Normski Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Maybe Leicester, Ipswich, Somerset, Rye House and Plymouth joining a weaker top flight making 15 teams. Leaving the 8 northern PL teams to have a small league where they play each other twice. The National league would remain as it is.so us northerners get 14 league meetings a season, while the top flight get 28 on a home and away basis don't think this will be the answer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenga Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 and thats where the lite league falls apart. fans dont want to see the same visiting team every 3/6 weeks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Two leagues of 15 or 16 teams would generate 28-30 fixtures just riding home and away once. Variety and probably enough meetings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kester Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 and thats where the lite league falls apart. fans dont want to see the same visiting team every 3/6 weeks Bit of a fallacy this. If I had the time I'd break down the stats, but I'll wager that there's actually far less difference in the number of times teams are facing each other in the EL and the PL. How many times have Worky faced Newcastle or Edinburgh this season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric i Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 so us northerners get 14 league meetings a season, while the top flight get 28 on a home and away basis don't think this will be the answer When I say play each other twice, I mean home and away twice so It would also be 28 meetings Two leagues of 15 or 16 teams would generate 28-30 fixtures just riding home and away once. Variety and probably enough meeting but could teams like Buxton and IOW afford to compete with the likes of Workington, Edinburgh and Newcastle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient mariner Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 I guess it depends on ones definition of what constitutes 'Elite'. A small number of riders demanding crazy fees for participating in a league that patently cannot generate the revenue necessary to fund those wages = ruin. Frankly I care not a fig who rides, so long as I see competitive racing. Surely that is what provides entertainment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boobs Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Maybe two big leagues. 14-16 in an enlarged top flight but with lower costs (so 4-6 teams would move-up), and the rest in the National League. Sounds awfully like the con-trick perpetrated on the lower division by a failing top league at the end of 1990........ 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyretrax Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 What about Slough? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comet49 Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Surely I. O. W wouldn't be competing with Workington if there was 2 leagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comet49 Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Surely I. O. W wouldn't be competing with Workington if there was 2 leagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Sounds awfully like the con-trick perpetrated on the lower division by a failing top league at the end of 1990........ We can hark back to failures or con tricks forever, or try to be realistic about the way forward. The simple fact of the matter is that the different leagues cannot exist in glorious isolation and are always part of the wider ecosystem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Sounds awfully like the con-trick perpetrated on the lower division by a failing top league at the end of 1990........Agree,but the question is will the Pl fall for it again.(I think it was National league in them days,but same thing) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickthemuppet Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Two leagues of 15 or 16 teams would generate 28-30 fixtures just riding home and away once. Variety and probably enough meetings.So where are all these riders going to come from to make up the 16 teams . That means you would need over 100 riders.Were there that many riders last year in the 2 leagues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 So where are all these riders going to come from to make up the 16 teams. A total of 31 teams in 3 leagues ran this season, of which 28 were standalone teams. All you'd be doing is distributing teams over 2 larger leagues rather than 3, which would still allow some riders to double-up. If the top league was pitched closer to the current BPL, which seems likely anyway given the loss of Sky money and generally poor economic condition of the current BEL, then I don't really see there's any issue with the better BPL riders 'moving up'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander15 Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) So in a 2 league system you'd have a 16 year old debutant in the same race as say Fricke, Bunyan, Aarnio or Sneddon for example. How is that fair? Edited November 7, 2013 by Islander15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 So in a 2 league system you'd have a 16 year old debutant in the same race as say Fricke, Bunyan, Aarnio or Sneddon for example. How is that fair? Used to be plenty of 16 year olds put into races. I seem to recall Joe Screen and Carl Stonehewer doing okay, amongst others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjm Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) So in a 2 league system you'd have a 16 year old debutant in the same race as say Fricke, Bunyan, Aarnio or Sneddon for example. How is that fair? Irrespective of league structure, the race format does need looked at to encourage the 16 year olds you speak of. It is time to move away from the days when an inform reserve can take 7 rides IMO, and more importantly an out of form reserve is only given 3. I get that some hate writing, and it is confusing as it is but I like the idea of the last 4 heats being nominated races and the final race being a top scorers race, or something along those lines. 2 lowest scorers of both sides in the first nominated heat, and so on. The final 4 heats having riders of similar talent/performance that level that evening would lead to a better climax to a meeting IMO. Edited November 7, 2013 by wjm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 there's some great ideas on here but the elephant in the room has to be dealt with: what can be done about the star riders Britain's leagues can not afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Skid Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 The smart money is on three leagues, PL North, PL South, and watered down EL, with Clubs being shuffled round accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePark Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 The smart money is on three leagues, PL North, PL South, and watered down EL, with Clubs being shuffled round accordingly. So are the likes of Buxton (as an example of NL teams) expected to 'move up an notch' or the whole of the PL expected to 'move down a notch'? 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.