ballroom

tuesday deadline fast approaching lets hope the next news released is good and the Brummies do run.

surely some arrangement should be made by BSPL to clear the outstanding riders wages via bonds held?

Good rallying cry for wednesday http://www.birmingham-speedway.com/_mobile/news.php?extend.3028

Planning a trip 2nd may against poole. What's the parking like now, is tesco the best bet still?

Does this mean you will stop your never ending whinging on here? It seems that Bowden may not be everyones cup of tea but really you must accept that you are a `fan`, and that means you pay for 15 heats of racing. It does entitle you to choose the promotor of Plymouth Speedway.

So that's a letter of complaint to Plymouth Speedway, then you move on. None of you business if the riders are paid on not, most of that is hearsay, unless of course you can come on here and quote an actual Plymouth rider (and their official contract to verify it, together with the riders bank details) to the contrary. It does seem you and a few Plymouth fans are looking for every movement, every perceived slight coming from Bowden, to come on here and spill out your bile at every turn. Why not turn up at SBA to just watch the racing? It seems you are turning up just to make copious notes of that `awful` man Bowden. Now Bowden may not be everyone's cup of tea, not many bosses are, but he is the promotor/owner of Plymouth Speedway so he calls the shots. You are a fan and you pays your money (or not), that's it. Its not within your power, or remit, to have a say on the management of Plymouth Speedway, unless of course you have done what Bowden did and stump up your cash to buy it. As `Mini Jack` says earlier in this thread, and he`s an outsider/neutral, he loves going to Plymouth Speedway and he says the entertainment is first rate, as proven by some of the biggest league gates weekly in British Speedway. Its a pity a few Plymouth based fans, the tiny handful who spill out their non-stop whinging on here, just remember what their role is (a fan who pays to see 15 heats - which does not bring with it any executive role with the running of Plymouth Speedway) and just turn-up at SBA and enjoy whats on offer.

Why don`t you forget the off-track politics and just go and watch? Why get involved. Your a fan just pay your dosh for the 15 heats.

Well lets say you own the Comets. You bought the licence from Tony Mole and arranged the lease with the Stadium. Plus sorted dozens of things like insurance, track prep, maintenance - that all costs money every week. Lets say you run a very successful business locally, like Denham. Would you not then expect to roll up at Derwent Park (with 3k in your back pocket, of your own money, to pay for other peoples Speedway enjoyment) this Saturday expecting to call the shots and make sound business decisions based on what you did in other walks of life? I bet you would. Thing is, any Speedway promotor/owner has to get rid of people/make tough decisions in the course of any season. Invarablely, some of those will have mates who are loyal fans, and, armed with a PC, and access to the BSF, all of a sudden that decision is magnified and blown out of all proportion. Throw in a defeat or two, and a rain-off, and all of a sudden that saviour of Workington Speedway (for example) is the subject of the most severe bile spilled out on here. I am not saying Denham is perfect, he` human like the rest of us, and who is ever going to please all 1,000 fans every week at any given track, but he has put his money up front to buy the Comets and funds it (increasingly out of his own pocket the last three years), so, yes , its entirely reasonable for him to call the shots and run HIS business as he wants - or, `my way or the highway` as you say.

I see, Denham spends all his own personal money funding yours (if you are a Comets fan) and other peoples entertainment. Would you?

Judging by the success of his company outside of Speedway, it suggests he`s a very able person and businessman. I see parallels here with Leicester in the sense that Hemsley is a thoroughly successful person outside of Speedway but he`s targeted no doubt partly due to his success. Of course, there's no suggestion Leicester are struggling but it does seem that at leicester, at Workington,and elsewhere so-called fans demand everything but they are the ones who can for a whole number of reasons can chose not bother to attend - work, childcare, unemployment, change in circumstances, the last match was crap, the team is woeful, we are winning by too many, just getting bored with it, we are not winning enough, a new relationship, its on Sky - but the promotors have to be there and they don't get to choose which bills they have to pay! Lets be frank about it, most of the tracks in the UK are being funded and subsidised by promotors out of their own pockets and perhaps occasionally fans should realise that and stop knocking them at every conceivable turn. Its obvious some promotors do themselves no favours but in the main they are fans who have done fairly well in life and are effectively funding most fans Speedway entertainment most weeks out of their own pockets.

This thread in quick succession reveals that Edinburgh, Glasgow, Berwick and Workington all in trouble. Yet the only solution mostly given is an attack on the Workington owner, whose actually funding the Comets fans weekly Speedway entertainment. They should be queuing up to thank him, not tear him to pieces on here.

Absolutely what is needed. Fans turning up, not whinging at every turn. Worse in Denhams case as he`s made some money through hard work. Perhaps some `fans` should be in Denhams shoes, funding the 3 grand losses, and then put up with all the whinging. Fans pay for 15 heats of racing, thats it, it does not entitle you to anything else.

Too very true. Why do fans always blame the owner/promotor. Fans are just not turning up simple as. No fans no Speedway

Some of the points you make are indeed correct and go back to the earliest stages of the project. This does not alter the extreme disappointment many Lions felt, and I would imagine many fans of defunct tracks, when two people made written representations to the Council as to the continuing development of the rest of the site as part of their agenda to make problems for Leicester Speedway. Many fans are of course aware these people are no longer involved with the success of Leicester Speedway. Due partly to the economic situation, happily the Council are sympathetic to the lack of current progress and so this clumsy attempt at undermining the whole project and the owner has failed.

