Buxton Hitmen V Birmingham Brummies - Nl - 2/10/16

[Little Thumper 528]

Whilst there are obvious some stumbling blocks surrounding the signing of riders to Buxton (Location, facilities, finances etc) they are in essence a NL team and there are riders up and down the country looking / hoping for team places.

 

I have no doubt it is possible to build a solid mid table team at Buxton and not that many years ago they were league winners.

 

What has and will continue to hurt the club is the constant chopping & changing of riders, the old mates of Pipe's being signed and so on.

If finances are tight then a look at local talent and keeping them happy has to be they way forward and is what has worked for the club in the past but the number of retired or want away riders this season has to cast huge clouds over future years...

 

 

 

Yes, this is a very valid point and it has always baffled me why riders disappear without trace after relatively short periods in the team.

Two examples that spring to mind are Steve Jones who hurt his knee but then disappeared without trace and David Speight who was cleaning up at a grasstrack meeting a few weeks ago.

 

You wouldn't mind so much these riders departing if they were being replaced with someone you had even heard of.

 

I noticed at a recent grass meeting in Cheshire, a big knob from the BV Colts was keeping an eye on things.

Surely, there must be some way of getting some of the talented youngsters to take to the shale, at Buxton or wherever?

One way would be regular try out days for riders to dip their toe in the water and see if speedway is the way to go.

Do any clubs run these type of trial days?

 

I sometimes go the 3 Sisters circuit near Wigan and there is at least one meeting a month where sprogs are trying out motor sport and possibly progressing further up the competition ladder.

 

Whether it is Buxton or any other club, what I don't much care for is constant rider replacement and an unending stream of hired hands.

 

So, Sings4Kings, hopefully Buxton have a cunning plan and this time next year, you and I will be on here discussing their magnificent revival.

[*JJ 523]

Unfortunately, Buxton do not have a plan at all. A short time ago, I asked them if an MDL rider who has been out for the season with a broken leg, could do some after-match practice at their track. The answer was that the promoter didn't like staying on after NL matches and wanted to lock up and go as soon as possible. He didn't even like staying open for MDL matches!

This track is not used for anything else - no greyhounds, no stock cars etc. - it could esily be used for regular training and practice sessions, or amateur racing, in order to find riders for the future, even though it is a bit out in the sticks. It merely needs the will to do so by somebody.

[Jayne 312]

It was never the intention to swap and change the team as much as we have this year. In fact I cannot remember a year where everything and anything has gone wrong. Steve Jones picked up a nasty knee injury at Birmingham and he was led to believe that he may need an operation to correct the damage caused, hence why he has not been riding. He tried to make a comeback but only lasted one race before he had to admit defeat. He has now been told that he doesn't require an op (good news for a change) and was looking to race again. However, the deadline for making changes had passed and who do you take out without making matters worse and is it fair to drop a rider who has ridden in the majority of meetings just for a few matches at the end?

 

We then lost Jade Mudgway after his nasty crash at Eastbourne ended his speedway days. Next up was Ollie Greenwood who decided he had been knocked off once too many times at Kent and promptly quit racing. How do you replace these riders when there is no one sat on the sidelines of their calibre? I don't have a magic wand and yes bringing riders out of retirement isn't ideal or really how we want to run things at Buxton but those riders have kept us on track and done their best in difficult circumstances. The other option was to give up ourselves which has been tempting at times but we made a commitment to the league this year and we will see it out despite everything that has been thrown at us.

 

If we are still here next year the team will have to be very different and our aim is to get back to what Buxton was originally set up for - to develop riders.

Unfortunately, Buxton do not have a plan at all. A short time ago, I asked them if an MDL rider who has been out for the season with a broken leg, could do some after-match practice at their track. The answer was that the promoter didn't like staying on after NL matches and wanted to lock up and go as soon as possible. He didn't even like staying open for MDL matches!

This track is not used for anything else - no greyhounds, no stock cars etc. - it could esily be used for regular training and practice sessions, or amateur racing, in order to find riders for the future, even though it is a bit out in the sticks. It merely needs the will to do so by somebody.

 

News to me - perhaps you should ask the right people.

 

We have tried practice sessions over the years and not enough riders turn up to make it worthwhile (we do have to pay the bills) so it is easier for us to rent the track out and leave someone else with the headache of making it balance the books. Yes the track is available for use on pretty much any day but unfortunately Buxton Speedway does not pay our personal bills hence why we have to work which impacts on how often we are available to run extra activities. We just don't have enough assistance to do these things alongside our other commitments.

[Little Thumper 528]

It was never the intention to swap and change the team as much as we have this year. In fact I cannot remember a year where everything and anything has gone wrong. Steve Jones picked up a nasty knee injury at Birmingham and he was led to believe that he may need an operation to correct the damage caused, hence why he has not been riding. He tried to make a comeback but only lasted one race before he had to admit defeat. He has now been told that he doesn't require an op (good news for a change) and was looking to race again. However, the deadline for making changes had passed and who do you take out without making matters worse and is it fair to drop a rider who has ridden in the majority of meetings just for a few matches at the end?

 

We then lost Jade Mudgway after his nasty crash at Eastbourne ended his speedway days. Next up was Ollie Greenwood who decided he had been knocked off once too many times at Kent and promptly quit racing. How do you replace these riders when there is no one sat on the sidelines of their calibre? I don't have a magic wand and yes bringing riders out of retirement isn't ideal or really how we want to run things at Buxton but those riders have kept us on track and done their best in difficult circumstances. The other option was to give up ourselves which has been tempting at times but we made a commitment to the league this year and we will see it out despite everything that has been thrown at us.

