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old bob at herne bay

Will British Speedway Survive ?

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53 minutes ago, greyhoundp said:

 

Well none smiling Promoters like Colin Pratt, Cvs, Peter Adams who seem to only have supporters on sufference certainly dont encourage people to come through the gate, whereas Barry Bishop makes everyone feel welcome, thats my personal evidence

 

The fact that they continue to have Speedway at all is down to in a large part Barry Bishop.

I'm certainly not saying the current crop of promoters do a good job, far from it and all the evidence shows that.

However, people hold Barry Bishop and Lee Kilby in high esteem seemingly without any data points to back this up.

Barry Bishop has lots of new and innovative ideas that other tracks don't. Whether these ideas turn into fee paying customers though, I don't know - hence my question.

Similarly, Lee Kilby spends a lot of time on the Swindon Speedway Facebook page. To me this is the dictionary definition of preaching to the converted. On the other hand, 6,000 people work at Nationwide in Swindon and as far as I am aware there has been absolutely no attempt to promote speedway within that company, which to me is a no brainer.

I am all for taking British speedway forwards. However, for me, the way to make it successful is to appoint people with a proven track record, rather than simply a sunny disposition.

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6 minutes ago, MattK said:

I'm certainly not saying the current crop of promoters do a good job, far from it and all the evidence shows that.

However, people hold Barry Bishop and Lee Kilby in high esteem seemingly without any data points to back this up.

Barry Bishop has lots of new and innovative ideas that other tracks don't. Whether these ideas turn into fee paying customers though, I don't know - hence my question.

Similarly, Lee Kilby spends a lot of time on the Swindon Speedway Facebook page. To me this is the dictionary definition of preaching to the converted. On the other hand, 6,000 people work at Nationwide in Swindon and as far as I am aware there has been absolutely no attempt to promote speedway within that company, which to me is a no brainer.

I am all for taking British speedway forwards. However, for me, the way to make it successful is to appoint people with a proven track record, rather than simply a sunny disposition.

Agree with most of that Matt BUT name me anyone with a “proven track record”...who would take the job...?
As you say the current bunch of clowns at the BSPA especially the Main Clown Godfrey...are completely useless and if we supporters are relying on him....then the sport is as good as dead and buried.

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At least no one has blamed Poole for this...

(Yet)...:D

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Clearly when Poole drpped down into the lower level of the Championship after all those years, it has had a significant effect on the fragility of sppedway as we know it in the UK. So, Yes, much of the blame lies there. 

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2 hours ago, MattK said:

So you have no evidence that their jovial approach actually adds to the bottom line? Interesting.

You need to go on the Isle of Wight video links then maybe you would understand what my point is Matt.How many people would keep the IOW sustainable in this present climate not many i would say.Another point is would Mr Bishop be interested in taking a more prominent role in the future of speedway in the UK maybe not.A strange post from you Matt you odviously don't know anything about the IOW operation or Mr Bishop yet you post negativity with no real substance to your post.

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1 hour ago, MattK said:

I'm certainly not saying the current crop of promoters do a good job, far from it and all the evidence shows that.

However, people hold Barry Bishop and Lee Kilby in high esteem seemingly without any data points to back this up.

Barry Bishop has lots of new and innovative ideas that other tracks don't. Whether these ideas turn into fee paying customers though, I don't know - hence my question.

Similarly, Lee Kilby spends a lot of time on the Swindon Speedway Facebook page. To me this is the dictionary definition of preaching to the converted. On the other hand, 6,000 people work at Nationwide in Swindon and as far as I am aware there has been absolutely no attempt to promote speedway within that company, which to me is a no brainer.

I am all for taking British speedway forwards. However, for me, the way to make it successful is to appoint people with a proven track record, rather than simply a sunny disposition.

I would have to differ with that statement Matt,  Swindon has come along way since Lee Kilby has been on board.I go to the pits before the meeting and the thing's he has set up with parents/ children is very progressive really heartwarming he is trying.He is approachable he listens and is genuinely interested in to listening to people also maybe you should ask all Brummie fans if Lee did a good job there and that he is not missed.

