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6 minutes ago, Byker Biker said:

There you go, if your name was Burbidge I'd bury you :o

I can assure you it isn't!

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2 hours ago, BuxtonTiger said:

Fans, who pay the money that pay your wages. Ignore them at your peril. No fans, no speedway, no job.

hours ago, frigbo said:

The Kyle Bickley interview in today's Speedway Star speaks volumes of riders' mentality.

A quick soundbite about the impact on the fans and then paragraphs about how "I" and "me" will suffer.

 

 

Don't talk absolute rubbish. The lad has lost his job and as hard as it is for the fans, it's nothing compared to the riders. It's their livelihood and we're at a point now where it's getting harder and harder each year to truly make a living in speedway. And let's not pretend that Bickley hasn't been loyal to workington. It says a lot when a rider admits he was aware the situation wasn't good, more than likely had offers elsewhere and still sticks with them. That speaks great volume to a young rider like Kyle who could've easily moved on but didn't and unfortunately he's now paying the price.

 

Out of all of the riders he's probably the most fortunate as he is more likely to pick up another team. But until he has another team, then it simply means nothing.

Edited by spin king junior
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16 hours ago, Fourentee said:

Having interviewed Kyle on more than one occasion (not the one being discussed!) I can confirm that he conducts himself honestly, candidly and in a very mature fashion. He certainly values supporters and will always give a straight and thoughtful answer to a straight question. I'm pleased to see him sticking up for himself here.

For what it's worth, I have a high regard for Frigbo's forum contributions but respectfully suggest he's just misread this one a touch. 

Thanks, appreciate that.

I would readily admit that I do have a generally dim view of the modern speedway rider and have a strong belief that their selfishness and expectation that they can be professional at a relatively low level, have gone a long way to help create the mess the sport is in the UK right now. To be fair that probably means I read most rider comments through those eyes, and did so here.

I guess I thought Kyle, if anyone, would have expressed more of a concern on the loss of his local club and the impact that would have on the local community.

Riders need to start looking at the bigger picture,  and can't expect to make a living from speedway alone whilst clubs stretch themselves to breaking point.

Edited by frigbo
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6 hours ago, frigbo said:

 (Thanks, appreciate that.

I would readily admit that I do have a generally dim view of the modern speedway rider and have a strong belief that their selfishness  and expectation that they can be professional at a relatively low level has gone a long way to help create the mess the sport is in the UK right now. To be fair that probably means I read most rider comments through those eyes and did so here.

I guess I thought Kyle if anyone would have expressed more of a concern on the loss of his local club and the impact that would have on the local community.

Riders need to start looking at the bigger picture and can't expect to make a living from speedway alone whilst clubs stretch themselves to breaking point.

Up to a point, I agree.

In 1978 (when British speedway had a remarkable 38  teams) Tony Davey took to the press to state that to buy a new engine he had to sell his car. At the time, Davey was a 9.5 heat leader in the British League and an England international, so its fair to say he was a top rider if not in the world class category.  To my knowledge, at the time he and his brother ran a garage.Tom Owen, the unquestioned NL star during the late 1970's, ran a plant hire business during his racing days. I could name 4 or 5 other similar examples here.

How many current riders(NL excepted) have other employment during the season ? 

Truth is speedway has never been a full time occupation for the overwhelming majority of riders, with only the really top boys managing that. These days, however, it seems to me that that is precisely their expectation and it is why we have the blight on British Speedway called uncontrolled doubling up. 

It also seems to me that the only thing that is off the table when considering the future of the sport is riders wages. Given the proportion of overall expenses that that accounts for, it must surely be considered although it can reasonably be argued that that is as much the fault of promotions who pay far more than they can afford. 

Make no mistake, I have every sympathy for Kyle Bickley and make no criticism of his view. He stayed loyal to Workington, only to lose his team place with no hope in the short term of getting another. That, however, shouldn't be allowed to cloud an issue - ie riders making a living from speedway - that is, as you have said, right at the heart of the sport's problems.

