The H Man

He said talk to me Pinny, with much love!

Thanks for clarifying one of my fellow Directors mentioned you used to be the webmaster so that's the reason I asked! I think like most speedway clubs Brummies are very aware of an ageing fanbase, hence the fact we are trying to address that by reaching out to schools, clubs etc as well advertising in various outlets to promote a family friendly sport.

For someone who was the once the webmaster for Birmingham, why is it your so negative about the club these days, Martin?

Everyone is entitled to opinions but as a Director and minority shareholder in Birmingham Speedway I'd just like to clear a few things up: Not a single season ticket was sold after Adam Ellis was signed!! The season tickets holders from 2022 have remained very loyal with a renewal rate of over 85% already. I don't recall anyone from the club saying that James Pearson was the new Darcy Ward! James is an emerging talent and was recommended by Leigh Adams, Craig Watson and Phil Morris amongst others, hopefully, he will build on his first season and prove a real asset in 2023. I don't think James is a Darcy Ward pretender, he's just a 17 year old lad with decent ability looking to develop a career in the sport! As all fans know, due to the new promotion having access to the rider market later than all other Championship teams, it was extremely tough to sign heat leader standard riders. Adam Ellis' signing was always a risk with his other commitments, when it became apparent he would miss matches and risk having a ban in the UK it made sense for him to be released with Justin Sedgman being available proving a solid replacement. As for Claus Vissing, he disappointed on and off track, trying to move goal posts several times on an agreed deal! In an ideal world he wouldn't have been first choice, but as other teams found out there weren't riders queuing up to ride in the UK on a midweek evening! Broken promises? Is that Nigel Tolley saying our aspirations were to get into the play-off's? The two main shareholders Nigel and Tracey Smith worked their butts off to keep Birmingham Speedway going in 2022 and are continuing to do that alongside a band of willing volunteers so that 2023 will be more successful. Finally, this is all coming from someone who closely associated himself with the Phillips promotion at Birmingham, whose legacy was to break more promises than the current ever will!

Who would you have gone for then?

Ulrich has broken his hand in 3 places!

Ulrich would never go out to hurt anyone, he's a mate of Paco's, it was racing - Ulle apologised, Paco accepted that, they had a hug and we move on. Josh did a silly move on Ulrich a few weeks back in Elite, they had a chat, they shake hands, they move on.

Looks as if Nielsen and Morris will be missing tomorrow.

agree, effort doesn't necessarily mean a good track - was just pointing out to Rob that like for like with Oxford isn't a fair comparison due to track time, machinery, landlord etc!

yes, discussions have taken place with MW.

So with long term injuries to Auty and Shanes, plus the fact that Vissing decided to go missing, what else can the club do Martin? Can you name riders, who are prepared to sign up to ride in the championship, who are twiddling their thumbs waiting on a call?

You can't compare Oxford and Brum like for like Rob Oxford are blessed with a stadium owner who allows unrestricted access to the track, you also have much better equipment and have no access issues during a meeting Brum, are only allowed on the track on race days, are working with equipment (despite investment over past few months) that is mainly past its best and are restricted with the amount of access to equipment during a meeting due to landlord restrictions in place. Sorry if last nights track wasn't up to scratch, I know it wouldn't be through lack of effort from John the curator at PB. The Directors, Promoters and hard working track staff are really doing their best for Birmingham Speedway, it's been a very tough baptism of fire on and off the track, but the majority shareholders Nigel and Tracey are really good people.

You can’t blame the new owners for previous debts Martin and as far as I’m aware Riss, Harris & Castagna have no issues at all the new owners. when negotiations commenced with Vissing he had no guarantee of a Danish spot as he was part of squad. Of course it’s not ideal but who else was there available to sign. i could post a long list of riders that were contacted but decided they didn’t want to or couldn’t commit to UK racing in 2022!

Vissing gate, there were/are hardly any heat leaders wishing to ride in the Championship, Claus was one who was. Danish clubs squad system was always a bit of a risk but one the club had to take to with no other options readily available and season rapidly approaching, be delighted to hear what you'd have done differently?. Ellis gate, no con intended, all concerned hoped it would be for the season but logistically for both parties and financially for the club it couldn't carry on, no hard feelings from either party and his replacement has scored well in the majority of the meetings, so I don't think anyone was intentionally conned, sorry if you feel that you were.

Yes, Kyle declined heat 15.

The consortium have been working hard behind the scenes to put in place a solution to prevent the unfortunate situation from happening again.

Sadly, no news about Reading - the Smallmead site remains barren and used for a car park on Football match days Great to see Oxford back up and running, can only hope the same for Coventry one day. Very much looking forward to Wimborne Rd tomorrow night

Heading down for this - looking forward to my first visit to Wimborne Road for several years

Horrendous news, Nigel's passion for speedway shone through every time he appeared on the TV, radio or online. The sheer volume of sadness from his broadcast colleagues on social media shows as well as speedway riders and dart pros just how well he was liked and respected. I didn't know him as well as many on here, but we spoke lots of times when I did the clubcall line for Reading for him and we had plenty of banter over the years on twitter. I know how much Nigel was loved by his close colleagues in the speedway media and have spoken to a couple of them over the past 24 hours, they are totally devastated. What an awful loss to the commentary world but the loss of a Father, Husband and dear friends to his loved ones is where our thoughts must be at this very sad time. Sleep well Scoop, you were a legend, who won't be forgotten.

I think Birmingham fans will be happy with the news coming out of the club over the coming days. There has been a lot of work put in by the new shareholders over the past few weeks and things on and off track are looking promising.

Superb news that Speedway is returning to the Thames Valley. Although i've given him and others a bit of friendly stick over the years as a Reading Racers fan, all credit to the likes of Rob Peasley for never giving up the fight. I truly wish Oxford the very best and look forward to a return visit to a stadium that hold lots of memories for Racers fans.

Age old story in British Speedway, couple of teams paying silly points money and others follow suit without sustainable revenue to match. Hopefully Eastbourne can find a short term fix, but like Newcastle & Birmingham longer term prospects sound bleak!

Very sad news indeed - RIP Phil

talking of guess the attendance - I see on press release it says crowds only 1/3 of figure in 2019, I attended the Glasgow match and around 400 maybe a few more in, so were Brum getting 1200 in 2019?

Pleased to report to that Ulrich was discharged from hospital in Edinburgh this afternoon, he is now flying back to his family in Denmark (via Glasgow & Stanstead) to start his recovery. I know he’s been blown away by the concern the shown by the supporters of Glasgow & Peterborough and the fans in general.