Racer X Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Elite League Belle Vue,Coventry,Eastbourne,Ipswich,King's Lynn,Oxford,Peterborough,Poole,Sheffield,Swindon, Wolverhampton,Workington. You people are mad,you think us southerners are going to travel to Cumbria,your off your trolley!! To be honest I don't think the powers that be will really care very much about travelling support. Its the home crowds that will concern them - and the size and marketability of the league. The EL - noteably Poole and Eastbourne - have done themselves a great deal of damage with their arrogant approach to the BLC this year in my humble opinion. The PL promoters who already regarded the EL with a certain amount of trepidation will not be runing to get into bed with his lot. HOWEVER if the best ideas the PL Promoters can come up with is the dafter than a daft brush in daft contest Knock Out Cup madness, then we are all in serious trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight_Lady Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 You people are mad,you think us southerners are going to travel to Cumbria,your off your trolley!! I was just thinking that myself JY2003. I mean it is soooooooooooooooo much farther from Eastbourne to Cumbria than Cumbria to Eastbourne isn't it :?: :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 No relegation please. That would ruin speedway. Look at the pressures it causes rugby promoters. No-one will invest money if they could be in the 2nd division the next year. For me relegation and promotion has an important part of a competitive and healthy league structure, at least as far as the top two divisions are concerned. But the deal has to be right unlike in most sports including Rugby. There has to be a proper commitment to and financial support for the 2nd division, Sky money has to be invested in the sports strength and infrastructure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Addison Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 No relegation please. That would ruin speedway. Look at the pressures it causes rugby promoters. No-one will invest money if they could be in the 2nd division the next year. For me relegation and promotion has an important part of a competitive and healthy league structure, at least as far as the top two divisions are concerned. But the deal has to be right unlike in most sports including Rugby. There has to be a proper commitment to and financial support for the 2nd division, Sky money has to be invested in the sports strength and infrastructure. I agree,this is why i said the Elite League needs to be watered down so that there isn't as massive a gulf between the leagues.Promotion and relegation would be great.It would give teams in the PL not invited in the first place a chance to gain entry on merit,and the leagues would be more interesting than i can ever remember.But it would all take a massive shake up in the sport and it just wont happen.As Racer X points out so well, if the best they can come up with is the farcical KOC [up] rules,then thats it we may as well forget it.Rob says it won't work because people wont invest in a team that may be in Div 2 the next year,but it works the other way too.A bright,positive forward thinking promotion,that gets off it's ass and actually promotes the sport in Div 2 should have less trouble attracting a sponsor if theres a good chance of being in with the big boys in a year or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valc Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 Elite League Belle Vue,Coventry,Eastbourne,Ipswich,King's Lynn,Oxford,Peterborough,Poole,Sheffield,Swindon, Wolverhampton,Workington. You people are mad,you think us southerners are going to travel to Cumbria,your off your trolley!! That is the exact comment why Workington havent moved up, the travelling to away matches. To far to travel all the time for meetings. Now I can see why when the elite fans down south are saying exactly the same. No incouragement whatsoever from fans down south for the northern clubs to make the step up. But one thing is for sure us Cumbrians will travel anywhere to watch our team if we could afford it and hadnt other commitments like kids and family. There was even some fans at Reading and Isle of Wight on Monday and Tuesday that is commitment for the team. :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 Simplistic, But can anyone tell me, what would be wrong with two leagues of equal status with promotion and relegation? Yes, I know it has been discussed before and costs etc. But they did an almagimation in 64 and it worked big time. If the two leagues combined and new team strengths were set with say only ONE GP rider per team allowed And Obviously Elite teams would have to scale down to meet PL standards. Wouldn't that re-kindle some interest? Even regionailise it to North and South if necessary with top two from each section playing off at End of season and the winners meeting in Grand Final. I think Speedway needs something like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackofdiamonds Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 There was an amalgamation in 1965 I think, but this was to one league. It did work but only through rider control. The likes of Coventry had to ride with what was basically 2 Conference riders and had to lose a heat leader. Whether this would work today I doubt it You would have to lose the big riders to bring costs down, maybe to be used in a squad system. All in all we have reached a watershed, the Elite league is a joke, seven teams just cant keep the interest alive, no matter how Sky pushes it. Big decisions ate needed this winter, but with so much self interest, don't hold your breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JY2003 Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 I would like to see Workington go up,but cant the track move a little closer and still be called workington :?: Lol!