Charlatans, Pirates, Squads & Kings

ITEM: So that was Cardiff, then. Most people seem to have had the usual great time, regardless of the speedway meeting that they were – ostensibly – there to see, and in this screwed-up world we live in that’s all we can ask. But what about that meeting, eh?

The British Grand Prix has been held at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium since 2001. Before that it was held at a refurbished Hackney Stadium twice, a one-off at Bradford in that track’s last year of operation, and three stagings at Brandon – a stadium which has seen better days but is still one of the better arenas we have promoting regular speedway in this country.

To listen to those who hold Cardiff dear, the pre-2001 GPs may as well have been held in a farmer’s field, and to go back to anything else would be the same. Except you know what? Maybe that farmer’s field - having staged speedway in the weeks, months, and years leading up to the event – might have a track in it which the world’s top riders can actually race on…

I’ve written before about the pitfalls of temporary tracks, and nothing I wrote then is any less relevant now. BSI have a Viagra-style tumescence for big stadiums – all the better to wine and dine wealthy sponsors and visiting dignitaries in – and seem less keen on actually providing entertainment for the fans who pay their hard-earned money to watch the racing. This is nothing new, of course – football and Formula 1 have both looked to filthy lucre ahead of the common man in increasing quantities, so why should speedway be any different?

There were rumours – and because BSI went into PR-lockdown that’s all we had, other than Twitter postings from concerned riders – that the GP might not be staged at all, such was the state of the track, but thankfully for those who had spent somewhere in the realms of £8 million on their weekend away, this didn’t come to pass. It seems to have been a near thing, though, with dozens of trucks of new shale reportedly ordered from Breedon Aggregates (although, curiously, BSI mouthpiece Phil Rising claims not) needed to make the track anywhere near rideable, let alone raceable. As it was, it didn’t break up that badly, although the injury sustained by Tai Woffinden, possibly as a result of a rut in the track, means the farrago may have had a very expensive casualty.

So what will happen? Little and nothing, I’d imagine. Since the cancellation of the German GP at Gelsenkirchen in 2008, and a promise of an inquiry and it never happening again, we’ve seen temporary track after temporary track begin to break up during the racing, creating potholes and ruts that if they appeared at Belle Vue’s Kirkmanshulme Lane would be rightly condemned as unsafe. But money talks, and while the riders can sell sponsorship on the back of being involved in the circus, they will continue to suck it up and get on with it. The only people who could make a difference – the fans – are a disparate and unorganised group, and – in countries where temporary tracks are mostly laid – do not get many other opportunities to see the “big stars”.

Thus the show goes on, and with people already having purchased tickets to next year’s GP, BSI can sit back, light a cigar with a £50 note, and laugh all the way to the bank.

p.s. Did I really see the Poole apologist and pornmonger admit to buying a ticket from a tout? Does he not know that it’s a criminal offence? Tut tut!

ITEM: So it seems that Poole may be punished for their ridiculous postponement after all, but not until July 10^th at the earliest, and only then if Graham Reeve of the SCB can find a really, really good reason why they should. The rules are clear in as much as they’re ever clear, but we’ll wait and see, eh?

But you know what? I’m actually going to defend them a tiny bit. A really tiny bit, admittedly, but there you go. Poole shouldn’t have been in that position, and the rules are wrong. Told you it was tiny…

As the regulations stand, you cannot have a facility for a rider named in your redeclared team who has not yet ridden for your club. The reason behind this is obvious – it’s to prevent teams naming riders on high averages who have no intention of ever turning a wheel in anger for that club, and thus being able to replace him with guests of equal quality on an ad hoc basis. I’m not sure why this was deemed necessary, or if it was ever an issue, but it’s in the rulebook and so that’s the way it is.

Here’s the thing, though: Przemyszlaw Pawlicki was injured two days before he was due to make his Poole debut. The team had been struggling and if they wanted to pull the kind of stroke the rules prevent, they probably could have found someone with a higher average. As it was they wanted Pawlicki precisely because his average – gained two seasons ago – is lower than his present ability, and have nothing to gain from pretending to sign him.

What should have been available to Poole is a short-term – perhaps 7 days – R/R facility, which probably (you never know when dealing with the Dark Lord of Dorset) would have prevented this call-off farrago. As it was, the regulations  allowed only for a 6-point Premier League rider (and I don’t believe for one minute the smokescreen thrown up about having to go back to their previous declaration precisely because if this is about sticking to the rules, those rules allow the redeclaration to stand) and the meeting was off.

Similarly, Peterborough – who had moved a fixture against Wolverhampton for Sky TV and found it clashing with a previously arranged Danish League meeting – should have been granted a facility for Kenneth Bjerre’s absence. Bjerre is Danish, and was understandably keen on honouring his booking for Outrup, but the BSPA do not recognise the Danish League in the same way they do for Sweden and Poland. And while we’re at it, I still can’t for the life of me work out why Ludvig Lindgren, a Swede riding in the Swedish League on their regular race night of Tuesday, had to be replaced by a National League rider for Newcastle’s match at Berwick, which had once again been moved for TV.

