Alan_Jones 1,005 Posted October 1, 2015 Matt Ford - one that grates? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ColinMills 1,728 Posted October 1, 2015 if your not liked, your a success, ask john berry!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shayman 3 Posted October 1, 2015 >> If all clubs had promoters like Matt Ford we'd have a far superior sport. Wouldn't want there to be any more Matt Ford's. That would be a threat to Poole's current supremacy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
damosuzuki 696 Posted October 1, 2015 Says it all that the Glasgow promoters made a trip to Poole / Ford to look at how things could /should be done. You only have to look at Poole - success, profitability, massive crowds, big names. Surely most clubs would love to be in that position - and for the good of speedway it's needed to bring clubs into the 21st century. I remember football - at all levels - getting a real kick in the right direction once sky became involved and clubs started to provide proper facilities and drag themselves out of the piss on the terraces era. The potential is there all over the place - watch Belle Vue and Glasgow go (for example). 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteveEvans 248 Posted October 1, 2015 He has done wonders for his club and his success is in a league of its own. Coventry was close behind under Sandhu. Such a shame that success has become the be all and end all though, as a result, the league is smaller with less teams, meetings and quality. If there was a Matt Ford around who could be hired as a consultant to improve the sport of speedway, its long term survival would be more certain. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
screm 8,057 Posted October 1, 2015 In terms of Poole, and just Poole, Ford has done an incredible job, and made the Poole Pirates the biggest and best club in the EL. He has bent the odd rule along the way, and rode a coach and horses through others, maybe some EL promoters out there need to take a leaf out of Poole`s book, might make things more competitive, might also kill off British speedway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,637 Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) Mark Lemon has said both in articles and on Sky last night that 'Poole are the benchmark' for others to aim at. We certainly get a lot of aiming on here!! Following yet another Elite League title for Poole where does this place Matt Ford in terms of the great promoters in speedway history? For the purposes of this thread I am referring to the good brought to the promoters club, not the sport as a whole as that is another conversation altogether. As much as I dislike some of the stunts that Ford has pulled over the years nobody can argue against his level of success. Indeed you could put forward the argument that he has simply taken advantage of the sports governing bodies to push/bend/manipulate rules to his advantage and that it is his job to eek out as big an advantage for his team as he can. When interviewed on TV he appears intelligent, well dressed and comes across as being ultra professional.. something which is not always the case with speedway promoters. The Poole club is extremely well run, there rarely appears to be issues with riders not wanting to race for them. There's never a peep about riders not being paid on time and the whole club has a passionate 'family' atmosphere. As much as he has been ridiculed Middlo is very much part of that too. Year after year he puts together a team that challenges right at the top of the table... and of course isn't frightened to make changes where necessary. The up and down nature of most other teams shows that this is no easy task. So where do folks rank him? I'd list him as the No 1 promoter FOR HIS CLUB since I started going to speedway in 1984. Have you been on the Vinho Verde today BWitcher??? Edited October 1, 2015 by Skidder1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glenn 26 Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) Historically Poole were your typical friendly family club promoted by the Foote family if I recall correctly Won the league in 1969 with a team of league of nations' riders but didn't do a lot for speedway in general as their record of producing their own local talent was poor - local boy John Davis lasted a year before he was rejected at 17 I think. Edited October 1, 2015 by Glenn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
van wolfswinkel 635 Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) John was from Oxford...I remember the old Pirates side of '69, always seemed to be loads of league/cup/challenge matches for Swindon against Poole...Smith, Mudge, Fossengen etc., Edited October 1, 2015 by haydon hat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
New Science 1,059 Posted October 1, 2015 Historically Poole were your typical friendly family club promoted by the Foote family if I recall correctly Won the league in 1969 with a team of league of nations' riders but didn't do a lot for speedway in general as their record of producing their own local talent was poor - local boy John Davis lasted a year before he was rejected at 17 I think. Matt Ford and Poole remind me of Don Revie and Leeds utd .Admired but never be loved. Good news for Poole is as champions they qualify for speedways champions league,if they can be arsed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,375 Posted October 1, 2015 Knows how to Promote and make money out of speedway how many modern day Promoters can say that.Must be doing something right. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
van wolfswinkel 635 Posted October 1, 2015 Matt Ford and Poole remind me of Don Revie and Leeds utd .Admired but never be loved. Good news for Poole is as champions they qualify for speedways champions league,if they can be arsed. Being a fan of The Arse I bloody hated that Leeds team...Bremner, Hunter, Giles, Charlton...dirty sods Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
customhouseregular 1,651 Posted October 1, 2015 I don't know about Matt Ford, but post-war at least Ronnie Greene has to be number 1. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heathen chemistry 660 Posted October 2, 2015 the only thing matt ford is the greatest of is in poole , he done nothing for speedway in general ,everything he done is for poole and if all promoters were like him speedway wouldnt last 5 minutes we'd have a season of in fighting,argueing ,fall outs, teams pulling out,all other teams trying to pull loophole stunts to win at any cost, a whole season of discontent..... there would be a scb/bspa hearing every day ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1 valve 558 Posted October 2, 2015 (edited) the only thing matt ford is the greatest of is in poole , he done nothing for speedway in general ,everything he done is for poole and if all promoters were like him speedway wouldnt last 5 minutes we'd have a season of in fighting,argueing ,fall outs, teams pulling out,all other teams trying to pull loophole stunts to win at any cost, a whole season of discontent..... there would be a scb/bspa hearing every day ! Poole and by association Matt Ford are indeed the benchmark by dint of being league champions for the past three years. competition is healthy and the other clubs should have ambitions to not only emulate but topple the Pirates from their lofty perch. However as I see it, many of the other promoters are occupied with surviving rather than growing and consistently fail to grasp the competitive concept that, the better/appealing you make your product the more of it you will sell. There is no doubt that Matt Ford has made his product appealing hence the success achieved, but he would benefit even more if other clubs adopted likewise approaches and all promoters worked together to make speedway more appealing across the UK starting with a "we" attitude rather than an "I" attitude. To draw a comparison, A car dealer is more than happy if he has no competition, the market is his, but any sporting club needs good competition to make their product appealing - the better the competition the better the product i.e. Poole v no body = no meeting. Poole v great competition = great meeting. Ford is the best promoter of the modern generation, I suspect David Helmsley at Leicester is equally ambitious and given time will be playing his part in positively developing UK speedway. I hope Ford & Helmsley can attract/influence others to work together in a like minded fashion. Edited October 2, 2015 by 1 valve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
