Half Term Thoughts

[orion]

Cook was not talking about why crowds are dropping off he merely said in the programme that he is not a member of the BSPA. I was merely giving my personal view from my perspective based on people I know who have now gone. Maybe you think Ronnie Russell and Sky pulling the strings on heat 10 rain offs when tracks suddenly become dangerous and the rest of the cheating is a good idea but some don't see it that way and that's why they have gone. I don't know what Cooks view on it is and was not reporting it.

? You said that Cook has said the crowds had dropped off because of Rico ..in my book that is talking about crowds dropping .I don't think Cheating is good but when have up to your neck it in like Cook then he is the person you want here from .

[BWitcher]

Crowds are dropping off for two main reasons.

 

The inept bordering on corrupt way the sport is run.

 

Secondly the absolutely awful promotion.

 

It's no good blaming Sky. Sky is the most powerful weapon speedway promoters have at their disposal to create an impression that speedway is the place to be. Instead they use the weapon, point it at their own heads and pull the trigger, match after match, year after year.

 

The two recent meetings at Glasgow and Swindon both showed just how powerful the marketing tool of tv coverage can be. The two promotions actively promoted their meetings, resulting in big crowds that looked fantastic on tv.

 

It's simple common sense, the average guy at home sees a big vibrant crowd having a good time, he wants to experience it for himself.

 

Since then we've been had Coventry and Lakeside. Both put next to no effort into promotion, were rewarded with next to nobody in the attendance and did more damage to the sport.

 

A rule should be introduced moving forwards, I think SCB mentioned it earlier. ALL sky meetings £5 entrance if tickets purchased in advance.

Edited June 23, 2015 by BWitcher

[mdmc82]

Coventry's low attendance had nothing to do with price as even when televised, Coventry get large crowds against Poole. It was due to the terrible weather and people knowing in advance that the meeting would not go past heat 10 or possibly be on at all.

[waiheke1]

Coventry's low attendance had nothing to do with price as even when televised, Coventry get large crowds against Poole. It was due to the terrible weather and people knowing in advance that the meeting would not go past heat 10 or possibly be on at all.

If they had pre purchased tickets I'm sure considerably more would have attended regardless of the weather.

[orion]

Coventry's low attendance had nothing to do with price as even when televised, Coventry get large crowds against Poole. It was due to the terrible weather and people knowing in advance that the meeting would not go past heat 10 or possibly be on at all.

Surely you can't be that thick ? if the price is £ 5 in advance rather than £17 then the crowd would been bigger . Are trying to rival Starman .

[mdmc82]

Surely you can't be that thick ? if the price is £ 5 in advance rather than £17 then the crowd would been bigger . Are trying to rival Starman .

Sweetie, I know friends who have season tickets that didn't go cos they weren't going to sit in that weather just to travel home when they thought it would be rained off.

😘😘

[orion]

Sweetie, I know friends who have season tickets that didn't go cos they weren't going to sit in that weather just to travel home when they thought it would be rained off.

And what has that got to do with price having no effect on the crowd as you said ? even for you it's not hard to work out the crowds going to bigger if charge 5 rather 17 .and even more so if those tickets are £ 5 in advance .

Edited June 23, 2015 by orion

[mdmc82]

And what has that got to do with price having no effect on the crowd as you said ? even for you it's hard to work out the crowds going to bigger if charge 5 rather 17 .and even more so if those tickets are £ 5 in advance .

With the weather being bad and it looking like a sure rain off, the crowd could easily have been zero if sky hadn't been in town.

 

IF the weather had been nice and the stadium had been packed as it usually is against Poole at £18 per person, then surely even you can work out that Horton would risk being at a loss if all those then only paid £5 each just to get a couple of hundred more through the gates (sigh)

[orion]

With the weather being bad and it looking like a sure rain off, the crowd could easily have been zero if sky hadn't been in town.

 

IF the weather had been nice and the stadium had been packed as it usually is against Poole at £18 per person, then surely even you can work out that Horton would risk being at a loss if all those then only paid £5 each just to get a couple of hundred more through the gates (sigh)

So if there were 200 more people then the crowd would have been bigger because of the price ..see you got there in the end . I thought I heard some stupid things but saying that the price has no effect on the size of the crowd has got to be right up there .

