JamesHarris

You can't change the weather but another classic example of how British speedway shoots itself in the foot and lives in the past. The season should be finished now. The play-off for what they are worth in a 6 team league should have begun the first week in September. Octobers are cold, mostly wet and dark!

Bit of a strange one really. I've watched Polish speedway and the atmosphere in the crowd it buzzing. We just don't have the same thing here. All that happens here is the DJ will play some cheesy tune from the 80's and the fans will clap like sea lions at feeding time when the home rider wins. I've even been to meetings here where the racing was good but there was probably more atmosphere on the Moon! I remember around the turn of the millennium Belle Vue used to bring a band of foul mouthed oinks on their travels who got a little animated but I wouldn't call that an atmosphere.

I know I'll get shot down for this but IMO Newcastle speedway is a dead donkey. Mr Grant has done a great job and must be applauded for the job he has done considering how he was screwed over by the last promotion. But the track at Brough Park has always been small and technical and I have to say not great for flat out racing. I do apologise but I have never witnessed a brilliant meeting at Brough. The stadium is a relic of the past. Times change and unfortunately Brough Park hasn't.

Just a thought but what would happen if a would be promoter ever went on Dragons Den asking for investment? Could possibly be the best car crash telly ever!

Was only saying this last night. I know riders have to display sponsor logo's etc, but surely there could be a more discreet way of doing so. Having images of bikes and so all over a van is a written invitation for such robbing scum. I hope he gets his bikes back but perhaps this should serve as a warning to other riders about the images they display on their vans.

The ultimate demise of the traditional Friday/Saturday race night for "elite" speedway in the UK was the Grand Prix. When the GP launched in 1995 the British League could cope with 6 weekends a season where their top stars would be unavailable. Slowly over time the GP series increased in the number of rounds and with the big bucks of the Sunday Polish league on top of that, the British league system could no longer sustain weekend racing at an elite level.

Basic question here but what do the Poles, Swedes and even Danes do different to us? What can we learn from them? I know there will be some obvious answers but if Speedway is ever going to return to it's glory days in the UK, we have to start looking into why it is so successful in other countries. Of cause to do so the dinosaurs that run the BSPL would have to start living in 2021 instead of 1971.

Random thought but have the bikes just simply too fast now? The bikes have evolved but the tracks have stayed the same. You wouldn't have a modern day F1 car racing around a 1950's circuit layout.

One assumes then that you are at the forefront of the project to bring Speedway back to Hoddesdon and are doing so with an open cheque book? I wish you well - you will need it and I hope you can make something to cover your return. 2017 was four years ago. If Uncle Len was making so much money from it why did he wash his hands of it and go to Kent? If you want your address to be public then that's your call. But ask yourself this - When most of the objections come from people who live 100 miles away do you really thing East Herts Council are going to take those objections into account compared to those in favour or against that live local? Again a case of people living in la la land.

If you have objected or supported the application on the East Herts council website I hope you all realise your full address is publicly there for all to see. Not sure If I'd want tom, dick and harry knowing where I lived.

I wish you luck with you plans and I hope you prove me wrong. I understand your frustrations but your attack is very personal and extremely unprofessional. I am entitled to my opinion just as others on this forum are. You may not like them but sometimes people will say it as it is (myself being one of them). I am neither Lazy nor Ill informed and I am not undermining your project. I am not a self serving expert either. Sometimes you have to listen rather than pretending to live in la-la land.

Perhaps Eurosport now realise what a crap product they have signed up to and wish they had shown the Championship instead as it's just the same riders but more variety of venues? Also how can anyone take serious an "elite" league of 6 teams where the top 4 then enter the play offs? What is the actual point of showing any more of the regular season when the play off slots have already been all but decided? What is there to race for? It could be now that Eurosport are just going to show the play-offs and final as that is basically what the season is.

I partly agree with what you say BUT and there are a few of them... Should there be a wage cap - Yes, but not too low. I've always been a believer that clubs should be able to sign who they want. If they can afford it without going **** up then why not. Poole are the prime example. It pulls the crowds in. If Man City or Chelsea are in town for an FA cup tie against your team who are in the lower rungs of the league system chances are you will go to that game. Your team may get stuffed but you'll go because you want to watch the best and who knows your team may even cause an upset. My late step-father once recalled his days of going to Coventry Speedway in the 50's. If you knew Split Waterman, Ronnie Moore, Freddie Williams, Jack Young and Ove Fundin were in town you would go to watch them. The stands would be packed and apparently they used to put extra buses on - how times have changed. All wages paid via the BSPL - so like umbrella payments. And who's pocket will most of that go in?

Does anybody know roughly what the decent riders are being paid now? When I was involved in arranging a deal for a Scandinavian rider 10 years ago at Premier League level it was £40 a point with a £120 guarantee. On top of that his flights to and from were paid for plus mileage. A mechanic was provided by the club as well as a tyre.

The British final tonight was a good advertisement for Speedway. Some really good racing and the riders entertained the crowds. Far better than any league meeting I've seen this year.

Perhaps all the Speedway fans have died! lol

To be honest Martin I think it's a lost cause and it really pains me to say that. . I used to enjoy my trips to Rye House. The racing was good and the fish and chips were even better. Can any potential promoter though really hold his or hers hand up and say -yes I can make running speedway a profitable business at Hoddesdon that will serve the community well? The leisure facilities and football pitches that the new owners propose will generate far more income and will serve the community for the whole year. You are spot on though about the BSPL response to all of this. As long as it doesn't affect Supreme Chancellor Godfrey's interests then who cares.

Does Speedway need to re-invent itself? Short sharp answer to that is NO. Does British Speedway need to re-invent the way it is run - YES!. Speedway is both an individual and team sport and that is how it is successful in Poland, Sweden and Denmark. The Poles have owned it. The Swedes have maintained it. The Danes have consistently been good at it. The British have diluted it.

Does anyone know what the average viewing figures have been for Speedway on Eurosport so far? Perhaps it's not worth their while to do a full live broadcast?

Yeah it is a bit of an odd one. It does come across as "I didn't really like the guy but hey ho we better put something out".

You are absolutely spot on. I put on here the other day that 88% of riders in the Premiership also ride in the Championship. Only 5 riders are exclusive to that league and one of them will soon be snapped up by a Championship team. It's a joke.

I think people would pay to watch it if they were getting value for their money and in all a good night out. Sadly they are not.

Talking about Moto X I recall that promoters had a bit of a hard on (forgive me) for these type of riders coming straight into Speedway with hardly any experience. Is this still the case?

I've seen just as many Women at a football game than blokes. Same as Rugby. I wouldn't say families don't have the disposable income but it all comes down to individual circumstances and what they want to spend that money on. If you work hard for your money then you want to spend that cash on a good night out and like I've said before, sadly British Speedway in it's current state does not offer that value. Greyhound racing just like Speedway is a typical working class form of entertainment but unlike Speedway, Greyhound racing is all but dead and will certainly be history within the next 10 years. Going to the dogs boomed in the pre and post war years because for the flat capped man it was a cheap night out and the only way to have a legal bet (unless they went to the more expensive gee gees) until the opening of betting shops in 1961. It's dragged on since but it no longer appeals to the general public. Speedway shares a lot of common ground though. The sport was extremely popular with the working class in the post war boom. It still has life and can be saved but if it carries on as it is then it won't be far behind the dogs.

I've never been to a Grasstrack meeting and probably never will. There's no way I could put myself through that horrendous torture - Not with my hayfever anyway!