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Why does UK Martin seem to get so much pleasure from knocking everything that Birmingham try to do? His latest post is no more than his jaundiced personal opinions which he tries to present as established facts. No one, for example has ever suggested that James Pearson was "The next Darcy Ward" when most accept that he was just a young lad with a lot of promise. It's disappointing to read these posts from someone who worked so hard to get a planning consent for Birmingham - but if youv'e really gone sour on speedway Martin, why not find another pastime and lay off the negativity? There are good people trying to make a go of speedway in Birmingham and who don't deserve all this.

To be fair to Arthur and his ilk . It's tough for them to understand how things are in the Championship . There are two types of rider in our league . Those who ride for Glasgow Tigers and those who wish they rode for Glasgow Tigers . Now the pressure of having such an accolade placed upon them has proved too heavy a burden on some of them in the past . But this septet assembled for 2023 look a terrifying prospect for the rest of the league . And you can only see the pride of Scotland steamrollering their way through the season .

Why talk in riddles? Nobody cares about the “I know more than you do” line… spill the beans or don’t say anything….

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!

What - bunch of Clowns who've never won a serious competition?

All it needs is a slip trip or fall and where there is blame there is a claim... once upon a time it was your fault if you tripped over... not now... and the walk to Northside is riddled with potential trip hazards... Also no one said it was remote however it is in an isolated position in the town without easy (walking) access at present but I can see that changing in the short to medium term... but it is much better if you are in a vehicle to get to the track... Folk will need to temper their expectations as this will be a work in progress for a number of years and a multitude of factors will need to be looked at as part of the on going process... Regards THJ

I hear the back up plan is just as good,,, some may say even betrer

Well they did it last season

similar ability with none of the attitude... Bowtell over Kemp all day

Wrong Adam!! Wrong club spelling - it's Opole in Poland!

Errmmmm,, well,,, well actually yes,,, it's the Bald head ya see,,,

Probably not a horse,, so I'm gonna guess a plane and then a Mercedes sprinter

Glasgow look like the Harlem Globetrotters of the Championship in 2023 , so it's just a matter of who finishes runner up . While the other seven clubs will finish above Edinburgh

5 in most cases.

It's absolutely fine. I'm always glad that someone posts anything in here because this is the only confirmed signings page which hasn't been pinned by the mods. I've tried emailing them but i may as well have written a letter to Santa.

Kemps emotional and behavioural biorhytms are rubbishe every Wednesday! Laurence is very thorough Mind you they aint much better any other day, he needs to mature FAST I agree with others Bowtell is far better bet, you will always get 100% from Bowtell !

I'm sure everyone would admit Jason Doyle is an out & out number one, but he's not qualified for the GPs in the last two seasons (relied on a seeded spot) so can't use that as an example to suggest Masters isn't an out & out number one imo

Following on from this theme of close racing isnt the solution to cap the top and bottom averages. Whatever the league a 10 point rider and a 3 point rider in the same race is likely to cause strung out racing. A cap on top averages might force the racing to be closer together. Then those who rise to the top step up to CL and sink or swim but again opportunities ahould be available.

I must say I didn’t realise the difference in being a no 1 and a genuine no 1 was a massive 0.01, Sam really must try harder next year, disgraceful. For gods sake, you couldn’t make some of this rubbish up. Why only Doyle and Fricke? Oh let me guess, because they’re in the GP’s.

Someones been on the pi$s

No no no,,,,, he's pretty damn good,,, or was pre war anyway

There is probably one...

Surely the discussion is the UK? He’s talking absolute bollocks by stating Masters isn’t a genuine number 1 in this league when he blatantly is. This is similar to “Holder Fricke and Kurtz are now better riders than Doyle” that we heard last winter when the fact is those riders aren’t in the same stratosphere as Doyle in this Country. There isn’t a single fan of a UK club that would pick Tungate in their side over Sam Masters.

Hes just a dangerous little throttle jockey on smaller tracks

No it will be the gate in at present to the race track until the site is further developed and the folk who know the site will know what I am on about... nothing is as straightforward as it seems... Regards THJ

Ironic as well as it was another Poole asset who took him out when Kurtz crashed and went into him. Shame if true as I am sure Ben would love to have had the chance in mixing it at least in the strongest Aussie Champ in quite some years. Never expected him to score too heavily but good experience for him and also meetings to help him stay in condition for the UK season. Wouldn't blame him though as some of those injuries are nasty especially Rew who came possibly so close to a Darcy type injury after breaking some bones in his neck. Not helped by the track with no inflatable barriers. He's already said he will never race on a track without them again. Don't blame him. Could have cost him both his career and potentially his life

Slice it any way you like, but I’m absolutely certain his GSA would be higher than it is now if he was at Ipswich this coming season. Well, ALMOST certain..

