mikebv

And we finish with a "Veeona".. Fair play though, easy to criticise.. He got Leon Madsen spot on all night..

I've heard a "Vorney", and a "Voranee" so far.. Presume he isn't talking about the ex Yorkshire and England Captain..

How's Sam doing with pronouncing Miskowiak? I've missed a few races.. He was having a decent stab at two or three alternatives to his name earlier in the meeting..

In my line of work we continually cut prices and often have big 'price cut launches' which are planned well in advance.. These launches cover the full package. ie a great marketing and service plan, often with loyalty card recruitment at the heart of it, allied to an operating model structure that over the key first week of the campaign will see the stores at their very best and have plenty of colleague engagement with customers.. You get but one chance to make a first impression.. Which can become the lasting one too!! We don't however enter into price cutting without a detailed cost review that has to line up with any margin loss, as this would be financial suicide, therefore if any margin shortfall will be forecasted to result, and volume increase won't cover it, then the cost base is reduced accordingly to pay for the investment in price.. Speedway on the other hand, seems to have a 'build it and they will come' mentality... It needs much, much more than that.. As the NSS so acutely highlights.. Great racing, yet hardly any more fans than the dog bowl had.. Maybe some of the (literally) several millions of pounds that collectively all clubs will pay out in total to riders in a season (who 99% of the UK wouldnt have a clue who they are), could be better invested in a joined up, collective, national marketing campaign, driven by marketing professionals that might help improve Speedways 'brand recognition'..?

Reducing prices/Doing special offers, is a fundamental part of any business.. And is used to increase customer footfall or sales unit volume depending on what you are offering.. The key to its success being of course that it overall delivers more profit.. But. This can only be done though if it is part of a bigger long term customer service, increased product quality, value for money package.. That is where Speedway clubs who do 'specials' fail as there is simply no clear short, medium and long term objective to doing it... It is very much a 'for one night only' deal without using this 'one night' as they should.. ie as a (potentially) loss making/break even at best investment in a much more detailed and wider marketing strategy, where by that nights 'captured market' is engaged for all it is worth to try and gain those repeat visits so fundamental to success.. Putting out the same old, same old on these 'specials' nights, as so many do, will only reinforce why some ex fans in attendance left in the first place and mean no further visits down the line.. If you reduce your price then ensure you showcase your offer and WOW your customers with your overall service and operating model.. Otherwise you might as well not bother doing it..

Good to see someone is seeking feedback however, getting answers from those who go is only one small part of an engagement plan.. And is gleaning info from the converted in essence.. Maybe doing a survey in Redcar town centre might render more useful results? (If Redcar has a town centre as I haven't a clue).. Those who get asked have you been? And reply No. And those who get asked why do you not attend if you used to? And reply with their reasons. Are the key target market for any promotion to grow the business.. Getting the newbies in and the ex regulars to go back has to be the objective of any research findings.. Finding those people is the key to its success, not "why are you here and how did you hear about us?" Because ultimately, whilst it gains feedback as to the success level of your marketing plan, they are already watching the sport.. And when you do find potential newbies or ex regulars during your research, then provide that group with targeted incentives for survey completion.. As I say, fair play for a promotion for giving it a go. Hope it delivers some clear pathway to improved crowds...

Pro active Customer engagement.. No surprise Barry... You seem to be on the front foot, and open minded to constructive feedback, whether good, bad or indifferent.. Hence your reputation amongst fans is at the level it is.. A bar height that others can aspire to..

We always seem to sign the wrong Worrall don't we? In all seriousness I think you are right and being 'local' has given both lads a certain amount of leeway with the fans that maybe someone from further afield domestically or abroad wouldn't have been granted.. Injuries have taken their toll on both sadly..

There's a real link running through several of the most recent posts isn't there..? The Sport really doesn't need to (forlornly as it works out) chase new fans. It just needs to get back those who gradually became completely disillusioned with it, and disengaged by it.. I would suggest if would more than double it's current weekly average such are the amount of people who have stopped attending in the past ten years or so but still keep 'in touch' with it.. A strange business decision isn't it to completly ignore those who still feel a connection to you, and decide not to make the changes to your operation that they highlight as being inherently flawed..?

I agree, very easy to criticise.. However, by the same token, criticism can only be given if there is something to actually criticise.. And by doing the same old, same old, year in year out, when it clearly doesn't work, leaves you well open to criticism I would suggest.. The sport (in Britain) is dying a slow lingering death... The same sport (in other countries), isn't, and in Poland it is actually growing.. The same sport...! With two wildly differing Business and Operating models... 45000 mainly British fans will descend on Cardiff in September to watch the GP.. 15000 of which, at the very best, will attend a domestic Speedway track this week.. That 45000 shows that there is still a market for the Sport... That 15000 also shows how disenfranchised and disillusioned so many domestic fans are.. That's down to those who run it.... As leaders, the buck stops with you... Good results or bad...

