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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.

The front cover of this week's Speedway Star has just been released. One of the headlines is 'Wimbledon...New hope for Dons revival.' MUST. STAY. CALM. My heart is racing just thinking that this could happen. I never thought I would potentially see us return in my lifetime, and tomorrow can't come soon enough to read about it.

Agree on every point apart from the 15 mins of entertainment... There is zero to keep me entertained during the gaps between racing.. 1970's music? Really? I attended an indoors MX event in MCR ten years ago and every Speedway promoter should have gone to it... The on track action was only a part of the evening.. You could win a mini MX bike, (just £5 a text), and 1000's of dads texted in. (Me being one).. They fired, via air gun, t shirts (all small so kids got them), into the crowd, and my lad got one... Each rider had a merch stall, with shirts, photos, selfies etc.. And Monster Energy Girls... (Ahem)... The guy in the middle kept the evening flowing, the music reflected the hi octane, adrenaline fuelled sport... And I didn't have a clue who anyone was but paid seventy quid for me and my then 12 year old lad... And it was worth every penny.. Some on here say that the gaps between races is a chance to talk with those they stand with and haven't seen since the last meeting, which is fine.. But what do those attending for the first time do? Twiddle their thumbs? A high octane, adrenaline fuelled sport should have an off track package that reflects it... UK Speedway's off track entertainment is truly dire...

I'll be the one at the front in my camper chair wearing my Leicester Lions jacket with "Happiness is 40-38" sew on badge attached!

Yeah, saw Ghost that day too. Bloody farce with the queuing because of the ban on phones. That said, I am partly to blame for the queues. Inserting the phone into a pouch wasn’t the main problem, it was getting the big red kiosk that the phone was attached to through the doors.

100℅ agree... Charging me over £70, for 15 minutes entertainment, to watch a competition where it really doesn't matter who wins it, and providing competitors with 12 months money, for less than six months work... In front of circa 1000 fans... Will never work... My lad plays semi pro football and plays in front of four figure crowds, which UK Speedway would kill for, but none of them has to spend £20k on their kit, and, therefore, none of them, expect to not have to work six months of the year on the money they get paid... The UK Operating model is simply not for fit purpose, and has been so for decades... It sounds like someone has finally realised that.. Unfortunately those who have suddenly realised this have also been running the sport for the past decades... Not holding out any hope...

Went to Guns n roses on Monday, wasn’t a sell out mainly because it was so bloody expensive,went in Birmingham city center before for a meal and after gig and it was deserted,pubs, bars and restaurants were open and had about 10 people in, yes it was a Monday but I’ve never seen it do dead, car parks were empty,folk are not spending money like they used too, I work in supplying hospitaity, bars,restaurants etc and they are struggling because people are just not coming, I have a stall at the classic off-road show at Telford every year and was talking to other stall owners this year from all walks of the motorcycle world and they all said people are just not spending their money here like they used used to

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.

A Mickey Mouse Sporting League.. Four guests and RR? Not a problem, please take it seriously like we do, and form an orderly queue... Swapping two guest riders (so they ride for both teams) in the middle of a play off final ? Not a problem, please take it seriously like we do, and form an orderly queue.. Bomber helping Ipswich knock BV out in the semis, and then representing Sheffield to beat Ipswich in the final? Not a problem, please take it seriously like we do, and form an orderly queue... First v Fourth in the play offs? (Unless of course commercially it is better to change the rules?) Not a problem, please take it seriously like we do, and form an orderly queue.. Adam Eliis and MJJ only agreeing to ride for the first few weeks of the season, and their club, and the umbrella organisation, not informing the fanbase? (And then making them out to be the bad guys, even though all on here knew the reality).. Not a problem, please take it seriously like we do, and form an orderly queue.. For me, the wife, and my lad, it is over £70 to attend... Come on UK Speedway, treat us with a modicum of respect as to what you serve up.,. And, who knows, we may attend more...

MJJ is the wildcard

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.

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

Live updates tinight https://rs.dmusport.dk/loeb/6981 Live link http://video.ucoz.lv/index/live_stream/0-5 meeting starts 6pm UK time

The trouble with a lot of folks who criticise clubs in the main havent got a clue what they are talking about and some don’t even go but want their say,this isn’t to say promotion’s are not at fault some of the time or indeed a lot of the time, I know one fan who hasn’t paid to get in a meeting for around 30 years but slags speedway and the last few years Birmingham off every chance he gets and most of what he says is complete crap but social media has given him a voice and doesn’t he just use it, shame he has no ideas, no clue and never ever anything constructive to say

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

Thanks for your input H Man(you're one of the good guys connected with Brum). Could you tell us why Birmingham Speedway have been on a downward spiral since LR got involved?

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.

Good call. Should have thrown a curry at William Cairns, wouldn't have to had pay top dollar and may have put some bums on seats and given Cairns a taste of PL racing with zero pressure

poetry!! The british final final is the sort of race we all want to see. Surely Harris needs a season at the NSS before he ends his career? I remember seeing Screen and Loram at Owlerton in the SWC in about 2002 and it as a great meeting before the rain intervened to end it early!

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

... Jen Crossland

Birmingham are getting plenty of flack elsewhere, but I think we should at least acknowledge that they are giving opportunities to six juniors on an almost weekly basis while some tracks do the square root of f'all.

When the announcer starts reading out the crowd names and changes to the riders, you know it’s as low as it can get!

Whilst it’s an opportunity for youngsters to ride the fact they can’t field four rider sides on a regular basis is a sad sign of the state of the sport . it’s dying from the bottom up !

.And require about an extra £5k to £6k outlay to pay for the home and away matches. Even for an "average" Polish top tier rider... Who would put hardly one extra person through the turnstile... That is the reality, hence no point in chucking good money after bad..

Don't blame Tolley for cutting costs with the amount of money he's put in. Season's over for Birmingham anyway and the fans wouldn't even turn up even if they got an Ekstraliga rider in imo.

Maybe Wroclaw had paid for his physio...?

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

Why should he,the problems are not in the Championship.

The. only match that ever looked sold out on TV was when Lakeside promoted the free meeting - a few thousand were there - of course most never came back! I will give our old promotoer his due he really tried to promote things!

Fraser signed for the Comets before getting the opportunity with Tarnow. In any logic Comets should have priority when there is a fixture clash for that very reason. It could be claimed that Poland are insensitively contributing to the ongoing demise of British Speedway, I don't think they give two hoots. Don't they have more than enough Polish riders they could/ should be using. I don't know when the British Promoters are going to get a grip in order to try and save the sport in the UK. It will be interesting to see what would happen if Discovery suddenly pulled the plug on British Speedway next season.

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 agree with the fact that he always seems to be alone, But in some ways I think that is of his own making. I have seen him in the pits ear pods in & scrolling on his phone whilst other riders are watching the races & seeing track changes develop. It's one thing to be your own man but you have to be aware of whats going on. This season I believe both his clubs expected him to at least maintain his scores but he has not even been prepared to race, Whilst he is not much more than a novice speedway rider he chose to race for those clubs in March & now he has chosen to stand down, I understand that but fail to grasp why he took to the track & in my opinion didn't make enough effort to race

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