Edited by Halifaxtiger
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7 hours ago, spin king junior said:

 

Don't talk absolute rubbish. The lad has lost his job and as hard as it is for the fans, it's nothing compared to the riders. It's their livelihood and we're at a point now where it's getting harder and harder each year to truly make a living in speedway. And let's not pretend that Bickley hasn't been loyal to workington. It says a lot when a rider admits he was aware the situation wasn't good, more than likely had offers elsewhere and still sticks with them. That speaks great volume to a young rider like Kyle who could've easily moved on but didn't and unfortunately he's now paying the price.

 

Out of all of the riders he's probably the most fortunate as he is more likely to pick up another team. But until he has another team, then it simply means nothing.

Hard as it is for the fans, for some of them it must feel like the end of the word. I know it did for me when Wimbledon closed. Riders will never have the same attachment to clubs like the supporters do, they just move on to the next job. The days of one club men like Ronnie Moore are well an truly over. How would you feel if Sheffield shut?.

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16 hours ago, kyle bickley racing said:

And what do you want me to talk about the company I was employed by is no more 2018 cost over 30k I have invested 10k for 2019 already and you want me to talk about fans 

Hope this is a troll account, if not then what a dumb thing to post. 

Without fans you’d have to get a proper job. I’m sure there are plenty of Workington fans who have ploughed more than £40k into supporting the club over the years. A rider can find another club to race for, once a club dies then its fans have lost it potentially forever. 

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16 hours ago, kyle bickley racing said:

And what do you want me to talk about the company I was employed by is no more 2018 cost over 30k I have invested 10k for 2019 already and you want me to talk about fans 

one could argue if you have invested over £40k in last 13 months you are either brave or crazy;) [that figure is totally unsustainable at this level of speedway]

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18 hours ago, kyle bickley racing said:

And what do you want me to talk about the company I was employed by is no more 2018 cost over 30k I have invested 10k for 2019 already and you want me to talk about fans 

With all due respect those figures are meaningless without any supplied context. 2018 cost 30k but how much income did you receive, how much was your signing on figure? How much was covered by the mega sponsorship deals you have? 

10k has been ploughed into 2019 already on what? and by who? Be very careful how you react to things even if you feel provoked as fans of the sport have long memories and outbursts however cheesed off you are will always bite you back.

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11 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

With all due respect those figures are meaningless without any supplied context. 2018 cost 30k but how much income did you receive, how much was your signing on figure? How much was covered by the mega sponsorship deals you have? 

10k has been ploughed into 2019 already on what? and by who? Be very careful how you react to things even if you feel provoked as fans of the sport have long memories and outbursts however cheesed off you are will always bite you back.

10k on making things look pretty and fancy helmet designs which obviously win you races ...maybe grandad bickley should invest in Workington speedway to keep Kyle in a job .

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In today’s Times and Star Kyle is quoted as feeling sorry for the fans and local community. As everyone knows he’s a great prospect, I think he’ll have another team before long. It’s Mason I feel most sorry for, bad news for all of them though. 

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Shame the team sponsor, Thomas Armstrong (Holdings), couldn't help somehow. Their accounts show that at September 2017 they had a net worth of £123m including £30m in the bank. Perhaps they have had a tough time in the last 12 months.

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On 1/18/2019 at 8:58 AM, montie said:

one could argue if you have invested over £40k in last 13 months you are either brave or crazy;) [that figure is totally unsustainable at this level of speedway]

Totally agree on the unsustainablity at the level, however as the parent of a junior rider it cost us circa £10k to run last year for the 125cc class. We don’t run brand new frames both bikes are 6 years old always use part worn tyres tyres picked up,at tracks(except for international meetings) and always look for most cost effective solutions tho replacing parts.This year is probably going to cost more due to the plans in place for progress . We have some very good sponsors who help massively and without them it would be almost impossible to compete at the level we do

i don’t have any answers to reduce the cost or on how it could be cheaper 

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14 hours ago, woofers said:

Shame the team sponsor, Thomas Armstrong (Holdings), couldn't help somehow. Their accounts show that at September 2017 they had a net worth of £123m including £30m in the bank. Perhaps they have had a tough time in the last 12 months.

The man in charge is his own man he answers to no one so helping some other promoter aint going to happen i did allways think he would step in rather than see it close wrong again.

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