Shows how little knowledge of the sport you have if you can't see Tungate is levels above Masters

Fair one mate

Reel em in mate,especially poor old Arthur54

You really don't get this forum do you

Disagree. Andersen at Foxhall in the 1-5 ups his current average comfortably.

Jenkins, Bailey, Dan & Joe Thompson are all clearly still developing, so why shouldn't they be in a "development" league. Not sure why a "development" league has to mean a weak league? Personally I have no issue with the likes of Morley racing in the NDL as he can assist teammates on & off track as well as be a target for young opposition superstars (Harrison, Killeen, Perry) to find out how close they are to Champ level. Interestingly you never hear people complaining about Lewis Miller or Kieran Douglas being in a development league, despite the fact that neither of them can be considered a developing rider! No offence to those two, not everyone can become stars!

...still rankled with then Leicester Promoter, Martin Rogers, as Ochiltree was regarded as the "figurehead" and suffered with a lack of communication as regards the sudden closure of Blackbird Road.

No Nathan apparently from the Speedway Star front page

Im shocked that Drew Kemp hasn't been signed by anyone? Birmingham should've gone for him instead of Bowtell .....

...especially Frank Ebden whose desire was to complete a meeting before I had had a chance to down a cup of tea!

To be fair... Well deserved... I have always loved watching every single one of them refereeing for our entertainment...

Yep but that was before health and safety was invented and sueyou.com was ever even heard of... Regards THJ

Just a quick heads up for anyone looking to sign up to Discovery player in the UK for British and GP Speedway. I would hold off if possible as it looks like the rights may be moving back to BT/EE sport as part of the BT & Discovery joint venture. BT/EE are keen to get some more live content on their channels during the summer months when there is no Football and Rugby Union so Speedway has been Identified as one of the moves from Eurosport as it’s simple to do with Discovery holding GP staging rights and BSPL happy to accept any live UK Broadcaster just to keep the sport on TV. This could actually be beneficial to UK viewers as it will mean less clashes and scheduling issues when Eurosport have Cycling, Tennis and Athletics so hopefully wouldn’t get the big gaps in Speedway broadcasts when the French Open Tennis is on in May and Tour d France in July. On a side note as a result of this merger/ Joint Venture, If you pay BT or EE directly for BT sports you can now sign up to get Discovery sports access for Free

I was talking about for the start of the UK season....

He'll be fine for march though I'm sure

The championship is the problem. The Championship should have a workable Rising Stars scheme so that all these riders "too good for the NDL" can be accommodated. It's correct that Dan Thompson shouldn't be in NDL as he's too good. But he's only got his PL place. So do I blame him for clogging up a place in the NDL? Absolutely not! It's not Dan Thompson's fault in any way. It's the Championship which is wrong.

But Stoneman - Joe Thompson and Connor Bailey ok? Morley has no announced place other than NDL, Dan Thompson has only top tier. Ultimately they fit within the team building rules (team build averages increased this year) and keeping themselves sharp or in the shop window is smart on their part. Sadly the NDL is at odds with itself, does it want to be a conveyor belt of talent or a viable independent product it used to be both but im not certain if it is anymore.

If you feel like doing more of those then please do, really interesting

well it aint going to be made in this country cos nothing is

Yep that’s right Thomson had a great year in 22 another good ausie Queenslander , Allen had his problems , scunny thread best describes this, hard to raise av in heat leader positions when coming back from a wrist injury , Thomson no doubt will get a crack at some stage in 23 if good enough,team managers pick best team possible it’s that simple

He's being ironic.

Part of the problem is that if you are working on a Saturday and finish late you haven't time to faff around organising on line tickets before setting off to travel.Also might have other commitments leading to last minute decision to go and in both cases you are penalised through no fault of your own. Maybe not a problem for the likes of Mr Barrie whose whole existence revolves around speedway but the powers that be should maybe accept not everyone is like that.

The decision on admission prices for next season makes no business or economic sense at all. In the long run Berwick as a club may pay a heavy price.