heathen52

Never mind the reserves who wants to watch the first team .

British Speedway in its current format and leadership from the BSPL is in a race to the bottom, fans are getting older every season there are fewer and fewer and barely any youngsters getting to watch nowadays, but each close season the BSPL say everything is hunky dory, theres none so blind as those that wont listen, can you hear BSPL ?.

First visit to Brum this season and took the Missus for her first ever taste of Speedway on shale, met up with my old mucker known to most of you as "Fanpower" and his partner, Firstly the Track looked like it had had plenty of water on beforehand and it rode well throughout the whole meeting just a few bits of dust towards the end but i would say normal for a Speedway meeting in mid August, with just a few bumps to be ironed out on the 1st/2nd bends, seems the new curator John Priest aided by Terry the Track and i heard over the tannoy some assistance from some of Wolves Track Staff they seem to have soon got to grips with what needed sorting out, well done to them. Berwick are always going to struggle in the latter heats with the way there team is made up no out and out No1, Leon Flint was the star for them obviously aided by having spent time riding for the Brummies, always in the mix except for the nominated race where he seemed happy watching from the rear, young Brennan rode was good value for his seven points and seemed upset by Riss appearing to goad him at the finish line in Heat 13, Summers was well Summers, never threatened the Brum heat leaders and only gained points at the expence of reserves or failed to finish, simply not good enough, Anderson was in the mix in most of his races i like him at least he tries though his equipment seems to let him down at times, and boy doesnt he take it out on his machinery to everyones amusement when it does, Etheridge needs to learn how to stay on his bike for 4 laps he lost several points through falls but again he is a trier and can never fault any rider for that, Gappmaier never was just a steady eddy type of rider, and young Kyle Bickley i will be kind and just say he was off the pace. For the Brummies i would say Harris was the stand out performer for me, always as everyone knows gives 110% but i dont know what bike he was on for his 3rd race but it seemed way down on speed than what he showed in his other races, Riss was way to fast for the Berwick riders and deserved his paid maximum, Shanesy like Harris good value for his 9 points but he wont always have it so easy, Paco steady but does like to ride the white line to the detriment of his points score at times, Grobauer he needs to sort out his machinery otherwise he will continue to struggle, Ash having seen him ride many times over the years he seems to me to be way down on confidence yes he got a heat win in his last ride but he really should be doing better than he did last night, Thomas rode well for his points scored in every race you can ask no more than that from a young rider. Birmingham City FC and WBA were both at home last night so the crowd was always going to be affected, i would hazard a guess at there being around 500 and deffo no more than 600 watching last night, well done for giving the kids something to do during the interval whether or not its enough to get them back only time will tell, personally for me as a neutral punter something is missing, maybe its Cradley .

Seems like resting on there laurels so to speak, no speedway team in the current climate can afford to do that least of all the Brummies.

Totally disgraceful and pathetic by the BSPL and the guys that head that organisation, as i have wrote elsewhere this works two ways in that whilst the current attitude of the BSPL remains as it is towards the IOW and riders that appear there i will not ever be visiting Scunthorpe Speedway, luckily they have big enough crowds to not miss my occasional few quid whenever i visit.

So the BSPL have stood Connor Coles down for riding on the IOW, they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and i shall be contacting Godfrey to let him know my thoughts on the matter, i dont expect a reply but hopefully he will read it, Promoting most of the BSPL dont know the meaning of the word, I hope Godfrey realises this works two ways he has just stood me down from ever visiting Scunthorpe Speedway whilst he maintains the attitude of the BSPL towards the IOW and riders that appear there. Meanwhile well done to everyone on the Island for providing fans and a few none fans with some holiday entertainment.

RIP Mr Rising i never met him but as a young man i always looked forward to reading the Speedway Star every week, he along with everyone at the Speedway Star did a great job promoting the Sport throughout the UK and elsewhere, he will be missed and was a person that it will be difficult if not impossible to replace, make no mistake the Sport will be poorer for his passing, I just hope the powers that be remember him in a way a man of his standing deserves, God rest his soul.

