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An intriguing comment uk martin! What did happen to Chris Simpson - where, why and when please!

A decent guy who made Coventry and Perry Barr much better places to attend with his very clever music and centre green work.

Unfortunately he managed to upset the " establishment" and that was the end of his good work at the speedway.

Yet another case of the BSPA being stuck in the 1950's with their thinking.

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I always thought Chris Simpson did a good job at Coventry and Birmingham especially with the music and trying to build atmosphere, the year that he did Cardiff was another very good production which created an amazing atmosphere.

 

The problem was on the microphone Chris always said what he thought and got himself into quite a bit of trouble with refs and promotors. The final straw was the playoffs final at Perry Barr which Poole won and Chris played Abba Money Money for their victory parade

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Without being biased , Michael Max at Glasgow is as good as anybody currently doing a centre green . I like Roy Clarke ,who's took over from Dick Barrie at Berwick , he was very good at the PL 4's at Peterborough the last couple of years . And Kevin Long at Ipswich is very good too .

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I always thought Chris Simpson did a good job at Coventry and Birmingham especially with the music and trying to build atmosphere, the year that he did Cardiff was another very good production which created an amazing atmosphere.

 

The problem was on the microphone Chris always said what he thought and got himself into quite a bit of trouble with refs and promotors. The final straw was the playoffs final at Perry Barr which Poole won and Chris played Abba Money Money for their victory parade

What a sad indictment of speedway officialdom that is . Do they realise we are now in the 21st century I wonder?

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I remember Phil Jones (now of BBC Olympic coverage fame) being very good at the old BV dog bowl circa late eighties/early nineties..

 

Where did it all go wrong for him?😂

 

I may have mentioned this before on another thread a long time ago, but this thread has just reminded me of one particular brilliant bit of presentation I saw at Bradford in 1990, first match of the season..

 

The presenter (I think Terry Hardaker) had seven cheerleaders all hold up a sign each to the Grandstand...

 

In a line the signs all read out DUKES 90...

 

He then asked the girls to turn round and show the crowd on the back straight where we were, who were obviously wondering what was written...

 

The girls turned round and proudly held aloft...

 

09 SEKUD......😂

 

Speedway presentation probably hasn't moved on too much in the ensuing years at most venues!!

 

Priceless😁

Edited by mikebv
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Without being biased , Michael Max at Glasgow is as good as anybody currently doing a centre green . I like Roy Clarke ,who's took over from Dick Barrie at Berwick , he was very good at the PL 4's at Peterborough the last couple of years . And Kevin Long at Ipswich is very good too .

 

I'd agree with all those (except maybe Roy Clarke :P:D !). I'd add Dave Hoggart (now at Workington, but previously at Sheffield). The guy at Edinburgh keeps you informed and does interviews to keep you interested.

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Overzealous and unesacary rules and regulations don't allow for characters nowadays I'm afraid, even telling a ref to go to specsavers on the phone can get you fined.

Part of the reason Speedway will go down the pan.

 

Who can forget the days of Jack Millen storming up to the Referee's Box to 'politely' query a decision on occasions.

 

The same Jack Millen who kicked some lights at Peterborough, I think it was? He needed a Police escort from the Stadium.

 

Ron Wilson at Teesside loved Jack Millen - he always reckoned that Jack could add 500 on to the Gate at Cleveland Park.

 

Why? Because he was a CHARACTER, an ENTERTAINER - probably would not be allowed to race nowadays.

 

People wonder why Gates are down, at least part of the reason is there are no Characters/Entertainers/Villains to attract them.

 

All very sad.

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What a sad indictment of speedway officialdom that is . Do they realise we are now in the 21st century I wonder?

It says more about you if you condemn a club owner for not allowing a mic man to say what he wants to say and damage his business, rather that the big man picking up the losses having in input. Pie in the SKY thinking. It is not allowed in other sports so why should it be in speedway to allow an individual the opportunity to damage your business publicly.

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It says more about you if you condemn a club owner for not allowing a mic man to say what he wants to say and damage his business, rather that the big man picking up the losses having in input. Pie in the SKY thinking. It is not allowed in other sports so why should it be in speedway to allow an individual the opportunity to damage your business publicly.

I expected that if anyone responded to my post it would be you, doing your policing of the forum as usual.

 

There are plenty of people involved in running this sport doing a lot more damage than Chris Simpson could ever do.

