bigeddiechek

Yeah, let Screm have a go at running the website. Then everyone can advise him on how he is doing such a crap job, every five minutes, and how they could do it much better. But never to his face. Irrespective of how good a job he might actually be doing.

What a thoroughly profound statement. Well done Bandits, a nice away win with a good performance from Barrett whets the whistle a little bit for next season.

Completely agree, we had a hell of a long list that night. Costs have to be cut, and more people need to come through the gate. The detail of those two points is an enormous task. Interesting comments on social media about riding in the rain. I've gone on about fans stepping up to the mark, many others the promotion, also some riders too will have to chip in their thoughts to keep the sport going. Perhaps the riders are the most important people to consult on the future of the sport.

Come on guys, there's a time and a plaice for joking around.

If you were to do the opposite to what you suggest, have more home meetings in a month, or perhaps weight this towards the beginning of the season, then that would give more breathing space. If we take an example based on your suggestions: month 1, 4 available race nights; weeks 3 and the spare week are rained off, you are actually one meeting worse off. If you then have a subsequent rain off, then you are two meetings down instead of the one you would under the current system. However, under my suggestion you could also be two meetings down compared to the current system, in fact, one could argue that it would increase the probability of rain offs early on. The clincher, for me, on weighting the important meetings early on, is that there would also potentially be more important meetings completed. Probably the biggest difference is one we talked about, and that is scrapping all the meaningless meetings.

I'm not knocking your suggestion, but it might make the situation worse as you are potentially pushing fixtures back in the season. As we discussed on the 3rd bend, there are just so many things that need to change to save the sport.

I guess what you are saying is that it would take a bit of uncertainty out of the situation. Potentially you could have all your dates in a month with race-able weather, then another month with severable rain-offs. You would then have missed opportunity and a backlog. As long as the sport is at the mercy of the weather, then there isn't much we can do about it.

This is terrible news, and I reckon that it is likely that the vast majority - if not all - clubs are in a similar situation. I've said it on other threads, it is up to the supporters to save speedway as a professional sport. If we continue to be negative towards the sport, and don't turn up and pay a reasonable price, then it will be gone. Very quickly too.

Surely that is like guaranteeing the equivalent of one rain of per month? Or maybe I am missing something?

Fair enough, it must have been pretty bad stuff!

This awfully messy, but should the family be getting such a hard time. Is it really the way to keep speedway. Never forget the people that open clubs back up or new owners that revitalise clubs. IT IS A MIGHT TOUGH TASK A bit empathy might help here.

I know that you are one of the few on here that will actually go up to him - in a perfectly gentlemanly manner - and discuss it with him. Good on you as well. The others cowards.

That is not the article I was referring to. The ones who are constantly greeting about things should take heed though. I've never been involved in a sport where people who don't actually seem to enjoy it, pay to go and watch it? Even worse, so called fans that don't even go! Very, very dull people who clearly can't find anything as an alternative. So, it can't be that bad: can it?

I guess it could always be better, I don't listen to local radio much, but always hear John on Radio Borders on the way to meetings.

Interestingly it didn't mention media, rather "outlets". Take from that what you will.

If you read it, it is absolutely not directed at supporters. Quite the opposite, in fact. Perhaps your reply backs up some of my earlier posits?

If the crowds are low, then only the people who don't come through the turnstiles are to blame for that. Speedway is an incredibly badly supported sport. I say that for a number of reasons: Soi disant fans seem to revel in there being low crowds at meetings they attend. Soi disant fans seem to enjoy having a go at the people who fund and run the sport: even the good ones, Little men get close to the sport because they have a few hundred quid to spare now and again, then think they should have influence. Once they find out that is not the case, they become bitter and - perhaps unwittingly - damage their clubs. Soi disant fans attack fans who are positive and support their clubs as "brown nosers", etc. Contrast that with Sevco in Scottish Football, the old club is gone, new club not doing too well in Division 3, but by golly they still support their club. Let's just face it, the support base of speedway: i.e., the people one would expect to go through the turnstiles, just haven't got what it takes to keep the sport going. It also seems that those soi disant fans are so thick that they can't see that and try and blame it on a multitude of other things. It's up to us to keep the sport going, if we don't step up to the mark, then we only have ourselves to blame. Interesting bit in the Berwick programme about poor support and negativity from a certain contingent. It was spot on, and those that it was generally directed to should be ashamed of themselves.

Just breath-taking. Seen that many times at Shielfield over the last couple of years. Pure skill, balls, and entertainment.

Sad news to hear that Lee has decided to retire. He'll be a huge miss. It's worrying as the sport in general is really struggling and Lee was one of the valuable crowd pullers in the league. Wish him all the best, for me he was worth every penny of the admission fee alone.

Keep the good ones coming boy wonder lol

I would say that the majority of people do care about away results, Steve, but I agree home entertainment is by far top of the list.

If it increases appetite for the sport it may not be a problem.

I agree with your point about only having half of your actual team riding. Squads are surely the way to go?

Any other mix of motorsport with speedway would turn me right off. I've no interest in motorsports. Speedway is a very stark exception. I'm not too fussed about where we finish in the league, as long as it is not bottom. Clearly I would love us to win it, and that is a great dream/aim to have. Having no league to contest would signal the death of any sport. We do need drastic change, but one that is going to progress, not regress.

Me too, that's how I sniff them out. I know what it is like I didn't have you picked out as insecure though, Screm. We've agreed on most things, other than Lee Complin this season. Now that is progress! OK, you are obviously a bit too simple to think more deeply about what you post. You know that I'd be happy to pay £20 a meeting. So what, other than to remind me of that, was the point of your post? I go to every meeting that I can, that is not every meeting. I bring mates when I can (something you will find impossible to fathom), and I am grateful for everyone who has been involved in running that club since Peter stepped-aside. We mustn't forget Lynda Waite who was instrumental in saving the club at that point too. I'm grateful for all these people who put considerable money, considerable time, and considerable effort into keeping the club alive. Your comments towards the club are childish, thick, and reek of someone who thought they were special, then had the hammer of reality dropped on them. You might note that I was also a big supporter of Peter Waite; for all his idiosyncrasies, he kept the club running for 10 years and delivered a major trophy. Fairplay1 had a (legitimate) quibble with Peter, and was negative to him on here. However, he had the balls to drop me a message and give me his reasons. It was quite understandable and I stopped having a war of words on here with him, and we ended up respecting each other's points of view. Do you have the bottle to explain (in private, or public) what your quibble is? Hoy! Come on, if you're going to pick holes in my post, don't pick on the toilet ones! I think Alex should be our number 7 next year. Not just because he deserves it, but because he was starting to score very heavily before yet another unfortunate accident.