Edited June 23, 2015 by orion

[E I Addio]

? You said that Cook has said the crowds had dropped off because of Rico ..in my book that is talking about crowds dropping .I/quote]

 

I'll make it easy for you :-

 

1. I didn't say he said the crowds dropped off BECAUSE of Rico . Read it properly. He said the crowds started to drop AFTER we lost Rico. He didn't say the two were connected and he didn't say how long after they started to drop off . He didn't make any comment beyond that basic fact.

 

2. Cook has not commented on why they dropped, the bit about people being fed up with cheating is what some who have now gone have told me.

 

Hope that's not too difficult for you.

Crowds are dropping off for two main reasons.

 

The inept bordering on corrupt way the sport is run.

 

Secondly the absolutely awful promotion.

 

It's no good blaming Sky. Sky is the most powerful weapon speedway promoters have at their disposal to create an impression that speedway is the place to be. Instead they use the weapon, point it at their own heads and pull the trigger, match after match, year after year.

 

The two recent meetings at Glasgow and Swindon both showed just how powerful the marketing tool of tv coverage can be. The two promotions actively promoted their meetings, resulting in big crowds that looked fantastic on tv.

 

It's simple common sense, the average guy at home sees a big vibrant crowd having a good time, he wants to experience it for himself.

 

Since then we've been had Coventry and Lakeside. Both put next to no effort into promotion, were rewarded with next to nobody in the attendance and did more damage to the sport.

 

A rule should be introduced moving forwards, I think SCB mentioned it earlier. ALL sky meetings £5 entrance if tickets purchased in advance.

Good promotion only relates to new fans. Poor administration , unfairness, inconsistencies and cheating drive the old ones away and that is a much more serious problem. You could reduce admission to 5p and get a big crowd in for one meeting but few will be back until the other things are sorted out. If it were that simple Glasgow and Swindon would still be getting big crowds on the back of it. Good promotion takes investment that can rarely be recovered in one meeting, You have get people coming back to recover the investment. If long standing fans are drifting away the newbies are unlikely to stay long.

Edited June 23, 2015 by E I Addio

[kingbee]

ame="orion" post="2635445" timestamp="1435087556"]? You said that Cook has said the crowds had dropped off because of Rico ..in my book that is talking about crowds dropping .I/quote]

I'll make it easy for you :-

1. I didn't say he said the crowds dropped off BECAUSE of Rico . Read it properly. He said the crowds started to drop AFTER we lost Rico. He didn't say the two were connected and he didn't say how long after they started to drop off . He didn't make any comment beyond that basic fact.

2. Cook has not commented on why they dropped, the bit about people being fed up with cheating is what some who have now gone have told me.

Hope that's not too difficult for you.

 

Good promotion only relates to new fans. Poor administration , unfairness, inconsistencies and cheating drive the old ones away and that is a much more serious problem. You could reduce admission to 5p and get a big crowd in for one meeting but few will be back until the other things are sorted out. If it were that simple Glasgow and Swindon would still be getting big crowds on the back of it. Good promotion takes investment that can rarely be recovered in one meeting, You have get people coming back to recover the investment. If long standing fans are drifting away the newbies are unlikely to stay long.

I think the promoters should have listened to Frost and Sandu for an independent body to run the sport instead of ganging up against them

[Jacques]

Half term thoughts?

 

Well done Poole, EL champions 2015!

[orion]

 

 

 

 

ame="orion" post="2635445" timestamp="1435087556"]? You said that Cook has said the crowds had dropped off because of Rico ..in my book that is talking about crowds dropping .I/quote]

 

I'll make it easy for you :-

 

1. I didn't say he said the crowds dropped off BECAUSE of Rico . Read it properly. He said the crowds started to drop AFTER we lost Rico. He didn't say the two were connected and he didn't say how long after they started to drop off . He didn't make any comment beyond that basic fact.

 

 

First of all you said Cook was not talking about crowds dropping quite clearly he was ....if he never thought the crowds were dropping because of Rico's passing why even say it ...why not just say the crowds dropped .

Edited June 23, 2015 by orion

[BWitcher]

 

Good promotion only relates to new fans. Poor administration , unfairness, inconsistencies and cheating drive the old ones away and that is a much more serious problem. You could reduce admission to 5p and get a big crowd in for one meeting but few will be back until the other things are sorted out. If it were that simple Glasgow and Swindon would still be getting big crowds on the back of it. Good promotion takes investment that can rarely be recovered in one meeting, You have get people coming back to recover the investment. If long standing fans are drifting away the newbies are unlikely to stay long.

 

You're not grasping it.

