Elephantman

I'm sorry but your post is absolute tosh. The EL promoters are looking after their own self interest and it has nothing to do with them sorting the future of British youngsters; that is pure hype and spin. They have a broken product and they need to reduce costs. Simple as that. They have the opportunity to dress the solution up to make it look as if they have suddenly developed largesse towards the young GB riders. They are real hero's these Elite League promoters, what a hole the sport would be in with out their undoubted abilities to con the paying public! I just cannot believe people are falling for their garbage proposals. The one thing you have said that I agree with is "someone has to start" you are correct; but it would help if the start was planned around what is best for the young riders rather than what is best for a failing Elite League.

Just noticed the press release refers to the "British League", without being pedantic there are three British Leagues; plus some other press releases refer to a "British League" do they mean the "Elite League" or have the "Elite" masters of ineptitude renamed it without telling anyone?

Yes, but as I'm not offering my services it is irrelevant. However it is kind of you to take an interest and to be so open minded

Well the typo just goes to show that you need people who understand the name never mind the marketing technique to make it work The issue is that speedway is not attracting new supporters in enough numbers to make the sport sustainable with the current business model. The price at the door is not the key factor causing this; the key factor is that there is no effective advertising and marketing of the product. The reason for that is that the sport is skint and many of the promoters clueless as to how to attract young supporters. Many of you may have had run-ins with Synikalle and disagree with the way that he/she posts; but fundamentally the arguments put forward are correct. Speedway needs to do something radically different to that which it has done in the past or it will shrink even more. I have two tracks within 60 minutes car drive of my home; I wouldn't dream of attending either regularly; the stadiums are awful, the presentation uninspiring, the racing is processional and the atmosphere is dire. One is EL the other PL; if the racing was good you could get away with the other failings to a degree. I travel a significant distance a few times a year to see good racing in decent facilities.

You're arguments are correct but you have attacked the poster; as soon as it gets personal everybody loses. I agree with your summary of the challenges the sport faces. To attend speedway is cheap; so why do people think dropping the prices will increase attendance? It will not. Gorilla marketing; content marketing; social media all of the new techniques need to be employed by people young enough to understand them. We have a young World Champion surrounded by people who haven't moved with the times and may not have the ability to do so within the timescales needed.

So they don't have the humility to acknowledge and learn from their mistakes; those who don't learn repeat!

I'm not interested in what Sweden and Poland choose to do; I'm more concerned at the Elite League who will agree policy on the hoof in the hope it will get supporters on-side. Have you noticed collective amnesia on how crap the Elite League product was last year? It is pathetic; this has nothing to do with helping "young Brits" there is the NL and the PL through which they should be able to progress if they have the talent and the money for suitable equipment. This is about a failed "Elite" league that is grasping at straws to get supporters on side, while at the same time deflecting scrutiny of the real issues. Look at the Birmingham debacle; this is a poorly run league; end of!

There is a wider responsibility focused on the integrity of the sport and the protection of Birmingham speedway's stakeholders e.g. what guarantee is there that the riders will get paid?

I imagine this story has still got legs. It is under the ownership of Phillips that this debacle has been allowed to develop. The press releases last week indicated that he didn't have a clue as to what was happening in the business that he was responsible for running. Now bearing in mind it is now known that Luty has been virtually a silent partner it gives some credence to McLaughlan's boasts that he was running the club! To an outsider it looks like the owners had abrogated their responsibilities to run the company correctly and in the vacuum created McLaughlan had been ceded a level of influence way beyond the role of Commercial Manager with both Morris and Drury isolated and to a degree side-lined. The questions that the BSPA/SCB should be asking is if Phillips is a fit and proper person to run the club; I suggest the empirical evidence shows he is not!

Here we go again; it is not me that has trumpeted these proposals as the "saving" of British Speedway is it? An Elite league promoter issues a press release stating, "Exciting Times Ahead" and the truth is nobody chuffing well knows do they? They don't know because all they have is a few ideas that have not been thought out; but to appease an apathetic and cynical public they have issued a press release and have hung their hat on the "Emphasis on British Youth". They have banked on this approach being popular with the public when in reality they have no rules, regulations or whatever and this was just made up on the spot. They now have to go and fix this in time for the season to start; it really is a pathetic way to run a business and smacks of the short term thinking that has pervaded British Speedway for decades. If most businesses made policy in this way they'd go bankrupt; oh, British Speedway virtually is isn't it?

