mikebv

And it has done zero to to deliver an extra discernable level of punters in.. Like in the Sky years, the money pays for the top riders rather than help subsidise lower admission costs... Brum were quoted as having to fork out £15k from a home meeting to pay for BZ, which they clearly were not going to do/afford, however, if they did then that would have just brought more inflation to the overall costs of the rest, as the second and third HL's would have demanded more, with the SS's then also knocking on the door... TV has delivered very little as Promoters havent used that two hour free advert to paint a positive picture of their business... Instead we have cameras panning around "one man and his dog" crowd levels which does nothing to build a positive brand, and nothing to bring some FOMO to those watching at home.. Ironically, no TV would bring in bigger crowds given so many currently give TV matches a miss when they are meaningless play off matches, or when the weather is a bit dodgy....

When the sport was "successful" it had only the top riders as fully pro... The rest rode part time for very, very decent money when compared to their other job... With second strings earning more in one night than they earned in a week in their "main job"... Now we have pro juniors.... But we also have crowds one tenth of the days of when the sport was successful... And we also have promoters quite happy to indulge Poland and have their leagues lack credibility due to playing second fiddle to them.. We also have promoters happy to indulge riders when it comes to their own individual ambitions by simply running a meeting anyway and borrowing from elsewhere when these riders are unavailable... They even sign riders from Denmark who cannot race on Wednesdays..... For me, all the things many of us have regularly said as being ridiculous on here, have been allowed to actually become part of the fabric of the operating model, so I truly cannot see a way out in all honesty... It has been a slow inexorable death by a thousand (self inflicted) cuts... Three times major radical changes should have been made... 1. When the GP's started to impact domestic Speedway... 2. When Poland started to impact domestic Speedway... The sport should have built its own destiny, instead it fudged and appeased other organisations and riders, meaning the fans got pi$$ed off watching guestfesf after guestfest and voted with their feet... And the third time? Covid... What a chance for a reset, thousands of die hards and thousands of even more lapsed fans eager for the sport to start up again... And what did we get? Well, the current situation clearly shows the answer ..

Spot on comment about there being an appetite for Speedway... At the NSS there have been two good crowds this year, yesterday and the PCMM... One being ran on a BHM and the other being ran early in the season with a top class field.. If those who attended, me included, saw enough in the product to attend more regularly then 2000 plus crowds would be the norm... Running on a normal Monday simply restricts crowds, weekend is "leisure time".. Running several meetings as "meaningless", as the play off positions are set in stone from May, simply restricts crowds... And running meetings when you know (well in advance) that riders will be missing, but happily replacing them with competitor's employees, simply restricts crowds.. It costs me over fifty quid for me and my lad as he works PT and has much better things to spend his money on, meaning we attend three, maybe four times a season.. Get it down to thirty quid for us both and it would easily be double figure attendance for us both... Personally, given the Mickey Mouse operating model, neither of us care who wins (like many others who sporadically attend), as the credibility of the competitions is almost zero, but we do love watching the racing at the NSS as it can be breathtaking... As you say, that disconnect needs to be sorted... They could start by running meetings on the best night for the fans to attend in the highest numbers.. Run with less riders per team to make supply exceed demand for adhoc and longer term replacements, which then brings credibility.... And set an admission fee that reflects the standing of the sport in the UK, and the 15 mins or so of entertainment that is actually on offer... The core product is still very watchable, the nonsense surrounding it doesn't do it any favours...

My car is in front of the stand....

And lots of Aces fans too.... Perfect for a Sunday afternoon in the countryside at NDL level, so no issues with missing riders being elsewhere...

No.... Just running scared... The Ipswich "Devon Loch" Witches usually find a way to blow it.... I can see Hawkins doing a Kevin Keegan style meltdown when the pressure is on.. Not sure who I love to watch more when the TV zooms in when they are losing... Him or Stead....

Is it just yourself you are trying to convince...?

With only 500 attending, even with a winning team, you would still not be hitting a huge 100% increase... And, even if you did, that would still be only 1000.. The bottom line is, the people of Birmingham, like so many other major cities in the UK, are just not that interested in Speedway...

Like Mark Loram.... Malta's first World Champion.....

And nothing says more Mickey Mouse than a policy that allows teams to plan in meetings knowing riders will be missing and replace them from other teams, rather than running the meetings when the actual team can be there.. The guest system isnt a "necessary evil", as some term it, it is now a fundamental key part of the operating model.... A chance for some riders to earn more money, and a catch all safety net to complete the season, driven by the signing of riders who, knowingly, won't be available to represent the team..

Another major issue the sport has... In business, being "Brand Damaging" is avoided st all costs... In UK Speedway, it could be argued that to damage its brand isimply isnt possible, given the way it is ran has delivered a very low bar... "Any Speedway is better than no Speedway" appears the only mantra, hence four guests and RR is "perfectly acceptable" in the eyes of those in charge.. With the untold damage done to the sport further down the line, never for a moment considered it appears.... "Saving from themselves" might also be a good mantra to follow, as well meaning amateurs do their level best, but never learn about best practice, and how to deliver it...

