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As some of you may know, for my sins I am Director and minor shareholder in Birmingham Speedway. Now isn't the right time for me to comment on the rights or wrongs of Promotional decisions on team building etc. Nigel Tolley has bankrolled the club for the past few seasons and for that the Brummies fans and sport in general should be grateful, otherwise the club would have folded at the end of the 2022 campaign and a poor team is still better than no team at all as I am sure many fans of defunct tracks would agree. With 2025 being the final year for the club at Perry Barr, Nigel obviously wanted it to be a successful one, so his plan was to put together a side that on paper looked as if it would be in with a shout for the play-off's. As I say the make-up of that team or planning around it isn't for me to comment on at this time, but what I will say is that unfortunately the support in terms of numbers coming through the doors and promised commercial deals have failed to meet expectations. I am not sitting here typing this to disagree with anything people have said on this thread, far from it. I am just highlighting that intentions were for the best even if execution wasn't and that expenditure had to be reduced to ensure that the club continued to fulfil all it's obligations. Cheers, Paul.

EXACTLY! Grateful or not ...the 'product' has been poor, season after season since Tolley took over...it's not hard to work out why!? I'm not sure that I agree with having a team to watch is better than nothing....just my opinion!

Covid 🙄Was thinking of coming to this but instead I will spend my hard earned money going to see the loch ness monster, funny enough that doesn’t exist either, at which point does British speedway start treating its customers with a bit of respect

I was concerned that this might happen with Ashton, how many times have we seen someone stepping up to soon in the past? i personally think he should have had another season in the NDL to learn more about the sport, I really do hope that this is not the last we will see of such a promising talent.

600 to (on a good night), 800, was never going to sustain a competitive team in Div 1.. And, before some come on and say previous promotions did it, they didn't have to lay out big money to expensive top riders as very few rode over here for several of those seasons.. And they also often were in the lower leagues that crowds of 600 to 800 could be coped with... They simply should have been allowed to ride Mondays in Div 2... If that meant a few "guesfests" then so be it, (what's several more added to the overall total?)....

Even that money was mismanaged, it was alleged (that as a thank you) the guy ( Russell) who arranged the Sky deal allegedly pocketed a large chunk of it every year whilst grass roots got bugger all.

Should never of been in the top tier in the first place. awful crowds and not helped by the muppets who run the sport in the UK by pretty much forcing them up. there is certainly no danger of ending the season on a high with these type of signings. the club is run as an absolute joke. Why did everyone know MJJ was only riding till May before the season started yet the club said idiot all about it, just like they did a while ago with the Adam Ellis signing. ever since Birmingham have came back around 2007 they have proved the crowds just arent there. They are national league standard.

Your attire is as good as promoting the sport gets in this country. Fair play. I’ll be wearing a black tee shirt emblazoned with RON MAIDEN on the front. I tell people that he’s the uncle of Steve Harris, but truth is, the letter ‘I’ recently came off on the transfer in the last wash.

I was there too! Yes it was expensive but it was 3 hours 10 minutes of non- stop entertainment. I'm going to see Maiden on Saturday at the Olympic stadium, again around the £100 mark but again it'll be around 2 hours of non stop entertainment... although they are operating drummer replacement lol

It may have some legs. I heard the presentation at WSRA lunch. Worth reading the article I would think

The team he put together that had MJJ leaving at the end of May was only ever going to make the play offs if Brum had ridden all of their league matches before his contract expired! The fans ain't daft, despite the silence from the Birmingham promotion they know when they're being mugged off, like they were mugged off in a previous year with the short term signing of Adam Ellis.

Would've been better off signing another 'Sam Hagon' if there is one? Give youth a bit of experience.... Barker's signing will only reduce attendance levels! This Tolley/Rogers combination is the most inept promotional set-up in the Clubs history...bar none! God help the next Club that they extinguish!

It goes to show just how good the NSS is that it’s so hard to them ride it effectively, some tracks you put two riders side by side and there is no room to pass no matter how fast you are, the NSS is a dream for real racers who can move the bike. Can you imagine how Mark Loram and Joe Screen would have done on this track.

One thing missed with all the chatter on here was the excellent team riding from Harris & Cook over Jaimon. It’s not easy to do that at the NSS even if the track is more difficult to pass on like last night. Don’t know if it’s out there or if Lynn can get hold of it but it’s worth a watch. Best I’ve seen at home.

Thoughts with the Birmingham fans at this difficult time. Maybe he was signed as he still has his Brummies kevlars in the workshop, whether he can still fit in them is another matter.

No support band didn't help either, everybody trying to get in at the same time... at least the singer wasn't pulling pints behind the bar 😂

Pr!ck

Yes it was great value at £100 but some tickets were £300+. I would have loved to have gone to the black sabbath gig but I can’t justify that price of over £200 a ticket, did you enjoy the K2 security shambles of getting in to villa park ?

Is Bomber singing insted of Bruce?

I think the fact people who follow the sport would rather comment from a phone/PC rather than attend shows just how far the sport has fallen? You simply cannot expect fans to part with hard earned cash to turn up and watch a poor product. Why should they? It is high time now more than ever that one big league was formed, 5 rider teams and race once home and away then top 4 to play offs and so on. The Gp riders returning haven't brought the crowds back so do away with them.

