TonyMac

If it's true that the new Peterborough promoter(s) have pulled the plug on Bomber Harris' signing for financial reasons, then perhaps at least one club is coming to its senses in refusing to pay out what it cannot afford. Or is there another side to this story...?

Because what promoters can really afford is so low, due to poor crowds, lack of big sponsors and large overheads, by definition riders (certainly in the lower two leagues) would inevitably become amateur/part-time.

Well said!

I have it on very good authority that the highest earning Leyton Orient player (they are currently National League - tier 5 - leaders) earns around £2,000 per week. The rest of the 24-man first team squad will be on anything between that and £500 per week. Some NL clubs are full-time, others part-time. But at Orient they are all full-time professionals, with no additional job. Home crowds average between 4,500-5,000. Now if speedway riders were performing in front of crowds of 4,000-5,000 they would be entitled to earn circa £2k per meeting. But no club in British speedway is drawing that many; and most not even half that attendance figure.

Promoters need saving from themselves. You can only assume that in some cases the speedway losses are actually viewed as tax losses from an individual's main source of revenue, otherwise why would they do it? Trouble is, those who treat a speedway club as a mere hobby, their 'play thing' and the chance to suddenly become a big fish in a tiny pool, invariably leave a trail of destruction and others to try and pick up the pieces. I remember Simmo telling me how he and Bill Barker made huge mistakes paying several of their King's Lynn riders way above what they could really afford - speculating to accumulate. It backfired big-time. And that was 32 years ago.

Phil, the point I was trying to make is that the non-league club I've referred to does not pay out more in player/manager/coaching staff wages than it takes in revenue, so its cloth is cut accordingly to ensure they remain in business. Just because - and we all agree - riders face increasing and high running costs, it doesn't mean promoters (and, indirectly, fans) should keep financing those overheads. If they do, there will be only one outcome: more and more tracks going the way of Rye House, Buxton and Workington, and whoever else is next... So, a combination of drastically reduced riders' costs, and in turn the wages they need to compete, is paramount if league speedway in the UK is to have a credible future.

Following on from the debate that began yesterday in which I advocated that British speedway needs to drastically cut its cloth and 'go amateur' to survive in the short term . . . I've spoken with a good friend, the owner of a successful Essex-based non-league football club that currently operates in Bostik League (North). In fairness to him, we will not name the club here but all figures below are accurate (he is an accountant by profession!). While it is not appropriate to make many direct comparisons with speedway, due mainly to the fact that the club owns its ground and therefore benefits from bar and catering revenue, there are some interesting aspects that perhaps speedway - especially at NL level - can learn from. Here are some financial facts: * The club averages 300 paying supporters per game. * Admission price structure is: Adults £10, Concessions £5, Young Persons (aged 16-21) £5, Under-16s FREE. * Playing squad is 16 players (all part-time) and total annual players' wage bill is £35k. Wages range from £150 per week for star men to £25 for rookie players. They all have 9-to-5 jobs. * Management/coaching staff (all part-time) total annual wage bill is £15k. * Club receives £60k per season in sponsorship. * Club takes £21k per year in bar profits (as well as match day income, they rent the facilities out for weddings and other functions). * £150 per game profit from programme sales (it's printed free by a fan). * Annual turnover is £250k, of which £120k is bar/catering/function room revenue. * Club has no debt and expects to at least break-even each year. As you can see, the bar/function room is a major factor. But the playing and staff costs are in line with revenues based on an average gate of 300 and other income. Above all, the club operates within its means. I accept that a more meaningful comparison could be made involving a National League (level 5) football club but at least the above figures give some food for thought.

