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Jun 22, 2013 12:13:59 GMT
Post by Wolfie on Jun 22, 2013 12:13:59 GMT
Jon Cook was interviewed during last night's meeting at Lakeside.
He announced that there would be changes to the league structure following suggestions from the promotions of Wolves, Lakeside and Poole and others.
He said that there would be more teams in the league and more matches on a regular basis.
He said he wanted to get back to promoting speedway which he felt he wasn't able to do with the current set up.
Personally I think this is great news and it is what has been needed for years.
I think it sounds like the death knell for the Elite League and any Super League, and possibly an end to the GP riders in Britain.
More variety and more meetings - as I said Great News.
Wolfie
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2014
Jun 22, 2013 14:38:42 GMT
Post by Mr V on Jun 22, 2013 14:38:42 GMT
Perfect opportunity to get rid of the fixture imbalance. Mind you, they'll probably put the season ticket prices up on the basis that 'you'll be getting more matches' conveniently forgetting the price never went down when the number of fixtures did
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2014
Jun 22, 2013 15:58:30 GMT
Post by T.N.T on Jun 22, 2013 15:58:30 GMT
More fixtures - ie 2 home 2 away against ALL teams would be great but the fixtures were reduced mainly because of the availability of riders who race each week min Poland, Sweden and other countries.
However with the way more riders are now doubling up than riding abroad and with the National League progressing well but not enough moving up to the Premier League, then it sounds more like moves are being made to make British Speedway more cost effective with riders like Holder, , Ward, Bjerre, Iversen etc having to decide on staying in Britain and one foreign team or ride in both Sweden and Poland and forget Britain.
If all tracks were out in two divisions, then the Elite League could attract 12-14 teams with riders like Smolinski, Auty, Barker, Wells etc as heat leaders .... and possibly still doubling up which in time would bring the two leagues closer and possibly into one big league by 2016
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Jun 22, 2013 18:27:47 GMT
Post by Mr 8 on Jun 22, 2013 18:27:47 GMT
I would welcome a larger league, it would surely be an improvement over what we have. But are there now enough riders?
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2014
Jun 23, 2013 16:13:02 GMT
Post by mb1982 on Jun 23, 2013 16:13:02 GMT
If (as most of us expect) SKY don't renew the deal, then its impossible to see Elite League surviving. We had Alan Phillips on Sport Radio a few weeks ago and he pretty much admitted that the SKY money is merely propping the league up. The fact that the air fences look like they may be being made compulsory adds fuel to the fire of a big league from next season.
We have to get back to more variety of fixtures and more regulatory. Ditch this farcical situation of meeting some teams once and others twice. The fact that Birmingham are struggling to sustain themselves despite having such a good season says it all. Remember that the big league didn't work in 95-96, but that was probably down to A) being too big (22 teams), and B) the riders not being fairly spread out.
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Jun 24, 2013 0:59:09 GMT
Post by Mr E on Jun 24, 2013 0:59:09 GMT
The EL is extinct now because; 1. Overhead is way too high based on crowds. 2. Too many riders don't want to do the full schedule do too other commitments 3. Sky money propping up league but even then we only have 60% of a fixture list
I would suggest in light of this the following;
EL - 11-14 teams. Make it perhaps somewhere between the current EL and PL in team strength (perhaps closer to PL). Full season of fixtures whether its twice round or a league cup to start things off. Make it so teams like Leicester, Ipswich, Sheffield and perhaps Bradford would join up.
PL - 14-16 teams. Make it 20-25% weaker than the current PL. Ensure reserves are British, essentially pulling the top unattached NL riders in. With the reduced costs try to entice the standalone NL clubs (except Buxton to join in).
CL - Bring it back to amateur status. The clubs who own their own venues could perhaps make it pay. So you could have the likes of Scunthorpe, Lynn, Rye House, Somerset, Buxton, old Sittingbourne, even the training track at Northside entered in.
Have the top league set up so that some of the top riders could continue even if they would eat a lot of average up. I doubt that many would but maybe someone like Woffy would still want to ride.
So you could have; EL - Wolves, Cov, Brum, BV, KL. Lakeside, Swindon, Poole, Eastbourne, Peterboro, Leicester, Sheffield, Bradford, Ipswich PL - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Berwick, Newcastle, Redcar, Worky, Scunny, Rye, Plymouth, Somerset, Stoke, Mildenhall, IOW, Dudley, Kent
That's 29 teams right there!
I think which such a radical change the leagues should be renamed.
Perhaps with the leagues closer together run 1 big KO Cup - a giant killing act isn't out of the question.
You might see more Aussies, Yanks and Younger Europeans in this league and hopefully a good 20 + Brits who are stuck in the NL!
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2014
Jun 26, 2013 5:17:18 GMT
Post by T.N.T on Jun 26, 2013 5:17:18 GMT
If the SKY money is no longer, there would be quite a few that won't be back as they don't want the pay cuts and with an increased fixture list, they would not be able to commit to a full season.
Bradford will be Premier League only and Stoke have no plans to get back into full time racing and likley neither do IOW and Kent.
Ipswich (Nicholls and Barker) and Leicester (TBA) move up while Dudley, Bradord and Mildenhall move up to the PL
Trouble is that if the EL is 12 teams racing home away twice, then thats 22+22 matches and there is little chance riders like Proctor, Wells, Auty, Kennett etc could do both leagues so there would not be the riders available if doubling up was hard to commit too.
