MattK

By announcing the signing of Chris Harris, Coventry have effectively confirmed that we'll have a severely watered-down Elite League, rather than any kind of serious re-organisation. If no TV deal is forthcoming, I can see three or four Elite clubs folding during the course of next season.

The care home will be next to the road which runs through St Andrews Ridge. There will be residential houses much closer to the stadium. There is supposed to be a "buffer" of commercial properties between the houses and the stadium, but the developers are trying to get this part of the plan changed.

What was the crowd like last night?

Why break the habit of a lifetime? Terry Russell announced a few seasons ago that he was looking to sell his stake, but now appears back on the scene.

Does anyone remember the BSPA doing anything this season to promote the fact that the World Champion (Chris Holder) was appearing at a track near you? No, me neither. Therefore I won't hold my breath for a major publicity push for Tai, if he chooses to ride in Britain next year.

That would be a great idea, but it would require a level of transparency currently unseen in speedway.

I wonder if Kildemand will ride on his Workington average next season? 6.24 I believe.

Even British promoters aren't that stupid. Are they?

That is a somewhat blinkered view. If the likes of Cook, Doyle, Barker and Allen could only ride in one league, which do you think they would choose? The Elite and the Premier leagues need each other. As for putting houses in order, there are plenty of Premier league clubs struggling financially. That isn't a uniquely Elite league problem.

Is snooker a minority sport in China though? I understand it is very popular there.

I'd bring in a rule where both teams have to start the meeting with seven riders.

Is Cook an Edinburgh asset? If so, surely they'll want him.

I wonder if the BSPA will take out full page ads in all the major national newspapers if he wins?

But you are so adamant there foreign riders are preventing British riders gaining experience in the Elite League. I am curious who these British riders are.

OK then, which BRITISH Premier League riders want to ride full time in the Elite League, but haven't been given the opportunity this season?

Which BRITISH Premier League riders have not been given a chance in the Elite League this season?

Arthur, do you not think they may be a psychological boost to the current Premier League clubs that they will now be in the top division? For example, why does Sheffield, with a population of over half a million struggle to get crowds bigger than Swindon, with a population of 180,000?

Is that 38.5 Elite or Premier league points?

According to my calculations, there are 26 Thursdays from April to September. If you fans want regular weekly meetings, without lots of challenge matches, cups and fillers and we want the league to be self-sufficient, then I think we should be looking at somehow trying to fit every clubs home and away once into the fixtures.

Why do people want a north/south split? I'm looking forwards to the prospect of teams like Edinburgh, Scunthorpe, Berwick etc coming to Swindon next season.

But Batchelor would expect #1 points money, Doyle second headleader points money etc. and the cost savings would be negligible. In order to make a significant cut in costs, the leagues need to be merged, the top 25% of riders jettisoned and the remaining riders to ride for Premier League points money. Anything else is just papering over the cracks.

Do foreign riders demand the same points money as their British equivalent though?

The problem is, if a club is losing money every time they hold a meeting, where is the incentive to run more meetings? You say dropping the points limit will help reduce cost, but is there any evidence of this? Do the number ones in the Elite League this season earn any less than the number ones from five years ago when the majority were world class GP riders?

Wouldn't that defeat the object of consolidating the leagues? The "big clubs" will simply offer the three or four elite British riders wages that smaller clubs cannot afford - thereby create a two-tier league.

A drop in crowds of 35% will be fine if costs are cut by 50-60%.