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Leicester Lions 2017


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What ever the outcome of Lions speedway at BP we have to wait and see what happens. If some new blood does take over, I just hope that they have the sense to realise that they must compete on a level playing ground, with the right riders in the team places, to bring the fans back that walked away. As no one wants to bother paying to watch a second rate team lose week in week out.

Who ever it is that is taking over the club, must surely know that these are the issues the have to face, because if not, then the Lions will be history next season.

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This probably shows how difficult it is to make a decision that appeals to all.

 

I personally don't see that the EL is any less fun or more boring but it's each to their own.

 

4 things that impact and would become less attractive due to going EL I would say though are increase in price, quality of team, frequency of meetings and lack if association with home riders.

I think the latter was key. Although there are some would say it's not good to make friends with riders as when because they may underperform and need to be dumped it makes it difficult

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Its exactly what you want .but you are largely on your own ,because every lions supporter I know ( and that is a lot ) wants to go back to the premier league , regular meetings in a league where they have a fair chance of winning ,and no problem racing on saturdays ,

Well, we are staying in the EL and racing will not be on Saturdays. I for one like Saturdays when other things don't get in the way. but there again, I liked Tuesdays and when I think about it, I attended a bigger percentage of meetings on Tuesdays at Blackbird Road than I have been able to do at BP on Saturdays.

Looks like we are going to have to get used to it or the new promoters are going to have to attract a new set of supporters staring with those who cant get to BP on a Saturday. Me, I am going to get used to it and hope the Lions get a decent set of riders for our fix of mid week racing.

Edited by 1 valve
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There are 10 weeks worth of school holidays during the speedway season so running midweek shouldn't be an issue.

Parents could even allow a treat of a late night once or twice for the matches run on school nights.

Only trouble is the fixture planners haven't got a clue.

if its going to be elite league speedway for Leicester in 2017 then maybe the schools in the Leicester area might agree to the kids taking the 10 weeks holidays off in one go starting in april finishing mid to late june which is about the length of the loins season's since they joined the elite.happy days the kids wont miss any meetings.

i'll get me coat and see myself out.

Edited by neb
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Why on earth do fans of Saturday clubs think attendances will plummet by riding regularly in mid week?

 

Poole get good crowdson a Wednesday, Wolves every Monday, Swindon on a Thursday. Why would it be any problem for Leicester who on a Saturday are up against the football team?

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Why on earth do fans of Saturday clubs think attendances will plummet by riding regularly in mid week?

 

Poole get good crowdson a Wednesday, Wolves every Monday, Swindon on a Thursday. Why would it be any problem for Leicester who on a Saturday are up against the football team?

Clearly football would have more of a pull than Speedway, thing is the product and cost needs to be right. The Midlands have the odd football club, but they must have in mind a club that pulls fans away the most, by trying to get round that, that would be a big big start.

Edited by Starman2006
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Why on earth do fans of Saturday clubs think attendances will plummet by riding regularly in mid week?

 

Poole get good crowdson a Wednesday, Wolves every Monday, Swindon on a Thursday. Why would it be any problem for Leicester who on a Saturday are up against the football team?

I think the issue is more around how incredibly restrictive it is trying to work with so many variables around rider availability...

 

The infrastructure of the sport should allow every team to race at the time they can maximise their income...

 

British Speedway the way it is currently ran (using the riders they do), means working around Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the GP's so it can never hope to deliver this..

 

The only hope for the sport in this country is to "look after number one" and plan the logistics of the sport, ie the team strengths, the number of riders per team, and race nights, around that simple mantra..

Edited by mikebv
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Clearly football would have more of a pull than Speedway, thing is the product and cost needs to be right. The Midlands have the odd football club, but they must have in mind a club that pulls fans away the most, by trying to get round that, that would be a big big start.

The "odd football club"? Ahem. Only the home of the current Premier League champions so we are 😆

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Its exactly what you want .but you are largely on your own ,because every lions supporter I know ( and that is a lot ) wants to go back to the premier league , regular meetings in a league where they have a fair chance of winning ,and no problem racing on saturdays ,

Saturday nights in the premier league,change the track shape to produce great racing, slick presentation at the right price and build a lions rider assets then in a few years if it's still running join the elite league,

 

chasing the wooden spoon each season plus knowing the race winner who comes out of the second bend first has driven fans away, how can Leicester compete in the EL with no club assets.

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I think the issue is more around how incredibly restrictive it is trying to work with so many variables around rider availability...

 

The infrastructure of the sport should allow every team to race at the time they can maximise their income...