The obituary really sums up the powers that be in the BSPL not fit for purpose, shame on them,This for a man who has spent pretty much his whole life promoting the sport of Speedway.

Even Wolves have had the help of supporters http://www.wolverhampton-speedway.com/news.php?extend.3377 though it says a supporter led Go fund me page, it begs the question how long can Speedway survive in its present format with Fans average age getting older and older, and fewer and fewer and those that remain reluctant to see any change to the tried and failed format of this century. With a 6 Team Premiership and diminishing Championship there is not much further british Speedway can sink, cost is a big factor for a lot of fans yes its probably affordable for the majority of concessionares but for the family man its not so, riders riding for any number of teams has helped riders but the bond between a team and its riders has been lost, the BSPL has failed to recognise this and now they cant go back because we dont have enough riders, its a never ending race to the bottom.

For those coming from a distance you can check if you need to pay the Clean air zone charge here https://vehiclecheck.drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk/vehicle_checkers/enter_details the route is basically within the inner ring road area.

Really feel sorry to see Granty in this predicament, which is in no small way from what i have read due to the previous promotion and the BSPL suggesting it was better to purchase the previous promotion rather than liquidate the previous promotion with all its debts, sometimes its the good guys that fail not for failings on there part but due to previous incumbants building up debts which impact on the current season. Good luck and lets hope a way forward can be found.

Just checking my email and i noticed this is in my inbox https://www.groupon.co.uk/merchant/frequently-asked-questions according to the Q&A you dont pay anything up front, only on a pay as you go basis or on results, so basically its a free hit PROMOTE is what speedway promoters rarely do so how about living up to the name, 50 or 100 extra fans could be the difference between make or break.

Yep thats the issue preaching to the converted so to speak.. it needs to get out to the wider unconverted Birmingham.

Yep thats the guy, as for the away support Brum dont have what used to be a true local derby which doesnt help, nearest Team being Leicester, gone are the days when we had Wolves, Coventry and former Tenants Cradley all within reasonable travel time, but even Cradley fans didnt seem to like watching at Perry barr for various reasons the one usually put forward was that the viewing wasnt great, myself i didnt find it to bad just that there didnt seem much of an atmosphere at PB, what its like with only around 400ish there i cant imagine because with some inside that would only leave 300 or so outside so no problem social distancing, its such a shame but if we are relying on Kent to bring a few fans, I fear this may be the last we see of the Brummies, I will probably go along on Wednesday weather allowing, but the forecast i saw it looks to be a changeable forecast at best which wont help, and after a days driving at work im not inclined to go every week bearing in mind im not a Brummie fan, how the heck can any promotion expect to survive if Brummies cant/wont support there own team ?.

Im sorry to see the Brummies yet again in this situation several Promoters have tried and failed to make a go of it at Perry Barr over recent years namely Patchet, Philipps and now Mason only Tony Mole aided by the Drurys and other backroom staff namely the Commercial guy whose name escapes me have made a go of it, I really dont know the answer to the Clubs current plight somehow they need to get through the current season, if they fold midseason i fear that this will be the end for Speedway in Birmingham, as i think the Landlords for one wont be very happy to have yet another Promotion fail. Is there an Investor out there that could put some money in to help promote the Sport locally, i drove through the roadworks where the old flyover used to be early this week no sign of any advertising around there where thousands not hundreds must pass weekly, AV Fc is maybe a mile or just over away WBA Fc just a little further away in the oposite direction surely something could be done there ?, something along the lines of produce a AV/WBA program/match ticket you get half price admission Iv no idea but something is better than nothing, rather than splitting the Juniors & Children under 16 and under 11 just make it kids for a quid, and how about some between race entertainment thats what kills a lot of newcomers having to wait around between races, even the pre meeting introductions could be made more interesting by placing the bikes at the starting gate and having the riders (minus Helmets) and mechanics introduced and walk past the fans as they are announced, a few boos for visiting riders never harmed anyone in fact it helps create a bit of atmosphere. I dont know just throwing a few ideas around but the bottom line is Brum need to get people through the gates for more than the odd meeting otherwise its curtains for Speedway in Birmingham.

