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He also said we had a chance of winning the league

Don't think his list about who he does or doesn't like? It's about his experience at the Club? ( i could be wrong) To leave people off is a polite way of saying what all Brummie fans with half a brain know already! H Man has closed his chapter with dignity!

So after 4 seasons as a Director & Shareholder that's my time with Birmingham Speedway at an end. An eventful, at times stressful, at times farcical and at times enjoyable experience! A huge thanks to the small but loyal Brummie fanbase that put up with season after season of under performing teams, you deserved better! Full credit and my upmost respect to Nigel Tolley, he wasn't far short with the figures he quoted in the recent speedway star interview with what he invested in the club (there was also a six figure investment from other shareholders during the period I must add). Nigel is as mad as a (top) hatter, but I really like the guy. My only criticism of him (and he knows this, I told him enough times) is that he allowed himself to be influenced by others who failed to deliver for the club! Seeing the day to day finances and operations of the a Championship and then Premiership club is a real eye opener, so a massive thanks to Financial Director Tracey Smith, who somehow managed to juggle the finances to keep everyone happy (most of the time) a truly lovely lady, she has been the glue in a massively disjointed operation, which would have fallen apart without her. Some priceless moments over the 4 years on the management zoom meetings / race nights - I could write a book! You also learn a lot about riders, some smashing chaps around Paco Castagna (legend) Freddie Lindgren, Tobi M, Leon Flint, Sam Hagon, Jason Edwards, Thompson twins all really good guys! No comment about some mind Made some great friends, I will miss Guesty, Dave Rowe, Pete & Dan Ballinger, Chris Adams, the guys and girls from the supporters club and fellow shareholders Steven, Jake and Vic. Such a shame that Birmingham Speedway is no more, but without Nigel it wouldn't have got into 2023 let alone 2025 and for that alone he deserves the respect of those who knock him! Give us a B.....! Cheers Paul

Emigrate to Poland

But they do have plenty of water!!!!

Clubs losing money need to seriously look in the mirror, Plymouth who are hardly world beaters and have a very limited track and space have upped their crowds considerably by the looks of it through some savvy work on social media etc. Granted in some cases things can’t be avoided but I absolutely think there would be a lot to be said for promotions being less insular and less of the ‘woe is me’ attitude.

Agree but perhaps giving the punter what they want with a weekend race night does possibly reduce the odds of losing so much money. Speedway use to be a good weekend sport but alas circumstances dictate that it is not possible albeit NDL teams seem to cope. This is possibly why a rethink is necessary and perhaps go backwards first in order to progress. I would rather go to a Saturday evening meeting or a Sunday afternoon meeting than go mid week. Thursday is OK but after that having been brought up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday meets I would not bother with any weekday/ mid week racing. Just my view and others may feel different but promoters should race on nights which give them a best chance of a return on the asset/investment.

For what it’s worth here my thoughts on Championship.Scrap BsN Trophy 2home2away fixtures K0 Cup.Guests only for injury.Nothing for riders missing while riding abroad (FIM events excluded) No8 or NDL rider only.Top 4 Play Off.Time limit applied to rain offs or points awarded.(TinHat on).

His reactions to situations are the best I have ever seen... That is why he goes into places that others would never dare to.... Early in his career I thought he was being, at times, reckless, and would eventually pay dearly for his high risk, high reward strategy... Now, I realise he was (is) just very special so was supremely confident he could handle these situations.. I would say only Trick is up there with such lightening reactions where they both could almost lock up to avoid incidents, but still keep momentum and speed... You can never accurately say who is the best ever, given so many variables down the years, but he is certainly a very special talent...

This subject ranges far beyond the Championship. There is already a similar topic running in "Speedway News and Discussions" Maybe the above comments and contributions could be transferred, and people interested in all three leagues couild follow it?

Hopefully some radical changes to the present set up which obviously is not working, what have we got to lose by trying something different. One league,smaller teams etc,we all know what can be tried.

It started from around ht 2 from a group beside the pit entrance, the security did go and speak to them but it didn’t seem to do anything really they just got worse as the meeting went on

I know for a fact the Clerk of the Course informed security and words were had. They stayed pretty close the rest of the meeting.

