Aces51

I'm in two minds about signing King albeit I like him as a rider and have liked Belle Vue's preference for British riders. Assuming Fricke wants to come back then I would prefer him because he is an asset, a better rider and a better prospect. Alternatively, signing King in addition to Fricke, as a third heatleader, gives us a strong top 4 but a potentially weak bottom end. Against that, Bewley and Smith have tremendous potential so may improve over the season to become a good reserve pairing. Another factor is that it was reported in the Australian press that we had signed Sedgman. Thankfully, it is Mark Lemon who has to decide and after the winter we've had I shall be pleased to support whoever we sign.

Unfortunately, I think that Belle Vue and Coventry are two completely different situations. With Belle Vue the stadium owners, MCC, wanted speedway to continue and there were six prospective promoters wanting to take over. The BSPA didn't have to overcome any difficulties with the council or struggle to help to find people wanting to take it on. With Coventry, there is an existing promoter, a stadium requiring a large sum of money to make it fit for purpose and an apparent unwillingness of at least some of the parties involved to get together with a will to keep the Bees running. The BSPA could and may have tried to facilitate an agreement but it was a much more difficult task than they faced at Belle Vue. They do not have the money to purchase the stadium, assuming Brandon Estates really do want to sell and some of the parties are clearly being intransigent. If the BSPA have done little or nothing they deserve condemnation but if they tried but found they were facing people not prepared to listen or compromise there was realistically little they could achieve.

A tragedy that a club with the stature and history of Coventry should end like this. Others may have contributed but the real villian here seems to be Sandhu. There was genuine reason to believe that the Bees were safe for at least one more season until the stadium was vandalised. This is a sad, sad day for speedway and especially for Coventry fans. I don't know if more could have been done by the BSPA or, anyone else, but I hope that no stone was left unturned. The fans deserve at least that. We know it's never easy to resurrect a team once they have closed but I sincerely hope that some way can be found for the Bees to return.

I think that Billy and Peter Craven were of similar height. Billy was a brilliant rider, not in the very top echelon but capable of beating the very best riders and a good solid heat leader. Delighted to hear he is still going strong.

You misunderstand. The criticism of the BSPA was that they went behind the back of the promotion. If it was genuinely, as you suggest, to get more facts then surely they should also have spoken to the promotion to ensure that they at least had both sides of the story. As we now know the debts were largely, if not entirely, due to the problems with the track and the stadium. If the chairman had bothered to speak first to those he owed an allegiance to, as members of the BSPA, he may well still have been horrified but with the standard of work done by the contractors and the financial affects that had Gordon and Morton.

So you've not read the Speedway Star Star article and the documents that were published. Either that or you did not understand it. A loss adjustor assessed the cost to the promotion of the incomplete stadium and problems caused by the contractors with the track at just under £700k, a figure clearly accepted by the council. They have therefore done well if the debts they left amounted to £500k, just over 70% of that figure

Entirely his prerogative and I think the import of what he has said was fairly clear. However, silence never brings out the truth nor brings about necessary change. Steve Worrall said in last week's Speedway Star "Although some of us had not been paid, it had been guaranteed by the BSPA so it wasn't a huge issue back then" I am sure that all of the questions requiring answers from the BSPA will be dealt with in full as soon as the future of Belle Vue is secure. After all we have a chairman who promised an era of openness and transparency. Well I think I'm sure. Ok, I can't see it happening.

The great Peter Craven was only 5 foot 2 and weighed under 8 stones. Not sure what that is in foreign measures.

If you follow the link about the meeting on the Belle Vue website it takes you to the everbrite. co. uk website which together with the details of the fans forum has the heading "Belle Vue Pre-Season Fans Forum by Belle Vue Speedway 2017 Ltd" So that tells you who has organised the meeting, which we know from the Companies House entry is the new owners.

the stadium (door and bar will open at 7pm). This is an opportunity for all fans to hear news regarding the forthcoming season and give you an opportunity to ask questions. Owing to capacities, the evening will be a ticketed event. To apply for a free ticket (limited to 2 per person), register for the event today by clicking on the following link https://bellevuefansforum.eventbrite.co.uk We hope you can join us.

I agree. The speedway I saw last year at the NSS was worth every penny of the entrance fee. I looked forward to seeing the likes of Holder and Doyle but in truth it was riders like Steve Worrall, Joe Jacobs and Matt Williamson who were just as often involved in some of the best races as Zagar or Cook.

We have David Gordon's account, why would he lie about those particular events? You have Gordon Pairman's statement issued at the time he withdrew. Read it again particularly the comments at the end; “I'd like to put on record my thanks to Manchester City Council for everything they have done and are doing to make the National Speedway Stadium and the Belle Vue Aces a success and to wish the best of luck to whomsoever is favoured by BSPA to take over this icon of speedway.” He is still a promoter at Poole and no doubt had to consider carefully what he said but I know how I interpret those final few words. Those involved have every opportunity to put forward their side of the story and you might expect that those who disagree with what has been said would be eager to do so. Following the article in the Speedway Star many may think that questions were raised that the chairman of the BSPA must answer. I can understand that it is politic to wait until the future of Belle Vue is settled but silence thereafter is not acceptable. I am not sure why some are calling for the new promoters to make a statement. They were not involved when these events happened so can have no first hand knowledge.

