Aces51

The SGB twitter feed says "Hectic week ahead for British Speedway chairman Keith Chapman who has meetings up and down the country. No winter rest for Buster!" Have you seen something else that indicates the meetings are about Leicester and Belle Vue? Would be good for both clubs if something is sorted asap.

Fred Flange is right about the loan repayment periods. My guess is that the current debts will lie with Belle Vue Arena Ltd so, without that burden, the repayments should be manageable based on entrance fees plus money from car parking, food concessions, bar takings and better use of the stadium facilities for the Academy, which had been delayed until next year, training days and other events. The Peter Craven suite has already been used successfully for a small number of events and further events were planned and advertised for December. Some were/ are apparently sold out. I see no reason why these initial events cannot be built on and increased next year. What has happened is extremely sad and unfortunate for those owed money, Aces supporters, the sport at large and maybe the promotion. Personally, I reserve any judgement on apportioning blame until the facts are known and I suspect there is much more to come out than the information presently in the public domain. However, wherever the fault lies, I think it unfortunate that the promotion did not make clear the financial difficulties as soon as they became unmanageable so that fans and others could have at least tried to help. The NSS must not be lost to the sport, the facilities and race track are the showcase the sport needs in the UK. Overall, the racing this year was brilliant and provided the most enjoyable season I have had since Hyde Road days. We are fortunate that steps are being taken to enable the Aces to continue and it is now up to the fans to get behind whoever takes over and do everything we can to turn up in sufficient numbers to make it a financial success. Let's hope that many of those who were privileged to see the play of final will attend next year. The crowd of about 1400 for the final meeting, a NL double header held after the play of final, gives cause for optimism.

Sorry to hear Lakeside are not going to be in the EL next year but if it is NL give it a go. Plenty of fans were surprised at how much they enjoyed NL at the NSS this year.

I understand that at this very moment the Chairman of the BSPA is preparing a press release castigating the Kings Lynn promotion for bringing the sport into disrepute and explaining that it has nothing whatsoever to do with the BSPA.

It's as good a form guide as your going to get and is more realistic than using an average achieved here some time ago. Using a 9 year old average is ludicrous as a realistic indicator of a riders current ability. It would also work both ways, somebody riding here now may not do so for a few years and then, when his career is on the side, want to return. His average should reflect his then ability and be assessed accordingly using his current average in Sweden or wherever. That's the point of a level playing field, it should apply to every team. As I said above it wouldn't just apply to increasing an average, could also be lower, simply be a realistic assessment of current ability.

Chapman's plan must include, a transparent and consistent application of the new rule book and the creation of a genuinely level playing field. An important aspect of that should be that riders who rode less than 12 qualifying matches here last year should be assessed based on their average abroad. Trying to get a rider like Milk on an old average, when he has clearly improved since then, must not be allowed.

You could have a system where at the start of the season riders come in on their EL average from the previous season, although at the moment EL averages are all scewed so a formula has to be devised to make them realistic. If a rider is moving up from the PL then a conversion factor already exists but that can be reviewed season by season to make sure it is compatible with what has been achieved by those that have moved up. A rider who did not ride in the UK should come in on his average achieved in foreign leagues the previous season with a published conversion factor applied. Riders signed from abroad during the season come in on their current average in whatever league they are riding, again with the conversion factor applied. Riders from abroad who ride in more than one foreign league could come in on a converted average from the strongest league in which they are involved. That way we wouldn't be bringing in riders on out of date averages but figures which best reflect their current performance.

Wolverhampton provides good racing, different to the big tracks and has a significant home advantage but still good to watch. The old Belle Vue was similar and could be good but never provided the quality of racing consistently provided at Wolverhampton. However, neither can compete with the racing at the NSS. It's like being back at Hyde Road, I can't wait for the next meeting and I've not felt like that for many years.

Not difficult to apply an appropriate formula to make those averages meaningful and far better to use that, which will provide a true comparison of how they have performed against other EDR riders, than an average gained in a completely different league.

One person has reported hearing it said in the South Stand which means that there is no way Woffinden could have heard it so it has no relevance to his calling fans scum. However, he has removed that word from his Facebook comments which means he admits it was wrong to be so abusive. Not man enough to apologise but he has removed it so let's forget it and move on. It would be a shame to let it overshadow such a brilliant meeting.

