The EL Doesn't need a restructure.....

[Deleted]

according to Matt Ford.

british-speedway.co.uk/news.php?extend.722

What a prick!!

Don't think his worshippers down on the south coast would be too happy when every other week they end up riding against Swindon, Wolves & Coventry.

But then again, if it means a better chance of a league title I doubt most of them wouldn't give a toss.

[admin]

No doubt it helps that after a couple of barren years his Pirates are flying high again. But I suspect this is little more than a front from a man who I think we'll all say has a lot of front. Ford may be a prick, but he isn't stupid. I suspect he knows things can't go on as they have been. The race for the play-offs may be intense, but only for those vital 1st and 2nd places. As far as I can see, 3 of the 4 are almost certainties, with Peterborough, Wolverhampton and possibly Lakeside challenging for the fourth place.
Reading, Belle Vue, Ipswich and Eastbourne are struggling badly.
My guess is that Ford's just trying to "big up" this season, but knows tough decisions lie ahead.

[Deleted]

No real time for a rant but is this guy for real (or alternatively does he post as SCB on the BSF?)

Is it any wonder that British speedway is in the state its in with people like this attending the conference and setting the agenda for the year to come (although as we all know it may take them an extra day to decide to do very little, even for those that have 'already started thinking' about what not to do)

Sub, you may be right in giving him the benefit of the doubt but sometimes its better to keep quiet than come out with nonsense like this however much the season needs a 'big up'

[Deleted]

tonym said:

Sub, you may be right in giving him the benefit of the doubt but sometimes its better to keep quiet than come out with nonsense like this however much the season needs a 'big up'

It just makes him appear deluded and very foolish. Even a blind man can see the BEL needs restructuring, if only because they'll only be 3 or 4 teams left if things to continue.

[stuartroad]

tonym said:

No real time for a rant but is this guy for real (or alternatively does he post as SCB on the BSF?)

Is it any wonder that British speedway is in the state its in with people like this attending the conference and setting the agenda for the year to come (although as we all know it may take them an extra day to decide to do very little, even for those that have 'already started thinking' about what not to do)

Sub, you may be right in giving him the benefit of the doubt but sometimes its better to keep quiet than come out with nonsense like this however much the season needs a 'big up'

to be fair though tony,i think any potential changes,come with there own pitfalls.
the sport is desperate for new supporters but the powers that be,seem to have no idea of how to attract them,and instead are alienating the one's they already have.
but when you read the posting's from current fans,how the hell could you even please 50%

[schumi]

Hope you don't mind me moving this thread guys. Thought a general speedway section was in order for you all.

[Deleted]

stuartroad said:

the sport is desperate for new supporters but the powers that be,seem to have no idea of how to attract them

In these circumstance, you call things a day or go back to basics. Several things have been tried in the past 10-12 years to make the sport work and little has succeeded. I therefore think you've got to radically cut costs so that tracks at least have a chance of breaking even, and start more-or-less at the grassroots.

stuartroad said:

when you read the posting's from current fans,how the hell could you even please 50%

The fans who post represent a small minority. The rest of the (rapidly dwindling) audience don't really know what they want, or even care that much.

I think you simply have to ignore most of the minority opinions and just get one with things. I remember when Oxford dropped down into the BL Division 2 after 8 successful years in the top division, the 'fans' all said they wouldn't support lower league racing. They actually had no choice thanks to Northern Sports going bust, and the two years we spent at that level saw some good racing, and not especially worse crowds.

More fans go to Twenty20 matches than other forms of domestic cricket, despite the fact that they don't always get to see the top players. Indeed, most of the casual fans (like me) don't even know who half of the players are anyway. The point is that if the sport is otherwise good entertainment, people will come anyway.

[schumi]

You talk a lot of sense, wibblemuis, so it's hard to disagree with you. However, I'm still to be convinced about not having the GP guys in the top flight, so how would that work? Would it still be an "elite league" or just one big premier league, and is that workable?

How do attendance figures compare between the two leagues? If more people watch EL then it could be a case for having the top lads, but if PL racing is better attended you'd have me convinced it's the way to go.

[Deleted]

wibblemuis said:

stuartroad said:

the sport is desperate for new supporters but the powers that be,seem to have no idea of how to attract them

In these circumstance, you call things a day or go back to basics.
quote

Ah, back to the days of happiness is 40-38, rider control and normal tac sub rules.