So as I originally posted (to which you disagreed); ill thought out, half-arsed proposals made up on the hoof. As so much appears to be attached to these changes one would imagine that the full consequences of the changes had been considered and suitable regulation drawn up before going public. It is clear that even you are awaiting the rules to be cobbled together. Elite League? More like Amateurs!

It is a great shame for Brummie fans; I well remember the excitement of the opening night. They deserve better than this shenanigans! I do think it is fairly clear that Morris was not the problem. There are always two sides to every story but it is clear that a number of the ex and soon to be ex-management/owners at Birmingham are challenged in terms of their interpersonal skills and/or understanding what is and what isn't appropriate behaviour. A bit like most speedway clubs then!

Any facts available yet or just more conjecture and hearsay?

You could at least share what they are saying to you.

Quote not working again!

You may need a Doctors appointment on the back of this Oilyrag; I actually agree with you!

Who yanked your chain? You clearly have not read my posts. I haven't even commented on the BSPA press release I've commented on Cooks press release. I happen to think this proposal is half-arsed simple as that. I cannot understand why Neil Machin is selling his interest just as the economy may be starting to recover; he will get minimum value. I can only assume that other factors are involved apart from his desire to live in Australia. Bearing in mind the quality of some of the decisions made it is not unreasonable ask if he's going now as he is fed up with dealing with his fellow promoters? imposing Air Fences for example; not a requirement; unproven; only required for FIM events; but everyone must have them (at least in the UK). Now get back in your box and read my posts properly before wasting 20 minutes of your life telling me I'm a fool, silly and my comments crass. On a final note your point 4 sums up what most people know. The Elite league only cares about the Elite league and if they have to sacrifice a few National League riders careers by using them as cannon fodder to reduce costs and allow the promoters to keep their snouts in the TV money trough they will. There are more clubs outside the EL than in it; if you looked outside your box occasionally you might notice that.

If you cross reference who has said what from the press releases, radio interviews and tweets it is likely that the Commercial Manager going a few weeks back may have avoided some of the issues. I don't know on the rest; the next few days will tell. I just hope it all turns out okay for the club and supporters.

Correct, what they do if they have the authority is remove the person who is making it impossible. Clearly Drury did not have authority to do that and the people who had the authority chose not to. The result is one unnecessary resignation; one transfer request; heaps of bad press and disillusioned Birmingham supporters. I get the impression that the boil has now been lanced.

I'm sure there will be a queue of other clubs willing to employ him.

No absolutely not. There is a huge difference between being unpopular but professional and being an absolute chuffing idiot. Drury may be unpopular with some, but his track record shows that he is professional. You don't have to like people to work with them; likewise if people are openly hostile it makes it impossible to achieve a sustainable working relationship. I get the impression that the relationship between key managers at Birmingham has been quite vitriolic.

I agree. I know Neil Machin is not everyone's cup of tea, but he has operated a well run business for 20 odd years. It begs the question has he decided to sell up because he just can't be bothered to deal with some of the promoters who come up with these half arsed ideas at the drop of a hat?

I think the mess has just got cleared up to a degree! Graham Drury is a safe pair of hands; hopefully he can assist in the restructure of Birmingham. It sounds as if Phillips wants to/must go as well?

The interesting thing I noted is that Cook states that this is an Elite League decision; does that mean it is not a BSPA decision the two are not one and the same are they? I believe this is a poorly thought out scheme. If you are attempting to build a pyramid for developing young riders you don't put them in at the top; I could understand this scheme if the PL were obliged to take two young English NL riders and the Elite forced to take two more experienced English PL riders. I refer to Cooks statement on the BSPA website, "Elite promoters’ decision to follow our Swedish and Polish League counterparts by including two British youngsters at six and seven in all 2014 line-ups". You are absolutely correct the full detail should have been available and published. However this reads as if the Elite League have gone for this scheme on the day; with little forethought or planning; hence the inability to make an informed announcement. Now I suggest that if the supposed "Elite" are making policy on the hoof, then speedway is in more of a hole than we all thought it was!

I get the impression that the commercial manager has always been a bit of a braggart and is quite a divisive character. I also keep an eye on cycle speedway websites and on one in particular, up until a year ago, he was a very regular poster; generally the tone could have been read as aggressive and insulting to anyone who had the temerity to hold a view different to his own. The challenge is the written word can always make things look worse than the spoken word. I read that he was banned from CS for a while; but I don't know why. I do hope the issues at Birmingham are sorted out quickly such a great city deserves a well run and well supported speedway team.