Hawk127 1,359 Posted September 21, 2018 Cat amongst the pidgeons. Loathe him or admire him Matt Ford has run one of the most successful clubs and given that he appears to be reaching that point on where he goes next, perhaps he could relinquish the reigns at Poole and do what John Berry tried to achieve. Matt knows speedway inside out, is one of the few people who could probably command some respect from those outside the sport given his business acumen and at this juncture speedway has nothing to lose. Carry on with the current crew and no changes (either Matt or someone with a good PR and presence) then it is a lost cause and the chances of recovery are slim. It needs something radical to happen not just the regular tinkering and tweaking which simply alienates all and sundry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted September 21, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, adonis said: Do you know any of those people or just the public persona ? No i know none of them personally Kilby ( jnr) i know to say hello great guy just like his dad.!!' Edited September 21, 2018 by Sidney the robin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waytogo28 2,054 Posted September 22, 2018 One thing you can be sure of is that the slow death of UK speedway will continue, mainly because most of the changes that will be unveiled will not involve anything about marketing that reaches the general public. I feel that we could do worse ( possibly ) than introduce the pink helmet cover which would at least be in tune with things the outside world are interested in and familiar with. The letter in the SS his week from Julie Bean says so much about the apathy of speedway clubs in taking up or looking for opportunities ( even when free except for their own expenses ). To paraphrase the song " The only way is down". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,297 Posted September 22, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, waytogo28 said: One thing you can be sure of is that the slow death of UK speedway will continue, mainly because most of the changes that will be unveiled will not involve anything about marketing that reaches the general public. I feel that we could do worse ( possibly ) than introduce the pink helmet cover which would at least be in tune with things the outside world are interested in and familiar with. The letter in the SS his week from Julie Bean says so much about the apathy of speedway clubs in taking up or looking for opportunities ( even when free except for their own expenses ). To paraphrase the song " The only way is down". The crowds that Speedway gets are actually "quite good" in my opinion considering... a) The way it runs itself delivers nothing but 'Mickey Mouse' Competitions devoid of any credibility or kudos.. b) The Sport has zero national collective marketing meaning just a tiny, tiny proportion of the population know of its existence, and therefore by definition, the local club based practically on their doorstep... c) It's lack of an all round 'full night out' entertainment package to enhance just 15 mins of what can often be 'basic' action for a circa £20 admission cost that reflects more the payroll costs rather than what's actually on offer.. and d) The fact it is ran so many times around the Country on the worst nights of the week in which to attract its best attendances. Imagine the potential crowds if it could sort just those four things out? I would suggest triple digit growth in some places given the tiny low average crowd base so many would be coming from... Ironically, given how badly the Sport has been ran for the past 15 years or so, that abject performance actually now provides a huge opportunity for growth, especially given how much correcting those clearly obvious fundamental issues would benefit it.... When you've reached 'rock bottom', as in some places it appears to have, the only way is up, so what an opportunity now exists for growth! Have the Promoters got the vision or talent to see that huge opportunity and grab it though? I know my thoughts... Edited September 22, 2018 by mikebv 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adonis 1,454 Posted September 22, 2018 20 hours ago, Sidney the robin said: Total nonsense worst post ever from you Matt those five know more about speedway than you would ever hope to know. I have to agree with Matt K here , the only one of your candidates I would even consider is Neil Machin , Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted September 22, 2018 19 hours ago, MattK said: I'm sure the CEO of Domino's will have more ideas about how to market speedway than the current incumbents at the BSPA. When Barry Hearn became chairman of the PDC did he change the value of a bull's eye to 75 and introduce a rule where if a player is 100 points down his next three darts count double? Of course not. He was looking at the bigger picture, how to revolutionise the presentation of darts, engaging with sponsors who can bring credibility to the sport and negotiating a multi-million pound TV deal. This is the problem with the BSPA. They think they can turn around speedway's fortunes by endless tinkering with the rules, league structures and names. If anything the BSPA are too close to speedway. How often do the likes of the FA, RFU and so on introduce the types of rule changes we see every year in speedway. What the BPSA