Aces51

Even though most meetings finish before 9.15 there were certainly more youngsters at the NSS last year on a Friday night than this year on a Monday and more were there for the meeting last Wednesday at the start of the school holidays. These days most parents are not prepared to risk a late night for children when there is school the next day.

It is also true that crowds started to drop in the 1980's and have continued to decline ever since, despite the fact that for much of that period the big stars were still here. There is little, if any, evidence to support the argument that a return of the top stars will result in any sustained increase in crowd numbers. The only viable option now is to build a model that allows the majority of clubs to operate within their financial means and that can provide a basis on which to rebuild the sport on a sound financial footing.

The worry is if crowds at Swindon, Poole, King's Lynn and Wolverhampton are down because they have all retained their traditional race night. If anything, I would expect their crowds to increase because FNR has more or less solved the doubling up problems, which so many fans complained about. The enforced Monday nights have been a disaster for Belle Vue, we know what it has done to Rye House, crowds seem to be down at Leicester. I don't know about Somerset but I can see that a move away from the Friday problems on the M5 could be a benefit. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but is it just coincidence that it's the old guard who managed to retain their race nights and the newer promotions who had to change? I can see no alternative now to one league with riders committed to the UK and teams racing on whichever night best suits them. Clubs must also live within their financial means. Anything else is just more tinkering around the edges and again not facing up to the realities of the current state of the sport in the UK.

So that's why Fricke and Etheridge beat him so easily in the last two races.

Great racing, more passing in virtually every race than in the whole of the Swindon meeting last week. No dust, despite the continuing heatwave. Wolves looked as if they might do better than expected and then went absent in the latter stages.

Think this will be 3 points for the Aces and none for Wolves. Steve Worrall still not fully match fit, which probably cost us at least a point at Monmore but will improve with every meeting and should score more tonight than he did on Monday. Looking forward to some good racing.

You can park in the car park in Pink Bank Lane which is close to the south stand but closer than Stanley Grove to the Grandstand. There is the North car park, the entrance is before you reach the stadium, which is closest to the Grandstand but I'm not sure if that is restricted to permit holders. There are a small number of disabled spaces but it might be best to phone the stadium. Alternatively, you could drop off your guests in Kirkmanshulme Lane by the stadium and then park in Pink Bank Lane and walk back to them. I'm sorry but I don't know about the road works on the A628 as I don't travel that way.

I thought the UK had priority on Monday and Thursday.

For the first time in a league meeting this season we have our full 1 - 7. Steve Worrall obviously needs a few more meetings to be back to full race fitness but should still score enough tonight to get us some points. The racing was dire on our last visit so the track surely can't be as bad as that this time.

Aces to win and hopefully, some decent racing.

Good you see that the club have posted this message on Facebook. A MESSAGE FROM THE CLUB Belle Vue Speedway wishes to thank all the supporters who turned out last night for the Rentruck Aces’ fixtures against Somerset, which was unfortunately postponed due to heavy rain. We monitored many weather forecasts and the vast majority predicted only light showers during the evening and even then they did not agree when those showers would arrive. It was for that reason, and as we had the BT cameras with us, that we decided to run the meeting however when the actual rain did arrive it was far heavier and more prolonged than the forecasts. We therefore had no other option than to postpone. We really appreciate the commitment of all our supporters and would like to thank those that waited patiently in both stands. We look forward to seeing you all again on Wednesday, July 25 for our local derby against Wolverhampton and again on July 28 for the Summer Speed Saturday featuring Round 5 of the British Youth Championships. The Management Team That's the sort of PR that makes fans feel valued and appreciated.

And for all you know he may not have suggested anything that would take the sport forward. If he has made proposals which have been accepted then I am hard pressed to think of a change in recent years that could claim to have been a success. I agree with your second and third paragraphs. That is why it is good to see Belle Vue running a NL team and offering £10 admission and free admission to those under 18. It may or may not work but it is a good attempt to get new fans and younger fans interested in the sport.

