lot of fans. They have not been treated like dirt any more than the manner in which they did not care at all about the fans ( or Buster's business ). I am pleased that Buster sacked them and made them understand what he thought of them as people ( not just as speedway riders). They knew what they were doing on that night and we all have to be responsible for the results of our actions. This time they "lost out". I just hope that they have not "infected" Robert Lambert with their attitude. Not just because if he might stay ( or not ) at KL but for his future in the sport. He could still go very far.

It's obvious that NO GP riders or anywhere world class ( on consistent basis ) are going to ride in the UK because of the likely new Poland and ONE other league. And because the money on offer here is very much below that on offer in Poland and Sweden. Let them ride there. If we have entertaining speedway of a lower level what's the problem? We can enjoy the "cream" in the GP's.

Definitely. I wasn't going to go again to KLS after the V Poole debacle. It was the last straw. But Buster's firm, decisive action means that I am prepared to give it a go once more. Not that everything wrong with the club is yet resolved but...Hoping for a KL Stars team giving it a real go, against strong opposition, including Robert Lambert who seems to be in sympathy with the sacked riders. So he is unlikely to be there next year? Pity because we locals have seen him really mature as a rider.

Dale & Rob's team? Perhaps Rob Lyon was in on the team choices over the winter but he too has let KLS down by his apparent disinterest ( for whatever personal reasons ) and lack of close up involvement for 3 - 4 months. So why wasn't Rob in a position to sort out the fall out from that Thursday. We know why Dale wasn't, but Rob?

It has to be like that if more and more fans are not to be lost from the sport.

It was a breath of fresh air and I think Buster is now in tune with what many KLS fans think ( not only the posters on here ). Better a team of riders who do want to race for the team & the fans. Results are not as important as making a stand. Nice indeed to see Buster be more like the "old" Buster.

Tha team if S Lambert is fit are a team of racers who have usually had a go and are known for it. It has upped my spirits and I will go in a keen anticipatory mood. I tip my hat to Buster for taking action and win or lose that team should give us some decent E for Effort if nothing else. Not all our problems as a club are behind us but it is two steps ( at least ) in the right direction.

It seems that most people accept that crowds are falling at nearly all clubs, in all leagues. They are likely falling locally because of the disorganised way that KLS has been run for the last two or three years. The promotion could easily and without much cost, repair a lot of the issues, which some fans find more than disappointing. One promoter has stood down ( or back? ) only last week and the other remains unwell. The owner has said he will not risk running future meetings if the track conditions and weather are not as the riders want them. There is not much for the fans to "get behind". A number of fans do not want the banned rider to return and are unhappy about the attitude of others in the team and that has caused a lot of disillusionment. I suspect that the owner now believes that the core numbers of the crowd are not likely to fall much more and that he can go on with things as they are. That might be true and hence the lack of "repair work" to this situation. That may be the situation at a number of UK speedway tracks.

pointsmeanplayoffs wrote " I hope many fans will come along, and treat this as a bit of a clean slate. Something to move forward from" Me too, I hope that there will be a significant turnout and that some of them will return later. I prefer to watch it on TV and I will. The quality of broadcasts nowadays is so good that I for one prefer it. With repeats and being in the thick of the action with passing as well as expert commentary (as far as I am concerned ) much better than being there. The mythical "atmosphere" is just that nowadays a myth - mostly effing and blinding and pushing the airhorn button to be honest. Although I have concerns on how KLS is being run and hope for better things I don't think we can so easily "put behind things" - unless some things change.

Michael Lee was more much more deeply embedded to KLS ( as Holder is to Poole ). Lee was more naturally gifted on bike and achieved better results than Holder has so far. Yes, Lee's personality was more of a problem ( than what we know of Holder ) but as a "local" we did forgive him more. Of course we always hope to learn from lessons of the past and not repeat them.

Is there a statement from Holder? Many are waiting to read it, so if we can be told where to find it, please do post it. A serious request.

That's what I will do. I bet that all the riders will be giving it their best, regardless of the track provided, as they do regard it as being in the shop window for sponsorship.