 

Take a look at the state the sport is in currently and consider whether he was a major offender.

Edited by Dave Jones
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I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the late Ted Sear. He, in my opinion, was the epitome of announcing and never showed any bias. He was, rightly, very well respected in the sport.

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I always thought Chris Simpson did a good job at Coventry and Birmingham especially with the music and trying to build atmosphere, the year that he did Cardiff was another very good production which created an amazing atmosphere.

 

The problem was on the microphone Chris always said what he thought and got himself into quite a bit of trouble with refs and promotors. The final straw was the playoffs final at Perry Barr which Poole won and Chris played Abba Money Money for their victory parade

chris is arguably the best speedway has had and so what if he spoke his mind , speedway needs people like chris

Just been to Stoke & their guy sounds like the late Dustin gee,only his jokes were older😁

(Chase me)

it reminded me of Austin powers whence was from the 70s and put in 2017 , he was cringworthy Edited by THE DEAN MACHINE
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I expected that if anyone responded to my post it would be you, doing your policing of the forum as usual.

 

There are plenty of people involved in running this sport doing a lot more damage than Chris Simpson could ever do.

 

Take a look at the state the sport is in currently and consider whether he was a major offender.

So if you ran a small business with breakeven or a loss, you would allow an employee to make possibly defamatory remarks to others on a mic. S**t for brains thinking. The promoter is the one that stands to be cautioned by the BSPA or the SCB for what the programme, the presenter or the mic man says or behaves during the meeting.

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So if you ran a small business with breakeven or a loss, you would allow an employee to make possibly defamatory remarks to others on a mic. S**t for brains thinking. The promoter is the one that stands to be cautioned by the BSPA or the SCB for what the programme, the presenter or the mic man says or behaves during the meeting.

So in your world it's important to keep an announcer under control in order to minimize the risk of a fine, but the same promoters can carry on trading , moving around different tracks leaving debts to riders , stadium owners, and other parties unpaid. In my view your priorities are in the wrong place. But then I can't say I'm surprised, I think I'll stick with my Sh**t for brains thinking thanks.

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You seem to be thinking you can only have one extreme or the other. No one is saying that the person on the Mike should be given carte blanche to harm your business but nor should they be gagged to the extent that it becomes bland.

 

Someone mentioned it not being done at football, that's not true. Glasgows Michael Max had a break from the presenting at Glasgow after issues over fines (I seem to recall there was also a presenter pulled up for supposedly announcing a race result when he said A is followed home by b and then c with d failing to finish.). Michael continued in his usual manner at Partick Thistle however. Outwith the old firm most of the football clubs announcers up here do battle usually through music and yes it adds to the event.

 

I often took Chris Simpson the wrong way when he posted on here but as an announcer he was exactly what speedway needed and his year at Cardiff I reckon will never be surpassed. Especially with the current gagging culture

 

 

Post is in reply to :-

So if you ran a small business with breakeven or a loss, you would allow an employee to make possibly defamatory remarks to others on a mic. S**t for brains thinking. The promoter is the one that stands to be cautioned by the BSPA or the SCB for what the programme, the presenter or the mic man says or behaves during the meeting.

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You seem to be thinking you can only have one extreme or the other. No one is saying that the person on the Mike should be given carte blanche to harm your business but nor should they be gagged to the extent that it becomes bland.

 

Someone mentioned it not being done at football, that's not true. Glasgows Michael Max had a break from the presenting at Glasgow after issues over fines (I seem to recall there was also a presenter pulled up for supposedly announcing a race result when he said A is followed home by b and then c with d failing to finish.). Michael continued in his usual manner at Partick Thistle however. Outwith the old firm most of the football clubs announcers up here do battle usually through music and yes it adds to the event.

 

I often took Chris Simpson the wrong way when he posted on here but as an announcer he was exactly what speedway needed and his year at Cardiff I reckon will never be surpassed. Especially with the current gagging culture

 

 

Post is in reply to :-

 

And neither was I saying it either. Chris at time, after Cardiff, was getting a bit up himself, IMO, and he carried that over to the BSF. It was inevitable that his ego would get reeled in before the fines started from the BSPA/SCB, who after all operate the rules of the sport that the promoters own, and are governed by the ACU through the SCB. No one in their right mind, even Dave Jones, would own something and allow anybody to harm their business out of their control.

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