As I say... A promoter at the time told me that the Sky money paid to keep the No1.. Maybe he wasn't telling the truth...? I do know one lad who got £95k so not too far off I would suggest... His sponsor also told me that after paying for his Speedway and living costs, there wasn't much left. .. Anyway... Promoters know best... They have done a great job with thousands of hours prime time TV coverage and Millions of pounds haven't they?

A promoter once told me that the "Sky Money" basically paid for the EL No1.. As it was circa £110k per team not a bad little earner for your '3rd job'.. Think they also got £10k a match to cover any crowd shortfall.. Literally MILLIONS handed out to riders, (and tuners) over 20 years to deliver what we have today.. Truly a criminally sad joke...

Doesn't Bomber have to guest for every team at least once per season? Isn't that one of the regulations..? And if he isn't available then I believe Scott or Rory must be asked...

Enjoyed that tonight, looked like a fair sized crowd too.. Guesstimate would be around 700-800 from where I was sitting... Plenty of kids with it being hols too.. Cant complain at a tenner in and free for teenagers up to eighteen years old can you? Nice to see a bit of needle too between Jack Smith and some of the Aces lads, maybe those Facebook comments about not getting picked for the U21 were being shared around... Cannot knock the NL can you? A very, very decent product, full of lads giving their all... PS, Barry's Curry must be good down there looking at how 'well fed' several of the IOW lads looked... Made me feel quite 'svelte' like.... (A 'trim' ahem, 15 and a half stone by the way). Well done to all tonight, including Chase The Ace who, with the kids in attendance, did a great job of engagement.. My only gripe would be that on nights like this more could be done to get people to come back to watch either more Colts or 'the big boys'. A massive opportunity to advertise more meetings to a captured market and several around me were first time attendees.. Maybe discounted Aces meeting tickets to any of the newbies? A bit of market research on the night can guide who you try and engage.. Fair play to Mark Lemon too, not a short flight from Russia yet in the pits tonight.. Well done that man.. You do feel that there is hope when the NL shows what can be done..

With Poland being their 'entry point' more and more.. Maybe its visa related? Or maybe its seen to be the quicker way forward to get them up to a higher level quicker. (Sink or Swim).. Lidsey's comments were quite telling when he said he learnt on the "big, well prepared tracks in Poland" which gave him a good grounding.. We need our young lads out there sharing the same experiences.. No coincidence for me that both Tai and Robert Lambert spent a lot of their formative years not riding and learning in Britain. No comfort zone for them.. Moved them on several notches I reckon..

As Tai said, beating riders in the UK doesn't make you a top rider.. The young lads have to go up against the more battle hard young Poles in particular more often.. These lads are facing enormous pressure to perform every time they go to a track so can handle far better the jump to the next level when their U21 reserve time finishes.. As we have seen ongoing for a good many years. Our lads can easily be feted by too many followers as "a future World Champion" when in reality they are just the best of a very ordinary domestic bunch.. Get them overseas at an early age and see if they sink or swim.. The likes of Drabik, Smektala, Kubera et al, all face that challenge every Sunday through the season...

No adjustments at all.. The bike you started on is the bike that you restart on... All round in one go, back to the start, no pit gates open.. No need for more fuel as hardly used any.. And to stop moving at the start? Hide the magnets on the tapes so all riders need to look at the tapes only, meaning no distractions by riders moving either side.. And if you move you are out, no warning, just like in Athletics, out...

To be fair... Both Nigel and Kelvin didn't cover themselves in glory either.. Many poor interpretations of what had just happened on track, and why, and not knowing the rules of the competition either.. Normally have no issues with them as they often struggle manfully to make racing sound much better than it is to project a better image of the sport, but not their finest couple of days.. PS. I don't think Nigel agrees that the winners should win the meeting with just "Four laps and sixty seconds of racing", nor do I think he appreciates the SWC now being a "World Pairs" competition..

Maybe Bomber could be drafted in next year?

Might even leave a couple of bikes out there.. All ready to race..

That will go down well in Poland I am sure.. The Team Manager got his excuses in early...

To be fair, he did say when he saw the team on Friday.. "Why the f@£k have they picked Bomber"...

My son asked me to record yesterday's.. He didn't bother watching past Heat Six... And not bothered watching at all today... "It's crap" was the official line...

Missed a chance there Tai... Should have said when asked who he thought would win the Semi.. "My head says Russia but my heart says Australia"... Wouid have got a few frothing at the mouth..

Unlucky Bomber... Another lap and you never know...