When debating the future of speedway, we must also recognise that the sport's current plight is not just the result of BSPA failings and riders' costs. Like other sports, leisure entertainments and especially the dwindling high streets of cities and towns all over GB, it has been affected by the UK economy. Many regular speedway fans will have had been made redundant or seen their social benefits cut in recent years, so their already limited disposable incomes have seriously diminished. Many others are hanging onto their jobs by a thread and fearing the worst, so they too are tightening the purse strings. We at Retro Speedway have felt the effects of this first-hand. I'll be honest. Our revenue from sales in the 8-week pre-Christmas period for 2018 was 30% (THIRTY) down on the same period of the previous year, even though we had more products available to purchase. I think our regular followers on the BSF, Facebook and Twitter would agree that we hardly lack marketing thrust, and push all our products with as much zeal as possible. In the run up to Xmas, we placed regular, prominent full-page adverts in Speedway Star, who are also being hit by issues beyond our control. It would be understandable if Speedway Star's readership decreased in line with shrinking attendances. But it's not as if what we produce has anything to do with modern speedway. What we do is pretty timeless. But clearly not immune to the financial reality of the world. You might argue that our 2018 products were not good, or didn't represent good value. But I don't believe that is the case and feedback from customers would suggest this is not so. The reason is one of simple economics. And obviously, Brexit has only added to people's growing insecurities and uncertainty. Speedway will no doubt feel these continuing adverse effects in ever-dwindling season ticket and admission receipts when the new season starts in March.

Costs have not been cut sufficiently, that's the trouble. Riders, performing in front of only hundreds of fans, raking in money that cannot be sustained. So here we are.

Today's bad news that Workington have withdrawn from the 2019 Championship (second tier), despite winning the treble last season, should provoke the BSPA into a crisis meeting. In our last issue of Backtrack (No.89) we listed 56 British league venues that have closed since 1970. Since the edition came out, the loss of Rye House, Buxton and now Workington has seen the death toll rise to 59. It is doubtful if any will ever resume league status. If the Comets, a track that opened in 1970, cannot sustain second division speedway after winning three trophies, what chance does the sport in this country have of survival? Glasgow have arguably the best PR machine in the sport behind them right now, earning lots of national coverage in Scotland and beyond. They have invested heavily in riders. But where has it got them? Their owner's recent statement should be taken as another warning shot. No-one can be surprised if the Tigers' management don't decide to cut their losses and come to the conclusion that they've given it their best shot but enough is enough. The odds on them coming to the tapes for 2020 must already be slim, or lengthening. Leicester, Rye House in recent times have found to their cost that chucking good money at top riders is no recipe for success and, more likely, a quick path to financial disaster. I was especially alarmed by the recent announcement that Buxton, the archetypal third division venue where many a young Brit was discovered, has pulled out of the National league due to unsustainable rising costs. They have been around for years but, sadly, have been betrayed by their own peers - the third division glory-hunters who ignored the ethos of what was meant to be a training, development league for young British riders in pursuit of silverware. Buxton's withdrawal should have served as a neon warning sign to the sport's governing body but their story seems to have been glossed over, ignored, outside Derbyshire. What are experienced 'old hands' doing nicking a living from a league meant for novices trying to learn the game? If there isn't already an age or experience limit, the Nl should impose one so that only one rider per team is over, say, 25. And NO-ONE who has any real experience of top flight or Div 2 racing should be occupying a team place. So what should happen to stem the tide? BRITISH SPEEDWAY has to become amateur, riders must go part-time and return to the days of the old BL1 and BL2/NL of the 60s, 70s & 80s, when many racers had a day job to supplement their speedway earnings, or vice-versa. If today's riders are performing in front of mere hundreds of spectators, rather than thousands, then they are really operating in an amateur sport and should not be paid as professionals. Speedway needs to take a long, hard look at itself and reality must finally kick in. Most non-league football teams are part-time. Players train Tuesdays and Thursdays and play Saturdays and midweek. They fit it in around their 9-to-5 job. Speedway riders must accept how small what they do really is in terms of spectator sports. As former Ellesmere Port middle order rider Duncan Meredith says: "Most of us back in my day had a job and my job subsidised my racing. We loved racing - the money was just a bonus." It's time to go back to those days. A backward step? Not if it stabilises the sport in the immediate short-term and enables it to survive and weather the current UK economic storm. Promoters need protecting from themselves and stop burying their heads in the sand. They must stop 'thinking big' - look where that got Leicester, Rye House and Glasgow, among others, in recent times and by propping up the Premiership Buster Chapman is merely applying a tiny sticking plaster to a large, gaping wound requiring major surgery. The BSPA has to start thinking SMALL and apply self-imposed reality checks that are long overdue. Scale down budgets to realistic levels and don't pay out more than you take at the turnstiles and sponsorship. It's simple economics of life. There is a chronic rider shortage across the board, the use of guests and R/R has escalated out of all proportion. I'd love to see a study of how many DIFFERENT riders appeared in each of the 3 divisions last season, and another list showing how many appeared for multiple clubs. The result would be eye-bulgingly horrific. So come up with a revised race format for six or even five-men teams. Six-men teams were used in the 60s and in the top flight in 1998. If there aren't enough riders to fill 7-men teams, then change the format. Doubling-up is killing what little credibility British speedway has left. If, in 10 years, British speedway has unearthed a new wave of young talent, then a return to 7-men teams can be considered. Until then, the BSPA must immediately go into crisis-survival mode, cut its cloth accordingly and stop paying out money to riders that it simply cannot afford, before more tracks are lost forever. Of course, reducing team members and changing race formats won't bring many, if any, new fans through the turnstiles. But what it will definitely help to do is RETAIN the current, rapidly declining fan base. Promoters should stop thinking of ways to try and lure a new, younger supporters (if any do), because 98% of teenagers will never be interested in speedway, and focus fully on keeping their existing customers.