 

British Speedway the way it is currently ran (using the riders they do), means working around Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the GP's so it can never hope to deliver this..

 

The only hope for the sport in this country is to "look after number one" and plan the logistics of the sport, ie the team strengths, the number of riders per team, and race nights, around that simple mantra..

People seem to be fixated with 'The big boys' but,in which Premier League football match will you see Messi, Bale, Suarez etc etc etc

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Why on earth do fans of Saturday clubs think attendances will plummet by riding regularly in mid week?

 

Poole get good crowdson a Wednesday, Wolves every Monday, Swindon on a Thursday. Why would it be any problem for Leicester who on a Saturday are up against the football team?

Because Eastbourne tried Thursday and it was a disaster.?

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If they race mid week thats me and the family finished. No doubt mid week used to be a good race night but there are now many competing interests particularly where kids are involved and weekends , either sat or sun are by far the best both re other interests and getting home as midweek for school the following day is a no go. ( not all of us live in Leicester). It just seems that in speedway the tail wags the dog and they have to ride when its suits the riders not whats best for the club and customers. Someone mentioned the fact that the kids are off for 10 weeks during the speedway season. How many times did the Lions race at home during the summer holidays ???. If you look at the demographic of speedway fans at Leicester the age of the fans is getting older and the few kids that do go will struggle if the meetings arnt at weekends and without attracting new younger fans the sport is as good as dead.

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BRITISH Speedway is ready to bounce back in 2017 – after the biggest revamp of the sport in modern history.

Club bosses have spent three days voting through plans to restructure league racing in the UK which sees both Rye House and second tier champions Somerset taking the plunge with promotion to the top flight.

And there’s good news for fans of troubled Leicester and Belle Vue with both clubs, who boast a rich heritage, ready to come to the tapes again – and at the top level.

Workington are expected to take their place in the Premiership, but this is subject to confirmation.

The leagues have been rebranded Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership and SGB Championship – and promotion and relegation has been introduced with the leagues coming closer together.

The winners of the Championship play-offs will race the Premiership’s bottom club to decide who rides in the 2018 SGB Premiership.

The same rules and race format, last year’s PL programme, will apply to both leagues – that means tactical rides are available when 10-points down from heats 5-12.

The injury rider-replacement rule will also now be in place in both leagues.

And the season will start with Knockout Cup meetings at both levels before the launch of the exciting new leagues.

All riders will now have one average, based on Premier League figures, for team building purposes with a 50-point limit for the top division and 40 for the Championship.

It means riders who only raced in the Elite League last season will see their average increased by 1.4 to bring them in line with Premier League averages.

The only difference in team building rules between the leagues is that Championship clubs must include a British youngster with a three-point average.

And in a bid to help young riders get team spots, any rider who hasn’t achieved a three-point average will come in on a minimum of 2.

No team changes will be permitted in either league after July 31

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I see Belle Vues in a mess. reading threads theyve been messing around with their race nights to fit in with their GP star resulting in smaller crowds, but still having to pay him his full wack. Speedway promoters dont seem to get it. People want entertaining at meetings, good regular racing, good atmosphere fair admission price and a team they can associate with not big names stars who certainly dont guarantee any of this.

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Does this mean that the "Big boys" won't be here next season? Leicester could still run on a Saturday then. Still only 8/9 teams in top flight. Will it be run every other week?

Lions are still in the top fight league. The Elite league is now called the Premiership & what was the Premier League is now the Championship, so the 'Big boys' will still be at Leicester next year.

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When do we expect to get the promised statement from Dave Darcy actually informing us of what is actally going on at the club, I know the A.G.M as only just finished, can we expect something by the end of the week. There has been no mention in the A.G.M on fixed race nights, so will the Lions go mid week or stay on a Saturday.

Could now meen that a lot of the big names of the sport may be giving the UK a miss. Hope we don;t get back to the days where a load of riders from overseas start coming over again just to geta pay day and not bothering if they try to win or not, could be a graet chance for some home grown talent to come to the for.

We will have to wait and see what happens with the Lions and the other teams in the league, with the other clubs coming to join, there is going to be a lot of early appointments to the teams so you don't end up with the rubbish that is left. If there is a new promoter I hope you has started doing his team building already.

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So using PL averages or converted averages on 2016 team.

 

Klindt 8.90

Hougaard 8.71

Wozniak 8.27

Summers 8.18

Lindgren 7.65

Auty 7.10

Starke 6.62 Total 55.43

 

This shows just how weak the 2017 top league will be, when one of the weakest teams ever in the top league has to lose over 5 points

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