Poole 2020

[Arthur54 1,300]

12 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said:

https://www.poole-speedway.com/news/view/2019-10-12-fans-views-sough-as-pirates-look-to-shape-their-future

Club owner Matt Ford has revealed that the 2019 season proved to be the most difficult financially in his 21 years at the helm of the club, explaining "The change of race days from Wednesdays, our night for 50 years or more, to Thursdays had an impact on crowds. We are all creatures of habit and had got used to speedway on a Wednesday, myself included. It was not something I wanted to happen but the league chose to go with Mondays and Thursdays to avoid other international commitments.

 

"We took on a new main team sponsor, No1 Carpet Cleaning, which I can confirm has gone into liquidation owing the club a substantial amount of money – around 75 per cent of the agreed fee for 2019. After a highly successful 2018 where we saw the Pirates crowned Champions we  had hoped for an increased level in Season Ticket sales. Unfortunately although tickets went on sale as early as December, sales dropped by 20% on the previous year. Likewise gate receipts for home matches have been down 20-25% and as much as 50% lower when the club ride live on television.

 

"I have also listened to many supporters express opinions over the lack of varied opposition within the Premiership which currently has just 7 teams represented.

 

"That has led me to ask a few questions and I am therefore seeking feedback from the supporters to the questions list below. We are seeking feedback via email ONLY to info@poole-speedway.com by 8pm on Monday (14th October), so that we can consolidate the thoughts and opinions which will then help us determine how best to take the club forward in the future."

 

"I would emphasise however, that although the club still remains for sale, we are only prepared to do that should the right offer be made and it is the intentions of the current management team to still be running the club in 2020 with my son Dan taking a more hands-on role and becoming far more involved in a move that I feel certain will benefit the club. He is very keen to be  more active and his ideas to take the club forward, on a day-to-day basis and on the promotional side, are probably better than mine now, although I will be keeping an eye on certain aspects and staying heavily involved in team building."

 

"The questions that I would like you, the supporters, to consider are:

 

a) Would you prefer to see us ride in a league with more opponents and if so, how important is the level to you?  -  As an example, the Ipswich one-to-seven that came to us for the play-offs had six riders who also compete in the Championship.  We automatically see the championship  as a lower level but in reality many riders are competing in both leagues.
     
b) How much of an issue has the change of race day been to you and people you know? Specifically, how much has it impacted on your ability to attend? How many people do you know who have been unable to attend due to the change?
and, finally,

 

c)  how can we improve things to make the stadium more appealing?   I ask that bearing in mind that our stadium is rented and that means the speedway club take nothing from the sales of refreshments. While I would love to give everyone plush new surroundings like Belle Vue, what we have is what we have and that’s not a criticism of the landlord or anyone else, just the facts. I am sure we will see a certain amount of development of the site over time, including some social housing, and I see that as a positive if it means we are going to obtain a new stadium within the same grounds as part of that package.

 

So, please let us know by email as soon as possible, because it could be that your points need further review or a response and this medium will make it easier for us to get back to you should we need to clarify any further points.

So what are peoples thoughts to the 3 questions 

[Steve0 5,517]

2 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said:

I know more about the sport than you ever will. For someone to vote for brexit then lose their job because of brexit shows you are a turkey who voted for Christmas like all those in Sunderland who work for Nissan. Clueless! 

 

Why do you have to get personal? Why are you always fishing for a reaction?  Why don’t you just keep it to speedway!

[TheMessiahOfTheBSF 84]

12 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said:

https://www.poole-speedway.com/news/view/2019-10-12-fans-views-sough-as-pirates-look-to-shape-their-future

Club owner Matt Ford has revealed that the 2019 season proved to be the most difficult financially in his 21 years at the helm of the club, explaining "The change of race days from Wednesdays, our night for 50 years or more, to Thursdays had an impact on crowds. We are all creatures of habit and had got used to speedway on a Wednesday, myself included. It was not something I wanted to happen but the league chose to go with Mondays and Thursdays to avoid other international commitments.

