Which Teams Will Line Up To Contest The 2017 Elite League?

[waiheke1]

The SKY deal needs to be big enough to let the punters in for a donation or something, that money just isn't there ...

Should always be 10 quid for a sky meeting imo, excluding the play offs.

It's very "chicken and egg" but if the overall product was better, the Sky deal could surely be negotiated upwards.

[Joe Beevers]

I would love to see.

 

EL North

 

Belle Vue

Sheffield

Wolverhampton

Coventry

Leicester

Birmingham

 

EL South

 

Poole

Kings Lynn

Swindon

Lakesdie

Ipswich

Somerset

Any reason why?

 

Wasn't that last tried in the Premier League a few years ago in the Cup(possibly Craven Shield??) and then it got scrapped.

 

I personally don't think this adds anything positive to British Speedway and if anything, rivalries are more common between the big clubs rather than local areas i.e Poole Belle Vue or Poole Coventry etc.

[GWC]

I think it's more about fostering a team for supporters to identify with and producing hero's than the current system of sack and hire when a rider's form dips.

Really hope the rules change that deny strengthening mid season (unless through injury) and we get away from what went on at some clubs this season.

[Joe Beevers]

I think it's more about fostering a team for supporters to identify with and producing hero's than the current system of sack and hire when a rider's form dips.

But that is common in every team sport nowadays and about 98% of players or riders aren't remembered as club heroes or legends. They do their job and fill the void unless your an Eric Cantona or a Leigh Adams at Swindon.

 

Still makes no difference.

[SteveLyric2]

I think it's more about fostering a team for supporters to identify with and producing hero's than the current system of sack and hire when a rider's form dips.

Really hope the rules change that deny strengthening mid season (unless through injury) and we get away from what went on at some clubs this season.

Yeah I think Wayne Rooney should be made to play for club and country. Make him play through any drop in form. After all its only the team and fans that are likely to suffer!!!! FFS.

[B.V 72]

I think it's more about fostering a team for supporters to identify with and producing hero's than the current system of sack and hire when a rider's form dips.

Really hope the rules change that deny strengthening mid season (unless through injury) and we get away from what went on at some clubs this season.

I have no problem with changes mid season its only common sense to replace an out of form rider to keep you in the play off race.

Where i do have a problem is change's on the eve of the play offs where the rules allow riders to be replaced with far better riders.(i know it did not work out for Poole but every fan knows that Lindback is a far better rider than Andersen and the intent was there to strengthen the team.)I know injurys happen and a like for like replacement would have been accepted but GP rider assessed on a 7 come on.

The Woffinden/Kylmakorpi change everydody knows was a massive advantage to Wolves.

I do not blame Wolves or Poole trying to take advantage of these rules because they are there to be used.i blame the poor rules that allow these changes to happen.Rules that allow teams to strenghten up just for the play offs are wrong in my opinion and need to be changed.

I feel that we had 3 very evenly matched teams that were all capable of winning the play offs without any changes to strenghten the teams.They battled all season long and in the end there was nothing between them.I am not saying the result would have been any different but i do belive that the play off meetings would have been a lot closer than they were and therefore being better for every fan of every club watching.

So all i am saying is that the changes did not make the play off any better all they did was cause a lot more controversy within the sport and took away even more of the sports credablity.

[Col]

Any reason why?

 

If you regionalise it, then each club riders each other clubs in their region twice home & twice away, that gives each club 10 home league fixtures. With shorter travelling distance (admittedly Ipswich or Kings Lynn to Somerset is still a heck of a journey) there is more chance that fans can travel away on a week night. Leaving the playoffs winner North v/s runner up South and vice-versa. If clubs are then guaranteed to face clubs from the opposite region in a re-introduced KO Cup competition it would make this more interesting. I'm not saying it is perfect, I'm just trying to find a possible solution to the problem.

[Steve Shovlar]

10 home league fixtures? Fans want 25-30 fixtures a season, not 10.

[Joe Beevers]

If you regionalise it, then each club riders each other clubs in their region twice home & twice away, that gives each club 10 home league fixtures. With shorter travelling distance (admittedly Ipswich or Kings Lynn to Somerset is still a heck of a journey) there is more chance that fans can travel away on a week night. Leaving the playoffs winner North v/s runner up South and vice-versa. If clubs are then guaranteed to face clubs from the opposite region in a re-introduced KO Cup competition it would make this more interesting. I'm not saying it is perfect, I'm just trying to find a possible solution to the problem.

I know, it's an awkward one trying to find a soloution and it's always worth a shout but as this was tried and tested and obviously made no difference, I am guessing that is why it was scrapped.

 

I think sticking with original like Sweden and Poland do seems to work alright but I agree other areas need to improve.

[GWC]

Yeah I think Wayne Rooney should be made to play for club and country. Make him play through any drop in form. After all its only the team and fans that are likely to suffer!!!! FFS.

Well it's one of the reasons the UK has been poor at developing young riders as they are the first to be booted out when

a team suddenly finds it can strengthen up as the averages now allow it.

