ITEM: For a conference held at what many consider to be a crossroads for
the sport in this country, there was precious little done to change the
fortunes of British speedway at the AGM last weekend.
I'll be having a look at the decisions made over the next few weeks - as well as those they didn't make - but my overwhelming feeling is one of missed opportunity, something I know is also felt by a couple of promoters who were drowned out by the "nothing's wrong" brigade.
To start with, let's have a look at the latest fuzzy rule to ensure team strengths are even, at least at the top - no more than two riders from the top twenty available. As clear as that sounds, and in a perfect world each team would have two, and all twenty would find places, it's a little more complicated.
Upon announcement - not done officially, but by Poole co-promoter Gordon Pairman - there was frenzied debate over who would make the list.
Would it be the top twenty of all riders who rode in the EL in 2012? Because that list included the late Lee Richardson, as well as Joonas Kylmakorpi, who'd already ruled himself out of British speedway in 2013. It also included Darcy Ward, Adrian Miedzinski, and Ryan Sullivan - all unlikely to commit to a full season.
Or maybe it would be a list containing those riders who were declared in 1-7s at the end of the season? This would remove Richardson and Miedzinski, but still contain Kylmakorpi, Ward, and Sullivan, and furthermore not include Kenneth Bjerre!
Or perhaps it would be a list of those committed to riding in the EL in 2013? But how would you create such a list, without already signing them to teams?!?
The doubt, and scorn poured on what seemed to be an ill-thought out idea, was assuaged a little when Birmingham co-promoter Graham Drury announced, at a fans' forum, that it would be all those appearing in the final greensheet averages, minus Lee Richardson*. This still includes Kylmakorpi, Ward, and Sullivan, but also Bjerre, and is probably as near as effective as you're going to get.
This isn't the first attempt in recent seasons to share the top talent around. Remember the "one over eight" rule? Despite an attempt to re-write history by Matt Ford and his apologists, this rule was brought in for 2011 for no other reason than to hamper the chances of the champions, Coventry Bees, who had humiliated Ford's Poole Pirates in the 2010 play-offs.
The rule ensured each team had a rider over eight points, except it didn't because Eastbourne used Bjarne Pedersen as their number one, and he was on exactly eight points. This meant that, whether he intended to ride or not, there was no place in British speedway for Matej Zagar.
And this is the danger of the current ruling. It looks as though, once again, Eastbourne will choose to go against the grain, and have only one rider from the list. The inclusion of Kylmakorpi, Ward, and Sullivan gives some wiggle room for that to happen, but we could find ourselves in the position of losing a loyal servant to British speedway because of a half-added attempt to even out teams.
Of course, the previous rule was thrown out after a year, having served its purpose to hand Poole the title, so who knows what the future will bring for this one?
* In addition, the list contains riders of the same sort of quality who haven't ridden in the EL before or who did not ride in 2012. Those who have not ridden in the EL - or who haven't attained an EL average - will be assessed by the new, independent assessor (and more of that next week). You could also imagine that riders who haven't ridden here for some time might also get assessed, but I take nothing for granted in speedway. Given all that, the list of "top riders" should look something like this:
2012 Top 20:
Darcy Ward 9.76
Chris Holder 9.67
Niels-Kristian Iversen 8.84
Tai Woffinden 8.80
Fredrik Lindgren 8.68
Peter Karlsson 8.61
Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.39
Adrian Miedzinski 8.21
Hans Andersen 8.18
Kenneth Bjerre 8.18
Davey Watt 8.06
Troy Batchelor 7.94
Chris Harris 7.91
Linus Sundstrom 7.87
Scott Nicholls 7.82
Ryan Sullivan 7.72
Joonas Kylmakorpi 7.56
Danny King 7.47
Bjarne Pedersen 7.35
Rory Schlein 7.33
Did Not Ride In 2012:
Jason Crump 11.07 (2008)
Andreas Jonsson 9.66 (2008)
Tomasz Gollob 9.52 (2000)
Greg Hancock 8.77 (2006)
Nicki Pedersen 8.61 (2011)
Jarek Hampel 8.28 (2008)
Matej Zagar 8.04 (2010)
Antonio Lindback 7.94 (2006)
Piotr Protasiewicz 7.67 (2006)
No EL Average:
Emil Sayfutdinov
Martin Vaculik
Rune Holta
ITEM: So there'll be no Leicester in the Elite League for 2013. Various reasons have been trumpeted, none of which would satisfy me if I were an ambitious Leicester fan, but it's often what's not reported that is most interesting.
The writing was on the wall last week when Matt Ford - who couldn't even be bothered to attend the AGM - declared it would be a bad idea for the Lions to come up because there was only one year left on the Sky contract, and they may find themselves short of cash from 2014 onwards.
This tells you everything you need to know about the attitude of some established promoters towards newer ones, and imagines that Ford, from his gold-plated ivory tower, believes every speedway club is struggling, hand-to-mouth, and unable to formulate a business plan that would, very probably, have taken this into account.
Chris van Straaten also expressed concern for the Premier League, arguing that admitting Leicester into the upper tier would harm the lower league - something clearly not an issue when King's Lynn (at the time the PL's strongest side) were given "incentives" to come up in 2011.
