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One League - Matt Ford


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The other weekend in Hull was a 2-day music festival on a local park; first day pop & indie, next was rock and metal (yes!).  The sustained noise over the weekend (11am-10pm) was pretty loud and also included a funfair (12pm-8pm) with its own music + an idiot who clearly loved the sound of their own voice rambling constantly over the PA all day long, the fair had been there for the previous week + 2days of monster trucks.  I was unable to attend but clearly heard the noise from maybe 1/2 mile away - actually has to be said most of the music, and especially the monster trucks, sounded pretty cool.  After prob 10 days of all this activity + a more than generous helping of rain the local park is now a real mess.  My point is that, ok, a lot of people had fun and good luck to them all, residents put up with the music fest, Hull Fest actually, but local authorities / NIMBYs won't permit / allow speedway which consists of just 20 mins of noise in short 1minute bursts....

Edited by martinmauger
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37 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

Aha. There are no true defenders of speedway it is judged through a years back, pre-silencers, view in people' minds ( especially local official's minds ). As for this supposed Cross Party Speedway group of MPs, it is just a lunching jolly for the Blazers.

The only MP I ever met who actually supported Speedway was dear old Alan Beith up at Berwick. 

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18 minutes ago, HGould said:

The only MP I ever met who actually supported Speedway was dear old Alan Beith up at Berwick. 

Clement Freud (I saw him at more than one track outside his constituency).

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One League - Future of British speedway. This subject will never go away. In my honest opinion like I've said before, Speedway in the UK in it's current form is falling flat on its arse. The people who run it are still living in the past and the whole structure is completely mismanaged. One league would be a benefit as it would mean an end to riders doubling up which has made the sport a joke. Admission prices are also a major factor. I don't believe that the punters are getting value for money. The quality or racing now in the British league is nothing like it was 25 years ago.   

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On 5/31/2019 at 1:43 PM, HGould said:

very illuminating admission on inside cover of Speedway Star.

claims Poole lost a 5 figure sum in matches v Ipswich

says Top Riders will never return to British Speedway

suggests that One League is perhaps best way, I assume pay rates would be nearer to Championship, he quotes success of Eastbourne in that League.

Question is, if 1 League delivered enough matches to sustain riders pay needs (40 matches??) 20 home and 20 away for instance, would pay rates mean Clubs were put out of business or would it put too many riders out of the sport, would there be enough riders?

Is he (Ford) just marketing or is this a serious suggestion? 

 

A couple of years ago I would have argued against this idea, in the past the second tier was sacrificed for the top tier, promises of fair rider shares never happened.  But right now it makes complete sense.  Let's be honest, the Elite league was never Elite, and the Premiership is now so close to the Championship with so many rider overlaps,  a merger makes complete sense if it is also a financially viable option for clubs.  For the fans it would mean more variety, and hopefully riders would become 'one club' again, not riding for different British clubs at different times of the week. 

The idea of the reserves being British under 21 makes sense too. 

A couple of the top riders may decide to give the British League (perfect name) a miss, but sod them, we can't run a league just for a handful of riders.   I would imagine young Aussies would still venture over to the UK and ride British league for the start of their careers, so as top riders are not coming back, a merger of the leagues makes complete sense now.

 

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27 minutes ago, TheReturn said:

 

A couple of years ago I would have argued against this idea, in the past the second tier was sacrificed for the top tier, promises of fair rider shares never happened.  But right now it makes complete sense.  Let's be honest, the Elite league was never Elite, and the Premiership is now so close to the Championship with so many rider overlaps,  a merger makes complete sense if it is also a financially viable option for clubs.  For the fans it would mean more variety, and hopefully riders would become 'one club' again, not riding for different British clubs at different times of the week. 

The idea of the reserves being British under 21 makes sense too. 

A couple of the top riders may decide to give the British League (perfect name) a miss, but sod them, we can't run a league just for a handful of riders.   I would imagine young Aussies would still venture over to the UK and ride British league for the start of their careers, so as top riders are not coming back, a merger of the leagues makes complete sense now.

 

DURING the BT broadcast from Belle Vue on Monday, Steve Brandon pointed out that there are currently not enough riders to staff 18 seven-man teams... I think he said 27 riders are currently doubling up. So replacements would have to be found for those 27 at one of there current clubs.