What on earth are you on about. I was talking initially about the lack of credibility in the sport and your immediate thought is to talk about throwing meetings. It's interesting to see what first occurs to you. If Ford is as respected and able as you seem to think and as a long standing promoter I would expect that he would put forward proposals that were not necessarily of immediate benefit to Poole but which might set the sport on the right road, which would benefit Poole in the long term. If I were in that position and as you say, only one voice at the AGM, I would make any such proposals public to gather as much support as possible from other promoters, riders, officials and fans. That way he might be able to go to the AGM with as much mass support as possible. A tactic I have used successfully more than once in much larger organisations than the BSPA. A groundswell of opinion for a genuinely good idea is difficult to resist.

This is a thread about Poole so I was commenting about Ford. I have opinions about other promoters, some favourable, some less so but this wasn't the thread to discuss those. It would seem from your comments that Ford is not the only one in Dorset who it would appear has not been prepared to realise that the sport is in such a perilous position that it is in the interests of everyone to put the well being of the sport ahead of any personal interest. You can't compare football to speedway for many obvious reasons but suffice it to say here that if the Premier football league was in the dire situation of speedway's top league then I think that the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson would be the first to realise that it's no good being successful if a significant number of other clubs are collapsing around you. I'm not sure if your last paragraph is supposed to be some sort of veiled threat but there is nothing abusive or actionable in my post and I shall continue to express my opinions as I see fit.

In my opinion the problem with Matt Ford is that he has failed to see the bigger picture and to realise that the long term success of Poole is entirely dependant upon the success of the sport as a whole. The lack of credibility is one of the major problems responsible for causing many fans to turn their backs on the sport and which has led to much of the main stream media doing the same. Matt Ford by manipulating rules and situations to his own advantage has played a significant role in creating and perpetuating this problem.

The forecast wasn't looking good earlier but it has changed at least 4 times this morning and is now better. Heavy rain mid afternoon but then 50% chance of light rain that is due to finish about 7pm. If that is correct then I think we shall be ok with the excellent drainage. Depending on how heavy the rain is mid afternoon it could take the first few races before we get the usual standard of racing.

There was never any question of either Nichols or Harris coming to Belle Vue. I think Garrity would have stayed if there had been any further delay in Worrall's recovery. Much as I like both of them they are both inconsistent/poor at the NSS and in the latter part of their careers. However, I think Harris will do a decent job as a replacement for Sundstrom and often has a poor start but does better as the season progresses.

It looks as if you got that one wrong. Harris is probably worth half a point more based on the averages so has to be an improvement.

Monday is speedway night that's obviously why only one PL team chose it when they had a free choice. Nothing interesting about those comments just his self interest because it happens to suit him and a disregard for the future of the sport in the UK.

But are they making a profit? There is no way that any stand alone team would be viable at the NSS at that price.

Hardly. I like both and they have been very good in their time but neither of them are that good at the NSS.

I don't think we can fit them in.

What we need at the top of the sport are people who can look beyond the interests of their own club and see what is required for the good of every club. The problem is whether such a person, or group of people, exist within the BSPA. They must be able to put aside self interest and have the vision and ability to solve the many issues that have brought about the current situation. I see Matt Ford as someone who has always put the interests of Poole first and sometimes to the detriment of the sport as a whole, so I certainly don't see him as the person we now need.

The situation now is far worse than in the 50's. During that period the number of teams did drop to an alarming level but some clubs were closing because they were only getting an average of 6/8,000 fans. It was all relative. After the post war boom with crowds at some clubs reaching 40/50,000 and some higher, 8,000 seemed a disaster but what would every existing team give now for a quarter of that 8,000.

Which Belle Vue fans have blamed the ref or the Poole fans for the defeat? Some complained about the cheering when Cook fell, which is perfectly reasonable comment and nothing to do with the result of the match and I haven't seen any suggestion by an Aces fan that any decision by the referee affected the result.