Ben91

If a business had stores closing hand over fist in locations where some people have an appetite for their product it would be absolutely idiotic for them to then open a new store in a location where nobody has ever expressed an interest in their goods. That's what's happening here. Should have worked harder to keep tracks open where people wanted them in the first place.

British Speedway needs to be developing riders now more than ever. This flies in the face of that. I appreciate there are issues surrounding costs for riders, costs for teams in running this level of meeting but that is something the people in charge are and always have been aware of. They should be investing in the future and finding a solution. Investing time and money. A short time ago there was an announcement that all clubs would have to do something to help develop riders. To my mind that then didn't happen at all and it was such a wishy washy rule that it was no more than lip service anyway. If you want to run a professional club then it should be mandatory to do something to help develop British youth. If you don't there has to be consequences. There could even be a league set up of nomadic teams. Supplementing not instead of the National League. Each professional club has to stage 2/3 meetings in this league throughout the season, a condition of being a Championship/Premiership club. These meetings aren't about making money, or drawing fans in, or promoting defunct clubs. They're about developing youth. For the tracks they don't have the cost of running a full third division schedule at a loss, for the riders they are getting lots of competitive track time at a variety of tracks. Everyone should do their bit.

I do recall hearing similar. However he is currently only signed up for one club. With seemingly no TV deal on the horizon that could all change and throw my example under the bus but for now his situation is an example of how things should be in my eyes.

Have to say I like the look of this Workington team thus far. As has been said already so much hinges on Craig Cook but if he is firing they probably have the strongest top three in the league. That strong top three will potentially take a little heat off of Zischke too, seems like a big year for him. Very interested to see who takes the last two spots.

It was one thing they were starting to get a bit better at in recent years, announcing the fixtures slightly earlier. Guess the "upheaval" this winter has left the fixture planning til later and had a knock on effect.

Fans have always had an issue with their riders representing other clubs. The main issue of course is perhaps due to them potentially getting injured, doesn't diminish the fact though. The disconnect I'm talking about isn't the "Oh so and so used to come into the bar after meetings." It is simply being able to get behind a rider who represents your team and your team alone. It creates an identity. Riders should be allowed to carry on. But they should do so at one level. The level they are capable of performing at. The doubling up free for all (helped by the relaxing of the average conversion rate) dragged the standard of the top two leagues closer together because so many of the riders are shared. Those riders taking second tier spots has absolutely stood in the way of youngsters coming through. Maybe not directly but that is a consequence of the rule change. It has been squeezing the air out of development for almost two decades now and we're at a breaking point. The sad thing is that those riders now having an easy life also had a more defined path to the top as the gulf from Conference to Premier to Elite was a less abrupt one than the pathetic excuse we have for a third tier into the Championship as it is now. We now have a weaker top tier than we did 20 years ago but a much stronger second tier. That is a fact shown by there being Championship heatleaders who are also heatleaders in the Premiership. To use one of your old riders as an example, Tomas Topinka was an incredible second tier number one in the mid 2000s. He wouldn't have been anywhere near a heatleader berth in the Elite League at that time though. And if you wanted to watch Topinka you had to be at a Kings Lynn meeting. Even now Scott Nicholls is a shining example of the way it should be. He has one team at the level his ability allows him to race at and still be competitive. The raw product draws fans in. Once you fall in love with that it is the bureaucracy and stupid convoluted rules that is a turn off, not the state of a stadium or what music is being played between the heats. I'm not saying these aren't issues, they are but the real issues come from the way the sport is run. There are some stadiums in Poland that are falling apart, they play the YMCA three times a meeting but the places are still banged out to the rafters. Yes, the standard of riders may be better but the real difference is that they don't deal in half the BS we do here.