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNFLComets Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 What a shame that Workington would miss out on all those vast legions of reluctant travelling support if they rode in the Elite League. Having seen the enormous attendances that are at the EL fixtures shown on Sky, i doubt that a small back-water club like Workington could survive without visiting support. Probably better off staying where we are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackofdiamonds Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 I thought we lived in a high tech world. Workington is not the north pole! Can be reached easily by the M6. From what I have seen the Comets pull in a greater support than a lot of current EL teams, sorry Ipswich, I'm looking at you. But why should they? The PL is doing just fine, EL NO THANKS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Shovlar Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Personally I think the EL is a far better product than the Premier. Of course less clubs is the main problem but on the whole it would be a bitter pill to swallow if we didn't get to see several top GP riders a week. The argument of the premier being a better product just doesn't hold up. Whilst meeting can still be close and exciting, the premier fans miss out big time on seeing the top guys in action at their track. these guys are worth the admission alone, and to see Rickardsson, Crump, Sullivan and Loram at your track can only be great for the sport. The main argument seems to be that premier league has more teams so more variation every week. A good point but does Sheffield V Somerset have the same appeal as Sheffield V Poole, with, just say for example, Trcick, Adams and Dryml Vs Wilson, Screen and Gollob. (just using Screen and Gollob as two possible signings for Sheffield) I cannot believe Sheffield fans would prefer premier over elite league if it wss presented to them properly. Surely the Sheffield promotion and fans want their team to be the best in the country? That will never happen if they just sit where they are. The elite league will prevail in some form or another. It has to for the premier and conference leagues to survive. Without the elite GB will never, ever have another world champion. GB will end up in speedways backwater(although it's heading slowly but surely that way as I type this) Four clubs are needed to move up to strengthen the elite and make the sport a more sturdy ship to steer. With the likelyhood of further conference league teams applyng tomove into the premier, the premier itself will become unviable with too many teams and the problems of fitting too many meetings into the season. Si I say to all premier league fans, the elite is not some horrible place, but a place for the best racing in the world with the best riders. And something I enjoy and wouldn't want to swap any day of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Lady Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Steve from one who has been there, done that and got the ruddy t-shirt, I'll take the PL any day I agree that the EL has to exist to fuel BSIs demand for GP riders etc but just because you can see no further than Trick, Crumpy, Pedersen et al do not tell us what we should want. IMO the PL is a far superior product, riders who actually want to ride in a league for its own sake and not as a glorified training league for the GPs, variety as you say, fixtures that are not messed about with just to suit the TV schedules and probably most of all far friendlier fans. Sorry to bite, I've resisted for a long, long while but having probably as much experience of EL as yourself and a helluva lot more of PL than you, I just had to say it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekker Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Si I say to all premier league fans, the elite is not some horrible place, but a place for the best racing in the world with the best riders. And something I enjoy and wouldn't want to swap any day of the week. Agree with most of what you say, having seen EL and PL at swindon. But economic reality will prevent most teams moving up. If cost at EL level are not reduced then any PL team moving up will need a very big subsidy maybe as much as 100K a year to cover the loses and cost of employing GP riders. The main trouble is that speedway has been largely displaced from the big cities where EL speedway would be viable.. no teams in london, birmingham (not wolves), bradford for example. So speedway is in the regions and in many cases out in the sticks, so wont pull many more fans by moving up. Thats the biggest trouble the EL faces, how do u get punters to pay 2 or 3 quid more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 I cannot believe Sheffield fans would prefer premier over elite league if it wss presented to them properly. Surely the Sheffield promotion and fans want their team to be the best in the country? That will never happen if they just sit where they are. But dosen't the PL make more proffit? Why would a promoter want to move up? At the end of the day it does not matter how good or bad the EL or PL or CL are, they all have faults. I agree with CVS with the 3 tier structure and the EL needing 12 Teams. I thought that the main problem is because of the huge difference in costs between the two leagues. Neil Machin was taken on to the BSPA committee this year and was tasked to look at the costs. (Forgot what the actual wording was.) Question is are the top EL riders willing to take a pay cut? And could this be enforced legally anyway? What other ideas have people got to sort the costs out. I am not in favour of handouts to get PL teams to move up as is does not solve the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Shovlar Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 No disrepect to your favourite Wasp riders but if Newport found themselves in the elite league, you certainly would be impressed if Gollob, Screen or Loram rode for you. Just because they have names? Yes of course, how do you think they got so famous? Because they are EXCELLENT and EXCITING riders. Watto et all coould still ride as reserves and second strings, and you would see racing beyond your imagination! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest border bandit Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 trick gollob crump adams exciteing yea . if there all in the same race .but put 1 in a race against even some of the better premier league riders and there 10 bike lengths in front. whats exciteing about that i would rather watch the pl as it is LEAVE IT ALONE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevH Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 would the top men travel up to west cumbria to ride for worky every week? doubt it seeing as most are southern based. They ride in Sweden, Poland etc every week, so I can't see Cumbria being too much of a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lioness Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 It doesn't have a mainstream airport tho Kevin! Rumour had it on the terracings in Glasgow last weekend that one of the main problems Glasgow had when they tried to sign Hansen was the travelling. Aparently its a lot easier for him to fulfil his foreign engagements from Hull (presumably by overnight ferry?). :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevH Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 I take your point Lioness - but how many mainstream airports are there in Poland? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lioness Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Err....... Havent a Scooby! I was never any good at Geography as Blondes on Tour to Newcastle proved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.