uk_martin

Just looking at Lord of the Shale's avatar there....reminds me of my hope that the new regime gets rid of that "Philips Ring" from around the big red B. The set-up is very much "back to the future" so I hope that the race jacket will similarly be the original Red B on Yellow. NO SILLY RED RING around the B please.

Whether they did or didn't is besides the point...what matters is do they have the cash or not. If they do then the argument about them not being able to afford it goes out of the window.

The point is, if SkySports have made a payment to the BSPA for the rights to televise speedway then that money belongs to the BSPA to spend how they like. Nothing to do with saving those meetings that are due to be televised. Buxton should have the same rights to funding for track covers as Belle Vue. The same pot of money could pay for both...I did only say "could"...

They MUST have. Check out the Social Media thread...according to one person there, the BSPA get a "seven figure sum" off SkySports for the TV rights...that's over a million squid. Which is a lot of money. So why can't a once and for all investment be made and be done with it? Of course, if the information about the "seven figure sum" is incorrect, then it could well explain why there is no money in the pot.

Thanks, but I fear that if we veer off in the direction of other promoters, it won't be long before this becomed a Matt Ford / Poole thread, and we don't want that do we?

If you don't know, trust me, you are better off not knowing. I've come to the conclusion that the less exposed anyone is to the behind the scenes personalities, egos and politics etc, the happier they will be. In future, I'm just going to try to enjoy 15 races of speedway and not let the rest of what goes on disturb me any more.

It's not a matter of likeing or disliking. It's the dispair, as bluejam mentioned, that you have had over the past several years, two halves of the boardroom "team" that were forever at odds with each other, and the fortunes of the team being dragged down accordingly. Individually the people are fine, but put them into a room together and the fireworks start. I was hoping that with a fresh start, the obvious mistakes could be avoided, but it now looks more like deja vue as each day passes. Same recipe, but in smaller portions, anyone?

Thought I'd beat Brummies_Ste to it... So we now have the same explosive boardroom personality / ego mix that we had that brought the club to its knees only a few years ago. I wish them all the luck in the world as they will be needing it. I wonder what safeguards Tony Mole has installed to stop the cats and dogs from tearing at each other's fur this time? Or maybe this is the idea...??? Maybe this is the grand design to bring in a new fan base??? We have all the ingredients here of an intreaguing soap opera. One that could be televised maybe? If you can to a TV series about a factory that produces American Choppers, or one based on a company that reposesses unpaid-for cars, then why not a TV series based on the day to day running of a speedway team? It should fetch a high price to the right TV production team that fancies a challenge. Oh, wait a minute, GoSpeed International won't allow that will they?

Where exactly? Shame that SloSpeed can't attract a "title sponsor" for British Speedway or for the EL at the very least. It's not like he's not paid enough. Someone like Red Bull maybe? Individual riders can arrange their personal sponsorships with Red Bull, so why can't the governing body? Red Bull would be a fantastic promotions partner too. Much better than Keith Harris and Orville. - http://www.redbull.com/en/stories/1331691747079/inframes-specially-filmed-clips-of-red-bull-events Exactly right. At the very least it should be a freefone number. In fact SloSpeed shouldn't even be waiting for the sponsors to contact them, they should be out there rolling their (his - Terry Russell) sleeves up and knocking on doors and phoning the CEO's up to get the sponsors in. Russell earns enough out of his caper, let him start earning his money. How I'd love Terrey Russell to be a contestant on "The Apprentice", I'd SO love to see Sir Alan Lord Sugar ripp his ass to pieces.

At Terry Russell's 40% commission rate, that's a cool £40,000+ straight into his back pocket. He's alright Jack, isn't he? I'm sure he doesn't mind all the restrictions under the sun being in that contract as long as his £40,000 is safe. If your banker charged you 40% to run your current account, what would you be calling him? WHAT??? Absolutely outrageous. Orville and co are having their comedy influence already lol

I don't think Birmingham's stadium rental will be any less in the NL than in the EL. the GRA won't care that we're in a lower league. No, I think that standing still is not an option. Birmingham has a very old fan base and to be brutal about it, they aren't going to be able to come forever. The next generation fanbase is a MUST HAVE. I think that in most fans heart of hearts, there is an ambition to get to a higher league and that can't be done with only 200 people coming through the gates. It'll also be embarrasing enough to be outnumbered by Cradley fans in our own back yard, so something has to be done about the situation.