The TNT Plan gives you 11 home EL matches featuring FREDDIE and TAI while you also have 11-12 home PL matches where Ricky, Ty, Jacob, Ludvig, Haines, Morris and another junior compete for Wolves.
Can only see it as the way forward if riders like Freddie, Holder etc etc are to continue here, even if its for 22 matches a season .... which is still more than done in Swedish and Polish leagues !!
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Jun 26, 2013 20:25:27 GMT
Post by Mr E on Jun 26, 2013 20:25:27 GMT
Trouble is that if the EL is 12 teams racing home away twice, then thats 22+22 matches and there is little chance riders like Proctor, Wells, Auty, Kennett etc could do both leagues so there would not be the riders available if doubling up was hard to commit too. quote] Why should they need to double up if they are riding for one team with a full schedule? Doubling up started years ago as a way to bring on younger riders, now it is simply a cost cutting measure that HINDERS development by giving a comfort zone and no necessity to go to the Continent where they really can learn their trade. The likes of Auty, Barker, etc will never be world class riders for as long as they ride in this system. And no, the TNT league would increase costs and create mass confusion. If riders like Holder, Ward, Freddie etc want to continue in the UK on a lesser schedule then perhaps a Double Up at #1 should be permitted but essentially a new league should prioritize riders who want to race for teams in Britain for a full schedule not those who do not because they have other fish to fry.
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Jun 27, 2013 1:55:54 GMT
Post by T.N.T on Jun 27, 2013 1:55:54 GMT
At present a doubling up rider could do anything like 60 meetings at present and if there was no doubling up and just one league, they would cut that down to around 40.
Costs would not go up at all. The top riders would feature less, but the pay they get now would not increase, in fact without the possible SKY money, it would possibly go down a little.
Add to that you would not be paying for flights as much as most riders would be based over here and with riders like Wells, Proctor, Auty also being heat leaders in half the fixtures, they would be scoring more and making more money but at the same time you would not be paying out wages for the big names so everyones a winner.
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Jun 27, 2013 20:14:12 GMT
Post by Mr E on Jun 27, 2013 20:14:12 GMT
Not true. If the top riders had less meetings they would want more money per meeting and their piece of the Sky pot. The TNT plan essentially brings in ALL the top riders and the likes of Greg, Nicki, Emil and Hampel won't be cheap.
Also running 2 teams would increase signing on fees which riders need to invest in equipment etc.
The fans would simply not embrace the 2nd team. You'd have to cut admission to get half the fans.
Time to go back to basics - 7 man teams of rider who want to ride for your team who only ride for your team.
That said, given that CVS and Ford are involved in the blueprint, that they have the 4 best riders in the league between their 2 clubs and their home matches do not clash with GP's, expect some provision for something like Double Up at #1 so they don't lose their star drawcards. Poole and Wolves seem to be able to afford such riders, a lot of teams can't.
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DJ
Second String
Posts: 580
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Post by DJ on Jun 29, 2013 6:45:18 GMT
I don't see anything positive about the uk losing all the top riders and losing sky coverage. ThIs would complete the dilution if the sport in this country from the days of it being the number one league in the wod to becoming a speedway backwater.
Wish we had a few more promotions in the sport that actively tried to increase income rather than constantly reducing costs. The sky coverage has introduced many new supporters to the sport hence a number of new tracks. But the elite league clubs have failed miserably to take advantage of the opportunity that so many other sports have seen as a springboard for growth
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2014
Jun 29, 2013 23:59:59 GMT
Post by T.N.T on Jun 29, 2013 23:59:59 GMT
Its not a case of finding positives should top riders and SKY not be around next year. However when you look at the great coverage SKY have given the sport, you have to think has it really been for the benefit of the sport ?
Tracks are treading water finacillay even with the large amounts DKY are paying
Riders wages have possibly reached an all time high since they started filming live matches
While the coverage has reached a wider audience, the attendances at tracks have not increased and in many cases they have decreased.
I for one would love to see the big names race each week over here, but in truth I would prefer to see competative racing here in 20+ years time even if it means a drop in standards and should SKY not continue there would have to be dramatic changes.
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DJ
Second String
Posts: 580
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Post by DJ on Jun 30, 2013 6:49:47 GMT
Poole and wolves have provided top class riders and well prepared tracks but speedway doesn't follow the successful tracks unlike every other sport. If Man Utd were a speedway track they would be brought to task for having so many supporters and for being such a draw, instead the sport would look to bring everyone down to fulhams standard. Both codes of rugby have made massive strides since they got the sky money and ambitious clubs in those sports have become the man Utd equivalents by dragging the sports up to new standards. But in speedway it's always been a sport lead by the unambitious and by the weakest links. The crowds at places like Belle Vue and Coventry have plummeted not because of sky or because speedway has lost it's appeal, it's because the promotions have put on a poor show for the spectators who won't pay to watch processional racing and low quality teams. And now the way forward seems to be driven by 'if Sheffield won't join the Elite League then lets reduce everyone down to their level'. The biggest losers in that way forward will be the most successful tracks. And if the sport loses its most successful tracks, then the sport is surely doomed
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