Thanks to those who have already responded with a question for Martin - some very valid points raised. Please keep 'em coming . . .

Sorry for my bad explanation. By Lions 1 & 2, I meant they were the British TEAM representatives in NAME only. Most importantly, they are the two teams whose HOME matches would be raced on UK tracks. What I am NOT suggesting is that they should comprise only British riders. That obviously wouldn't make them competitive. The two Lions teams would be made up of riders of various nationalities, as are current British, Polish and Swedish league teams. So Hancock, Woffy, Lindback, etc, could possibly ride for one of the Lions teams.

True, I admit it was a half-baked idea. But then so was T20 cricket when the traditionalists first heard of it.

BACKCHAT FROM our next issue (91) of Backtrack we will be introducing a regular new feature called BACKCHAT, where readers and supporters in general get the chance to fire questions at our main columnist MARTIN ROGERS. As one of the leading promoters and most respected administrators of the Backtrack era, no-one is better qualified to respond to questions about the burning issues of the 70s and 80s. They don't have to be just about the tracks at which he promoted, King's Lynn, Leicester and Peterborough. He is also 'up' for tackling all the wide-ranging issues from that special period. So, please email your questions as soon as possible to us at editorial@retro-speedway.com. Type 'BACKCHAT' in the subject line, be sure to include your full name . . . and we'll forward them on to MR's home in Australia. Alternatively, just post your questions here on this forum thread. Martin's responses will appear in issue 91 and from then on . . .

Goes without saying, we always welcome new, practical and realistic ideas regards editorial content.

Thank you. The big difference for me personally is, in the case of most riders of the 90s, I don't know their story, or what happened to them, which means exhaustive research in the case of in-depth interviews. As I said earlier, perhaps we need a younger editor who lived through the 90s and knows the era inside-out.

Thank you, Martin.

Agreed, and thank you. Also, there is no harm in re-visiting a number of the original interview subject but from a different angle.

But - and this is the crux of it from our viewpoint - would extending coverage into the 90s STOP you from buying Backtrack?

This has the basis of a good idea and, by amazing coincidence, one I thought briefly about only the other day when talking about Champions League football and the various international cricket franchises operating their T20 and 'Big Bash' tournaments that attract a lot of interest and media backing. As many have already pointed out, the obvious key to success is commercial support from a TV broadcaster plus major sponsorship to meet the riders' pay expectations. A huge obstacle to overcome. As speedway worldwide is already drawing from a relatively small and shrinking financial pool, the Polish authorities in particular will be wary of encouraging another league likely to impact adversely (financially) on their Ekstralika. But it can be done. I've clearly not thought this bit through, but, rather than say Poole or Swindon or whoever from the current Premiership, how about two completely new independent BRITISH teams riding in the new Euro League? For want of much better names, let's call them 'LIONS 1' and LIONS 2' for now. Instead of having an established home track each, the seven or eight home fixtures for BOTH Lions teams could be spread around the country, giving fans all over Britain the chance to see top quality riders and competitive racing? Those matches would not only bring more credibility to British speedway, they would help to plug gaping holes in the Premiership fixture list. It would be no different to a national football team, such as Spain, playing home internationals at various grounds like Bernabeu (Madrid), Nou Camp (Barcelona), Valencia, Seville, etc. Naturally, the BSPA would have to earn a cut from this but they are hardly in a strong bargaining position.

