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Fortythirtyeight

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Posts posted by Fortythirtyeight

  2. Posted

    3 hours ago, StevePark said:

     

     

    Taken from itv Tyne/Tees news website: "Newcastle Speedway was running three teams: the Diamonds, the Gems and the Sapphires. Since Covid, the club says it has had to drop the Gems because it couldn't afford the overheads of running three teams under the current restrictions."

    Full article here:

    https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2021-06-29/longest-standing-speedway-club-in-the-country-forced-to-fundraise-to-make-it-through-the-season

    Exactly..” couldn’t afford “, which means finance, and the Sapphires only cost the price of four race jackets.

  3. Posted

    20 minutes ago, heathen52 said:

    Its all very well saying "Who cares who wins what" but Birmingham fans over the years have been notorious for staying away when there Team is struggling, but they are not alone in that, as for wanting to get it right I will believe that when I see it because they have very few options left when it comes to Team building, I personally will visit PB on a few occasions if the Team is competitive if it isnt then my money will stay in my pocket.

    Newcastle is the other prime example.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    1 minute ago, ruffdiamond said:

    So, do you not think the 'covid situation' put a strain on their financial situation?

    Like it did at every club in every division.

    Promoter decided to bin the Gems for financial reasons, his decision, not saying it was right or wrong, but that’s what it was, for financial reasons.

  9. Posted

    Just now, Speedtiger said:

    We have the best track and stadium in the UK and what has improved at the club over the past 5 years is very little. Crowds have not increased, no significant sponsors on board. Catering at the stadium is a joke. BV have given up running the stadium now, we are back to square one and deep in debt…and now we have a third rate speedway rider in charge…what could possibly go wrong..!!! 

    You appear to have absolutely no idea what your talking about. Perhaps you should learn about the stadium set up and who runs what before you make uneducated , sweeping statements .

    • Like 6

  10. Posted

    13 minutes ago, Speedtiger said:

    I also had ‘dealings’ with Smith and found him to be arrogant and frankly clueless! How you can say he’s a top class businessman with club losses and debts running at many many hundreds of thousands of pounds and the club going backwards over the past 5 years. Sadly for BV Lemon is not fit to run the club as he has proved with his poor team management. 

    Your opinion, not mine.

    As for the club going backwards for the last 5 years, where was it before then ?

  11. Posted

    12 hours ago, Speedtiger said:

    NOT a surprise really, the big surprise it took so long. BV has been badly managed by these to clowns. Smith knew nothing about speedway and judging by the losses at bv next to nothing about business. Lemon who’s clueless about business and by bv results and team management knows very little about running a speedway team. At the bottom line you have to look at the owners off bv for making very poor appointments in a sport and business the know nothing about. Clearly they thought they could make a quick profit and how wrong have they been. Lemon in charge is yet another serious desperate blunder. Where this will take bv is anybody guess but the future looks very uncertain.

    He wasn’t there to run the ‘ speedway ‘, he was there to run the business side of the club, which he did extremely well, Lemo is the speedway side. Considering the obstacles in their way and the fact they are still running, they appear to have done ok so far and as some one who has had dealings with Adrian, he is a top class businessman .

    • Like 2

  13. Posted

    21 minutes ago, mikebv said:

    Did Redcar have "Div One Heat Leaders" to pay out of that 300 attendance though? 

    Nowadays it seems every Div 2 team has to have at least one Div 1 top ten rider which can only increase the costs I would think..

    Reserves in Div 2 are also no longer "juniors" but more experienced riders (and more expensive too maybe?)..

    Putting together a Div 2 team to compete nowadays is very much advantageous to those with deeper pockets I would say, hence Glasgow do well, Poole do well as still very much a "Speedway town", and ex top league Leicester, riding back on Saturdays, also seem to put a decent team together..

    Redcar have had some innovative promoters post Brian Havelock, which I would suggest has definitely helped them to grow their fan base (and maybe picked up a few disgruntled Newcastle fans?), and are now a definite "Top Five" expectation team in Div 2, given the level of rider they can afford to bring in..

    They certainly have gone from being "avoiding the wooden spoon is success" material to one of the more watchable teams in the league..

     

    That’s my point ! They had poor teams but stuck to their business plan and survived and new people came in and lifted the place by providing a better team and more entertainment. Have Birmingham seriously looked at the crowd level and budgeted accordingly? Newcastle certainly seemed to have .  Both are now facing big rent increases and have weak sides but Brum are hoping for big crowds and that is just not going to happen. If Brum now sign a big earner, or two, how is that going to end ? If they don’t have the funds to sign a big hitting number 1, they should say so and then ask the public to rally round and help them survive at a financially manageable level on the crowds they can attract.

    Live within your means.This year is going to be tough for everyone as nothing is getting cheaper.

     

    • Like 2

  14. Posted · Edited by Fortythirtyeight

    18 minutes ago, mikebv said:

    The differing rental costs of the places mentioned would be a major bearing on that I would say...

    Given so many are tenants, it must be a knife edge for some to "hang on in there"...

    Even more so over the coming months as the cost of living goes skywards..

     

    Doesn’t matter what your rental costs, it’s called ‘operating within your budget ‘. Redcar were down to crowds of around 300 at that time so Havelock did well to keep them going. Can you see Brum operating on a similar basis ? They are already claiming they need a 1,000 through the gate and haven’t managed that in the past.

