cityrebel Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Both eastbourne and oxford failed to win on the Isle of Wight despite fielding strong line ups. Not all meetings in the BLC were walkovers. For some clubs in this country the more meetings you run, the more money you lose. Whatever the new format, it's still going to be a financial gamble for all concerned. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perton Wolf Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 10 home league fixtures? Fans want 25-30 fixtures a season, not 10. Agree Steve, we need more fixtures, not less. Poole have the right idea on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Butler Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 I wonder if the EL will be expanding east, west and north? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Ace Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 People say we need more fixtures. Myself included but when teams have a good run of home matches fans pick and choose which meetings. So is more fixtures what fans want??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woz01 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 People say we need more fixtures. Myself included but when teams have a good run of home matches fans pick and choose which meetings. So is more fixtures what fans want??? I think it more about consistency in the fixtures. To often clubs have 2 home meetings in a week then a long period without a home fixture. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben91 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 The answer is to run one race night, a home meeting every fortnight. That will get the top riders back. If a promotion wants to have a meeting a week then run a NL side on weeks that the EL team is away. Helps riders to develop, is cheaper for fans and also gives them their weekly fix. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A ORLOV Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 The answer is to run one race night, a home meeting every fortnight. That will get the top riders back. If a promotion wants to have a meeting a week then run a NL side on weeks that the EL team is away. Helps riders to develop, is cheaper for fans and also gives them their weekly fix. All that will do is reduce the numbers going to the meetings. Also if it is only one night a week if sky are showing a good meeting and the visitors that night to your club are not good many fans will stay at home and watch the meeting on sky. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben91 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 All that will do is reduce the numbers going to the meetings. Also if it is only one night a week if sky are showing a good meeting and the visitors that night to your club are not good many fans will stay at home and watch the meeting on sky. The diehards who want to travel away will still do so, for the rest they can attend the NL meeting at home. Or run the EL meetings on a Monday for example and the NL meetings on a Tuesday. The Sky thing is a risk the sport has to take. Either people want lots of Speedway or they don't. If you're a person that loves your Speedway you'll go to the track over watching on TV if it's an option. TBH, it feels like the sport is held to ransom by riders and by TV, the only people who should matter are the customers. They should be given what they want, that way they'll keep coming back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveLyric2 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 The diehards who want to travel away will still do so, for the rest they can attend the NL meeting at home. Or run the EL meetings on a Monday for example and the NL meetings on a Tuesday. The Sky thing is a risk the sport has to take. Either people want lots of Speedway or they don't. If you're a person that loves your Speedway you'll go to the track over watching on TV if it's an option. TBH, it feels like the sport is held to ransom by riders and by TV, the only people who should matter are the customers. They should be given what they want, that way they'll keep coming back. Don't disagree with the principle of your last sentence BUT if you get one fan from all 33 clubs in a room you would get at least 33 different versions of what fans want - many of which will be in direct contradiction of others!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry1603 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Don't disagree with the principle of your last sentence BUT if you get one fan from all 33 clubs in a room you would get at least 33 different versions of what fans want - many of which will be in direct contradiction of others!! I knew it would be our fault!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) The answer is to run one race night, a home meeting every fortnight. That will get the top riders back. If a promotion wants to have a meeting a week then run a NL side on weeks that the EL team is away. Helps riders to develop, is cheaper for fans and also gives them their weekly fix. Problem is the NL meeting is often a loss maker for the Promotions that currently run an NL team alongside an EL one... And given the fractious nature of the EL fixture list one home meeting per fortnight is often the case already and still the stadiums are mostly empty... And to be honest, not too sure each EL meeting that runs with 'GP stars' now is always profitable hence some teams want less Speedway as it means less losses...! The one simple question that need to be addressed is this... Can you afford to collectively pay two top GP (or non GP world class riders) in your team circa £10k for both home and away meetings from a home meeting income delivered by less than a thousand punters.? I would suggest most clubs would say No! That is the stark reality facing the promoters and the sport in this country.. Edited October 15, 2016 by mikebv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haza Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 People say we need more fixtures. Myself included but when teams have a good run of home matches fans pick and choose which meetings. So is more fixtures what fans want??? I'd sooner have quality meetings with top riders if that means home and away once then so be it . As you say more fixtures mean fans pick and choose . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenspoon Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 People say we need more fixtures. Myself included but when teams have a good run of home matches fans pick and choose which meetings. So is more fixtures what fans want??? The problem is Phil that the Elite League is stagnant, apart from Leicester, no other teams in the lower league, (and we are likely to lose them in 2017) are exactly queuing to come up. This combined with meeting the same teams twice, means that fans will pick and choose when to go. Also there is only one competition, and if your team looks as though it is not going to make the Play-offs, your season interest could be over by the end of June/ July. The only thing against more teams and fixtures is that they struggle now to get even 14 home meetings over by the time of Sky's deadline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) People say we need more fixtures. Myself included but when teams have a good run of home matches fans pick and choose which meetings. So is more fixtures what fans want??? I think it's more about meaningful fixtures rather than simply quantity of fixtures.. Without coming across as FF, DOC, (whoever else he comes on as) etc etc.. The 'POKO Cup' does effect attendances at the back end of the season for teams that are 'virtually there' in the Play Offs.. These meetings for the home team become effectively 'dead rubbers'... Won't ever bring a crowd in when nothing rides on the outcome, as 'challenge matches' and 'low prize money' individual meetings over the years have shown. Hence they have been removed from the calendar.. Definitely need an EL Winners Shield (with some decent prize money) akin to RL to maintain interest to the end of the season... Edited October 15, 2016 by mikebv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZodiac Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 People say we need more fixtures. Myself included but when teams have a good run of home matches fans pick and choose which meetings. So is more fixtures what fans want??? We want more fixtures but more variety too - hence the need for more teams. Fans pick and choose when the same teams come along regularly. More fixtures isn't the answers if it against the same teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shale Searcher Posted October 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 We want more fixtures but more variety too - hence the need for more teams. Fans pick and choose when the same teams come along regularly. More fixtures isn't the answers if it against the same teams. Totally agree, but we don't seem to have enough "good enough" riders to run 8 fully self staffed elite league teams, I don't want to see 3 more teams made up of recycled journeyman, with a recycled edr at 7, and a familiar guest at 1 or 3 every other week either.... You know, without a fresh influx of "new" riders, perhaps from abroard, I don't know how anything will change, especially with Poland's "Iron Curtain" restricting its team places/riders choices.. Perhaps we are doomed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woz01 Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 (edited) Glasgow seem to retweeting a few tweets from fans about speedway under floodlights from last night's meeting. I just wonder if a change of race night and a move up to EL is going to happen. Probably not! Edited October 21, 2016 by woz01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Perhaps we are doomed.. That, to me, is a very real possibility. I think its acknowledged that the EL needs 8 teams at least to be both credible and to retain the Sky contract. Currently, there are issues at Leicester (which have been made public) and Coventry and Belle Vue (which have not). That's almost half the league. If just one of them drop down (or out) a replacement will be needed. I don't know about Glasgow but I have been told that both Rye House and Sheffield have refused to go up. Given that Plymouth have closed (for the moment, hopefully) Berwick are up for sale and Workington are on the brink, it may well be that the top flight of British Speedway next season will be of PL standard with an enlarged NL below it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 At last someone in the know. Let's stick some meat on the bones of these rumours. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Fans want more meetings, riders want less meetings!! It's a difficult one. Isn't it..!!! It's not really a difficult one. The sport has to be run according to what makes economic sense for the promoters, which in turn is what the fans turn-up to watch. It can't be run on the basis of what the riders prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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