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13 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

DURING the BT broadcast from Belle Vue on Monday, Steve Brandon pointed out that there are currently not enough riders to staff 18 seven-man teams... I think he said 27 riders are currently doubling up. So replacements would have to be found for those 27 at one of there current clubs.

easy fix go to 6 man teams every rider has 5 rides no doubling up . still it would need everyone to be on board and theres no chance of that

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1 hour ago, PHILIPRISING said:

DURING the BT broadcast from Belle Vue on Monday, Steve Brandon pointed out that there are currently not enough riders to staff 18 seven-man teams... I think he said 27 riders are currently doubling up. So replacements would have to be found for those 27 at one of there current clubs.

I am so bored with British speedway I stopped watching, not having a club to support, only good interesting racing keeps me watching. I think I have watched one full match all season. Well I watched the first few races Monday then switched over, so I missed that comment. As the other poster suggested, look at 6 man teams.  Surely it's worth looking at solutions rather carrying on with a failing product?

 

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3 hours ago, kelvinlapworth said:

One League - Future of British speedway. This subject will never go away. In my honest opinion like I've said before, Speedway in the UK in it's current form is falling flat on its arse. The people who run it are still living in the past and the whole structure is completely mismanaged. One league would be a benefit as it would mean an end to riders doubling up which has made the sport a joke. Admission prices are also a major factor. I don't believe that the punters are getting value for money. The quality or racing now in the British league is nothing like it was 25 years ago.   

No it's better, cracking racing at the Shabbey last night.

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4 hours ago, phillwhitewasmad said:

easy fix go to 6 man teams every rider has 5 rides no doubling up . still it would need everyone to be on board and theres no chance of that

Thank you on both counts. 6 man sides are an easy fix for One Big League and the clearest chance of turning things around.  But as you say getting everyone on board when there is little leadership from the "leaders" - Ah well. If only they did though and introduced standardised machines ( by any feasible engineering means ) there is a chance that speedway racing could return and thrill the crowds ( who might return or even be renewed with no grey hairs, unless dyed in ). Instead of FTG speedway riding. That and no guarantees, only good points money for riders and make them truly earn their corn.

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7 hours ago, PHILIPRISING said:

DURING the BT broadcast from Belle Vue on Monday, Steve Brandon pointed out that there are currently not enough riders to staff 18 seven-man teams... I think he said 27 riders are currently doubling up. So replacements would have to be found for those 27 at one of there current clubs.

There is no way 18 clubs will come to the tapes in one league next season. Some clubs in the championship are hanging on by their finger tips. Those clubs are more likely to fold than take on any increased costs to keep up with the likes of Poole. Even a reduction in team strengths will not be enough to save some teams. Survival of the fittest will be the way forward.

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On ‎7‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 11:02 AM, TheReturn said:

 

A couple of years ago I would have argued against this idea, in the past the second tier was sacrificed for the top tier, promises of fair rider shares never happened.  But right now it makes complete sense.  Let's be honest, the Elite league was never Elite, and the Premiership is now so close to the Championship with so many rider overlaps,  a merger makes complete sense if it is also a financially viable option for clubs.  For the fans it would mean more variety, and hopefully riders would become 'one club' again, not riding for different British clubs at different times of the week. 

The idea of the reserves being British under 21 makes sense too. 

A couple of the top riders may decide to give the British League (perfect name) a miss, but sod them, we can't run a league just for a handful of riders.   I would imagine young Aussies would still venture over to the UK and ride British league for the start of their careers, so as top riders are not coming back, a merger of the leagues makes complete sense now.

 

Why was the Elite never the Elite .. the only problem was that people never understood the name or what Elite was suppose  to mean ..We been over this a million times the Elite meant  top division likes does in all the other sports when the names used . 

We have a local snooker league where the top division is called the Elite because it has best teams in Swindon it does not  have Ronnie and Judd trump in it thou .

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Five man teams, (you only need two riders each per race)..

Salary capped to £5k a match, regardless of number of rides, £1500 to No1 down to £500 for No5 at intervals of £250 a position...

Meaning No3 (Mr Average) gets a grand a night..

Total cost for both home and away matches is £10k..

Try a 12 team league first up (expand as and when more riders are available), meaning 60 riders  needed which would then also mean a good few 'subs on the bench' for replacements.. (No guests!)

Home and away twice each team means 44 league matches, 22 home and 22 away,..