Interesting. Are you a regular Backtrack reader/subscriber now?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Garry and for making a very valid point - we don't take it as criticism at all. To be honest, this is a timeline shift we have been considering ourselves for a year or two, although we would never abandon the 70s, which was the sport's last truly golden era. There are still plenty of ex-riders and promoters we have yet to interview/feature from that halcyon period too. Tommy Knudsen, Bo Petersen and Per Jonsson spring to mind from the top star bracket. But, like you, I see a lot of merit in extending the timeframe from 1970 to 1999. Whether our hardcore readership - especially our older readers - would agree, is another matter! One of the reasons why we have so far hesitated to do as you suggest is that I would be stepping out of my comfort zone. I'll admit I'm not very knowledgeable on the 90s (I finally left Speedway Mail in 1992), although several of our main contributors - the likes of Rob Peasley and Martin Neal - certainly are. Perhaps Backtrack needs a new, younger editor!

It's possible we will put it together - we certainly have enough footage, including lots of home and away cine from the Rebels days of 1974-75. I had thought of combining the footage from 1974-78 and producing a REBELS (Oxford/White City) package but can see how a separate 'Oxford Memories' would appeal.

Many thanks, Steve, glad you enjoyed it. I think many potential customers are probably a little put off when they read in the advert blurb that we've used cine footage but I hope you agree that the quality - considering it's more than 40+ years-old in many cases - is really quite good. Of course, it helps that in those days riders were much more easily extinguished by their personalised leathers rather than the team suits they were today.

CLASSIC SPEEDWAY Issue 43 of our quarterly magazine is out now. Here's a small taster of what to expect . . . TONY LOMAS – rookie to World Final in three years Tony Lomas was one of the first stars to emerge from the fledging second division in the late 60s. In this exclusive interview with TONY McDONALD from his home in the Yorkshire Dales, fast-starting Lomas recalls happy times before going on to top flight stardom with Coventry. POOLE: 50 Memorable Moments Poole are the current big hitters in British speedway, winning multiple top-flight titles over the last 15 years. ROB PEASLEY looks back at the early years at Wimborne Road, when the likes of Ken Middleditch, Brian Crutcher, Tony Lewis, Geoff Mudge and Pete Smith rode for the south coast club, and recalls how Pirates shocked the speedway world by winning the British League in 1969. CHUM TAYLOR – King of Claremont to Prince of Wales PHIL CHARD catches up with former Australian Champion Chum Taylor, whose impact on speedway in Cardiff remains to this day. SPOTY and the 'vote-rigging' scandal DOUG NICOLSON rewinds to the mid-60s, when a speedway superstar twice gatecrashed the elite sports party. MAUGER BREAKTHROUGH MARTIN ROGERS, who was at Gothenburg to report on the 1968 World Final, reflects on Ivan Mauger's first individual World Championship victory at a special family reunion half a century on from the Kiwi's maiden triumph. TRAGIC TOMICEK It's just over 50 years since Luboš Tomíček lost his life in a crash at Pardubice. In this special anniversary remembrance, VITEK FORMANEK spoke to friends of the former Czech great and the son who witnessed the accident and went on to follow in his father's tyre tracks. IN BILLY LAMONT'S OWN WORDS When JOHN CHAPLIN wanted to discover the truth of the fantastic Billy Lamont legend and find out more about one of the sport's pioneer superstars, there was only one thing to do: ask the man himself. PRATTY'S REWARD There was an uplifting end to 2018 when the World Speedway Riders' Association honoured Colin Pratt with their Lifetime Achievement award, just days after Pratty's 80th birthday. TONY McDONALD pays tribute to a dedicated man who has given the sport such great service over the past five decades. SLIDING DOORS AND BIKES DOUG NICOLSON looks back to his boyhood and a series of extraordinary near misses. Plus . . . obits on Bernie Leigh, Pete Munday, Allan Kidd and Pawel Waloszek, crossword, your letters and full-page 1953 West Ham team photo. To order this single edition or subscribe, please visit https://www.retro-speedway.com/classic-speedway-magazine