Ben91

Nothing like learning from history is there...

This goes to show that short sighted thinking is a sport wide issue and not just a British Speedway thing. If Poland want to monopolise the sport, before long it will become a Polish only club and there won’t be a “World Championship” as such because the only people to the standard will be Poles. I could see advantages to riders only having one club if the other top leagues were strong as a Champions League style deal could happen. This hurts everyone long term though, even the Polish.

No, they’re kicking the can down the road by hoping that we will be able to just run the planned 2020 season in 2021 just like they hoped we would have a full season this year until July/August when they finally admitted it wouldn’t happen. I don’t think you understand the point I’m making, to manage expectation levels in life it is best to plan for the worst case scenario and hope things are better. If they do it is easier to adjust. You’re suggesting planning for the absolute best scenario, and that is unlikely to happen sadly. Why do Speedway circuits have safety fences? Why do the riders wear body armour and crash helmets? In case they crash, worst case scenario. Best case scenario is they don’t and nobody gets hurt which as fans we all hope is the case. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. If anyone at the BSPA is reading my posts and feeling demoralised then they are in the wrong job and perhaps they should ask themselves why fans aren’t happy with the product they serve up on the whole. Realistic expectations and negativity are very different things. I’m in the former camp. I’m a Speedway fan, why would I want the sport to fail? I have no issue with debating with you despite us having differing opinions, please don’t descend into personal abuse by calling me sad just because we aren’t in agreement.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best. As far as the comments about planning for British riders only are concerned I’m talking about travel restrictions potentially not allowing riders in and out of the country to race on a weekly basis, which would mean riders would have to stay in one place predominantly as happened in Poland this year. Travel restrictions will hit us more than the Danes, Swedes and Poles because you have to fly here from those countries whereas you can drive between the others should you have the inclination. Jason Doyle’s comments are second hand from Rosco and if Poland run their league in a bubble again he’ll go there for the money and not race for Swindon, let’s not kid ourselves. You may have been to watch Speedway this year, but if you hadn’t noticed, the government (who have slightly more power than the BSPA) have banned fans from sporting events for the second time since March. The only meetings that were run with fans were “amateur.” Blind optimism is helping nobody in this situation. Realism, contingency planning and managing expectation levels has to be the way forward with hopes for the best.

I think it needs to be seriously considered that if we do have a season we will potentially have to use British riders only and/or those who will be based solely in the UK. It would be prudent for the people running the sport to make a plan to go next season using British riders only and with the potential that there could be no fans allowed in to tracks to watch the racing.

When it comes to payment it should be down to supply and demand. This is why footballers earn more exorbitant sums of money for example. Now I’m making some reasoned assumptions here but most clubs seem to struggle to make ends meet, of course there are costs other than rider wages but this suggests the demand for speedway isn’t there sadly. Something has to change, to stop clubs haemorrhaging money and to improve the product for fans. For me that starts with the sport going part-time. Some riders may walk away but not as many as we worry will. A lot will of course try and call the authorities bluff because they won’t want to get a real job or try and secure a ride abroad but if they love riding a Speedway bike they’ll have to get on with it. That of course means a watering down of the product but let’s be honest, the standard now isn’t that great anyway. A lot of the core fan base these days are those who will attend week in, week out regardless of who is riding. It’s a step backwards to move forwards in the mid to long term. If something doesn’t change soon the sport will die. Regardless of the pandemic clubs are falling by the wayside at an alarming rate and it is notoriously difficult to get the necessary permission to open a new track these days. Of course the fact that Speedway is a poor relation these days doesn’t help.

No, it isn’t. It’s logical to plan for the worst and hope for the best. To plan a full season that won’t happen (again) would be foolish and incur more needless expense. The state of the sport here it won’t be hard to pull a season together if we need to come spring. Fixtures are never released until late in the day anyway. This is a forum for opinion, that is why we’re here. Not to blindly just go “Speedway is great isn’t it,” like automatons. Sadly the opinion of most Speedway fans (the most important people), is seemingly that the people running the sport have used up their credit of goodwill and need to pull their finger out and do something positive. And that is regardless of the fact that there is a pandemic going on.

What’s the point in holding it at all, just carry on with the dross we were due to be served as a 2020 season.

This is part of the problem. The sport is bigger than the riders, yet there seems to be the thought process that they are owed a living so can have two teams so they don’t have to get a proper job and race as a hobby. It’s time to put the fans first.

If the plan is to run 2021 as 2020 then a huge opportunity to restructure the sport in a positive way has been missed.

In his book Mike Tyson mentions a wizzer. A fake penis filled with “clean” urine for athletes to use when providing samples. Where there’s a will to cheat there’s a way.

I was in Romford earlier and having read this thread did a little online research. Crazy how the Bombers ended up in Barrow. That’s some relocation!

We’re all just human waste living in Rob’s world. But it’s fine for him to call us it. We’re morons for not agreeing with every word he posts.

I can always find a little bit of time in my day to call someone out when it’s required. Especially someone who seemingly takes pleasure in talking to others like dirt.

Yet when someone here asked why the stream that was supposed to start at 7.30 wasn’t live after 7.30 you spoke to them like a piece of crap on the bottom of your shoe.

Scumbag.

The racing wasn’t great but that is Speedway and with this field there was always going to be processional heats. As for the stream it left a lot to be desired but it was free with a donation and you have to feel that was the set up because it was known it wasn’t going to be perfect. I’m no expert but a couple of static cameras to switch between would have done the job better, a lot of the action was missed due to the cameraman not keeping up. It’s a shame we didn’t get a final heat but Bewley was a worthy winner. Along with Kemp, Rowe, Flint and Brennan (to name just a few) we clearly have some talented riders coming through. I appreciate the effort to get this meeting on and that as fans we had a chance to watch it.

Wow, I hadn’t even seen this when I posted above... Have a lovely rest of your week Rob. The weather forecast isn’t great but I hope you find something to brighten up your days. I rarely get annoyed at things on the speedway forum. I use it to keep up to date with the latest news and have a discussion with fellow fans and a little bit of banter. I hope one day you can do the same. It will improve your experience no end. All the best. I mean that sincerely, not in the patronising tone you tried to pull off by calling me “lad”

What do you mean someone like me Rob? What do you know about me? Or do you mean someone who calls you out for being rude? Well if that makes me an idiot I fear for the rest of society. The way you talk to people is disgusting at times and if someone has the nerve to disagree with your opinions you resort to personal abuse as opposed to reasoned debate. Of course, I and all the other members of the BSF barring yourself are idiots so I look forward to your response which will undoubtedly be just as rude.

Think we’ve got the message that the Kent National League team were the Kings and will be the Royals from next year now.

Circle spinning is the new tractor racing...

If you’re watching on YouTube you can scroll back to the start of the stream to watch the earlier heats and then fast forward through between races.

Have a day off.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst. April seems like pie in the sky in my opinion but I sincerely hope I’m wrong.

Kemp shows the right attitude now and with all the respect in the world to Lawson, the Worralls, Kerr etc. he wouldn’t have done any worse than they would. The same can be said for Brennan, Rowe, Palin or any other young prospect we have right now. The difference is their potential ceiling is much higher than that of the riders who have been on the scene and flattered to deceive for years now. Those riders have had years to chase experience in Europe but have mainly spent them doubling up here instead. The right decision was made in my opinion, if there is no chance of winning then use these events to help our chances of winning in future. The second Tai (or Rob Lambert) is unavailable we have no hope in the SON.