Speedtiger

Spot on post Mikebv. Godfrey is frankly clueless and IMO speedway is beyond the point of NO return and things will sadly only get worse. Chapman, Godfrey and the BSPA have only themselves to blame. A great sport ruined by sheer incompetence.

...and that is my point. The sport has been run onto the ground by incompetent fools, who think they know best, to such a point that no one in their right minds would currently want to invest in speedway...either to own or even sponsor a club. This season will be just like the passed few and see the sport quickly slipping further into decline and more clubs going bust. As the SS financial fortunes are closely aligned to the sport I would have thought your journalists would have been asking some serious and pertinent questions of Godfrey and Chapman. I can only imagine the amount of worry and frustration You and the Staff at the SS have to see the sport in this perilous state.

Individuals funding loss making clubs is why the sport is now in terminal decline. Speedway (currently) is a professional sport but mainly run by rank amateurs or enthusiasts with very little intelligence or business acumen. Godfrey and Chapman are living proof....and they and others are to blame and why the sport is bust. The stadium is a dump, the track is sort of okay but it’s hardly an oval, it’s a circle, throttle on blast round no technical ability required. Boring. Just saying.

I agree. But the SS should be more objective and seriously question Godfrey on what he was saying. For what it’s worth my opinion is the sooner Godfrey and his mate Chapman get out of speedway the better. The sport will not improve under their pathetic ‘leadership’, they have presided over the worse period for sport in decades and are running the sport into the ground. I’ve been to Scunthorpe to watch the Tigers on many occasions and can not get over what dump the ‘stadium’ and ‘track’ are a disgrace to speedway. Most fans I speak and listen to say Godfrey is self serving and full of his own importance. I can not understand why the other promoters put up with them. For the good and future of speedway they should be booted out and quick. We’ve had enough.

I agree Chapman is totally useless and has been a disaster for KL and British Speedway. He has presided over the terminal decline of speedway over recent years, to a point that speedway is effectively bust....he is clearly incapable of doing anything to promote or improve the fortunes of the sport. He should get out of the BSPA and KL and let someone with more intelligence and drive run the show, which wouldn’t be hard to find. Oh and someone who can sell a few rusting engines...!!

Yes...doesn't look like a great saving, you only need to miss a match or two and you have wasted money.

Well well, who would have thought it...a rouge involved in speedway. Whatever next?

NO, Im perfectly capable of representing myself and I will take this up at the first meeting I attend this season. Thanks for the offer.

Good post. Apart from the fact that speedway is in a big mess mainly caused by the BSPA promoters, the people currently running BV don't seem to have much idea about the sport and how to promote speedway. I visit on a regular basis and to say the stadium and track are without doubt the best in the UK the crowds are more often than not relatively poor and the fact that speedway and NSS actually exists in Manchester is a closely kept secret. I sent a constructive email to the BV management Mr Smith with some supporters views and didn't even get the courtesy of a response. Which says it all...they think they know better than the paying fans..!

I have been watching speedway long enough to know a club with financial problems. It’s not rocket science. I go to NSS almost every home meeting. I have some good mates at BV and they know what’s going on. You only need to look on the terraces and it’s easy to calculate the rider costs etc. But I’m ok with your rose coloured view so we will wait and see who right in due course.

Ok fair point but when you look at the poor crowds the average rider costs I’m not surprised that the recorded figures are true. We will see what 2018 figures show soon. I’m told that the rent charged by the council for NSS is very high.

And that was only 2017, from what I saw on my visits to NSS last season the crowds were very poor, so 2018 may be an even bigger loss. The future for 2019 doesn't look good.

Companies House Accounts records. !! It shows BV lost £270,730 in 2017. Now I consider that to be an astronomical amount of money to flush away.

PTA, I think you are right. The Team has lots of potential. Still think BV and fans will miss Cookie. Top man. It looks like the team has been put together on a tight budget but with the astronomical losses reported at BV it is not a surprise. IMO this is not a nailed on play off team. Dan B will be one of the keys to whether BV will make the play offs. Hope so but time will tell.

