Ben91

The sport doesn't need any help looking like a laughing stock so I doubt it was the plan sadly.

This is symptomatic of the state British Speedway is in. The advertising budget stretched to a cameo video and a paper bag with some scraps of paper in it. Getting a celebrity to host the draw. Great idea. Where's the celebrity? Not knocking Linda Lusardi but she just isn't the person to be promoting Speedway in 2026. Within Cameo's ranks there are more famous people. But a Cameo video itself is tinpot to the max. To make it work and to draw new eyes you have to collaborate with someone who has a social media following. They need to post it on their socials so that their audience sees it and may be intrigued. Not stick a Cameo video of them on your own social media reaching the same people who already follow you. Funnily enough there is a high profile celebrity who now has skin in the game and a solid social media following. Harry Redknapp. Considering he is invested in the sport I'm sure he'd have done it for free. It would have reached a bigger audience and any benefit from it helps the sport and Harry's investment in the same breath.

I have no problem with Mulford being at this level I have to say. He's probably too good though. I'd have less of a problem with it if there were more teams. He's still a developing rider after all. He's a victim of circumstance, has spent time as a cost cutting measure, sorry I mean rising star in the Premiership and now nobody at that level wants him it would be unfair for him to be punished by being ruled out of the third tier. Similarly if there are British riders unattached at a higher level who fit the average criteria I welcome them. That higher standard of opponent and level of professionalism they hopefully bring should help team mates and opponents. Simon Lambert is an example being mooted. If he signs for Kings Lynn then that's only acceptable if they are his one club. In a development league with such a small number of teams those sides shouldn't be having to draft in big guns to get near the points limit. It sounds as if that's why Lambert will be at Lynn so questions have to be asked about why the rules put in place have left them needing to make that move. Given the apathy shown by many "professional" sides to the third tier I hope that isn't the case because Lynn are one of the few who are actually proactively trying to develop young riders by putting out a NDL side. If they're then shafted by the points limit that beggars belief. Given what has happened over the last 10/15 years with the average conversion rate and doubling up free-for-all between the top two leagues there's a bigger gap than ever between the third and the second tiers now. The answer is probably changes at the top and the bottom of the tree with the middle then falling into a natural order. There needs to be defined quality levels and a pathway from the bottom league to the top. That suggestion of course would be popular with nobody. Self interest rules this sport even when it comes in the guise of repeatedly shooting itself in the foot. (Bit of a tangent there, apologies @Fortythirtyeight not aimed at you or your post. Plenty of general speculation on my part beyond the initial paragraph!)

Last season between the NDL/NDT there were 50 "league" meetings. This year with only the NDL there will be 30. That drop off is alarming. Particularly when we should be trying harder than ever to establish some strong foundations for the sport here. The following quote from the press release looks to me like no more than lip service too. So we have some tracks running a full third tier campaign and others who can just get away with the ambiguous "Second Half Open Invitation". Of course there are differing restrictions at certain tracks but there has to be more than the odd second half. It should be mandatory for professional tracks to run at least two NDL level meetings during the season. The benefit of doing this over a second half would be the riders and their team (generally parents at this level) would know they're guaranteed a ride weather permitting rather than the always in the balance chances they have to take by turning up for a second half. If the tracks lose money on these meetings it's not ideal but it is an investment in their riders of the future, without whom there won't be anyone to help them make money in the long run. Furthermore I'd like to think when the riders coming through reach "professional" standard they'd choose to race for a club that actually put some effort in to the third tier rather than one that did the bare minimum but can throw more money at them. We all know that's wishful thinking though. As with everything in British Speedway there is too much ambiguity. There should be hard and fast rules in place with consequences for those who don't toe the line. The top riders don't want to be here. We need to focus on developing more riders domestically, instead we've almost halved the meetings available to them. Pretty pathetic really.

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.

I'd like to know what is being put in place to ensure we're not in the exact same situation (but worse) in twelve months time. The number of clubs left makes one league more sensible. Clubs racing on a night that suits them also makes sense. What needs to be done is something to make that viable. The stumbling blocks all revolve around riders. Be it the international race nights which take preference and the lack of riders of a good enough standard to fill 14 teams without doubling up (impossible in one league). So there should be a big focus next season on getting British riders to a competitive standard at Championship level at least. A good pool of domestic talent will be important to mean sides can have carte blanche over their race nights (not a complete solution I'm aware). But, as we know the Championship teams are full speed ahead at building teams and there are no rules in place (rising star scheme for example) to promote British youngsters at that level. The Premiership isn't sustainable. The Championship sides haven't helped matters by not implementing a rising star scheme or similar. It needs to be changed for next season regardless of what has been signed already, or we're putting off change for good for at least another year. That's valuable time. Everyone needs to pull together in one direction for the good and future of British Speedway.

It makes perfect sense. A team who runs away with a league title without play-offs has won the title across the entire season. The best team over the season wins the title. It's the fairest way. A team can sneak into the play-offs at the last minute and win the league title due to late season form, possibly due to team changes, injuries elsewhere etc. With a league of only five teams, all bar one side qualifies. That renders all the league meetings next to pointless. Just don't be the worst side in the league. It opens the door to all sorts of average manipulation too. Meeting one should be as important as the last meeting of the season in the league campaign. Play-offs are often touted as good for TV. As it stands there is no TV and the whole play-off process makes the five team league even more tinpot.

Hear there's a new range of BSPL sticking plasters being released just in time for Christmas. A five team league is awful. With play-offs even more Mickey Mouse. Big change is needed (has been for years), nobody has the minerals to do it though. Easier to watch the sport die. Why should fans hand over their hard earned when all they get is treated with contempt. Hand over more money for a worse product year on year.

You're yet to prove you're right before anyone can prove you wrong.

Don't think they got as far as laying the pitch at Rye House. The track has been ripped up beyond recognition though I believe. Can't bring myself to venture over there to see what the state of the place is. Will mar some wonderful memories. A demise that was wholly avoidable too.

Competitiveness comes from teams of equal(ish) strength of course, not having a smattering of "world class" riders in the league. There's a "not enough riders" agenda whenever anyone mentions one league. The reality is that there are not enough riders of a suitable quality. It's not the same as there not being enough full stop. There are also not enough of these "world class" names to go around the top league in its current form. Hence having whipping boys like Birmingham and Oxford last season. The sport here wants to operate at a standard it can't sustain ultimately. A five team league is a horrible idea. It would be far, far too repetitive if the sides were to race a meaningful number of fixtures and then they'd probably still want to have play offs. Regardless of the quality of riders who might compete it would still be over exposure. Variety versus competitiveness has a sweet spot that it is probably impossible for British Speedway to meet in 2026, for me variety is more likely to make me go to meetings than seeing slightly better opposition but knowing they'll be coming to town again in a couple of weeks. And then again a couple of weeks after that. I suspect I'm not in the minority by having that opinion.