 

"We took on a new main team sponsor, No1 Carpet Cleaning, which I can confirm has gone into liquidation owing the club a substantial amount of money – around 75 per cent of the agreed fee for 2019. After a highly successful 2018 where we saw the Pirates crowned Champions we  had hoped for an increased level in Season Ticket sales. Unfortunately although tickets went on sale as early as December, sales dropped by 20% on the previous year. Likewise gate receipts for home matches have been down 20-25% and as much as 50% lower when the club ride live on television.

 

"I have also listened to many supporters express opinions over the lack of varied opposition within the Premiership which currently has just 7 teams represented.

 

"That has led me to ask a few questions and I am therefore seeking feedback from the supporters to the questions list below. We are seeking feedback via email ONLY to info@poole-speedway.com by 8pm on Monday (14th October), so that we can consolidate the thoughts and opinions which will then help us determine how best to take the club forward in the future."

 

"I would emphasise however, that although the club still remains for sale, we are only prepared to do that should the right offer be made and it is the intentions of the current management team to still be running the club in 2020 with my son Dan taking a more hands-on role and becoming far more involved in a move that I feel certain will benefit the club. He is very keen to be  more active and his ideas to take the club forward, on a day-to-day basis and on the promotional side, are probably better than mine now, although I will be keeping an eye on certain aspects and staying heavily involved in team building."

 

"The questions that I would like you, the supporters, to consider are:

 

a) Would you prefer to see us ride in a league with more opponents and if so, how important is the level to you?  -  As an example, the Ipswich one-to-seven that came to us for the play-offs had six riders who also compete in the Championship.  We automatically see the championship  as a lower level but in reality many riders are competing in both leagues.
     
b) How much of an issue has the change of race day been to you and people you know? Specifically, how much has it impacted on your ability to attend? How many people do you know who have been unable to attend due to the change?
and, finally,

 

c)  how can we improve things to make the stadium more appealing?   I ask that bearing in mind that our stadium is rented and that means the speedway club take nothing from the sales of refreshments. While I would love to give everyone plush new surroundings like Belle Vue, what we have is what we have and that’s not a criticism of the landlord or anyone else, just the facts. I am sure we will see a certain amount of development of the site over time, including some social housing, and I see that as a positive if it means we are going to obtain a new stadium within the same grounds as part of that package.

 

So, please let us know by email as soon as possible, because it could be that your points need further review or a response and this medium will make it easier for us to get back to you should we need to clarify any further points.

a. Yes drop down to the Championship. No point putting the clubs future at risk just to please fickle fans like Steve Shovlar. It's all about securing the long term future of the club if that means a couple of years in the Championship then so be it.

b. Speedway is a dying sport in the UK. The attendances will continue to drop. It's a circus in this country tbh. Riders quit clubs whenever they feel like it. Tracks are poorly prepared. Buster and some teams create a new rule book for themselves half way through the season. Only way to sort it out is the following. Money tree's appear and a proper governing body takes over the sport (Nobody associated with a Speedway Club)

c. Spend money but again you would need money tree's to appear. Nothing is for free and clubs have to work within a budget.

[Steve Shovlar 10,439]

14 minutes ago, Steve0 said:

Why do you have to get personal? Why are you always fishing for a reaction?  Why don’t you just keep it to speedway!

So I get personally attacked by others but gave to ignore it? Why haven’t you aimed that post at your best mate Sid?

[Steve Shovlar 10,439]

3 minutes ago, Rockstar99 said:

a. Yes drop down to the Championship. No point putting the clubs future at risk just to please fickle fans like Steve Shovlar. It's all about securing the long term future of the club if that means a couple of years in the Championship then so be it.

b. Speedway is a dying sport in the UK. The attendances will continue to drop. It's a circus in this country tbh. Riders quit clubs whenever they feel like it. Tracks are poorly prepared. Buster and some teams create a new rule book for themselves half way through the season. Only way to sort it out is the following. Money tree's appear and a proper governing body takes over the sport (Nobody associated with a Speedway Club)

c. Spend money but again you would need money tree's to appear. Nothing is for free and clubs have to work within a budget.

