mikebv

When you are regularly losing customers, raising prices for those who still shop with you, by inflation busting amounts annually, is truly a brilliant plan... Heaven forbid, ever try and find out why your, once hugely loyal customers, are no longer visiting you...

100%... All four riders, riding that 2m blue groove certainly takes some doing, lap after lap...

I think he drew overall on aggregate though... 90-90....

He always seems a bit more happier than his Dad did though... So. You know... Swings and Roundabouts...

No fixtures being published in advance would have meant less season ticket sales given no one knew if they would be available on the eventual dates.. The same (just) five teams visiting twice, and maybe more times in the KO Cup and PO's didn't exactly inspire.. And, at the end of the day, winning such small time cups and leagues is all a bit "meh" isn't it?..

I think TTT is Chris Louis....

Beat me to it.... I'm CTRSports...... No! I'm CTRSports... Etc, etc etc...

I was going to have a few quid on NKI to get over six .. Given he is riding decently well currently, no Doyle, and I presumed he would get six rides... Then I realised who the TM was and thought better of it...😁

If I was a betting man... I would say the Aces are going to edge this... "Squeaky bum time" though as Sir Alex Ferguson would have said...😁 I think Mike will be replacing Brady in 13 and 15...😛

It was mentioned on the Aces Unofficial FB page by "someone" that the in house steam for the Aces is doing good business...

Gradually improving meeting by meeting Across all his racing ... Getting dialled in at the NSS is key, especially during the warmer evenings, when the track is a bit slicker.. Progressing nicely... ..

On many of those 'technical tracks'... "Bluegrooveway" might be more appropriate..

Technicalway....

"Zmarzlik is going to dive bomb (insert riders name here), into turn three"... Repeat, ad infinitum....

I've noticed that the PO Semis now don't seem to bring too many more in either... Maybe down to being on Satellite TV?... Which, this year it obviously won't be so maybe more will attend...?. The lack of prestige, prize size for winning any of fhe comps, and lack of interest from non speedway media, must also obviously impact crowd sizes..

Spot on... I think the largest fundamental mistake the majority of promoters have made is that many still, it appears, see the sport as, well that, a "proper" sport!! Even though they have pretty much removed that notion via their very own operating model.. Fans, on the other hand, (maybe even the majority of them?), see the sport as more "sports entertainment"... Which means, and has meant for a long time, that the "sport" is seen more as being in the entertainment business, rather than being seen as relevant, or indeed, has the required resonance and prestige, to be measured as purely "sport"... And, as "The Entertainment Pound" is under more pressure now than ever before, you need be innovative, exciting, great at marketing, and need to be "something different" to survive, never mind prosper.. None of these attributes definitely exist in money losing organisations that do the same old/same old each year.... But still expect things to change for the better by doing exactly the same old/same old, and "scratch their heads" when it never happens.. As I have said before, the Manchester GP's gives hope as 6500 were happy to lay out a lot of money to attend two Speedway meetings, with many of them Aces followers.. Which shows, promote something with some prestige, jeopardy, consequence and credibility (like in a "proper" sport), and you can still attract a very decent following.. "Pretend" it is a "proper" sport, and hope enough people will collude with you, and you are pretty much doomed to fail, especially in the 24/7 unforgiving scrutiny of the digital age..

The Size and Prestige of The Competitions??

Never understood the grief Batch, and riders like him, get... They make up the majority of double uppers who run at HL and SS levels.. And all pretty much do the same thing, and are of not too different ages... If they gate first, they can win in the second tier, and maybe, now and again, hold on in the top tier.. If they gate last, in tier one they stay there, and in tier two they may get third... Many of them certainly won't be busting a gut to make any risky passes at this stage of their careers.. And, given so few riders of their level want to ride over here, they are all desperately needed to fill two team places.. a) to ensure full teams, and b) let both teams share costs..

The press release said every league meeting has been ran at a "significant loss"... The two KO Cup ones were good crowds, (I presume down to Aces and Lions fans being there in decent numbers?).. Streaming must impact attendances negatively as you say, when it was shown on Satellite TV the same thing happened...

Only anecdotal evidence from my own eyes, (as attendance numbers are never publicised are they?)... But, I attend the odd PO Qualifier now and again, probably once a season, and you can see a tangible drop off each year I have been to the NSS, (over the past five in particular).. The Grandstand used to be over circa two thirds full, (1300 or so), and the back straight about 500 to 600.. Now the Grandstand is around, I would say 1000, with around 300 to maybe 400 on the back straight.. The back straight can be spread out so it can disguise a drop off somewhat, however the Grandstand, particularly from bend four to just before the tapes, really shouts out how many no longer attend...

Just read the full press release.... They are "scratching their heads" as to why crowds are down.... Really? FFS!!!! They also are confused as to why so few have taken up the 10,000 tickets they are giving away, as only 300 have been requested... I would suggest they give every fan 5 each and see if they can get their kids and grandkids, and their mates kids and grandkids to go... Didn't Glasgow do something similar successfully? Whenever I did "giveaways" when opening new stores, the expected redemption, based on historical data, was as low as 11%, ie you give out 10,000 vouchers, therefore 1100 would be redeemed... The other thing of course is how you look after those who attend for the first time.. We always ensured an investment in colleague numbers to ensure the experience of our first time visitors was good, and we got their name, address and contact details... Just giving something away doesn't mean any loyalty will be forthcoming... You have to target that...

"Needed to be done" Phil, and well over a decade ago... I was on the Aces website earlier and did I read it correctly that all kids 0 - 17 get charged £11 to sit in the Grandstand?.. And free for U12's but £9 for 12 - 17 year olds to stand on the back straight? If so, absolutely crackers, and no wonder crowds are not great... The very demographic that brings adults in with them are the absolute key market that needs to be targeted, and, instead a parent has to pay £11 for their kid to sit next to them!!! All kids still at primary school age, attending with an adult should be free, with parents encouraged to bring as many friends of their kids as they can bring.. Kids say 12 to 17, in for a fiver.. Hundreds of seats are empty each meeting in F and G so just fill them with kids in for nothing, and even do reduced prices for adults to bring them.. The empty seats take zero money, and don't pay to drink or eat.... Back to Sheffield, didnt they do a press release pre season saying how well all was going when they were trying to find a buyer?.. Anyhow, I am sure all those who have led the sport to its current situation, will be the perfect ones to sort it...!!

Whàt an amazing concept.... I wonder if they could get someone from NASA involved to work out such a system..?? No idea why it just doesn't happen now... Clubs who race on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, sign riders who they know will, at some stàge of the season, miss their fixtures due to clashes elsewhere, injuries and sickness, and will then just use Guests, or RR And trying to plan in when eveyone is there in a sport so injury impacted is pretty much impossible anyway... Therefore, just plan in the meetings, say every fortnight, and put out two teams of riders using either RR or Guests if not all 14 who should be there can make it.. As, basically, that's whàt ends up happening now after weeks of no meetings anyway...

The No1 phrase most used and heard... "Who have we got Guesting for us tonight?.

2020 was a good season to take Speedway seriously in the UK.......