  15. Posted

    1 hour ago, Skidder1 said:

    So Adam Ellis not declared in any of the Danish League squads announced this week!!  But will the new Promotion pay a 'guarantee'??

    No choice if they really want him….any rider knows its getting towards desperation time for a club. I recall Redcar operating on a strict budget under Havelock and they finished bottom season after season, but they still operated and hung on in there , will Brum do the same ?

  16. Posted

    7 hours ago, Roger Jacobs said:

    Rogers has said that he knows the final three riders he wants, and is working on the deals - just lots of speculation about who they might be. It makes a change for British speedway that people actually don't seem to know who they are!

    And LR has never told porkies before.

    Basically he’s trying to find the funds to pay them as anybody who is worth having will be screwing him for every penny knowing he’s now in last chance saloon. That in its self, is worrying for the future of the club.

    Good luck to him , I hope he can find a decent team as the sport can’t afford to lose anyone else.

  17. Posted

    14 minutes ago, Grand Central said:

    A lot of fantastical wishful thinking being employed here to justify the operating model they have chosen.

    Most people remain very 'their team' orientated. That is why so many do not migrate to their next nearest track when 'theirs' closes.

    If you were a Swindon, Reading or Coventry fan and were amenable to watching teams that were not your own, then the option to go elsewhere was there. And those that did, and continue to do so, may find this good news. Saves travelling.

    But the so-called target audience are those that didn't want that at all, and were lost to the sport because 'their' team closed; they will remain lost as there is nothing new here that resurrects their dead team for them to be enticed back. Just a load of matches between teams that do not have their interest at all.

    Who says that’s the total target audience ?

    When ‘ my team ‘ are featured away from home and I’m not able to attend I’ll be tuning in to watch and so will many , many of the clubs fans who can’t/ won’t travel to the likes of Poole or Plymouth mid week. 
    It’s not all aimed at non attenders who don’t have a home track. Only time will tell how it affects every club but Edinburgh and Redcar think it worked for them last season.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    1 hour ago, edmon said:

    The SCB seem to have relented on two teams from one club taking part with the rebirth of Teesside Tigers at Redcar.

    Lets see if another club do the same.

    The SCB had nothing to do with it, it was league co- ordinator decision based on consultation with other potential entrants and existing members.

    After due consideration and agreement with all clubs Redcar have been given the green light to run a ‘ Tigers ‘ team as they have enough genuine novice youngsters to field a second team.

  21. Posted

    3 hours ago, Vince said:

    The amateur meetings with riders paying an entry fee will make money too. 

    Look at the riders competing across the various classes and it is definitely a higher standard than the normal amateur meetings you spoke of.

    I really don't see why it's a problem! 

    I never suggested it was a ‘ problem ‘. But as I did say, it’s an amateur meeting. If you care to look at the entry for Scunthorpes next ‘ amateur ‘meeting you will see the names of several NDL riders entered, so, as I did say, the only difference is the club having a paying crowd . 

  22. Posted

    17 minutes ago, Vince said:

    I think there is a significant difference where most amateur events are run just for the riders where the Isle of Wight meetings are run for paying spectators.

    National Off Road Association I believe.

    Other than the club will make money from the meetings, what is the major difference ? It’s still amateur riders racing each other just with more spectators , hopefully.

  23. Posted

    1 hour ago, *JJ said:

    You appear to have misunderstood my point. I couldn't care less about Godfrey; you don't need to get upset about me dissing the great man. I was complaining about the destruction of a very valuable means for riders to get their first step on the speedway rung. I drove a rider round many tracks in order for him to ride in his progression; the MDL was the next step before the National League, though this didn't happen. As I said, the MDL teams were run despite the promoters.

     

     

    Yet again you just don’t get it. He did not do away with the MDL !
    There was / is nothing in the way of the MDL. The BSPA simply stopped ‘ teams ‘ using the names of clubs that no longer exist and were not going to appear in the very short term. 
    Your assertion that junior teams are run despite the promoters is an insult to all the promoters who allow and in most cases assist in running junior teams and I include Godfrey in that even though I am not a major fan on the way the sport is currently being run. Without the say so of a promoter no second half’s get run, at all !

    You simply don’t have a clue how these things are run. 

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    4 hours ago, *JJ said:

    Because I don't know him, and don't want to. I went to Scunthorpe often enough for MDL matches, and, like all other promoters, Godfrey was conspicuous by his absence; the junior team (like all others) was run by an enthusiast, for love of the sport.

    You mean like it is at EVERY track!

    You don’t like Godfrey, we get it, but don’t come on here asking personal questions about his opinions when you aren’t prepared to ask him yourself. I doubt he’s going to answer you back on a forum.

    • Like 3

  25. Posted

    15 minutes ago, ScunnyDan said:

    Possibly due to the fact its hard to get track staff to stay behind for second halfs at scunny? I've been there a few times and needed to rush off only to be begged to stay to do the MDL meeting.. Could be due to rider availability and travelling up on Fridays - when we as a club run amateur meetings at weekends, riders tend to be more available and the club can earn more cash than running MDL on a Friday

    Never been to a Scunthorpe meeting when there hasn’t been some sort of second half racing so never been an issue and cash doesn’t come into it as it costs no extra to have upto eight races after the main match.

    As for rider availability, all the other Friday night tracks run junior teams and second half’s so that suggests the riders are out there.

    ’JJ ‘ has a problem with Godfrey , that’s his issue.

    Hope to see Birmingham get some promising juniors of their own and run in a league, whatever it gets called.

    • Like 1
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