as the governing body should be doing is looking at the bigger picture not arguing over rule changes every year. Does old stadia for most clubs all over the country hold the sport back for me this is the biggest problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adonis 1,454 Posted September 22, 2018 12 hours ago, Sidney the robin said: No i know none of them personally Kilby ( jnr) i know to say hello great guy just like his dad.!!' I'm a great guy . but put me in charge of the whole of speedway and it would faster than the Titanic Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted September 22, 2018 8 minutes ago, adonis said: I have to agree with Matt K here , the only one of your candidates I would even consider is Neil Machin , Lee Kilby along with Neil Vatcher are the future Kilby has done a great job at Swindon is great with the kids and is very approachable.Vatcher what more can you say he has done a great job with the young guns and he has helped put us on the road to a bright future.Boocock/ Adams what more can you say about those two as far as i know both have had no real influence on the major decisions of the last 30 years they cannot be associated with failure..Machin well he kept Sheffield afloat in very difficult times and it is down to him that Sheffield speedway is still operating.Forget the five i named i am sure everybody could name there own five but my main point is with five people they can be made accountable transparency put in place and with five heads you are more and likely agoing to get the right decisions made on the important issues.Speedway is not a sport in my opinion to come into if you have no idea of how it works and how it operates and what breed of people actually go I would say it is one of the most difficult sports to turn around and prosper i think the first thing is to try and get stability back in the sport. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted September 22, 2018 6 minutes ago, adonis said: I'm a great guy . but put me in charge of the whole of speedway and it would faster than the Titanic Did i ever say put in CHARGE by the way it cannot be run any worse than it is at the moment. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waytogo28 2,054 Posted September 22, 2018 (edited) Put me and the small group of fans I know well in charge and we could only make a better overall job, than how it is being run now. I would be happy to do it for expenses only, as would the most thoughtful of posters on here. We all had lots of life and business experience besides our current part-time job as keyboard scribes. However, the BSPA recoils from the word feedback Edited September 22, 2018 by waytogo28 additional 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orion 7,615 Posted September 22, 2018 (edited) 21 hours ago, Sidney the robin said: Anyone with no knowledge of the sport coming in blind would sink faster than the Titanic its already sunk ...and the names you put forward were the people who helped put it there . Edited September 22, 2018 by orion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Byker Biker 472 Posted September 22, 2018 On 9/21/2018 at 8:35 AM, ch958 said: as long as there's no financial interest to cloud their judgement You mean like Barry Hearn? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,395 Posted September 22, 2018 1 minute ago, Byker Biker said: You mean like Barry Hearn? people mention him - i don't know why he'd be interested, there's nowhere near the sort of cash he's made from boxing or snooker. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orion 7,615 Posted September 22, 2018 21 hours ago, MattK said: I'm sure the CEO of Domino's will have more ideas about how to market speedway than the current incumbents at the BSPA. When Barry Hearn became chairman of the PDC did he change the value of a bull's eye to 75 and introduce a rule where if a player is 100 points down his next three darts count double? Of course not. He was looking at the bigger picture, how to revolutionise the presentation of darts, engaging with sponsors who can bring credibility to the sport and negotiating a multi-million pound TV deal. This is the problem with the BSPA. They think they can turn around speedway's fortunes by endless tinkering with the rules, league structures and names. If anything the BSPA are too close to speedway. How often do the likes of the FA, RFU and so on introduce the types of rule changes we see every year in speedway. What the BPSA as the governing body should be doing is looking at the bigger picture not arguing over rule changes every year. Barry has brought a lot of gimmicks into snooker including the one frame shootout with a shot clock he also brought double in double out in the darts grand prix ,..You look at cricket and what 20 -20 has done for the game ...people do try to bring in new rules and change the game .sometimes they work sometimes they don't 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spl77 337 Posted September 22, 2018 2 hours ago, orion said: its already sunk ...and the names you put forward were the people who helped put it there . For once I agree with you. Neil Vatcure and those involved with the team GB set would appear to be the ones to go for. Failing that ask guy Nicholls to buy the whole sport and have Mark loram as the front man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites