The Dog

Seems like Birmingham are hosting the British U21 Final this year. Good to see.

Does that rule him out for a Championship spot tho?

My outside bet would be Luke Becker if he's not tied up enough abroad to be available for us...

Fine

Because we don't know its not feasible until someone tries it and proves its not. Like I said, it's just an idea. Someone might look at it and be able to adapt it and make it worthwhile

I'm sure it's not feasible but it's just an idea to try and get people interested in the sport because offering free admission etc isn't getting newbies flooding in. And that's most tracks not just Birmingham.

Excellent point

One of the major issues is investment in the sport at 'lower than grand prix' level. Instead of paying riders daft money, clubs should be buying one or two smaller bikes and give the kids a taster an hour before the meeting starts. Parents aren't willing to spend on all the gear for the kid to hate it after one lap,unless they already have a speedway background. Advertise it as a free trial for kids and the parents get in free just the once. Even if they don't want to be a rider they may just become a supporter. Needs to be a huge carrot to get people through the gates, this might not be it but it's a different idea.. Apologies for hijacking the Brum thread.

But on the flip side, Poole is one of those teams I'd pay to watch when they come to town because of the better riders...

Think you have the wrong fella

Maybe the powers that be are hoping to get the playoff final organised for the August Bank Holiday, hopefully decent weather and a lot of fans/families attending. Make a change to showcase the finale in sunshine rather than a cold Mon in November...

It's a good fixture list from the Brummies point of view, a local derby with Leicester, big hitters Poole and the return of Harris with Berwick to start the season with should attract the fans and bring in plenty of revenue

What a thread.... Have never read so much babyish bickering in all my life. Its embarrassing.

I agree in the main but the crux seems to be that the stadium owners don't want to collaborate with the speedway side of things. I know that Peter Mason and Laurence have had a reasonable relationship with the stadium owners but not enough to really help the Brummies move forward as they would like. Being a promotor must be an absolute thankless task and I don't think anyone will put in as much time and effort as Laurence has done recently

Birmingham had a lot of close meetings last year that went down to the last few heats, and with the likes of Harris and Riss in heats 13 and 15 there was always a chance they could win. Add to that some needle matches with other teams moaning about the track creating atmosphere, pit walks, track walks with the riders and kids entertainment, we still struggled to get decent crowds in. Other than what they were doing, I can't see how they will get the numbers required through the turnstiles. But I hope they do because its a smashing club and we all want them to survive and continue for many years to come.

I think Covatti would be good but not necessarily get folk through the turnstiles. Birmingham have tried a few promising talents over the last few years, but they've never really shown their potential and struggled to get to grips with our tracks and then ultimately their confidence suffers. Grobauer being the latest one...

Must admit that there is a lot of things out there that kids would rather be doing and it costing the parents the same as a night at the speedway. There is no obvious way to get more people through the gates unfortunately, else it would have been thought of by now.

Someone did suggest that speedway should be targeting the older generation like pensioners because they have a bit more disposable cash than people with mortgages and a family, and are happy to take grandkids along and thats where you get your next generation of supporters from. Whether that would work is anybodies guess tho. Birmingham have been excellent at catering for the kids over the last few years but if the parents can't afford to go or have lost interest then you will eventually lose that generation. It's an old-age problem that the sport has never solved...

Oh jeez lol

Which one? I think there's around 3 in this league

Would there not be a copyright issue using photos?

Bearing in mind that Oxford have no recent crowd attendances to go by, they've taken on some reasonably big earners in Nicholls and Batchelor without knowing how many fans will turn up on a regular basis to balance the books. Its great that we have another club back racing but can it be made viable?

Why not just take the whole Poole team, at least you know they'll be title challengers!!

Missed that. Bugger.

I'd be happy to give Roynon a chance on a 5ish average. A good gater which is a bonus for a second string or reserve because they get the inside gates and once ahead has speed and good track craft. I know he's had injuries but a lot of them haven't been his fault, he's just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, whereas Bates seems to create his own issues.