Investors ?.

Birmingham fans dont like to see a struggling team, and stay away rather than turn up to watch, I hope the rumours are unfounded but its been a struggle for them since Covid and the vandalism hasnt helped. They would have been better off dropping back down into the NL but that wasnt possible with the way the NL had been dictated to with regard points limits of 35 which was much to low for stand alone teams, but thats what the BSPL in there wisdom wanted.

Jan Simensen, think if he had stayed at Cradley would have gone further in British Speedway.

For Speedway to be potentially losing fans like you two guys should be telling Speedway its in crisis, if it doesnt then the those at the top table need to take off there rose tinted spectacles and quickly get into the real world before its to late thats if already isnt, we need every Track/Promoter/Rider/Fan and right now the BSPL/SCB leadership are not encouraging anyone Promoters/Riders/Fans alike to stay/come into the Sport, except for the favoured few. If it carries on in the way that it is then i dread to think what the Sport in the UK will look like in a few years time. We need to rebuild from the bottom up, not from the Top down because very soon there wont be a Top in the UK, actually there is no longer a top in the UK its second rate, can it survive when it becomes third rate led by Scunthorpe ?, never mind there will always be Amateur meetings we can go to . Its such a pity that some current Promoters with leadership skills are to busy trying to keep there Teams afloat to be able to give more time to helping the Sport move forwards, because with the present crowd in charge Speedway is almost at the point of no return.

Have a look here. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g499564-c8-zfp2-Ulverston_Lake_District_Cumbria_England.html anything for a fellow Heathen .

For years now most teams have been living beyond there means and the Senior Teams have been surving mainly due to TV money, now Covid has brought up the inevitable Crow coming home to roost so to speak, the BSPL have for years avoided taking decisions that would help the Sport survive and maybe prosper, any household or business simply cannot go on year on year making losses and ignore the simple maths lesson of paying out more than what is coming in, how is it possible to employ foreign riders cheaper then british riders ?, answers on a postcard please. I dont know the answer but one thing is for sure things cannot carry on as they are, if it means going back to basics with Teams made up of british riders then thats the way we have to go short term loss for the long term gain, no Premier League just 2 Leagues with the NL being the second tier, and no stupid payments to riders.

I wouldnt know about the step outside bit, but he does (or companies he owns) own Henlow Greyhound Stadium and when thats sold for Housing Development that should give him enough ££££££,s to purchase Oxford or some other Sports Stadia, the operative word being Sports Stadia not somewhere thats rife for Development as they cost a good deal more £££££,s.

Not being wise after the event, Most Teams agreed to start the season without knowing what attendance limits there local councils would impose on them, the main issue being they have to put out a fixture list, Clubs/Teams found it difficult if not impossible to sell season tickets due to the Covid situation, now we find that the opening up is more than likely going to be put back which will probably put the completion of the season into doubt, or at the very least force some clubs to curtail the season. Some fans are still in denial about Covid but stop and think, the Pandemic has already cost this country billions upon billions of lost revenue, billions of pounds paid out in furlough payments and other schemes, all of which will we will be paying for over many years ahead, yes maybe things could have been done differently but the fact remains Covid is still with us and will be for the forseeable future, until the World gets a grip on this pandemic the uncertainty will remain and the future of our Sport needs strong leadership with difficult decisions needing to be made, but one thing is for sure Clubs/Teams cannot carry on sustaining losses week in week out..

Is it a coincidence that both the Teams one temporarily suspending the season Birmingham, and the other Wolves saying sustaining heavy losses, had major issues on there opening nights, has this impacted on attendances since ?.

Tom Bacon has announced on twitter has announced his retirement from speedway, Good luck for the future Tom.