 

If we are still here next year the team will have to be very different and our aim is to get back to what Buxton was originally set up for - to develop riders.

 

Jayne and Richard you are stars!

 

A lot of people want Buxton to succeed and they realize what a struggle Buxton have had this year.

 

Clubs like Buxton are essential to whatever future speedway might have in this country and if the sport had a governing and promoting body that realized that if you don't feed the roots then the flower will die, then the Buxtons of this world would be financially and spiritually encouraged to be the breeding grounds for future British talent.

 

Sadly, those at the top of the sport lack the vision to see beyond the end of their bank statement and it is left to the small promoters to do the best they can with ever-dwindling resources.

 

I am sure Jayne and her team at Buxton are seriously wondering whether it is worth putting all the hard effort in for yet another year and if they did decide to throw in the towel, then nobody could blame them.

 

But when the small clubs disappear, the chances of the being re-born are slim.

 

So Jayne, thank you for having the fortitude to come on here and share your thoughts and I am sure that there are many people like myself who wish Buxton a long and successful future.

 

Make it so.

 

Edited October 7, 2016 by Little Thumper

[Sings4Speedway 3,249]

I think a lot of people have a soft spot for Buxton and wish every success for them. The efforts that the few put in are mighty and the resilience mightier still especially after such a trying year.

Bad luck affects all sides in the sport although some attract/assist it more than others. My views on the effect Pipe has had on Buxton speedway may not be so complimentary but i for one would love to see the Hitmen have a successful season next year and for many years to come.

[*JJ 523]

News to me - perhaps you should ask the right people.

I thought that I had!

[John Leslie 3,213]

Tried to read the Jason Pipe mega-paragraph about the Birmingham match.

 

One question....who is Raj? Have Buxton signed an Indian? I know they've signed a few cowboys, but I didn't know about the Indian.

[Little Thumper 528]

Tried to read the Jason Pipe mega-paragraph about the Birmingham match.

 

One question....who is Raj? Have Buxton signed an Indian? I know they've signed a few cowboys, but I didn't know about the Indian.

 

Oh, do try and keep up!

 

The cat is out of the bag....Jason Pipe has signed a team of Indians for next year.

The Buxton Hitmen will henceforth be known as the Buxton Biryanis.

 

They probably won't score too many points but at least the venue catering might get a bit more cosmopolitan.

 

Jason Pipe will be expected to wear a turban at all times and there will be belly dancing in the interval (not by Jason Pipe, I hasten to add).

 

Now if only Buxton did season tickets, I'd be reaching for my cheque book.

 

Be careful out there, it's a dangerous world.

[Sings4Speedway 3,249]

Buxton 2017 - a northern flavour to cut travelling expenses & more than capable of getting near the play offs......

 

1. Compton 8.95

2. Terry-Daly 4.57

3. Shuttleworth 6.55

4. Hopwood 5.93

5. Ritchings 7.14

6. Basford 3.37

7. Ruddick 3.10

Total 39.61

[Little Thumper 528]

Well,it's not getting a lot better for Buxton!

 

This weekend's double header against the Isle of Wight and Kings Lynn would be challenging enough at the best of times but this is the Buxton team line up:-

 

1. Tom Woolley (Guest)

2. Rider Replacement for Ryan Blacklock who has got something else on

3. Shelby Rutherford

4. Ryan Burton (if his toe is better)

5. Lee Dicken (if his back isn't hurting)

6. Lee Geary

7. Joe Lawlor (Guest)

8. William O'Keefe

 

So if Lee Dicken and Ryan Burton don't pitch up, I'm not entirely sure how they will go on.

 

It's not so long ago that the manager was suggesting that Rutherford and Geary weren't up to the job and should go walkabouts for a bit - now they seem to be the mainstays of the team!

 

Not quite sure how this is going to pan out.

Edited October 7, 2016 by Little Thumper

[John Leslie 3,213]

So if Lee Dicken and Ryan Burton don't pitch up, I'm not entirely sure how they will go on.

With Rider Replacement already operating, if they lose 2 more they'll be left with the Raj Quartet.

[brianbuck 928]

How many promoters would come onto a forum like this to respond to criticism the way that Jayne Moss has? Surely everyone is aware of the problems that Buxton have in attracting riders for their team. Plenty will take advantage of the opportunities to practice on the Buxton track but will then go off and join clubs with more financial resourses.

 

Buxton are a great little club and I wish them all the very best for the future. I have been a supporter of Birmingham for the past 63 years and I naturally like to see my team win - but winning away from home by a 61-29 scoreline doesn't do any favours for the winners or the losers so I feel that the time is long overdue for us to find a better and fairer way of balancing team strengths than the points system which is repeatedly abused and in my view has been shown to be unworkable.

 

This can only be some kind of grading system for riders and needed to be framed in a way which does not permit the top teams to take the pick of the riders in the best grade. Not easy to set up I know, but something that needs to be worked on.,

[*JJ 523]

I thought that I had!

To be fair to Buxton, I had exactly the same answer from Coventry and Wolverhampton. More effort needs to be put in by all promoters to encourage new talent.

Edited October 9, 2016 by *JJ