Could Scunny make a shock move into the Premiership to keep it at 6 teams, sounds mad but Belle vue, Sheffield, Leicester and king's lynn would be decent crowds. Tai, Douglas, pickering, mpt, Allen, z.cook.

£8.14 to get in Gorzow tonight, just tucking in to my polish sausage, loving the build up, crowd buzzing, bikes warming up in background, jeez there truly is nothing like speedway when it’s done right

Probably agree lewy,but he does a lot of work for the club, so not as simple as jumping in Gary's car one night a week

Come to Plymouth, ride down with Garry you'll be made welcome and appreciated at our happy little club.

It sank due to the amount of water on it. It's now been declared a Dam !

This has been pointed out many times not least of all by Keith hewen even though he was talking about riad racing but the same applies, back in the day Olsen briggs mauger Collins etc they are far superior equipment to the rest of the competitors so they always had an unfair advantage, that is not true today nobody in the field has anything better than anyone else so it’s harder to win a world championship today than it’s ever been even if you think the field itself is weaker

Only takes a crash/injury/exclusion etc. Weather, especially at Vojens in September could have a huge bearing... anyway it'd be nice to know in advance what happens in a tie instead of waiting for the results of an impromptu FIM Jury meeting behind closed doors and having Armando Castanga trying to explain things to everybody 😂

Doyle and Lindgen have been past their best, the new guard Holder, Bewley, etc havent as yet stepped up to the level of consitency required, Lambert looks way off too, there are wild cards that really shouldnt be at the level getting qualification due to their nationalitly not ability, far from the days of world finals when several riders in the field could be seen as realistic winners. Only for Brady there is nobody stepping up. Then you have the scoring system where you can afford to score say 8 points win the final and collect 20 yes its the same for everyone but my point about eras is riders couldnt afford to drop so many points and have a hope of being crowned champion, Loram for example became champion without actually winning a round. No one is doubting Zmarsliks talent on a bike but to say hes the best that has ever sat on a bike i dont agree with. The best of his era definately.

And plenty of scenario’s if both fail to reach the final.

Another sticking plaster no doubt.

Super heat surely 😂😂😂

Looks like we will need 5 man teams with a limit set at around 20 then....

Unfortunately we have people with no brain cell’s running the gps now 😀

Absolutely ridiculous, and just one of many decisions that defy sanity made by the tools in charge How can anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together support a system where some riders are credited more points than they earned, and others less. Just allocate points earned during heats, and for the final.

Promoters can’t really win these days unless it’s guaranteed dry.Riders dictate and just want to put the bike in the van at the slightest raindrop.

Holder scores 7, finishes with 14, Fricke scores 11, finishes with 7! It's so wrong!

Depends if he wears the right suit

So does Kurtz need to win Vojens with Zmarzlik 3rd? Can't see anybody ahead of Zmarzlik other than Kurtz... today's sprint may come back to haunt Kurtz!

UK speedway was never ran professionally & the great chance of creating a future was blown when the Sky money was wasted. The fact that the poles have a product that attracts huge crowds, investment form business & more than one tv company broadcasting the league live is down to their hard work & running the sport professionally.

Think Pawlicki was turning left on him though then dropped it on him.Exciting stuff.

I probably disagree with a lot that has been written on here - Seem to recall the best riders available riding in the U.K. when Sky were the paymasters. Tended to think that the U.K. business model has been for promoters to run speedway not because it was seen as sport but simply as a way of making money. Consequently I think business tended to give speedway a wide berth over the years as the people involved were let’s say ‘in it for themselves’. We are now down to the enthusiast promoters who are in it for the sport and not the money. In some respects the arrival of Woffinden Lambert and Bewley is probably 20 years too late to have an impact in U.K. terms. Poland has always been different go back to the 70’s and 80’s and they would get 40,000 at test matches - their league was football like in support and always has been but their rider quality wasn’t up to U.K. standard until the fall of Soviet Union and free enterprise took over. They were destined to become the power in speedway with that kind of support. Sweden saw a renaissance when Tony Rickardson appeared and their club sides signed the best riders available. Sadly time has caught up and their strong tradition of developing riders has virtually gone. Clubs went bust and crowds disappeared. Denmark could be similar - when Ole Olsen became world champion they expanded their league and produced some of the finest talent. They are still a strong nation but like Sweden are finding it difficult to attract youngsters to the sport - golf is the new favourite. I am now 2 hours drive away to the nearest track when 10 years ago there were at least 5 within an hour. Times change it’s a sad situation now.