[Deleted]

schumi said:

How do attendance figures compare between the two leagues? If more people watch EL then it could be a case for having the top lads, but if PL racing is better attended you'd have me convinced it's the way to go.

At Reading I'd say our later PL days were better attended than they have been since we joined the EL.

Racing was generally much better too.

[admin]

I don't think you can generalise on attendances - both the Elite League and the Premier League have clubs with good support and others with poor support. And weren't Conference League Plymouth among the best supported clubs last season?
The trouble is, apart from a few exceptions, crowds are dwindling. Everyone thought speedway was on its knees in the mid-1980s, in a country still recovering from a fearful recession, but those days are now seen as a minor "golden era" for the sport.
The product on track can still be excellent, but too often in the Elite League these days you've got a Jason Crump or Nicki P miles ahead of some no hoper. You've got clubs like Coventry hammering in away wins, although their biggest was subsequently voided after Oxford withdrew.

[Deleted]

schumi said:

However, I'm still to be convinced about not having the GP guys in the top flight, so how would that work? Would it still be an "elite league" or just one big premier league, and is that workable?

There are probably only 3 or 4 British teams that can really afford to run with the top riders, who would usually, although not necessarily be GP riders. Unfortunately, that's not enough teams to form a viable league, so those teams will unfortunately have to make compromises and sail at speed of the slowest ship in the convoy, or have to find some alternative solution.

It could be that the decision will be taken-out of their hands if there's a move to a full-time SGP, but personally I doubt that will happen. Another possibility would be for those handful of teams to join-up with teams in other countries to form some sort of international league, but that would take a lot of discussion with the Polish and Swedish teams, and realistically isn't going to happen.

Yet another option would be for those 3-4 teams to run some sort of abbreviated British Super League amongst themselves that involved all the top riders, but also enter 'second' teams in a reduced-strength BEL (much as some tracks also run BCL teams). However, I can't see that's a good idea because you effectively create a two-tier product, and fans may well cherry-pick the Super League fixtures whilst ignoring the 'inferior' BEL fixtures.

That leaves basically one option which is for the BEL to reduce its ambitions and run at a more cost-effective level. Even then, I don't think 'one big league' would be realistic or economically viable for all the teams (especially the more marginal BPL teams), but I could see some of the stronger BPL teams moving into an enlarged top league, with the remaining BPL teams merging with the BCL to form a lower league. In effect then, you'd have a two-tier system (possibly of 14-16 and 15-17 teams each) for the standalone tracks.

With respect to reducing the costs of the BEL, the obvious solution would be not to employ SGP riders on the grounds they cannot be available for every league fixture. However, in reality some pay policy (enforced by central contracts) would also need to be introduced to prevent stupid inducements being offered to riders just outside the SGP.

BTW - de-strengthening the BEL would obviously means that its name would become even more of a misnomer, not to mention that the BPL's name has always been a misnomer as a second division competition (for that matter, BCL is also a tautology). I'd use 'League 1' and 'League 2'.

schumi said:

How do attendance figures compare between the two leagues? If more people watch EL then it could be a case for having the top lads, but if PL racing is better attended you'd have me convinced it's the way to go.

It's not just about absolute numbers, but the profitability (or at least not loss-making) of the tracks which is necessary for them to stay in business in the long-term. You might get slightly lower crowds, but the costs of running in the BPL are significantly lower.

I reckon it must cost close to GBP 500K per year to run a BEL team, and the new Oxford promoter apparently said it would cost GBP 300K per year to run a BPL team at Oxford. Quite a significant difference.

[Deleted]

The delusion continues over at the BSF. Apparently 'better-off' teams shouldn't help the weak teams because "that doesn't happen in football", as if that's any sensible model to run a professional sport. Even more amusing is the idea that teams should spend more than they earn because "that's professional sport".

[admin]

Can't say I've spent much time at the BSF today, so I haven't really seen what they've been saying about young Ford's comments.
I suspect quite a few posts are given from a biased perspective - if a person's team is doing well, all is well and if a person's team isn't doing well, then something needs done.
But, as I said above, I suspect that young Ford is just trying to "big up" a season in which his team's achievements may be overshadowed by off-track affairs. I understand that attendances at Wimborne Road have dropped, albeit slightly. And this while the Pirates are riding high after a couple of ordinary seasons.

[Deleted]

As i cant stand Poole and think there total bollocks, ill stay out of this