So why did he not have those credentials when he was campaigning for the re-introduction of Leicester Speedway, which like it or not is a noisy and environmentally unfriendly sport? His recent recent actions has lost him any remaining sympathy.

Yes, Leicester is going from strenght to strenght. Looks like the Lions will acheive second place in only their second season back, fantastic progress. Well done to all concerned. What a great success story this is.

Any sign of new found enviromental types doing any wildlife research in the bushes?

Firstly, can anyone, truely, shine light on who went for the design thats in place at the moment? I honestly don`t know that as the original designs were chopped and changed so often at the start - as would be the case in any projcet of this size. Its now pretty clear, as confirmed by Volty above, that changes were put off for this season due to other personnel, some no longer involved. What is clear Robert 72, is that Hemsley has listened, and is changing it this winter. Will you be happy with that? Yes or no?

If your talking Sam, if you had any business dealings with him, you would have off-loaded him too and very quickly. This is known. If you want to be talking sponsorship, which team has the biggest team sponsorship in the Premier League? And the third biggest in the sport. The above two lines again demonstate that your constant attacks on Leicester and Hemsley do not in any way have any bases in actual fact.

If Hemsley has made a msitake, and theres no doubt he will have done in such a major project as he`s only human, then perhaps one was to engage the free labour in the project at the start. Whilst Hemsley made have welcomed this, and no doubt dozens of fans and helpers were happy to give of their time to do their bit, the problems that this innocent volunteering (at the time) is that some think they are owed big time. This has led to some of the problems, with a few people thinking they were owed more than others. The vast majority that gave their time asked for nothing and were happy to give of their time to bring Speedway back to Leicester. Its very sad that there few vindictive souls are are going to any lenghts to wreck the overal project. Hemsley, having put up the huge amount that he did, may reflect that he should have found the thousands more to have funded the rest that the volunteers did and so prevented all the bitterness arriving from a handful of increasingly desperate people. I have no doubt that any new owner would soon be in receipt of your numerous complaints about anything that moves at Leicester. You talk about `fans`. Yet Hemsley, perhaps unigue in British Speedway for a promotor, freely walks and chats amongst his fans at every home meeting. So this particular compalint, like most of your other constant whinging, does not stack up in actual relaity. In you knew anything about the inner workings of Speedway, you would be aware that Leicester is amongst the best run clubs. They pay their bills for a start.

Another whinge. The lions had their biggest crowd of the season the other week, so your wrong (again) on attendance levels. It may have escaped your notice but there would be no Speedway without Hemsley at Leicester, so far from ruining it he`s made it happen for the enjoyment of so many. It shows the confidence Hemsley must have in his backroom staff if he feels he can take a holiday in the season. Anyway, why would you as a customer even notice that Hemsley was on holiday? Its his business and shows your obsession with him has obsessional tendancies.

The actual reality is that Leicester Lions Speedway club consistently get top marks in the weekly feedback forms that the official SCB referee has to complete at each match. This includes punctuality, track preparation, programme, administration, performance of key officials and a host of other criteria. This would suggest that the set-up is actually first class. Anyway, why is the set-up a concern for you - unless you just wanted to moan and whinge at everything? Your position is that of a fan who pays to watch a product, in this case 15 heats of Speedway (but you don't go anymore as you seem to delight in telling us). As a fan you are merely a customer, you can chose to go or not (in your case not). It gives you no rights, no executive power, no management input. The management of Leicester Speedway club or the `set-up` is therefore nothing to do with you. By paying your £16 (when you did) that solely entitled you to see 15 heats. Nothing else. It did not give your any rights or power in the running of the business.

All the above is spot-on. There was a big outcry when Glynn left, with people blaming Hemsley, surely now hes back people have got what they wanted? As well as Jasons issues with the track, it really shows how ill-informed some people (who sole agenda seems to be the disparaging of Hemsley and Leicester Lions at every turn), that they think Jason had any power at all. He filled in the programme. He was not involved in contract negotiations in any way, so any suggestion he played any meaningful role in either hiring or firing is nonsense. Hemsley and Jones signed the team. As in any other sport, the riders know where the power lies, not with a powerless team manager but those that pay them. It really show the nativity of some people who have posted on this thread of the role Speedway team manager. Only Rossiter and Drury, to a lesser extent Middleditch, have any real influence in team affairs in the whole sport. To underscore this, these three are the only ones who actually get paid, the rest do it for expeses only in virtually every other case.

Also the hot dog seller quit before the last home match. He was working at the Tigers Rugby match. How could Hemsley allow that to happen?

Thanks for the correction. On the other point you make, perhaps you can tell us where Jason was a promotor, manager or rider? He is a nice guy, was in tow at the right time when Hemsley was looking for help and did ok filling in the scores for a bit of petrol money. Lets face it, he was never going to have the clout, or knowledge, to sign riders, or fire them. Sad to say, no loss at all, particurlarly in view of the replacements. As for being in the `know`, if only you knew. Why would you care if the track man has gone or not (not confirmed either way)? You wanted Glynn to stay originally I seem to recall. Is there anything, anything at all, you can say thats positive about Leicester Speedway, the success story of the sport in the past year? Leicester Speedway a mess? In what way? If only you had any dealings within Speedway, any experience of other clubs, you would soon realise how professional Leicester is run in contrast. If you had such experience, you would really appreciate what you have, instead of knocking it at every possible turn.