Charge £15 per adult, kids free (U18) and 1000 punters would give you £15k pay the £12k needed for riders for both meetings, and VAT,  and leave £3k over towards your home meeting costs...

Maybe run a 'pay to ride' second half to help offset some of these meeting costs and give budding riders track time, (plenty of motorsports do "pay to compete" days)..

Team strength would need to be Championship No1/Premiership Second or Third Heat Leader level, down to NL No1/Championship reserve I would suggest..

44 matches (ex play offs) equals £66k for No1 down to £22k for No5...

Not a fortune but as a job for just six months of the year not too bad, and nothing stops you getting a job during the winter..

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12 hours ago, mikebv said:

Five man teams, (you only need two riders each per race)..

Salary capped to £5k a match, regardless of number of rides, £1500 to No1 down to £500 for No5 at intervals of £250 a position...

Meaning No3 (Mr Average) gets a grand a night..

Total cost for both home and away matches is £10k..

Try a 12 team league first up (expand as and when more riders are available), meaning 60 riders  needed which would then also mean a good few 'subs on the bench' for replacements.. (No guests!)

Home and away twice each team means 44 league matches, 22 home and 22 away,..

Charge £15 per adult, kids free (U18) and 1000 punters would give you £15k pay the £12k needed for riders for both meetings, and VAT,  and leave £3k over towards your home meeting costs...

Maybe run a 'pay to ride' second half to help offset some of these meeting costs and give budding riders track time, (plenty of motorsports do "pay to compete" days)..

Team strength would need to be Championship No1/Premiership Second or Third Heat Leader level, down to NL No1/Championship reserve I would suggest..

44 matches (ex play offs) equals £66k for No1 down to £22k for No5...

Not a fortune but as a job for just six months of the year not too bad, and nothing stops you getting a job during the winter..

£3k is what some clubs have to pay to rent their stadium, aside from all the other costs!!

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£3k is what some clubs have to pay to rent their stadium, aside from all the other costs!!

If those clubs who are paying £3k in rent are surviving now with what they are paying the riders, which I suspect is more than £5k a meeting, they should be able to survive on mikebv's suggestion.

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All this has been discussed by the ' top table ' during the winter and whilst there was a ONE LEAGUE proposal, six clubs said they would not take part and would likely close their doors. Obviously the proposal was eventually dropped.

It would probably be no different in 2019 if it's ONE league, those clubs won't take part as they cannot afford it, so therefore there should not be a rider shortage as there will possibly be only 14-16 teams in the division.

As for clubs paying £5,000 wages per meeting? They are the clubs killing the sport if that's the sort of wages they are paying out and that's why my nearest club no longer exists.

One club is already up for sale, rumours of two more closing at the end of the season unless someone takes them over ( not very likely ) One league would work, but only for some and not for all.

 

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25 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

All this has been discussed by the ' top table ' during the winter and whilst there was a ONE LEAGUE proposal, six clubs said they would not take part and would likely close their doors. Obviously the proposal was eventually dropped.

It would probably be no different in 2019 if it's ONE league, those clubs won't take part as they cannot afford it, so therefore there should not be a rider shortage as there will possibly be only 14-16 teams in the division.

As for clubs paying £5,000 wages per meeting? They are the clubs killing the sport if that's the sort of wages they are paying out and that's why my nearest club no longer exists.

One club is already up for sale, rumours of two more closing at the end of the season unless someone takes them over ( not very likely ) One league would work, but only for some and not for all.

 

If the league was set at Championship level - perfectly feasable bearing in mind rider ability - why could they not afford it?

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the rumblings at Eastbourne suggest grachans championship model, maybe slightly higher is muted to be the way.

You are going to get a casualty or 2 but that seems to happen every season,after all most of the blokes you see in the gb take in both leagues anyway 

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53 minutes ago, Grachan said:

If the league was set at Championship level - perfectly feasable bearing in mind rider ability - why could they not afford it?

The knock on effect of one league means no doubling up riders therefore top riders will be more in demand and want bigger wages. There will be a huge bun fight for riders and the poorer clubs can not compete. Put the likes of Newcastle or Redcar up against the finances of Poole , Kings Lynn or Glasgow in competing for riders and it just doesn't work.

It didn't in 96 when it was one league , one club couldn't even get seven riders!

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