We know all this but it’s more than speedway itself now,the country is going broke, at this point unless the finance is changed nothing else will make a difference

This from a mere 22 years ago, sky has come and gone, Cardiff has come and gone, many tracks have come and gone, mainly gone... what was under discussion then is still under discussion today, to think that some of the posters on this topic then were young men 😂 Many have long since left the forum 😟

MJJ is the wildcard

We now have some of the best riders in the world finally on British shores. Yet people still would rather “pick and choose” their meetings and not support the sport. There is no excuse. People on the forum need to actually start attending matches and helping the sport out inside of constantly moaning about this and that. Latest I heard was most matches are “qualifiers” for the play offs. That’s an embarrassing reason to not attend. Polish fans could think the same around this time of the season but they love the sport and just go to watch races. Too much negatively on this forum. Turn your phone off on a Monday or Thursday night and actually go out and watch some speedway instead of just chatting BS. Belle Vue have two of the best riders currently in the world but still can’t be bothered to attend until September as they always state… why?

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see them back. I used to live in Leatherhead for a while (1980's) and watched the Dons most weeks, but regular speedway back in London, does sound unlikely, but would love to be proved wrong!

I’m led to believe this is a major overall, I think it centered around the finances of the sport, I heard a proposal a few weeks back which is a major change and it’s not going to sit well with some but I don’t see an alternative,not saying this is the way they are planning but the sport in Britain more than ever is broke and the country is heading the same way,whatever the outcome the end result has to be cheaper admission for fans and a £1 here or £2 there ain’t going to cut it

What I think everyone needs to grasp is that speedway is just not a trendy sport and there is no younger generation of fans flocking through the gates anymore. Its 99.9 percent surviving on the old guard. Ok, there will be one or two clubs who are making a decent profit from good crowds but they are very much in the minority. The amount of clubs that have closed in the last few decades speaks volumes. The sport in the UK has been wrecked by lazy promoters who wont drag the club they promote into the 21st century, scruffy stadiums, ridiculous rule changes by the governing body and riders taking the complete urine. Thats just a couple of major problems, the list is endless. I have said it for years now, the only way out of this is to completely re format British Speedway and change the league structure. Two leagues sharing the same riders with riders missing every meeting just don't work.

Without being hypo sceptical, a huge shake up for the sport has been promised for many a year, promised but as yet not delivered. Though to be fair its difficult for the decision makers to see the problems when your head is buried in the sand.

As much as speedway is its own demise, the current worrying trend in attendances is in part down to the financial crisis currently hitting the world, people are starting to feel the pinch and are picking and choosing what they attend, it’s not just speedway it’s everywhere,every entertainment business, I think it has finally registered at BSPL towers and I’m led to believe that a huge shake up for the sport is happening this winter, it’s very hush hush at the moment but let’s hope it’s just not a new helmet colour

Sorry I was looking at the other flat track site, dirt track riders, looks to be at least 2 different organisations

I remember attending PB when Lakeside Hammers rode there and there less than 350 in attendance( I was with a Berwick follower who was in the area for work purposes.He couldn't believe it😮)☹️

Nicolai Klindt back to reserve from July 1st and veteran Dane, Niels Kristian Iversen, will be the new Stars number 1 👍🏻 this has to be the order for me… 1 Iversen, 2 Lawson, 3 Harris, 4 B Cook, 5 Kvech, 6 Klindt, 7 Scott/Harrison

The last flat track a few weeks ago was free entry, 140 riders racing went on most of the day, I was down for a couple of hours looked to be well organised, bikes waiting for next heat before the previous one had finished

How many handles and heads has the old broom had?

Any chance of a guest then? 🤔🤞🏼

That's Triggers broom he carries it everywhere, it's 20 years old 😂

I’m sure it was mentioned in the comments on the update site that he had an exam yesterday.

He does seem a bit vague when it's mentioned during the TNT presentations. It's a bit hard to judge, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he retired. I hope not.

Mark Loram could ride any track though he was never a fan of the big open spaces ones … he preferred the tracks where you had to use your brain and throttle Go see you tube videos of Mark at Wolves or Eastbourne or Arena even Poole …. Absolute master

During the boom years of the seventies no investment into the sport was made and so began the slow downward spiral that has led to the current situation.

That's true. The Prem will have to sort their crap out themselves.

Many years of burying collective heads in the sand, and not listening to those who have drifted away, but still closely follow the sport, has delivered what we have today... Not sure those who have put the sport currently where it sits, are in anyway capable of sorting it out to be honest. The issues, and their obvious solutions, have been staring them in the face for two decades at least, and they have steadfastly ignored them... What will suddenly make them capable now of having a clear vision for the growth of the sport?

Don't see why we can't keep Weds. We already have a Dane and isn't a problem.

I don't think you realise who you are talking to here. Brum has plenty of experience regarding feigning injuries, question is does Brady get paid when he's "injured" and missing?😃

Pretty sure I heard that Poland are dropping the under 24 league next year so guess there will be a lot of Europeans looking for rides in the uk

Friday’s matches line-ups Lublin v Grudziadz- start time 5pm UK time Lublin 9 Kubera 10 Lindgren 11 J Holder 12 Cierniak 13 Zmarzlik 14 Przyjemski 15 Banbor 16 Grudziadz 1 Fricke 2 Lidsey 3 Tarasenko 4 Miskowiak 5 MJJ 6 Malkiewicz 7 Przanowski 8 Gorzow v Wroclaw- start time 7.30pm UK time Gorzow 9 O Fajfer 10 Thomsen 11 Chatlas 12 Vaculik 13 Lebedevs 14 Paluch 15 Krok 16 Wroclaw 1 Kowalski 2 Janowski 3 Laguta 4 Bewley 5 Kurtz 6 Krawczyk 7 Kowolik 8

Ashton has all the machinery and backing the some young riders can only dream .Has talent not sure about attitude and bottle you need though,it’s a tough sport. Time will tell what he does next.

I think Poole lose out most as they had the biggest asset pool, although probably most from their premiership

Of which he is neither

Having a strong reserve is more of a masterstroke when a team manager gives them extra rides😝