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ABS

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Posts posted by ABS

  1. Posted

    Thank you Gordon for the inside track on this. All I did was to quote the words used by the Belle Vue promotion at the time, as regards the justification of what was done. Naturally, I am not party to the privileged information that you, as a Promotor, had. Not disputing a word you are saying, but perhaps you should have been more honest with your punters as to what really happened.

    Relative to Bjerre's age at the time, I think it is reasonable to describe Joe as ageing.

  2. Posted

    3 hours ago, DC2 said:

     

    Fair point.

    On the one hand maybe BV did need a freshen up; on the other hand, they’ve dropped a very loyal rider at the peak of his career and gone back to an older one who’s on the wane. For me, loyalty is worth more than squeezing the best average advantage.

    Have to disagree. There is only three years difference in their ages. Bjerre has won GPs and has competed at the highest level in all major speedway countries. It all about opinions, but mine is that Kenneth will do a better job for BV than Craig.

  3. Posted

    Just now, DC2 said:

     

    But Bjerre is a journeyman who has ridden for most PL clubs and he’s used to being in one season and out the next, while Craig has ridden only for Belle Vue and was loyal to them when they were rubbish.

     

    Bjerre would have been very loyal to BV, given the chance. However, some years back, BV decided to build the team around an aging Joe Screen and not the up and coming Kenneth Bjerre. Not Kenneth's choice, but that is what happened. Despite this, he still never said a bad word about the club and was brilliant when he returned to he fold. I am sure his average will go up again riding at the best track in the country, once more.

  4. Posted

    4 minutes ago, adonis said:

    one of the things that surprised me most  , was with his computer skills he was unable to cover his tracks , leaving evidence on his own PC seems mighty silly to me , there must be places where IT wizards can hide stuff they don't want to be linked to . 

    Having worked in the IT Security industry, there is no way to be 100% secure. Anything can be tracked and traced - just a question of resource (machine/human time and money). All depends on the value of the information as to whether it is worthwhile. 

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    3 hours ago, adonis said:

    when he gets out he will be virtually unemployable ,so he will be reliant on the benefits that he hates so much , that will include housing benefit while he sits at home and joins the jeremy kyle generation , getting paid for by people who work for a living and pay taxes ,is that what you would like to see ?  personally it wouldn't matter to me what my kids did , I would never turn my back on them . 

    With IT skills, he will no doubt become self-employed and will be able to pick up contracting work from anywhere in the word. Will have to lose his attitude though. Not sure whether he will have to declare his absence from the workplace either.

  6. Posted

    4 hours ago, Fred Flange said:

    There were several races won from the gate but I can only think of heat 5 when the order didn't change after the back straight on the first lap?

    It was Andy Meredith's dad who accidentally discovered slick is better at Belle Vue. He told me he had prepared what he thought was the perfect track for the world cup race off but the racing was a disappointment. Against instinct it was prepared much slicker for the final and it was fantastic.

    Yes, the play off was the worst meeting seen at the NSS by a country mile.. The track was too grippy and too fast, with NKI breaking the Track Record, a record which he still holds today.

  9. Posted

    1 hour ago, Fred Flange said:

    Tungate and Bewley were both excellent. Fricke 'only' scored 9 but from harder races than Tungate and he probably should have been in 15.

    Agree with this. Max met Lambert and Iversen twice during his programmed rides, whilst for Rohan it was once. Max had taken Lambert from the back in a thrilling Heat 11 and was caught up with a slower Cook in Heat 13, as they both tried to hunt down the KL pair. Rohan struggled a tad to beat MPT in Heat 14, so on balance I was expecting it to be Max & Dan.

    Dan will learn from Heat 15 - he was passed by an excellent Iversen, but had drifted out a bit. Really good meeting between two evenly matched teams.

  10. Posted · Edited by ABS
    missed a word out

    3 minutes ago, SPD444 said:

    Should be an absolute cracker tonight. Kings Lynn won the last meeting at the NSS but the Aces should be stronger this time with the return of Steve Worrall and Max Fricke. NKI and Lambert swap positions so not sure if that will make a difference and the inclusion of the Riss brothers, neither of whom I am familiar with,  who will be making their debuts add an additional point of interest. It could easily come down to the reserves and if MPT comes with his gating gloves could make a huge difference and the fitness of Proctor and Jorgensen will also play its part. Very occasionally I am very fed up living in North London and today is one of those days. Go Aces.

