Leicester Hunter

I don't think any reasonable person disagrees with that, I certainly don't, the BSPA and Alex Harkess in particular have tried to do the best they can in the circumstances, but have on this occasion come up short. The aftermath is not what is being discussed here. It's what led up it that is the problem. I'm not being disrespectful to season ticket holders here, they all lost money and that's not acceptable, but look at what sponsors lost. OK you might say, that's a gamble they take when they hand money over in a venture like that, but they didn't get what they paid for and with hindsight, might have put their money somewhere else that could have been more beneficial. Doubtless all involved were spun the same bullrubbish story that the fans were. 'No debt, no problems, club's viable, etc'. No wonder all the major sponsors were alienated, I wouldn't blame them if they never went near speedway ever again. What's worse, all Joe McLaughlin's hard work over the last few years was flushed down the pan in an instance by two utterly clueless chancers. That's the main reason Birmingham Speedway won't be at the tapes in 2015. It's easy to be wise after the event. We've all been there and done it in various ways, but it's nearly always for the same reason; Too much is taken at face value these days, and it shouldn't be.

Lord Shawcross was a barrister and former Labour MP for St Helens from 1945 to 1958, when he quit party politics. He was also Attorney General in Clement Attlee's Labour Administration from 1945 to 1951. He prosecuted at the Nuremberg Trials after WW2, and also prosecuted among others, turncoats William Joyce ('Lord Haw-Haw') and John Amery, who had worked in various capacities for the Nazis. He wasn't a speedway promoter, but he was an independent barrister who could be relied on to be impartial. The rest, as they say, is history.

Which is exactly what they ended up doing anyway. It speaks volumes that these two are not being allowed near the sport ever again. There must have been warning signs flagged up to the BSPA when the Drury's quit. And then Phillips junior was allowed to become the replacement promoter with no discernable experience whatsoever. I suppose they took Phillips' word for it that he had sufficient finance available, rather than selling to Tony Mole last Christmas time, but as we've subsequently discovered, Phillips' word, whether written or verbal meant naff all.

Well, that's being discussed elsewhere at great length by some and I just can't understand why. What on earth has the team name got to do with the City Council? So long as planning requirements are not broken, they could be called Mars Martians and it wouldn't make the slightest difference! Good point, and I think one of the reasons the relaunch bid for the Brummies has failed. Our fan base just isn't big enough. And as I said earlier, I don't think the GRA will deal with anyone wanting to operate speedway at Perry Barr without Tony Mole's involvement because of the rent payment problems of the past. I agree, what has been said about Tony Mole today is disgraceful. The person who has had to clear up the mess from two previous failed promotions at the track as well as bringing speedway back to the city seven years ago. Absolutely unbelievable. It would be a good idea to let Cradley use the track if they wanted, but I'm having difficulty getting round the 'use it or lose it' argument aimed at Brummies fans. Some have already said they wouldn't support the Heathens at Perry Barr, and fair enough, that's up to them (I'm one of them, by the way). Now if Cradley want to operate out of Birmingham, it's going to be on a business plan formulated on their own support. That, and that alone would decide whether or not it happened. If they do come to the conclusion that such a move would work and they manage to pick up some 'floating' Brummies supporters as a result of that, then that's a bonus as far as I can see.

As far as I understand it, the whole idea was to form a consortium along the lines of the Edinburgh business model and have it fronted by Tony Mole. I don't think it would work any other way. As we are now finding out, the failure to pay rent to the GRA earlier this year wasn't a one off occurrence; It also happened in 2010 under Gary Patchett's stewardship, so what happened at Oxford a decade ago has been replicated at Birmingham. I don't honestly believe the GRA would be willing to work with a consortium without Tony Mole's involvement, as he has a good working relationship with them, and from their perspective, they could be in the same situation regarding non payment of rent at any time without him being there. It would be nice to think that the club will make a comeback sometime in the future, but being realistic, I don't believe that will be possible now. Any club which closes now for whatever reason, will not be making a reappearance anytime soon.