I often argue that rules are rules, and that if we don’t follow the regulations set down in the SCB handbook then we risk anarchy and a free-for-all (which often happens anyway, due to the machinations of the useless BSPA MC), but there is a case for common sense being applied at all times. Nothing was gained by sticking rigidly to the rules in these cases, and dangerous precedents – if unpunished – have been set for the future. The BSPA gets a bad press pretty much every time its name is invoked and it has to be said that much of that is of its own making. It’s time to draw a line in the sand and start a new sensible era for British speedway. We have nothing to lose but the sport itself.

ITEM: The Bees got a pasting at Lakeside last night – although the score was made somewhat respectable by the Herculean efforts of a rejuvenated Krzystzof Kasprzak – and much was made by the commentary team of Scott Nicholls’s absence through injury. Perhaps it is time, they argued, for a squad system in British speedway?

We’ve been down this road before, and never with a satisfactory outcome because the logistics of a squad system are difficult – almost impossible, I’d wager – to overcome in a sport that is not exactly awash with cash. Few clubs could afford to have riders standing by – particularly with equipment ready to go – and those that could would probably do so only through the largesse of wealthy benefactors rather than their own money.

What could ease the impact of losing a vital rider is a tweaking and relaxing of the rules regarding replacements so that the options available are increased and varied, rather than having only one choice.

To take last night, for example, if Coventry had been allowed to use R/R or a guest, I’d wager they may have gone for a guest. If they were able to use a guest from a list of any riders with an Elite League GSA, they may have even found a Lakeside specialist not currently riding in the UK but willing to jump on a plane for a one-off appearance. Maybe if they were able to use a guest up to either Nicholls’s current average or his average around Lakeside over the past few seasons (whichever is higher), the meeting may have been closer.

And take this Friday, too, when Coventry will be without Kasprzak and Summers (as well as Allen, who can be ably covered by R/R), and when replacements are limited in their scope and ability. Rather than book a guest up to Kasprzak’s average, and another up to Summers’s, would it not be more flexible to be able to book two guests up to their combined average?

There are options to be considered before we try and work out how a squad system might work, but it would take sharp minds and brave thinking to get there. Despite my criticisms of the BSPA such men do gather round their table from time to time and occasionally good ideas come out of their jollies to Spain and, erm, Rugby. You never know…

ITEM: New tracks are as rare as hen’s teeth in British speedway and when they do come along it’s important they get things right from the off. Leicester have had their issues after inexplicably building a rubbish track despite having a blank canvas to work with, but they seem to be stable as a club in the third season. Dudley, the previous new club (although not new track) could count on a solid, existing fanbase but have worked hard to keep and increase it, with much success.

Which brings us to Kent, who began life in the National League a month ago, and have seen some big crowds flock into their Sittingbourne stadium, despite the ludicrous 6.30pm start time. Apart from an opening day win over an “American Internationals” side which only featured only two-and-a-half Americans, the Kings have yet to taste victory, and indeed have never looked even near taking the points, which must have the new fans scratching their heads in wonder. This is absolutely down to the team-building, but also owes a little to the fixture planning, of which more a little later.

Whoever put the Kings’ team together – and the clues would seem to point at Len Silver – got it badly wrong. Going with a strong number one is commendable, but not when he takes up almost 30% of your available points. Steve Boxall – for it is he – was looking for a way back into the sport after some issues in previous seasons, and can’t be criticised for taking the job, but he’s lost almost a third of his starting average already.

Tracking Boxall meant that if the Kings were to also have able back-up, they had to field a very long tail. I’m sure somewhere in the plans was Robert Lambert, who would make a mockery of a 3.00 average in the NL (as have Adam Ellis and Max Clegg) but he didn’t appear, and the four – yes, four – 3.00 riders they did sign have been less than impressive.

Yes, as I’ve said before, the National League is about more than a winning side – it’s about providing opportunities to the kind of riders who are struggling in their first steps in the sport at Kent – but the Kings management have an eye on greater things (Premier League, at least, I’d say) and have a duty of care to their own future to track a winning team and keep the fans coming back week after week.

Which is why, if I were in charge of arranging the fixture list at Central Park, I wouldn’t have programmed title favourites the Isle of Wight as the first competitive visitors to the stadium, nor followed that up with a Mildenhall side with plenty of track time under their belts. There are sides who are – and will – struggle in the NL this season, and I’m sure even the hardiest of Buxton and Stoke fans might agree that their teams would have been better cannon fodder for the nascent Kings than the powerhouse teams they have entertained so far.

It’s not too late to save Kent – it’s very early days, after all – and new averages should soon mean a lot more firepower can be brought into the side. I desperately want them to succeed, even if their odd running time means I’m unlikely to visit for a while, and wish them all the luck in the world.