So far, so flimsy, but could it actually be that an Elite League track, and not Leicester's nearest neighbours, felt so strongly that the Lions running in the EL would damage their business that they threatened to pull out if they were admitted?
The EL has an over-inflated sense of self when it comes to this kind of thinking. Anyone who can find the time and money to watch speedway at Leicester and A.N.Other track is hardly likely to give that up because the standard got better at Beaumont Park. But a certain selfishness, and worry for the few fans they can attract, seems to override common sense in a certain corner of the EL these days.
So, yes, at least another year in the PL for Leicester, with long-haul journeys and "local" derbies with Sheffield. Keep growing, Lions, and maybe we'll see you in the EL next year when the rest of the league grows a spine.
ITEM: No "promotion", either, for Dudley, but for very different reasons. I've written before of my admiration for the club - which, I admit, can sometimes be to the detriment of the original intent for the third tier of British speedway - and I expected them to take the leap into the PL for 2013.
But their plan has always been to get back to a track of their own, within Dudley or Sandwell, and the financial risk of promotion could (and I'm sure they'd admit just as easily could not) have damaged that, and they've chosen to play it safe.
Far better, the club argue, to keep searching for that elusive site while banking the cash from their considerable crowds to enable them to build a facility worthy of second-tier speedway. Such sense, living well within their means with an eye on future success, should be the model at a couple of Elite League clubs that are operating above their natural level, and making the rest of the league suffer for it. But I digress.
So good luck to the Heathens, and I look forward to the local derbies with the new NL Bees' team. I just hope it won't be too long before we meet in the top tier!
ITEM: According to some publicly available figures obtained this week, Belle Vue are losing in the realm of £75,000 a season. This is eye-watering stuff, and probably not unique to the Manchester track, but it does illustrate the difficulties they are experiencing.
An EL promoter told me that each person through the turnstiles is worth about £13, once concessions are factored in, and so using this sketchy maths, over a 20-meeting season, another 300 on the gate would turn that loss into a profit.
And this is where the promotion part of running an EL club comes in. Luckily, the Aces have taken a new promoter on board, and he's one with experience - he worked alongside John Perrin in what seems like a very different era. For all their big talk, Chris Morton and David Gordon have a terrible record as promoters, propping up the league table and not paying for riders, as well as throwing veiled insults at their loyal, but frustrated, fans.
Every speedway fan wants Belle Vue to compete and not blight the sport. Let's hope George Carswell has that magic touch - another season like the last five could do irreparable damage to the Aces and to speedway as a whole.
I'll be having a look at the decisions made over the next few weeks - as well as those they didn't make - but my overwhelming feeling is one of missed opportunity, something I know is also felt by a couple of promoters who were drowned out by the "nothing's wrong" brigade.
To start with, let's have a look at the latest fuzzy rule to ensure team strengths are even, at least at the top - no more than two riders from the top twenty available. As clear as that sounds, and in a perfect world each team would have two, and all twenty would find places, it's a little more complicated.
Upon announcement - not done officially, but by Poole co-promoter Gordon Pairman - there was frenzied debate over who would make the list.
Would it be the top twenty of all riders who rode in the EL in 2012? Because that list included the late Lee Richardson, as well as Joonas Kylmakorpi, who'd already ruled himself out of British speedway in 2013. It also included Darcy Ward, Adrian Miedzinski, and Ryan Sullivan - all unlikely to commit to a full season.
Or maybe it would be a list containing those riders who were declared in 1-7s at the end of the season? This would remove Richardson and Miedzinski, but still contain Kylmakorpi, Ward, and Sullivan, and furthermore not include Kenneth Bjerre!
Or perhaps it would be a list of those committed to riding in the EL in 2013? But how would you create such a list, without already signing them to teams?!?
The doubt, and scorn poured on what seemed to be an ill-thought out idea, was assuaged a little when Birmingham co-promoter Graham Drury announced, at a fans' forum, that it would be all those appearing in the final greensheet averages, minus Lee Richardson*. This still includes Kylmakorpi, Ward, and Sullivan, but also Bjerre, and is probably as near as effective as you're going to get.
This isn't the first attempt in recent seasons to share the top talent around. Remember the "one over eight" rule? Despite an attempt to re-write history by Matt Ford and his apologists, this rule was brought in for 2011 for no other reason than to hamper the chances of the champions, Coventry Bees, who had humiliated Ford's Poole Pirates in the 2010 play-offs.
The rule ensured each team had a rider over eight points, except it didn't because Eastbourne used Bjarne Pedersen as their number one, and he was on exactly eight points. This meant that, whether he intended to ride or not, there was no place in British speedway for Matej Zagar.
And this is the danger of the current ruling. It looks as though, once again, Eastbourne will choose to go against the grain, and have only one rider from the list. The inclusion of Kylmakorpi, Ward, and Sullivan gives some wiggle room for that to happen, but we could find ourselves in the position of losing a loyal servant to British speedway because of a half-added attempt to even out teams.
Of course, the previous rule was thrown out after a year, having served its purpose to hand Poole the title, so who knows what the future will bring for this one?