Have you emailed this to info@poole-Speedway.com? No point posting it on here. All comments to be in by 8pm Monday. Though judging by the above “constructive comments” it will be deleted pretty quickly.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Steve Shovlar

[TheMessiahOfTheBSF 84]

1 minute ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Have you emailed this to info@poole-Speedway.com? No point posting it on here. All comments to be in by 8pm Monday.

Yes. Hopefully Poole do ride in the Premiership next season. Don't want to see anyone drop out. 

[Gavan 5,049]

1 minute ago, Rockstar99 said:

a. Yes drop down to the Championship. No point putting the clubs future at risk just to please fickle fans like Steve Shovlar. It's all about securing the long term future of the club if that means a couple of years in the Championship then so be it.

b. Speedway is a dying sport in the UK. The attendances will continue to drop. It's a circus in this country tbh. Riders quit clubs whenever they feel like it. Tracks are poorly prepared. Buster and some teams create a new rule book for themselves half way through the season. Only way to sort it out is the following. Money tree's appear and a proper governing body takes over the sport (Nobody associated with a Speedway Club)

c. Spend money but again you would need money tree's to appear. Nothing is for free and clubs have to work within a budget.

Spot on answers

Never did nay harm to Peterborough , Kings Lynn , Ipswich or Leicester to drop down did it......look at the season Leicester are having , im sure their fans are loving it there at the moment and must be easy to promote and bring fans in. As you said you will get one or two fickle fans but they arent really fans if they dont believe in whats right for their club

Speedway is dying and we just need to sustain the sport................bringing back the top boys will not increase crowd levels thats a fallacy....its success that increases crowd levels.........Ipswich attendances didnt go up when Iversen returned , they have risen all season becaus of the promotional work we do and the success on the track

The only issue you have at Poole is they are notorious for going missing when they dont win so if they drop down and the fans dont bother the club could be in serious trouble

I dont see why Ford is worrying about the stadium when he should be concentrating on the track surface

[TheMessiahOfTheBSF 84]

1 minute ago, Gavan said:

Spot on answers

Never did nay harm to Peterborough , Kings Lynn , Ipswich or Leicester to drop down did it......look at the season Leicester are having , im sure their fans are loving it there at the moment and must be easy to promote and bring fans in. As you said you will get one or two fickle fans but they arent really fans if they dont believe in whats right for their club

Speedway is dying and we just need to sustain the sport................bringing back the top boys will not increase crowd levels thats a fallacy....its success that increases crowd levels.........Ipswich attendances didnt go up when Iversen returned , they have risen all season becaus of the promotional work we do and the success on the track

The only issue you have at Poole is they are notorious for going missing when they dont win so if they drop down and the fans dont bother the club could be in serious trouble

I dont see why Ford is worrying about the stadium when he should be concentrating on the track surface

Could add many others to the list as well. Eastbourne & Somerset just to name a couple.

No point riding Premiership just to please some fans because if you cant afford to then it's only going to put the club at further risk in the long run.

Agree. UK doesn't need the top riders either. Just prepare the tracks well. Improve the overall presentation of the product. Make everything feel more serious. Riders like Robert Lambert who only turn up when they feel like it just to them to run along to Poland & Sweden. Fans would rather see a dedicated 1-7 rather than 6 riders backed up by a NL rider due to someone making up an excuse not to ride. 

Always been that way. If Poole are top with the best team then fans turn up in numbers. If they aren't top and don't look like winning the league then some of those fans don't bother going. Not dedicated fans who stick by the club no matter what. Quite a few glory hunters. Poole have some good loyal fans but some not so. Support the club only when we're winning mentality is bad.

Poole's track is awful. The money needs to be spent on the track rather than the stadium. Not a good spectacle at all. Dangerous that could cause serious injury. The bank holiday fixtures end up as complete dust bowl's. Non bank holiday fixtures see's the track cutting up with ruts and holes appearing most of the time. Have to sort the track out. 