Lord Skid wrote " Ok, quick answer to put PL Speedway on an even keel, Heat Leaders £60 a point, Second strings £50, Reserves £40, no signing on fees, 20p a mile travel, tyre and fuel supplied. Engine costs £12-15 per race for servicing. Will it work? NO, because the Promoters will not stick to it, one will always want to pay a bit more to win, they've made their bed, they must lie in it." The truth is that that IS ( or something not unlike it ) going to be the future of speedway not later than three seasons ahead. The support in the UK, crowd wise is just not there for much else. We have to cut our coat according to our cloth if there is to be a new season in 2021. If there is to be no BT income ( as there may not be ) it will be about turnstile income and whatever sponsor a track can attract. The survival of the sport is dependent on a scheme along the lines of the above. £100 a point max. for anyone. The big names will not be needed for that kind of viable speedway. The new slimmed down sport will make it's own stars.

There is scheduled fixture before Somerset but.... who knows if we will get to see it. The £10 is not a wonderful gift by KLS. It may not even have been the BSPA's initiative. It could have been a condition of BT's coverage. Can anyone enlighten us on this?

Absolutely! If they can't trust their own riders, those riders should ride somewhere else. Even those we most like perhaps.

It certainly changed the way a lot of fans think about how the club is being run. That 'why bother" feeling is catching when you see no-one at the club seeming to care or take things seriously. There is too much wrong at KLS to "put it all behind us".

Aces 51 wrote " This same man is Chairman of the BSPA. It doesn't inspire confidence. Would anybody appoint someone not making a success of their own local business to run a national company? He promised by now to have delivered openness and transparency, a new rule book and a league sponsor but has failed to do so. There can be no excuse for not achieving the first two promises and this is a man who now admits to being petrified of rider power. The sport hasn't got the luxury of time to wait and see if he can eventually deliver what is required. Where is the plan to rebuild the sport? Is it yet another secret to be kept away from those who play a vital role in keeping the sport alive, the fans. Does it even exist? Speedway is on life support and fans are not seeing anything to encourage a belief that those in charge even know what many of the problems are, let alone have workable solutions. Perhaps it is time for Chapman to step aside and concentrate on rebuilding his own club. The BSPA need someone with the vision and ability to take the sport forward. If there is nobody within their ranks with those abilities they must acknowledge it and look elsewhere for the right person. That is what any sensible business would do. The basic concept of four riders racing on a well prepared track is as capable now of attracting fans as it has ever been. It is all of the other aspects that need action, the rules, the facilities, the PR, the publicity, the continuity of riders in teams, making fans feel valued etc." ​I agree and said elsewhere (but it seem more pertinent in this thread ) - If the BSPA are serious about wanting to ( needing to ) re-build the sport then they should be asking Buster to step aside. Fans at KL would love to see something of the "old" earlier, energised Buster rebuilding the Stars as a credible club - at any level within speedway. Because it looks as if ( from the outside and no-one knows what it looks like from the inside ) that no-one there has the vision and leadership needed at club level. It would be easy to get the feeling that the sport will not continue at KL next season.

It's not about anti Buster feeling, it's the fact that how KLS is being run now ( and over the lest few years ) is causing more and more fans to walk away. Not because they are fed up with speedway or want to see it close in KL but because how it is being offered to them now is not acceptable. Same as any business. If you like it and what it does, you support it. If the BSPA are serious about wanting to ( needing to ) re-build the sport then they should be asking Buster to step aside. Fans at KL would love to see something of the "old" earlier, energised Buster rebuilding the Stars as a credible club - at any level within speedway. Because it looks as if ( from the outside and no-one knows what it looks like from the inside ) that no-one there has the vision and leadership needed to make it work at club level. It would be easy to get the feeling that the sport will not continue at KL next season. As for those who say "support your club regardless" it is hard to ignore when it is being run poorly. Would we be expected to accept some of the shady promoters in speedway from the past and say " that's OK it's our club whatever goes on is fine."? Of course not.