soupy Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 11 minutes ago, ruffdiamond said: Could you not be a little bit more specific?,,,hope he's not just left in the woods looking for somewhere to rest! Might be hide and seek lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 9 hours ago, Wizzer606 said: No it wouldn't, Morley is a one trick pony and has been for years. He’s hopeless around Brough n all. Sad to say, but probably still stronger than Congreve tbh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruffdiamond Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 6 hours ago, szkocjasid said: Sad to say, but probably still stronger than Congreve tbh! Possibly at the minute, but never improved in 10 years, Congreve has only been here 10 minutes!!! At least give him till the end of the month or till the BWD situation is sorted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 12 hours ago, Justgotmecpc said: Pity Harris never put the same effort in yesterday at Newcastle like he has today at Peterborough some of the 'first division' riders are going through the motions in the second division when you look at the scores, taking the pi** really 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 47 minutes ago, ch958 said: some of the 'first division' riders are going through the motions in the second division when you look at the scores, taking the pi** really It’s just a job to many , now riding 3or 4 times a week for a good wage.Steering clear of injury is their main priority. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljriley90 Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 Nathan Stoneman would be a good shout for a replacement for Congreve (if it gets that far) On the point of visas does anyone know what visa type a speedway rider comes over on? I was heavily involved in a amateur ricket club and we used to have a first class (professional by definition) cricketer come each year. They came over on a tier 5 visa, though i think this may have been replaced by the international sportsman visa? Anyway a stipulation if that visa being granted is that the player had to be earning at least £200 per week to be deemed an overseas professional. Maybe thats a similar ruling for speedway riders too. So Congreve possibly on that as a minimum regardless of points scored? He might also be over on youth mobility visa which allows guys from Australia and New Zeaand the chance of a 5 year visa to visit the uk but in that capacity i dont believe they are officially allowed to earn any money. In the case of cricket clubs any fees for a cricketer playing on that visa type are cash in hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruffdiamond Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 20 minutes ago, ljriley90 said: On the point of visas does anyone know what visa type a speedway rider comes over on? I was heavily involved in a amateur ricket club and we used to have a first class (professional by definition) cricketer come each year. The Bendy Leg League? Did the cricketer come to practice bowling thru the gap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 3 hours ago, ruffdiamond said: Possibly at the minute, but never improved in 10 years, Congreve has only been here 10 minutes!!! At least give him till the end of the month or till the BWD situation is sorted. I would give Congreave more time, seems pointless to fly someone halfway around the world for a handful of matches, but still don't think he'll be as good as Morley! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bri1966 Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 20 hours ago, phillipsr said: I disagree but fair play to you!! I dont find it entertaining in the majority and i like watching better riders, for me and others i know weakening the league would mean id likely find others way to spend my money.. Both leagues are watered down . Only Doyle a world class rider in the Premiership. The best British rider not riding in his home league is a joke . Speedway is not value for money in this hard economic times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin Jason 72 Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 31 minutes ago, bri1966 said: Both leagues are watered down . Only Doyle a world class rider in the Premiership. The best British rider not riding in his home league is a joke . Speedway is not value for money in this hard economic times The best three brits not riding in their home league Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillipsr Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 13 minutes ago, Racin Jason 72 said: The best three brits not riding in their home league Says more about the league than those riders to be honest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotallyHonestJohn Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 21 hours ago, phillipsr said: I disagree but fair play to you!! I dont find it entertaining in the majority and i like watching better riders, for me and others i know weakening the league would mean id likely find others way to spend my money.. Honestly You don't need to weaken the league... go to 6 man teams... reduce the build average to 32 points for the first year you run with the 6 man team until everyone's average is realigned then build to 45 points the following season and going forward from there... The first year you run with the 6 man teams it should free up around 10/11 riders with averages ranging from 5 to 8.5 which potentially opens up another two team slots in the league should the likes of Eastie Reading Coventry Worky or Bradford fancy a return... You talk of weakening the product but if all those clubs were to make a dramatic comeback where would the additional riders come from... the pool of riders is what it is at present... you can't weaken that pool any further... instead of double ups go north and south in the second tier and allow triple ups? Where does it end? Regards