[Steve0 5,517]

Not forgetting Swindon - who spent many years in the second division when we also moved away from Saturday nights to Thursday nights.  I really enjoyed this level of speedway and would have no problem if Swindon ride at that level again - except next season - can’t have the league champions dropping down

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv 10,706]

2 minutes ago, Steve0 said:

Not forgetting Swindon - who spent many years in the second division when we also moved away from Saturday nights to Thursday nights.  I really enjoyed this level of speedway and would have no problem if Swindon ride at that level again - except next season - can’t have the league champions dropping down

Swindon for the CL in 2020 then 

[Arthur54 1,300]

26 minutes ago, Rockstar99 said:

Could add many others to the list as well. Eastbourne & Somerset just to name a couple.

No point riding Premiership just to please some fans because if you cant afford to then it's only going to put the club at further risk in the long run.

Agree. UK doesn't need the top riders either. Just prepare the tracks well. Improve the overall presentation of the product. Make everything feel more serious. Riders like Robert Lambert who only turn up when they feel like it just to them to run along to Poland & Sweden. Fans would rather see a dedicated 1-7 rather than 6 riders backed up by a NL rider due to someone making up an excuse not to ride. 

Always been that way. If Poole are top with the best team then fans turn up in numbers. If they aren't top and don't look like winning the league then some of those fans don't bother going. Not dedicated fans who stick by the club no matter what. Quite a few glory hunters. Poole have some good loyal fans but some not so. Support the club only when we're winning mentality is bad.

Poole's track is awful. The money needs to be spent on the track rather than the stadium. Not a good spectacle at all. Dangerous that could cause serious injury. The bank holiday fixtures end up as complete dust bowl's. Non bank holiday fixtures see's the track cutting up with ruts and holes appearing most of the time. Have to sort the track out. 

I would say every track has its glory hunters, only go when there winning, not just a Poole thing. I have surported them in the lower league and the higher league, and will continue to do so, win or lose 

[ray c 2,299]

8 minutes ago, Arthur54 said:

I would say every track has its glory hunters, only go when there winning, not just a Poole thing. I have surported them in the lower league and the higher league, and will continue to do so, win or lose 

same as me I support my team come what may there are a lot guys and girls out there who haven't got a team to support who would love to go racing every week we are still lucky to be able to do so don't shovlars attitude on this at all still onward and up wards 

[lisa-colette 6,022]

1 hour ago, Arthur54 said:

So what are peoples thoughts to the 3 questions 

1. I am kind of on the fence with this one. If the league has 9+ teams I would say def stay but I like the variety of the Champ. Plus the gap between the two leagues isn't that big anymore. Both leagues have a lot of pros and cons.

2. For me during term time Friday is the only good day for me! Lol. But i know most Poole fans will say go back to Weds. Interestingly if we dropped down, Weds would be a realistic option.

3. This one is a little ridiculous to me, they say what changes to the stadium and then say they can't do much cos it's rented! They also say about redevelopment to the track within the grounds but that hasn't worked great for Swindon with all the uncertainty so I would be a little cautious of that, esp when Stadia UK is involved in both situations.

[Steve Shovlar 10,439]

28 minutes ago, ray c said:

same as me I support my team come what may there are a lot guys and girls out there who haven't got a team to support who would love to go racing every week we are still lucky to be able to do so don't shovlars attitude on this at all still onward and up wards 

Can’t work out what you are saying here. 

[Steve0 5,517]

13 minutes ago, lisa-colette said:

 

3. This one is a little ridiculous to me, they say what changes to the stadium and then say they can't do much cos it's rented! They also say about redevelopment to the track within the grounds but that hasn't worked great for Swindon with all the uncertainty so I would be a little cautious of that, esp when Stadia UK is involved in both situations.

Redevelopment of the track at Swindon has been a great success actually - just redevelopment of the stadium that’s the problem