It's called democracy and obviously the majority, including me, want to leave. As Churchill said “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” Mind you he also said "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter".

The Aces promotion submitted a detailed business case which was approved by independent assessors and accepted by the council. Remember that the stadium will also gain revenue from being used for pop events, conferences and as a wedding/ party venue. The academy will also be starting next year. This year has been difficult not only because of the opening meeting but the loss of revenue resulting from the knock on effects including not having a home EL meeting until mid May and the loss of two bank holiday meetings, which traditionally bring in the better crowds. Crowds are significantly up on last year and not only are fans who haven't attended since the Hyde Road days coming back but there are also newcomers to the sport. The crowd for the recent play of final was probably made up of 90/95% locals and I think that also gives realistic hope that more than a few of them will return next year. The more people we can get to actually come and see what is on offer, both with the facilities and the brilliant track, the more people will keep returning. How can anyone who was priveledged to see that final not want to come back for more? The future is not going to be easy but there is good reason for optimism.

I agree it's a track to which modern bikes are suited but I don't see why uprights would be no good. It is based in part on the old Hyde Road, which produced excellent racing with uprights, as did the likes of Sheffield, Halifax and Bradford, which are all big tracks.. Doesn't Peterborough still produce good racing?

And clubs with few UK riders.

Belle Vue effectively own their stadium. The council built it and Belle Vue have to repay the cost over a number of years, like a mortgage. Belle Vue receive money from the food concessions, from car parking and from various events held at the stadium such as conferences, music concerts so far by artists I've never heard of, parties etc.

To be fair, BWitchrr was there and said he heard the comment about Woffinden's father. Nobody else has said they heard it and it was in the South Stand so I think we can say with almost absolute certainty that Woffinden wouldn't have heard it so it has no bearing whatsoever on his comments. Woffinden has withdrawn the comment, end of story, let's get back to appreciating the excellent racing and brilliant atmosphere.

Steve, by editing his Facebook comment Woffinden is admitting he was wrong to use that word so I can't see why you are still trying to defend him.

Maybe not but did it look on Wednesday as if there was any lack of commitment? It certainly didn't to me and hasn't all season and you wouldn't expect that if they were unhappy. Zagar has said he wants to come back and nobody can doubt where Cook will want to be. Belle Vue are also still running the last 3 NL meetings, one as a double header. They will all lose money so I can't see any business doing that if they were in the dire financial mess that Shovlar and one or two others say we are.

Is this a new trend, abusing the fan base. Perhaps Pearson and Woffinden have attended a Gerald Ratner PR course. To me not using your real identity on internet forums and making sure you have the right security settings on social media is common sense. I don't think these younger people understand modern technology.

Palm - Toft was in the main body of the team the whole season at Belle Vue. EDR's or whatever they were called then, couldn't move up but he did well and was very popular because of his never say die attitude. He is a better rider now than he was then and certainly rode exceptionally well at the NSS this year.

If the current rules for EDR apply they would be able to pick him anyway because he rode for them this year. Stefan has ability to improve further, just as he did in his time at Belle Vue. He has perhaps stagnated a bit this year but riders sometimes do that before making the next step up. A surprise signing but we shall have to wait and see what the rules are next year, it may turn out to have been a smart move.

Woffinden has edited his Facebook scum comment and taken that word out. By doing so he must be accepting he shouldn't have said it in the first place so credit to him at least for that.

So far as I can see there's only one person who has reported actually hearing comments about his father and they were in the South Stand so I can't see how Woffinden could possibly have heard them. I understand your desire to defend him but I think you are now clutching at straws. Most mature sportsman are sufficiently professional not to respond in the way Woffinden did on the night. However, I can understand that keeping your cool in the heat of the meeting is difficult and can forgive the hand gestures, although that was what exacerbated the situation. However, it is totally unacceptable for someone in his position to call fans scum the following day.

They've been trying to keep the cross dressing quiet. Apparently it was part of Zagar's contract.

You are right about that. In the 60's and 70's it was common and expected that riders wouldn't leave room for anyone to pass them going down the straights. With one or two exceptions they wouldn't deliberately fence someone but knowing a gap wouldn't be left riders didn't usually put themselves in a position where they might be fenced. Soren Sjosten had the answer at Hyde Road he would just head down the middle of the back straight and then forget to turn left until the last minute leaving whoever was on his outside by the fence to either shut off or bale out.