As I've explained before, it's nothing to do with how well off people are it's a commercial decision. It's no different to businesses that offer a discount or incentive to different groups, teachers, civil servants, those who buy certain brands of goods etc. It is sound business practice to make such offers to those with disposable income. Horton may have realised after his experiment last year that taking away the concession did not make commercial sense or he may think it will encourage more pensioners to travel to Leicester.

I am not expressing any views on the word used but as a matter of interest a Magistrate's Court is not a court of precedent. Their decisions are not binding on any court.

That's right. There have been many owners who are promoters and many promoters who are not owners.

The BSPA took it upon themselves to get involved and so do have a responsibility until the new owners are in place. That is why they have been issuing progress reports, nobody else can do so. It is the BSPA who decide whether the promoters will be licenced.

You can see on the unofficial forum that Aces fans are starting to be even more concerned. The information from the BSPA concerning when news will be forthcoming has proven to be less than accurate and is adding to the overall uncertainty. They need to get their act together, find out when the new owners will be in place or, at the very least, be able to let fans know the reasons for the delay and the likely timetable. Tweets telling us we will run and that we shall have news soon, in a few days, could be tomorrow, are wearing thin. I don't anticipate problems with assembling a decent team but it is getting very late for a new promotion to organise all of the other issues that need to be in place, season tickets, appointing volunteer and permanent staff, track work after the winter, terracing in the south stand etc. Obviously, it can still all be done but the clock is ticking. I am still confident we will be up and running but the ongoing delays would make anyone concerned.

That's why he's keeping quiet.

I agree that Lindback being assessed at 7 was an even bigger shock but both riders were allowed back on averages which didn't reflect their current ability, that was obvious to most who had any knowledge of the sport and reflected badly on the credibility of the sport. The new rules are designed to stop similar situations arising this year, although easily open to abuse when we know that you can easily fake symptoms of injury but at least it shows that the BSPA recognised that steps needed to be taken to try to prevent a recurrence of what happened last year so must have thought it was wrong. It has been suggested be me and others that the simplest and fairest way is that any rider not currently riding in the UK is assessed on a realistic multiplier of his average in whichever country he rides.

They never accepted the stadium which is why they had a month by month licence agreement with the council.

I agree with you GRW except that Woffinden's average wasn't fictitious. It reflects badly on the credibility of the sport and no doubt made a lot of those casual Aces supporters who attended the final feel less likely to become regulars. One of the major problems is that the sport is not taken seriously because of the rules and the way they are sometimes interpreted and Woffinden's inclusion didn't help. On the brighter side the authorities have recognised that it shouldn't happen again and have amended the rules to prevent such late team changes.

What Morton said in that article was "“I have taken time to reflect on my position and, following a recent press release from Belle Vue CEO David Gordon, I wish to make it clear I did not agree to these comments being made or released,” he said. “This does not fully represent myself or my thoughts and opinions. David and I have worked together and have not always agreed. I have let David know that our partnership has now come to an end.” So he didn't say that the comments were untrue but that he didn't agree with them being made or released and that they did not fully represent him, his thoughts or opinions. Gordon had resigned so their partnership was at an end anyway. Now consider that his promoting licence had been revoked by the BSPA, he was hoping to remain involved with BelleVue and, as we now know, he and Gordon Pairman were hoping to take over the reins, which would involve gaining the approval of the BSPA. I have no idea what Morton's thoughts and motives were at that time. However, if you or I were in that position we might want to take action to try to distance ourselves from what the BSPA had judged as behaviour warranting the revocation of our licence but without actually saying anything was untrue.

I can't say who was the best all round motor cyclist, I have no real interest in any discipline other than speedway but for me Tatum was the better speedway rider. Wigg was a character, more colourful and exciting to watch but Tatum more consistent and if I remember correctly, generally had a higher average.

I have read somewhere that some riders were protected but if memory serves Craig Cook said in the Speedway Star that he had received offers from other Premiership clubs.

I have already said that I see no reason for Wolverhampton to change their team and that personally I would have liked to see Richie back at Belle Vue. However, the new management at Belle Vue aren't guilty of anything. They made no promises to Richie Worrall and whoever did must have done so on the understanding that it was conditional on them taking over the club. You cannot expect the new owners to honour a promise they didn't make if they think other options are better. If you want to make comparisons then Belle Vue have over recent years employed as many, if not more, British riders than any other top tier club. Last year and in 2015 we had 5. For most of last season, until drafting in Woffinden, Wolverhampton had only two Brits and only two in 2015, in both years those two were the mandatory British reserves.