Logistically it isn't an issue. Especially if you are a rider wanting to line your pockets without the inconvenience of having to be good enough to be asked to ride in Poland. The problem is deeper than that though. Starting with it causing the disconnect between fans and the riders who race for their team. Ideally riders should have one club, having another club overseas is borderline acceptable. Ideally that wouldn't happen either. A lot of top tier riders have ended up with second tier clubs due to a relaxation of rules (doubling up numbers allowed and average conversion rate) 15 odd years ago. They've then hogged the team spots and stopped other riders from racing at second tier level and thus reaching a competitive standard. That is directly to blame for the lack of good enough riders now. To top it all off, most of them are now in their mid thirties plus and when they retire, which they'll have to some day sooner rather than later, leave a massive void in both leagues. These things hurt Speedway's credibility. As does guesting, which isn't a necessary evil, it's just an evil. It makes the sport look amateurish in the extreme to Speedway fans, let alone someone who may be a newcomer to the sport. The sport has to look credible to keep teams active, to help new/returning teams get back on track, to try secure another television deal and ultimately to draw in new fans. All these things that look stupid to outsiders (because they are stupid) need to be removed from the sport. For the good of the sport.

Absolutely pathetic news from the AGM. Expected though. This sticking plaster announcement could have been made in November. They've been sitting on their hands for the last two months it seems waiting for a television deal to ride in on a white charger. Nothing about the shambles the sport is in now and how they hope to change it mid to long term, no transparency. Looking forward to things being even more grim this time next year and yet another bodge it AGM taking absolutely no accountability for the shower of sh** that is British Speedway nowadays.

The state of the sport makes this a quite exceptional case. If he were a footballer and he wanted to return to playing there would be a club somewhere that would overlook his off pitch discretions for the sake of having his talent on the pitch. Even if that meant dropping way down the leagues initially. If he were a snooker or darts player etc. he couldn't be stopped from earning a tour card and working his way back up the rankings. Speedway clubs are all in a pretty precarious position, it would be an immense gamble for anyone to take him on. He has done his time. Hopefully he has turned his life around and can contribute positively to society. I don't think that'll come astride a speedway bike.

The bloke has done his time and should be allowed to earn an honest living. It wouldn't do the sport many favours to ban him. His crimes weren't anything to do with Speedway or the integrity of the sport. They don't merit a ban from the sport. I would expect all clubs to give him a wide berth though, someone signing him would go down like a fart in an elevator. I certainly wouldn't want him to ride for my club knowing what he did, rehabilitated or not. I would also question how he's funding any comeback. We're regularly reminded of the expenses facing Speedway riders. If he's able to fund equipment then he has a source of income which means he doesn't need speedway. Speedway certainly doesn't need him.

@Chris Thanks for the update. Is this a group administered through Facebook or other social media? Would be nice to be able to keep abreast and help in any way towards a hopeful return for the Rockets but I don't do any social media.

Going to put a lot of points on his average in 2026 is he? Only way he'd be a second string in one big league.

It sounds like 2026 is going to be limping along as we were, not much more needs planning. Planning for 2027 should be well under way by now if the people in charge have any sincere interest in saving and reviving the sport here. The outcome of the AGM in January should be a long term plan, one that the fans are made fully aware of. It's easier to invest in another season of dross if there's a transparent plan for improvement in place and in full view for those who pay their way each week.

I do wonder whether this can be spun to a party line making it look as if the top riders bailed on Britain and that's why they've gone, not the indecision causing them to sign more secure contracts elsewhere. They jumped, they weren't pushed. The cynic in me can see Ipswich (for example) coming to tapes with a much weakened team and the justification that they almost didn't run at all so the fans should just be happy to have speedway at all. And undoubtedly the majority of happy clappers would swallow it hook, line and sinker.

Don't often agree with you @Aries but this is spot on. This isn't Ipswich specific, just my opinion in general. For me, a sports club/organisation exists for the fans first and foremost. There may be an owner/figurehead but everything always has to circle back to those who support the club. Without them there would be nothing. They turn up week in, week out. If they didn't then the club could fold. Seems a bit off that the person who they've been supporting and entrusted with the custodianship of their team can then just decide to pull the rug on them.