I might bed Sydney Sweeney as well.

He always looked faster because nobody does or has ever raced a speedway bike like zmarzlik, there are quite a few riders lighter than zmarzlik, zmarzlik is by quite a distance better than any rider in history, that’s not to say he isn’t beatable and it’s not just in GPs either, the guys will to win in any event anywhere is untouchable

We will have him at Plymouth

They also showed that report on BBC South Today on Friday I think it was.

He guaranteed a Wilcard.IMO.

Team building averages balance things up as you know ...and the teams won't be losing spadefuls of cash as many are right now. That's the main point of the shake up.

Lambert a real worry. Seems to have lost the plot completely and with the Speedway of Nations on the horizon worrying times ahead. Serious question but does he need to return to the British Speedway to sharpen himself up, he defo needs to do something!

H man is a top man who knows his speedway, great post and hope your not lost to our sport mate

Its crazy. That the BSN Trophy. Has not been ridden. Qualifying meetings in April/May. And still havent had the Final. Complete farce.

As well as comparing Fricke's score to Holder, what about Lindgren. Fricke 11 points = 7 GP points Lindgren 5 points = 6 GP points For the people who like the scoring system, saying it makes the last 3 heats matter, can you explain why Lindgren deserves an extra point when not good enough to make last 3 heats? Or why Lindgren deserves one more point than Kvech (who also scored 5) because he had a better "countback"? Is there any sensible reason why they couldn't both gain 5 points? Huckenbeck & Vaculik 4 each, Lambert & Kubera 3 each?

I was very, very lucky to grow up watching Peter Collins.... And BZ is the closest to him from the back that I have seen... They both pass/passed riders almost in slow motion given they are/were several moves ahead.... You simply cannot take a line to block him, as he has already decided where you will go, and he will go... Genius on a Speedway bike.. And, fair play to Brady for keeping it close, given the talent BZ possesses...

its not just scunny speedway prices are not atractive for new comers and even some hardened fans cant justify the cost

You should write that book !!

If rob chucked loads of money at the team next year I can guarantee we wouldn’t get great crowds if we was successful… .Scunthorpe people are traditionally tight knackers and won’t pay the going prices..fact.

As we all know there aren't any good/ easy immediate answers it won't happen but I have mulled if maybe there were six in the main league next year keep the superstars but just have one home and away then straight into the play off's if you wanted to see Emil,Jack Holder, Fricke you might have just the one chance rather than 4-5 opportunities now. The top six clubs could then run a second team like Oxford have done at Championship level assuming say the current remaining 9 championship teams run it could be once/home and away with maybe 5 man teams with riders who are committed to being available for at least 90% of the fixtures. This would give more variety and we would have to keep double down as a necessary evil for the near term but the likes of the Cooks, Harris, Lawson, Masters, (maybe Douglas) could still compete in both leagues to earn a decent living. If the third tier continues to run maybe allow each team to have a couple of aussies Jordy Loftus is a good example struggled when he got here but is now finding his feet and chipping in with a few points each meeting hopefully he should develop into a decent riders who would commit to UK next 5-10 years. I realise people will say the model hasn't worked for Oxford this year but I get the impression the problems are more down to the health of the main backer than the operating model. Getting away from Mondays is a must the worst night of the week to put anything on as people have had the low of going back to work after the weekend high and just don't want to go out that night, Thurs and Fridays the weekend feeling is starting to get back in peoples head and they are more inclined to do things.

When my old man passed away in 2022 I found a load of old camera slides of meetings we had attended in the late 80s and early 90s - it brought back memories for sure! One thing that stood out was just how much more packed the terraces were!