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Everything posted by MattB
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Witches v wolves 28th June, TV meeting
MattB replied to Badge's topic in SGB Premiership Speedway League
Does anybody in this sport know what the hell they're doing?! -
Less said about the rest of them the better. Too many heads dropped for my liking
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Some great racing, but Peterborough have had far too solid all the way through. We've been poor apart from Becker and Douglas.
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Birmingham have now put their season on hold until July 1st. They won't be the first, and I expect Wolves to follow suit shortly.
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You have to take into account fans in the lower bar and restaurant as well. I believe the figure is around 780 that can be allowed in
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Suspect that may be CVS's intention to try and put pressure on the council. He's right too. We cannot run on the crowds we have for much longer.
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Worrying, but hardly surprising. WOLVERHAMPTON owner Chris Van Straaten has revealed how the club are suffering ‘severe losses’ operating under strict reduced audience numbers. Van Straaten says it’s vital the roadmap remains on course for social distancing to be reduced or ruled out completely in order for the club to continue racing. Parrys International Wolves are next at home on June 21, the day step four of the roadmap out of lockdown is due to begin. Van Straaten warned: “It’s a dire situation for us, we are suffering severe losses every time we stage a home meeting because we simply cannot get any more supporters in due to the restrictions. “It’s vital for us that Boris Johnson stays firm and sticks to the relaxing of social distancing to enable us to get more people on the terraces in the open air. “We cannot be the only business struggling due to these restrictions which we have to adhere to after working with Wolverhampton City Council officials to get us reopened after 20 months. “We’ve stuck to the book and done everything properly and I understand some fans have been frustrated, particularly in the warm weather. We’ve had every space taken on the terraces so people who have indoor tickets couldn’t leave indoors and go outside, but they are the rules and I understand the frustration. “We are not trying to belittle the awful consequences of the covid virus which has affected so many people. “I believe the vaccination rollout has been a massive success and that’s one box ticked, along with the fact that hospitalisations and death figures remain relatively low. “The vast majority of adults have now had at least one vaccine and we have to unlock to allow the economy to recover. “I would be heartbroken if Wolverhampton Speedway became one of those businesses to close down as a consequence of ongoing restrictions – but that is a possibility I cannot rule out at this stage because we simply cannot continue to sustain losses.” Wolves head to Peterborough on Monday, the day of the announcement regarding June 21 and how much further lockdown will be eased.
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Believe its new shale that has been put down this season which was churned up by the rain. I think they gambled that it would be OK, but it backfired badly. Given the restrictions on crowd levels, I would say the promoters are anxious about the June 21st opening being pushed back. There's a real risk of clubs not completing the season if Johnson moves the goalposts again. Last night was the last thing Wolves needed
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I work over in Birmingham and I was convinced when I finished at 5 that I would find out the meeting was going to off, so was astonished when I arrived at Monmore to find brilliant sunshine. Nice to catch up with people I hadn't seen in almost 18 months, but such a shame that they couldn't get through it. In truth the track looked horrendous when I got there, and even after a hour of work it looked no better. Gutted for CVS, who sounded absolutely crestfallen when he made the announcement, but with the benefit of hindsight, calling it off before would have been the sensible option.
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I've been to loads of meetings where the advertised start time is 7.30, yet at 7.35 they've only just started to wheel the bikes out for the parade. I think there has been some improvement in recent years in terms of getting meetings run to time without messing about, but it's not always down to the promoters. As most of them rent the stadium, they're landlords want delays because they want them to spend money in the bars and burger vans.
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Has British Speedway now reached the bottom?
MattB replied to Wee Eck's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Yes. I said I was uncomfortable with it on another and got told to grow up -
Has British Speedway now reached the bottom?
MattB replied to Wee Eck's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Looks like they've deleted it from twitter and Facebook now. -
Has British Speedway now reached the bottom?
MattB replied to Wee Eck's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
A poor idea which has been badly put together -
Yes. It's why I say self interest won at the end of the day. The riders saw pound signs and the promoters did not stand up to them. While clearly a portion of the money had to go to the riders, part should have been set aside to lay some foundations in place for long term reward. So many other sports reaped the benefits of TV money because they had vision over a 5-10 year period. Speedway was happy to hop on the gravy train until the novelty (and the cash) ran dry.
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We do. And it's fantastic. But it's a case of slamming the stable door shut after the horse has bolted. I've watched some meetings from that 1999-2000 period over the last year. The buzz and the atmosphere around the sport then was huge. Big crowds, terrific action. It was a perfect base on which the sport could have kicked on. A bit of vision and joined up thinking by the promoters? Nope, just go for the quick fix and short term boom.
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The biggest missed opportunity British Speedway had was when Sky got involved in 1999. They had the perfect opportunity to put together a proper business plan to invest the money into a proper structure to give it a solid foundation to build on and take the sport forward. But sadly, self interest got in the way.
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I can't escape the feeling that a portion of this is driven by jealousy of what the IOW have been doing in terms of promoting "outside the box" as it were.
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Definitely at Dudley Wood. We used to call the 3rd bend at Cradley "Sam's Bend", he used to come off there that often.
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Am a big fan of Tom Bacon. Very professional and immaculate in the way he presents himself, his setup , and how he talks to people - definitely a CVS type of rider. That said, I would say his chance of kicking on to a higher level has probably passed now.
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All well and good, as long as they don't go down the "rip it up and start again" route at the first moment someone moans about it not suiting they're club.
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Bradford always had excellent crowds for big meetings, but I'd question the viability of league fixtures there. The crowds were probably decent for smaller venues, but would get lost in the vast spaces of Odsal. Bear in mind that they had strong teams for a lot of the time between 86 and 97.
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Streaming is an idea that at very least must be explored. OK its not the same as being there, but its likely to be some time before even a small number of fans can go into stadiums. Charging for a streaming service could potentially be a lifeline for these clubs.
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Making it up as they go along
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The old saying "Never waste a good crisis"
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I notice construction of new stadiums doesn't appear among his many talents.....