Let's face it - the guy's an accountant. He can make money disappear and then reappear wherever he wants it to. I seriously doubt he lost much (or indeed any) of his own money in the venture. Other people's money, well, that's another question altogether.... The latest news is a real downer for Brummies fans, and I fear it's the end of the road for speedway at Perry Barr with a team running under the name of Birmingham. For Cradley Heath, however, this could be a totally different story. A ready made home to move straight into, and the ability to operate at whatever level they want to. And it would be a home for however long they wanted it. Planning permission may not be a serious problem for them now.

I remember having to move a CX Pallas estate around the forecourt at the garage I worked at in the early 80's, and getting them to stop smoothly was quite an artform until you got used to it. Like the DS before it, it didn't have a brake pedal, but a brake button. Gawd, talk about left foot braking.... Ole Olsen was only other rider I remember having a van, a Custom Ford Transit, paid for, I believe by Castrol, who were one of his major sponsors at the time. But yes, Ivan certainly knew how to get a sponsor.... that van was Volkswagen LT, fully kitted out and signwritten by VW GB themselves. And it was a great advert for the sport at that time. I can't remember. All the riders seem to have vans these days, usually a Mercedes Sprinter, fully signwritten and everything. Going back to the cars, most seemed to be Fords, either Mark 2 or Mark 3 Cortina's, Zephyr's or Zodiac's of varying vintage, or for those with a bit more of a budget, either an early Consul GT or a Granada. Now they really were the high speed loadluggers of the day. Unless you were Garry Middleton, of course. Then, only a Rolls Royce would suffice....

Only because all the others were Rory Schlein!

That's fair comment, and one I wholly endorse. The four week 'mini series' a few years ago on Mike Parker was one of the best speedway related articles I have ever read. A ruthless and driven individual no doubt, but the sport as a whole owes him a great debt of gratitude when he got a whole load of like minded individuals together to form the Provincial League. That was the start of speedway's 'golden era', no doubt at all....

Yes, how many times over the years after a race winning time has been announced have we heard from some fans "Slow!" only for opposition fans to retort "Fast enough to win!"?

As in continually slag off the loyal supporters, tell outright lies like "There is no debt at this club" when there blatantly was and don't pay the stadium rent, which results in them being locked out. Yeah, that's the way to do it.

That's a fair point. Didn't Rob Woffinden cop a ban once, and it turned out he'd taken nothing more than some LemSip (or some such cold remedy)?

Well, if Tore Kittilsen had been completely impartial, he would have excluded Penhall for dangerous riding as well as Carter for falling off. But it was all about an American winning the World Championship in the USA. It's not as though Penhall hadn't got previous in situations like that. He wasn't fussy who he did it to. I was at Cradley Heath the night he finished Steve Clarke's career.

Yes, 1976 Intercontinental Final at Wembley. Ivan decided not to race Peter Collins in the run-off for the title, as he knew the runner up drew No5 in the Final. PC got 'lumbered' with No11, and of course won the World Championship.... But in all honesty, to call that cheating is a tad harsh. I'd say it's taking advantage of a known situation, and being more mentally alert, rather like Nicki Pedersen in the SWC Final a couple of years ago....

Granted, but according to the original link supplied by Siggytastic, a No Win No Fee smartarse was involved here. And the judge also raised his concern about the defendants legal fees coming to more than £400,000.... These parasites really should be outlawed. And then the couple's house burned down.... I've just read Lioness's post. I agree that the buck stops with either the couple themselves, or their solicitor during the purchase process. They should stand the costs, not Mildenhall Stadium.