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8 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

You need to go on the Isle of Wight video links then maybe you would understand what my point is Matt.How many people would keep the IOW sustainable in this present climate not many i would say.Another point is would Mr Bishop be interested in taking a more prominent role in the future of speedway in the UK maybe not.A strange post from you Matt you odviously don't know anything about the IOW operation or Mr Bishop yet you post negativity with no real substance to your post.

I understand your point perfectly. I simply ask, how much has all the steps Barry Bishop taken actually raised the gate by. Is it, for example, higher than Swindon's, who frankly do nothing to promote speedway?

I know what Barry Bishop posts on here. He clearly works very hard and has lots of new ideas. I am not for a second being negative. I am simply asking whether those ideas have equated to additional bums on seats compared to a club which doesn't do what he does.

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1 hour ago, MattK said:

I'm certainly not saying the current crop of promoters do a good job, far from it and all the evidence shows that.

However, people hold Barry Bishop and Lee Kilby in high esteem seemingly without any data points to back this up.

Barry Bishop has lots of new and innovative ideas that other tracks don't. Whether these ideas turn into fee paying customers though, I don't know - hence my question.

Similarly, Lee Kilby spends a lot of time on the Swindon Speedway Facebook page. To me this is the dictionary definition of preaching to the converted. On the other hand, 6,000 people work at Nationwide in Swindon and as far as I am aware there has been absolutely no attempt to promote speedway within that company, which to me is a no brainer.

I am all for taking British speedway forwards. However, for me, the way to make it successful is to appoint people with a proven track record, rather than simply a sunny disposition.

Anyone who is a s/way promoter in this day and age I take my hat off to , I did everyting I could to get my father into promotion in the mid 70's and he said then it was a thankless and profitless task !

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2 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

I would have to differ with that statement Matt,  Swindon has come along way since Lee Kilby has been on board.I go to the pits before the meeting and the thing's he has set up with parents/ children is very progressive really heartwarming he is trying.He is approachable he listens and is genuinely interested in to listening to people also maybe you should ask all Brummie fans if Lee did a good job there and that he is not missed.

By what measure do you think Swindon has come a long way since Lee has been on board? How much has our crowds risen by in the last two years? What new sponsors has he attracted?

As I said, there is no doubt he is very amicable and spends a lot of time engaging with fans on Facebook. For all I know, that might be the scope of his job description. However, as someone on the outside looking in all I can see is Swindon's crowd dwindling by the season while obvious marketing opportunities sit idle.

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5 minutes ago, FAST GATER said:

Anyone who is a s/way promoter in this day and age I take my hat off to , I did everyting I could to get my father into promotion in the mid 70's and he said then it was a thankless and profitless task !

I agree. It is a thankless task and a complete money pit for promoters who have a financial stake in clubs. You also have to content me smart asses like me, who have no skin in the game, but sit on the sidelines criticising.

However, promoters do themselves no favours. If you want to keep your fee paying customers on side, how about a bit of transparency? If you want the best person for the job, why not advertise it, rather than appoint your mates? If you want new fans, why not get out there to large companies and promote, rather than persevering with the same failed tactics like going to schools and local fates?

It's not rocket science (he says from the comfort of his arm chair).

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1 minute ago, MattK said:

By what measure do you think Swindon has come a long way since Lee has been on board? How much has our crowds risen by in the last two years? What new sponsors has he attracted?

As I said, there is no doubt he is very amicable and spends a lot of time engaging with fans on Facebook. For all I know, that might be the scope of his job description. However, as someone on the outside looking in all I can see is Swindon's crowd dwindling by the season while obvious marketing opportunities sit idle.

I think the crowds have held up very well considering do you go everyweek Matt??? our crowds  compared to most are pretty acceptable.The track last year improved no end the entertainment aspect was pretty good apart from a few duff meeting's ( Belle Vue was one).The club with all the doom and gloom surrounding the invisible new stadium has a new found optimism about it now yes things are hard but you will be one of the FEW people that i have heard knock Lee Kilby.

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I think it's well known that Swindon and IOW crowds have increased.

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when watching sky sports news last night it was said by a sports lawyer that any sports business could claim on the goverments bailout so all maybe not lost for any speedway club ??

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2 hours ago, auntie doris said:

I think it's well known that Swindon and IOW crowds have increased.

Is that why Terry Russell was in the paper mid-season pleading poverty? Anyone can see crowds at Swindon are trending downwards.

Edited by MattK

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