MFE

The death knell is sounding loud and clear for the sport of Speedway. The BSPA are fighting the diminishing financial returns through the turnstiles by weakening the product season after season, which in turn drives supporters away in their droves. In 2017 we lost the well supported Coventry Bees in 2018 Cradley look to be as good as dead and buried with just a handful of meetings, those two teams alone mean around 3000 supporters either relocate or lost to the sport. The Speedway Star is the only consistent over the years, with their excellent production values, one can only hope that they hang on in there, and continue their excellent work in reporting what is increasingly looking like, 3 Junior Leagues, masquerading as a professional sport.

Really, the Speedway ran in perfect harmony for 80 years before Sandhu arrived, of course he wanted to build houses, but he was still accepted into the BSPA to run the Bees. As for your claim to being supporter friendly, don't think so, it was all a game to him to achieve his ultimate aim. He destroyed the stadium by making it unusable he made promises that he continually failed to keep. There was no way with Sandhu in charge that would see the Bees flourish, he was bad news from Day 1. He may be a successful businessman but where is the morality and decency of his actions.

Its irrelevant really whether its Horton or Sandhu at fault over Coventry s demise, the truth is neither should have been allowed within the sport in the first place. The supporters were skeptical when Sandhu was widely hailed as our saviour and even more so when Horton arrived on the back of all previous track closures associated with his family. Neither of these people should ever be able to run a whelk stall again, let alone any involvement with Speedway. Horton has made some appalling errors as promoter, and even at the end, his treatment of the riders lined up to race in 2017 was simply dreadful. By his decisions he has driven fans away in their droves, his latest was alienating all the Over 60s (of which there were plenty) by withdrawing their discount, but there was the issue with NSSC (and others) which was simply beyond belief. The supporters were treated with no respect, and in return, they offered these idiots none in return. Having gone through the Cradley debacle, I am really pessimistic on a return in 2018, the council will offer words of comfort, but in reality do not have the finances even if they have the will to bring about a return. So supporters have the decision as I did, to become a nomad fan, at Leicester, Birmingham Cradley or Wolves, but it will never be the same again, saving a miracle.

Let's throw in another scenario, with only a few NL fixtures to worry about, how about Bees riding at Perry Barr in 2017, reckon that could just work at a push.

A statement may compromise the outcome, which is clearly in the balance.

It's certainly one hell of a rollercoaster ride, but stick in there, if successful the first meetings are going to be one amazing celebration,

Colin Pratt would be an amazing choice to bring some stability to this situation, furthermore he gets on well with Sandhu, only hope he is well enough following his knee operations, to take on this desperate project. He was a brilliant Promoter at Cradley Heath, and is respected by riders and supporters alike, and we really do need respect reinstalled at Brandon, it's in very short supply over recent years, good luck to all involved with the bail out. Let's hope the BSPA vetoes this with immediate effect!

Nigel Pearson has tweeted to the effect that negotiations are still ongoing, and that at this stage we should remain hopeful of a positive outcome, so hang on in there, retribution and criticism of all involved parties may be best held for another day.

Having just read the Coventry Stox press release, it puts a severe question mark, against my belief the MH has good intentions, if true he has withdrawn from the agreement for the stadium, and the riders have an open invitation to find other employment - Idiots the lot of them.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this situation, the bottom line is that the reputation of Speedway and Coventry in particular are at rock bottom. We stagger from one disaster to the next, and nobody has the acumen to resolve this once and for all. I happen to think that Hortons intentions are genuine, however it appears he struggles to back these up due to limited finances, Sandu since his ruck with the BSPA has clearly lost all feelings for the Bees, and must feel he is dealing with Delboy when trying to negotiate with MH. In my eyes the mistake was giving the lease to MH, it would have been better with Jeremy Heaver or an Independent party. Not sure where we go from here (probably Leicester) I hope not, but it would seem to be a major undertaking to replace all the Fixtures and Fittings, such a sad and undignified possible end to the reign of the Coventry Bees, the fans deserve so much better, than all the clowns involved at the moment.

No, but perhaps he was being diplomatic!

Don't think I agree with this criticism of Harris, if I had left a company the last thing you want to do us socialise with them, especially when us fans do not know the real reason he feels he has to leave, he has been a top servant for the Bees, and I agree with him that it would have been the right thing to do for Coventry Speedway to invite him and his Partner, if only as a thank you! Poor form Coventry.