I'm reliably told he has far too much baggage.

Yes an infamous night. I was there at the NSS. A complete disaster for the sport. What a total disgrace.

Thanks. now that's a disappointment. I like Cookie as he's a real BV Ace. Sadly BV wont be the same without him. .

I came over and watched him a few times when he was at BV before, he's an ok rider, inconsistent and now a bit past his best IMO, certainly NOT a No1. What went wrong at BV with Craig Cook then, very strange as IMO he's a much better rider by far...?

You are spot on. The stock of speedway in the past decade or so has plummeted to worthless. Investing in the sport of speedway is madness unless you get a thrill out of seeing your money burned. I don’t know if Matt Ford has had an offer for Poole but in this market and the way things are I can not imagine there’s been a que outside his office door.

The SS is really good value and keeps me up to speed with what's going on around the clubs and riders....and I look forward to getting my copy weekly....

I’m afraid the ticking time bomb went off long ago. So many clubs have gone by the wayside...and sadly more will follow. My club can not be anywhere close to breaking even , crowds down no new sponsors...it can not go on with the way things are. My second club Belle Vue with a new £8m stadium which I go over as often as my finances allow I’m told are loosing a small fortune and according to mates I sit with say are only going because they are propped up by the council. That can not go on for long. My mates at other clubs say it’s a only a hardcore of older fans that go. The sport has been mismanaged and tampered with for years and it’s been run into the ground by the idiots at the BSPA who are clueless. Speedway is bust and promoters only have themselves to blame. Who in their right mind would want to buy, invest or sponsor a speedway club?

Yes, I understand that and the main point I make is speedway has many problems, the idea of one fix will do the trick is NOT the case or what I'm saying. Specifically the fact is over the past 10-12 years or so the quality of the core product has been seriously dumbed down, whilst the entrance charges have gone up. You can not stand still as you go backwards, people have lots of other opportunities to attract them and obtaining leisure money is very competitive market...the speedway experience needs to be 'reinvented' and 'rejuvenated'. Before you can solve a problem you have to admit and understand the problem exist and that is clearly beyond the ability of the BSPA. Its not rocket science...high Rider costs together with depleted attendances and the loss of TV income equals a major issue, clubs are paying far more out than they bring in...which is madness and a disaster. The BSPA and clubs do little to enhance and promote the sport as a modern vibrant sport that it can be. Times have moved on...just look at the terraces, the average age group are in the 50's-60's...where are the young fans, they wont put up with 15 minutes of action, they want to be involved and interact with the what's going on, before during and after the meeting.

Totally agree with you. 15 minutes of action is not great value for money especially when you are now paying circa £20 plus plus a meeting. Will promoters listen...NO....I know speedway has many problems to solve...and the BSPA 'head in the sand' approach has made things much worse. I have supported speedway since the 1970's and seen many ups and downs but I have never known the sport to be in such a terminal mess....sad to say but the calibre and acumen of todays promoters is at an all time low and the current BSPA management i.e. Chapman, Godfrey & Co are frankly clueless.....they have been incapable of getting a grip on the real issues and consequently speedway is effectively bust and the BSPA are at fault and only have themselves to blame. Sadly 2019 will see more clubs going under more riders out of a job...more supporters loosing their clubs...I appreciate this may be seen by some as a doom and gloom scenario but look at the conclusive evidence...the BSPA are driving our sport over a cliff blindfolded...this is a realistic view of todays speedway.

Ok BUT what will that achieve? I have many Aces mates and go over to BV 8 or 10 times a year....the crowds at NSS are really poor and have halved over the past 2 seasons and the management don't seem to have the ability to promote the club....and get more people in and make money. I'm told by someone who works in admin at BV and she says they are loosing over £300k per season....so I'm not sure we should have much confidence in his ideas. The sport and clubs are going bankrupt with more to come I fear and I doubt very much a fans representative at the BSPA will change things...As you say they won't listen!

Ha ha....but true,. BSPA blame everyone and anyone but themselves. The sport being run into the ground by Buster, who is a complete clown, is now doomed.