ITEM: Scunthorpe's Gary Irving decided to call it a day this week, which leaves the Lincolnshire club with a tricky spot to fill. They're supportive of his decision, however, and you'd expect nothing less from such a well-run, family-oriented club. That Irving feels he has to quit speedway because it may interfere with his day job is unfortunate, but the reality of the modern sport.
Irving may only have averaged 4.00 in the Premier League last season but he had no small amout of promise and, while the likes of Richie Worrall and Ashley Birks were a step ahead of him, he had what it takes to make a Premier League heat leader down the line.
Losing Irving from the Premier League is a blow, but may open the door for Charles Wright, without a club despite raising his average last season, and a victim of the northern clubs shipping in untried Australians, Germans and Argentinians.
There was a small victory in this regard last week when Glasgow had their applications for Harley Horwood and Joey Ringwood turned down, although Horwood was reinstated on appeal. On what grounds is not clear, because the BSPA's own traditional method of deciding whether Australians can ride in the Premier League is that they finish in their state's top 4, which would mean only Ryan Douglas of the five newcomers qualifies. Max Fricke may have an argument, having beaten several established (although underperforming) Premier League riders to the Australian under-21 title last week, but Horwood, Ringwood, and Sheffield's Damien Koppe have nothing to recommend them to our leagues save a willingness to ride for the money on offer.
The cream rises to the top, and water seeks its own level, and Glasgow, Scunthorpe, Edinburgh & Sheffield will reap what they sow in shipping over these riders. It's just disappointing that they sought this route when there are riders keen to fill those places. Plus ça change, as they say.
ITEM: So Barker's signed for Birmingham on a full transfer, and Andersen & Iversen have gone on loan from Peterborough to Swindon & King's Lynn, respectively. Peterborough signed Bjerre, and only Batchelor is unsure of his destiny as it stands, but will probably end up at Swindon alongside Andersen, one way or another.
Thus ends a ridiculous series of events that threatened to bring down the asset system, but really probably never got anywhere near that, such was the level of self-interest in not rocking the boat amongst the members of the BSPA. It may leave the riders as indentured servants, but as long as the promoters are happy, right?
Except, without major surgery, we'll be here again next year. The asset system as it stands is illegal and increasingly unworkable. That's the one clear thing from this winter, yet - publicly, at least - there seems to be no acknowledgment of this from the powers-that-be. Indeed, in this week's Speedway Star, the Leicester promotion talk of using a Development League-level side to increase their asset-base. More slave riders, more grist for the mill.
Myself, I favour a one-year rolling contract, voided if a rider is not included in a side's 1-7 the following season. For under-21s who have been developed by a junior side or training track, a three-year deal, followed by that same one-year contract. Clubs can still decide to purchase riders, but what they are actually purchasing is first options on team-building, with the riders free to agree to ride for whoever they like.
How this would work is as follows: Johnny Smith rides for Basildon. They offer him a place in their 1-7 for the following season. He accepts and remains a Basildon rider. The following season he rejects a place and goes on loan to Felixstowe, with Basildon receiving a loan fee. If he then returns to ride for Basildon he remains a Basildon rider. If not, he becomes a free agent, and begins a rolling deal with that new club.
This gives teams control over their "assets", allowing a degree of flexibility due to points limits, but also gives some control of their own destiny to the riders. I'm sure it's not a perfect system, and I welcome other ideas. I'm sure the BSPA do, too.
ITEM: We're less than two months away from the start of the 2013 Speedway Grand Prix series, and we still have no idea whether it will be shown on Sky. Now regular readers of this blog will know that I'm not actually too bothered by it, especially now there are no Brits in the series, but I understand that many of you do like to watch them, and even enjoy it from time to time.
The last I heard, and I'm not massively in the loop on this, is that Sky had asked BSI to move the Grands Prix to Friday evenings, better to fit in with their schedule, and as an anchor show for that timeslot. Unable to make such a change at such short notice, and perhaps unwilling to do so at the whim of one broadcaster.
But that was two months ago, and there's been little to add since. The deal with BSI also covers the SWC, and while that may be good news for King's Lynn (who stage the UK round and will be grateful for the extra attendees who would ordinarily watch it on TV), it's bad news for the majority of you who want to watch the Czechs get outclassed in the final round on a shonky track in Prague.
The inclusion of the European Championship on Eurosport will soften the blow a little for speedway-hungry TV viewers, and a good number of you will find your way to illegal streaming sites on the internet, but it's a poor show from both sides to have no announcement so far.
As for league speedway, it has always garnered higher ratings on Sky than the SGPs, and still has that final year left on the contract. I'd expect a new deal to be announced later rather than sooner, and hopefully the purchase (and prudent use) of covers will negate some of the difficulties Sky have had in recent seasons with rained-off and rain-affected meetings.
Speedway doesn't need Sky but it is better off with it than without it. Sky certainly doesn't need speedway, but it does need variety and excitement in its schedules. Let's hope that somewhere there's enough common ground for a new deal to be struck.
ITEM: The new double-up rules will face a stern test on Good Friday, when all ten Elite League sides are in action, alongside ten Premier League teams. Leaving aside different staging times, which may ease the burden, the following riders will be missing from the Elite League fixtures: Craig Cook, Kauko Nieminen, Jason Doyle, Josh Auty, Ben Barker, Adam Roynon, Kozza Smith, Rohan Tungate, Nick Morris, Ashley Birks, Ty Proctor & Sam Masters. That's TWELVE riders to be replaced, and only five Premier League teams not in action. Name your price 6-8 point Premier League riders!
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