THJ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazzac Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 18 minutes ago, TotallyHonestJohn said: Honestly You don't need to weaken the league... go to 6 man teams... reduce the build average to 32 points for the first year you run with the 6 man team until everyone's average is realigned then build to 45 points the following season and going forward from there... The first year you run with the 6 man teams it should free up around 10/11 riders with averages ranging from 5 to 8.5 which potentially opens up another two team slots in the league should the likes of Eastie Reading Coventry Worky or Bradford fancy a return... You talk of weakening the product but if all those clubs were to make a dramatic comeback where would the additional riders come from... the pool of riders is what it is at present... you can't weaken that pool any further... instead of double ups go north and south in the second tier and allow triple ups? Where does it end? Regards THJ Would that still be a 15 heat format with 6 riders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaizer Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 Just now, gazzac said: Would that still be a 15 heat format with 6 riders? 1997 was last year ran with 6 riders. 12 programmed heats and 3 nominated as I remember 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambo Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 3 minutes ago, gazzac said: Would that still be a 15 heat format with 6 riders? Or.. Keep the current format and allow the Team Manager a bit of tactical options, replacing the 'missing' rider. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazzac Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 3 minutes ago, Gambo said: Or.. Keep the current format and allow the Team Manager a bit of tactical options, replacing the 'missing' rider. Maybe could call it rider replacement, oh...... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrace Grumbler Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 (edited) 50 minutes ago, TotallyHonestJohn said: Honestly You don't need to weaken the league... go to 6 man teams... reduce the build average to 32 points for the first year you run with the 6 man team until everyone's average is realigned then build to 45 points the following season and going forward from there... The first year you run with the 6 man teams it should free up around 10/11 riders with averages ranging from 5 to 8.5 which potentially opens up another two team slots in the league should the likes of Eastie Reading Coventry Worky or Bradford fancy a return... You talk of weakening the product but if all those clubs were to make a dramatic comeback where would the additional riders come from... the pool of riders is what it is at present... you can't weaken that pool any further... instead of double ups go north and south in the second tier and allow triple ups? Where does it end? Regards THJ Especially in the circumstances of the present rider shortage, this analysis is spot on. As regards Newcastle, there have been decent crowds so far but also healthy away followings from Redcar and Edinburgh within them. Given that it became all too plain last season that the hard core support (the "through thick and thin" brigade) is not enough to keep the club's head above water, as I see it if there is any doubt about BWD's long term fitness and/or commitment and that GC will start to at least beat opposing reserves at home, then - funds permitting - hard decisions should be considered, and sooner rather than later, to give the team a better chance of achieving the home wins that might attract the less committed among the supporter base. Edited April 19, 2022 by Terrace Grumbler Can't spell 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotallyHonestJohn Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 2 hours ago, gazzac said: Would that still be a 15 heat format with 6 riders? Yes and the new format was trialled in 2015 I think to mixed reviews which were well debated at the time however there was not this chronic rider shortage back then... Regards THJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enotian Posted April 20, 2022 Report Share Posted April 20, 2022 I've been working on a 5 man 10 heat format (I'm not allowed out at the minute due to treatment so have time on my hands) which could be run as double headers. So that's 20 heats instead of 15 which has to be better VfM. If you're all about quantity. That would be 10 more rides for the home promoter to pay for at home matches but 10 less rides to pay for at away fixtures. And two less travel expenses if that's still a thing. Plus you'd get two sets of away supporters, which is more important if you're selling streaming. The number of teams in the league would have to increase or the season would be over in 5 weeks. So maybe playing each team twice would be required otherwise you don't solve the rider shortage. As well as adding a two to four more teams. But then you end up having a wider range of ability between the 1st and 5th riders. The trouble is once you reduce the rider numbers per match there's inevitably far more duplication of riders facing each other (making rider averages even less relevant) and covering injured riders becomes impossible or open to abuse. To the extent that I still get back to there being a two tier structure more akin to the old British League and National Leagues with a career path to develop British youngsters. Where each club can ride on the day that optimises their crowd levels. And not because Newcastle have a poor team (or rather are a No1 short of being competitive) as per a short sighted comment earlier in the thread. But because all the evidence indicates that the sport in this country is failing terribly, with fewer tracks and riders and most importantly supporters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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