    Sadly MPT does not need to have gating gloves on around the NSS. Quite capable of makes passes at our place.

  11. Posted

    Just closed my account with Betsafe as they were limiting me to winnings of approx. £5 on speedway. When I queried this, I was told that it was a business decision. What a joke of an outfit Betsafe is, a disgrace to the word Bookmaker. They make the handicaps, they offer the odds, but whatever you do just don't win, otherwise you run the risk of being victim of a business decision too.

  12. Posted

    23 hours ago, colin wood said:

    The Liberal councillor was just trying to get some brownie points saying the money should be spent on refugees and homeless etc. Surprised the MEN ran the story if it is factually incorrect.

    I'm not. It was bad enough when the M.E.N. was owned by the Guardian, but since it's been owned by Mirror Group, the news content has deteriorated to a level which makes it nothing more than a rag. When I saw the picture of the Lib-Dem Councillor, all I wanted to do was to turn him upside down and use him as a pneumatic drill. He's your typical wishy-washy waste of space. No mention of the council screwing up, delivering a track that wasn't fit for purpose, which was where the problems started. 

  13. Posted

    48 minutes ago, Rob B said:

    The team riding could have been bit better but it wasn’t dreadful. Etheridge was fast first 2 laps but then started to slow, Fricke was looking for him but Thorsell was all over back of him. The track is so wide with racing lines it is harder to team ride to keep someone behind, if Fricke had slowed more good chance Thorsell could have had him.

    Don't worry, Tungate did the honours with Jye in Heat 14 though.

  14. Posted

    11 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

    The sadness of it is - with one or two minor exceptions - Belle Vue do it bang on. I can't recall seeing even an average meeting at NSS (never mind a bad one) and last night was no different.

    True. Track prep was superb last night - contrast this with the dust fest served up at Swindon on Monday. 

    My point is that at Belle Vue they have delayed the start a few times to let people in, but have no consideration for people who expect the meeting to end at a certain time to meet other commitments. Yes, I can understand it in extreme circumstances, if say the M56/M60/A57 was closed, but why should people who expect the meeting to start on time have to hang around because people turn up late?

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    4 hours ago, Halifaxtiger said:

    Not totally correct. I won't go Mondays but went last night.

    Usually high quality NSS stuff, the final score perhaps not reflecting the course of the meeting.

    Fricke never really looked like getting beaten, Bewley pulled off his usual racing moves (he was the inside of bend 4 worked out totally) but the MOM for me was Tungate. Little concerned about Cook, he simply didn't seem to have the speed. Few moments from Masters and Schlein and a shout for Greaves, some big effort there. 

    Only one complaint : why have an interval when the overwhelming majority of speedway fans complain about unnecessary delay and especially when the start was delayed and there were a number of long track grading breaks ? 

    Excellent meeting with some great racing. Late start due to exchanging tickets (only at main Ticket Office) and late arrival of Ambulance (can't be helped). What gets me is that there is no consideration whatsoever for those people who arrive on time for a 7:30 start - not just this meeting, but in general. People may have arrangements in place (trains to catch, etc.) for after the meeting, yet these seem discounted in favour of a needless interval.

    • Like 2

  19. Posted

    17 minutes ago, Vince said:

    As a new promotion did they even get a vote?

    Well Belle Vue didn't and we get to "enjoy" Monday nights as a consequence. What I do know, unless my eyes deceive me, is that crowds are down. Maybe they will improve during the school holidays when the next generation of prospective fans will be allowed to go, as there will be no school in the morning.

  21. Posted

    19 hours ago, PHILIPRISING said:

    BT are very happy with viewing figures for both the SGP and PL so far this year. Even up against. the Champions League Final the Prague SGP did well.

    Do these figures take into account people like me who recorded the GP whilst watching the football?

  22. Posted

    I said many years ago that the consistent dilution, annually, of the product on offer, combined with increases in price could only lead one way. More for less is great, but less for more? Now we arrive at a situation where my club is forced to run on either a Monday or a Wednesday (neither great nights) without even having a vote in the matter. The result - a considerable drop in attendance/revenue and history shows us that once fans are lost, very few return.

