Mick Bratley

I don't think anyone is asking you to kiss his arse, but not even Buster (as the messiah) can prevent riders crashing, getting injured and having loss of form. Essentially that is why it is not a wonderful season, not because of Buster's ownership. One club has to finish bottom (and I'm not convinced that will be Peterborough BTW) and the team that does finish bottom is usually the one that suffers the worst of luck with injuries and loss of form. IMO he most certainly does not hold the customers in contempt, he rarely speaks and you know what, I don't blame him because he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

Buster is not the messiah, he is the bloke chucking a ton of money down a dirty great big black hole for your entertainment. I would imagine that isn't much fun whilst being constantly criticised, having people constantly taking the piss, having people constantly giving negative opinions (never positive, I might add) and also enduring the worst possible luck with riders getting injured.

This. A great servant to Panthers. Probably the best No 2 Panthers have ever had in the top league. Get well soon, Shane.

Came through fine. No problems.

Mileage is about the same though.

He says 2 weeks.

Hans is currently on his way to hospital following a crash in Denmark. I’ll keep you posted. Shoulder injury, he’s at the hospital now. Fractured shoulder blade confirmed.

That's called customer management fella.

Steady on, mate . . . .

You are absolutely right. If only someone had thought of doing this before . . . . http://www.birmingham-speedway.com/page.php?182 I did this with good success when I was at Birmingham in my last season with them and I know some of these people still go. But to make a real success of it then it has to be done season on season. It takes a lot of time, effort, organisation and attention to detail. For example everyone who came on this scheme had their photograph taken on arrival and that photo was on the official web site before the end of the meeting, so when they got home and checked the official web site out, they saw themselves and understood that their visit was valued. It definitely works, but you need a dedicated team of people to implement and run it.

I don't think that's true. There is an unwillingness, I suspect, to sign a rider for inflated points money with no guarantee that said rider will improve the team. All very well saying go and sign xxxx but I know for a fact that many of the riders names people on here are putting forward, simply don't wish to ride in the UK.

Titles are not won in April. Colin Pratt is a shrewd guy, no point rushing to sign someone who you probably don't really want at this point.

Jim. Hope you and the wife are well. Don’t worry he will get things sorted, he’s beating himself up right now and is feeling embarrassed. These things happen.

Surely it is right that the club holds the cards, they are after all the employers? Club supplies Kevlars and covers. Hans’ van is not supplied by the club, it is provided by a sponsor who sponsored the club when I was involved. Points money hasn’t really changed in 15 years, but crucially the cost of flights is lower than 15 years ago. With regards colours of sponsors logos, it’s nothing new we did it in 2006, white on a red background stands out much better than any other colour, surely the aim is to get sponsors logos to be seen, having them white achieves this better than any other colour. I don’t see the issue.

Nope and in 2019 that is also a rarity.

Believe it. I wrote his contract. It is extremely rare for a rider to have a minimum guarantee.

That simply is not true.

I pretty much agree with everything JC is saying here. The only thing I would partially disagree with is his thoughts on SKY TV. There is no doubt in my mind that SKY continue to get British Speedway VERY cheaply and that they have done hardly anything to promote British Speedway in the same way that they have done for say Rugby League. Would it even hurt SKY to advertise the forthcoming transmission of a Speedway meeting either during the slots before, at half time or even after the Sunday afternoon Premier League matches? I've never seen it. In my opinion, to SKY, Speedway is nothing more than something that is a cheap filler in their schedule. They are not completely to blame though, I think whoever from British Speedway deals with SKY these days should be pushing more to get a much better relationship with them, particularly in promoting the sport. It hasn't happened and I can't see that changing anytime soon. SKY's involvement with British Speedway has been a massive missed opportunity. This could of course change if BT make a success of the GP coverage, if so, there is no doubt they will want to cover the domestic British League. This could get interesting and could prove a big turning point for the sport in the UK IF and that is a massive IF it is handled correctly. Sadly I have no confidence in anyone involved in British Speedway being able to handle it correctly in a way that benefits British Speedway.

Not yet. I'll let you know after I have talked to him later.

He has a broken finger and is currently en route to his Doctor's in Denmark.

'Gates like a rocket, rides like a turtle' was the phrase he said to me last night.

You're wrong. He's frustrated with the equipment he uses at Brandon.

His mother has passed away.

I didn't, but I can see where you're coming from.

Er....no he hasn't.