heathen52

Yes his Son posted that it was a Sidecar accident.

What a difficult weekend for Fans of a certain era, firstly Colin and now Alan (Big al) as he became known, Alan never gave less than 100% for all the Teams that he rode for especially the Heathens over many years, I knew earlier in the week that it was touch and go with the serious injuries he received from an accident riding in a scramble meeting last weekend, RIP Big al, and condolences to his family who i know will be hard hit by his passing.

Thoughts on Perry Barr, Iv looked at the Greyhound fixtures and it seems Perry Barr is free on Sundays. Iv thought for a few seasons there is an obvious way to save Speedway at Perry Barr, but i know some fans are set against it for whatever reason. There are some things that cant be changed such as prices of food etc etc at PB, however the Speedway could be subject to approval by the BSPl, double headers have been held at various times over seasons for as long as i can remember, so why not make double headers at Perry Barr a regular thing involving not 1 home Team but 2 these being Birmingham Brummies and Cradley Heathens putting it bluntly a Track share by not 1 but 2 teams which could encompass two seperate promotions (or One) whichever was achievable. The biggest factor in this would be cost savings by the Promotion due to a sharing of Costs for Rent, Equipment, etc etc. This may or may not mean The Brummies could survive and would also enable The Heathens to return with meaningful racing and i do not mean NDL racing by either I mean Championship or/and Premier League racing for both Teams. Iv no idea if this is do-able but just thinking of a way forward which could help both Teams, because it seems ridiculous to me that we may have a Track available (Hopefully) which wont be used should Birmingham not find a new Promoter, when a few miles away we have another Team that has support but NO Track to ride on, I know there are some supporters dead set against this for whatever reason not least PB being unpopular with Cradley fans, this would be a full blown Track Share rather than the previous Lanlord (Brummies) and (Rent Boys) Cradley, Is it do-able providing Promoters can be found ?, and obviously subject to BSPL and ARC at Perry Barr.

I rather suspect it will be someone else rather than the Masons if Birmingham is to carry on into 2022, The Masons have already said they wont be carrying on in 2022 and its had a detrimental affect on there Health with all the issues that they have had to face in 2021. Lets hope that there is someone out there brave enough to take up the promotion duties at Birmingham lets be honest if the second city cant support Speedway then where can it get enough support?.

Thats correct, Whilst i dont know the current payment for a Greyhound meeting streamed into the betting shops i can confidently say its into five figures, which if Newcastle stream three of those it gives them an income of 30k+ per week with minimal staffing costs, in fact no need for any spectators as Covid proved, so as you say its loose change to a business like ARC. Iv always thought if Speedway Promoters could find a way of introducing Handicap meetings (maybe individual to begin with) with the possibility of 6 rider races then the betting Industry might be tempted to get involved, big bucks to be made there as Greyhound racing has shown over the years, but thats another story altogether.

I couldnt agree more, but the powers that be wont grasp the nettle until its to late, we have to step back before we can move forward again, because of the equipment costs it has to be regarded as a hobby Sport rather than where average riders can earn a living, subsidised by Promoters constantly having to put money in and supporters paying increasing admission costs for very little entertainment provided by riders with no real Team loyalty which has always been an essential part of British Speedway but the BSPL constantly overlook this aspect.

Maybe big cities have more leisure alternatives to Speedway whereas maybe Ipswich and Poole dont have so many choices, how could a small place like Cradley Heath have so many fans back in the day or even recently ?, possibly the answer is not much else to do except local pub, Bingo back in the day now closed, or go to Brum for the nightlife, Its also true that many couples met at the Speedway in Cradley Heath, for sure when i was a teenager it was known as being somewhere that you could meet the opposite sex, mind i couldnt manage to get my leg over a push bike these days never mind anything else . Talking of brownfield sites, Wheatley Hill in County Durham has an old Greyhound Track currently doing nowt, but probably a bit to far away from Newcastle and Sunderland to be suitable.

Doesnt help accomodation wise with the Bournemouth Airshow being on over this weekend, but its a great free Airshow to see, have you tried Air Bnb ?, i noticed yesterday there was accomodation available up in Creekmoor not to far from the Track.

Birmingham New street "Grand Central" to Perry Barr "One stop" taking the No51 Bus https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Birmingham-New-Street-Station/Perry-Barr not sure if the Buses around there do a £3 daysaver ticket, allow plenty of time coming from the city.

Your final sentence an independant view or a Barry Hearn type to figure to lead the Sport forward, has been knocked on the head in a fairly recent interview by the Chairman of the BSPL, however its seems he himself seems to like to dictate so maybe he should do as he says or is it say as he does ? .

Anyone that has Stadia Uk/ Gaming International or whatever they call themselves these days as Landlords needs to worry, they really are developers using primarily Greyhound Stadia as a front, Bristol, Milton Keynes, Reading, Swindon and Poole with Torquay Utd FC recently added to there fast reducing portfolio, It really would be in the best interests of Poole residents if the Lease were to be taken over by the Speedway that would at least ensure continuity for the foreseeable. I note the comments about covenants they are useful in some cases that is until Local Councils need to raise money then they conveniently get overturned, by the way whats the situation with Bournemouth Cricket Ground ? when i lived there there was chatter about this being redeveloped, i understood there was a covenant in place there to. Speedway is in a perilous state in the UK and can ill afford to lose anymore Tracks as its looking like there will be at least three Teams that will struggle to come to the tapes in 2022, the powers that be really need to be realistic and face up to the economic facts and stop paying out what they dont have coming in, semi professional is the way to go and if riders dont like it then they know what to do, Yes there will always be certain Teams that pay over the odds but its there choice to run an unsustainable business model, probably 2 Leagues next season Premier and NDL but maybe Speedway needs to step back before it can rebuild again but one thing is for sure it cant continue as it is.

Just a thought whilst watching the Cricket, how about doing a fancy dress (Themed or otherwise) at your final meeting, Im sure the Kids and even some grown ups would be up for that sort of thing, yes i know some might be regarded as being in fancy dress at times . The winner to be decided on the centre Green and chosen by the riders.

Short sighted short termism which the BSPL have done for many years and now the Crows have come home to roost.

So that seems to be it, why the BSPL have asked them to delay the announcement is beyond me, obviously they want to give riders time to get fixed up NOT, ohh i forgot Scunthorpe are in the running for the Piss Ups..

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.