    But hey ho, all is fine and rosy with the BSPA - the sport is in great shape, attendances are on the rise, fans are happy to watch "select" teams racing each other, so no problems. We'll see come the end of the season.

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 2

  23. Posted

    3 hours ago, g13webb said:

    Sometimes  meetings do work out as one imagines.   Result in doubt until the end always makes it more interesting.     Obviously pleased we took advantage of this ridiculous fixture planning,   nobody has mentioned the crowd numbers yet , so don't know how it was perceived against that of the normal.  Guests may have been somewhat weaker,  but some of Belle Vue's own riders didn't perform has they could have, so it would be wrong to proportion all the blame on the guests...  Never more than 6 points apart  the end was always going to be close.

    From the contacts,   the Updates; and tweets,  we Stars fans should be very happy.    We performed well as a team,     we provided 7 race winners away from home,   We only had  6 last places,  and secure 4  of 5-1 race wins.    All relevant facts that indicate our inner team strength.     Niels, slowly but surely , is getting back to his old form,   MPT  is a far better rider than most people recognise,  Proctor is proving he was never a gamble,  Kerr has to be one best reserves ever , and Robert has at last come of age...

    No, we may not have won against a full BV side, but for sure we would have gave them something to think about.....       That heat 13 last night was  massive.    to gain a 5-1 in that race after they had clawed back level ,  all but sealed their fate.,,

     

    We at Belle Vue realise fully that MPT is a really good rider and were surprised that BV didn't step in for him before Lynn, given his proven ability at the NSS. Our loss is certainly Lynn's gain

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    5 minutes ago, mikebv said:

    Same reasons why the PDC Darts is "booming" and the BDO darts is "on its arse"...

    Marketing and Hype!

    Exactly the same sport, but one is ran by an independent leadership team, made up of successful business people who bring in experts in sports administration and marketing to bring credibility, integrity and 'Brand awareness'.

    'Brand awareness' that results in excellent TV coverage and sponsorship from National Companies, eager to be associated with it knowing that their target audience will be in attendance. This then allows admission charges to be set at a level that encourages rather than dissuades that attendance.. 

    Whilst the other tries to 'self govern' and is led by (no doubt) well meaning people, who maybe succesful in their own field, but simply don't possess the necessary skill sets to administrate and effectively promote a National Sport, nor, it would appear to have the acumen to surround themselves with the people needed who can. Which all results in 'cobbled together' Competitions, of very little worth, with very little TV presence,  meaning hardly any major sponsorship is forthcoming as the demographic (and total numbers) of the audience doesnt justify the outlay. This then leads to admission costs which inhibit rather than attract followers as they have to be set to try and recover the costs involved from an ever dwindling fanbase..

    The most concerning barometer of where the Sport is for me, is the simple fact that at many tracks kids are allowed in for free or just a nominal amount, yet there are hardly any of them there...

    Even free Speedway isnt deemed to be worth attending seems to be the feedback...

    It really now has to be time for the Sport to go "all in" and get itself a proper marketing company with a strong track record to promote it..

    Redirect some of the millions it currently pays out to riders each season and see if it can be marketed or 'hyped' to get people in through its doors..

    It is said that the definition of insanity is "Always doing the same thing over and over again, but each time you do it, you are expecting a different result"..

    If Speedway doesn't change, (and radically) soon, the men with the straight jackets might not be too far away...

    And maybe, sadly, followed closely behind by the undertakers..?

     

    Brutal, but accurate assessment of where we are. Hardly any new blood coming through the turnstiles, not surprising given a product that hardly anyone recognises. Weekday (school day) meetings not good for B.V. as no kids often means no adults too. The actual racing at B.V. is on the whole really good and our Promotion tries hard, but B.V. had no vote in something that has fundamentally altered its' business model - how can this be right?

    • Like 3

  25. Posted

    On 4/8/2018 at 7:42 AM, Bagpuss said:

    Looks like the rain is forecast to arrive around 8pm.....hopefully it will decide to be a couple of hours late.

    Let's hope that they don't decide to take an interval and just run through the meeting. We had a rain affected meeting the other year against KL when they took an interval against a backdrop of gathering storm clouds.

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