Gerry Facenna in the Star this week talks about how the racing is paramount to the sports future success... As it brings the punters back... Preparing tracks just to win, and not to provide entertainment, is something he simply doesn't agree with... He must come on here looking at the ideas he has to improve his business.......

Excellent piece in the Speedway Star about the Brum closure... Nigel Tolley has put in two thirds of a million during his tenure... An incredible amount and he deserves great thanks from everyone who were able to keep attending... Crowds of 500 were the main issue and he said it costs £12-13k a match to run a home meeting... And then had the away costs in top! He said that having more UK based riders was vital for the sport, given the cost of flights, hotels, etc... Exactly what's been written in the letters pages of the Star for about three decades, and on here for 15 years or so...!!! If only promoters had realised that...! BZ wanted £7.5k a meeting so didn't get signed... A good interview with Brian Buck too, another who deserves great thanks for playing a huge part in the resurrection of the sport in Birmingham.. Another excellent publication this week from the Star team...

Are you Shovvy in disguise? Are you Shovvy in disguise?

As I have mentioned before... Just ask TR and CO why don't they just use the Abbey given their low projected numbers... Car parking too shouldn't be an issue using their crowd projections... A perfect sized stadium has been built if those numbers are correct .. So just use it...

Over 20,000 in attendance. Tickets bought in March for an October meeting to ensure you got your usual seats.. One rider from every team ensured at least 16 teams had fans there, some in big numbers... Dozens of coaches from around the country .. 100's of bikes lined up in the KL car park (hardly see a biker at Speedway nowadays).. Red shale gleaming under the lights and a crackling atmosphere.. As the night porter said to Georgie Best in the Savoy, when he entered his room with Champagne,on ice, tenners strewn all over the bed from the casino, and his girlfriend, (Miss World, Mary Stavin), relaxing on the bed ready for an evening with the great man .. "Where did it all go wrong?" ..😁

The Fours were also amongst the best racing you could ever see... Each team seemed to have four top class international riders, with some having five, and some also having a "wunderkind" U21 rider at six in his first UK season... Many would be considered a GP level meeting today given the talent on show... Plus. Each event had three lots of away fans there in decent numbers, giving atmosphere and status to the events... Something sadly missing at many matches today due to a lack of away followers... Getting more U11's, and away fans into tracks should be the No1 priority of the sport.. The kids to get parents and guardians there, the away fans to add atmosphere... Give tickets away if needs be as a "loss leader"... Given so few attend now, the cost will be negligible...

BV v Wolves in the early 90's were some of the best meetings I have ever watched... Both Home and Away... Ott, The Moran's, Screen, Lyons, Ermolenko, The Karlssons, Correy Jones, etc... Brilliant racing, with many last heat deciders... Then air fences came in to narrow both tracks, and laydowns came in to put power down on the track differently...

I was thinking about the Pirates too...😁 Him and Leon Madsen at six and seven... ☺️ Payback for having to ride on a Thursday, a day when no one in Poole is allowed out... 😁

To the South West? 2.00 I would think....😁 A new regulation... The launch of the Polish RS Scheme in the UK..😁

Brandon wouldn't have served up a race like that... It was always a strange thing for me that what always looked a great shaped track, and always seemed so well prepared, offered up little in passing opportunities... A good many races were "close" but not many actually had too many passes.. Riders like Tatum, Smith and Havelock, who could gate well, and ride very fast when out in front, always seemed to do well at Coventry... Whereas riders like Loram and Screen often tended to have to fight for every single point, riding every inch of the track to often make zero impact on the rider in front.. The Overseas finals were also similar, some very close racing but not many of those races manifesting themselves into passing opportunities... Was it the camber that wasn't banked enough? As the bends seemed quite wide., Or maybe the level of dirt on the track? But it did often seem quite well covered.... The Sunday occasions were great though, especially when Havvy had a bad day and you were stood near the Bradford fans.... 😁

Blodorn at No6 too, he should end up close to a 4.5 average this season... Alternative yo-yo ing from Reserve to 2nd string should put his average up a decent amount... Magic on around 5.9 not a bad shout either for big home wins...

It was their own business decision and was almost heralded as being a great idea as it meant "weekly Speedway", which for so many (who don't have to actually fork out for weekly Speedway), seemed almost utopia at the time... The reality is that the "novelty" of their return has worn off as it always naturally does at every new track, and paying for sometimes two meetings a week, (more if fans go away too), will always be a challenge... Just the two leagues next year? 2nd and 3rd tier?

Maybe said rider has decided to not spend any more money on his UK kit until he gets paid?

Jaimon Lidsey.... Currently tied 9th in the averages with Danny King.... With a higher away average too...