heathen52

Totally disgraceful and pathetic by the BSPL and the guys that head that organisation, as i have wrote elsewhere this works two ways in that whilst the current attitude of the BSPL remains as it is towards the IOW and riders that appear there i will not ever be visiting Scunthorpe Speedway, luckily they have big enough crowds to not miss my occasional few quid whenever i visit.

So the BSPL have stood Connor Coles down for riding on the IOW, they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and i shall be contacting Godfrey to let him know my thoughts on the matter, i dont expect a reply but hopefully he will read it, Promoting most of the BSPL dont know the meaning of the word, I hope Godfrey realises this works two ways he has just stood me down from ever visiting Scunthorpe Speedway whilst he maintains the attitude of the BSPL towards the IOW and riders that appear there. Meanwhile well done to everyone on the Island for providing fans and a few none fans with some holiday entertainment.

RIP Mr Rising i never met him but as a young man i always looked forward to reading the Speedway Star every week, he along with everyone at the Speedway Star did a great job promoting the Sport throughout the UK and elsewhere, he will be missed and was a person that it will be difficult if not impossible to replace, make no mistake the Sport will be poorer for his passing, I just hope the powers that be remember him in a way a man of his standing deserves, God rest his soul.

The obituary really sums up the powers that be in the BSPL not fit for purpose, shame on them,This for a man who has spent pretty much his whole life promoting the sport of Speedway.

Even Wolves have had the help of supporters http://www.wolverhampton-speedway.com/news.php?extend.3377 though it says a supporter led Go fund me page, it begs the question how long can Speedway survive in its present format with Fans average age getting older and older, and fewer and fewer and those that remain reluctant to see any change to the tried and failed format of this century. With a 6 Team Premiership and diminishing Championship there is not much further british Speedway can sink, cost is a big factor for a lot of fans yes its probably affordable for the majority of concessionares but for the family man its not so, riders riding for any number of teams has helped riders but the bond between a team and its riders has been lost, the BSPL has failed to recognise this and now they cant go back because we dont have enough riders, its a never ending race to the bottom.

For those coming from a distance you can check if you need to pay the Clean air zone charge here https://vehiclecheck.drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk/vehicle_checkers/enter_details the route is basically within the inner ring road area.

Really feel sorry to see Granty in this predicament, which is in no small way from what i have read due to the previous promotion and the BSPL suggesting it was better to purchase the previous promotion rather than liquidate the previous promotion with all its debts, sometimes its the good guys that fail not for failings on there part but due to previous incumbants building up debts which impact on the current season. Good luck and lets hope a way forward can be found.

Just checking my email and i noticed this is in my inbox https://www.groupon.co.uk/merchant/frequently-asked-questions according to the Q&A you dont pay anything up front, only on a pay as you go basis or on results, so basically its a free hit PROMOTE is what speedway promoters rarely do so how about living up to the name, 50 or 100 extra fans could be the difference between make or break.

Yep thats the issue preaching to the converted so to speak.. it needs to get out to the wider unconverted Birmingham.

Yep thats the guy, as for the away support Brum dont have what used to be a true local derby which doesnt help, nearest Team being Leicester, gone are the days when we had Wolves, Coventry and former Tenants Cradley all within reasonable travel time, but even Cradley fans didnt seem to like watching at Perry barr for various reasons the one usually put forward was that the viewing wasnt great, myself i didnt find it to bad just that there didnt seem much of an atmosphere at PB, what its like with only around 400ish there i cant imagine because with some inside that would only leave 300 or so outside so no problem social distancing, its such a shame but if we are relying on Kent to bring a few fans, I fear this may be the last we see of the Brummies, I will probably go along on Wednesday weather allowing, but the forecast i saw it looks to be a changeable forecast at best which wont help, and after a days driving at work im not inclined to go every week bearing in mind im not a Brummie fan, how the heck can any promotion expect to survive if Brummies cant/wont support there own team ?.

Im sorry to see the Brummies yet again in this situation several Promoters have tried and failed to make a go of it at Perry Barr over recent years namely Patchet, Philipps and now Mason only Tony Mole aided by the Drurys and other backroom staff namely the Commercial guy whose name escapes me have made a go of it, I really dont know the answer to the Clubs current plight somehow they need to get through the current season, if they fold midseason i fear that this will be the end for Speedway in Birmingham, as i think the Landlords for one wont be very happy to have yet another Promotion fail. Is there an Investor out there that could put some money in to help promote the Sport locally, i drove through the roadworks where the old flyover used to be early this week no sign of any advertising around there where thousands not hundreds must pass weekly, AV Fc is maybe a mile or just over away WBA Fc just a little further away in the oposite direction surely something could be done there ?, something along the lines of produce a AV/WBA program/match ticket you get half price admission Iv no idea but something is better than nothing, rather than splitting the Juniors & Children under 16 and under 11 just make it kids for a quid, and how about some between race entertainment thats what kills a lot of newcomers having to wait around between races, even the pre meeting introductions could be made more interesting by placing the bikes at the starting gate and having the riders (minus Helmets) and mechanics introduced and walk past the fans as they are announced, a few boos for visiting riders never harmed anyone in fact it helps create a bit of atmosphere. I dont know just throwing a few ideas around but the bottom line is Brum need to get people through the gates for more than the odd meeting otherwise its curtains for Speedway in Birmingham.

Investors ?.