* In addition, the list contains riders of the same sort of quality who haven't ridden in the EL before or who did not ride in 2012. Those who have not ridden in the EL - or who haven't attained an EL average - will be assessed by the new, independent assessor (and more of that next week). You could also imagine that riders who haven't ridden here for some time might also get assessed, but I take nothing for granted in speedway. Given all that, the list of "top riders" should look something like this:
2012 Top 20:
Darcy Ward 9.76
Chris Holder 9.67
Niels-Kristian Iversen 8.84
Tai Woffinden 8.80
Fredrik Lindgren 8.68
Peter Karlsson 8.61
Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.39
Adrian Miedzinski 8.21
Hans Andersen 8.18
Kenneth Bjerre 8.18
Davey Watt 8.06
Troy Batchelor 7.94
Chris Harris 7.91
Linus Sundstrom 7.87
Scott Nicholls 7.82
Ryan Sullivan 7.72
Joonas Kylmakorpi 7.56
Danny King 7.47
Bjarne Pedersen 7.35
Rory Schlein 7.33
Did Not Ride In 2012:
Jason Crump 11.07 (2008)
Andreas Jonsson 9.66 (2008)
Tomasz Gollob 9.52 (2000)
Greg Hancock 8.77 (2006)
Nicki Pedersen 8.61 (2011)
Jarek Hampel 8.28 (2008)
Matej Zagar 8.04 (2010)
Antonio Lindback 7.94 (2006)
Piotr Protasiewicz 7.67 (2006)
No EL Average:
Emil Sayfutdinov
Martin Vaculik
Rune Holta
ITEM: So there'll be no Leicester in the Elite League for 2013. Various reasons have been trumpeted, none of which would satisfy me if I were an ambitious Leicester fan, but it's often what's not reported that is most interesting.
The writing was on the wall last week when Matt Ford - who couldn't even be bothered to attend the AGM - declared it would be a bad idea for the Lions to come up because there was only one year left on the Sky contract, and they may find themselves short of cash from 2014 onwards.
This tells you everything you need to know about the attitude of some established promoters towards newer ones, and imagines that Ford, from his gold-plated ivory tower, believes every speedway club is struggling, hand-to-mouth, and unable to formulate a business plan that would, very probably, have taken this into account.
Chris van Straaten also expressed concern for the Premier League, arguing that admitting Leicester into the upper tier would harm the lower league - something clearly not an issue when King's Lynn (at the time the PL's strongest side) were given "incentives" to come up in 2011.
So far, so flimsy, but could it actually be that an Elite League track, and not Leicester's nearest neighbours, felt so strongly that the Lions running in the EL would damage their business that they threatened to pull out if they were admitted?
The EL has an over-inflated sense of self when it comes to this kind of thinking. Anyone who can find the time and money to watch speedway at Leicester and A.N.Other track is hardly likely to give that up because the standard got better at Beaumont Park. But a certain selfishness, and worry for the few fans they can attract, seems to override common sense in a certain corner of the EL these days.
So, yes, at least another year in the PL for Leicester, with long-haul journeys and "local" derbies with Sheffield. Keep growing, Lions, and maybe we'll see you in the EL next year when the rest of the league grows a spine.
ITEM: No "promotion", either, for Dudley, but for very different reasons. I've written before of my admiration for the club - which, I admit, can sometimes be to the detriment of the original intent for the third tier of British speedway - and I expected them to take the leap into the PL for 2013.
But their plan has always been to get back to a track of their own, within Dudley or Sandwell, and the financial risk of promotion could (and I'm sure they'd admit just as easily could not) have damaged that, and they've chosen to play it safe.
Far better, the club argue, to keep searching for that elusive site while banking the cash from their considerable crowds to enable them to build a facility worthy of second-tier speedway. Such sense, living well within their means with an eye on future success, should be the model at a couple of Elite League clubs that are operating above their natural level, and making the rest of the league suffer for it. But I digress.
So good luck to the Heathens, and I look forward to the local derbies with the new NL Bees' team. I just hope it won't be too long before we meet in the top tier!
ITEM: According to some publicly available figures obtained this week, Belle Vue are losing in the realm of £75,000 a season. This is eye-watering stuff, and probably not unique to the Manchester track, but it does illustrate the difficulties they are experiencing.
An EL promoter told me that each person through the turnstiles is worth about £13, once concessions are factored in, and so using this sketchy maths, over a 20-meeting season, another 300 on the gate would turn that loss into a profit.
And this is where the promotion part of running an EL club comes in. Luckily, the Aces have taken a new promoter on board, and he's one with experience - he worked alongside John Perrin in what seems like a very different era. For all their big talk, Chris Morton and David Gordon have a terrible record as promoters, propping up the league table and not paying for riders, as well as throwing veiled insults at their loyal, but frustrated, fans.
Every speedway fan wants Belle Vue to compete and not blight the sport. Let's hope George Carswell has that magic touch - another season like the last five could do irreparable damage to the Aces and to speedway as a whole.
Brilliant as usual Alan. I really think your blogs should be printed in the Speedway Star.
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