Chris Brown

While there is a lot of talk about gambles financially, I guess the bit we do not know is what the financial incentive has been for Oxford and Birmingham to go into the top flight and prop it up. Without them it would probably be dead. I suspect there are some decent benefits for the move which may protect them slightly

Problem is that they don't answer but Rob didn't comment on whether he thought that was an acceptable either

So just so I understand, we are now comparing getting 1500 to 2000 people into Cowley every week to a Silverstone formula 1 and the Cardiff GP and using those as a good comparison Well Rob. I call that comparing apples with pears. It's just not a credible discussion. Those are mega events trying to deal with tens of thousands of people as opposed to whenever you come to the turn styles at Oxford speedway there may be 6 to 10 people in front of you It's simply not a credible arguement but I am absolutely certain there is nothing you will accept is wrong with Oxford You didn't answer that question about how many other clubs you visited this season who often no facility to pay on the day other than with a pre-book ticket on an app. I suspect I know the answer why

Apologies for being a luddite Rob and being stuck decades back. You have addressed none of the points I raised, of course programmes should be cash, its a few quid. Without doubt a fall back of the track shop is positive so well done for that To argue that a rain off at 1pm justifies the ease of advance payment is nonsense because pay on the gate nobody has bought a ticket as at the point of calling off so struggling with that argument. I do understand that for the one rain off last season it was easier. I would also argue that for the one meeting I purchased in advance and then due to family illness I was unable to attend and therefore lost my £18 was a good argument for NOT having to pay in advance. Its swings and roundabouts but I had no choice but to lose my money.........unless I had paid for insurance. Just for comparison, if I purchase a ticket for Oxford United and cannot attend then OUFC will refund my ticket as long as it was before the game. Oxford Speedway do not offer that luxury So if you do not want to pay for each meeting in advance at the time you can for EVERY meeting in at the start of the season, OK that is a cracking response, not sure I see the link but then I am stuck in the past. Good to see you dismiss all the fans on here as not interested in modern day speedway, I am sure they are all over the moon with being dismissed as luddites with me I did not see my points as a moan, I believe it was constructive and I tried to balance my point with positives and negatives but as I also said there are some who want to blow smoke and will not accept any points. I actually take your comment as somewhat offensive to suggest that a moan because its not like 2007. If that was aimed at me then yep, I am offended. Paying with a debit card is not 2007, its how the vast majority of transactions take place including at all the bars where you do not have to prepay through an app Having said all that, fair play to you for responding, you are the closest thing to the club who does respond. Out of interest is the club mailbox attended and do you think a response should be expected ? If not then I suggest the club do not publish it, email was of course around in 2007 but is still live today.................unless I have to put my questions in advance in an app ! Just out of interest, you made the point that tracks would have upfront payment with no option on the gate. How many tracks did you visit last year that had no option to pay either with cash or debit card on the day. As its the way forward I am just interested to know Apologies for daring to say that not everything is perfect. I also do not frequent this forum any more and thank you for reminding me why

Do you think that it is reasonable that the club respond to a question about this subject though? You can argue the debate was had but never answered

Steve, likewise to see you are about. Even notice Steve Shovlar is still about. Like going back 20 years mate Hope you are keeping well

To pick up on a couple of points I emailed club@oxfordspeedway.club which is the email address for General Enquiries. I mailed on 3 January and 25 January and never heard anything. The club were happy to contact me and ask for contacts for potential sponsorship though ! I support not taking cash on the day and why would any club want to ? What I do not understand is why a debit card cannot be used for admission, not everyone has a smart phone but pretty much everyone has a debit card. Once you enter the stadium you can only pay cash for your programme and at the bars you can only use a debit card. You do not have to pre-book your drinks the day before on an app and have to pay more for a pint if you have not pre-booked it. Debit cards are a universally convenient way of paying. I understand that paying with a debit card means some sort of readmission ticket needs to be given but that could be a receipt from the debit card. You could of course incentivise people to pay in advance through the app and reduce the charge and make it more expensive on the day to use a debit card, that would possibly encourage the use of the app. Increasing the price £2 on the day is nonsense and the reluctance of the club to offer an explanation is disappointing I accept that some football clubs are more expensive on the day but I do hope that speedway is not comparing itsself with football. Speedway has to work harder for its spectators than football and should not be complacement I am delighted to see Oxford back and there are so many things about the way the club is run that are just brilliant, the track is a transformation from the last incarnation, the stadium itself has had a real spruce up, the track equipment is at another level, the renewing of the pits on the back straight is really good but that does not mean that there are things that could be better and I guess the disappointing thing is that not responding to an email is a conscious choice, somebody should have read that and twice made the decision to ignore it and not respond. For me that is not something any body who is trying to attract people to come through the door should do whether they like the question ot not There are a fair few Oxford fans who knock anyone who is not constantly blowing smoke up the rear ends of the club but to grow you have to listen to your customers Just my view

That is an interesting concept. I have done that on two occasions so far to ask why it an online ticket is more expensive on the day....... Never received an answer to either I am resigned to having to get an online ticket each time, understand and support no cash but do not understand why a debit card cannot be used. You can use it at the bars throughout the stadium Still cannot fathom the need to charge £2 more on the day, feels like we should be encouraging people rather than exploiting the people making a last minute decision

Suggestion was on local radio that 4 riders are signed but these things get drip fed to maximise the impact

Similar timeline for me since last posting about Oxford on here. Great to see the club back and lets hope the fans have retained their enthusiasm for the sport. That plus an opportunity to introduce new fans is hopefully a recipe for success. Good luck to Jamie in making it happen All the hard work from so many people has paid off

Apologies if this is not the right place but I am clearing out the loft and have back copies of the Speedway Star which I am looking to get rid of 1st copy was the one covering the 1985 Bradford World Final and I stopped collecting in October 2016. The first 20 odd years are bundled and tied in date sequence with none missing, the last few years may be a bit hit or miss As you can imagine its a big bundle so if anyone wants them then they are welcome to them but will need to collect from Oxford PM me if there is any interest

Apologies if this is not the right place but I am clearing out the loft and have back copies of the Speedway Star which I am looking to get rid of 1st copy was the one covering the 1985 Bradford World Final and I stopped collecting in October 2016. The first 20 odd years are bundled and tied in date sequence with none missing, the last few years may be a bit hit or miss As you can imagine its a big bundle so if anyone wants them then they are welcome to them but will need to collect from Oxford PM me if there is any interest

Apologies if this is not the right place but I am clearing out the loft and have back copies of the Speedway Star which I am looking to get rid of 1st copy was the one covering the 1985 Bradford World Final and I stopped collecting in October 2016. The first 20 odd years are bundled and tied in date sequence with none missing, the last few years may be a bit hit or miss As you can imagine its a big bundle so if anyone wants them then they are welcome to them but will need to collect from Oxford PM me if there is any interest

Very sad to hear. Bob was a good guy who gave a lot to this great sport RIP

There were indeed some great tributes in what was a really good service. A good number of people, at a guess 100-120 and the service was a fitting send off to the old boy