Birmingham fans dont like to see a struggling team, and stay away rather than turn up to watch, I hope the rumours are unfounded but its been a struggle for them since Covid and the vandalism hasnt helped. They would have been better off dropping back down into the NL but that wasnt possible with the way the NL had been dictated to with regard points limits of 35 which was much to low for stand alone teams, but thats what the BSPL in there wisdom wanted.

Jan Simensen, think if he had stayed at Cradley would have gone further in British Speedway.

For Speedway to be potentially losing fans like you two guys should be telling Speedway its in crisis, if it doesnt then the those at the top table need to take off there rose tinted spectacles and quickly get into the real world before its to late thats if already isnt, we need every Track/Promoter/Rider/Fan and right now the BSPL/SCB leadership are not encouraging anyone Promoters/Riders/Fans alike to stay/come into the Sport, except for the favoured few. If it carries on in the way that it is then i dread to think what the Sport in the UK will look like in a few years time. We need to rebuild from the bottom up, not from the Top down because very soon there wont be a Top in the UK, actually there is no longer a top in the UK its second rate, can it survive when it becomes third rate led by Scunthorpe ?, never mind there will always be Amateur meetings we can go to . Its such a pity that some current Promoters with leadership skills are to busy trying to keep there Teams afloat to be able to give more time to helping the Sport move forwards, because with the present crowd in charge Speedway is almost at the point of no return.

Have a look here. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g499564-c8-zfp2-Ulverston_Lake_District_Cumbria_England.html anything for a fellow Heathen .

For years now most teams have been living beyond there means and the Senior Teams have been surving mainly due to TV money, now Covid has brought up the inevitable Crow coming home to roost so to speak, the BSPL have for years avoided taking decisions that would help the Sport survive and maybe prosper, any household or business simply cannot go on year on year making losses and ignore the simple maths lesson of paying out more than what is coming in, how is it possible to employ foreign riders cheaper then british riders ?, answers on a postcard please. I dont know the answer but one thing is for sure things cannot carry on as they are, if it means going back to basics with Teams made up of british riders then thats the way we have to go short term loss for the long term gain, no Premier League just 2 Leagues with the NL being the second tier, and no stupid payments to riders.

I wouldnt know about the step outside bit, but he does (or companies he owns) own Henlow Greyhound Stadium and when thats sold for Housing Development that should give him enough ££££££,s to purchase Oxford or some other Sports Stadia, the operative word being Sports Stadia not somewhere thats rife for Development as they cost a good deal more £££££,s.

Not being wise after the event, Most Teams agreed to start the season without knowing what attendance limits there local councils would impose on them, the main issue being they have to put out a fixture list, Clubs/Teams found it difficult if not impossible to sell season tickets due to the Covid situation, now we find that the opening up is more than likely going to be put back which will probably put the completion of the season into doubt, or at the very least force some clubs to curtail the season. Some fans are still in denial about Covid but stop and think, the Pandemic has already cost this country billions upon billions of lost revenue, billions of pounds paid out in furlough payments and other schemes, all of which will we will be paying for over many years ahead, yes maybe things could have been done differently but the fact remains Covid is still with us and will be for the forseeable future, until the World gets a grip on this pandemic the uncertainty will remain and the future of our Sport needs strong leadership with difficult decisions needing to be made, but one thing is for sure Clubs/Teams cannot carry on sustaining losses week in week out..

Is it a coincidence that both the Teams one temporarily suspending the season Birmingham, and the other Wolves saying sustaining heavy losses, had major issues on there opening nights, has this impacted on attendances since ?.

Tom Bacon has announced on twitter has announced his retirement from speedway, Good luck for the future Tom.

How can anyone justify allowing 17/18,000 at the Cricket today which equates to roughly 70% of capacity, yet only allow a tiny fraction to attend other Sports.

Im sorry to see the comments of "Being close to saying its enough" what will the BSPL gain from another Club closing? albeit that they are no longer members of the dictators Club, only today CVS has said they may have to consider closing due to outside decisions, yet here we have a Track wanting to continue yet the BSPL continue to put obstacles in there way Rob Godfrey in his position as Chairman of the BSPL should be encouraging the IOW to stage Speedway, never mind they can continue staging amateur meetings up at Scunthorpe because there may soon not be enough Speedway Teams to stage meaningful League meetings against, is that what Godfrey & Co really want ?.

Todays Test match at Edgbaston the crowd allowed is 17,000 and there are 17,000 there, the capacity is 25,000 so why the difference ?, I dont see many masks and for sure there is no Social Distancing.

Liking the BSPL bellenders , however the facts are Scunny can apparently put on this kind of meeting under whatever guise they choose, but the same courtesy is not being extended to the IOW which is threatening the existance of Speedway under any form on the Island, this stinks of dictatorship and has no place on the island of Britain, may i suggest Godfrey moves to Russia or China where his form of Chairmanship is more in line with there way of life. In my humble opinion it should be Barry Bishop leading the BSPL (impossible now they are not members) as he can learn a number of BSPL promoters a thing or three about what Promotion stands for and i dont mean being promoted from Labourer to Foreman. I really hope that the IOW can survive this blatant pressure being put on riders by persons known and unknown, after all its for the good of the Sport that Speedway on the Island survives under whatever guise its able to. Its just a great pity that there is not a sugar daddy out there that could sponsor meetings with enough money for the riders to be able to stick two fingers up to the bullies of British Speedway.