I'm quite surprised no-one has mentioned the night of the infamous punch-up at Hyde Road in 1971. 10th July 1971, Belle Vue v Leicester. With the score at 35-37 in Leicester's favour, Aces' Dave Hemus broke the tapes and was replaced by Alan Wilkinson. Alan Cowland drove inside Wilkinson on lap 1, who fell. Referee David Miller stopped the race and excluded Wilkie, who was furious, and made his feelings known to Cowland as he returned to the pit gate. As this fracas subsided, some fans got involved, and a free for all developed outside the pits. While all this was going on, Miller excluded the three other riders, Belle Vue's Soren Sjosten and Lions pairing Ray Wilson and Cowland under the 2 minute rule. With a very sour atmosphere having developed, Miller then declared the match over, a two point win for Leicester. I suppose it was largely academic, as the Aces couldn't have put a rider out in the rerun anyway, their other reserve Ken Eyre having completed his maximum allowed races sometime earlier. I also believe Leicester's Malcolm Brown had completed five rides as well, just leaving Tom Leadbitter to complete four laps alone. This match also halted Belle Vue's unbeaten British League sequence at Hyde Road, which extended back 49 matches, Sheffield being the last team to win a League match there in September 1968. All in all, not a satisfactory way to end such a winning run.

Looking at some members of society these days, it's not a bad idea. It's called saving them from themselves. You could also say that statement partly describes the bankruptcy procedure, and seeing the state the sport's in these days, not really a bad suggestion.

I first encountered Malc Holloway when he was a team mate of Andy's at Milton Keynes in 1978. A real character, greatly missed and the type of individual the sport is crying out for today. Two major shocks from that particular final were the failure of both Michael Lee and John Davis to qualify for the next stage of the World Championship. They scored a combined total of 9 points between them, if my memory serves me correctly.

Yeah, I can fully understand you feeling gutted after 'Crash's dramatic exit in '75, but you've got to admit, that was something special from Ray Wilson in the run-off... I've got to admit, I wasn't really a fan of the Coventry track during the Olsen era, but Charles Ochiltree did seem to prepare a somewhat deeper track for the British Final, and it provided some memorable and also cut-throat racing. Ironically, in 1982, a fair number of Birmingham fans didn't make it Brandon as a thunderstorm of monsoon proportions engulfed the north and east of the city around teatime, many coming to the conclusion that the meeting would be postponed. Just shows what things were like before the advent of mobile phones and social media etc. For me, I travelled down from Leicestershire and it was a relatively rain-free journey. For the few of us Brummies supporters there, 2nd June 1982 was a truly memorable meeting. We saw 'our boy' Andy Grahame win the Championship, it being all the sweeter, as no-one really saw that result coming!

No, Speedway Golden Jubilee celebration meeting, 1978.

RIP Simmo. The word Legend is often overused these days. Certainly not in his case. Very sad news indeed.

Could be quite a bit longer than either party initially envisaged, seeing as who Birmingham signed toady.

Birmingham's visit to Hackney in 1982 was quite a close run affair until heat 10. With the Hawks two points in front, their pairing of Finn Thomsen and Jens Rasmussen gated and were on an easy 5-1 over their Brummies counterparts of Ales Dryml Snr and Ari Koponen, until Rasmussen's bike went entering the third bend on lap 2. Straightening the bike up, Rasmussen collided with Thomsen, and the pair both fell off. Whilst they were sorting themselves out, the Brummies pair raced past completely unconcerned. Thomsen eventually remounted and proceeded to pootle round, and when the flag came out, he was well over half a lap adrift. However, instead of taking the flag, Thomsen decided to ride straight into the pits, only to be greeted by an irate Len Silver, who told him very loudly, and in no uncertain terms to "Bl***y well get out there and finish the race", which he did. Too late though, as the referee had already switched on the red exclusion light.... The announcer read out the result, and added that "The rider in red has been excluded for leaving the track without the referee's permission"! Priceless! The resulting 5-0 also had great bearing on the final result. The Brummies won 41-36. Happy days!

The above quote is a prime example of someone who knows they have lost the argument and decides to let everyone else know as well. Jeez mate, don't you ever have a day off? Anyone would think that both Ryan Fisher and Mick Horton have come to you personally for the money. They haven't. So get over it. And get over yourself as well.