Najjer

I quite agree. It'd be an absolute mess probably even with 6 man teams.

But there must be stacks of capable riders.... people keep telling us there are loads of capable riders to fill up enough teams for one big league

More to the point, we have 5 of the 7 riders we started with so certainly no revolving door here. Vissing was only ever going to be a stop gap.

As a consequence of England football team's progression to the World Cup semi finals, Somerset speedway has reached the decision to postpone their scheduled league match against King's Lynn this coming Wednesday.Announcing the decision, promoter Debbie Hancock said "whilst not having a meeting on Wednesday is extremely disappointing from a speedway perspective we have to acknowledge that England qualifying for the semi finals is a massive achievement and we recognise that many of our supporters will be wanting to watch the football". As a result of this decision, the next scheduled action at the Oaktree Arena will be the SGB Championship pairs on Friday 20th July, the eve of the British GP in Cardiff.Somerset visit Wolverhampton on Monday night (July 9th) when latest signing Aaron Summers will be making his club debut.

Nice to have you back on a Somerset thread again... Somerset, who are 2nd in the league at the moment in case you didn't realise. Not bad for a team that isn't even decent!!

I don't know the exact figure, but I've been told he was offered a down payment that was double what he was offered from other teams.

Somerset have probably done the maths but I'd imagine the BSPA are still playing catch up and trying to work out what averages everyone is on. To me it seems madness to now remove Rye's matches from averages as they have been used up until now which has dictated rider positions, R/Rams and team changes. To remove them seems daft. With regards Harris, well rumoured Somerset were chasing him early doors last season as soon as the decision to go up a division was made and he was about to sign... until Rye came in and offered silly money for him.

The plot thickens

Although currently only two official riders, Niels K Iversen has ridden in the GPs this year and also Chris Holder would of been in the league too but for visa issues. You can add Martin Vaculik to that list before his injury. There is still some other top riders within the league currently like Lambert, Bjerre, Andersen and up until yesterday Kasprzak etc. There is a massive problem currently and it's certainly not all rosy. But one big league where everyone has to drop down to Redcar's standard is not the answer. That will see fans leave the sport in it's masses! The comment about breaking even is because believe it or not, I don't have every club's financial status so I assume the at the very least to make things a success, clubs need to break even.

If clubs are running at a profit/break even, why should GP riders be done away with? You only have to look at the shambles in the Championship of fixtures being cancelled and moved because teams need guest riders and there aren't any available. What a joke situation that is. Scunthorpe going to Redcar tonight with only 3 of their usual team. There simply isn't enough riders for one big league. I haven't done the maths on whether 6 man teams would seem more logical to try and make it work but even that seems a long shot to me.

The Lakeside press release and the Championship problems of a Friday racenight, only put emphasis even more on the FACT there is not enough riders for one big league.

The Monday meetings were usually bank holidays I believe, which many have said were their biggest crowds of the season.

Not according to Workington's press release this morning.

I don't really follow what's going on too much in the Championship anymore - what's the story here then?

Sounds similar to the Arsene Wenger fiasco. Similar sort of history actually!

Always thought it was strange he never came back. Had immense track craft and seemed a popular rider too.

Does the National League team make money... does this offset some of the costs incurred from the Premiership side? It's a weird situation if a 3rd division side is propping up the 1st division side however. If it doesn't make money, why have they even got a 3rd division side? Does the World Cup/Speedway of Nations bring in considerable cash to top up the bank balance? If you're seriously suggesting a business model of "We are losing money, but it's better than any other options" is a good one, I hope you never go into business.

Doesn't all of that all eventually lead back to poor management then? That fact that Belle Vue fans have been saying all season about needing to run on a Friday night to be sustainable, now actually transpires it was losing money then aswell! Phil the Aces' post gives a lot better insight into the costs of Belle Vue, and shows a poor business model quite frankly. A stadium such as the National Stadium is frankly not affordable it seems. To continue to run a business at a loss is just a ticking time bomb. Eventually the existing money will dry up, look at Rye House....

To be losing money with crowds of 1500 shows completely poor management and handling of their business. They must have been paying riders way more than they could afford. There is nobody to blame for that except the club itself, it's not the BSPA fault to ensure all clubs are handled correctly in that manner or anyone else's other than the people running the club. I know Bjerre wasn't retained for this year but it'll be interesting to see how much of a pay cut the other riders took as it's largely the same team.

So that shows with the correct racenight it is viable. All this talk of reducing costs with 35.00 points limits and stuff like that is absolute nonsense.

Whilst 6 out of 8 is far from being a success, it seems to be only Rye House and Belle Vue who can't make it pay currently. Like you say, I think the fixed race nights has obviously had a massive impact but there is other big problems too. Surely they could of announced that last week? "There is negiogations ongoing. We will update you further when we can confirm more news." All they've done now is alienate and pi$$ off what fans they do have left.

The answer to this has been given and suggested by Steve Shovlar already. I'll use a few examples to try and emphasis the point. Why should Somerset if they afford the world champion, why should Kings Lynn if they can afford Iversen and Lambert, why should Poole if they are happy to spend money on the riders they wish to do so, why should Leicester not be able to sign Andersen, Bjerre or even Vaculik etc, and then all come down to a level to suit a much less better off financial or ambitious club... ASSUMING (that's a reasonably big assumption) the other clubs already named can make it work currently financially? Why not have a maximum points limit of 45.00 (rough guide) and it's down to teams to manage themselves to work within their means. If that meant Rye House as an example, couldn't then sign Kasprzak because of his air fares and couldn't offer the ridiculous money they offered to Harris and Nichols to ensure they signed for them, then so be it and it would free them up to sign for somebody who could afford them. It's down to clubs to manage themselves a lot better in my opinion.

Until the crowds drop further.... before you know it we are paying £20 to watch a load of amateur wobblers. That's not for me!

Most people only attend home matches and if he banged in good scores at home that is most of the fan base won over. I'm sure that was the thinking behind Vissing who has gone well at the OTA in the past but it just hasn't worked out this time. Although Riss isn't as established at this level as Wright, he scored okay previously for Leicester and has done okay in guest bookings if my memory serves me correctly.

Erik Ross would be a good signing. Has flown around the Oak Tree in the past too!