All that really matters is whether the crowds will improve. If they don't then don't hold your breath for 2016 irrespective of where the team finishes in the league or how many meetings are won or lost. Now that the team is bedded in, and a manager is about to be announced, what we need to know is what initiatives are going to happen to fill the terraces with a new generation of supporters.

I don't deny the need for an air ambulance where circumstances require it, just perplexed by the inability to get a road ambulance in a reasonable amount of time. It's not like Workington is a little hamlet out in the middle of nowhere. Talking of which it's not a problem that Buxton have ever had either, and that is a track in the middle of nowhere. Are resources in that city really so stretched?

Excellent. Knows his way around then.

Sorry, my bad...misread the date on my phone's calendar. Thanks for pointing it out.

Looking forward to more of this on 9th August. Sod the GP's, this IS atmosphere! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3u_BhUkWws#t=42

The same Workington that had to abandon a meeting because they couldn't get a road ambulance there last year?

I don't know about the round ball game, but in Rugby Union, the RFU's Facebook site invited people to submit their videos that they think show the best tries scored. See, interaction with the fans in action! (speedway take note) The result has been a welter of vids of tries scored in kids rugby, ladies rugby, as well as vids from the top echelons of rugby. Some of the best have been re-broadcasted on Facebook (remember that word "interaction"?) and a prize will be awarded at the end of the season for the try of the year. Were this speedway, the only reason fans would be invited to submit video clips would be so that Terry Russell / SloSpeed & co could round up everyone who has breached their copyright restrictions and then sue them into a black hole in space.

Lucky you lol! You also have the ability to automate the posting of content from your main site to Facebook and Twitter, and to see any activity from Facebook and Twitter on your main site. All free of charge, free of any extra effort, just with someone at the helm who's au-fait with the possibilities that exist out there. Naturally having supporters spreading the word does help as well. You can also produce, at no cost, RSS feeds that you can promote and distribute to anyone who has a News Reader. Oh for the opportunity of using other social media tools like "AudioBoom" "YouNow" "Qik" and "UStream" to be used as well...but of course you'd get GoSpeed threatening you with hell and high water if you went anywhere near breaching their copyright monopoly on all things multimedia.

I bet it's as much to do with old dogs and new tricks. Has anyone got a list of the ages of the promoters in the UK? Let's face it, those guys in their 60's and 70's who need a 6-year-old to programme their video recorder for them, aren't going to grasp the social-wide-inter-web-media-thingy nettle are they? HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't appoint a Social Media and Promotions Officer into the club's structure, whose job it would be to get the brand and the product "out there"...it doesn't even need to be someone who likes speedway, just someone who's clued up to the millennium that we live in.

Mildenhall Air Base is home to cargo planes...maybe "load" isn't far off the mark. Go to an airbase the home of a fighter squadron, THEN you'll know what "loud" is!

Nah, if he hadn't been drunk, he'd not be in this mess now. Simple. Being messed around with the dates is the least of the punishments that he should get. My prediction is that the weight of the BSI Box Office / Poole Pirates Management will be brought to bear, Darcy will get a 2 year ban, 1 of which will be "suspended", less "time served", less time off for good behaviour, and he'll be free to ride again on 15th March.

I bet the airllines and hotels are getting well hacked off with all the cancellations and rearrangements of his travel plans lol Page 10 then - Unlike "drugs" which are banned, end of, no dispute...alcohol is NOT banned, as long as it is not above a set limit at the time of the competition. Go above the limit, Mr Ward, and no matter what other excuses you have, you fall foul of the regulations. Well that document is very black and white...but let's see how many shades of grey the FIM can magic up eh?

Simply being a dope isn't quite the same thing is it? Do the FIM's regulations specify what substances are banned under it's generic heading of "doping"? This may be of more interest to Patryck Dudek fans than Darcy Ward fans.

Another nice touch from the Stal Gorzow stable (lol) - every month they make available for download a range of PC desktop wallpapers, featuring action shots or rider photos, with that month's calendar in a row of dates towards the bottom, and every Stal Gorzow and other important fixture shown in that calendar. Again, not rocket science, something useful, and something eminantly do-here-able... if only anyone had the inclination.