And yes the Wayne Rooney example fits the bill - best rider reduces average etc etc.

[Col]

10 home league fixtures? Fans want 25-30 fixtures a season, not 10.

 

But the continental riders don't. That format could be extended to have a home/away fixture between the teams in the different regions. That would be 16 home/away fixtures.

[damosuzuki]

IMO it is crazy to base a league on what riders want due to their primary club commitments.

[INCOGNITO]

10 home league fixtures? Fans want 25-30 fixtures a season, not 10.

So do seven or eight Elite League on a set race night once every fortnight or three times a month but also run alongside it one big league with ALL tracks competitions on a Premier League level giving you another eighteen to twenty fixtures with your team represented in both leagues.

 

As you are a Poole fan SS, you could track a team of both Kurtz brothers, Jack Holder, Newman and Ellis along with two reserves who ride National League. For the few Elite League meetings, the two lowest are replaced by two of your top riders so you could bring in any two from Maciej Janowski. Chris Holder, Hans Andersen or Bjarne Pedersen with the lowest of these also allowed to cover for Brady Kurtz if injured or unavailable in the big league.

 

 

Britain won't compete with Poland financially but it should try and put on a top class league like they do and Sweden over 14 or 16 meetings not 28 with most of the team also riding elsewhere and unavailable at times.

[Bald Bloke]

Britain won't compete with Poland financially but it should try and put on a top class league like they do and Sweden over 14 or 16 meetings not 28 with most of the team also riding elsewhere and unavailable at times".

 

If meetings don't increase here peeps will become even less interested imho ​

Edited October 12, 2016 by Bald Bloke

[mickthemuppet]

What about a Wednesday then?

 

A fixed night is clearly needed either way.

So do you only want around 12/13 home matches in a season then?

[Col]

IMO it is crazy to base a league on what riders want due to their primary club commitments.

 

If the riders you want to see don't turn up, there is no fan attendance at meetings

Polish League 14 fixtures. Swedish League 14 fixtures. Why do we think 20+ fixtures are required?

 

You wonder why they are more profitable?

Edited October 13, 2016 by Col

[Trees]

 

If the riders you want to see don't turn up, there is no fan attendance at meetings

 

Polish League 14 fixtures. Swedish League 14 fixtures. Why do we think 20+ fixtures are required?

 

You wonder why they are more profitable?

Because British promoters have to rent their stadiums for the months they need it perhaps? We obviously can't attract the same amount of sponsorship either unfortunately. I don't know how Polish companies makes their books balance giving so much sponsorship to speedway when not paying their workforce much 😊

[INCOGNITO]

A number of tracks already have two different teams like Belle Vue Aces and Colts, Coventry Bees and Storm etc but the problem here is it is two totally different products and if both products were more a like and carrying the same name then it gives more fixtures of interest and more variety of visiting teams.

 

Swindon could use Morris, Tungate, Sedgeman, Wright, Nielsen along with two National League drafts who are replaced by Doyle and Kildemand or Zengota or a new 6.00 rider for Elite

 

Wolves track Masters, Skornicki, Proctor, Musielak, Morris, Clegg (NL), Wiliamson (NL) but use two from Lindgren, Woffinden, Pawlicki or Klindt for the Elite.

 

Belle Vue track Cook, Worrall, Worrall, Jacobs, Toft, Bewdley (NL), xxxx (NL) but use two from Zagar, Vaculik, Smolinski or 6.00 for Elite

 

 

 

These are only examples but it gives Swindon possibly 14 plus 36 fixtures (25home) and a squad system and the only ones getting less meetings are the riders with commitments elsewhere but the riders committed to Britain have plenty of fixtures.

[cityrebel]

About a decade ago the british league cup was run on similar lines, but no one turned up to watch it. When clubs run two teams in different leagues, the lower standard of racing always suffers through lack of support.

[INCOGNITO]

About a decade ago the british league cup was run on similar lines, but no one turned up to watch it. When clubs run two teams in different leagues, the lower standard of racing always suffers through lack of support.

No they didn't

 

The so called British League Cup they ran was Elite League teams against Premier League teams and there was a vast difference in quality. Same as when they tried promotion and relegation play offs, the Elite League team despite finishing bottom ran riot over the Premier League champions who then were the best team and not play off winners.

 

The Premier League team didn't want to go up and the Elite League club didn't want to go down and was a pretty pointless scheme, but here you have ALL tracks lining up at the same strength competing in one big league giving it more variety. Yes this was tried before but the big difference then was they tried to give the lower league teams a few better riders, thus increasing their costs.

 

Here the Elite clubs are coming down to their level so everyone is more balanced and it creates more spaces for British riders st National League level to get regular races at two levels and a view on how to progress instead of making up the numbers and labelled with false averages.

 

 

The whole point is Britain can't afford to run an Elite League with twenty plus fixtures, especially when most of the teams are made up of Premier League riders any way. The top level needs improving and the best way of doing that is a regular race night and less fixtures run at regular intervals so when one team has ridden eight meetings, so have the rest.