 

It's got little to do with the existing fans attending at £5. It's everything to do with sending a message out to NON existing speedway fans that the sport is worth them paying any form of attention too.

 

It's really quite simple.. a sports fan flicking through channels sees something watched by a few people in a sparse stadium that he knows little about, he/she isn't going to stick around long to find out more.

 

A casual observer flicking through, sees a big crowd seemingly being entertained, their curiosity is peeked... the sheep mentality begins to kick in.

 

It's not an overnight fix, its a long term effect.

 

You either want TV coverage to send a positive image, or a negative one. At the moment it is negative. What is the use in that?

[INCOGNITO]

It seems strange that even the teams that are doing well are under the points limit and are in a position to improve their team as the season unfolds and the gap between the top and bottom becomes even bigger.

 

Coventry and Swindon are rumoured to be looking at changes with Darcy Ward possibly coming in to make them even stronger title contenders. Only dramatic changes at Wolverhampton and Lakeside would see them make something of the season and Leicester have made changes too little too late for them to make the top four.

 

However the big problem is still the heat format and averages will continue to lower for many heat leaders and second strings hit big scores. Get back to a more consistent heat format and top teams will show up as the strongest on paper unlike they are now.

[BWitcher]

It seems strange that even the teams that are doing well are under the points limit and are in a position to improve their team as the season unfolds and the gap between the top and bottom becomes even bigger.

Coventry and Swindon are rumoured to be looking at changes with Darcy Ward possibly coming in to make them even stronger title contenders. Only dramatic changes at Wolverhampton and Lakeside would see them make something of the season and Leicester have made changes too little too late for them to make the top four.

However the big problem is still the heat format and averages will continue to lower for many heat leaders and second strings hit big scores. Get back to a more consistent heat format and top teams will show up as the strongest on paper unlike they are now.

Swindon aren't a top team and are currently way off pace for a play off spot.

[Crazy robin]

It seems strange that even the teams that are doing well are under the points limit and are in a position to improve their team as the season unfolds and the gap between the top and bottom becomes even bigger.

 

Coventry and Swindon are rumoured to be looking at changes with Darcy Ward possibly coming in to make them even stronger title contenders. Only dramatic changes at Wolverhampton and Lakeside would see them make something of the season and Leicester have made changes too little too late for them to make the top four.

 

However the big problem is still the heat format and averages will continue to lower for many heat leaders and second strings hit big scores. Get back to a more consistent heat format and top teams will show up as the strongest on paper unlike they are now.

Look at the averages of each teams 1-5 & there isn't a lot in it but then compare the reserves & that's where the teams league position is dictated.

 

The balls up they've made of the draft reserves is the reason why a lot of die hard fans have turned their back on the sport.

[g13webb]

It appears, I'm not alone in my views about the sport. I've always had reservations about the FTR scheme, and feel it was implemented before it had been properly thought out. More time should have been allow to oversee the obvious problems. But it was done with little thought, hoping it to be a 'quick fix'. As soon as some of us pointed out the obvious issues, we were frown upon. Now we have too bare the blunt of a ridiculous situation, where the lesser riders are more valuable than the top riders.

 

With fore-thought all that was needed was certain guide lines, put in place, to stipulate each team need to include a number of home riders, We didn't need to change the whole concept of league racing, where the averages of today mean nothing........ Even the ones from years back, have non relevance to the league format we are now running.....

[Daniel Smith]

Mid season review from me is: Even though we sit in a playoff position I've found it painful sometimes watching the Stars on the Saddlebow terraces. The running and the meetings themselves in the main have been dreadfully boring drawn out affairs.

 

Been supporting the club for over 20 years and in terms of enjoyment, this has been the worst season ever for me.

 

The only shining light that's keeping me interested is Robert Lambert. The only home rider to provide any on track entertainment

[CB252]

The running and the meetings themselves in the main have been dreadfully boring drawn out affairs.

This is a League wide problem. The meeting at Poole last Wednesday was like pulling teeth and didn't finish til nearly 10.

 

Not much can be done about on track incidents but it is possible to recover time in these instances. The last half a dozen heats at Vue on Monday were rattled off impressively after a few delays earlier in the night.

 

Polish league seems to run effortlessly when you watch the TV meetings so presume they utilise a race director to keep things moving.

 

A League wide directive to improve the running of meetings would be a good start. A meeting starting at 7.30 should be done by 9.15.

Edited June 24, 2015 by CB252