Yes but the majority of results are so predictable, the rules so bendable, and the EDL reserves idea is so pathetic, this is after all supposed to be the Elite League, a league which has lost all credibility with all but its core supporters.

I think the rule giving the team a point for getting within 6 points of a win should be scrapped - I believe a few results this season would have been different if there was a little less "well we are happy with a point" attitude, it should be all or nothing! to put the spice back into the latter heats of a meeting.

It's an admirable sentiment, and as an ex Cradley supporter I know what losing a track is like believe me, but I am not just blindly going to offer unequivocal support when it's not deserved, sorry

So where was Kasprzak in his first 3 rides, where was King all night, and how many wins did our reserves contribute?

Bjerre is not the answer either, why are or sights set so damn low, he is another one who is unconvincing!

If the riders are not committed to the cause, why should the supporters be any different? Mind I have heard that Mick is going for Hancock, Sayfutdinov, Nicki Pedersen or Kildermand to boost he Bees, No, then Costa it is, at least their brew is strong.

Big crowd though at Wolves, perhaps the Coventry fans particularly the over 60s have found a good team and appreciative promoter for 2016

It hurts a lot to say this, but Poole have got their business model right, they seem to plan thoughtfully each year to ensure they are competitive the next, so in that respect more power to their elbow! - Without Poole's standards, I suspect the Elite League if its possible would be even weaker than it is at present, in other words they drive up standards. They have a knack of signing "racers" not just "riders", however where I part company from them, is when they bend and manipulate the rules to suit themselves, we should not expect even the weakest of promotions of other tracks to participate in what is almost cheating with rider averages etc. If I lived in Poole I would definitely attend each week as they put out an attractive team, and surely this has to be the bottom line. I know top riders don't want to commit to riding in the UK in any numbers, but the product on offer generally in the Elite is sub-standard, I reckon 4 teams are painfully weak and the play-off contenders will be decided really early this year, I agree with Mick Horton that we have a league of 1 and a league of 7 teams, but this in my opinion is the fault of the 7 not totally Poole, as much as it annoys me to say so.

When you look at this team it is highly doubtful that they would compete well in the Premier League let alone the Elite - 3 Reserve Riders, 2 Heat Leaders who are inconsistent to put it mildly, plus Harris and a relatively untried, no wonder they are struggling. Only Harris and Garrity and then only if he was at Reserve, should have been signed for 2016. We need some flair in the side, riders who can gate and then compete in every race, not just now and again when the wind is in the right direction, The comment from Joe Beevers above, is correct only the play-offs matter, so why then are we fans supporting what in effect are a series of challenge matches, should we not wait until the play-offs for some serious racing?

Seems strange to me that Hans drops his average by 2 points or so to a convenient 6,5ish, and then before the season officially ends announces he is signing for Poole the next year, how long has this been in the offing, not suggesting anything naturally!

Poole get the fans they deserve, they react positively to the cheating style of their Management, and they really cannot see the damage they are doing to the sport by their win at any cost attitude, and seem proud of their ability to bend rules to breaking point to suit their own needs, not sure how much pride they can take from tonight's debacle. As for Coventry they had every opportunity to strengthen their side after the injury to JK and Robbo and went for the cheapest and easiest option, so my sympathies are not with them either, to rely so heavily on your No6 Garrity is not fair to him, and this defeat is as much down to the inactivity from Horton and Co, as it was down to the cheating from Poole, no doubt we can spin the reason to suit our needs. If there is any justice, then Belle Vue will win the final, and I suspect most of the non Poole fans will be Aces for the nights.

Every now and again Mick and Neil seem to have the knack of seriously peeing off the Coventry fans. It is obvious that the team was not announced on the website was to ensure crowd levels were unaffected by their depleted team, you could argue that the fans were being conned. I fully accept the problems getting guest riders, but this problem is the result of a lack of activity after Robbo was injured, Rossiter signing Summers was a master stroke with 2 matches at Brandon to come, full credit to him, think it will backfire heavily on the Bees, especially as we had the same opportunity but sat on our hands. Our season is now almost certainly going to fizzle out spectacularly, with the Bees and the Storm both failing at the crucial point of the season, to spark any excitement or imagination with the fans with the sole exception of Jason Garrity who has been brilliant to watch, and such a pity he has been injured. This really is a poor sport now, failing for years, with a total lack of joined up thinking from the BSPA and individual promoters, Poole and Swindon excepted.

I do think a quick word with the stadium electrician at 7pm would have sorted this debacle out before it began.